After arriving at the beach, Rex didn't immediately begin his experiment. Instead, he focused on setting up camp first.
Once everything was ready, he reclined in his chair, carefully examining the Z-Ring and Flyingium Z in his hands.
The Z-Ring appeared to be a single piece, but Rex knew only the core was actually a Sparkling Stone. A special groove had been carved into it to hold different types of Z-Crystals, which activated their energy when slotted in.
Flyingium Z was a diamond-shaped crystal, pale blue in color, with faint currents of mysterious energy flickering inside.
"Swellow, see if you can absorb the Z-Energy from this Flyingium Z."
He handed the Z-Crystal to Swellow, who was still battered and bruised from its battle with Hariyama. Since its body was currently low on energy, it was a perfect opportunity for testing. Rex decided not to heal it just yet.
Swellow didn't hesitate. It grabbed the Flyingium Z in its beak—and swallowed it whole.
Rex instinctively reached out to stop it, but then thought better of it. Since Flyingium Z was formed from Z-Energy fused with Flying-type energy, and Swellow was already a Flying-type, there shouldn't be any dangerous energy conflict. And if anything went wrong, Rex was confident his life energy would be enough to stabilize the situation.
"Swellow, how do you feel?"
After a few minutes, Rex asked curiously.
"Swah!"
Swellow closed its eyes and concentrated. Then it shook its head and chirped in response.
Apparently, simply swallowing the Flyingium Z wasn't enough. Swellow still couldn't actively absorb the Z-Energy from within. Perhaps another step was needed to unlock it—or maybe it just required more time to digest.
In any case, Rex decided not to overthink it for now. He would continue as planned, letting Swellow draw in Z-Energy from the air as usual. Whether the Flyingium Z was helping would become clear in time.
That day passed in training. Swellow continued refining Brave Bird, and its control over the move had improved so much that the recoil damage from each attempt was significantly reduced. As a result, it took longer and longer to wear it out.
There wasn't much Rex could do about that—he couldn't exactly let Blaziken and the others take repeated Brave Birds to speed things up. At Swellow's current level, even one hit could knock them out.
After a quiet night, the next morning brought a startling discovery.
Swellow's size hadn't increased much—but something else had changed. Its entire body now shimmered faintly with a soft golden light.
That glow was the embryonic form of a Totem Aura.
It wasn't as radiant or overwhelming as the aura of the Totem Gumshoos they had once faced, but the presence of this golden haze signaled one thing—Swellow had officially stepped onto the path of becoming a Totem Pokémon.
All that remained was for it to generate the aura consistently, and to restore it naturally by absorbing Z-Energy from the environment after depletion.
Only then would it have truly broken into the realm of Totem Pokémon, fulfilling the very goal of their journey.
"Swellow, can you get that Flyingium Z back out?"
Rex was fairly sure the crystal had played a major role in Swellow's progress. To confirm it, he asked Swellow to retrieve the crystal.
"Swah…"
Though reluctant, Swellow complied. It closed its eyes to concentrate, gave a dry heave—and coughed the crystal back into its beak.
Rex took it and inspected it carefully.
Sure enough, the Flyingium Z was no longer its original shape. Its once-smooth, diamond-cut surface had become rough and pitted, as if corroded. It had also shrunk in size.
That was all the confirmation Rex needed—Swellow had been digesting and absorbing the Z-Crystal's energy the entire time.
"Take it back," he said, handing it back to Swellow to swallow again.
Rex now felt reassured. He didn't know if one Flyingium Z would be enough to complete Swellow's transformation—but worst case, he still had the Z-Ring itself, though it would be a shame to use it up that way.
Z-Rings were much harder to obtain than Z-Crystals. It was highly unlikely Rex would get a second one during his time in Alola.
Z-Crystals, on the other hand, were somewhat more common. Lucky Trainers occasionally found them in wild dens, often near Pokémon that instinctively gathered around them—drawn by the beneficial energy.
Most wild Pokémon couldn't actively sense Z-Energy, let alone consume Z-Crystals like Swellow could. All they could do was passively absorb a small trickle of energy from the crystals they hoarded.
Over the next ten days, Swellow's Totem Aura continued to grow.
Whenever it activated the aura now, its entire body glowed with a radiant gold light. Its presence became more imposing, its energy surging visibly.
However, there was one downside.
The Flyingium Z that Swellow had swallowed was now fully consumed. With no more Z-Crystals to accelerate its development, Swellow couldn't continue powering up its aura as rapidly as before.
Earlier, Rex hadn't dared to let the aura be depleted—afraid it wouldn't regenerate without the crystal's help. But now he had no choice but to test.
He ordered Blaziken to try and break the aura.
Though Swellow's Totem Aura was still thinner than that of Totem Gumshoos, it was by no means weak. Blaziken had to put in real effort, eventually resorting to Flare Blitz before managing to shatter it.
Now, all Rex could do was wait—and see if the aura would regenerate on its own.
If it did, then it would mean only one thing:
Swellow had become a true Totem Pokémon.
(End of Chapter)