Chapter 311: Welcoming Guests

"Politoed, keep a close eye on the grove for now. Once those berries ripen, let me know immediately."

Before leaving, Rex gave a serious reminder to Politoed.

If the rare berries could be harvested the moment they matured, it would hopefully avoid drawing too much attention.

"Croaaak!"

Politoed croaked solemnly in reply, showing it understood.

With one last glance at the rare berry grove, Rex made his way back home on foot.

Soon, the day of the scheduled visit with Nurse Joy arrived. Around 9:00 a.m., a yellow school bus pulled up at the entrance to Rex Farm.

Rex and the three girls—Yuli, Yui, and Karen—had already been waiting there. As the bus stopped, they walked over to greet the visitors.

"Welcome, Nurse Joy!" Rex said with a smile.

"We're the ones imposing. Thank you so much for having us," she replied.

Today, Nurse Joy wasn't wearing her usual medical uniform. Instead, she wore casual clothes that made her look more like a cheerful young woman than a formal Pokémon caretaker.

"Oh, let me introduce you—this is our kindergarten principal, Remi."

A woman in her early twenties stepped out of the driver's seat, and Nurse Joy gestured to her.

"Nice to meet you, Principal Remi. I'm Rex."

Rex extended a hand, and she shook it politely.

"Nice to meet you too, Rex."

Yuli, Yui, and Karen also introduced themselves. Just as the greetings wrapped up, the excited kids began pouring out of the bus.

Rex counted—eleven children in total: six boys and five girls, all around six or seven years old.

"Wow, it's so pretty here!"

"I've been here before!"

"Me too!"

The kids eagerly took in their surroundings, chattering non-stop. Some had been to the farm with their parents before, while others were seeing it for the first time.

"Principal Remi, Nurse Joy, let's head inside. Yuli and the others made lots of treats for the kids."

Rex led them toward the farm entrance. With the two adults keeping the children organized, the kids formed two lines and followed along—though they were clearly more interested in looking around and whispering to each other than walking straight.

"Hiro, where are you going?! Get back here!"

Rex turned at the sound of Principal Remi's shout and saw a chubby boy sprinting off on his own.

Looking in the same direction, Rex saw what had caught his attention—Chimchar and Bagon were playing and chasing each other nearby. The boy had clearly been drawn in by their antics.

As he got close, Chimchar and Bagon paused, turning to look at the human child with curious eyes.

"Hi there! Can we be friends?"

The boy, Hiro, said earnestly as he looked at the two Pokémon.

Chimchar and Bagon glanced at each other, uncertain. But when they saw Rex in the distance, they immediately ran back to him.

"Rex, are those your Pokémon?" Principal Remi asked in surprise.

Before becoming a kindergarten principal, she had been a trainer herself. She immediately recognized Bagon for what it was—a rare pseudo-legendary.

Even Chimchar wasn't easily obtainable, especially in Hoenn. As one of Sinnoh's starter Pokémon, it was usually only available to trainers in that region or through significant expense from the Sinnoh League.

She had never been able to afford that cost herself, which made her all the more curious about Rex.

She had heard from Nurse Joy that Rex was an orphan who'd built everything on the farm through his own effort. Seeing such rare Pokémon on his team piqued her interest.

"Yeah, I only recently caught them. They're full of energy—always running around the farm."

Chimchar and Bagon came to Rex's side, and he patted their heads while answering.

"Whoa! That little monkey is so cute!" said a ponytailed girl, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah! Look—it has a flame on its butt!" another girl chimed in.

The kids immediately forgot about staying in line and began buzzing with excitement, pointing and talking excitedly about the Pokémon.

While Chimchar and Bagon were rare, the kids didn't know that. They just loved being able to see Pokémon up close—especially such cute ones.

"Um… Big bro, can I be friends with your Pokémon?"

Little Hiro ran up, still panting, eyes fixed on Chimchar and Bagon.

"Of course you can. But whether they'll accept you as a friend is up to you—you'll have to earn their trust."

Rex didn't mind at all, but he wouldn't force his Pokémon. Friendship had to be mutual.

"Alright, Hiro, back in line for now. We're heading to the flower fields."

Principal Remi gently called him back. After one last longing glance at Chimchar and Bagon, Hiro trudged back to his place, and the group continued forward.

Before long, they reached the edge of the flower fields—a section of the farm normally closed to the public. This was the first time any of the kids had been here.

Yuli and the others had prepared a long table with handmade snacks for the children. Another table nearby held neatly sliced cubes of berries—Rex's handiwork.

"Big bro, what's that Pokémon? I've never seen it before."

The ponytailed girl tugged on Rex's sleeve, pointing.

"That's a Combee. It's native to the Sinnoh region."

Rex answered with a smile.

"Wow, I didn't expect to see Combee here! Have you been to Sinnoh, Rex?"

Nurse Joy looked surprised.

"I have, actually. I went there specifically to bring back Combee for the farm. They collect honey and help us make Sweet Honey."

Rex didn't hide it—he openly shared his reason for introducing Combee to the farm.

(End of Chapter)