Chapter 57: Conquer

When Rex arrived in the backyard, Machop was still engaged in its previous training, and the moo moo milk placed beside it remained untouched.

"Machop, training like this won't do. Besides wearing yourself out, your strength won't improve much," Rex said to Machop, who seemed to ignore him.

Machop just glanced at him and continued its training as if Rex's words didn't affect it.

Rex's words weren't baseless. For a muscular Pokémon like Machop, push-up exercises were inefficient. It needed to spend a lot of time to reach its physical limits. Furthermore, these limits would increase over time, meaning Machop would need to spend even more time to reach new ones. Although its strength would improve to some extent during this process, the improvement was negligible compared to the time invested.

Moreover, Machop wasn't a perpetual motion machine. It lacked restraint and only trained relentlessly. Over time, this accumulation of injuries in its body would become more severe, potentially causing its strength to plateau or even regress.

In simple terms, Machop was currently overdrawing its future potential in exchange for meager strength gains.

In the wild, Machop would seek out stones to enhance its strength. It would repeatedly lift and carry heavy stones to exercise its muscles, striving to reach higher levels.

However, for Machop, which now had only one hand, this method was no longer viable.

"Follow me. I can help you improve your strength more efficiently. Otherwise, with your current training methods, you'll never be able to protect the ones you cherish," Rex said.

When Machop heard Rex say that its current strength couldn't protect the ones it cherished, it finally showed a look of anger and roared at Rex.

"Is this... anger?" Rex couldn't help but wonder as he saw Machop's red face and the aura of rage emanating from its body. It was a baffling sight.

"Your anger is futile. Deep down, you know what I'm saying is true. It's just that you can't accept it. I still hope you can give yourself a chance, a chance to prove your strength," Rex continued, ignoring Machop's glare.

Seeing the fighting stance of the Pokémon in front of it, Rex seemed to understand its intentions.

"Are you trying to battle my Pokémon?" Rex asked, observing Machop's posture.

Machop continued to glare at Rex and then nodded.

"I see. Go, Heracross!" Rex called out Heracross directly. His goal now was to completely subdue Machop with absolute strength. Only then could he change Machop's mind.

"Heracross, in this battle, you can only use your left hand. Understand?" Rex said to Heracross.

"Heracross!" Heracross looked at its little brother, who now had only one hand, and nodded in understanding. It was honorable and wouldn't take advantage of its disabled younger brother.

However, Machop didn't appreciate it. It felt that the human in front of it was looking down on its single-handedness and believed it didn't deserve Heracross's full strength. Thus, its inner fury intensified, as if it wanted to burn everything to ashes.

Seeing the bug in front of it not making a move but just looking at itself, with a hint of pity in its eyes, Machop charged forward in fury. It then made a chopping motion with its left hand, exerting all its strength towards Heracross.

Heracross, seeing this, assumed a defensive stance and blocked Machop's attack with its left hand. Then, seizing the opportunity, it grabbed Machop's arm and threw it over its shoulder, slamming it to the ground with a solid thud.

Although knocked down, Machop quickly got up and continued to attack Heracross. This process continued for a long time until Machop exhausted all its strength and could no longer stand.

In the end, even Heracross couldn't help but admire Machop. Its eyes showed appreciation, completely devoid of disdain.

"The outcome is clear. What do you say, Machop? Will you follow me? I can train you to be as strong as Heracross, or even stronger?" Rex asked.

Approaching the struggling Machop, he said, "What do you think, Machop? Do you want to follow me? I can help you improve your strength. If you still want to leave later, I won't stop you. What do you say?"

Rex smiled as he saw Machop's hesitation. He could tell it was struggling because it couldn't forget its previous Trainer.

However, Rex didn't believe that, under his genuine care, Machop would return to the Trainer who abandoned it.

"Machop!"

After hesitating for a long time, Machop finally made up its mind. It reached out its left hand and shook hands with Rex. Of course, it didn't exert any force, fearing it might harm Rex.

"Well then, let's go, Poké Ball!" After obtaining Machop's consent, Rex took out a Poké Ball he had prepared long ago and captured Machop.

Similar to when Naki captured Poliwag, the Poké Ball didn't even shake before the light went out, indicating that Rex had successfully captured Machop.

"Machop, please lets teach each other in the future!" After confirming that he had captured Machop, Rex released it from the Poké Ball and patted its shoulder before saying.

"Machop!"

After being treated by Rex's abilities, Machop couldn't help but let out a comfortable sound. It felt as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from its body, feeling refreshed all over.

Rex found a secluded place and used his abilities to treat Machop. He had hoped his life energy could regenerate Machop's arm, but unfortunately, he failed. Life energy only healed Machop's accumulated injuries and the wounds from the recent battle; it couldn't regenerate lost limbs.

At this moment, Machop didn't know Rex's regret. It had great confidence in its new Trainer's abilities and knew he hadn't deceived it.

However, this treatment made Machop feel a significant change in its body.

The stiffness in its arm caused by excessive training had disappeared. Machop extended its hand and made a fist, feeling extremely smooth, completely devoid of the previous sense of blockage.

"Machop, you've just received my treatment and need some replenishment. Here, have these!" Rex took out some energy cubes and a bottle of moo moo milk from his backpack and handed them to Machop.

This time, Machop didn't refuse Rex's kindness. It grabbed the energy cubes first and stuffed them all into its mouth. Then, it picked up the moo moo milk and drank it "glug glug glug," finishing everything in no time.

"Take your time eating, don't rush!" Rex hurriedly advised as he saw Machop eating heartily.

He knew this was a habit Machop had developed to save time for training, and it would take time to correct it in the future.

After Machop finished eating, Rex recalled it into the Poké Ball, letting it rest for a while. He could sense that Machop hadn't had a proper rest for a long time, or the rest time was very short.

"I didn't expect you to succeed, Rex!" Professor Birch was also very surprised when he learned that Rex had captured Machop. After all, many Trainers he had high hopes for had tried and failed before.

"Maybe we just clicked!" Rex smiled in response.

"Perhaps that's it. The bond between Pokémon and humans has always been a fascinating topic!" Professor Birch suddenly became philosophical.

End of Chapter 57.