Pokemon Crown Tundra Calyrex Steed Guide: Which Steed is Better?

One of the legends to investigate in Pokemon Sword and Shields Crown Tundra DLC revolves around a brand new legendary Pokemon called Calyrex. In earlier times, Calyrex was revered as a king by the inhabitants of the crown tundra. Over time, however, people’s belief in the Pokémon waned and its powers waned. It is up to you to restore Calyrex’s power and one of the ways to do it is to reunite them with their steed. Crown Tundra spoilers follow.

Shortly after meeting Calyrex, the legendary Pokémon asks for your help in finding his trusty steed. As it turns out, this steed is one of two alternate legendary horse pokemon: that Eisart Glastrier or the Ghost Type Spectrier. Much of the way in which you can decide which Urshifu your Kubfu will evolve into in the Isle of Armor expansion is entirely up to you. However, you can only choose one of them, and your selection is permanent. Hence, you need to think carefully before making your decision.

How to choose a steed

After completing the introductory Dynamax adventure and earning Dynite Ore, you can purchase a bag of carrot seeds from the farmer in Freezington, the small village near Crown Tundra station. These seeds can be used to grow either one Iceroot carrot or a Shaderoot carrotwhich in turn determines which of the two steeds you summon.

The type of carrot you grow will depend on where the seeds will be planted. To produce an iceroot carrot, you must plant the seeds on the property in Snowslide Slope. Meanwhile, the shaderoot carrot is grown by planting the seeds in the Old Cemetery.

After choosing a plot and planting the seeds, Calyrex will use the remaining power to sprout a carrot. This will lure either Glastrier or Spectrier out of hiding and cause the Pokémon to head to Freezington. Return to the village and defeat it in battle to drive it away. The steed leaves a strand of hair from its mane that you need to weave along with the radiant petal you get from Calyrex to forge this Reins of Unity.

Once you receive Reins of Unity, Calyrex will inform you that his steed is lurking in the Crown Shrine at the northernmost point of the Crown Tundra. Go to the shrine and put the carrot in the basket there to lure Glastrier or Spectrier out of hiding. Calyrex will then use the reins of the unit to tame the steed and accept it Ice rider or Shadow rider form. In return for your help in restoring its power, Calyrex will then give you the opportunity to catch it.

Which horse is better?

Both Glastrier and Spectrier have the same basic statistics, but their statistics are distributed very differently. Glastrier has low speed but high attack and defense, which makes it an impressive tank. Spectrier, meanwhile, has high speed and special attack but low defense, which makes it more adept at hitting fast.

Although Glastrier and Spectrier can be used individually in combat, they can also be combined with Calyrex to form a Pokémon: Ice Rider Calyrex or Shadow Rider Calyrex. This merger gives Calyrex a significant statistical boost and several other advantages. In his Ice Rider form, Calyrex becomes a Psychic / Ice type. in Shadow Rider form it becomes Psychic / Ghost. Depending on which horse it is riding, Calyrex’s statistics are increased accordingly. The Ice Rider form has high defense and low speed attack, while the Shadow Rider form has high speed and special low defense attack.

In addition to stat boost, Calyrex can perform a few different moves depending on the form it takes. In Ice Rider form, it can learn ice-type attacks, including the signature move Glacial Lance, an incredibly powerful, physical ice-type attack. Meanwhile, Shadow Rider Calyrex can learn ghost movements. The characteristic attack of this form is Astral Barrage, a powerful, special ghost-type train that deals damage to all neighboring enemies.

Which steed you choose ultimately depends on which combat strategy you prefer. Ice Rider Calyrex fits well with Trick Room teams thanks to its slow speed and naturally high attack, while Shadow Rider Calyrex makes a good specialty sweeper, especially when improving its own stats with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind.

We have more Crown Tundra guides so stay tuned for more information. In the meantime, you can find out more about the big new features and other additions to the DLC in our roundup of everything we know about Crown Tundra. We also covered how to get to the Crown Tundra itself and access all of its new content.