Though the Three Forces were revered and worshipped by the people living on the once-barren lands, fulfilling their agreement with Rex had taken a steep toll on their origin energy.
Even Landorus, who had initially expended little power, became noticeably weakened after days of constant effort.
After the majority of land restoration was complete, Elite Glacia announced that the Three Forces had fulfilled their promise. The trio was visibly relieved—this had been the largest-scale release of their power in memory, and it had left them drained.
Despite the gratitude of the people, the Three Forces quietly left the Hoenn region without fanfare. They needed to return to Three Forces Island and resume their long slumber—perhaps for several years—to fully recover their depleted strength.
Landorus, who had gotten dragged into this mess by Thundurus and Tornadus, vented its frustration by regularly giving each of them a swift punch during the return journey. The two culprits, knowing they were at fault, could only grit their teeth and endure it.
From now on, Thundurus and Tornadus had made up their minds: they'd steer clear of Hoenn. The world was vast, after all, and Hoenn was only a small corner of it.
Once the Three Forces fulfilled their end of the agreement, Elite Glacia immediately contacted Rex with the news. After all, it was his intervention that had made this all possible.
Rex, however, wasn't particularly focused on their departure. Over the past few days, aside from continuing his cultivation of the All Star Fitness Body Training Technique, most of his time had been devoted to perfecting mega evolution with Diancie and Gyarados.
He hadn't paid much attention to the Three Forces' movements, only occasionally seeing news reports about barren lands across the region being miraculously revitalized.
Through consistent training, Rex had pushed his physical body to its current limit. He confirmed with Rocky that he now met all the prerequisites for becoming a martial artist. Whether he could replicate Rocky's breakthrough experience, however, remained uncertain.
Rocky had been stuck at the threshold of martial advancement for years before finally breaking through in Rex's greenhouse, with the help of a massive influx of life energy.
Rex knew he couldn't rush the process. He planned to accumulate more inner power before attempting the leap. After all, becoming a martial artist represented the transformation from mortal to transcendent.
A martial artist could sense the natural energy flowing through heaven and earth. Their training focused on absorbing this energy and storing it within, eventually unleashing it in techniques—just like Pokémon using moves.
In fact, Rex had come to believe that once someone became a martial artist, they were essentially no different from a Pokémon themselves—perhaps even a human-shaped Pokémon. Humans were just a species of Pokémon that couldn't use moves naturally unless they met specific conditions—like becoming martial artists or psychics.
Besides martial training, Rex's biggest goal was to master mega evolution.
Since defeating Tornadus, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recreate the mega bond with Diancie.
That realization sent a cold sweat down his back.
He had been overly optimistic—thinking that once mega evolution had occurred once, repeating it would be easy. But if Landorus had decided to force him to release Tornadus and Thundurus by power instead of negotiation, there was no guarantee Diancie and Shaymin could've stopped it.
Even if they had, the battle could've left Rex Farm in ruins—possibly suffering even more damage than from the earlier disaster.
The truth was clear: he wasn't yet strong enough to sustain Diancie's mega evolution.
Back then, it was only because the situation was so urgent that Diancie had taken on nearly all the pressure herself. That's why she could only execute one attack before collapsing.
Realizing this, Rex decided to put Diancie's mega evolution on hold and focus on Gyarados instead.
Atop Gyarados's trident-like horn now rested a custom-made metallic ring inlaid with its mega stone—a personalized accessory Rex had commissioned in Slateport City.
Gyarados loved the accessory, especially after learning it would grant it immense power.
Yet even with this preparation, their path to mega evolution wasn't smooth. While Gyarados deeply acknowledged Rex as its Trainer, its simple mind made it hard for it to respond in sync during critical moments.
As a result, even when Rex activated the Key Stone's energy, Gyarados couldn't respond in time—failing to trigger the mega evolution.
In short, their bond still wasn't strong enough.
So Rex shifted focus. After handling the farm's day-to-day operations, he frequently rode atop Gyarados into the open sea to battle and grow together.
And finally, during a battle against a powerful Lanturn, they triggered the long-awaited breakthrough.
Initially, the type disadvantage was brutal. Lanturn's Electric-type attacks ravaged Gyarados, leaving it badly injured.
But rather than panic, Gyarados's mind became eerily calm—and in that moment, it heard Rex's call and responded perfectly.
The result: mega evolution was achieved.
Now a Mega Gyarados, it unleashed a single Waterfall attack that overwhelmed Lanturn instantly.
Unlike Diancie's mega evolution, which had drained Rex to his limit, Gyarados's transformation consumed less stamina—Rex even had energy to spare afterward.
After the victory, Mega Gyarados went wild with joy—unleashing its new power across the sea, stirring up massive waterspouts and tidal waves that swept far into the distance.
The once-tranquil sea became a chaotic battlefield. Water-type Pokémon across the area fled in fear, terrified of drawing attention from the rampaging beast.
Even after Gyarados reverted from its mega form, the shock lingered. The Water Pokémon who had accompanied Milotic on this journey were stunned speechless.
From that day forward, they revered Milotic even more deeply—because in their eyes, even a terrifying Gyarados like that was still just a subordinate of the majestic queen.
(End of Chapter)