The next day.
When the sun rose, Aiden and Cynthia had already changed into scholarly attire and boarded the train heading to the Crown Tundra.
Galar consisted of three main landmasses, connected to each other by quite historic-flavored train tracks, making travel between the two places very convenient.
"I really didn't expect there to be such a large snowfield in northern Galar."
Cynthia's lively eyes looked out the window. What caught the eye was a vast stretch of rolling snow-capped mountains; even with the windows tightly shut, one could still feel the obvious chill from outside.
"It's said that this is actually the birthplace of Galar's civilization. It's just that later, for some reason, the originally fertile land was gradually covered by snow, so people slowly left here to find other lands more suitable for survival."
"That king brought down divine punishment, causing people to gradually forget its name. It's probably a story like that, right?" Aiden glanced out the window, casually recounting the history from his memory.
Cynthia didn't reply, only glancing at him with a strange look.
As if saying: 'How do you even know the legends of the Crown Tundra?'
"Galar's Professor Magnolia spent many years systematically recording Galar's past legends, and this content was also included in her thesis." Aiden shrugged.
Before coming, he had definitely done his homework.
Although he could only be considered a half-baked amateur in the field of mythology, the unique advantage brought by his memories gave him unparalleled confidence.
No one knows Pokémon legends better than me!
"That king abandoned by humans might be slumbering in some corner of the Crown Tundra right now?"
Aiden seemed to be smiling and teasing, but in reality, he casually spoke the truth.
Cynthia also agreed with this.
"Indeed, it's possible."
"One of our purposes in coming to the Crown Tundra was originally to learn more about the truths of history that have been deliberately concealed."
"If we could discover proof of that king's existence, then that would be for the best."
"It's so cold—"
After the train arrived at the station, Aiden, who had put on a thick padded coat, was the first to walk out of the station, immediately shivering as the cold wind poured down his neck.
He had to admit, he was indeed very lucky to have transmigrated to Paldea at first. Paldea's climate was very stable, neither too cold nor too hot most of the time, making it very suitable for retirement in the future. Having stayed in Cabo Poco for so long, coming to the "extreme environment" of the Crown Tundra, he was really a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Cold? It's not too bad?"
Compared to him, Cynthia was practically superhuman. Hailing from Sinnoh, she seemed to have long been accustomed to the cold. Even in sub-zero environments like the Crown Tundra, she only wore an extra thin jacket.
She even took the initiative to take off the fluffy scarf she was wrapped in, signaling Aiden to lower his head.
"I'll lend you my scarf for now~"
Originally, Aiden wanted to refuse. After all, he felt that accepting this scarf would make him look a bit useless!
It wasn't until another gust of cold wind poured into his clothes through the gap in his collar that Aiden obediently reached out and took it.
Not letting Cynthia tie the scarf for him was his last bit of stubbornness!
And when a scarf as warm as a little sun appeared around his neck, his expression became even more complicated.
Why did he feel like their roles had been reversed?
Whatever, it doesn't matter! They were family, so he shouldn't speak so distantly. This was all proof of love!
Others (definitely not Caitlin) couldn't even be envious if they tried!
Advancing from the Slippery Slope outside the station all the way toward the village, the two soon arrived at a small village that didn't seem to have much popularity.
The sign at the village entrance bore the local name—
Freezington.
Ever since the land of bounty turned into a snowfield, as time passed, fewer and fewer people were willing to stay in the old land. By now, only this single, not-so-large human settlement remained.
Without external push, perhaps in a few hundred years, the Crown Tundra would completely become an uninhabited no man's land—
After walking into the village and seeing only a few dozen small houses remaining around them, Aiden couldn't help but shake his head.
"Guests, you've finally arrived!"
Soon, an old man came over to welcome them.
"Mr. Leon and Professor Magnolia have already informed me of your identities."
"I am the village chief of this generation in Freezington. On behalf of the whole village, I welcome your arrival!"
"If you two want to learn more about the story of that Legendary King, please feel free to look around the village."
Aiden nodded.
"Understood."
If he remembered correctly, Freezington did retain some books about the Crown Tundra. Even the village chief's family passed down the secret recipe for making "Reins of Unity" from generation to generation, a key item to help Calyrex tame its steed.
But the focus right now wasn't these.
After looking around, Aiden soon locked onto a general direction based on his long-blurred memories.
"Since it's the King of Bountiful Harvests—"
"Then it should have deep ties to the farmland."
"Let's go take a look over there first."
After Aiden finished speaking, he walked toward a piece of farmland outside the village.
Cynthia stayed where she was and observed for a moment longer, her expression seemingly a bit surprised.
Perhaps because it had just snowed heavily a few days ago, the farmland Aiden was pointing at was covered by a thick layer of snow. Even if they were going to look for clues, it would be better to wait for the snow to melt before exploring, right?
Cynthia felt confused, but she didn't say anything and quickly followed.
Aiden's intuition was sometimes terrifyingly accurate; perhaps he had discovered something special this time too?
Just like when they explored the Spear Pillar ruins—
To be honest, she had always felt that Aiden's true talent lay in mythology-related fields, and battling might just be him not doing his proper job.
In less than half a year, the Legendary Pokémon he had encountered alone were too many to count on both hands. Even if he won the Masters Tournament and became the strongest Trainer of the current era, his contributions to the field of battling would be relatively limited.
Perhaps it wouldn't even be as practically valuable as clearing the mysterious Area Zero in the Paldea region and discovering a brand-new "Stellar Terastallization" phenomenon.
This was probably the reason why Professor Oak retired at his peak back then, shifting his focus to developing the foundational disciplines of Pokémon studies.
However, what to choose specifically would still depend on Aiden's own decision. No one had the right to interfere with his choices; all she needed to do was trust him unconditionally.
When Cynthia caught up, Aiden had already walked into the farmland area and spotted an ancient wooden statue standing near the adjacent forest at a glance.
The time the statue was built was clearly very recent; it was even much newer than the wooden fences the surrounding villagers had put up, without any signs of weathering or damage.
However—the guy who hand-carved this thing was an abstract artist.
A short little person with what looked like a cabbage on its head was riding a horse, its wise eyes staring straight at Aiden. You couldn't tell how much of a "human" element it had; even the horse it was sitting on only barely had a shape.
If he hadn't known the intel about the Crown Tundra DLC beforehand, he probably wouldn't have been able to recognize who the figure in the wooden statue was at all.
Hmm—perhaps this is what they call a "soul painter".
"Is this—that Legendary King?"
Cynthia also stared at it for quite a while, her tone clearly reluctant to believe it.
Although books did indeed record that the king's features were a green crown symbolizing wisdom on its head, and the two spectral steeds loyal only to it beneath it, and the wooden statue's image perfectly matched this point—but it was still way too sloppy, wasn't it!
"I don't really want to believe it either, but it seems that's just how it is." Aiden scratched his head.
After all, there were no other "species" it could be connected to. After eliminating all the impossible options, what remained could only be the answer.
"It is Galar's symbol, the Legendary King of Bountiful Harvests."
"Calyrex!"
Just as Aiden was about to step forward and carefully appreciate the "soul art" of an unknown person, he suddenly noticed a figure flash by in his peripheral vision, and subconsciously looked toward the woods.
The figure didn't mean to hide; upon noticing the two humans looking its way, it instead took the initiative to stop, exposing itself in Aiden and Cynthia's line of sight.
"This is—"
From Cynthia's perspective, the frozen green figure in the distance gradually overlapped with the image of the little person on the wooden statue.
A massive dark green bud shaped like a crown was fixed by antlers, and the petite figure below looked a bit like a rabbit. Those shallow blue eyes were full of confusion, yet faintly revealed a bit of majesty. The pair of three-colored wings on its back looked like decorations with no practical use, making its body appear extremely disproportionate.
It looked top-heavy, as if it might trip over itself just walking.
Not only Cynthia, but even Aiden was a bit dumbfounded.
Wait, what? Calyrex actually showed up?
Forcibly suppressing the urge to roast it, Aiden began to observe this forgotten king.
Perhaps because the greatest crisis, Eternatus, came from space? Most of Galar's Legendary Pokémon were related to celestial phenomena. And Calyrex, representing Lepus below the Orion constellation, was the most special among them.
Sensing Aiden's unusual gaze, Calyrex quickly shot a glance over.
But unlike the majestic and domineering stares of other Legendary Pokémon, Aiden could only read confusion and helplessness from its eyes.
It should still be in an amnesiac state right now?
Recalling Calyrex's various behaviors in the DLC plot, Aiden could roughly understand why it had ended up like this.
Unlike other Legendary Pokémon, Calyrex's power didn't originate from itself, but mainly from faith.
When humans and Pokémon sincerely revered it as their king, Calyrex would possess an inexhaustible and endless supply of mighty power.
Conversely, if it had been forgotten, to the point where people couldn't even call out its name—its power would also weaken to almost nothing, and its physical fitness was probably inferior to even an ordinary human's.
Even using psychic power to speak to people became exceptionally difficult.
In the DLC plot, there was at least Peony, a simple-minded, easily controlled brute, that it could temporarily "possess" and control, thereby communicating with the protagonist.
But right now—
Aiden looked around; aside from himself, there was only Cynthia, who was equally curious about Calyrex.
So, he unhesitatingly took out a Poké Ball.
"I choose you, Dorae-Mewtwo!"
It didn't matter if Calyrex couldn't speak; he had Mewtwo on his side, who could directly establish telepathy.
After a flash of red light, Mewtwo made its shining entrance. The moment it appeared, it immediately cast its gaze toward the confused Calyrex.
It could faintly feel—this Pokémon that looked a bit dumbfounded actually possessed a king's pressure?
It was bizarre, but it was the truth. Therefore, Mewtwo instinctively maintained a bit of vigilance against it.
"It's fine, Mewtwo."
"Use your telepathy so I can chat with this guy."
Aiden patted Mewtwo's shoulder, letting it relax a little, and then nodded at Cynthia.
Cynthia immediately understood.
Next, it was up to Aiden to see how he would establish initial trust with this lost king.
A glint of blue light flashed in Mewtwo's eyes, and in the next second, an ancient, weathered voice immediately appeared in Aiden's mind.
[Thou—who art you?]
Calyrex didn't feel strange about the sudden telepathy. The moment the mental link was established, it looked at Aiden and took the initiative to ask.
"Me?"
Aiden thought for a moment and replied seriously.
"I am the Messenger of Arceus, here to save you."
[Arceus—who is that?]
Calyrex blinked, seemingly curious about this name, but didn't dwell on it. Because it had lost too many memories. Compared to these irrelevant names, information related to itself was more important.
[Then, O Messenger of Arceus—]
[Do you know who I am?]
Calyrex's voice was full of confusion, clearly showing that it had almost forgotten even its own existence.
Aiden frowned, looking at it with a bit of sympathy.
So, after pondering for a moment, he said: "You are Calyrex, the King of Bountiful Harvests who once ruled the Galar region."
"But because the time since your era is too distant, so distant that people have forgotten your existence."
"Therefore—the power you built upon faith also collapsed, turning you into this muddled state you are in now."
For this respectable king, Aiden didn't intend to lie, directly telling the truth he knew.
[Calyrex—]
Perhaps because this name was indeed very familiar, Calyrex's eyes revealed a bit of nostalgia, and its previously confused gaze became clear.
[I seem to have recalled some fragmented memories.]
Calyrex's voice paused for a moment, then it suddenly bowed to Aiden.
[Thank you very much, Messenger of Arceus.]
[Thank you for bringing the Creator's gift—]
[The last loyal believer in this world.]
Aiden blinked.
'Believer? It couldn't be talking about me, right?'
But it seemed there was no other possibility; after all, he might really be the only one left in this world who knew of it—
A former king ending up in such a state was truly lamentable!
Aiden shook his head.
If another few hundred years passed, after the Crown Tundra completely became an uninhabited area, perhaps even Calyrex's very existence would completely disappear due to the dissipation of faith, right?
Aiden didn't want a Legendary existence friendly to humans to end up in such a state.
So, he spoke.
"Since you have recalled your past memories, then—"
"Do you need me to help you rebuild your faith?"
"Although the people of this era have forgotten your name, your deeds are still passed down by word of mouth."
"People honor you as the Wise King, and have even fused your past deeds with Galar's ancient royal family, turning them into the legend of a hero."
"So—"
"To retrieve your lost memories, perhaps all that's needed is an opportunity."
"An opportunity significant enough to make people realize once more that you have never left."
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