Chapter 204: Ursaring

"Steenee, what you need to do now is to properly adapt to your strength and ensure you can fully utilize it, understood?" Rex looked at Steenee and said somewhat sternly.

Rex was quite dissatisfied with Steenee's performance earlier. This was partly due to the free-rein approach he had taken with the trio, but some discipline was necessary.

Seeing its trainer suddenly become so serious, Steenee, realizing it had not performed well, quickly nodded obediently, indicating it would work hard in the future.

Steenee knew its performance had indeed been lacking, and it was somewhat scared, afraid of disappointing Rex.

"And you, Teddiursa, a battle is a battle; no need for any tricks." 

After scolding Steenee, Rex turned to Teddiursa.

Teddiursa did not argue, realizing it had gone easy and not treated the match as a real battle. Now, thinking back, it felt a bit embarrassed.

While Steenee and Teddiursa were feeling ashamed from Rex's reprimands, Exeggcute quietly started to move little by little, inching away step by step.

When Rex and the other two noticed Exeggcute trying to slip away, it felt nervous but pretended to be innocent, as if saying, "Why are you all looking at me?"

"Exeggcute, where do you think you're going?" Rex looked at Exeggcute with a somewhat sinister expression and spoke in a menacing tone.

Hearing its trainer's words, Exeggcute shivered, sensing something bad was about to happen.

Rex had started to understand the personalities of the trio. Although Teddiursa was the leader, it had a simple and stubborn nature, often resorting to brute force due to its weaker strength, usually ending up on the losing side.

Before evolving, Steenee had been a crybaby, always seeking Teddiursa for justice and protection, which made it somewhat naïve and occasionally spoiled.

Exeggcute, on the other hand, was the slyest of the trio, good at disguising itself. Even Teddiursa and Steenee didn't know about its cunning nature. However, with its weak strength, this trait was of little use, making it almost invisible in daily life.

In the following days, Rex focused on training his Pokémon at Rex Farm, especially Teddiursa, Steenee, and Exeggcute, as they were the weakest and lacked a solid foundation. Thus, Rex raised his expectations and training intensity for them.

After each day's training, the trio was too exhausted to move but felt a mix of pain and joy. The pain came from the tough training, especially with the added intensity, while the joy was from their rapidly improving strength. Steenee, in particular, was in a period of rapid growth post-evolution, benefiting the most from the training compared to Teddiursa and Exeggcute.

Although all three underwent rigorous training, Steenee's strength now surpassed that of Teddiursa and Exeggcute. It could easily defeat both in battle, unlike a few days earlier when even Teddiursa was a challenge.

Steenee's improvement increased the pressure on Teddiursa. In the wild, strength determined everything, and Teddiursa had been the leader due to being the strongest.

But with the shift in dynamics, Steenee's superior strength made Teddiursa hesitant to assert its dominance. Consequently, Teddiursa did not resist Rex's training and even requested extra sessions to improve its strength and maintain its leader status.

Rex was aware of Teddiursa's intentions and encouraged this competitiveness, hoping Steenee's progress would motivate Teddiursa to train harder.

Rex's confidence in pushing Teddiursa came from his ability to heal injuries promptly, allowing him to train his Pokémon intensively without long-term harm.

Perhaps due to Teddiursa finding two Pokémon items, Rex paid extra attention to it, taking it to Petalburg Woods for battles besides regular training.

Unfortunately, the recent battle outcomes were not ideal, as Rex selected strong opponents for Teddiursa, resulting in it often being on the losing end.

Despite the challenges, Rex appreciated Teddiursa's fearless nature. It would fight any opponent without hesitation, displaying a fearless spirit reminiscent of a honey badger from Rex's previous life.

Today, Rex chose the opponent that had seriously injured Teddiursa previously—a Mightyena. Teddiursa remembered the critical hit it took during migration and charged at Mightyena with a Tackle, only for Mightyena to counter with a Crunch, flinging Teddiursa against a rock for a secondary hit.

Despite the severe injuries, Teddiursa launched another assault, determined to make Mightyena pay.

Surprised, Mightyena took a headbutt from Teddiursa but quickly retaliated with Fire Fang, again tossing Teddiursa aside.

Even with two heavy blows, Teddiursa stood firm, continuing its relentless attack on Mightyena.

Faced with Teddiursa's reckless bravery, Mightyena decided it wasn't worth the risk of injury from this unyielding opponent and retreated.

Teddiursa, unwilling to let go, chased after Mightyena, gaining speed until a white light enveloped it, transforming it into a big and strong Ursaring.

(End of the chapter)