"...A hat?"
Hearing Peony mutter to himself and watching the two figures gradually recede, Lucas withdrew his gaze, thoughtful.
He hadn't expected to see that person here in Freezington.
Mohn, the Alola-region Pokémon professor who researches Ultra Wormholes—husband of Lusamine, chairwoman of the Aether Foundation.
As for the person beside Mohn, if Lucas remembered right, the white-and-yellow brim Peony saw was probably the rim of the translucent parasol atop a shiny Nihilego.
Ultra Beasts are creatures from an extradimensional world called Ultra Space, and Nihilego is one of them.
Why Mohn was living alone in the Crown Tundra of Galar, and why an Ultra Beast he calls "Lillie" was by his side—
It all traces back to a research accident years ago: while experimenting with opening an Ultra Wormhole, Mohn fell into it and vanished.
But after falling into Ultra Space, the unconscious Mohn was discovered by a passing Nihilego. Trying to take him back out through another wormhole, it found they had emerged into the icy Crown Tundra.
Using its special ability, Nihilego read part of Mohn's memories; perhaps moved by some peculiar emotion, it looked upon the amnesiac, bewildered Mohn—
And stayed to live with him in the Tundra. Meanwhile, far away in Alola, Lusamine began researching Ultra Wormholes to bring her husband back.
As for Mohn, Lucas figured he could pay him a visit after dealing with Calyrex, to confirm his situation.
When he eventually headed for Alola, he'd decide then whether to inform Lusamine.
Just then, with a resonant shout from the village elder, the finishing stitch of the Reins of Unity was done.
The onlooking villagers and tourists applauded, clearly finding the elder's hand-sewing quite a spectacle.
A few, however, eyed the reins—whose shape was rough, many parts imperfectly sewn, the details frankly a disaster—wearing an expression like they wanted to speak but held back.
Lucas and Peony were among them.
The elder noticed and said to Lucas, "I've always fancied myself handy, but that was in my younger days."
"Though it pains me to admit it, with my vision failing and my hands trembling, this is only a half-finished piece... Hm. If only we had more deft hands here."
Lucas was about to raise his hand and volunteer. Besides the Reins of Unity that needed Spectrier's mane, they'd likely need to sew Glastrier's set afterward.
He'd been learning sewing from Nurse Joy lately to make Mimikyu a brand-new, cute plush outer skin. Doing a set of reins shouldn't be a problem.
But—
As if remembering something, Lucas looked at Peony. Seeing Peony's baffled face, he said, "My soulmate, you've cared so well for Peonia and Penny, even sewing their clothes yourself. You must be good with your hands."
Peony tilted his head, sensing something was off, but "soulmate" coming from Lucas and the praise for his fatherly prowess puffed him right up. Hands on hips, he threw his head back and laughed:
"Wahaha! I've sewn more outfits than I can count for my wild lass and shut-in lass. Making a rope thingy? Piece of cake!"
He turned to the elder, excited. "Leave it to me!"
The elder, surprised at his drinking buddy's sudden switch, still handed over the half-finished reins and materials under many watching eyes. Taking advantage that the crowd couldn't hear their stage-side chatter, he raised his hand and called out, "Now, let's have tourist Mr. Peony experience Freezington's traditional craft!"
Curiosity rippled through the tourists below, all eyes turning to the stage.
Holding a Radiant Petal and black mane hairs, Peony asked, "So, uh, what do I do with the flower and the hair?"
The elder mimed in the air: "First do this, then this, and finally this—then you're done!"
Peony's eyes lit. "I see!"
Lucas: "..."
What exactly do you see!
Fortunately, Lucas trusted his observation skills; with his own basics, he could reconstruct the steps in his head from Peony's motions.
Soon after Peony started, the reason Lucas was happy to give up sewing it himself appeared.
The elder said, "My great-grandfather told me that when sewing the Reins of Unity, you must sing a chant to fully infuse your feelings into them—like tempering a sword to bring out its true brilliance."
"Ahem... Allow me to hum a few lines."
"Roll the round flower up Tuck in the mane, offer it to our king"
"Come, everyone, sing with me!"
"Flower roll it up round and neat tuck in the mane offer it to our king~"
As the elder's oddly pitched folk song rose, the villagers glanced at each other, then joined in.
They swept along some of the tourists. Peony, never one to be shy, perfectly embodied anti-shyness: belting the chant in ringing tenor while sewing nonstop.
A carnival of chaos. Cringing, Lucas wondered whether they were mad—or he was.
Still, swept by the tide, Lucas held fast, didn't join in, and focused on watching Peony's sewing, fixing the steps and techniques to memory for when it counted.
"My soulmate, I'm entrusting the reins to you."
Smiling, Peony handed the sunlit-glistening reins to Lucas, with a meaning only the two of them would catch.
Lucas nodded, took the reins, and was about to speak when Peony leaned in and murmured in a whisper only they could hear: "I can tell the King of Bountiful Harvests still harbors some wariness toward us."
"We, the descendants of those who once betrayed and forgot it, will stay put in Freezington and await your good news."
Peony's meaning was clear. Aware of his place, he chose to remain with the kids in the village—no more swanning around Calyrex to stir bad memories.
Perhaps the King of Bountiful Harvests would never again favor Galar.
…
With the reins, Lucas sought out the elder again, discussed a few matters, then left Freezington and reached the Old Cemetery before sunset.
Calyrex had been waiting there awhile.
The black carrots in the field were gone. Spectrier lay by the field's edge, staring pitifully at the dirt, as if hoping it could make fresh black carrots sprout by sheer will.
On Spectrier's back, Vulpix, Victini, and Cosmog happily played with its mane—but Spectrier dared not complain.
With Calyrex on one side and Luxray on the other eyeing it, how could it move? It could only flick its tail and hope new black carrots would sprout to soothe its wounded heart.
Seeing this, Lucas couldn't help but chuckle.
He kept a straight face, though, and handed the now-dusky reins to Calyrex.
"These are the Reins of Unity. Will they do?"
Calyrex took them with telekinesis, examining them closely.
A moment later, it said excitedly, "Excellent—these are the Reins of Unity! I know not how to thank thee, my friend!"
Instead of immediately seeking out the slightly bristling Spectrier, Calyrex gazed down at the reins, murmuring:
"Once, I believed humans had abandoned their faith in me, and so no longer offered the Reins of Unity."
"Now it seems... perhaps I failed to provide the materials needed to make them. It seems I have long misunderstood humans."
As a former king, Calyrex was upright. Just as it chose to forgo reliance on human strength and faith, it would not shrink from its own mistakes.
Wrong is wrong—and even so, it would not retract its decision.
Calyrex inhaled, then gently lifted the three Pokémon from Spectrier's back with telekinesis, setting them by Lucas. Luxray, sensing what was coming, stretched and padded over to Lucas's side.
Spectrier, knowing what was next, sighed and slowly got up, thinking that it wasn't all bad.
Having Calyrex's mental energy pour in, filling it with psychic power—it was addictive.
Seeing his steed ready, Calyrex's eyes flashed with reminiscence. It floated onto Spectrier's back, swung the reins, and fixed them to Spectrier's face.
As Calyrex channeled its psychic power through the reins into Spectrier, dazzling light burst from Calyrex, Spectrier, and the reins!
Calyrex tightened the reins. Now in deep resonance with Spectrier, they needed no words—their minds were one.
Spectrier reared high and neighed in black tones; Psychic and Ghost energies swirled around them in a vortex. In the radiant glow, a miracle like evolution manifested upon Calyrex.
Its back-cape-like wings stretched and unfurled into a regal white cloak, snapping in the airflow stirred by the surging power.
Moments later, the energies quieted. Calyrex and Spectrier had fully fused—into their rider form!
Eyes closed, Calyrex felt the oceanic power welling within. It savored it for a heartbeat, then steadied itself and looked to Lucas. "My friend, come with me to the Snowslide Slope valley. Let us complete the final piece!"
Cosmog and Victini cried out in awe. Seeing Calyrex restored to its noble glory, Lucas nodded without hesitation. "Alright!"
"Neeiiigh—!"
Linked in mind, Spectrier neighed with fighting spirit.
It knew Calyrex planned to plant ice carrots in the Snowslide valley fields—to lure Glastrier!
Thinking of its old rival's sorry state under their combined assault, Spectrier grew giddy—even if it meant half the bag of seeds would become ice carrots. Schadenfreude, plain and simple.
"After all these years, my beloved steed, thou truly hast not changed."
Calyrex glanced helplessly at Spectrier, reflecting that Spectrier and Glastrier had always been at odds—mutual eyesores.
Spectrier lifted its head proudly, thinking it was being praised, and let out a ringing neigh.
Lucas: "..."
He suddenly felt Spectrier was a big black husky.
Beside him, Luxray stared hard at the centaur Calyrex and Spectrier, inner waves crashing. The sheer pressure Calyrex exuded exceeded expectations. So this is a Legendary—truly strong!
Calyrex, serene in its centaur form, didn't miss Luxray's gaze. It smiled gently, and a private telepathic voice sounded in Luxray's mind:
"When this is over, challenge me as many times as thou wishest. I shall oblige."
The next second, Calyrex's greatly amplified, fully its own psychic power enveloped the area, spanning space to bring Lucas and the Pokémon back to the Snowslide valley!
Lucas's vision blurred, then cleared to a snowy, hardened, fallow field.
Then the valley's tranquil dusk beauty emerged.
"If there is no blizzard, the Crown Tundra's night sky is all the lovelier from here."
Calyrex's warm voice sounded in Lucas's mind.
Lucas glanced over. Calyrex let Cosmog sit on its crown, wearing an indulgent smile.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Calyrex suddenly raised a hand to the sky.
Lucas looked up. Thick cloud cover—likely a fierce blizzard to come.
Dusk's last glow faded; night fully cloaked the tundra.
Close by, Lucas clearly saw the inky spirit mass gathering in Calyrex's hand...
As the mass reached its peak, it radiated a chilling, awe-inspiring presence.
With Spectrier's lifted, keening neigh, Calyrex launched the black spirits skyward like meteors rising from the ground.
"Fortuitously, tonight is a sky without cloud cover."
With that, countless spirit motes burst in the night. Their darkness made them almost invisible; even Lucas, focused, only caught their final outlines as they exploded.
Savage winds tore across the sky, a silent thunder that still shocked the soul.
After a while, the bursting ceased.
Reflected in Lucas's eyes was... a cloudless firmament, stars blazing!
He froze, incredulous.
Was Calyrex... showing off to him?
Truth be told, the power Calyrex displayed in centaur form far exceeded his expectations.
With its signature move, Astral Barrage, it blew away all the stratocumulus over the valley in one go!
Perhaps that's why Legendaries are called legends.
Like Mewtwo conjuring storms, Lugia ruling currents, Rayquaza dominating the sky...
Luxray, wide-eyed at the display, felt not defeat but a rising will to battle—just as a Swampert feels after Mega Evolution.
"Mogoo~!"
Cosmog delighted in the sky, closing its eyes to bathe in moonlight, slowly replenishing itself.
Noticing Cosmog's state, Calyrex looked thoughtful.
Though it had sensed it long ago, it now seemed clear—Cosmog liked basking in sun and moonlight, growing slowly under their glow?
Calyrex tucked that note away and turned to the field.
Watching Vulpix and Victini sit and stargaze, Calyrex spoke: "Before we enjoy the night sky, let us finish our last task."
Lucas recovered, took out the remaining half bag of seeds. "We're planting ice carrots to lure Glastrier, right?"
"Indeed."
Calyrex nodded and offered a plan.
"Of my steeds, Glastrier's temper is more volatile than Spectrier's, but that does not mean it charges in blindly."
"Once bold enough to challenge any strong foe, after my suppression it became more cautious. After that spectacle just now, even when the ice carrots ripen, it will not rush into a trap."
"I have a proposal."
Calyrex laid it out: after ripening the ice carrots, it and Spectrier would hide, leaving only Lucas and his Pokémon by the field.
Thus Glastrier wouldn't balk at showing itself. With Lucas and Luxray's strength, not only would they be safe—they could defeat Glastrier and even Spectrier if they fought seriously.
Lucas had no objection. "No problem. I could just beat Glastrier outright if needed."
Calyrex smiled. "I trust in thy and Luxray's strength—thus I entrust this to thee."
They acted at once.
Calyrex's blessing revived the fallow field.
Snow melted in an instant; the hard earth softened for planting.
In short order, the field was full of ice carrots.
Mounted on Spectrier, which eyed the ice carrots with disdain, Calyrex said, "We shall hide now. My steed's nose is keen—even from afar, it will arrive within the hour at most."
With that, Calyrex and Spectrier sped off and vanished.
Lucas, holding Cosmog, waited quietly with Luxray and the others.
They didn't wait a full hour, but after over thirty minutes by the carrot field, Lucas heard a distant neigh.
His drowsiness vanished. He looked up.
In the dark, a stark white figure was charging in!
"Glastrier!"
Lucas stood at once, and Luxray moved in front of the group, eyes serious.
Glastrier's ice-armored face radiated authority. Its heavy steps boomed; its muscled legs bespoke monstrous strength.
Frost poured from its hooves, freezing snow into ice, paving its own road.
Almost the moment Lucas and Luxray rose, Glastrier's fierce eyes in its ice helm locked onto them.
It ignored Lucas and the Cosmog in his arms, ignored Vulpix and Victini, and fixed on Luxray.
It sensed that elite aura—but felt no fear. It neighed sharply and charged straight in!
As Calyrex had said: unless it was Calyrex—who had left it with "psychological shadows"—the stronger the foe, the more Glastrier's fighting spirit burned!