Chapter 5: The Sacred Bonds of Sovereign and Steed
Spectrier had arrived at Freezington. The ghostly Pokémon's presence caused everyone in the village to stop what they were doing and stare in amazement at this strange, unknown Pokémon that had come from nowhere. They'd never seen anything like it before. At first, Spectrier stood still, silently regarding the people with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. It hadn't seen humans in a long time, especially these humans. The villagers didn't dare to move, worried that if they so much as moved a muscle, they might provoke the strange Pokémon and cause it to attack. The Mayor was still in his house but he was watching through the window. Luckily, Spectrier hadn't noticed him but he made sure to only peek around the side of the window so he could see it without exposing too much of himself. His eyes widened with astonishment behind his large spectacles.
"It can't be…can it?" he whispered to himself, "Could that be the King of Bountiful Harvest's faithful steed…?"
Sonia was equally as stunned. She'd been going over some notes she'd made of the Tundra and Hop's notes that he'd made yesterday in her the inn she was staying in and had been interrupted the sound of Spectrier. She was looking out the window and her eyes were fixed on the strange Pokémon with fascination.
"Blimey…I've never seen anything like it before!" she gasped, "This has to be some new Pokémon! I wonder if I'll be able to study it…"
Spectrier turned its head from side-to-side, sniffing the air hungrily. It could still smell the Shaderoot Carrot but was having trouble pin-pointing where the smell was coming from. It then noticed the man selling carrots that Gloria had gone to earlier. It could smell the carrot seeds he would sell to the villagers and wondered if that's what it was looking for. With a haunting neigh, Spectrier galloped towards the terrified carrot seller. The sight of this huge black and purple ghost/horse thing was so scary that the man dropped his products in horror and ran for it. Spectrier stopped and sniffed at the dropped bags of carrot seeds on the snow. To its disappointment, it wasn't what it was looking for. These would be no good to it as they were only carrot seeds. It began slowly plodding around the village in search of the Shaderoot Carrot. It knew it could smell it, but where was it? It would occasionally sniff at the villagers and snort at them as it searched around. Maybe one of these humans was hiding the carrot. If so, it would attack and take it from them! The villagers whimpered, too terrified to even try and run away from Spectrier. They could imagine it rearing up and squashing them flat into the ground with its hooves if they made any sudden movements. However, one person was willing to stand up to it.
"Oy! Leave those villagers alone you ultra-mega bully!"
It was Peony. He had seen Spectrier through the window of Freeze Inn and could see it posed a threat to the village so he ran out to challenge it to a battle. As a former Champion of the region, he knew he had the power to tangle with strong Pokémon. He even managed to put up a good battle against Legendary Pokémon and he had a feeling this was a Legendary Pokémon he was up against. Spectrier turned and snorted indignantly at Peony's insolence. Who did this pathetic human think he was, believing he could challenge it like so? It pawed the snow with its hoof. Peony just smiled coolly and whipped out a Pokéball.
"Alright tall, dark and spooky, you're asking for it! Aggron, let's wreck everything!" he hollered, throwing his Pokéball.
The villagers smiled gratefully at Peony's bravery. At least one of them was willing to stand up for them and chase away this scary Pokémon! Peony's Aggron materialized into view and roared viciously. It was a Rock/Steel type Pokémon resembling a bipedal dinosaur coated in metal and sprouting two long, sharp horns. Aggron was one of Peony's personal aces and had never let him down in a battle, especially during his reign as Champion. Spectrier regarded its opponent with little more than an arrogant flick of its mane and a threatening whinny. So what if this puny human had a Pokémon? It would be no match for it! Spectrier stood still for a moment and used Nasty Plot to boost its Special Attack. Peony could see it was using some kind of status move and knew now would be a good time to hit while Spectrier was doing something. He ordered Aggron to use Iron Head. The Rock/Steel Pokémon lowered its head and charged towards Spectrier, moving surprisingly fast for a Pokémon of its size and bulk. Due to being well-trained over the years, Peony's Aggron was much faster than most others of its kind. Spectrier was completely taken aback, so much so that it couldn't react in time and was knocked off its hooves by the blow. Aggron hit Spectrier like a speeding truck and sent it crashing into a nearby tree. Luckily, the tree fell over backwards and crashed down onto the snow away from any houses. Peony was tempted to order another attack but he quickly saw that carrying out the battle here was a bad idea. People could get caught up in the crossfire and get seriously hurt or killed and he'd only end up destroying the village as a result.
"We're gonna cause an ultra-mega mess if we fight here." he acknowledged, "Aggron, we gotta take the fight away from the village!"
Aggron nodded understandingly and waited for Spectrier to get back up again. Once the ectoplasmic equine got back to its feet, Peony and Aggron deliberately turned on their heels and ran, baiting for Spectrier to follow them. They planned to carry the battle out in Giant's Bed. They wouldn't harm any villagers there at least. But unfortunately, Spectrier was way too fast for them. It galloped after them and caught up to them so fast that they'd only just managed to pass through the gate to Freezington. Upon catching them, it slammed its front hooves hard into Aggron's back and knocked it down onto its stomach. Peony yelled as his partner Pokémon nearly fell on top of him and just managed to avoid it by centimetres. Once Aggron was down, Spectrier jumped off its back and landed in front of Aggron. It neighed furiously and opened its mouth, forming a Shadow Ball attack that it prepared to launch at its opponent. Aggron picked itself up and just as Spectrier was about to fire Shadow Ball, Peony ordered his Pokémon to flick snow into its face. Aggron swiped at the snow with its tail, sending huge clumps of snow flying into Spectrier's face. Some of the snow even landed in its mouth, forcing it to stop what it was dying to spit the snow out instead of attacking. It shook the snow off only for Peony to order Aggron to bombard Spectrier with Stone Edge. The metallic Pokémon raised its arms and conjured up huge sharp rocks that it then sent hurling towards Spectrier. The ghostly horse whinnied in pain as the stones sliced into it and crashed heavily into it. Spectrier staggered to the side but managed to remain standing.
Enraged, it opened its mouth up for another Shadow Ball. Peony ordered Aggron to use Stone Edge again to intercept but Spectrier was ready this time. It dodged out of Aggron's way so the attack missed and it fired the Shadow Ball. Thanks to the power boost from its earlier Nasty Plot boost, its Shadow Ball was super-powerful and more than enough to knock Aggron out in a single hit. Or at least it would've if Aggron didn't have the Sturdy ability. Spectrier couldn't have guessed that Peony's Aggron had an ability that prevented one-hit Kos and was surprised to see Aggron get back up again. Peony regarded his situation grimly, knowing that Aggron's ability had only slowed down its defeat.
"I had a sneaky suspicion it was using Nasty Plot to boost its attack…" he muttered, "Never mind, I'll just have to get more serious if I'm gonna send this big bad Pokémon packing! Aggron's still got some fight left in him to wrap this up so let's get going!"
But just as he was about to command another attack, a voice called out and caught Spectrier's attention. Peony looked to see that the Expedition Team had finally made it back. That was fortunate! He had back-up to deal with the dangerous Pokémon! Ruby was at the front of the group with the Shaderoot Carrot in hand. Spectrier saw it and licked its lips hungrily. So this puny human girl had it the whole time!
"Leave the villagers alone! I've got what you want!" Ruby commanded, "And you can have it, but only if you don't try attacking us. If you approach us calmly and peacefully, it's all yours. Understand me?"
But Spectrier was in no mood for listening. It just wanted the carrot. It stampeded towards Ruby with the intention of trampling all over her and snatching the carrot from her flattened remains. But as it came up to Ruby, Calyrex jumped in and held up his paws.
"Spectrier! I command you to halt immediately!" he boomed.
The spectral horse screeched to a halt and stared at Calyrex in amazement. Of course, it recognized its old master. No matter how long it had been, it remembered Calyrex as if it had been giving him rides only yesterday. Ruby held up a hand to tell the others to stand back and see how this unfolded. Maybe Calyrex was going to tame Spectrier and keep it under control. Peony stared with interest at Calyrex. He didn't think he was going to see two new Pokémon at once in one day, yet here he was!"
"What a massive noggin!" he said to himself, taking note of Calyrex's large head, "I bet that's the large-headed Pokémon I had the team looking for…"
A long time seemed to pass as Spectrier stared at Calyrex and Calyrex stared back. Ruby could feel her palms sweating under her gloves. Somehow things seemed to feel tenser when nothing was actually happening. She braced herself, prepared for whatever the outcome was going to be. After what seemed like an eternity, Spectrier suddenly snorted and galloped away, completely dismissing Calyrex and refusing to have anything to do with him. Ruby watched it leave in confusion. Why wasn't it trying to take the carrot from her? Calyrex seemed to have read her mind.
"I still have enough psychic power in me to drop a telepathic suggestion that it leave us be for the time being, so I did." he explained, "Unfortunately, that was all I could do. Were I at my full power, I could've tamed my steed and regained its loyalty…" he muttered glumly.
"I guess it doesn't think you're worthy?" Emerald asked, feeling sorry for Calyrex.
"Exactly, child." Calyrex confirmed.
"Hence why we need to get you at your full power again." Ruby declared, "Who knows if Spectrier will come back for the carrot again. Untamed like so, it poses a threat to the Tundra and it can't go unchecked."
"I say chief, you lot have been busy!" Peony observed, "You seem to know a lot about what's happening around here. So what's the story behind ghost pony and bulb head here?" he inquired.
The team quickly filled him in on everything they'd learned over the past couple of hours. Peony took this all in with enthusiasm and excitement.
"Ha, ha, this Adven-tour ended up being as eventful as I expected it to be!" he cheered, "You kids have proper proven to be quality explorers! But enough about that, we got help his royal highness get his steed back before it harms anyone." he added.
Ruby was impressed to see that Peony was capable of being serious for once. He was more than just a goofball, that much was clear.
"Calyrex, what can we do now?" Ruby asked.
"We need but one special item that has allowed me to tame my steed in the past." Calyrex answered, "Back then, I would use a magical item I dubbed the Reigns of Unity. They will be all I need to tame Spectrier and bring him back under my control. Once I have those reigns, Spectrier will no longer remain wild and uncontrolled."
"How do we make such an item?" Sapphire asked.
"We require the hair of my steed and a radiant flower that I can grow." the small Pokémon explained.
"Hey, I think we got the first one already!" Ashley called out.
Everyone turned to see her bending down to pick something up. Incredibly, it was indeed a strand of purple hair that had fallen from Spectrier. The hair was smooth to the touch, unusual for hair coming from an equine Pokémon. It was a long strand that had fallen off too, about the length of Ashley's arm. Calyrex stared as if the Unovan girl had found a pot of gold.
"How fortuitous! We have the first item already!" he blurted.
"Is anything else ridiculously convenient going to happen today?" Jinx asked, talking seemingly to no one in particular.
"It probably lost the hair when it ran off." Ashley suspected.
"I did battle it a bit with my Aggron." Peony added, "Maybe the fight shook some hair loose and caused it to fall off."
"However it happened, we have the hair at least." Ruby noted, "Now we just need Calyrex to grow us that flower."
"Say, forgive me for sounding rude, but why didn't you tell us about the Reigns of Unity before this whole thing happened?" Tony asked curiously, "We could've saved ourselves and the village a close call with that Pokémon.
"I must apologize. I had gotten so carried away with growing the carrot and finding my steed again that it slipped my ever-so-powerful mind." Calyrex said sheepishly, "Even us Psychic types are capable of forgetting things at times."
"As if we humans are any different!" Hop chuckled, "So once Calyrex grows that flower, we can make the reigns, right? Question is how do we do it?"
"I can sew like a boss if that helps." Peony chimed in.
"You can do that?" Gloria asked in surprise.
"Who do you think sews my darling Nia's clothes for her?" the former Champion said with a cheeky smile and a sly wink.
"Wow, you really are more than meets the eye!" Ruby giggled, "Calyrex, can Peony help us?" she asked.
"If his craftsmanship is as potent as he describes, then yes." Calyrex confirmed.
"Then it seems we're all in order." Ruby noted, "Let's get going team!"
The Expedition Team ran back to Freezington Village to make the Reigns of Unity. Unbeknownst to all of them, Giratina had seen and heard everything. Lurking in the shadows like some monster from a horror film, it had eavesdropped on the group with no chance of them ever noticing it was there. Now it had done its master's work, Giratina shrank back down into the shadows and made its way back to Drago. Drago had been stood waiting patiently for his Pokémon to return and he smiled darkly upon seeing the ghostly dragon emerge right in front of him.
"Find out anything interesting?" he purred.
Giratina nodded. It couldn't talk to Drago so instead, it used its long tentacles to draw images in the dirt to explain everything. It drew images of Calyrex and Spectrier, the Expedition Team and wrote a few words to further explain what it had seen and heard. Drago took in everything with interest. He too had heard of the legends of the King of Bountiful Harvests and was glad to see that he did indeed exist. That gave him another potential legendary to capture.
"We'll let those children do all the work for us and restore Calyrex to his full power, and then we'll capture him." Drago declared, "Having the powers of the King of Bountiful Harvests will be useful in my plan."
He returned Giratina to its Master Ball and stood still again. He would wait for the team to come back and then he'd see what he could do from there. Calyrex would be his and they wouldn't be able to get in his way…
Meanwhile, the team had gone back to the Freeze Inn to prepare the Reigns of Unity. Gloria and Hop were the exceptions as Hop wanted to report everything he'd learned to Sonia and Gloria wanted to check up on her parents, worried they'd gotten hurt when Spectrier had come to the village. When Hop arrived at Sonia's inn, the Pokémon Professor had been quick to hug him in relief and express delight that he wasn't hurt.
"Did you see that strange Pokémon? I've never seen anything like it!" Sonia exclaimed.
"You and me both, Sonia!" Hop concurred, "But you're gonna be quite fascinated to hear what this Pokémon is and how it's not just any normal Pokémon."
He filled Sonia in on everything they'd discovered today. Sonia remained silent as Hop explained everything, not daring to interrupt him for a minute in case she caused him to lose his train of thought. Once her assistant had finished, Sonia nodded and fingered a lock of her hair in thought. Her brain was whizzing with excitement over learning about this fascinating new specimen.
"So the King of Bountiful Harvests is real after all!" she cried, "What an exciting discovery! And the Pokémon we saw was his faithful steed! I knew we were in for something incredible with this expedition but blimey, this feels like the most incredible discovery since I found out the truth behind Galar's heroes two years ago! I may need to write a new book when we're finished here!"
Hop could only smile at Sonia's enthusiasm. Never one to lose her joy of discovering new Pokémon that Sonia!
"So you and the others need to make the Reigns of Unity and that's supposed to help Calyrex gain control of Spectrier." the ginger-haired woman recapped, "Do you think it'll work?"
Hop shrugged.
"All we can do is hope it does." he said. It was the only answer he could honestly give.
"Once you're ready, do tell me how it goes, OK?" Sonia asked.
"Sure thing professor!" Hop said brightly.
As they'd been talking, Gloria had run straight into her house to check on her parents. To her delight, the house was completely untouched, which had to mean Spectrier hadn't gone anywhere near. Her parents were sitting together on the sofa when she ran in and they were relieved to see their daughter was unharmed. Gloria's mother was a tall woman with brunette hair done up nearly in a bun and she often wore baggy clothing. Her father was very muscular and had very wide shoulders. He was a woodcutter and his strength had come from the job. He would usually chop down trees and sell off the wood to be made into furniture. Some of the furniture in Gloria's house was even made of the very wood he'd sold off some time ago.
"Och, thank goodness you two are OK!" Gloria cried with relief, "I was so worried that muckle, spooky Pokémon got to you two!"
"We're perfectly fine Gloria. Your father and I were in the house the whole time." her mother explained, "That Pokémon wouldn't have noticed us."
"It was really brave of that Peony lad to fight it off and lure it away from the village." her father put in, "I dinnae think that gommy fellow had the common sense to do that."
"Well I guess we've both learnt some people aren't as daft as they seem, papa." Gloria giggled.
"So what was that Pokémon, sweetheart?" her mother asked, "Do you and your cousins know anything about it?"
Gloria recapped her adventure so far and what she and the others had learnt. Her parents were amazed to hear all that.
"Well chop mah trees down! I thought the King of Bountiful Harvests was just a fairy tale!" her father exclaimed, "I must say, well down to all of you for making such a big discovery!"
"To be fair, he discovered us really." Gloria said modestly.
"This is still a big deal, lassie." her mother insisted, "When I agreed to let you start your Pokémon journey with your cousins, I dinnae think you'd start off in such a big way! Though I am starting to worry if things might be getting a little dangerous now." she said anxiously, "Are you sure your group can tame Spectrier?"
"They're making the Reigns of Unity to help Calyrex tame it, mam." the Scottish teen explained, "All we can do now is hope it works."
"As long as you stay close to your cousins and their Pokémon, I can rest easy knowing you'll be safe mah little princess." her father said confidently, stroking Gloria's head affectionately, "Your mam and I wish you all luck out there."
"Thanks papa. I'm sure we'll manage it and reunite Calyrex with his steed at last!" Gloria said enthusiastically.
As she said this, the rest of the group had been watching intently as Calyrex concentrated and used whatever power he had left to grow a radiant flower. It wasn't going to be easy as he wasn't at his full power but he knew that if he could still grow a Shaderoot Carrot, he could grow a Radiant Flower! As he concentrated, he noticed that something felt a little different about him. He seemed to feel…stronger somehow. It was only slightly but he definitely felt a difference from before. Could it be his desire to reunite with Spectrier was giving him new strength again? Or was it the faith these kind children had in him and their desire to help him that was giving him new power? Whatever it was, the Psychic/Grass Pokémon was determined to make this work. He could do it! He WOULD do it!
Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Tony, Ashley and Peony watched as a small blue sphere of energy formed in front of them. The sphere pulsated with beautiful blue and white lights, the two colours seeming to dance around in the centre of the orb. It was mesmerizing to watch and Ruby swore she almost felt hypnotized by the pulsating orb. Then the orb started to form into the shape of a large petal. The petal was blue and larger than any normal petal that could come from a flower. It was about the size of Ruby's hand. If this was how big the petal was then the teens could only imagine how big the actual flower was. Calyrex looked as if he was trying to make it grow even further but he was straining heavily from the effort and he eventually had to stop before he hurt himself. He panted and floated down to the floor but Emerald caught him before he could lie down on it. She settled him on her lap and let him rest against her chest.
"I'm…afraid…that petal…was as much…as I could grow…" Calyrex panted, "I'm…lucky…that I could grow it…to the size I did…"
"It should be enough, mate." Ruby reassured him, "You take a good rest for now. Peony will take it from here."
"Sure will your royal kingliness!" Peony said with a salute, "Watch the needle master at work everyone!"
He took the hair from Spectrier and the Radiant Petal and got to work. He sewed away at the items with Calyrex giving the occasional instruction to make sure he did it right. Ruby watched the man work, impressed that Peony was as good at sewing as he claimed to be. She was sure that he could sew better than most tailors out there! It was delicate work and had to be done correctly so Peony made sure not to rush. In the end, it took him about an hour to finish the reigns. His handiwork was nothing short of spectacular. Even Calyrex could hardly believe that this simple looking human had provided such fantastic work. The reigns were just as they should be, long and glowing bright blue with energy from the Radiant Petal he'd grown. Even though he'd only used a petal and not the whole flower, Peony had managed to provide some lengthy reigns. They were about as long as all the teen's legs. Calyrex picked them up and pulled at them. They felt super strong and impossible to rip apart. He was sure even a Machamp using all four arms wouldn't break these reigns!
"How extraordinary! I've never seen such fine needlework!" the little Pokémon exclaimed, "This is exactly like how the people of the days of old would make these for me back in my prime!"
"I did say I can sew like a boss!" Peony chortled.
"We really can't thank you enough for helping us Peony." Ruby said graciously, "Thanks to you, we have everything we need!"
"Now we just got to wait for Spectrier to come back for the carrot so Calyrex can get those reigns on it." Sapphire declared, "But we should make sure it doesn't come back here or else the villagers could be in danger again."
"My thoughts exactly, Sapph." Ruby agreed, "Which is why me and Calyrex will go back to the Crown Shrine and leave the carrot there. It's far away from civilization and no one will get hurt."
She stuffed the Reigns of Unity into her backpack as she was talking.
"Why just you and Calyrex?" Ashley asked, "Don't ya want any of us ta come too?"
"I can be a glorious distraction of that helps!" Jinx offered, "That ghost pony rider won't suspect anything if I drop a Hippowdon on it!"
The Champion just stared at Jinx, wondering if she was even being serious. She coughed dismissively and moved on.
"It'll be easier for me to hide if it's just me." Ruby explained, "If we all come, Spectrier will notice and might not take the bait. Besides, there's still what Drago told Gloria about earlier. What if any Legendary Pokémon come out of nowhere and there's nobody to stay behind and help? Let's say Mewtwo shows up and goes on a confused rampage. We'll need some of us to stay behind in case anything like that happens. Drago can't be everywhere at once so we may need to help him in rounding up those Legendries."
The others nodded, seeing Ruby's point. It would be safer if most of them remained in the village in case of any unexpected surprises.
"I still think you should take someone else too." Emerald insisted, "You should have some back up too."
"I've got my Pokémon on me. I'll be fine." Ruby declared, "But if I had to bring anyone else, I guess I'll take Hop with me. I know he wouldn't want to stay behind worrying about me. Plus it'll give him a chance to see this thing in action and report to Sonia."
Emerald smiled. At least Ruby wouldn't be going alone now.
"You all stay safe and keep this village safe while I'm gone." the silver-haired girl said, "And don't worry, me and Hop will come back."
"I know you will, Chief!" Peony said optimistically, "You ain't Galar's current Champion for nothing after all!"
"You better come back! I've got big loving hugs for you when you get back!" Jinx cried happily, flying over to Ruby and wrapping her wings around the Champion's face in a friendly embrace.
"Ha, ha, I will Jinx. Don't worry about it." Ruby insisted, patting the Zubat on the back.
She left the Freeze Inn and headed over to the inn Hop and Sonia were staying in. She informed Hop that the Reigns of Unity were ready and that they were going together to the Crown Shrine. Hop agreed to come and he stood by as Ruby threw her Ultra Ball to bring out Doomsday the Eternatus. Two years had passed and it still felt incredible to Ruby and Hop that they'd been the ones that tamed it and prevented it from causing the end of the world back when it had threatened to cause the Darkest Day again. Ruby and Hop climbed onto Doomsday's back with Calyrex floating beside them. Just as they were about to leave, Gloria had come back out of her house to reunite with the group and she found herself staring incredulously at the enormous skeletal dragon creature her cousin was riding on.
"SWEET MERFICUL CRAP!" she gasped, "Ain't that the big scary bastard that nearly doomed the whole world?!"
"I know, he looks much scarier up close." Ruby remarked, "Don't worry about it, Doomsday's on our side now. He won't doom us all like he nearly did two years ago."
"Och, I remember cuz!" Gloria insisted, "I've seen ya fighting alongside it in yer Pokémon tournaments after all. I was just surprised ta see it for real is all. Where are you two going?"
"The reigns are ready so we going to find Spectrier." Hop explained, "The rest of you are holding the fort in case anything else happens."
"I'd be glad to." Gloria said eagerly, "Nae Pokémon's gonna threaten my village again! Good luck you two!"
Ruby gave Gloria a thumbs up and commanded Doomsday to take flight. The Dragon/Poison Pokémon took to the skies and headed towards the Crown Shrine. At least they'd get there a lot quicker now they were flying there which would save a lot of time on getting there. Gloria watched Doomsday leave, still stunned to see that the Pokémon that had nearly doomed Galar was really on Ruby's side and willing to follow her orders like so. Once her cousin had disappeared into the sky, Gloria turned and headed into the Freeze Inn to re-join the others.
As Doomsday flew over the Tundra, he passed over where Drago was stood waiting for the group to come back. He looked up, his organic eye widening in astonishment. He was so surprised he nearly dropped his cane.
"Impossible…I thought Eternatus had been sealed away after the Darkest Day was foiled!" he exclaimed, "How can this be?"
His glowing optic focused on Doomsday. One of the benefits of Drago having a half metal face was that his optic could zoom in on things like a camera, allowing him to see for miles away and spy on people or Pokémon without ever needing to get up close. His optic zoomed far enough for him to make out that Ruby and Hop were riding on Doomsday. He could see Calyrex was with them too. The old man pursed his lips with interest.
"So that silver-haired child has Eternatus…how fortuitous." he murmured, "When the time is right, I may have to relinquish her of that Pokémon. For now, I best follow them and see where they're going…"
He brought Giratina back out of its Master Ball and commanded it to fly after the teens, but to hold back so they wouldn't be spotted. The Dragon/Ghost Pokémon flew up after Doomsday, deliberately flying slowly so it would stay far behind and not be noticed. Giratina had good eyesight so no matter how far behind it was, it could still see Doomsday very clearly. It wouldn't lose sight of the poisonous dragon.
As Doomsday headed to the Crown Shrine, Ruby and Hop took a moment to enjoy the view. From up here, the Crown Tundra looked like a glorious winter wonderland with a mixture of snowy terrain and grassy terrain to give the place a lot of colour. Ruby couldn't blame Gloria for loving her home so much. As cold as the Tundra was, it really was a beautiful place to live. Calyrex was enjoying the view too. His serious eyes were wide with wonder as he took in everything he could see.
"I've never seen my kingdom from this high up before…" he whispered, "Only now do I truly see the beauty of my kingdom. Despite all the time that has passed, it hasn't lost its beauty one bit…"
"Feels good to see it in full, doesn't it mate?" Hop asked kindly.
"It's the most wonderful feeling I've had in centuries." Calyrex said with awe, "I cannot thank you kind children enough for all you've done for me. Without you, I would never be able to get such a view of my kingdom."
"We're just happy to help a Pokémon in need. No need to thank us." Ruby said modestly, "You've been kind to humans in the past, it's about time someone was kind to you too."
Calyrex smiled graciously. It was people like Ruby and her gang that reminded him why he loved the human race so much and loved treating them to bountiful harvests all those years ago. If this worked, he'd be able to give them his great gifts again.
In a matter of moments, Doomsday arrived at the Crown Shrine. The draconian Pokémon touched down gently in the shrine itself and Ruby and Hop jumped off its back. Ruby returned Doomsday to his Ultra Ball and put it back in her pocket. She and Hop looked around cautiously. The shrine was exactly as they'd left it yesterday. Nothing had changed and there was nobody else here, human or Pokémon. That was good. At least they had time to prepare for Spectrier's arrival. Ruby slipped off her backpack and took out the Reigns of Unity. She handed them to Calyrex. Calyrex held them in his small paws. He could already imagine himself using them to bring Spectrier under control again. He only hoped that he would be able to prove himself worthy of his steed's loyalty. Ruby took out the Shaderoot Carrot. It made her wonder how Spectrier could ever consider this thing appetizing. How was it possible for a carrot to look so gross just from its purple colouring? At least she wouldn't be the one eating it. Calyrex pointed.
"Place it in the basket by Spectrier's bed." he commanded.
Ruby ran over to the basket by the bundle of hay and placed the carrot in it. She imagined that back in Calyrex's heyday, he would place the carrots there for Spectrier to eat after a long day and the ectoplasmic equine would lie down comfortably on its bed scoffing it down. It would be sweet for Calyrex to be able to do that again. Now the carrot was in place, Ruby slipped her backpack back on and she and Hop ran behind some enormous tree roots that had broken up from underground. They would hide here and wait for Spectrier to come. Calyrex hid with them.
"How long do you think it'll be before Spectrier gets here?" Hop asked.
"Depends how long it takes for it to pick up the scent." Ruby said, shrugging, "Now it's lying in that basket, it should have an easier time determining where it is."
The trio stood waiting for a long time. The minutes slowly ticked by and Ruby and Hop could feel the cold starting to build up. Being stood in one place didn't help in keeping warm and they found themselves having to rub at their arms and rub their hands together to keep them from getting cold. They still had their flasks of warm drinks to help in their backpacks. They would occasionally take a sip of tea if they needed to. Calyrex just hovered above the ground, silent and still. Despite being half Grass-type, the cold didn't seem to bother him too much. If anything, he didn't even seem to notice it! Ruby wondered about that. Was Calyrex just used to it because he'd lived here for so long or did his psychic powers help keep him warm? She was about to ask but suddenly, Calyrex closed his eyes and focused for a moment. Ruby guesses he was telepathically searching for Spectrier. Her guess proved correct for he suddenly opened his eyes and turned to the kids.
"It is coming!" he announced.
"About time!" Hop sighed.
The trio peeked through a gap in the roots to watch. A minute later, Spectrier's neighs suddenly echoed through the chilly air. It sounded haunting and spooky, like a ghost wail droning out from the grave. Ruby and Hop clutched each other's hands. Their hearts were pounding. This had to work, it just had to! Then suddenly, Spectrier appeared. The ghostly horse trotted into the shrine, sniffing the air again. Its large nostrils blew wisps of steam as its breath frosted in the cold air. The breeze played around with its long, flowing mane. Calyrex was tempted to jump out and wrap the reigns around it already but he forced himself to wait. He had to catch his steed by surprise or this wouldn't work. Ruby and Hop watched as Spectrier finally found where the carrot had been placed. Spectrier stood still and waited for a moment to make sure it was safe. Then it walked over to the basket and plunged its face in. It hadn't tasted Shaderoot Carrots for centuries and was marvelled at the chance to eat once again. Ruby and Hop were tempted to laugh from how greedily it chomped away at the carrot. There was something strangely cute about this big eerie Pokémon just gobbling up a carrot like that. Calyrex saw his chance. It was now or never!
The King of Bountiful Harvests shot up from his hiding place and rocketed towards Spectrier just as it finished gobbling up the carrot. Spectrier's ears twitched as it heard something coming towards it and it turned just in time to see Calyrex shoot past its head and place himself down on its back. He lashed out with the reigns and they attached themselves to both sides of its mouth. Whinnying furiously Spectrier reared up and began bucking up and down to try and throw Calyrex off its back. It still didn't consider him worthy and refused to let him take command. Calyrex held on tight with the reigns, refusing to let himself be thrown around. Spectrier bounded around the shrine, neighing angrily and flicking its body to throw off its rider. Ruby and Hop watched, scarcely daring to breathe. They were tempted to get involved but they knew they couldn't. Calyrex had to do it himself or else Spectrier would never consider him worthy. If the plan failed, they would send out their Pokémon to subdue Spectrier so they could try again next time.
"Come on, come, come on. This has GOT to work…" Ruby whispered nervously to herself.
Calyrex was doing splendidly. Hop even found himself cheering at how well he kept up the fight to remain seated on his steed. The reigns held firm. Peony's fine needlework had indeed produced strong, firm reigns for him to hold onto Spectrier with! Spectrier bucked but Calyrex just wouldn't be thrown off. Then Calyrex yanked on the reigns, the large bulb on his head glowing brightly as he activated his power.
"Spectrier, we have been separated for far too long!" he boomed, "Now it is time that we become one again! Yield to me my faithful steed! YIEEEEEEEEEEELD!"
Spectrier reared up and stopped where it was as the Reigns of Unity flashed bright blue. The light spread from Calyrex's body up the reigns to Spectrier itself. It seemed like the power Calyrex possessed was making its way to Spectrier's brain and telling it not to resist anymore. Then the duo were engulfed in a sphere of blue and white lights as the Reigns of Unity took hold. Ruby and Hop had to look away as it was too bright to see. A moment later, the lights died down and the kids were able to look again. Their mouths hung open as they saw a spectacular sight before them. Calyrex was still on Spectrier's back with the horse-like Pokémon no longer trying to fight him. But something had changed about Calyrex during the process. He now sported an impressive cape that flowed behind him in place of the short green leaves on his back before. The cape gave him a majestic, regal look befitting of a king on his steed overlooking his faithful subjects. Spectrier gave out a mighty whinny, this one not of anger but of respect for its former master that had now tamed it again and proven himself worthy. The royal duo were finally together again! Ruby and Hop came out of their hiding place and approached Calyrex. They could already see a change in Spectrier's demeanour for it didn't show any signs of hostility as the two approached. If anything, it seemed much friendlier now and looked pleased to meet them. It gave a welcoming neigh and lowered its head, inviting them to stroke it. Ruby decided not to be rude and reached out a hand to pat the Ghost Pokémon's head. Hop did the same.
"Heh…Calyrex really got it under control now!" he chuckled, "Spectrier's as gentle as a Wooloo now!"
"It's safe to say it all worked!" Ruby cried as she ran a hand through Spectrier's mane, "Calyrex, how do you feel now?"
"Like a whole new Pokémon." Calyrex declared with pride, "Human children, thanks to all your efforts, I have been reunited with my loyal steed. And now I am finally at my full power!"
"I'm so happy for you!" Ruby cried with delight, "Oh this is wonderful! You two are back together at last!"
"Now you're at full power, you can be the King of Bountiful Harvests again!" Hop said gleefully, "I bet the villagers will appreciate you being able to help with their crops again!"
"That they will." Calyrex agreed, "For centuries, I was convinced that the people no longer believed in me, and I had also lost my loyal steed…I was trapped in the deep throes of loneliness. But you all saved me." he said, his voice teeming with gratitude, "There are truly no words with which to fully express my gratitude to you."
"Aww, you don't have to thank us." Ruby said kindly, "We're just doing what we do. We help each other and any Pokémon in need. I'm just glad we could help you."
"And for that, I am forever indebted to you." Calyrex said graciously, "Now that I am back at my full power, I can become the king I once was and help the humans with their harvests like before. But first…there's the matter of the mysterious portals bringing Legendary Pokémon out of their homes." he noted, "Spectrier and I shall investigate this mystery and see if we can find out what is causing this to happen. It will be the perfect first act for me to perform as the restored King of Bountiful Harvests to protect the Crown Tundra from a potential threat."
"I hope you find out what's causing it." Hop said encouragingly, "We appreciate it immensely that you're gonna help out with that!"
"And I'm sure that Drago chap will appreciate it too." Ruby added.
"If our paths cross, I shall see if we can ally together to help round up the wayward Pokémon." Calyrex declared, "Before I depart children, I feel that I must warn you of something. With my powers restored, I now see a vision of the future." he said, his voice cryptic and grave to emphasize how important this was, "It remains…unclear to me. But from what I can see…your group will be confronted with a great threat to the Tundra. And you, Ruby Silverlock…" he said, pointing to Ruby, "You will be the one to stop the threat."
"M-me?" Ruby stammered, "W-what do you mean? What threat? How will I stop it?"
"That…remains hazy for now." Calyrex murmured, "Maybe as time goes by, the vision will become clearer and I'll be able to provide more details. For now, I must bid you farewell. I will return to you once I get to the bottom of this mystery. Until we meet again, kind human children."
Spectrier turned on its hooves and galloped out of the Crown Shrine with Ruby and Hop just standing by and watching it leave. Calyrex waved goodbye as he and Spectrier disappeared from view. Ruby and Hop stood still for a minute to mull over everything they'd heard before turning to each other.
"A great threat eh…sounds ominous." Hop said uneasily, "Wonder what Calyrex saw that could pose as a great threat?"
"Could be a wayward Legendary Pokémon and I have to stop it somehow." Ruby suggested, "At least I have my own Legendary to fight with so I won't be going in underpowered. Still, let's just enjoy ourselves for now and celebrate a job well done back at the inn."
"The others will be so glad to hear it all went well." Hop said brightly, putting an arm around Ruby, "I'm still buzzing with joy for Calyrex and how we all helped him regain his powers! It feels insane to think we've helped out a Legendary Pokémon!"
"I'll say! Our mums will go bonkers when they heard this!" Ruby laughed in agreement.
She brought Doomsday back out of its ball so they could hop onto his back and fly home. Doomsday took to the skies and left the Crown Shrine, heading straight back to Freezington Village.
As they left, they didn't know that they were being watched. Drago had once again seen everything. After Giratina had arrived at the Crown Shrine, he'd remained hidden and seen everything that had happened. Calyrex as back at full power, and all thanks to those kids helping it out! He knew he had to catch him. But he decided to save that for later.
"Calyrex is investigating my affairs." he muttered, "It will be wise for me to downplay my actions for a time. That should fool him into thinking there is no threat. Then when he least expects it…I'll seize him as I have done the other Legendary Pokémon…"
He stroked the Master Ball on his cane. He would have Calyrex and that foolish Pokémon would never figure out what he was doing until it was too late! At the same time, he wondered if he might also be able to exploit Ruby and her gang for his own ends. If they were investigating Legendary Pokémon, maybe they might lead him to some and if they caught any…he'd just take them from them and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it!
The first part of the Adven-tour is over! Calyrex and Spectrier are reunited and Calyrex can be the King of Bountiful Harvests once again! But Drago is still lurking in the shadows with his own agenda. What is his plan and why does he want Legendary Pokémon? What will happen if he crosses paths with Ruby? Maybe we'll find out as the gang carries out the second part of the Adven-tour, this time investigating some "Terrible Titans...Lurking Locked Away"...
Trivia: Not much to say here other than this is another condensed depiction of the Calyrex plot and that Peony using an Aggron is down to him using one in the games. Its move set is the same as in the games too, as is its Sturdy ability.
Also Peony has been given an expanded role from before. Here, no such fight between him and Spectrier/Glastrier ever happens, it's with the player character and Peony isn't used as a mouthpiece for Calyrex as I depict him as being able to speak by himself as you've seen. Peony is often seen as under-used in the Crown Tundra so I've been aiming to rectify that. :)
Oh and if you're curious why Drago seems to favour Giratina so much, it's very simple: Giratina is my favourite Legendary Pokémon so naturally I'm giving it the biggest role of them all. XD