Pokemon: I'm a Farmer

The newly evolved Vespiquen looked completely different from her previous gluttonous appearance, exuding a sense of authority and an air of inviolability.

Rex knew that many Pokémon experience significant personality changes after evolving, so he worried that Vespiquen might become distant. However, his concerns were unnecessary. After adapting to her new body, Vespiquen flew over, gracefully nodding toward him. While she seemed more mature than she had been as a Combee, Rex could tell that she still regarded him highly as her trainer.

"Vespiquen, you need to lead the hive well and help it grow stronger," Rex said with a smile.

Vespiquen gave a firm nod, then glanced at the Combee surrounding her. They quickly flew out of the hive, returning to their honey-gathering duties. After spending a little more time in the hive, Rex left, feeling reassured. With Vespiquen's leadership, the Combee hive no longer required his constant attention. He believed it wouldn't be long before she would lay eggs to expand the hive's population.

The flowers in Rex's farm were plentiful enough to sustain the Combee for a long time, even after the hive grew. And if the flowers ever ran short, he could always call on Shaymin to expand the flower fields.

After leaving the hive, Rex headed to the small house where Yuli and the others lived. As expected, they were tending to the newly planted seedlings in the backyard. The three had already planted the seedlings on the land they'd cultivated, occasionally asking Jumpluff to use the Grassy Terrain move to speed up the growth of the plants. The life energy in Grassy Terrain significantly helped the flowers grow, greatly shortening their maturation time.

When Rex told them that the Combee had evolved into Vespiquen, they were overjoyed. They felt their dream of an endless supply of honey was within reach.

Recently, to help the Combee evolve as quickly as possible, Rex had stopped harvesting the honey, leaving it all for the Combee. The farm's honey reserves had long since been depleted.

Rex stayed in the backyard for a while, helping the three pull out weeds that had sprouted due to the Grassy Terrain move. This was a task Rex had grown quite familiar with.

Suddenly, Rex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket—it was a call.

"Professor Birch, is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

"Rex, do you have time in the next few days?" Birch asked. "If so, could you come by my lab tomorrow? I have a request for you."

Professor Birch didn't beat around the bush, immediately getting to the point.

"I'm free these days, so I'll stop by your lab tomorrow," Rex replied, figuring that since he didn't have any pressing matters, he could go hear Birch out. Whether or not he'd accept the request would depend on the details.

"Great! I'll be expecting you," Birch said, sounding a little more relaxed after Rex agreed.

Since neither of them were the type to chat idly, they quickly hung up.

"Boss, what's Professor Birch asking you for?" Yuli, who was nearby, asked, having overheard the gist of the conversation.

"Professor Birch has a request he wants to entrust to me. I'll go check it out tomorrow. If it's suitable, I'll probably accept it—he's always been good to me. But that means the beach vacation I promised you will have to be postponed. I hope you don't mind."

Rex explained, knowing he might be away for a while, and wanted to make sure Yuli and the others could manage the farm in his absence.

"That's okay. We can go to the beach anytime. Just be careful while you're away and don't do anything too dangerous," Yuli said with concern.

"I'll be careful. Besides, with Swellow and the others protecting me, nothing will happen."

Rex smiled in reassurance.

With that, Yuli and the others stopped tending to the garden and headed inside to prepare food for Rex's trip.

Rex had been at the farm for quite a while and was starting to feel a little bored. Birch's request came at the perfect time. As long as it wasn't too dangerous, Rex planned to take it. He was sure Swellow and the others were eager for a change of scenery as well.

Since this trip wasn't just a vacation but a job, Rex carefully considered which Pokémon to bring: Swellow, Heracross, Machoke, Politoed, Combusken, Carbink, Haunter, and Victreebel.

Milotic and Gyarados were strong contenders, but Rex didn't want to risk anything happening at the beach while he was away, so he decided to leave them behind.

Since his Pokémon were free-roaming around the farm, Rex sent Swellow to gather them up so he could inform them.

"We're going out tomorrow. It may take a while before we return. If any of you don't want to go, feel free to let me know," Rex told them.

As expected, none of the Pokémon objected. They were all eager to accompany him, especially Combusken, who was so excited that it started circling him joyfully.

After facing some setbacks in training, Combusken had been working extra hard lately, and its strength had grown rapidly. However, its progress had slowed down recently, so it was eager to get some real-world experience. If Rex hadn't summoned it and Carbink today, Combusken would probably have dragged them and Ursaring into Petalburg Woods in search of stronger opponents.

Heracross and Politoed were also feeling cooped up and looking forward to the adventure.

The only one who seemed a bit reluctant was Machoke, who preferred training at the farm. But if Rex needed it, Machoke wouldn't hesitate to join. After all, its main motivation for training was to become strong enough to protect Rex in dangerous situations.

Swellow and Haunter, of course, were always by Rex's side whenever he traveled.

As for Victreebel, it served more as the team's medic, ensuring the other Pokémon stayed in good shape.

Once Rex finished talking, the Pokémon dispersed. Swellow and Politoed needed to handle their respective groups, while Heracross and Machoke had to plan the training for Chimchar and the others.

Only Combusken and Carbink had nothing to take care of. They just needed to say goodbye to their friends—Ursaring and the others—since they were closest to them on the farm.

(End of Chapter)