The distinctive fin on her head had undergone a significant transformation, not only embedding her own Mega Stone, but also perfectly aligning with the center of the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet symbol.
This symbol signifies a confidant of Arceus and is even harder to obtain than Kaidou's flag.
Outsiders either use the pirate flag of the Hundred Beasts or the commercial flag of the Hundred Beasts Fruit Company; very few individuals are allowed to use the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet symbol exclusively.
After Nereus became familiar with her body, she left with her clan, returning to the vast ocean. For her, having spent her life as a Gyarados, a human body was not quite as handy.
With her departure, the local Gyarados of Wano Kuni sighed in relief.
Nereus, by seniority, was even the great-granddaughter of some of these fish; her abilities were too strong, her status too high, which made interactions somewhat difficult.
The success of Nereus also proved one thing: expanding the number of Pokemon is very meaningful. Although it took the Gyarados years to reclaim such a space, it shows that this path is feasible.
With enough Gyarados and Magikarp in the sea, Pokemon like Lapras and Mareanie also started appearing in nearby waters, but they still couldn't land.
The Onix continued digging tunnels under the Red Earth Continent, their numbers having increased over the years, but Onix couldn't burrow onto other islands, and Magikarp could swim freely in the sea but couldn't land.
Due to a lack of results from previous searches, he had no intention of expanding the Pokemon population, but now he could.
To expand quickly, the ability to fly was essential, allowing access to various islands. It couldn't be the mischievous types like Jumpluff and Whimsicott, whose combat strength was weak.
Although the island had no Sea King Types, it boasted numerous peculiar beasts, with dinosaurs and other ancient creatures being quite common.
They needed to have the resilience and adaptability of Magikarp, possess decent fighting abilities, and ideally, not look too peculiar, more closely resembling native species.
Take Gyarados for example; in current popular belief, they are considered naturally evolved creatures. A few insiders know them as modified beings, but no one guessed they were created from nothing.
Since no local scholars have witnessed Magikarp's evolution, their group relationship is viewed as a peculiar symbiotic one.
Arceus did not intend for this unstable world to overflow with various types of Pokemon but rather to improve environments bit by bit with small groups here and there.
Packed with vitality, capable of flight, and not visually arresting, Bug-type Pokemon gradually became the targeted choice among many options.
"Hmm, let's go with Heracross. There are quite a few large rhinoceros beetles on Insect Island."
Heracross, the single-horned Pokemon, looks just like a rhinoceros beetle, easily mistaken for a subspecies. They effortlessly blend into the native world.
Except for the larvae, Bug-type Pokemon are incredibly tough, and their combat power is reassuring.
Heracross is covered in armor-like skin as hard as iron, allowing it to ignore most enemies; stronger foes usually don't have issues with a rhinoceros beetle.
Like rhinoceros beetles, Heracross has a sturdy horn on its forehead, which is its primary weapon and a way to differentiate genders: the horn of a male Heracross is similar to that of a rhinoceros beetle, while a female Heracross has a heart-shaped horn.
Arceus's intention for the created Pokemon is to integrate with the ecosystem instead of destroying it, which is one reason for choosing Heracross.
Non-aggressive as they are, Heracross, which live in groups, mostly gather in forests searching for sweet tree sap, attacking enemies only when their sap and honey are stolen, primarily by flipping them over with their horns.
The giant horn combined with their Machamp-like strength allows them to uproot trees effortlessly. Like most insects, Heracross has a high capacity for carrying loads, easily lifting objects 100 times their weight.
The wings at their back grant them flight abilities. While not particularly adept fliers, the monsoon's help lets them spread worldwide easily, and the slow diffusion lets them meticulously search islands.
Heracross is merely the first step. If they establish themselves on various islands, more Pokemon will follow later. As for islands unsuitable for them, like Winter Island, they can be explored later.
Nevertheless, Arceus didn't immediately create Heracross. To save effort, capturing and transforming a batch of local rhinoceros beetles was more convenient. The ecosystem in Wano Kuni is quite balanced now, and it's precisely the rhinoceros beetle season.
Under Arceus's request, a new activity quickly started in Wano Kuni—the capture of rhinoceros beetles.
Rhinoceros beetles are admired even among pirates, a magical creature leaving some rubber men pondering whether being Pirate King or a rhinoceros beetle is more important, and capturing them is one of Wano Kuni children's delights.
This event wasn't mandatory but a recreational one. In the name of the Hundred Beasts, they organized a grand competition in Wano Kuni to see who could capture the largest and strongest rhinoceros beetle.
The reward wasn't much, just a piece of gold, but for children, it's like money falling from the sky, thus attracting many Insect-Catching Youths into the forests of Wano Kuni, searching for what they deemed the strongest rhinoceros beetle.
The event didn't have specific age restrictions, but most participants were about seven or eight years old, leading to a completely different summer for them, even with schools in Wano Kuni organizing similar activities.
And because there were no age restrictions, some childlike adults also participated, such as Yamato, eagerly comparing the rhinoceros beetles she caught with others.
"Yours is so big, where did you capture it?"
"Right in the mountains of Kuri."
Seeing the rhinoceros beetles others caught, she suddenly found hers, which she had selected from the leftovers, seemed a bit ordinary.
"Speed, this one's yours."
Throwing the jar in her hand to Speed behind her, Yamato picked up her bug-catching net.
"Lady Ghost Princess, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to catch a bigger one; how could I lose to these ordinary little guys?"
At this moment, a strangely competitive spirit within her awakened.