Chapter 155: Daily Training

"Hey, it's Rina!"

One day, while Rex was training Combuskem and Carbink, he suddenly received a call from Rina, whom he hadn't heard from in a while.

"Rex, how's your gym badge collection going? I've already completed mine and am now in special training."

Rina said, a bit boastfully.

"I've also completed mine. I'll be conducting intensive training at the farm for a while, hoping to achieve good results at the Ever Grande Conference."

Rex answered truthfully.

"Oh, so you didn't slack off after all. I will definitely defeat you at the conference, so don't be too surprised! Well, I have to keep working hard now. See you!"

After saying this, Rina hung up the phone decisively.

Rex could only shake his head with a bitter smile. He knew Rina called to remind him not to forget about the Ever Grande Conference.

On the other side, after hearing that Rex had completed his gym badge collection, Rina felt a renewed sense of urgency.

She actually lacked confidence in battling Rex since she had lost every previous match against him. So, after getting the answer she wanted, Rina quickly hung up the phone, planning to train even harder in hopes of defeating Rex at the Ever Grande Conference.

"Combusken, use Double Kick!"

"Carbink, use Protect!"

After ending the call with Rina, Rex resumed training the two Pokémon. At this stage, Combusken needed to improve its fighting abilities.

Since it gained the Fighting type upon evolution, its attack range broadened. When facing opponents that couldn't be defeated with Fire-type moves, its Fighting-type moves would be crucial for a comeback.

As for Carbink, Rex temporarily planned a Substitute and Toxic strategy for it—yes, that particularly annoying move combination.

Currently, Carbink hadn't yet learned Toxic, but it had mastered Substitute and Protect. Of course, it was just the basics, and continuous practice was needed until these moves became second nature.

Rex had already purchased a Toxic TM from the Slateport City Pokémon Mart. Though Carbink lacked the Poison type, making it challenging to learn, Rex had procured some Poison-type food for Carbink.

Once Carbink mastered the Substitute-Toxic combination, combined with its strong defenses, it could at least stall opponents for a while.

Of course, this tactic was temporary. Once Carbink learned Fairy-type moves, it would have more options in battles.

Swellow, being Rex's main force, was mostly left to train on its own now.

Swellow spent its time perfecting Hyper Beam, aiming to reduce the recharge time, and training by battling with its group.

That's right, Swellow trained in 1v7 battles with its subordinates. This not only provided enough pressure but also helped newly evolved Swellow quickly improve their strength.

Rex often watched their battles, which simulated real combat as much as possible. Thus, injuries were unavoidable, even for the leader Swellow.

To prevent any unforeseen situations, Rex assigned a Victreebel to heal them.

Machoke, now in its growth phase post-evolution, was already on par with Heracross in their battles. Of course, Heracross avoided using Flying-type moves unless it was at a disadvantage.

Rex believed that once Machoke evolved again, even if Heracross fought without holding back, the outcome wouldn't be certain.

As for Poliwhirl, Rex had it train with Lapras. Most of the time, Poliwag guided Lapras.

Rex planned to use a Water Stone to evolve Poliwhirl into Poliwrath a few days before the Ever Grande Conference. He believed that after months of training, Poliwhirl would make significant progress.

Lapras focused on learning, increasing its battle experience through training with Poliwhirl, and mastering moves learned from Milotic to expand its move pool.

With the entire Rex Farm under Swellow's surveillance, any external threats would be immediately reported, so Haunter no longer needed to hide in Rex's shadow for protection.

Rex arranged for Haunter and the shiny Flaaffy to train their move power and engage in battle training, leaving them to manage themselves as long as they didn't slack off.

Though Sandslash had been left at the farm, it trained even harder, practicing Sand Attack and Sand Tomb until it mastered the weather move Sandstorm.

With the Sand Veil ability, Sandslash, in Sandstorm conditions, became much more formidable. Sandslash was on the verge of becoming a core member of a Sandstorm team.

However, solo training had its limits, so Rex paired Sandslash with Lileep for battle training.

Specifically, Sandslash trained with Lileep, whose numerous moves and Grass type countered Sandslash, helping it adapt to Grass-type damage.

Lastly, there were Magikarp and Feebas, diligently training their Tackle move. Rex wasn't sure when they would evolve, as their evolutions were significant transformations.

Fortunately, Feebas could evolve by increasing its beauty, and Yuli had been experimenting with making Pokéblocks to enhance beauty, eventually developing a recipe for blue Pokéblocks that could sometimes boost beauty.

The recipe required two Pamtre Berries, one Cornn Berry, and one Magost Berry. Unfortunately, Rex Farm didn't grow these berries yet, so they had to be purchased externally.

Rex promptly bought seedlings of these berries from Slateport City, but it would take time for them to grow and produce berries.

Meanwhile, Yuli continued to buy these berries to make Pokéblocks for Feebas until it evolved.

Magikarp had no shortcuts and needed to train and eat a lot. As it grew, Feebas's Tackles became less effective, so Rex had the Poliwag group train with Magikarp.

The Poliwag led relaxed lives, watering plants and basking in the lake, which irked the diligent Swellow. To maintain farm harmony, Rex increased the Poliwag's training load.