"Purity…"
Rock's brows drew tightly together.
Although he had released his mental power outward, his perception of his surroundings had not dulled. If anything, spreading his mental power across the area had made his senses even sharper.
Su Bai's words had struck him like a bolt of enlightenment. But "purity" was an innate quality.
And in Zhou Xiaofei's case, the kind of purity he possessed—remaining true to his original ideals despite having endured so much hardship—was not something one could simply achieve through effort.
Rock himself was already carrying countless secrets. As the heir to the Rock family, it was practically impossible for him to be truly pure.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that although part of the reason he wanted to subdue Pokémon was because he genuinely loved them…
At its core, his purpose simply wasn't pure enough.
Still, perhaps because the burdens resting on his shoulders were simply too heavy, and because of the powerful sense of responsibility driving him forward, he was unwilling to give up just like that.
So Rock continued to hold on to that final sliver of hope and tried his best.
Time passed second by second.
The look in Lu Liangpeng's eyes had gradually changed.
When he looked at Rock now, there was even a trace of shock and disbelief in his gaze.
Releasing mental power at this magnitude without any particular target was an enormous burden for anyone.
"I was wrong… It isn't ten times."
Lu Liangpeng's expression became increasingly solemn.
"The rate at which his mental power is being consumed… Saying twenty times or even thirty times wouldn't be an exaggeration!"
Even someone like him would probably become an idiot within seconds if he continuously released mental power at this rate.
And yet Rock had already maintained it for an entire minute.
Drops of cold sweat could clearly be seen falling from his forehead.
Zhu Jianyuan watched the scene with tightly knitted brows and said worriedly, "That guy isn't going to die here, is he? Even if he just becomes an idiot… I don't think we can afford to deal with that either…"
The current heir of the Rock family had come to Haicheng and ended up becoming an idiot.
And it happened inside the Pokémon Center, no less.
That responsibility would be extremely difficult to bear.
Zhu Jianyuan might have been stubborn enough to openly defy orders from Kyoto for the sake of the Pokémon Center.
But that didn't mean he wanted any unnecessary complications.
"People from Kyoto really are troublesome…"
Zhu Jianyuan glanced at Su Bai.
"Isn't there any way to stop him?"
Su Bai rested a hand against his chin, deep in thought. He didn't answer.
The release of mental power had no effect on him whatsoever.
But as the owner of the Pokémon Center, he could sense every fluctuation within the center as long as he paid attention.
Zhu Jianyuan and the others might not have noticed it, but Su Bai knew very well that Rock was already at the end of his rope.
If Rock completely exhausted his mental power and then forcibly pushed himself beyond his limits…
Something really might happen.
And just as Su Bai was thinking this, the clothes that had been trembling faintly around Rock suddenly stopped moving.
His face had turned deathly pale.
Even as the most powerful genius of the Rock family, continuously releasing mental power at such an intense rate had placed far too great a burden on him.
Cold sweat poured down his face as though it were free, soaking through the entire front of his clothes.
His mental power was also rapidly weakening, slipping beyond his control.
It was obvious.
Rock had truly reached his limit.
If this continued, he really was going to become an idiot right here in the store.
"Forget it… He's a customer, after all."
Su Bai muttered as he reached out, preparing to place a hand on Rock's shoulder.
He wasn't particularly afraid of the trouble that might follow, but since Rock had bought a Haunter from his shop, some form of after-sales service was still necessary.
However, just as Su Bai was about to intervene, a sudden cry made him stop.
"Fui…?"
Amid Rock's rapidly weakening mental power, Haunter—which had remained completely silent ever since emerging from the Pokédex—suddenly let out a cry.
It then looked at its Trainer in disbelief.
"Fui!!"
With a cheerful cry, Haunter suddenly emerged from Rock's shadow.
It flew around Rock twice.
"Did it work?!"
Su Bai stared at the scene in disbelief.
Haunter's reaction clearly meant that Rock must have accomplished something.
"No… Not exactly… a success…"
Rock slowly opened his eyes.
His pale lips trembled twice before his entire body suddenly pitched forward, heading straight for the floor.
"Fui!! Fui-fui!!"
Haunter instinctively stretched out both arms, trying to catch its Trainer.
But Rock's body passed straight through Haunter's ghostly form and continued falling toward the floor.
The next moment, a hand reached outand grabbed Rock by the back of his nech like someone picking a chick. Su Bai calmly lifted Rock back up and placed him in a chair. Looking at the exhausted Rock, he said "Tell me about it. Looks like you didn't come away empty-handed".
Beside Rock, Haunter continued flying around him in circles. This Haunter was clearly not the kind of Pokemon that openly displayed affection. Yet its attitude had obviously changed. No matter what the outcome was, Rock's attempt produced some effect.
Rock managed to force a faint smile onto his face. At the moment, he felt as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body. The excessive consumption of his mental power had left him in terrible condition.
Still, in response to Su Bai's question, he said, "I don't know… whether this counts as the Power of the Bond…"
"But I can feel that the faint mental connection between Haunter and me has become slightly stronger…"
"And I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like I can transfer a portion of my mental power… to Haunter."
"Wait. Let me rest for a moment…"
As he spoke, Rock pulled a bottle of potion from his clothes, bit off the cap, and gulped it down.
Zhu Jianyuan was speechless.
"As expected of someone from a wealthy family. He just drinks a mental-power potion like it's nothing. That stuff is supposed to be used to save your life…"
Su Bai nodded.
Mental-power potions were far more expensive than things like sprinting potions.
In this world, potions that restored mental power or magic power, as well as life-saving potions, were all extremely expensive.
The difficulty of producing them was one reason.
The fact that supply could never meet demand was another.
Even an experienced S-rank powerhouse like Lu Liangpeng only carried a single life-saving potion with him.
And he had already used it on Zhou Xiaofei.
But for someone from the Rock family, such a potion apparently wasn't all that precious.
After drinking the mental-power potion, Rock's condition visibly improved. His speech also became much smoother.
He reached out and gently stroked Haunter's gaseous body before smiling with a hint of regret.
"The Power of the Bond… According to the report, it should allow someone to completely communicate with a Pokémon's heart, and even communicate with other Pokémon, right?"
"From that perspective… I suppose I failed."
He glanced behind Su Bai at Diancie, who was curiously observing him.
"I don't even need to try it to know."
"I did establish a mental pathway with Haunter, but this pathway is built upon the foundation of something that already existed—a faint bond between us."
"It was there from the moment Haunter emerged from the Pokédex."
"To put it simply, I merely processed that bond and turned it into a pathway…"
"But as for establishing an entirely new pathway…"
"I don't know how to do that."
Su Bai listened to Rock's explanation and thoughtfully nodded.
The truly broken aspect of the Power of the Unleashed was that it allowed its user to communicate with other Pokémon without any restrictions.
Put simply, it was like possessing a universal pass to the hearts of Pokémon throughout the Pokémon world.
As long as Zhou Xiaofei wanted to, he could attempt to connect with the heart of any Pokémon.
Of course, if that Pokémon had locked away its own heart—like the enraged Articuno—then Zhou Xiaofei's attempt to access it would simply be rejected.
Rock's current ability, however…
Was more like an ultra-low-spec version of the Power of the Bond.