Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

The battle he was referring to was, of course, the battle to fight against the dark matter in the ultimate world.

That's right. Ever since he met King Rai, Xia Chen has been thinking about how to trick this guy onto his ship.

The pressure from the dark matter was too great; he and Cynthia alone were truly not confident.

Xia Chen had no reason to bring those legendary spirits he knew to the dangerous Ultimate World.

The Lacecrown King is different; it's a pure trade—I help you regain your strength, and you fight for me once.

Isn't that fair?

"I agree."

So said the Crowned King.

…………

The human and the elf reached an agreement, while Volcarona, who had been watching the drama unfold for a long time, was a little confused.

What the heck? Is this thing really strong enough for Xia Chen to take notice? And it even has the ability to make everything grow?

Could it be that its previous arrogant claim of being the "King of Galar" was true?

Volcarona suddenly felt her worldview crumbling; you really can't judge a book by its cover...

"Then tell me why you have lost your power, Your Majesty Rachelon."

Meanwhile, Xia Chen and Lei Guanwang's conversation had entered the next stage.

The Calycerin was no longer as wary and resistant as it had been at the beginning. After a moment of recollection, it slowly said, "Thousands of years ago, a powerful elf named Eternatus came to Galar and brought a disaster called [Dark Night]."

It's Mugentana again, and it's Yamaguchi again!

Xia Chen was quite alarmed, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was reasonable. Anyone who could make a legendary elf lose its power must not be an ordinary person.

He did not interrupt the Crowned King's narration, but listened quietly.

"The disaster started in North Galar and continued to spread southward. It was only a matter of time before it affected the Crown Plateau. I could not stand idly by, so I took action. Together with two guys who were carrying swords and shields, I resolved the disaster, but I was also injured in the process."

The Crowned King spoke calmly and used very few words, but these few words concealed the bloodshed and brutality of a war.

Why are Zacian and Zamazenta heroes of Galar, celebrated for millennia, while Raiden is forgotten?

Xia Chen knew that something else must have happened in between.

He couldn't help but ask, "And then what? Your injuries never fully healed?"

The Crowned King shook his head and said, "No, my injuries were completely healed within ten years."

Xia Chen asked in surprise, "Then why is your strength so weak now?"

The Crowned Queen calmly said, "Because during the time I was injured, I could no longer make the Radiant Flower bloom, crops no longer grew rapidly, and there were even two years of severe drought, which I could only watch helplessly, unable to exert any power. As a result, my followers gradually... forgot about me."

Xia Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he said as if suddenly waking up, "So, your power comes from faith?"

King Rai-King nodded slowly, a bitter smile on his face.

Xia Chen murmured to himself, "So that's how it is..."

Everything makes sense now.

…………

It is not uncommon for deities to become powerful through the influence of incense and faith.

Or rather, the world of Xia Chen's previous life—this kind of setting is practically ubiquitous in many myths, legends, and later works of art.

This is true of traditional Taoist mythology in China, and it is also true of foreign films and television shows like "American Gods," which depict new and old gods fighting over faith.

Since arriving in the Pokémon world, Xia Chen had never encountered such a legendary Pokémon, which is why he had no idea that Calyrex had the ability to absorb the power of faith.

Recalling the old woman's story and the current state of Dongning Village, Xia Chen understood what happened next.

During the ten years that Calyrex was injured, humans and elves, who had grown accustomed to its power to make everything grow rapidly, were disappointed.

Humans are forgetful creatures. One or two years is fine, but after a whole decade without any miracles, the believers' disappointment is understandable.

The occurrence of natural disasters further exacerbated this process. Crop yields plummeted, people could not survive, and their attitude towards the Brilliant King, the god who "abandoned its followers," naturally deteriorated rapidly, and may even turn into resentment.

When the Brilliant King recovered from its injuries, the drastically reduced power of faith rendered it unable to bloom its Radiant Flower again.

Then comes a vicious cycle where faith continues to diminish and abilities weaken further.

Even now, only a dozen or so elderly people in Dongning Village still remember this former king of abundance.

This is the entire story of how Calyrex went from a legendary elf of boundless glory to a weak being that even Weavile could bully at will.

"You are truly an admirable sage."

Xia Chen praised him sincerely.

As darkness fell, it stepped forward.

He was injured while trying to save Galar, which led to a series of chain reactions. He even lost his faith and power, falling from the peak to the bottom. Xia Chen did not hear a trace of resentment from the Lacecrown King.

Such a creature deserves people's respect and is worthy of being remembered by history.

If before this, Xia Chen only wanted to help the Crown King because he wanted to borrow its power...

Now, he no longer has so much ambition.

Xia Chen gazed into the eyes of the Queen of the Brilliant Crown and said earnestly, "I will make your name resound from Galar to the Eastern Empire, known to all."

Chapter 543 He descended like lightning!

"I will make your name resound from Galar to the East, known to all."

It must be said that Xia Chen's promise, though it sounded somewhat arrogant, was incredibly persuasive.

At least the Lady Crown was ignited.

For some reason, it inexplicably developed a sense of trust that "if it were Xia Chen, he would definitely be able to do this."

"I believe you."

The Queen of the Lace-Crowned King decided to follow her instincts and place her last hope on the human before her.

That's right, this can be considered its last chance to fight back. Xia Chen and the dozen or so elderly people in Dongning Village are the last humans in the world to remember it.

If they too pass away, the forgotten Calypso King may fall into a long slumber, only to awaken when the power of faith flows in again.

"Let me first give you a rough outline of the plan."

Xia Chen suddenly said.

The Queen of the Lace was somewhat surprised. How long had it been? She already had a rough plan?

"Isn't this... a little too fast?"

Xia Chen smiled and said, "Religion is just a bunch of the same things over and over again, nothing special."

In the elven world, religious beliefs are not prevalent. The humans here have not witnessed the common methods used by the sects in Xia Chen's previous life. It's like waters that have not been polluted by fishermen; you can catch fish every time.

The essence of the brown religion is to find a spiritual sustenance. Even the absurd "Flying Spaghetti Monster Cult" has a lot of followers. Xia Chen felt that if he couldn't bring back the Queen of the Crane Kingdom, or even surpass her peak power, he would be disgracing the name of a transmigrator.

"The first step of the plan is to establish the name of our sect."

Xia Chen spoke eloquently: "This is the most basic way to unite believers and consolidate faith. In fact, doctrines and such are also quite important, but let's not get into those messy things for now."

Actually, this thing is quite important; at least most dark organizations in this world set up similar things to unite their members.

For example, Team Magma and Team Aqua, which Xia Chen destroyed, had a doctrine of controlling Groudon/Kyogre and establishing a new world dominated by land/sea.

Or Team Flare, who shout "Make the world a better place" all day long.

Whether you call it brainwashing or faith, these goals and principles have indeed made the team more united.

However, in Xia Chen's vision, the cult of the Lace Crown King had no ambition or goal to change the world, so its principles were not needed for the time being.

Xia Chen's words were simple and easy to understand. After considering it carefully, King Lei Guan said, "Hmm... how about the Church of Abundance?"

During its reign over the Crown Plateau, it was given the title of "King of Abundance" by its people, so the first name that came to mind for the Raikou King was this.

"It's great, straightforward and clear, and the desire for a bountiful harvest is a common human aspiration, so it carries a positive meaning."

Xia Chen agreed without much thought. A religious name is just a title. As long as it's not too outrageous, it doesn't matter if it's called the Lace Crown Cult.

With the name decided, he continued, "Now that the name is decided, what we need to do is to make people believe in your existence again."

The Crowned King nodded blankly; it was starting to get used to Xia Chen's unpredictable way of thinking.

"Hmm...should I make the villagers of Frozen Village believe in my existence first?"

Xia Chen shook his head and smiled mysteriously, "No, that's too slow. What era are we living in? We're still using those traditional methods."

After a slight pause, he confidently declared, "I will make your name known throughout the world in a single day!"

…………

June 8th, according to the Alliance Calendar, in Frozen Village.

The sun, which brought little warmth or heat, rose as usual, and the elderly people in the village still got up very early.

After breakfast, they carried their offerings and set off in twos and threes to worship at the statue of the Bryan King, not out of faith, but simply out of habit.

For this isolated village, today seems like just another ordinary day.

However, a loud bird call shattered the tranquility of Frozen Village.

From the distant snow-capped peaks, a terrifying bird, its entire body engulfed in purplish-red flames and exuding a chilling, evil aura, slowly flew towards Frozen Village.

It seemed to be an elf that no one had ever seen before.

At first, the appearance of this elf did not attract people's attention. The old man's eyesight and hearing were not good, and with his hunched back, it was difficult for him to notice a small black dot that suddenly appeared in the distant sky.

The first to be discovered was Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center.

Living in this place with few entertainment facilities, she has even developed the same good habit of going to bed early and getting up early as the elderly in recent years.

Her only pleasure is to film a short video every day and post it on Pixiv to record her life in Dongning Village.

The content of her videos is not fixed; she films whatever is available, such as cute blue cottonbirds, weasels that occasionally fight, and kind old people in the village, which are also part of her daily life.

The arbitrary filming resulted in Joyce's videos not getting much traffic; the most viewed video was the one she made the night before last, which was a rant video—because it capitalized on the popularity of Xia Chen, a "top-tier trainer."

This video, which garnered over five million views in two days, directly brought her nearly 20,000 new followers.