Because it believes it symbolizes the Horse King and should not be handed over casually.
With no other choice, Naoki had to give up, while beginning to worry whether Spectrier wearing that trophy long-term might cause its skull to deform into the shape of a trophy...
Thinking about this, Naoki felt it was quite a dreadful thing.
He looked at Spectrier in the stable, feeling that things couldn't continue like this.
Thus, Naoki turned and found Calyrex, sharing his concerns.
Upon hearing this, Calyrex said nothing but went to speak with Spectrier for a few words.
Then Naoki saw Spectrier remove the trophy and hand it to Calyrex for safekeeping.
"It's all sorted now." Calyrex said to Naoki, holding the trophy.
"That's good." Naoki once again conducted a detailed inspection of Spectrier's skull, only relaxing after confirming there was no deformation caused by the trophy.
After bidding farewell to Spectrier and Glastrier, Naoki ventured into the Reversed World, arriving beneath the World Tree.
He found the Tropius whose wings were injured last winter and inquired about its plans.
"Spring has arrived, the snow outside has melted, life begins to recover; what plans do you have next? Are you thinking of returning to Casseroya Lake to reunite with your companions, or do you plan to stay here at the ranch?"
Tropius raised its head high, letting out a melodious call: "Oh-oooh~!"
Naoki: "Would you like to stay and live with us?"
Tropius nodded happily: "Oh-oooh!"
"Great." Naoki smiled slightly: "Then please take care of us in the future, Tropius!"
"Oh-oooh~"
While speaking, Naoki noticed the bananas on Tropius's neck had regrown.
If he remembered correctly, Tropius had picked all its fruits in December.
Logically, the next batch of bananas should not be harvested until summer.
But now it's spring, and they've already been harvested.
"Is it due to the accelerated effect of fried bananas, or has staying long-term near the Time Tree hastened the growth of bananas with ample natural energy?" Naoki murmured.
Looking at it this way, Tropius's fruit growth cycle may change from twice a year to six or seven times.
Coupled with its [Harvest] ability, it might yield quite a few bananas at once; rounding up, that's one harvest per month.
"It's a pity that the effect of the Divine Steamed Bun made from Ho-oh Feather doesn't work on Tropius." Naoki thought to himself.
[Divine Blessing, after being eaten by Pokemon, receives Ho-oh's favor, greatly increasing fortune ↑. This effect is only effective on Mew, Teddiursa, and Zapdos.]
This effect is tantamount to a man-made Serene Grace ability; if it worked on Tropius, it might trigger its Harvest ability a hundred percent, doubling banana harvests each time.
However, Divine Blessing is only effective on members of the Heroic Expedition Team favored by Ho-oh.
But one must remain content; compared to the original twice-a-year harvest, things are already much improved, aren't they?
Naoki stretched out his hand and patted Tropius's head. As the weather gradually warmed, Gogoat and Arboliva had already left the Reversed World to reside outside.
The Heroic Expedition Team also resumed their travels.
Tropius found itself somewhat bored alone, so it followed Naoki outside.
Naoki settled it by the riverside, where the abundant water source and plenty of sunshine made it an ideal place for Tropius to live.
Once the World Tree fully matures, he plans to build a nest for Tropius on it.
After settling Tropius, Naoki went across the river to the Apple Garden.
Thanks to Gogoat's cultivation, the apple saplings he had planted before had fully grown, and now red apples were hanging from them.
Judging by their size and color, they were no less impressive than the apples from Kitakami.
Naoki picked an apple and took a bite.
In the next second, the sweet pulp exploded with rich juice in his mouth.
"Hmm, tastes sweet and crisp, nice!"
Naoki nodded in satisfaction.
Apart from these red apples, some apples remained greenish.
Naoki planned to harvest them in a couple of days.
Walking through the Apple Garden, looking at the apple-filled yard, Naoki suddenly felt a bit concerned.
These apples aren't going to attract Applins, are they?
Applin, a Pokémon known as the Apple Core Pokémon, is a Grass and Dragon type.
This kind of Pokémon specializes in eating apples. From birth, it hides inside an apple, eating the flesh while growing, and usually uses the apple to disguise itself.
For farmers, Applins in normal circumstances can harm the orchard, as they are a harmful Pokémon.
If you encounter an Applin with the Gluttony ability, the entire orchard's apples might be devoured completely.
But things aren't always absolute.
In such cases, if you encounter an Applin with the Ripen ability, not only will it not eat all the apples, but it will also accelerate their growth, allowing them to ripen faster.
And once an Applin evolves into a Flapple or Appletun, the efficiency of Ripen will be greatly enhanced.
It's said that in the distant Galar Region, many orchardists raise Applins, allowing them to help the apples ripen.
Thinking of this, Naoki carefully wandered around the Apple Garden, intending to see if any Applin had snuck into his apples to nibble on the flesh.
For identifying apples, his Golden Finger can play a significant role.
Looking out, the detailed information of almost each apple is like this:
[Apple: A common fruit, sweet and delicious, crisp, and refreshing, greatly enhanced in quality due to cultivation by Gogoats, highly nutritious, can be used for cooking.]
If you encounter an apple occupied by Applin, the detailed information will not appear.
Because at that time, the apple can no longer be used as an ingredient.
After a careful inspection, Naoki confirmed that no Applins had come to his Apple Garden.
This left Naoki feeling somewhat disappointed.
He quite liked Appletun, which evolved from Applin.
If he had an Appletun, he could plant an apple orchard on the World Tree and let Appletun watch over it there.
After a brief thought, Naoki prepared to go home and use his Rotom Phone to search online for information about Applins and Appletuns, see their habitats, and then capture a few with the Ripen ability to manage the Apple Garden.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened.
Naoki looked up and saw the massive figure of Rayquaza slowly descending into the ranch.
Naoki was slightly taken aback, then realized something, turning his head to look at Snorlax Park.
Sure enough, he saw Dragonite, Cyclizar, and Ogerpon there, even the Eevees and little Dratinis had gone over to join in the fun.
It seemed like they were awed by Rayquaza's majestic form, as the Eevees and Dratinis displayed gazes of admiration.
Dragonite was inviting Rayquaza to the ranch again...
Great, the cookies and Poffins he and his sister Indeedee prepared yesterday will be devoured by this big eater Rayquaza again.
Naoki felt a headache coming on, but since Dragonite and Ogerpon were using Poffins to entertain Rayquaza, he couldn't stop them. Not letting Rayquaza eat would be too impolite.
"Sigh."
Naoki could only accept his fate, letting out a sigh, and prepared to go home to see how many Poffins were left.
He returned to the living room, checking the ingredients in the cupboard, when he suddenly received a video call from Teddiursa and Mew.
Naoki was slightly surprised and quickly pressed the answer button.
The next second, the three Pokémon of the Heroic Expedition Team appeared on his phone screen.
Naoki noticed the background behind them, which seemed to be a forest.
"Looks like you have successfully reached the destination." Naoki said with a smile.
Teddiursa looked very happy: "Eme eme!"
Its words were automatically translated by Rotom into electronic sound.
Teddiursa: "That's right! This place has many Pokémon we have never seen before!"
Mew: "We just helped a lost Wingull in the forest find its trainer!"
"Wingull?" Naoki was a bit surprised.
Mew and Teddiursa nodded repeatedly, then turned the screen to let Naoki see those unfamiliar Pokémon around.
Zigzagoon in the bushes, Poochyena in the clearing, Beautifly fluttering in the forest, and Taillow resting on the branches...
Looking at those familiar Pokémon on the screen, Naoki felt a hint of realization.
Could it be that the place of adventure for the Heroic Expedition Team this time is the Hoenn Region?!