Can we talk this out?
Seeing Calyrex instantly wimp out, this phrase subconsciously slipped into Aiden's mind. But looking at the opposing party's posture, it was clearly here to hold it accountable!
"My King, get a hold of yourself!"
Aiden patted the bud crown on its head, subconsciously reaching his hand into his pocket, ready to launch an attack the moment Glastrier got close.
However—
"No, do not attack it!"
In his haste, Calyrex didn't even bother with telepathy, immediately reaching out to stop Aiden's movement and blocking him with its two short little arms.
"Glastrier's temper is extremely volatile, and it holds grudges. If we win through battle, it will absolutely never submit wholeheartedly!"
As the King who once rode Glastrier, Calyrex knew its old friend's disposition inside and out.
"Its target has always been only me, so you two stand back for now. Leave everything to me!"
After speaking, Calyrex took the lead, taking a step forward before Aiden and Cynthia could act.
"Glastrier, my old friend!"
"I know you're here for me, so let's sit down and have a good chat!"
Calyrex shouted forward, simultaneously spreading its two short arms out to the sides, seemingly intending to shield its subjects behind it to the best of its ability.
Looking at its back, Aiden silently nodded. Even if it instinctively feared the powerful foe it once fought, when it was truly time to step up, Calyrex never lacked the courage to move forward.
Now that was what a "Wise King" should look like.
Beside him, Cynthia glanced behind them, noticing that the wild Pokémon drawn by Calyrex and the Iceroot Carrots hadn't left either. And the storm whipped up by Glastrier's full-speed charge was already right upon them.
Once it breached Calyrex's incredibly fragile defensive line, these little ones might suffer an undeserved catastrophe.
Therefore, Cynthia acted first. She silently took a Poké Ball from her pocket, and then said softly, "Go, Togekiss."
"Use Heat Wave to disperse the blizzard, but don't harm the opponent."
"Kiss?"
The wing-flapping Togekiss blinked subconsciously upon hearing the command, but quickly reacted. Thus, its small, airplane-like wings began to flap rapidly, quickly stirring up a current of fiery air that brought intense heat.
Under Togekiss's deliberate guidance, the Heat Wave crashed straight into the top of the incoming blizzard, quickly bringing the storm to a noticeable halt.
Once the biting cold airflow was completely neutralized and vanished, a snow-white steed appeared before their eyes, staring fixedly at Calyrex with a calm gaze.
On its head grew a sharp horn frozen from an icicle, and its face, tail, and hooves were protected by ice armor. Just the gas it exhaled with every breath immediately froze the moisture in the air upon contact, turning into ice crystals that fell to the ground.
Evidently, this was one of Calyrex's beloved steeds, Glastrier, born from the ice and snow!
Whinny—!
Glastrier, gleaming from the reflected sunlight, suddenly stomped its front hooves, letting out a pale, chilling neigh that clearly carried anger. You could tell it was furious just by hearing it.
Since things had come to this, Calyrex could only bite the bullet and try its best to placate its old friend.
"O My old friend, 'tis truly a joy to see thee again!"
Calyrex shouted loudly as it trotted toward Glastrier.
However, Glastrier wasn't buying it.
Snort
With just a light exhale, the cold wind it blew sent Calyrex tumbling head over heels in place. It looked a bit pathetic.
And after seeing how useless it was now, Glastrier's expression clearly showed a bit more disdain.
Aiden couldn't help but shake his head. Relying solely on Calyrex's clumsy rhetoric to make Glastrier, which had returned to the wild for nearly three thousand years, submit again was more impossible than it immediately becoming the Chairman of the Galar League.
But if Calyrex was telling the truth, then defeating Glastrier by force to make it temporarily submit was absolutely the worst possible strategy.
Was there really no other choice?
"My King, remember how you made it submit back then?"
Aiden's voice came from behind. Calyrex, who had struggled to its feet from the ground, subconsciously looked down at the brand-new white reins in its hands.
In the end, it actually had to use this clumsy method again? Its dignity as a King would probably be trampled into nothing today in front of its most loyal subjects.
Calyrex gave a self-deprecating smile, but its eyes became increasingly resolute. Mere pride was completely worthless compared to being able to lead its people to a happier future once again!
So— "Come, Glastrier!"
"Let us reenact the farce from three thousand years ago!"
Braving the bone-chilling wind spewed from Glastrier's breath, Calyrex left a solid footprint in the snow with every step, rooted itself to the ground, and slowly walked toward Glastrier.
Whinny—!
But Glastrier didn't seem to have any intention of letting it get close, quickly blowing another blast of cold air forward.
This time, having predicted its movement in advance, Calyrex simply dove forward, using all four limbs and its body to firmly anchor itself to the ground. Taking advantage of the moment Glastrier inhaled, it quickly scrambled up and trudged forward several difficult steps.
This process repeated several times. The cold air caused many ice crystals to form on Calyrex's face and crown, and its body began to shiver uncontrollably; it was clearly freezing badly.
But at this moment, this King displayed an astonishing willpower—a green glow bloomed from within the bud on its head, seemingly continuously providing its body with life energy.
Watching this, Aiden felt a growing sense of admiration for Calyrex. Perhaps in terms of raw power, it was still far from that legendary King who had swept away all opposition. But this indomitable will was exactly the reason Calyrex had ultimately become a King.
The fact that someone was still willing to stay behind in a homeland that had long become a snowfield after three thousand years, just to wait for the return of that Sage King... had long proven how deeply it had captured the hearts of the people.
The two sides remained locked in this stalemate for quite a while. Until Calyrex, enduring the pressure, closed the distance to less than ten meters from Glastrier—
Glastrier clearly decided it had had enough.
Neigh—!
After letting out another furious neigh, Glastrier scraped its front hooves twice and immediately initiated a charge. Its target was the completely defenseless Calyrex!
"Togekiss—"
Cynthia instinctively wanted to help, but was stopped by Aiden raising his hand.
"Relax, Calyrex is sharper than it looks. Everything is going according to plan."
Aiden smiled at Cynthia, signaling her to rest easy for now.
And indeed, it was exactly as he said—
When Glastrier finally couldn't hold back and charged toward it, Calyrex was undoubtedly thrilled. It had been waiting for this moment for a long time!
"Thou art still as impulsive as thou wert three thousand years ago, Glastrier!"
Calyrex gripped the reins tightly in its hand, waiting for the right moment as its eyes intensely locked onto Glastrier. Strands of pale blue light flashed from its eyes, and its body, propelled by the Psychic power that erupted in an instant, flew toward Glastrier with even more astonishing momentum.
Although Calyrex was small in stature, its movements were exceptionally agile. The moment it made contact with Glastrier, it immediately clung tightly to its neck and struggled to inch its way backward. Until it firmly planted its butt on Glastrier's back.
"Did it succeed?"
Aiden narrowed his eyes, his gaze closely following Glastrier, which was now stomping out a dance of despair.
For an animal like a horse, its back was indeed a fatal blind spot. Whether its hooves, tail, or teeth, none of them could reach Calyrex's body in the slightest; it could only try to use momentum to violently throw it off.
But at a time like this, Calyrex's advantage of being small in stature with a low center of gravity was fully utilized. No matter how Glastrier tossed its head, its entire body rejecting Calyrex's presence, Calyrex remained firmly rooted, even taking advantage of Glastrier's roar to slip the reins completely over it.
"O My old friend, lend thy strength to Me once more!"
Neigh—!!!
With the tables turned, it was now Glastrier's turn to be helplessly enraged. Even without understanding its language, Aiden could sense just how foully it was cursing.
Next, it would probably be a matter of who could outlast the other— According to Calyrex, it had spent a whole month wearing Glastrier down back then before this stubborn horse finally accepted reality.
Were they really going to be entangled and galloping across the Crown Tundra for another month? Wouldn't that be a bit too long? By then, the Masters Tournament would probably already be over—
For Calyrex, of course, it didn't matter. As a deity holding the authority over bountiful harvests, its lifespan was infinite to begin with. Moreover, its abundant vitality granted it an endurance unimaginable to humans. It could totally handle it.
But his own time was running short! Aiden scratched his head, just about to ask Calyrex about it.
But right at this moment— Neigh—!
Glastrier, wanting to throw Calyrex off with all its might, suddenly changed direction and sprinted at full speed toward where it came from.
"Glastrier, where art thou taking Me?!"
By the time Calyrex realized something was wrong, Glastrier had already run a distance at full speed and was almost disappearing into the icy, snowy landscape.
"This—"
Cynthia blinked, subconsciously looking at Aiden. Her lively eyes seemed to say: Is this part of your plan too?
Aiden fell silent for a moment, ultimately only able to say with a straight face: "Let's hurry and follow!"
Crown Shrine.
The northernmost region of the entire Crown Tundra. Because the path to the shrine was covered in snow year-round, no one had visited here for many years.
However, today it was livelier than it had been in a long time—
Neigh—
"Glastrier, can thou not slow down a bit—"
"If I throw up on thee later, do not blame Me!!!"
In the blizzard, a miserable scream came first, followed by Calyrex riding Glastrier through the snowfield, leaping into the long snow-covered shrine.
"This is…"
After Glastrier stopped, Calyrex finally had the energy to observe its surroundings. But upon realizing that the palace before it was intimately familiar, Calyrex was stunned.
This was the Crown Shrine. A place of immense importance to it. It had been crowned King here, and it had once sat upon the throne inside, personally witnessing its kingdom step-by-step march toward prosperity.
The name of this kingdom was Galar.
Calyrex fell into reminiscence for a moment, until Glastrier, which had quieted down beneath it, let out a snort, snapping it out of its daze.
"I see now—"
"Didst thou bring Me back here on purpose, Glastrier?"
It was so. After all, they were best friends who had fought off many formidable enemies together over hundreds of years, forging a deep bond. How could a mere three thousand years of separation create a rift between them?
Looking at Glastrier again, Calyrex's gaze clearly softened a lot. It subconsciously released its grip on the reins, wanting to stroke the smooth mane on the back of Glastrier's neck. Glastrier had always enjoyed this kind of intimate gesture.
However—
Whinny!!!
Another imposing neigh echoed out. Calyrex jumped in fright, immediately stopping its intended comforting gesture and tightly gripping the reins again.
Only this time, the one making the sound was not the Glastrier beneath it.
Under Calyrex's dumbfounded gaze, another pitch-black figure slowly appeared from within the shrine. Spectrier's signature deep purple mane and erect ears immediately made Calyrex feel a sense of dread.
Oh no! When it released them back then, it should have released them to their respective territories— How come, after so many years, they had actually stayed in the long-forgotten Crown Shrine this whole time—
Did they treat this place as their shared home, silently waiting for its return all along?
Spectrier's vision had severely degenerated, so it usually wouldn't open its eyes. Even Calyrex had only seen it open its eyes a few times during their hundreds of years together.
But this time, as Calyrex looked up, it locked eyes with Spectrier. The other's gaze was just like its personality, which preferred solitude and silence—eternally placid and unruffled.
There was not the slightest hint of anger in its eyes, yet this made Calyrex feel even more guilty, and it subconsciously lowered its head.
Neigh—
With Glastrier just casually shifting its body, Calyrex voluntarily jumped off its back. At this point, how could it not know?
Even after three thousand years, the bond between their souls had yet to be worn away. Although they didn't seem to blame it, it truly needed to give an explanation to these two best friends.
Calyrex took a deep breath, preparing to face head-on the resentment Glastrier and Spectrier had accumulated over three thousand years. It vaguely remembered that it had made that choice for a reason back then.
But— If taking a severe beating from them would let Spectrier and Glastrier vent their anger, it was willing to endure it!
Calyrex closed its eyes, quietly waiting for the storm to arrive.
Aiden, who arrived late with Cynthia, had just climbed the steps when he immediately witnessed the chaotic showdown between Calyrex and its two beloved steeds.
At a time like this, it was probably best not to intervene anymore—
Better to just sit back and be a spectator!
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