The ation ceremony was over. Spectrier, with its head held high, wore a proud expression as it trotted fidently, eager to return to the rand indulge in its favorite shade root carrots.

  Seeing Spectrier preparing to leave, Naoki politely cut his versation short with an overly excited Ivan, murmured a quick goodbye, and hurried to catch up with Spectrier.

  "Heading back already?" Naoki asked.

  Spectrier lowered its head slightly, signaling its i.

  "Alright," Naoki nodded. He walked alongside Spectrier toward the exit of the rag venue, where Alder and the rest of his Pokémon, including Koraidon, were waiting.

  As Naoki and Spectrier approached, Alder and the Pokémon stared, wide-eyed, at the golden trophy perched orier's head.

  "What…what's going on there?" Alder asked, his voice filled with amused bewilderment.

  Naoki shrugged casually. "That's its '.'"

  Koraidon tilted its head, the ers of its mouth twitg in disbelief. "Raaao…" It muttered, clearly reizing the object as a trophy.

  Alder tried, and failed, to suppress a ugh. "Pfft…"

  Spectrier, notig Alder's rea, g him briefly with a haughty air, then lifted its head even higher and trotted forward as though parading its victory.

  'Hmph, foolish human!' Spectrier's demeanor seemed to say.

  Alder blinked, momentarily taken aback. Did the Pokémon just look down on him?

  Naoki chuckled as he turo Ogerpon. "Did you have fun today?"

  "Pon!"

  Ogerpon nodded vigorously, its eyes sparkling with joy. It had been a wonderful day; no one feared it, and the lively atmosphere was a delight.

  "That's good," Naoki replied warmly. "ime, we'll go to the Harvest Festival in the mountains."

  "Pon~!"

  Ogerpon cpped its haedly, looking forward to the adventure.

  With that settled, the group began their journey back to the ranch. Spectrier refused to return to its Poké Ball, instead wearing its trophy as if it were a golden , striding ahead like a king surveying its domain.

  Naoki and Alder walked behind, exging amused gnces.

  "Do you think Spectrier actually believes that's a ?" Alder asked, clearly trying not to ugh.

  Naoki sighed, "At this point, yes."

  Alder chuckled, barely holding back his ughter. "Well, it does kind of suit it."

  Naoki's thoughts drifted to Gstrier, w how the frosty steed would react to Spectrier's triumphaurn.

  It didn't take long for him to find out.

  As they arrived at the ranch, Spectrier immediately made its way to its stable, the golden "" still proudly perched atop its head.

  Gstrier, still sulking in its own stable, raised its head upon hearing Spectrier's approach. Its eyes immediately locked onto the shimmering trophy, and its expression froze in sheer shock.

  !!!

  Gstrier's wide-eyed gaze followed Spectrier's every move as it strutted into its stable and casually lowered its head to mun carrots.

  To Gstrier, that "" wasn't just a trophy—it was undeniable proof that Spectrier had won the rad cimed the title of the most powerful horse Pokémon in the world.

  A deep sense of envy and jealousy welled up within Gstrier. Its breathing grew heavier, and icy mist began streaming from its nostrils.

  'That should have been mine!'

  Spectrier, however, paid no attention to Gstrier's brewing storm of emotions, calmly enjoying its snack.

  Naoki, notig the tension, braced himself. He was certaiwo Pokémon were about to csh over the "."

  But to his surprise, Gstrier suddenly turs icy gaze toward him. Its expression was filled with accusation, as though bming Naoki for this perceived injustice. Then, with an indignant huff, Gstrier turned around and pointedly faced away angrily and turs butt towards him.

  Naoki sighed deeply. "...."

  Alder, uo hold it in any longer, burst into ughter. "Your Pokémon really have the most eaining personalities!"

  "What are you going to do?" Alder asked with a curious smile.

  Naoki let out a helpless sigh. From past experience, he khat coaxing Gstrier would be no easy task. The frosty steed's personality made it a challeo soothe its sulky moods.

  Falling into thought, Naoki recalled Gstrier's favorite food: ice carrots. Then, he remembered the sugar cubes trainers had fed their Pokémon at the horse rag petition. An idea sparked.

  'What if I bine ice carrots and sugar cubes to make ice carrot dy fstrier?'

  With newfouermination, Naoki headed straight to the ice carrot field.

  The field itself was a marvel. Both the ice carrot and shade root carrot fields were tended daily by Calyrex. These special carrots took a long time to grow, but thanks to Calyrex's powers, the carrot seeds were ripened daily to erier and Spectrier had a stant supply of their favorite food.

  Calyrex's efforts didn't end with harvesting; the fields were regurly fertilized to preveion of nutrients from the tinuous crop cycle.

  Naoki carried the basket of ice carrots to the kit, where he began his experiment. Ice carrots were unique ingredients, found only in icy climates with precise enviroal ditions. The carrots emitted a natural cold energy, their pure white appearance resembling fresh snow. Even to the touch, they felt icy, with a faint mist of cold air rising from their surfaces.

  He carefully chopped the carrots into smaller pieces before blending them into a fine, snow-white puree. , he transferred the puree into a pot, gradually adding sugar while stirring stantly. As the mixture thied, he poured it into square molds to cool.

  O, Naoki retrieved the dies from the molds. Each piece erfectly formed cube with a pure, frosty luster that seemed to radiate cold energy. To his surprise, the texture was hard, much like traditional hard dies.

  "Could the iergy in the carrots have affected the texture?" Naoki mused, iing the dy.

  As he pondered, information about the dy surfaced in his mind:

  [Ice Carrot Sugar dy (B)]

  Description: This dy, made from pure ice carrot and sugar, boasts a unique fvor cherished by certain Pokémon.

  Effects: Restores ice-type energy and has a ce to help Pokémon learn new ice-type moves. Effective only for Ice-type Pokémon. Increases favorability with Ice-type Pokémon.

  Evaluation: A high-quality treat, superior to standard desserts like cream smoothies.

  "Huh, it even has a bonus effect," Naoki noted, impressed. pared to cream smoothies, these dies offered better bes and were easier to make in bulk. Both G and Gstrier would enjoy them as a regur snack.

  Then, ahought struck him. 'What if I used shade root carrots instead? Could it create a simir enha fhost-type Pokémon?'

  Eager to test his theory, Naoki retrieved two shade root carrots. These carrots, like their icy terparts, were charged with spectral energy and had been cultivated specifically for Spectrier.

  Following the same process, Naoki chopped, blended, cooked, and molded the shade root carrots. Moments ter, a row of ly crafted purple sugar cubes pced before him, glinting faintly with an eerie light.

  [Shade root Carrot Sugar dy (B)]

  Description: A dy made from shade root carrot and sugar, boasting a distinct fvor appreciated by specifion.

  Effects: Resthost-type energy and has a ce to help Pokémon learn new ghost-type moves. Effective only fhost-type Pokémon. Increases favorability with Ghost-type Pokémon.

  Evaluation: A unique and high-quality treat designed fhost-type Pokémon.

  "As I suspected!" Naoki thought, pleased with his handiwork.

  The ranch didn't have many Ghost-type Pokémon—only two. If the neighborhood Giratina was added to the list, that made three.

  As Naoki admired the purple dies, Alder, who had been , asked curiously, "Is that one of those Pokeblocks for Pokémon?"

  Naoki blinked in mild surprise before shaking his head. "No, these are sugar cubes I made fstrier and Spectrier as snacks."

  "I see," Alder replied, intrigued. "But they look remarkably simir to top-grade Pokeblocks. The texture is so pure."

  Naoki's eyes lit up. "Mr. Alder, you make Pokeblocks?"

  Alder ughed and waved off the notion. "Me? No way! That's far beyond my expertise."

  Notig Naoki's sudden i, Alder asked, "Wait, are you thinking about learning how to make Pokeblocks?"

  Naoki nodded. "Yes. I've heard that Pokeblocks are packed with nutrients that are highly beneficial for Pokémon."

  "You heard right," Alder agreed, stroking his thoughtfully. "But there's more to it than that. The formu for each Pokeblock is different, and their effects vary depending on the recipe."

  Alder tinued, "Top breeders oftee Pokeblocks tailored to the needs of specifion. These exclusive formus are incredibly valuable and fetch a high price."

  "But generally speaking, breeders don't sell their recipes," Alder expined.

  Hearing this, Naoki's curiosity piqued. "Recipes?" he asked.

  "Exactly!" Alder nodded. "There are tless berries in this world. Some only grow in specific regions, and each type of berry be bined with others to create Pokeblocks. If you really think about it, there are probably thousands of potential recipes!"

  Naoki nodded in uanding.

  Seeing his growing i, Alder offered, "Whe to Unova, I'll reach out to one of my tacts and arrange for a breeder to teach you."

  Naoki hesitated, feeling slightly unsure. "Wouldn't that be a bit… troublesome?"

  He had never beeo use personal favors for something like this.

  "What are you w about?" Alder said with a ugh. "I'd be doing this as a personal favor, not as some big request. Besides, the person I'm thinking of is a close friend I met back when I was the champion. She's one of the top Pokémon breeders in the field!"

  Hearing this, Naoki relented. "Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Alder. Thank you."

  Alder grinned. "Good! Now, aren't you supposed to give those dies to Gstrier? Go on, then we start pnning our trip to the Union."

  Naoki nodded, carefully setting aside the shade root carrot sugar cubes for Spectrier, pnning to give them to it the day. Giving them both treats at the same time might only add fuel to Gstrier's jealousy.

  He carried the pte of ice carrot sugar cubes to the stables.

  As Naoki approached, Gstrier immediately turs ba, still sulking. Beside it, Spectrier stood tall, its golden trophy perched on its head like a . It exuded an air of serene indifference, clearly basking in its self-procimed status as the most powerful horse Pokémon in the world.

  Naoki sighed. "I 't help but feel these two beloved steeds of Calyrex are a little too dramatic."

  Clearing his throat, Naoki stepped closer to Gstrier. The icy steed made as if to turn further away but hesitated when its gaze nded oe of frosty treats in Naoki's hands.

  Its movement froze for a moment.

  Seizing the opportunity, Naoki picked up one of the dies aly slipped it into Gstrier's mouth. Leaning close to its ear, he whispered, "Go ahead, try it. I made this snack just for you. Spectrier doesn't get one."

  Spectrier, of course, noticed the exge. With its keen senses, it heard every word. However, as the reigning Horse King, it decided such petty s were beh it and didn't bother reag.

  Gstrier, meanwhile, snorted in defiance, pretending to resist, but its torayed it. It rolled the dy around and began to chew. The icy sweetness spread through its mouth, and though it wao stay mad, the delicious treat made it harder to hold onto its grudge.

  As soon as the sugar dy slid down its throat, Gstrier's icy-blue eyes lit up instantly.

  'This… this is incredible! How could something taste this good?'

  Drool began to form in its mouth, and the sulky fog clouding its thoughts quickly dissipated. Its brain and gaze locked entirely onto the sugar dies.

  'This humaually prepared such delicious food for me. Was this his way of apologizing?'

  Grunting twice, Gstrier turned around and began dev the sugar cubes with fervor.

  Seeing this, Naoki couldn't help but smile. He knew he had successfully appeased the temperamental steed.

  pared to Spectrier, Gstrier was clearly not as clever. However, its straightforward, irritable nature had its merits. Pokémon with such temperaments teo think simply, distinguishing clearly between what they loved and what they despised.

  Orier was tentedly mung away, Naoki wandered off to the orchard. There, he found G and Alcremie pying hide-and-seek among the trees.

  He shared the remaining ice carrot dies with them, earning happy chirps and purrs of appreciation. Then, he headed back to the kit and offered a few shade root carrot dies to Flutter Mane, who had floated in curiously.

  "How does it taste?" Naoki asked as Flutter Mane nibbled on one.

  Flutter Mane, mid-bite, sched its little face, baring its fangs in slight distaste. It was clear this type of carrot-based dy didn't suit its pate.

  "Mrrream" ."I don't like it…" Flutter Mane grumbled softly, shaking its mane.

  Naoki sighed, falling into thought. Flutter Mane, a Pokémon from aimes, was evidently a ivorous creature. pared to carrots, fruits, etables, it likely preferred ks of meat or bone.

  In that case, he decided he'd o whip up an improved recipe, perhaps something like shade root carrot stew, tailored to suit Flutter Maaste.

  But this train of thought reminded him of a small problem—Kosaji Town didn't sell vermicelli. Last winter, he had wao make pork stew with vermicelli but hadn't been able to find any.

  In addition tur meats, Naoki mused over other delicacies, such as seafood—lobsters and crabs, for instahe mere thought made his stomach growl slightly.

  He remembered how all the fish that Dragonites and Dragonairs had brought him in the past had been devoured entirely by Giratina. He hadn't even mao sample a sie. When he had goo front Giratina about it, the massive Pokémon had smugly decred, "Anything that enters my domain is mine."

  Naoki had been too preoccupied with managing Kitakami and Ogerpon's affairs to think much about it at the time. But now, with some free time, his craving for lobster and crab resurfaced strongly.

  Determined, Naoki decided to take a. However, not wanting to upset the other Dragonites patrolling and w in the area, he sought out his personal Dragonite instead.

  Finding Dragonite lounging in the sun, Naoki approached. "I need a favor," he began, expining his seafood craving.

  Dragonite's expressihtened instantly. It stood up, clearly delighted that Naoki was seeking its help rather than the wild Dragohat roamed the area.

  With a joyful cry, Dragonite spread its wings, took off into the sky, and soared toward the o to catch lobsters and crabs for Naoki.