Chapter 15: You Look Like a Villain with That Face

The legendary king of the Galar region was none other than Calyrex!

In ancient times, Calyrex was not just a legend that ruled over Galar—it was, in fact, the only Pokémon to have truly served as a king in the region's history.

Its classification? The High King Pokémon.

While in Galar, the two legendary wolves—Zacian and Zamazenta—were indeed extremely well-known, strictly speaking, aside from Eternatus who was already considered a foreign entity...

Calyrex was also an incredibly powerful Legendary Pokémon! In fact, its strength was by no means inferior to Zacian or Eternatus.

And, if Lucas remembered correctly, Calyrex resided in the Crown Tundra...

Yes—and the three Galarian Legendary Birds also happened to dwell in the Crown Tundra.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Marnie was always sharp and perceptive. She immediately noticed Lucas's gaze and asked with a hint of confusion.

"I just feel like you look especially beautiful today. Did you put on makeup?"

Lucas's lips curled up slightly into a teasing smile as he looked at Marnie's delicate face and asked playfully.

"Always the sweet-talker. Save that for the silly girls who'd fall for it. Let's go—weren't you looking for an energy den?"

Marnie paused for a second at his words, then rolled her eyes and replied flatly, not showing much emotion. With that, she took the lead and walked toward the snowy mountain.

However, just as she passed Lucas, a faint smile curled at the corners of her lips, betraying the fact that her mood had clearly brightened.

"This girl..."

Lucas chuckled to himself, threw on his coat, and followed Marnie's steps.

Even though his physical constitution was excellent and he possessed the power of the Dragon, at the end of the day, he was still human. He could handle the cold for a while, but staying in these freezing temperatures for too long? That'd just be asking for trouble.

The two trudged through the snow, leaving crisp footprints behind, while Dragonair floated at Lucas's side, alertly scanning their surroundings.

In a place like the Crown Tundra, there was no way Lucas would recall Dragonair into its Poké Ball. If they were suddenly attacked by wild Pokémon, it would be far too dangerous.

"Dragonair, use Dragon Rush."

Near a frozen lake, Lucas issued a calm command to Dragonair.

"Draa~"

Dragonair let out a sharp cry as its long, serpentine body began to glow with a brilliant blue light. In a flash, it transformed into a ferocious dragon streaking across the ice.

Boom!

Dragon Rush struck hard and fast, crashing into the chest of a towering black giant standing several dozen meters ahead.

The black giant roared furiously, but it couldn't withstand Dragonair's devastating charge.

With a thunderous crash, the black giant toppled backward. The faintly ominous red aura surrounding it dissipated as its massive form rapidly shrank—revealing the unconscious form of a Gigantamax Grimmsnarl lying flat on the icy ground.

"A Gigantamax Grimmsnarl couldn't even take a single hit… Dragonair's power is still as captivating as ever."

Marnie gazed at the sacred and beautiful shiny Dragonair floating gracefully in the air. Her eyes shimmered with admiration. She really, really wanted one of her own!

It was both gorgeous and imposing—just too perfect!

"We've found the energy dens, Eternatus."

Stepping past the unconscious Grimmsnarl, Lucas approached a glowing red energy dens. After examining it briefly, he took out a Heavy Ball and tossed it.

"Roooar~"

With a flash of white light, a sinister crimson glow appeared in the air. The Poison Dragon—Eternatus—drifted silently above Lucas.

"So this is Eternatus!"

Marnie's clear, bright eyes lit up with even more amazement as she looked at the legendary dragon that had once nearly destroyed the entire Galar region.

Although Marnie had an extremely delicate and adorable appearance, her tenacious and competitive personality since childhood meant that she wasn't the kind of girl who judged everything based on looks.

Eternatus's appearance was definitely not what one would call "beautiful." In fact, to the vast majority of people, its skeletal, bone-dragon-like form left an immediate impression: "This is an evil Pokémon."

But Marnie loved Eternatus—precisely because it was a legendary Pokémon. It had to be powerful!

"Eternatus, absorb the energy here first."

Lucas looked up at Eternatus and smiled. The priority now was to let it absorb the energy from this point, then move on to the next.

Eternatus's white, pupil-less eyes flickered slightly as it descended a bit. The red glow in its chest and abdomen pulsed ominously.

Under the watchful eyes of Lucas and Marnie, the red-tinged energy particles from the glowing point began to surge like a torrent, quickly pouring into Eternatus's body.

"Do you like it?"

As Eternatus absorbed the energy, Lucas looked around. All the wild Pokémon nearby had already been knocked out by Dragonair.

And now, with Eternatus appearing, not a single sound could be heard around them.

Pokémon were far more sensitive than humans. The terrifying aura of a top-tier legendary like Eternatus could be sensed even by less intelligent wild Pokémon. Naturally, they would flee as far as they could.

Finally, Lucas turned his gaze back to Marnie, seeing her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Eternatus. He smiled slightly and asked:

"Mmm, who wouldn't like a legendary? But I'm too weak right now."

Marnie paused, then nodded. Her melodious voice was calm and composed.

In a world centered around Pokémon, no one would refuse the power of legends.

Marnie naturally yearned for that kind of strength too. But she was self-aware—what did she currently have that could be worthy of a legendary's recognition?

Let alone one like Eternatus, who had once nearly brought Galar to ruin.

"Do you remember what I told you before? You're excellent. Even when it comes to legendaries, you might just have a shot someday."

Lucas smiled and encouraged her. Whether it was her appearance or her strong will, he had always had a soft spot for this girl.

And Marnie's talent was truly undeniable. Her brother, Piers, was one of the top Trainers in Galar. Because Spikemuth lacked a Power Spot, Piers disliked Dynamaxing.

Even so, without using Dynamax, he still gave Raihan a hard-fought battle in the original story.

Yet despite his own strength, Piers had spoken highly of Marnie, once saying, "Her potential makes me feel ashamed of myself." And when the protagonist won the championship, Piers stepped down and let Marnie take over as Gym Leader.

That alone spoke volumes about her talent.

"And besides... I'll help you. After all, you're my... little hero, aren't you?"

Lucas grinned, showing his trademark wicked smile as he looked at Marnie and said slowly.

"Wipe that look off your face—you look like a total villain."

Marnie's eyelid twitched. She shot Lucas a look and replied irritably. Even though she was already used to this expression of his, she still found it a bit hard to deal with.

And also... Are you really trying to help me? Or are you just after my body?

Marnie complained silently in her heart, then turned her gaze to the unconscious Grimmsnarl. She was long used to Lucas's occasional teasing.

She didn't actually dislike him—if she did, would she have let him get so close so many times?

But Marnie had a strong personality. Even though she had good feelings toward Lucas, she couldn't bring herself to confess first.

After looking at the Grimmsnarl for a moment, Marnie turned back to Lucas.

Lucas understood what she meant. He examined the unconscious Grimmsnarl and said.

"This Grimmsnarl is fairly strong, and its coloring is decent. I guess it's just good enough to capture."

Marnie is a bit different from the average female Trainer. She doesn't care much for those cute but weak Pokémon.

Maybe because her brother specialized in Dark-types, she also had a preference for them.

"Then I'll catch it."

A soft smile appeared on Marnie's face. As for Lucas's dismissive terms like "just okay" and "barely acceptable," she simply filtered them out.

She knew Lucas's standards for Pokémon talent and potential were absurdly high—almost unreasonably so.

But how many top-tier Pokémon were there in the world? And what were the odds of conveniently meeting one she actually liked?

Marnie didn't have such harsh requirements, but she trusted Lucas's judgment. If he said it could be caught, it must be excellent.

"Poké Ball—go!"

She pulled out an empty Poké Ball and expertly tossed it toward Grimmsnarl.

The weakened Grimmsnarl clearly had no strength left to resist. The indicator light on the ball flashed three times—then stopped.

Marnie caught the returning Poké Ball. Her delicate face lit up with an even deeper smile, and her pretty eyes squinted slightly in satisfaction.

After all, she had just gained a new partner.

Lucas looked at the visibly delighted Marnie and couldn't help but smile to himself. This girl really is adorable...

But just as Eternatus was absorbing energy, far away from the Crown Tundra, deep within a forest...

Beside a clear creek, Zacian raised its head just as it was about to drink, its cold, piercing eyes sending chills down one's spine.

"So you really couldn't hold back after all..."

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On a lush green field, after absorbing all the energy from the den, Lucas returned Eternatus to its ball.

"How're you feeling, Eternatus?"

He stretched his neck and asked the question inwardly.

"My energy is full now. Thank you, Lucas."

Eternatus responded in its signature raspy voice via telepathy. Along their journey, they had absorbed at least dozens of energy dens.

Eternatus's energy was no longer in short supply. Though it still had a long way to go before it could Eternamax, it now had more than enough power to function normally.

"No need to be so polite. But we'll probably need to lay low for a while. Absorbing energy like this definitely reveals your aura."

"If Zacian and Zamazenta are really that obsessed with finding you, they might already be heading this way."

Lucas's lips curved slightly. He paused to consider, then discussed his next steps with Eternatus.

Normally, Eternatus stayed inside the Poké Ball, its presence completely hidden. Even Zacian, with its sharp senses, couldn't detect its location.

But in order to absorb energy, Eternatus had to expose its aura. And given how well Zacian and Zamazenta knew its energy signature, they could easily locate the general direction of its presence.

To avoid Zacian showing up for a direct confrontation, Lucas figured it was best to lie low for a while—now that Eternatus had replenished its energy reserves.

"Without Eternamax, even with my command, Eternatus wouldn't stand a chance against Zacian..."

Lucas couldn't help but sigh. If it were Zamazenta—the Shield Hero—Eternatus might still have a shot. In fact, Lucas was confident that the odds of winning were as high as 80%.

But Zacian, the Sword Hero?

Forget it. Eternatus's Poison and Dragon-type moves were useless against it. Its two signature moves were basically ineffective. How was it supposed to fight Zacian?

With Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon?

Did he forget how terrifying Zacian was during the Hammerlocke City incident? Behemoth Blade shredded Flash Cannon like paper.

Lucas remembered that clearly. If he could avoid a head-on clash, he definitely would.

Not to mention—even if Eternatus could somehow go toe-to-toe with Zacian, what if Zamazenta showed up midway to help her sister?

Lucas might be proud, but he wasn't stupid or reckless.

"I'll follow your lead."

Eternatus was silent for a while before replying. Though it yearned to return to its full power, having been slashed twice by Zacian, it now understood the danger of rushing.

Besides, it trusted Lucas. It could feel it—Lucas was truly helping it.

Lucas nodded. As long as Eternatus understood, that was best. He had been a little worried that now, with its energy replenished, Eternatus might start getting cocky again.

But what really lingered on Lucas's mind was... Had Zacian already started heading toward the Crown Tundra?

"The Dyna Tree Hill is just up ahead. Lucas, let's rest there for a while."

(End of Chapter)