"Whew, reinforcements are finally here!"
After Swellow had tangled with the Victreebel swarm for over ten minutes, a dozen black dots appeared in the distant sky.
A closer look revealed them to be Flying-type Pokémon, each carrying a trainer on their back—clearly the support dispatched from the railway company's headquarters.
At this point, Swellow already had the upper hand. With its relentless aerial strikes, many Victreebel and Weepinbell had been knocked out. The remaining Pokémon were hanging on by a thread.
But Swellow, too, had taken its share of damage. Its totem aura had been shattered by a well-aimed Hyper Beam from the Victreebel leader, and its injuries were beginning to show. A few more minutes, and the battle could've gone either way.
That Victreebel leader had just revealed itself, having previously stayed hidden to command its forces. Its leadership was what had given the swarm their coordination and combat edge.
And even though it bore slash wounds from Swellow's repeated Air Slashes, Rex could sense a fierce, unrelenting will to fight—burning with the desire for vengeance.
Clearly, the Weepinbell that had been hit by the train meant a great deal to it.
Given the clear fault of the railway company in this incident, Rex chose not to push further. Once the reinforcements arrived, he returned Swellow to its Poké Ball and headed back to the train.
With the swarm's numbers dwindling and energy spent, the arrival of fresh reinforcements made the outcome inevitable. Sure enough, about ten minutes after Rex reboarded, the train began to move again, slowly rolling past the site of the blockade and continuing toward its destination.
"Excuse me, may I come in?"
About half an hour later, Rex's cabin door was knocked on, followed by a familiar voice.
"Come in," Rex replied, recalling Bagon and Monferno before responding.
It was Snow—the onboard security trainer he had fought beside earlier. His wounds from the Leaf Storm barrage had been treated, but he still looked weary.
"Rex, I've come on behalf of the railway company to thank you. Without your Swellow holding back the Victreebel swarm, the passengers could've been seriously hurt."
Snow bowed slightly, voice filled with gratitude.
"You're too kind, Mr. Snow. I'm a passenger too—it was only right to step in when needed."
Rex motioned for him to sit and added, "By the way, do you know how the Victreebel swarm is being dealt with now?"
Snow nodded. "The company's trainers captured the entire swarm in Poké Balls. They'll be relocated to a different forest and cared for. Don't worry—they won't be harmed."
"As for the incident itself, the train operator responsible for hitting that Weepinbell has been suspended and is under investigation. He'll face disciplinary action."
This was the company's standard protocol—when wild Pokémon interfered with train operations, they were typically relocated peacefully. Proper handling of relations with wild Pokémon was crucial for safe operations.
Rex wasn't displeased with this approach. Back at his farm, when wild Pokémon caused trouble, he would also capture them and turn them over to Officer Jenny.
After all, most of the wilderness still belonged to the Pokémon. If they ever decided to retaliate in unison, no number of trainers could guarantee safety.
Still, the railway company had to maintain enough deterrence to ensure continued peaceful passage.
"I see. That clears things up. Thank you, Mr. Snow."
Rex didn't intend to get too involved—after all, he was just a visitor from the Hoenn region. He'd intervened simply because he'd been there.
Before leaving, Snow transferred 200,000 Pokédollars to Rex as a reward for his efforts. All trainers who had helped received bonuses, but Rex earned the most for playing a decisive role.
Rex accepted it without hesitation. Not only was the company wealthy, but if the swarm had broken through, the human cost would've been far higher.
Snow didn't linger—there was still a lot for him to handle.
The rest of the trip passed smoothly. By evening, the train finally arrived at Geosenge Town.
Once off the train, Rex headed straight for the airport to book the next available flight to Hoenn.
Fortunately, the next flight was scheduled for 9 AM the following morning.
He breathed a sigh of relief—one more step closer to home.
This trip had been long and challenging, but the gains were immense: his Swellow had become a Totem Pokémon, and his Carbink had successfully evolved into Diancie.
With both Totem Swellow and Diancie on his team, Rex now had the strength to compete with top-tier trainers.
Especially Diancie—though freshly evolved and not yet at full strength, Rex knew that with time and training, she would fully awaken the power of a mythical Pokémon.
As for Mega Evolution, Rex wasn't in a hurry. He hadn't even tried it with any of his other Pokémon yet.
Swellow, at least, needed no extra attention. With its breakthrough, it could now steadily strengthen itself through continued training.
After spending the night in Geosenge Town, Rex boarded his flight the next morning and crossed the vast sea—finally heading home to his farm.
(End of Chapter)