How to Catch Calyrex in Pokémon Sword & Shield Crown Tundra

Co-authored by Ethan Dobbs and Eric McClure

Last Updated: August 29, 2024 Fact Checked

If you’re playing the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield, you may be wondering when you’ll get to capture Calyrex, the ancient and merciful king. This powerful Pokémon shouldn’t prove too challenging for a League Champion such as yourself. Still, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to take them down and add this Legendary Pokémon to your roster. Read on to learn how you can catch a Calyrex of your own.

1

Go to Freezington.

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You’ll trigger this quest during the normal story mode once you get to Freezington. Capturing Calyrex is actually the first task you’ll pursue once you enter Freezington. This quest is “The Sacred Bonds of Sovereign and Steed” (aka “The King of Bountiful Harvests”).^{[1]
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Research source} In Crown Tundra, Freezington is on the leftmost side of the map in the middle, and you can reach it through Giant’s Bed.^{[2]
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- This is the first of 3 main quests in the Crown Tundra DLC, and it is also referred to as “Legendary Clue 1.”

2

Activate the quest by talking to Peony in his home.

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Peony is the dashing gentleman in the red snowsuit. The town of Freezington isn’t particularly big, so you should have no problem spotting this guy once you enter the center of town. To start the quest officially, go into Peony’s house (it’s the house with the red flag) and either talk to him, or go to the big stone on his kitchen table and inspect it. A cutscene will take place and you’ll be given the stone.^{[3]
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- This is where Peony gives you the clue you need to look into the King of Bountiful Harvests (spoiler alert: the king is Calyrex).
- If you’re struggling to find Peony’s house, go to the stone statue in the middle of the town square and rotate your camera. You should be able to see the red flag outside of his house.
- Peony will give you a single Master Ball. You do not have to use the Master Ball to capture Calyrex, although it will speed things along considerably if you do.^{[4]
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3

Move the stone from Peony’s table to the statue outside.

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Place the stone on top of the statue in the middle of the town square. Once you have Peony’s rock (erm…“crown”), go to the statue of the Pokémon and set the stone on top of the head. A cutscene will trigger where Calyrex leads you into a bushy area. Follow him to continue the quest.^{[5]
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- If you hadn’t figured it out already, the statue depicts Calyrex!
- FYI, you can’t actually get past this point until you’ve finished the core game. You need to become a Pokémon League Champion before Calyrex will even entertain the idea of fighting you.

4

Beat Calyrex in the first fight.

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You can’t capture Calyrex here, so just win the fight outright. Don’t waste any Poké Balls or key resources on this fight. Calyrex is a psychic and grass type, so any dark or fire type Pokémon will be strong here. Chip away at their health and faint them to trigger yet another cutscene.^{[6]
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- You can also just lose the fight. The outcome of the battle doesn’t have any impact on whether you can advance in the story or not.^{[7]
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- However, if you do lose the fight, it might be a sign your roster isn’t cut out for this battle. You may want to keep farming XP elsewhere or finish a few side quests to strengthen your team before coming back.

5

Speak to the 5 townsfolk in Freezington.

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Once the fight ends, Calyrex will send you on a quest to meet some folks. Regardless of whether Calyrex beats you or faints, Peony will pop up. Calyrex will possess Peony’s body and use his voice to speak to you (it’s as weird as it sounds). Calyrex will explain that they need you to chat with a few folks to learn more about their legend.^{[8]
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Research source} Go out and talk to:
- The two women with the Swablu.
- The woman with the Spheal.
- The man near the empty garden.
- The mayor of Freezington.

6

Check in with Calyrex again and go find the mayor.

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Go back to Calyrex after you worked through all 5 conversations. He’ll be in the same spot you left him, still possessing Peony. Talk to Calyrex, and then go to the Giant’s Bed area to find the mayor. Talk with the mayor for the second time and he’ll explain that crops aren’t growing in Freezington. Return to Calyrex again when you’re done.^{[9]
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- Calyrex will explain that they want you to get their steed by luring it out with food. The mayor has already hinted that the only thing growing here anymore is carrots. So…yeah, you need some carrots.
- If you’re really into the lore and story here, go back to the mayor’s house after talking to him and go through his bookshelf. There are a lot of relevant stories there, although this is entirely optional.

7

Buy carrot seeds from the old man.

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You can find the old man in the center of Freezington. Remember the gentleman you talked to next to the garden after you first beat Calyrex? Go talk to him again. He’s hanging out near the garden on your first pass-through will now be in the middle of the town square. Go talk to him and trade 8 Dyire Ore for carrot seeds.^{[10]
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- If you don’t have the 8 Dyire Ore you need to buy the carrots, and you haven’t collected the carrots elsewhere, complete some of the Dynamax Raid Adventures by playing random people online.^{[11]
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8

Use the carrots to attract either Glastrier or Spectrier.

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Go to Snowslide Slope for Glastrier, or the Old Cemetery for Spectrier. The carrots can only attract one of the two horse Pokémon, so choose wisely.^{[12]
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Research source} Once you have the carrot seeds, you can attract either Glastrier or Spectrier, but not both. Where you choose to plant the seeds determines which of Calyrex’s steeds will appear. You will capture this Pokémon alongside Calyrex in the end, so pick the Pokémon that appeals to you most (or rounds out your roster the best). There are no wrong answers!^{[13]
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- Glastrier is an ice Pokémon with strong base stats, but a low speed. Its pure ice type isn’t particularly desirable, but when it comes to raw power, it’s much better than Spectrier.
- Spectrier is a ghost Pokémon, which is better than ice when it comes to resistances. Its special attack is really strong, and it’s exceptionally fast (speed 130!), but its baseline stats are otherwise weak.
- Follow Calyrex’s instructions to find the plot of land in Snowslide Slope where you plant the seeds to find Glastrier.^{[14]
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- At the Old Cemetery, bury the seeds in the garden where you talked to the mayor the second time to fight Spectrier.^{[15]
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9

Win the fight against Glastrier or Spectrier.

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Go to the town square to fight the horse you chose and win the fight. You can’t catch either Pokémon, so just win the fight outright. This battle shouldn’t be difficult (it’s designed to be fairly easy), and if you made it this far it shouldn’t be a huge challenge. Faint the Glastrier or Spectrier to continue the quest.^{[16]
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- Glastrier, the ice type, is weak to fire, fighting, rock, and steel types. It has no immunities, but so long as you don’t fight it with an ice Pokémon, you should have an easy time.
- Spectrier, the ghost Pokémon, is weak to dark and ghost attacks. It’s immune to normal and fighting Pokémon, and resistant to bug and poison. Throw out any psychic, dark, or ghost Pokémon to win the fight.

10

Grab the mane fur Galstrier or Spectrier leave behind and go to Calyrex.

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Once you faint Glastrier or Spectrier, a glimmering tuft of hair will be resting in the snow as a reward. Pick it up and go back to Calyrex. They’ll give you a Radiant Petal, and explain that they need their steed.^{[17]
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11

Speak to the mayor to get the Reins of Unity.

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The mayor will be at his home, so go talk to him to trigger a long cutscene. Once you’ve got the petal and the tuft of horse hair, go to the mayor’s house. He’ll go on a monologue about how the mane fur and the petal create a magic item. Give him a minute to finish speaking, and he’ll magically craft the Reins of Unity.^{[18]
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- Peony will join you halfway through the cutscene. Apparently, Calyrex no longer felt like possessing him, so that’s nice. Peony doesn’t seem too shaken up by the whole thing, at least.

12

Go to the Crown Shrine at the peak of Crown Tundra.

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The Crown Shrine is on the highest point of Crown Tundra. It can be a little tricky to find Crown Shrine at first, but go outside and look for the path that leads to higher elevation. Continue working your way up until you spot a large cave entrance.^{[19]
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Research source} Inside of the cave, keep going wherever the elevation increases until you exit the cave and enter a grove of snowy trees. Climb higher until you reach the peak and you’ll find Calyrex.^{[20]
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- Whether you choose to take on any of the random fights on your way is entirely up to you. If you want a roster in tiptop shape though, you’re better off dodging the fights.

13

Battle Calyrex for the final time.

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You have unlimited attempts here, so don’t get stressed out. Calyrex and their steed will challenge you at the peak. It shouldn’t be an exceptionally hard fight, but we’re here if you need some help! Calyrex is a psychic and grass type—the rare combination that is incredibly weak to any dark or fire type. Putting them to sleep is also a popular strategy, as it allows you to get free hits in to chip their health away.
- Calyrex uses Giga Drain to restore their health, which is why sleep strategies are popular. But so long as you have enough front-end damage, you should be able to fight through the life gain.
- If you lose or accidentally faint Calyrex when you didn’t mean to, you’ll have the option of retrying the fight.^{[21]
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14

Capture Calyrex.

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You can try to capture them when they’re weak, or spam toss Poké Balls. Since you have unlimited tries here, many players spam Ultra Balls or just opt to use the Master Ball right away to take Calyrex down. Alternatively, play the fight out to weaken them and try to capture them when their health is roughly ¼ of the starting HP. Continue trying until you’ve captured them!^{[22]
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- You do not have to use the Master Ball Peony gave you. You can save it for another legendary Pokémon if you prefer. However, this is a perfectly reasonable fight to use it in, since your odds with a regular Poké Ball are pretty low.
- What happens if you kill Calyrex? Nothing of note. He’ll wake up immediately and challenge you again, so don’t worry about losing your opportunity.

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Tips

A few fun facts for you on this one. “Glastrier” is obviously derived from “glacier” (it’s an ice Pokémon) and “Spectrier” is a form of “specter” (like a ghost). Calyrex’s name is fascinating, though. It’s a combination of “calyx,” which is Latin for “bud” and “rex,” which is Latin for “king.” The name of the quest? “The Sacred Bonds of Sovereign and Steed”—sovereign meaning “ruler” and “steed” referring to the horse.^{[23]
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Research source} This is also why Calyrex is referred to as “The King of Bountiful Harvests.”

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It is impossible to get both Glastrier and Spectrier on the same playthrough. The only way to acquire both is to trade for the horse you’re missing. If you’re really dedicated, you could also create a new Switch profile, play through the entire game again, and then trade between both playthroughs to get both!

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