The next morning, Calyrex had fully recovered the energy it had expended in nurturing the World Tree.
It approached Naoki, who was trimming the garden bushes and announced, "My strength has returned. I can continue cultivating the World Tree."
"Already?" Naoki exclaimed, surprised. "That was fast!"
He recalled that less than a month had passed since the last growth surge.
Calyrex nodded slightly, its serene expression steady. "The pace is quicker now because more and more people in this land believe in me. The power of their faith strengthens me each day."
As it spoke, Calyrex turned its gaze toward the hill where the shrine was located.
"I can sense the shrine dedicated to me is channeling a constant flow of faith. This phenomenon has far exceeded my expectations—it's truly remarkable!"
Naoki understood immediately. The shrine had unknowingly become a popular landmark in Kosaji Town.
Every day, groups of traveling trainers visited the shrine to learn about the legendary King's deeds.
It was akin to a viral attraction—an "influencer" of the Pokémon world, drawing curious trainers from all walks of life.
"Well then," Naoki said with a smile, setting aside his pruning shears. "Let's get started!"
Excitement bubbled in his chest. Each time the World Tree grew, it brought new surprises.
Naoki quickly gathered the Pokémon on his ranch, leading them to the tree's site to witness the Calyrex's powers at work.
The process was now a familiar one for everyone.
Calyrex floated into the air, its body radiating powerful psychic energy. Waves of green energy surged outward, converging on the World Tree.
Then, with a swift and graceful motion, Calyrex raised its arms, releasing an even more potent surge of energy.
A wave of brilliant green light enveloped the World Tree, and the tree's trunk, branches, and leaves began to glow vibrantly.
Under this radiant energy, the World Tree began to grow taller, its trunk stretching skyward at a visible rate.
"Boom!"
The ground trembled slightly, and a deep hum resonated across the ranch as the roots of the World Tree extended further into the soil.
Naoki and his Pokémon watched in awe as the tree expanded before their eyes.
A notification flashed before Naoki's vision:
[World Tree (juvenile stage): A sapling imbued with immense Grass-type energy. Due to a unique mutation during its growth, it carries immense vitality capable of supporting an ecosystem. It is said that, when fully grown, it can sustain an entire world with its natural energy.]
[Growth to maturity: 84,054 years.]
[83,612 years.]
[82,560 years.]
[80,010 years.]
The counter finally stopped at 80,010 years.
As Calyrex's energy reached its limit, the radiant light surrounding the World Tree faded, revealing its transformed state.
The World Tree now towered over the ranch, standing more than 30 meters tall. Its size and majesty rivaled the giant tree on the Crown Tundra's Giant's Bed in Galar.
The Pokémon watching from the ground were left speechless.
Several flying Pokémon looked at this scene in disbelief. They flew around the World Tree, dived into the dense bushes, ran to the thick branches, and observed the giant tree from top to bottom.
Even Naoki, who had anticipated this growth, couldn't help but marvel.
As he glanced at the updated growth timeline, he murmured, "Four thousand years shaved off... It seems the extra faith wasn't wasted. The Calyrex's power has truly doubled."
Naoki recalled that previously, Calyrex could only shorten the growth period of the World Tree by two thousand years.
But now, it was accelerating by four thousand years with each effort. At this rate, the World Tree could reach full maturity in less than two years.
A fifth of the original 100,000-year growth cycle had already passed, leaving approximately 80,000 years to go.
In the past, Naoki would never have dared to imagine such rapid progress. However, a new concern began to trouble him.
The World Tree was becoming enormous. If the ripening process continued at this rate, the ranch might soon be unable to accommodate it.
If the World Tree's growth wasn't carefully managed, it could destroy the ranch and everything Naoki and his Pokémon had worked so hard to build.
Naoki fell into deep thought.
He turned toward Calyrex, who looked slightly drained after expending so much energy, and asked, "By the way, I remember you once mentioned that, in the future you saw, the World Tree left the ground, floated into the sky, and remained suspended there. Is that correct?"
Calyrex nodded solemnly. "Yes, that is the vision I observed."
Naoki frowned, rubbing his temples. "That's… a tricky problem."
Could his future self have invented some form of advanced technology to make the World Tree float?
"No way. I'm not that brilliant," Naoki muttered, shaking his head at the implausibility.
Then he considered another possibility. Could it have been the work of Dr. Sada or Dr. Turo, the inventors of the time machine?
That idea also seemed unlikely, as their research focused on terastal energy rather than anti-gravity systems.
That left only one plausible explanation: Pokémon power.
When thinking of Pokémon capable of such a feat, one name immediately came to mind—Giratina.
Three minutes later, Naoki found himself in the Reverse World, standing in a tranquil field of flowers.
Giratina lay nearby, basking in the sunlight and nibbling lazily on berries. It looked up at Naoki's sudden arrival with a puzzled expression.
"Why are you here today?" Giratina's voice carried a relaxed tone, a result of its long period of self-imposed exile.
Naoki stared at Giratina's massive, serpentine form, inspecting its head and wings.
Giratina narrowed its crimson eyes. "What are you looking at?" it growled irritably.
Naoki ignored the tone, leaning closer. "You're just as intimidating as I remember."
"Get to the point!" Giratina snarled, clearly losing patience.
Naoki chuckled awkwardly, then asked, "Can you make objects float? Say, using your powers to make something from the real world defy gravity and rise into the sky?"
"That's all?" Giratina replied, smirking disdainfully. "You came all this way to ask that?"
Naoki blinked, momentarily at a loss.
Giratina's confidence suggested it could, in fact, achieve such a feat. But then it added with a sigh of regret, "Unfortunately, I can't help you with this."
Naoki tilted his head in confusion. "Why not?"
"Because I'm forbidden from interfering with the real world," Giratina explained, its voice low with a mix of anger and resentment. "It was a decree from Arceus when it banished me here."
Naoki's expression hardened. Of course—it always came back to Arceus.
After a moment of thought, Naoki probed further. "Then how did you manage to join forces with Volo centuries ago? You caused quite the disturbance back then."
A sly grin crept across Giratina's face. "I didn't interfere directly. All I did was use my power to provoke Dialga and Palkia into losing control."
Naoki's eyes widened as understanding dawned.
Giratina's actions had been a calculated act of vengeance—not just against Arceus but against the entire real world. By secretly destabilizing Dialga and Palkia, Giratina had sown chaos on a massive scale.
The result was a catastrophic temporal and spatial rift that wreaked havoc on the Hisui region.
...
Bonus Chapter @ 400 PS