Chapter 896: The King Descends!!

By the lake.

All Baimu gathered with all his Pokémon.

Over ten meters away, they watched Calyrex sitting peacefully on a large boulder, meditating.

"Hiss~"

Glastrier pawed the ground, looking slightly irritable.

Spectrier seemed quiet and still, resting its muzzle on All Baimu's shoulder, yet its ears were keenly tuned in.

In the midst of the stillness.

Calyrex slowly lowered its eyelids, the massive ink-green bud on its head flickering like a lightbulb.

Hum——!!

The surface of the water began to tremble.

Following that, the surrounding air did the same.

There was no warning, nor any process.

Only a long cry from Calyrex was heard.

"Caly-rex, Caly-rex!"

In an instant.

A crystal-clear azure petal suddenly emerged, its brilliant light forming a ring.

Calyrex panted with exhaustion, yet a smile appeared on its face.

"My loyal subject! I have succeeded!"

Only it knew how difficult it was to condense this Petal of Radiance; since the seventeenth day and night since its awakening, it had finally glimpsed the hope of recovery.

Clap, clap, clap——

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on successfully taking the first step."

All Baimu applauded lightly, and the other Pokémon either clapped along or called out in response.

Only Glastrier and Spectrier showed no reaction.

They carefully sensed the crystal-clear, brilliant petal, their expressions differing, but both were very clear on what this object represented and what would happen next.

What is meant to come will come.

Glastrier and Spectrier had long since prepared themselves.

Calyrex did not notice the emotions of its beloved steeds, looking at All Baimu with full-hearted joy, saying: "My loyal subject, the rest is up to you!"

As long as it had the Reins of Unity, it could attempt to tame Glastrier or Spectrier.

If successful, even if it didn't return to its peak state, it would at least possess the power to fulfill the wishes of its humble believers.

To recreate the majesty of the King.

It was right before its eyes!

"You say it like that, and it puts a lot of pressure on me..."

All Baimu carefully took the Petal of Radiance and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, there is something I don't know if I should say or not."

The self-satisfied Calyrex waved its hand imperiously:

"Speak your mind, my loyal subject!"

"Legend says the Reins of Unity require two raw materials: one is the Petal of Radiance, and the other is the mane of a horse. So, the question is, whose mane do you choose, Glastrier's or Spectrier's?"

He asked with a straight face.

Calyrex said decisively: "Of course, it is—"

The words stuck halfway.

The reason was the "gaze" cast secretly by Glastrier and Spectrier.

The dignified King of Bountiful Harvests instantly broke into a cold sweat, flustered and speechless.

All Baimu appeared serious on the surface, but inside he was having a blast; he had calculated everything, but hadn't expected the opportunity to settle scores with the big-headed deer to come so soon.

Sure enough, revenge is best served early.

Of course.

He wasn't just bored and looking for trouble.

It was mainly because Glastrier's attitude hadn't softened at all over these days, still trying to force Calyrex to choose one or the other, and Spectrier went without saying—it couldn't be bothered to acknowledge it.

Under these circumstances, would Calyrex choose to have them all...

Or choose one of the two?

All Baimu believed that its choice would, to a certain extent, affect the difficulty of using the Reins of Unity to tame its beloved steeds later.

Furthermore, even if it crossed this hurdle, once the Reins of Unity were made, Calyrex would still have to face the choice of who to tame first.

"I, I choose a mix!"

Calyrex ultimately refused to abandon the philosophy of "wanting them all."

After all, one is the palm, the other is the back of the hand.

Hearing this, All Baimu turned his head to look at the two horses; Glastrier paced away as if disappointed, and Spectrier poked his shoulder with its muzzle as if amusing itself.

The outcome was obvious.

Wanting both meant getting neither.

Calyrex sank into depression at a speed visible to the naked eye, the bud on its head dimming.

All Baimu pushed Spectrier away, walked up to it, and whispered comfortingly: "Why worry, Your Majesty? The atmosphere when you first met your beloved steeds couldn't have been that harmonious, right? Now it's just starting over."

"... My loyal subject speaks the truth!"

Calyrex thought about it carefully and felt it made sense.

Once upon a time, Spectrier and Glastrier hadn't given it a good look either, yet hadn't they built a deep bond later?

It said gratefully: "My loyal subject has helped me once again; I will keep it in my heart."

"Not at all, not at all, this is what I should do!"

All Baimu smiled brightly.

The Pokémon watching from not far away felt ashamed.

The Trainer was truly too shameless.

One minute he used wordplay to corner Calyrex, and now he was here comforting it to build favor.

You played both the villain and the hero!

But since the person performing these operations was their most beloved Trainer, they couldn't say much, and could only silently pray for Calyrex.

Everyone had originally hated this King of Bountiful Harvests who made All Baimu "bow his head."

Now, only sympathy remained.

Even Hydreigon's hostility had shifted entirely to Spectrier, so everyone had been interacting with Calyrex more and more lately, no longer as they had before, with an invisible barrier between them.

Sigh!

The deepest path in the world is clearly the Trainer's schemes!

The Pokémon scattered like birds.

——

The process of making the Reins of Unity was not complicated.

Simply put, it was divided into three major steps: processing the mane, processing the petal, and dyeing and weaving.

The photos All Baimu took had simple drawings and text explanations.

Although he couldn't read the text.

Learning from the pictures was relatively simple—

If he failed, pretend he didn't say anything.

The so-called mane was the long hair on the horse's neck; Spectrier's mane was soft and flowing, making it not too difficult to process, but Glastrier's mane was too stiff and icy, so it had to be softened before it could be woven.

How to soften it?

The picture showed soaking it in hot water and then boiling it with fire.

The overly primitive steps made Poryphone think that a modern chemical softener could do the job in one step.

"To be safe, let's follow what's above."

All Baimu was a bit timid.

Who let there be only one Petal of Radiance?

If he had two, he would dare to try modern improvements to the Reins of Unity's craftsmanship; this thing wasn't a one-time deal, it had to be replaced every year.

He set up the pot and fire.

The white mane, shaped like ice picks, bubbled in the pot, showing no signs of "melting" or dispersing for a long time.

He simply let Blissey watch the fire while he went to process the Petal of Radiance.

What was needed for the Reins of Unity was the juice squeezed from the Petal of Radiance after it was ground into a paste; this juice would soak into the mane, turning it azure and imbuing it with the power to connect minds.

Considering the length of the reins, the juice produced by a single petal was estimated to barely be enough to soak it completely—

It felt like water needed to be added.

All Baimu looked at the bowl of juice in the abstract example picture, then at the less than one-fifth of juice plus residue in his hand, feeling a bit of a headache.

Was this testing his technique too much?

"Happy!"

Blissey's call made him walk toward the fire with the bowl.

The mane began to melt, although only a little at the tips, it proved that the example picture wasn't too wrong.

All Baimu and Blissey sat around the stove waiting.

They sat for a whole day.

In the end, the entire softening process of the mane lasted sixteen hours, until the next morning, when Galarian Articuno came to mooch breakfast again.

Since the last time it ate its fill, it had come over specifically to mooch a meal almost every morning.

The wealthy All Baimu naturally didn't mind one glutton.

"Almost there."

He mixed the processed white mane with the black mane and soaked them in the Petal of Radiance juice with added water, ensuring the mane was fully in contact with the juice.

Then he sealed it with plastic wrap, waiting for the mane to absorb the juice and leave clear water behind.

The absorption process was faster than expected.

In less than half an hour, the originally black and white mane had turned azure, floating slowly in the basin.

All Baimu fished it out and carefully wrung out the water.

The water flowing down was clear, with not a hint of blue.

Sure enough.

Adding water was the right move.

"Only the last step left!"

He breathed a sigh of relief, just about to tell Calyrex the good news, when it appeared beside him, staring at the azure mane with expectant eyes.

"My loyal subject, continue!"

It couldn't help but urge him.

All Baimu was speechless, obediently starting to weave the reins with the weaving tools.

The length of this thing was basically about two meters, and for him, with his strong hands-on ability, it wouldn't take long to finish.

Glastrier and Spectrier also seemed to sense that "Judgment Day" was about to descend, pawing the ground with anxiety or frustration, and then began to run around the shores of Ball Lake.

Run away?

Impossible.

The pride of the two horses was even stronger than Calyrex's; since they had lost to All Baimu's Pokémon and admitted their defeat, it was impossible for them to run away on their own.

Under these circumstances.

All Baimu finished making the Reins of Unity.

"No, something is missing."

Calyrex looked seriously at the azure reins and said: "My loyal subject, you forgot to chant the incantation; I once heard that when craftsmen made reins, they chanted an incantation to make the reins successful."

"Incantation?"

He looked at the photo; the example picture did indeed have a few lines of text left specifically beside the finished product.

But how was he supposed to decipher the ancient Galarian text?

Calyrex raised its small hand: "My loyal subject, don't panic! I know the incantation, chant with me—Flowers curl round and round~? Clip the mane and offer it to our King~?"

There was actually a tune!

All Baimu suddenly fell silent; singing to the reins was, in his view, just as embarrassing as wiggling his butt at radish seeds to stimulate their germination.

Yet it seemed he couldn't do it without singing.

Pokémon sometimes didn't need to be that magical.

"Ahem!"

He coughed twice, sang it lightly twice, and the Reins of Unity in his hand indeed bloomed with dazzling blue light, which quickly returned to nothingness.

Poryphone silently hid this video deep in its storage, preparing to use it when needed.

Heh heh!

Trainer, you wouldn't want people to know that the dignified Orre Champion sings nursery rhymes, would you?

It had a beautiful fantasy.

Even though this level of threat would only make All Baimu laugh.

"Mission accomplished, Your Majesty."

"My loyal subject, you've worked hard!"

The reins changed hands, and Calyrex looked at the reins in its hand, trembling: "This feel, this luster! Ah~ so familiar! So nostalgic!"

It said: "With the Reins of Unity, I can transmit my power and will directly to my beloved steeds! Great!"

"Then, Your Majesty, have you decided who to tame first?"

All Baimu reminded it that the finale hadn't arrived yet, and the important choice hadn't been made.

Right now, the two horses had gone for a run.

Calyrex didn't have to worry about its own will being influenced by the two, and could calmly make a decision.

"I... choose Glastrier!"

Compared to Spectrier, which completely ignored it, Glastrier had at least asked it about the choice, so in terms of taming difficulty, the latter was definitely easier.

Calyrex now had to consider this point.

If Spectrier's will was too firm and it refused to submit, things would get messy. On the other hand, seeing that it chose Glastrier, the difficulty might be lowered.

Furthermore.

Taking Glastrier first was the only way to slowly deal with Spectrier later.

Doing it the other way around had a high possibility of ending up with nothing.

All Baimu smiled: "Then I wish Your Majesty smooth sailing."

"Hmm!"

Calyrex clutched the reins; because it was floating in the air without its feet touching the ground, the reins hung down to the ground like a jump rope.

Not long after.

Glastrier and Spectrier returned one after another.

Both immediately smelled the ice carrots and black carrots, which had been sent to Gateon Port for the brothers and sisters of the Battle Tower to help breed.

"Neigh~"

"Hmph~"

They each made different sounds, slowly approaching the bucket All Baimu was carrying.

Just as they were about to lean down to taste them, they suddenly remembered something very important.

Where were the reins and Calyrex?

In that instant.

Calyrex, hiding in the shadows, launched a fierce attack, and while the two horses were caught off guard, it successfully jumped onto Glastrier's back and stuffed the reins into its mouth!

"Hiss!!"

Glastrier wouldn't submit to being restrained like that, jumping hysterically.

The earth trembled crazily under its hooves, and the iron bucket containing the food was kicked away, but fortunately, Spectrier reacted quickly, carrying its own bucket and floating away.

"Quiet!"

Calyrex shouted: "Recall the bond between us! Glastrier! Submit to me! I chose you!"

Once these words were said.

The intensity of Glastrier's struggle indeed diminished significantly.

All Baimu felt a cold breath on his shoulder; turning to look, it was the black mist spewed from Spectrier's nostrils.

But it wasn't the feeling of anger, more like disdain and annoyance.

This horse too.

You've been so cold to others, can't you let them choose another one?

He unceremoniously slapped its muzzle away.

The taming continued.

Glastrier struggled violently as if to throw Calyrex off, while Calyrex held onto the reins tightly, pouring its remaining power into them.

Perhaps before riding Glastrier, it would have been worried and afraid.

But when it arrived at this familiar position.

Everything was different!

No one could stop Calyrex's determination to restore its power!

The weak King had passed away; at this very moment, riding the fierce horse was a merciful one, elegant and majestic, taking the rescue of the weak and the protection of its subjects as its own duty!

Finally.

When the shining light lit up around its body, it extended along the Reins of Unity to Glastrier.

The neighing white horse raised its front hooves, blooming with pure white blazing light!

Man and horse as one!

The sacred light shone upon the earth, its wings turning into a massive cloak fluttering in the wind!

The King!

Has descended once again!

"Neighhh!!"

Glastrier raised its head and neighed, the boiling energy turning into ice crystals and light flames, rolling up with a rumble!

Calyrex slowly opened its tightly closed eyes, its voice solemn like a bell.

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

Hum!

Unlike the past where it could only transmit telepathy to those nearby, this time its words clearly spread throughout the entire Crown Tundra and even the southern part of the Galar region.

Countless humans and Pokémon looked up in astonishment, searching for the source of the sound.

There was no doubt.

This was Calyrex declaring to the world in its own way—

Galar!

Your King has returned! ===== CHAPTER 897 =====