Chapter 223: The Peering Gaze

With the help of Swellow and Sandslash, Rex quickly set up a temporary campsite.

Afterwards, Rex gathered some dry branches nearby and started a fire. Not wanting to spend too much energy cooking, he rummaged through his backpack, tossed a bunch of ingredients into a pot, and made a stew.

Once the stew was cooked, Rex seasoned it simply and tasted it. He found the flavor acceptable—though not as good as the dishes Yuli and the others made, it was still decent enough.

By this time, the sky had darkened, and beyond the campfire's glow, it was pitch black. Combusken and Carbink, who had gone out for a stroll, also returned.

However, Combusken and Carbink both bore some new scratches, indicating that they had likely engaged in battle with some wild Pokémon during their walk.

Rex wasn't sure if they had deliberately sought out challenges or had been attacked, but seeing that both seemed in good spirits and hadn't taken any serious damage, he didn't pay it much mind.

Before eating dinner himself, Rex first prepared food for his Pokémon, which was the usual combination of Pokéblocks and berries. However, tonight, he also poured some Sweet Honey for them, as a reward for their hard work over the past few days.

The Pokémon, tasting Sweet Honey for the first time, all seemed delighted, clearly enjoying its flavor. After finishing, they licked their lips, savoring the taste of the Sweet Honey.

After handling all this, Rex began enjoying his own dinner. He also poured himself a bit of Sweet Honey, though not much, as he wasn't particularly fond of overly sweet things.

Sipping the Sweet Honey, Rex felt a delightful sweetness lingering in his mouth. Not only that, but he also sensed a gentle energy nourishing his body, gradually enhancing his physical condition.

After finishing his cup of Sweet Honey, Rex couldn't help but marvel at its flavor and miraculous properties. Though the enhancement to his physique was minimal, he knew that regular consumption of Sweet Honey would surely benefit his health in the long run.

Just then, Rex suddenly felt as if something was watching him, so he turned to check, thinking perhaps a wild Pokémon had come to observe him.

However, after Rex and Swellow circled around, they found nothing unusual—not even a wild Pokémon in sight.

"Was it just my imagination?" Rex muttered to himself as he returned to camp.

Swellow, too, found Rex's actions odd, especially since even it hadn't noticed anything unusual earlier. After a thorough patrol yielded nothing, Swellow relaxed its guard.

Rex, thinking he might just be overly sensitive, picked up his chopsticks and began eating his stew.

What Rex didn't realize was that not far away, a small creature was watching him. In fact, Rex had come within a meter of Shaymin earlier but had instinctively overlooked its presence.

Shaymin, curious as ever, was surprised that Rex had almost detected its gaze. After all, it was quite confident in its ability to hide.

Shaymin's natural talent allowed it to blend seamlessly with its environment, making it nearly impossible for anyone or any Pokémon to spot it unless it wanted to be seen. But today, Rex had nearly broken that rule.

However, seeing Rex's subsequent behavior, Shaymin realized he was simply sensitive to being watched, and thus didn't dwell on it, continuing to observe Rex and his Pokémon.

Shaymin had grown accustomed to this lifestyle and would feel uncomfortable if it had to show itself in front of Rex.

After dinner, Rex cleaned up and settled into a lounge chair, gazing up at the Sinnoh region's starry sky. However, he found that this starry sky didn't look much different from that of the Hoenn region.

"Hey, Yuli, is Snorlax behaving on the farm?"

Bored, Rex called Yuli to ask about Snorlax's condition.

Worried that Snorlax, the big eater, might cause trouble on the farm, Rex had instructed Machoke to keep a close eye on it and discipline it if it caused any damage to the farm's resources.

"Boss, I've already made the special Pokéblocks for Snorlax according to the recipe. They're amazing—just one is enough to fill Snorlax up. It then sleeps on the field in front of our house and only wakes up when it's hungry again," Yuli said with a laugh.

When Rex sent Snorlax over, he had told Yuli about its habits, which worried her about managing it. But after feeding it the special Pokéblocks, Snorlax spent most of its time sleeping, requiring no further attention.

Sometimes, Yuli and the others would even climb onto Snorlax's soft belly to play, which greatly changed their perception of it.

"That's great. I've captured enough Combee. If there's a flight to Hoenn from Sunyshore City tomorrow, I'll be heading back!"

"That's wonderful! I'll go into town tomorrow to buy some goodies and give you a proper welcome when you return!"

After ending his call with Yuli, Rex continued to stare at the sky in a daze.

Suddenly, a commotion came from afar, and after a while, Rex saw an Ambipom leading a group of over ten Aipom, all looking very aggressive.

Seeing this, Swellow and the other Pokémon immediately moved to block Ambipom's path, issuing warnings not to come any closer.

Ambipom pointed angrily at Combusken, chattering loudly, clearly furious, and seemed ready to challenge Combusken to a fight.

However, Combusken wasn't one to back down, and the two began trading insults. Rex couldn't understand what they were saying, but he could tell from their tones that it wasn't anything nice.

"Uh, Ambipom, what's going on here?"

Seeing that Ambipom didn't seem to be here just to cause trouble, Rex asked.

After hearing Rex's question, Ambipom called out a few times, and then several dark-skinned Aipom, looking as if they had been burned, limped forward from the group.

When they saw Combusken, they shivered with fear but, emboldened by their leader's presence, began accusing Combusken.

"Uh, Combusken, did you do this to them?"

Seeing this, Rex began to understand that Ambipom had come to stick up for its underlings.

Combusken puffed out its chest proudly and nodded arrogantly, clearly proud of its achievement.

Ambipom, seeing this, became even more furious, and another round of shouting matches ensued between it and Combusken. Fortunately, it remained a verbal confrontation without any physical violence.

Watching this, Rex felt a headache coming on—it felt like dealing with a situation where your kid bullies another kid, and the other kid's parent comes knocking.

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(End of Chapter)