Chapter 167: Training the Three Little Ones

Ever since Teddiursa handed Rex the King's Rock it found, Rex's opinion of the three little ones had significantly improved, and he decided to capture and train all three of them.

Initially, Rex only intended to capture Teddiursa. However, after seeing how Exeggcute and Bounsweet stuck by Teddiursa when it was injured, he changed his mind and decided to capture and train all of them together.

Rex believed that there were no weak Pokémon in this world, only weak trainers. With proper training, Teddiursa and its companions could also have their day to shine.

When he shared this idea with the three little ones, Teddiursa, Exeggcute, and Bounsweet were overjoyed. They thought that they finally had a formal place to belong and didn't have to worry about being kicked out of the farm anymore.

The three knew they were only temporarily sheltered at the farm, and this relationship wasn't stable. That's why they tried to find items to please Rex, a behavior developed from growing up in the wild where only the strong survive.

But once Rex captured them, everything changed. They could now live at the farm with peace of mind. The slight sense of estrangement they had felt disappeared once they were inside their Poké Balls.

Now, they were no different from Combusken and Carbink. The sense of inferiority buried in their hearts was completely erased.

After capturing the three little ones, Rex couldn't let them roam freely as before. They needed proper training. Only by completing their training tasks on time every day could they have free time.

Teddiursa, Exeggcute, and Bounsweet had no objections to Rex's requirements. They had had enough of being weak and wanted to gain the strength that Combusken had.

Teddiursa thought Combusken's strength was comparable to the Crawdaunt that drove them out of their home, so they all looked up to Combusken as their goal.

Among the three, Teddiursa was the strongest. However, Rex scanned Teddiursa with his Pokédex and found that it didn't know many moves.

Teddiursa's moves included Tackle, Growl, Sand Attack, and Headbutt, with Headbutt being the most powerful. Teddiursa learned Headbutt during a desperate battle with a Mightyena in Petalburg Woods, proving that actual combat is the quickest way to improve strength.

Previously, Teddiursa had to share the food it found with Exeggcute and Bounsweet, so it was often malnourished. Its current strength was due to frequently fighting with other Pokémon for food.

But now, at Rex's farm, Teddiursa had energy cubes provided by Rex for nutrition, so it could focus on training to make up for its previous deficiencies.

Actually, the three had been following Combusken for training, but without guidance, the training was more like play.

For Teddiursa and its evolution, Ursaring, speed was their most prominent attribute. Rex planned to improve Teddiursa's overall physical fitness and then focus on speed training.

Rex decided to have Teddiursa continue following Combusken for weighted running training, focusing mainly on practicing Tackle, as Headbutt consumed too much energy and could only be used a few times.

Rex hoped that Teddiursa could learn Take Down and even the more advanced Double-Edge from practicing Tackle. However, both moves had significant side effects. Without a strong body, Teddiursa might hurt itself before defeating its opponent.

As a Normal-type Pokémon, Teddiursa could learn many moves like Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Shadow Ball. However, Rex didn't want it to learn these moves before solidifying its basics.

As for Bounsweet and Exeggcute, they were much weaker than Teddiursa, and their small size made physical training less effective.

Bounsweet currently knew Absorb and Stun Spore, while Exeggcute knew Tackle, Harden, and Absorb.

Rex felt that with his current physical fitness after body training, he could probably take them both on without much trouble, possibly even defeating them with one punch each.

Since they were Grass-type Pokémon, Rex planned to have Victreebel teach them Growth and Synthesis.

He chose these moves because Bounsweet and Exeggcute were at such low levels that Growth would help them grow larger and absorb nutrients faster.

This move would only be effective in a food-abundant environment, which they didn't have before due to frequent hunger.

Synthesis was a miraculous move for Grass-type Pokémon. If Bounsweet and Exeggcute had known this move earlier, they could have sustained themselves just through photosynthesis in sunny weather, without the need to find food.

Moreover, during photosynthesis, Grass-type Pokémon convert solar energy into life energy, healing their injuries.

Rex believed that if Bounsweet and Exeggcute could learn Synthesis, they would find it much easier to learn the move Grassy Terrain later on, as they would have already mastered the method of synthesizing life energy.

The three little ones naturally accepted Rex's arrangement. Although the training would take up much of their time, it promised them a bright future, ensuring they would no longer be weak Pokémon bullied by others.

With a sufficient supply of energy cubes, Teddiursa felt its strength growing daily. Within a week of training, it learned Take Down and Covet.

During that week, Teddiursa practiced Tackle against a large rock daily. Despite getting covered in injuries, it never thought of giving up. Finally, it learned the more powerful move Take Down during one of its Tackles, even cracking the rock.

However, using all its strength for Take Down resulted in significant rebound damage from the rock, causing severe injuries. Fortunately, Rex noticed in time and healed it with life energy.

One day, Teddiursa suddenly felt it could take the charcoal from Combusken and instinctively used Covet to pull the charcoal out.

The damage from Covet wasn't significant to Combusken, but having its item removed was hard for it to accept.

This made Combusken feel a sense of crisis. It had become somewhat complacent due to its victories in Petalburg Woods, but Teddiursa's action snapped it out of it.

To ensure its strength wasn't surpassed by the little ones, Combusken started training even harder.

As for Bounsweet and Exeggcute, they learned Growth and Synthesis within the week, thanks to Victreebel's patient teaching.

Synthesis, in particular, was like an instinct for Victreebel. It automatically performed photosynthesis in sunlight.

Under the dual effect of Growth and Synthesis, Bounsweet and Exeggcute grew significantly larger and gained better control over their Grass-type energy, even sensing the life energy generated by Synthesis.

(End of Chapter)