Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 687: The White Horse in the Blizzard, Glastrier! (Two-in-One - )

Chapter 687: The White Horse in the Blizzard, Glastrier! (Two-in-One Chapter)

You really dare to shout that.

Johan’s cheek twitched.

Bang!

The wooden crown that had just floated up seemed to lose its power support and fell down.

Johan: "..."

No way, Calyrex should already be weak, which is why even its phantom appeared so blurry. Now with Flint’s one sentence, it couldn’t have been directly talked into fainting, could it?

The old mayor rubbed his eyes, looked at the calm sculpture before him, shook his head, and smiled self-mockingly:

"Getting old, I’m having hallucinations."

Speaking, he said to Johan and Flint:

"You two, this old man’s house is just around the corner, the first building. Let me go back and tidy up the house first."

After saying this, he returned with Darmanitan.

Johan and Flint still stood before the decayed statue. Flint also rubbed his eyes. "Just now that was... a hallucination?"

For no reason, how did he see a big cauliflower?

Probably hungry.

Flint thought to himself.

But as soon as Flint finished rubbing his eyes, he saw the fallen wooden crown float up again, as if Calyrex had once again gathered what little power it had.

In the vague shadows, that blurry figure of a Pokémon with a huge green bud atop its head appeared again.

Below the huge bud was a delicate, slender body like a rabbit, with a pair of blue eyes full of dignity and weariness, lips pressed together.

Behind it were a pair of wing-like capes, and below its gray-white body, slender pure white legs appeared even more prominent, forming an extremely sharp contrast with the huge crown atop its head.

Calyrex!

The ancient king of the Galar region, possessing the titles "God of Bountiful Harvests" and "King of Bountiful Harvests," now appeared before Johan and Flint in a special form!

"That cauliflower head is back again!"

Flint exclaimed again.

Calyrex’s eyes showed some annoyance as it glanced at the startled Flint, its mouth moving slightly.

Calyrex: "%￥#@&%￥..."

Damn, is it swearing?

Can’t understand!

Sounds rather unpleasant, doesn’t it?

Calyrex, seeming to realize something, showed understanding, glanced at Flint again, its blue eyes flashing briefly. The wooden crown on top immediately fell onto Flint’s head, encircling his fluffy explosive hair.

"Ku?"

Infernape was stunned, then suddenly startled, as if sensing something, and was about to kick toward that wooden crown.

But Johan reached out to stop it.

"Don’t be hasty, Infernape."

Before Flint could react, he seemed to lose consciousness, his gaze gradually becoming vacant, his body slowly floating up, emanating a dignified aura similar to what Calyrex had earlier.

Possession.

In the games, Calyrex liked to possess Peony to communicate with the protagonist, and here Peony was replaced by Flint.

Flint, with a dazed expression, moved his lips, producing a somewhat hoarse, deep voice.

"You’ve finally come. This king has waited so long."

Johan looked at Flint being used as a mouthpiece, again indicating to Infernape that it was fine, and said:

"Actually, even without borrowing this human, I can communicate with Your Majesty."

"Oh?" The voice carried a hint of doubt.

Johan didn’t hesitate and directly used his aura power, clearly sensing Flint’s presence and Calyrex’s trace of will attached to Flint.

Calyrex naturally sensed the aura, and "Flint" looked at him with some surprise.

"So it’s an ’Aura Guardian.’"

As the former king of the Galar region, it had seen the famous Aura Guardians of ancient Cameran Palace.

The voice was calm, without much fluctuation, only saying again:

"This is a small ’punishment’ for his disrespect."

Once was fine, but twice or thrice—did he really think this king had no dignity?

Just possession was already giving Johan considerable face.

"Oh."

Johan nodded.

Dignity was something one earned for oneself.

He began feeling around in his inner pocket, muttering to himself:

"Sorry, it’s a bit uncomfortable..."

Speaking, a silver feather appeared in his hand.

Silver Wing!

Calyrex’s eyes gleamed slightly. "Messenger of the Sea."

Then came a rainbow-colored feather.

Rainbow Wing!

"Hero of the Rainbow!"

Calyrex’s tone showed some change, gaining some fluctuation.

"This thing is a bit hard."

Johan took out the [Gene Wedge], muttering to himself while rubbing his chest.

"...Messenger of the Tao."

Calyrex was silent for a moment before speaking seriously and solemnly.

Then came the Millennium Wrist.

"Messenger of Arceus..."

Then a bunch of other things.

Calyrex: "..."

Taking a deep breath, Calyrex looked at Johan very differently.

The wooden crown gradually left Flint’s head while leaving Johan with a message.

"This king awaits you behind the temple, under the tree."

After speaking.

The wooden crown returned to the decayed sculpture, and Flint slowly landed. He looked around in confusion, scratching the back of his head.

"What happened? Feels like I took a nap? Hiss—"

Flint sucked in cold air, quickly rubbing his arms as he ran toward the suspicious-looking Infernape.

"Why did you run so far? I’m freezing to death..."

Johan shook his head and said to Flint:

"Flint, you go to the mayor’s house first. I still have some business."

After speaking, regardless of Flint’s reaction, he turned toward the direction of Crown Tundra’s highest peak.

In the vast snowy mountains, getting lost was possible, but if just heading toward the highest snow mountain, there was no question of getting lost.

"Teacher Johan, the mayor just said there’d be a blizzard—"

Flint shouted from below: "Go and come back quickly!"

Johan waved his hand.

After leaving the village, he recalled Ninetales, threw out a Poké Ball to summon Dragonite, skillfully put on protective gear, pointed to the distant hazy mountain, and said softly:

"Dragonite, let’s go."

"Draaa~"

Dragonite called out cheerfully, flapped its wings, and carried Johan toward Crown Tundra’s highest peak.

In this wind and snow-sealed land with bitter cold, flying wasn’t easy. The higher the altitude, the harder it became to resist the cold, let alone fly.

Ordinary people, even wearing the thickest clothes, probably couldn’t withstand this penetrating cold.

As a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon, Dragonite obviously didn’t like such an environment, so it flew somewhat faster, making Johan feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Fortunately.

With Dragonite’s flying speed, the seemingly distant distance didn’t require too much time.

It was just hard on Johan, both cold and fast...

Below.

In a dark, cold mountain ravine, something seemed to sense the Dragonite aura quickly passing overhead. Snow shifted, and a jet-like head slowly emerged from the cave.

Accompanied by white mist from hot air, narrow eyes showed some scrutiny.

From the holes in its head, several small figures curiously poked their heads out.

Suddenly.

A gaze swept over, and that creature quickly retracted its head into the cave.

Such strong perception...

"Draaa——"

A long cry passed through the sky.

Johan and Dragonite arrived at Crown Tundra’s summit.

An ancient temple completely buried by heavy snow, with only some outlines visible.

Behind the temple was a withered but still upright ancient tree in the cold wind, even taller than the temple, though it was bare except for branches and snow.

When Johan reached the ancient tree, Calyrex’s phantom was already waiting.

It stood with hands behind its back on the cliff, gazing out over the vast snowfield like a king surveying his kingdom’s past.

Hearing the "crunch" of footsteps on snow, Calyrex slowly turned around.

Perhaps because it was closer to its sleeping place, Calyrex’s phantom was much more solid than before.

It looked at Johan, this trainer with "extraordinary status," with less majesty and more gentleness.

Through aura, Johan could "understand" Calyrex’s words.

"You’ve come."

Johan nodded without speaking, just walked to Calyrex’s side and gazed out at the white snowfield with it.

From his shadow, Gengar couldn’t contain its curiosity and poked its head out, looking at the petite Calyrex with rolling eyes, thinking who knows what.

"This king should thank you properly. If not for your faith, this king doesn’t know when it would have awakened."

As the "King of Bountiful Harvests," as a genuine legendary Pokémon, Calyrex’s power source was different from all other legendary Pokémon.

Its power came from faith.

Faith was the source of its power.

The former Calyrex, as the King of Galar, received the faith of all Galar region’s people, making it incredibly powerful.

It was said to possess the powerful ability to heal hearts and make plants sprout, being a Pokémon full of loving kindness.

When it raised its right hand, it could make flowers bloom and grass grow green.

When it raised its left hand, it could make soil fertile and crops abundant.

Thus it earned the title "King of Bountiful Harvests," though before that, it was actually called the "Legendary King."

However, for unknown reasons, Calyrex at its peak became "negligent."

Calyrex wouldn’t often appear before humans, representing itself through a symbolic flower—the Radiant Petal.

But the blooming of "Radiant Petal" required great power, and under its neglect, "Radiant Petal" gradually stopped blooming.

The residents of Freezington, who were Calyrex’s most devout believers and subjects at the time, were terrified, thinking they had angered Calyrex, so they kept cleaning the Crown Temple that served as its shrine.

They even reduced their own food and rations to offer precious crops as sacrifices, hoping to gain Calyrex’s "forgiveness."

But even so, "Radiant Petal" no longer bloomed. As time passed, even the custom of worshipping Calyrex slowly disappeared, and faith in Calyrex vanished.

If not for Johan and Gengar and the others, by chance offering Calyrex a little faith, Calyrex would probably still be sleeping.

Therefore, even without Johan’s "identity verification," Calyrex was full of gratitude toward him.

"Unknowingly, several thousand years have passed..." Calyrex, hands behind its back, sighed deeply.

Because they communicated through aura, Johan could feel Calyrex’s current inner grief, which was hard to suppress.

Actually, Johan wanted to ask Calyrex why it had been "negligent" in the first place. If it hadn’t been lazy, with its "King of Bountiful Harvests" abilities, how could faith have been lost?

But now didn’t seem like the time to ask this question.

After all...

The current Calyrex looked like it was lacking power and about to fall asleep again.

"Could you help this king with something?"

Calyrex suddenly turned to look at Johan, with some sincerity and a bit of pleading in its tone.

Here it comes.

Johan had roughly guessed what Calyrex’s so-called "favor" was, but he still patiently said:

"Please speak."

Calyrex took a deep breath and again overlooked the vast snowfield.

"Relying on faith, this king’s power probably cannot recover in a short time. But this king once had two beloved horses with deep bonds to this king, and this king also entrusted part of its power to these two beloved horses."

Should be Glastrier and Spectrier, Johan nodded slightly, waiting for Calyrex to continue.

"However, this king slept too long. These two beloved horses were already wild and difficult to tame, impossible for ordinary people to subdue. They disappeared long ago, but this king can sense they should still be in the snowfield."

Seeming to catch its breath, Calyrex paused.

"This king would like you to help bring these two beloved horses back."

With Calyrex looking like it needed to gasp even while speaking, Johan wanting it to help look at Snivy was obviously making things difficult.

Better to help Calyrex recover its power first.

Moreover, as a normal human, Johan was quite curious about Calyrex’s past "negligence," his gossip heart stirring.

"What should I do?"

"This king ’saw’ you planted Ice Radishes and Black Radishes. Those are my two beloved horses’ favorite foods. If you place them in a secluded spot in the snowfield, they’ll likely appear."

It looked at Johan, seriously warning:

"Remember, those two horses are wild and difficult to tame. Be very careful."

What about the "Reins of Unity"?

Before Johan could ask, Calyrex continued:

"To truly tame these two horses, ’Reins of Unity’ are essential. This item should have been offered by Freezington believers, but it’s probably long gone now."

"Perhaps they still know how to make them?" Johan asked.

He remembered that in the games, making "Reins of Unity" required help from Freezington’s mayor.

"The method might still exist."

Calyrex nodded.

It wasn’t certain, but could only hope for this.

"But making ’Reins of Unity’ requires ’Radiant Petal,’ which only this king can make bloom, but it’s very energy-consuming."

It slowly walked to the huge withered tree. A tiny sprout appeared particularly prominent when approached.

"This..."

"This king’s thousand years of accumulated power can only nurture this one."

Taking a deep breath, Calyrex spoke again:

"Soon this king will do everything to make it bloom. Please, you must make this flower into ’Reins of Unity’ to capture the beloved horses."

Speaking, it looked at Johan.

"This king entrusts everything to you."

Through the "statue," it had been "observing" Johan for some time.

Strength aside, Johan’s attitude toward Pokémon was something it very much approved of, which is why it dared trust him so completely.

As for strength, it originally had thoughts of testing him.

But seeing Johan’s many "credentials," it dismissed that idea.

As an "Aura Guardian," "Messenger of the Sea," "Hero of the Rainbow," "Messenger of the Tao," and "Messenger of Arceus," there should be no problem, right?

Johan pressed his lips, not knowing Calyrex’s thoughts, just suddenly couldn’t help asking:

"Your Majesty Calyrex, why did you fall into slumber originally?"

Directly asking "why abandon your subjects" wasn’t appropriate, asking "why be negligent" was even worse—asking why it slumbered was better.

He wanted to confirm what Calyrex was really thinking.

Though Calyrex was called the "King of Bountiful Harvests," that was an ancient legend after all. Its "negligence"—what if it was dissatisfied with humans, or something else? Would it do something bad after recovering power?

After all, what caused it to gradually lose power was also humans. Would it hold resentment?

What if the recovered Calyrex suddenly said it wanted to sweep across the six directions again—wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

There was a big difference between a benevolent king and a tyrant.

Calyrex, about to raise its hand, paused slightly.

It looked up somewhat melancholically and murmured: "This king’s memory is somewhat blurry. I only remember... it was an enormously huge meteorite..."

Meteorite?

Eternatus?

Right.

The Galar region had records of the "Darkest Day" and records of the "Legendary Heroes" dispelling the "Darkest Day," but no rumors of a huge meteorite impacting the Galar region.

Such a huge meteorite, carrying Eternatus, with unimaginable impact force.

If it fell, probably all life in the entire Galar region would be destroyed by the disaster caused by the meteorite impact, right?

Even Arceus, when directly facing the huge meteorite impact, nearly perished.

If it was Calyrex then, Calyrex at its peak, protecting its subjects by blocking the huge meteorite impact and suffering massive power loss or even serious injury, then...

But that was twenty thousand years ago, right?

Didn’t Calyrex say it slept for several thousand years?

"This king slept too long. Soon after awakening, darkness covered heaven and earth... the specifics, this king can no longer remember clearly."

Just awakening from damage caused by the huge meteorite impact, then encountering the "Darkest Day"?

The grudge between Calyrex and Eternatus was really big...

He just didn’t know how much the Sword and Shield Heroes played in the "Darkest Day."

But from Calyrex’s account, it could be heard that it truly did everything possible for its subjects.

It blocked the meteorite and fought Eternatus.

Now it could still be alive—in Johan’s view, that was already quite impressive.

As for whether Calyrex was lying or making things up... Johan’s "Pokémon psychologist" credentials weren’t randomly assigned.

Johan’s gaze toward Calyrex already held more respect.

At least, this was an existence that truly sacrificed for its subjects.

It was really hard on it.

Working hard to block the meteorite, then protecting subjects under the "Darkest Day," but the title "King of Galar" was stolen by two humans.

"I will help you find your two beloved horses," Johan solemnly promised.

Hearing this, Calyrex showed relief. "This king... entrusts you!"

Speaking, it stared at the sprout on the withered tree, seriously and solemnly saying:

"Then this king will make this ’Radiant Petal’ bloom once more!"

Buzz—

A brilliant power burst from Calyrex, its huge crown atop its head radiating dazzling light.

The flower buds at its collar opened one after another slowly.

Before it, that sprout quickly grew, sprouted branches, and a light blue crystalline flower quietly bloomed.

"Right now!"

Johan stepped forward, using aura to carefully hold the half-opened flower in his palm.

With Calyrex’s current power, it couldn’t even fully bloom the flower...

The exhausted Calyrex gasped heavily.

"Please... please..."

Its form slowly dissipated like a mirage, finally disappearing completely.

The already withered giant tree seemed to decay further, looking like it might collapse in the wind and snow at any moment.

Unknowingly, he’d taken on another task.

Fortunately, it was a good deed.

Glastrier and Spectrier shouldn’t be as difficult to handle as first-tier legendaries.

Perfect.

After resting at home for ten days, plus the recent series of events, it was time to let his little ones properly test their current strength and the fruits of their training.

If converted to strength, Glastrier and Spectrier were probably... about the same as the three legendary birds or three legendary beasts?

"Let’s go, Dragonite. Time to return."

Johan patted Dragonite’s round, bouncy belly.

After helping Calyrex solve things, he could ask it to look at Snivy, guide him to where Regieleki and Regidrago originally slept, and send Regieleki home!

"Draaa~(ˊˋ)"

Dragonite lifted Johan, preparing to head back the way they came.

But just then.

A blizzard suddenly arose over the snowfield. Howling cold winds carrying goose-feather snow greatly reduced visibility. Even compared to Ninetales’s "Snow," this was no less intense, and the range was much larger.

"Fly close to the ground," Johan quickly said.

Flying higher up, getting lost would be the least of their problems.

"Draaa~"

Dragonite immediately descended rapidly.

Several patches of green grass soon came into view, appearing somewhat out of place in the vast snowy mountains.

In Crown Tundra, it wasn’t entirely a world of ice and snow. There would always be one or two areas that, for special reasons, had growing plants.

This was also a food source for many Pokémon living in Crown Tundra.

Like areas further south of Crown Tundra, though the weather was still cold, vegetation was relatively lush.

Many ancient ruins and temples were in that area.

In the wind and snow, several Butterfree in swaying grass flapped their wings separately, stirring up gust after gust of wind to fight the blizzard, trying not to let snowflakes fall on their habitat, protecting their already meager home.

In the already barren land, finally having a decent place to inhabit, several green Caterpie in the grass behind the Butterfree looked very helpless.

However, the Butterfree could occupy this area and consistently prevent ice and snow from covering it—they had some strength.

Especially their leader.

Every time it flapped its wings, it could blow away most of the falling wind and snow, with the rest blown away by other Butterfree.

The harsher the environment, the stronger the wild Pokémon that could inhabit it. Mt. Silver was like this, Mt. Coronet was like this, and Crown Tundra was too.

If Johan hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing, but since he had...

A red light shot out.

"Ninetales!"

"Oowoo~"

The ice and snow spirit-like Ninetales appeared on the grassland. Under the Butterfree’s wary gazes, it gently waved its tails.

The originally howling wind and snow came to an abrupt halt, and the extremely cold air was partially blocked by Ninetales’s power.

Life-giving pulsations rose from beneath its feet, earth’s veins bringing up gentle warmth, making the Caterpie in the grass, who had been shivering from cold, look much more comfortable.

So it came to help.

The Butterfree all looked grateful.

Nature’s power couldn’t be completely calmed unless by deities.

Anyway, in the current blizzard, Johan couldn’t return to Freezington quickly, so he simply stayed in this grassland to help the Butterfree resist the wind and snow.

"Everyone, come out."

Johan threw out all his Poké Balls, summoning all his little ones.

Especially Ceruledge—as soon as it appeared, it began releasing heat, gradually warming the grassland temperature.

Johan even took out some food, preparing to share with these Pokémon struggling to survive in the snowfield: energy cubes, macarons, Pokéblocks... everything was available.

The Caterpie living on the snowy grassland had never seen such a display, all looking longingly at Johan and the food before him.

Seeing this, Johan smiled slightly, pushed the food forward, and said:

"Don’t be shy."

With the prior friendly impression of helping resist the blizzard, seeing the Butterfree had no intention of stopping them, the Caterpie immediately crawled up.

Soon, Johan was surrounded by Caterpie, along with those longing Metapod.

"This silk thread..."

Johan somehow had a length of white silk thread in his hand. Gently pulling it, he felt considerable toughness.

Plants that could grow in extremely cold places naturally had their special qualities and resilience. The Caterpie that fed on these plants naturally had silk threads somewhat different from ordinary Caterpie.

For wild Pokémon, environment shaped the individual. Those who could survive were all elite—nature’s survival of the fittest was nothing more than this.

"You should rest too."

Johan called to the Butterfree.

This place could grow plants not just because these plants were special, but also because of the environment.

Backed by mountains on two sides but not shaded from light, after Ninetales set up ice walls on the other two sides to block wind and snow, it was much better than the previous cold severity.

Many Butterfree also gathered around, tempted by the food, but only the one that should be the Butterfree leader still stood seriously at the gaps between ice walls.

This Butterfree... was probably over level fifty, truly rare.

Through his [Pokédex] and aura, Johan could sense its tense emotions.

Tense?

What was it afraid of?

Johan had Urshifu and Ceruledge distribute food while walking to that Butterfree’s side, asking through aura:

"What are you worried about?"

"Free~"

The Butterfree leader gently flapped its wings, shaking off snowflakes.

Such a big blizzard is when that creature is active...

Blizzard?

That creature?

Glastrier?

Right.

Even if Glastrier didn’t eat, or could survive on ice and snow as food, as a horse, even without its favorite Ice Radish, who could refuse a bite of fresh tender grass?

The plants here could make even Caterpie grow so plump—clearly the nutrition wouldn’t be poor.

If Johan were Glastrier, he definitely wouldn’t refuse such a nice grazing spot.

It’s just that though grasslands in Crown Tundra were rare, they wouldn’t be limited to just this one place, so Glastrier only had a chance of appearing—it didn’t mean it would definitely appear.

"If encountering Glastrier in a blizzard... that difficulty wouldn’t be small..." Johan thought.

Glastrier in clear weather and Glastrier in a blizzard were definitely different.

"Free~!"

According to time intervals, that creature should be prowling nearby recently.

The Butterfree leader’s worry wasn’t without reason.

Glastrier’s activity time and patterns had basis, so...

"Neighhhh——"

Suddenly.

A resounding long neigh came from the distant wind and snow.

"Ka-kaah!"

Gengar and Johan’s other Pokémon all rose, immediately coming to his side in defensive postures.

The Butterfree leader’s body trembled slightly, its expression becoming more serious.

The other Butterfree and Caterpie behind it showed even more obvious reactions, with fear written all over their faces. The Caterpie all hid back in grass corners, curling up.

It’s coming!

In the wind and snow with extremely low visibility, a snow-white horse stepped heavily, slowly approaching step by step.

As if in its eyes, this wasn’t a blizzard but sunny, warm spring weather.

A pure white horse with thick ice crystals covering its limbs and tail, its face wearing what looked like an ice crystal mask, gradually appeared in Johan and the others’ sight.

The white horse in the blizzard—Glastrier!

"Well, we haven’t even used Ice Radish and already encountered it," Johan grumbled internally.

In Glastrier’s eyes, those ice walls standing in the wind and snow looked... absolutely delicious.

Fresh grass?

What it loved most was still ice blocks with such extreme hardness!

It had been so long since it encountered ice blocks of this quality—it had to enjoy them properly.

Since Calyrex fell asleep, it had forgotten how long it had been since eating ice blocks that could barely compare to "Ice Radish."

Glastrier didn’t even think about why these ice blocks appeared here, just raised its front hooves, neighed again, joy overflowing.

Equally delighted was... Gengar.

"Ka-kaah! (=ω=)"

Its eyes lit up, involuntarily imagining itself riding a white horse while holding reins.

This horse...

This horse befitted this king’s status!

Gengar licked its lips, already looking eager to try.

So.

The one riding a white horse isn’t necessarily a prince—it might also be a ghost.

----------

Powerstones?

For 20 advance Chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at f(r)eew𝒆bnov𝒆l.com Only