"Calyrex's two beloved steeds are called Spectrier and Glastrier, right?"
Walking behind Lucas, who was holding Cosmog, and Calyrex, Penny asked her older sister, Peonia.
To be honest, she'd only skimmed the book once, so she wasn't actually sure if that silly dad's traded book had really said Calyrex had two steeds named Spectrier and Glastrier.
Hearing the question, Peonia thought for a moment, then shook her head. "That book never stated it clearly. No—rather, it didn't confirm that at all."
"It said Calyrex had a steed that served at its side. Some accounts said it was as black as the deep night, others that its form was as pure white as an ice lotus blossoming atop a snow-capped peak… There were many descriptions, but the true identity of that steed could not be ascertained."
"If they're actually two steeds likeTeacher Lucas said—one named Spectrier, one named Glastrier—then that would make sense."
Penny mused, "Just from the names, Glastrier and Spectrier sound like they'd be Ice-type and Ghost-type."
Their conversation didn't escape Lucas and Calyrex up front. Calyrex paused mid-levitation, and a voice sounded via telepathy to Lucas alone: "Lucas, how dost thou intend… to help Us find Our steed?"
"One of them is elusive by nature, and the other is perfectly suited to traveling this icy Crown Tundra."
The Crown Tundra was simply too vast. Even those Pokémon enlarged by energy from meteorites that had erupted from the earth were but a drop in the ocean here.
In this expansive land, finding them would be extremely difficult.
Lucas didn't answer immediately. He walked a bit more, stopped at the edge of the Snowy Slope's valley, and pointed toward a fallow field, smiling slightly. "Do you remember what they like to eat?"
Looking at the abandoned plot, Calyrex blinked, falling into recollection.
After a moment, it said uncertainly, "We only recall that they particularly liked to cause mischief in the farmlands of Our former subjects. Priests would often come to Us, asking Us to pacify Our steed that was wreaking havoc in the fields."
"We had to rack Our brains to get them to behave. But before they left the fields, their bellies were always full… Could it be—"
Lucas nodded, confirming Calyrex's guess. "That's right, they love the crops in the fields. More precisely, they're especially fond of the special carrots grown here."
"Carrots… I see. Thou meanest to use crops to lure Our steed?"
Calyrex was a little moved; it hadn't expected Lucas to have thought this far.
"I've already sent my other partners to the Old Cemetery to plant carrots. According to that book, the fields there produce black carrots that are especially attractive to the black Spectrier."
Lucas explained the preparations he'd made.
Then, he circled around to ask, "If you can just meet Spectrier and have Victini empower you, can you suppress it and restore your strength?"
Calyrex thought, then said, "Nay… We and Our steed are ultimately two beings. To combine our powers, We require an item once offered by Our people, called the Reins of Unity."
"Yet since Our awakening… We have not received the Reins of Unity from humans in a very long time."
Calyrex's tone grew heavy. Without the Reins, it couldn't reunite with its steed to regain its full power.
In the past, with abundant faith to draw upon, it hadn't been overly reliant on merging or the Reins, but now it found itself in this awkward bind.
It didn't know the exact method of making the Reins of Unity, not even the materials.
Lucas knew what was on Calyrex's mind. He told it not to worry—he had a plan. The immediate priority was to get to the Old Cemetery.
With Comfey's Grassy Terrain effect, those ordinary carrots might already have sprouted by now.
At that moment, Penny and Peonia noticed Lucas and Calyrex standing before the abandoned farm plot in the Snowy Valley.
They remembered this was one of the fields where Lucas mentioned planting carrots.
Just as they were about to ask, Calyrex linked to them via telepathy, a dignified voice sounding: "Then… let Us use Our Teleport to travel in one instant to the resting place of the departed."
Space began to ripple.
The Old Cemetery was one of the rare spots in the Crown Tundra not completely blanketed by snow.
Timeworn headstones had long lost their original appearance. Just outside the leaning forest of gravestones was an abandoned field.
Unlike the more dangerous Snowy Slope fields, few dangerous wild Pokémon wandered near the Old Cemetery—although at night it became a paradise for Ghost types.
Graveyards are always fertile ground for Ghost-type Pokémon, and this one held countless departed.
Because most Ghost types are nocturnal, the villagers of Freezington hadn't abandoned the field due to danger—it was simply that they found it unsettling.
Before setting out, Peony and the three kids had asked villagers for directions.
With the guidance of surprised locals, the three reached the Old Cemetery and found the abandoned field, the soil as hard as overwatered concrete.
Peony came from a well-off family; Nemona was even more of a heavyweight, and Eri had only a half-baked notion of farming.
Fortunately, Lucas had anticipated this and sent Arven, who often followed him around, to help.
Under Arven's direction, Peony sent out his Excadrill that knew Rototiller but rarely used it; under Arven and Comfey's guidance, it clumsily loosened the soil.
Then, with Comfey instructing, they dug small holes to bury carrot seeds.
Though from a wealthy family, Nemona didn't mind the work. Even with dirt on her clothes, her smile was bright.
Unfortunately, her stamina lagged behind the indoorsy Arven who traveled with Lucas. After a short while, she was panting, and Peony, who knew well by now she was hopeless at sports with terrible endurance, persuaded her to rest.
Soon, half a bag of carrot seeds was sown. Following Lucas's instructions, Arven kept the other half. Luxray summoned rainclouds to water the field, Comfey set Grassy Terrain to nourish and speed growth.
Before long, oddly purple leaves unfurled.
Based on Comfey's experience, they would mature in about half a day.
Nemona, Arven, and Eri, with Peony, squatted in a circle by the field, watching the sprouting carrot leaves with odd expressions.
Nemona: "So carrots in the field look like this!"
Eri: "But I remember carrots should be almost translucent…"
Peony: "Maybe they're black on the outside and white inside?"
Arven: "…Could it be because we're by a cemetery?"
Luxray and the Comfey perched on its head fell silent for a beat. These people…
Just then, the air around them rippled.
Luxray's ears twitched, the star-tipped tail swished. Its sharp senses didn't miss the fluctuation—nor the scent that was etched deep into its memory.
"Lux~."
Luxray lifted its head and looked to a tree not far behind.
Lucas was already standing there.
Luxray's golden eyes glanced at Calyrex beside Lucas. It held Calyrex's regal gaze for a second, then looked away as if nothing had happened.
Calyrex, however, narrowed its eyes. By its judgment, this big cat might be even stronger than its own steed.
As expected, Lucas's position in the human world was likely far from simple.
Because of Luxray's reaction, Peony and the others turned from their carrot debate to the tree. Seeing who stood there, they lit up with delight.
A short while later.
Lucas eyed the black-violet carrot leaves in the field and mused, "So these are the black carrots Spectrier likes…"
Calyrex's gaze swept the expanse of gravestones nearby, a trace of reminiscence in its eyes. It nodded slightly. "Come to think of it, We oft saw Spectrier around here."
Comfey had finished healing Ceruledge. With the repeated Grassy Terrain and Floral Healing, Lucas decided to let it rest in its Poké Ball.
In its place, Victini lay on Luxray's back. Due to the solemn atmosphere, it was unusually quiet, not poking around everywhere.
Because of Calyrex's complicated feelings toward the people of Galar, Peony and the others, following Penny and Peonia's advice, retreated to a distance from the field and quietly exchanged what they'd experienced over the past few hours.
When they heard that King of Bountiful Harvests was Calyrex itself, the Old Cemetery team was stunned for quite a while.
Then Penny and Peonia shared how Lucas had easily cleared the Iceberg Ruins and caught the legendary titan Regice.
Number-one Lucas fan Nemona got excited, her cheeks slightly flushed. "As expected ofTeacher Lucas!"
Peony looked a bit deflated, glancing at Lucas's back with reluctant admiration. "He even knew how to awaken the giant in the ruins…"
Lucas didn't hear their talk. He beckoned to Victini. "Victini, over here."
"Vtini~?"
Victini flew over, tilting its head in confusion.
Lucas jerked his chin at the Cosmog in his arms. "Cosmog seems to have used a lot of power and fallen into a deep sleep. Can you try giving it a bit of energy?"
"V-tini~!"
Victini planted fists on hips and nodded.
Helping others was its favorite—and Cosmog was its partner in scamming Poké Beans from Lucas!
Victini touched the sleeping Cosmog with its tiny hand. Infinite energy rose with a golden aura and flowed into Cosmog's body.
Calyrex watched, eyes full of curiosity and the desire to understand.
This little one called Victini was even more incredible than it had thought.
Not only could it charge Calyrex… even with Cosmog—whose inner power's origin Calyrex couldn't discern—Victini could pour energy in.
Just as Lucas had said: Victini's energy was universal.
Midway through the transfer, Cosmog stirred.
Its eyelids fluttered, then it opened confused eyes.
Once again, the first thing it saw was Calyrex.
Cosmog blinked, not bothering to think about why Calyrex was there again. With a delighted cry, it floated out of Lucas's arms and bumped straight into Calyrex's embrace.
"Mogo~!"
Calyrex's expression turned complicated. It sighed inwardly but, unlike before, it didn't push Cosmog away. It hugged it.
Seeing Cosmog snuggling into Calyrex's arms, Lucas's smile deepened.
For some reason, looking at a big head and a small head together.
With Calyrex present, Cosmog's emotions steadied and grew more excited.
After the two had their tender moment, Lucas said, "Calyrex, may I witness the power of bounty?"
Calyrex heard the tease in his tone. Perhaps because it had faced its own heart, it was in a good mood.
Floating closer to the field by the Old Cemetery, Calyrex nodded slightly. "Very well. Let Us show thee how Our grace shall return to this land!"
With that, Calyrex drew on all the energy it had left after Victini's charge and repeated Teleports and telepathy.
A lively green light blossomed from it, brimming with vitality. Its mere presence seemed to purify the faint decay lingering over the cemetery.
Then, under Calyrex's control, the green light became countless firefly-like motes, forming a radiant river that poured into the field, rippling outward like waves on a lake.
The black carrots seemed to drink a potent tonic, and before the stunned eyes of Peony and the rest, they grew at a visible pace.
In a short while, the field was full of curved black carrots.
"Momo~~~"
Cosmog cheered excitedly, circling around Calyrex. Even if it didn't understand the meaning, it was thrilled by the display of power.
Penny's pupils shrank. She whispered, "So this is the power of Calyrex…"
Peony thought further, worry flashing in his eyes.
His hateful older brother's anxiety about Galar's future—energy depletion, the exhaustion of natural resources…
If Calyrex in its prime could do as legend said—bring green to even barren land—
What a noble being Galar had lost…
But understanding the truth now, he couldn't bring himself to shamelessly ask Calyrex to remain in Galar.
After finishing, the glow around Calyrex flickered like a failing bulb and quickly faded to a firefly's faintness.
Calyrex was back to barely levitating by psychic power, unable even to speak aloud.
Calyrex looked at Lucas. Before it finished the call, Lucas, guessing its worry, said to Victini, "I'll have to trouble you to boost your output this time—help Calyrex recover to where it can fight freely."
"Vtini~!"
Victini nodded, came to Calyrex, and clasped its outstretched hand. Infinite energy began flowing.
As it received sustained energy, Calyrex quickly regained its telepathy and urgently spoke:
"We sense it—Our steed's presence is approaching rapidly!"
"Perhaps thy companions' carrots had already sprouted, and Our steed detected it and headed this way!"
"And now this field is half full of black carrots—irresistible to Our steed that hath not tasted them in hundreds of years!"
But Victini was restoring energy lost to weakness; it couldn't fully recharge Calyrex in mere seconds.
By Calyrex's estimate, Spectrier would arrive in under a minute.
With Victini's continuous charge, Calyrex needed at least three minutes to reach the level needed to subdue Spectrier.
That meant a dangerous window.
Lucas knew what Calyrex feared. He knelt, deftly pulled a black carrot from the ground, then looked at Peony in the distance, signaling him to protect the kids. He said,
"Don't worry. I'll hold Spectrier off during this gap. You just focus on recovery—then make a dashing entrance and make Spectrier bow to you again."
As if echoing Lucas's confidence, Luxray stepped forward. Its golden eyes shone brighter. Through countless trees, it clearly saw the black stallion galloping through the air on soul-like mists—heading straight toward them.
Before long, even Peony and the others heard the loud drumming of hooves.
Then a Pokémon appeared in everyone's sight—its body jet black, with a blue mane and pale blue tail, galloping through the air!
Perhaps the carrots' lure was too strong. Even in broad daylight, Spectrier—a Ghost type that prefers quiet—swaggered in.
With a ringing neigh, Spectrier closed in, eyes glued to the black carrot in Lucas's hand, and charged straight at him!
Seeing its long-lost steed, Calyrex grew a little excited. "Oh! Spectrier, Our steed—it has been long since We saw thy night-black, noble figure!"
But Spectrier acted as if it had forgotten Calyrex, not sparing it a glance, sprinting right at Lucas!
Calyrex felt awkward. It used telekinesis to bring Cosmog closer so it wouldn't be caught in the fight.
Just as Spectrier neared Lucas, Luxray flashed in front of it like lightning, lowering its body and letting out a threatening growl.
"Neigh—!"
Spectrier neighed in surprise and skidded to a halt, warily eyeing Luxray.
Its instincts told it: Luxray was a serious threat!
But the field full of black carrots was equally impossible to ignore. Spectrier stared longingly at them and decided to take a gamble!
With another ringing black neigh, Spectrier raised its powerful forelegs. Dense Ghost-type energy gathered in its mouth, forming a dark sphere that shot toward Luxray!
Despite its robust frame, Spectrier actually favored special attacks.
"Thunderbolt!"
Lucas upheld the sacred opening rite of Electric trainers—lead with Thunderbolt.
Luxray lit up with blinding electricity, which clashed violently with Shadow Ball.
In the blast's roar, Luxray moved without pause, electricity wreathing its body as it slammed toward Spectrier!
Wild Charge!
But Spectrier's response was swift. Using its sharp senses beyond sight, it tracked Luxray's movement—
It sank into unfathomable shadow. With Shadow Sneak, it dodged and reappeared behind Luxray, forehooves raised to strike!
Knowing Spectrier well, Calyrex quickly warned, "Beware! If struck by Our steed's hooves, thy consciousness may be separated from thy body temporarily!"
However, Luxray and Lucas's response exceeded Calyrex's expectations.
"Snarl!"
"Rooaaar!"
A thunderous roar burst from Luxray. Near-tangible black energy and sound waves mixed and rippled outward from Luxray, flipping Spectrier head over heels!
"Neigh—!"
The world spun. Spectrier stared blankly at the sky, neighing in disbelief.
It had only been a few centuries since it last came here—since when were those farmers it remembered as hopelessly weak this strong?!
Lucas seized the chance to emphasize to his students, "Remember—Dark-type moves are super effective on Ghost types!"
"And if that Ghost type is a special attacker—don't hesitate. Just roar at it!"
...
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