Chapter 54: Heading to Littleroot Town

"Ugh, why is it so heavy? I can hardly breathe!"

Rex, still half-asleep, felt like he couldn't catch his breath. Opening his eyes, he saw a large Miltank lying on his chest, snoring heavily. Looking around, he saw that his bed was already crowded with Miltanks.

"Miltank, how did you all end up on my bed?"

Rex pushed the Miltank that was sleeping heavily.

"Moo!"

The awakened Miltank just made a slightly innocent sound, then rubbed its sleepy eyes and changed its position to continue sleeping.

Because the Miltank would be affected by the static electricity of the Mareep, Rex let them rest in his room last night.

He had already laid thick blankets on the floor as a place for the Miltank to sleep, but he didn't expect that when he woke up, all the Miltank would be sleeping on his bed.

There was nothing he could do, so Rex just rubbed his head, got up from bed, and left the spot for the Miltank. He went to freshen up and then went downstairs to have breakfast.

"Boss, you're up early today. Is it because you're going on a trip, so you specifically woke up early?"

At this point, Yuli had also gotten up, and breakfast was already prepared.

"Well, sort of."

Rex could only smile awkwardly in response.

What could he do? Was he awakened by the Miltank? That would be too embarrassing. How could he maintain his dignity as the boss? So he could only brush it off vaguely.

Today, the rare occasion of Rex having breakfast with Yuli. Usually, by the time he came down, Yuli had already eaten breakfast and started working.

"Then, during this time, I'll leave the affairs of the farm to you."

Rex said to Yuli.

After breakfast, Rex took the backpack prepared by Yuli and was ready to set off.

"Boss, rest assured, I will take care of the affairs of the farm. You have to be careful on your way."

After reassuring him, Yuli asked with concern again.

"Don't worry, with Swellow here, it will protect me. Could you also say goodbye to Grandma Nieno and the others for me?"

Rex patted Swellow's wings and said.

Swellow also cooperated with a call, from its call, Rex read a kind of firmness, a kind of deterrence.

With a flap of Swellow's wings, they were already in the air, and Rex sitting on its back didn't feel any sway, as stable as if on the ground.

"Hello"

Rex greeted the flying Beautifly next to him with a smile.

This was a migrating group of Beautifly. Being able to meet them in the sky, Rex felt very fortunate, so he happily greeted them.

The Beautifly group also seemed to feel Rex's goodwill. Dancing around Swellow, they responded to Rex's greeting.

However, Swellow was much faster than them. In no time, they had surpassed the Beautifly group, and Rex could only wave goodbye to them regretfully.

Next, they were greeted by clouds, and Swellow carried Rex through the clouds.

Flying above the clouds for a while, then below the clouds, looking at the beautiful scenery in front of him, Rex felt like he was in a fairyland.

Suddenly, a Pelipper appeared in front of them, also flying through the clouds like Swellow. Rex could vaguely see a trainer sitting on the Pelipper.

"Swellow, let's catch up!"

Rex said to Swellow beneath him.

Hearing Rex's command, Swellow put away its playful mood, began to flap its wings faster, and quickly caught up with the Pelipper ahead.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you in this blue sky."

Rex said to the trainer on the Pelipper's back.

She was a tall and beautiful woman, similar in appearance and stature to Yuli. Of course, what caught Rex's attention was mainly the Pelipper. Its way of flying seemed quite peculiar, clearly not exerting much effort, yet flying very fast.

"Hello, nice to meet you. You've trained Swellow very well."

The looked at the young man in front of her, showing a surprised expression.

After all, the Swellow in front of her, whether in size or momentum, was stronger than the Swellow she trained herself. This made her somewhat unacceptable.

"Your Pelipper is also very good. Oh I'm Rex"

Rex smiled and responded.

"Rex, hello, I'm Winona, nice to meet you."

Winona also politely responded.

"Winona, I see you're heading to Littleroot Town just like me?"

"Yes, I have something to do in Littleroot Town. How about a race?"

Seeing that Rex's destination was the same as hers, Winona suddenly had an idea and wanted to test the true strength of the Swellow in front of her.

"Of course, can't we, Swellow?"

Rex, seeing the other party wanting to race with him, immediately became spirited. Swellow was not afraid of anyone in terms of speed.

Swellow also seemed eager to try, showing a jumping appearance. It was somewhat curious about the Pelipper in front of it. The opponent's flying skills were somewhat subtle. Although it didn't seem to exert much force on its wings, it flew fast and steadily.

"Alright, let the race begin!"

With Rex's command, the speed of Swellow and the Pelipper increased.

For a while, they chased each other back and forth. Both Swellow and the Pelipper couldn't shake each other off.

However, as time passed, Rex noticed that Swellow was starting to pant, but the Pelipper seemed unaffected.

Rex didn't believe that the Pelipper's stamina was higher than Swellow's, so he carefully observed its way of flying and finally noticed something different.

The Pelipper's flight trajectory was somewhat elusive, seemingly irregular, but Rex found that whenever there was an airflow blowing from behind, the Pelipper would fly along the trajectory of the airflow.

"So that's how it is."

Rex finally understood the reason why the Pelipper flew so effortlessly. It was using the chaotic airflow in the sky to fly more efficiently.

He knew the opponent's way of conserving energy, but finding the airflow that could be used for leverage in the chaotic airflow was not easy.

"Swellow, pay attention to the airflow in the sky, find the airflow that can give you leverage, and fly along this airflow."

Rex said to Swellow beneath him.

After hearing Rex's words, Swellow immediately understood. At this moment, when it looked at the way the Pelipper flew again, it had a different experience.

Although it knew the principle, it was still somewhat difficult for Swellow to accurately grasp the airflow.

After using this method, Swellow's flying speed became erratic. Because the airflow in the sky was changing unpredictably, the airflow that

 was favorable could suddenly turn into a headwind, requiring Swellow to change its trajectory promptly.

Due to experimenting with this new flying method, Swellow fell behind the Pelipper by a considerable distance, but Rex did not stop Swellow's attempts.

Compared to winning this race, learning this energy-saving flying technique was more important.

"What a formidable opponent!"

After seeing this scene in front of her, Winona couldn't help but marvel.

She had trained her Pokémon for a long time to learn to sense airflow, but the young man in front of her could observe the flying trajectory of her Pelipper and teach Swellow to try it out just like that.

Time passed gradually as Rex and Swellow experimented. In the distance, a picturesque town gradually appeared. Obviously, this was their destination, Littleroot Town.

However, after continuous attempts, Swellow had gained some insights into grasping the airflow. Out of ten attempts, it had succeeded three or four times, and the success rate was increasing as time went on.

 (End of this chapter)