Chapter 97: Arrival at Dewford Town

Early the next morning, Rex and his companions got up early. After breakfast, they began to pack up the camp. Once everything was ready, they could set off for Dewford Town.

Due to concerns about the risk of the motorboat grounding, Mr. Briney parked the motorboat more than ten meters away from the shore. To board the motorboat, they would have to swim over or rely on Swellow to carry them across.

"Vroom, vroom!"

With the engine starting up, the motorboat began to move slowly.

Mr. Briney, steering the motorboat from inside the cockpit, had Rex and the others guarding around the motorboat, keeping an eye on the surrounding sea conditions and staying vigilant for any abnormalities.

It was understandable that they were so nervous. In the vast and boundless sea, human power was indeed minuscule. Even with the help of Pokémon, facing the threat of an entire group of Sharpedo was still quite challenging.

After the motorboat had been sailing for about half an hour, Rex and the others finally relaxed a bit. After all, the motorboat had moved far away from the previous area. If the group of Sharpedo wanted to attack, they would have done so by now.

However, Rex wasn't surprised by this outcome. After all, they didn't have any deep-seated grievances with the Sharpedo group. The conflict arose mainly due to the Sharpedo's behavior, and Rex believed that the Sharpedo group wouldn't waste too much time migrating just for food.

"The Sharpedo group didn't follow us; we're safe!"

Drake said happily.

Though neither Mr. Briney nor Luna said anything, from their slightly relaxed expressions, it was clear they shared the same sentiment.

"Grandpa Briney, how much longer until we reach Dewford Town?"

Rex asked Mr. Briney from the cockpit.

"We'll arrive in about another hour. You've all been through a lot. You can rest in the cabin now, and I'll wake you up when we reach our destination, Dewford Town."

Mr. Briney said relaxedly.

As a seasoned sailor who spent years at sea, he understood that they were now out of danger after such a long time without any attacks from the Sharpedo group.

Rex and the others didn't refuse Mr. Briney's kindness. After all, it had been quite uncomfortable standing on the deck of the fast-moving motorboat in the cold wind for half an hour. Resting in the cabin seemed like a better choice, lest they catch a cold.

Once inside the cabin, Rex looked out the window at the swiftly passing scenery and soon dozed off.

"We've arrived in Dewford Town."

Mr. Briney's hearty voice woke up the still-sleepy Rex.

Rubbing his still-drowsy eyes, Rex looked out the window and saw that their motorboat was now docked at a pier.

"We've finally arrived in Dewford Town. This journey was really thrilling!"

Luna cheered happily after disembarking.

Subsequently, Rex and the others bid farewell to Mr. Briney. They planned to head directly to the Dewford Gym to register for the challenge, which was their purpose in coming to this island.

They had agreed with Mr. Briney to have him return in three days to pick them up.

Dewford Town was not large, and there were few residents living on this island. Even a Pokémon shop was not established here, indicating that very few trainers visited this island on a regular basis.

Upon arriving in town, they didn't need to ask the residents. They could already see the Dewford Gym built on a cliff from afar.

"Hello, we'd like to challenge the Dewford Gym. How do we register?"

Kai asked upon arriving at the Dewford Gym.

Inside the Dewford Gym, they saw a young man practicing his martial arts alone. Seeing no one else around, they approached him for assistance.

"Ah, challengers, follow me. Let me register you first. Brawly isn't at the gym right now, so we can't start the Gym challenge immediately!"

The young man, interrupted from his training, didn't seem annoyed. He exhaled lightly, then smiled and led them to a registration-like area.

They were surprised to find out that they were scheduled to challenge the Gym this afternoon.

But considering the recent lack of challengers, it made sense; they had plenty of available time slots.

Of course, Luna didn't register for the challenge. She was only accompanying Drake. The actual challengers were Rex and the other two.

After leaving the Gym, Rex parted ways with the others. They had only met by chance and didn't have much of a bond. He preferred to wander around on his own.

However, Dewford Town was really small, and he soon explored it entirely. During this time, he bought some local specialties and handicrafts, planning to use them for decoration back home.

Unknowingly, Rex ended up on the beach at the back of the island. There were almost no people here, but the scenery was beautiful, a classic sunny beach. However, in this season, the weather was slightly chilly, not very suitable for swimming.

Suddenly, Rex noticed two figures moving among the distant waves. He realized that someone was surfing in the sea. After observing for a while, he realized it was a trainer and a Pokémon surfing in the sea.

Seeing this scene, Rex understood. The person before him must be Brawly, the Gym Leader of Dewford Gym, along with his partner Machop.

"Are you a trainer who just arrived on the island? I haven't seen you before!"

Brawly greeted with a smile.

"Yes, we just arrived in Dewford Town today and have registered for the Gym challenge, Gym Leader Brawly!"

Rex replied with a smile.

"Oh, you know who I am!"

Brawly didn't deny it upon seeing Rex recognize him.

"Yes, I did some research on the Dewford Gym in preparation for the challenge."

Rex naturally didn't mention that he had seen Brawly in an anime from a previous life. He simply said that he had researched the Dewford Gym's information in advance.

After all, being a longstanding League Gym, a lot of information could be found online.

The key was whether challengers would put in that effort. It wasn't common to encounter trainers like Ash who would charge in directly with type disadvantage mastery; at least the two traveling with him had done their homework in this area.

Throughout the journey, Rex had heard Kai's sighs and complaints. After all, his Pokémon were mostly Rock-type, which was quite challenging against the Fighting-type Dewford Gym.

"I see. Well, I'll have to have a serious battle with you later then, haha!"

After hearing Rex's response, Brawly laughed heartily.

Knowing that Rex and the others had already arranged to challenge him in the Gym in the afternoon, Brawly bid them farewell hastily. Having so many challengers suddenly was quite rare for this Dewford Gym, so he needed to prepare properly; otherwise, it wouldn't be good if he embarrassed himself in the afternoon.

After saying goodbye to Brawly, Rex continued to walk along the beach until he had explored the entire island. Afterward, he went to the Pokémon Center in town to rest until the Gym challenge in the afternoon

.

(End of Chapter)