"What... what on earth is going on?!" Looking at the group of little Pokemon in front of him, a big exclamation mark appeared above Calyrex's head.
Behind him, Sonia also opened her mouth wide in shock.
Only Naoki remained calm and explained to them:
"I've heard tales of Melmetal. When it's nearing the end of its life, its body will rust and disintegrate into tiny metal fragments."
"And those tiny fragments will ultimately be reborn as Meltan, which is the earlier stage of this kind of Pokemon, Melmetal."
"The Meltan gather together to live, and when the time is right, the strongest one will absorb the others to evolve, repeating endlessly in a continuous cycle."
"Doesn't this Pokemon have eternal life?" Sonia couldn't help but ask.
"No, the reborn Meltan doesn't have memories of the past. They're like newborn babies—it's still itself, but not the previous version of itself," Naoki said.
"Huh?" Sonia imagined it, muttering to herself, "If a Trainer caught a Melmetal, and that Melmetal passed away, it would forget its Trainer and past entirely. It's so sad."
Naoki: "... In fact, compared to humans, Melmetal's lifespan is actually quite long."
Sonia: "..." Almost forgot.
After hearing Naoki's explanation, Calyrex understood what had happened to Melmetal.
It lowered its head and looked at the Meltan crawling to its feet, then spoke softly: "Naoki, let's take them home!"
"Alright."
Calyrex probably wants to reunite with old friends, too?
Naoki squatted down, took off his backpack, opened the zipper, and carefully put all the Meltan inside.
The newly born Meltan were still ignorant of the outside world, so they hardly struggled and were all placed in the backpack.
After finishing this task, Naoki stood up, thanked Sonia, and promised:
"Thank you very much for your help, Miss Sonia. If Eternatus awakens and the Galar region cannot handle it, please feel free to contact me."
Consider it a token of gratitude for finding Melmetal!
Moreover, resolving the crisis of Eternatus has always been Calyrex's wish.
Though it doesn't say it, Naoki understands clearly in his heart, as the former King of Galar, how could it bear to watch Eternatus continue to wreak havoc in the Galar region?
Though it had been forgotten by people, Calyrex was always the king Pokemon with a loving heart.
Listening to Naoki's promise, Sonia felt deeply grateful.
She knew the man's identity, knew he had once stopped crises in other regions, and not even the Creator God was his match.
"Hmm!" Sonia nodded vigorously.
Since everything was done, he should go home now.
Just as Naoki was about to leave Galar and return to Paldea, he heard Sonia ask:
"By the way, Mr. Naoki, there's an ancient mural passed down in Stow-on-Side Town. Would you like to take a look?"
A mural? Naoki was slightly stunned, and after a brief recall, he remembered the content from the game.
After some thought, he nodded and said: "Alright."
Naoki put the backpack containing the Meltan on his back and then returned to Stow-on-Side Town with Sonia, arriving in front of the mural.
The mural depicts a sword and shield placed amidst flowers.
Sonia introduced: "This is considered the landmark relic of Stow-on-Side Town, identified by the locals as elegant art, and it seems to have some relation with Zacian and Zamazenta."
Naoki, of course, knew that there was something behind the mural.
In the game, this mural is broken by Bede, exposing the statues of Zacian and Zamazenta.
And this precisely proves the lie of the Galar Royal Family—that the hero was not a single person, but two Pokemon accompanied by two past humans.
But now that the lie of the Galar Royal Family has been exposed, breaking this mural has no meaning anymore.
Naoki took out his Rotom Phone and snapped a photo for memory.
At that moment, he suddenly felt an unusual movement from the backpack behind him.
He turned his head to look, and the metal zipper on the backpack had been eaten by the Meltan!
At this moment, one by one, the Meltan poked their heads out of the backpack, struggling to crawl out.
Naoki: "!!!"
He hurriedly picked up the Meltan that had fallen to the ground and then stuffed them back into the backpack.
"Woo woo woo woo!"
Meltan began to cry out.
As a Pokemon scholar, Sonia quickly realized what was happening upon seeing this scene.
"Mr. Naoki, it seems they are hungry!"
Hungry? Naoki paused.
Sonia took out a Berry from her backpack: "I happen to have some Berries here, go ahead, eat!"
She handed the Berry to the Meltan, but after sniffing, they started howling again, apparently not interested in the Berry.
"Berries aren't on their menu?"
"Meltan is a Steel type Pokemon." Naoki recalled carefully, and if he remembered correctly, this kind of Pokemon's favorite food is various metals.
Three minutes later, at the hardware store counter in Stow-on-Side Town.
A group of hungry Meltan cried out as they stared at the screws in Naoki's hand.