He quickly walked into the cave, placing the down jacket he had with him on Naoki, who wore a bewildered expression.
"You're from outside, right?" the old man asked.
Koraidon tilted its head in confusion.
Naoki was equally puzzled. He nodded and asked, "And you are?"
"I could tell you were from out of town, wearing so little here is very dangerous. Even hiding in a cave is unreliable, you might freeze to death!"
The old man spoke with a serious expression before explaining his identity:
"I'm a villager from Freezington Village. A few hours ago, my Swablu found you lost in the snow and went back to the village to call for help."
As he spoke, the old man turned his head to look at his shoulder.
Only then did Naoki notice a small, sky-blue bird-type Pokemon with fluffy, cotton-like feathers perched there.
Upon hearing its owner's words, the Swablu named Swablu flapped its wings joyfully.
Seeing this, Naoki finally understood what had happened.
The old man and the Swablu had come specifically to rescue those lost in the snow!
Although they didn't need rescuing, Naoki was still grateful: "Thank you very much, Swablu."
"Chirp chirp!"
The lively Swablu hopped twice in response.
Old man: "Follow me back to the village first! When the snow stops, it will get even colder here, and it will be very dangerous then!"
"Thank you so much!"
Just as they needed to go to Freezington Village, Naoki readily agreed.
He packed up the items in the cave and then followed the old man with Koraidon in tow.
Guided by the Swablu flying in the air, they finally did not get lost again. After passing through the deep snow, Naoki saw a small village nestled in a serene valley amidst ice and snow.
"This is Freezington Village!" The old man grinned widely, "Although I don't know where you want to go, you can rest here for a while before setting off again."
Naoki nodded: "Thank you very much, may I know how to address you?"
Old man: "Just call me Riley. Come on, bring your Pokemon and have a good rest at my place!"
Riley took Naoki and Koraidon back to his home, letting them warm up by the fireplace.
Naoki felt slightly moved. To be honest, the people here were quite kind.
At this moment, an elderly woman with silver hair came over, carrying two cups of steaming tea.
Her smile was gentle: "Have some hot tea to warm yourself up!"
"Thank you!"
Naoki reached out to accept it. Coincidentally, the effect of the hot soup noodles had worn off, but with the fireplace in front of him and the cup of hot tea, he didn't feel cold at all; rather he felt cozy.
The elderly woman gently said, "My husband is a very warm-hearted old man. He often rescues travelers like you who get lost in the mountains."
Naoki nodded gently: "Mr. Riley is a very nice person."
At this moment, the Swablu landed on the windowsill, curiously watching them.
Naoki noticed this scene.
The elderly woman followed his gaze and smiled, saying, "This Swablu was also rescued by my husband from the mountains. At that time, its wing was injured and it was lying in the snow. The poor little thing was almost frozen stiff."
"My husband brought it back, and we planned to release it after it recovered, but this little fellow refused to leave."
"Since then, it has been living with us, helping my husband rescue lost travelers from the mountains."
Swablu seemed to hear that the old woman was talking about it, so it immediately flew up joyfully, landing in the old woman's arms, chirping happily.
At this moment, Riley, having changed his clothes, came out of the room.
Once he changed his clothes, he looked completely different, from a big old bear to a spry, sharp little old man.
With heavy snow still falling outside, Naoki couldn't go out, so they sat indoors and chatted.
Upon learning that he had come from the Paldea Region, Riley showed a very surprised expression: "Paldea Region? That's very far away!"
"Not really, it takes only three days by ship. If you're talking about distance, I think the Kanto Region is far away," Naoki smiled.
Riley nodded, looking at Koraidon beside Naoki. Although he was old and a bit out of touch with current times, he still understood the profession of a Trainer.
Thus, he asked, "That's true. Are you traveling in the Galar Region?"
Speaking of this, Riley couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.
Traveling in the Galar Region, shouldn't you go to those big cities up north? Why come to this remote little place like Freezington Village?
Naoki saw his confusion and explained, "Actually, I'm not here for tourism. The reason I came to the Crown Tundra is because I'm searching for the legendary Pokemon, The King of Bountiful Harvests."
"What? Something about The King of Bountiful Harvests?" Riley pondered, struggling to recall: "I remember it's something like Calyrex? Or maybe Calygruntang?"
Naoki: "… It's Calyrex, isn't it?"
Riley sheepishly scratched his head: "Oh, it's called Calyrex?"