"Contracting a death beast is undoubtedly an extremely dangerous process for a Contract Master. But with Pokémon, that problem simply doesn't exist!"
Rock's Haunter could clearly sense the changes in its Trainer's emotions. At that moment, it poked its head out again and glanced at Rock.
Rock smiled and gently rubbed its head before continuing.
"Perhaps all these years of waiting for Contract Masters were meant for this very day…"
"I don't know how other Trainers command their Pokémon, but for Contract Masters, when it comes to commanding and training their own Pokémon…"
"We should have a considerable advantage."
Su Bai watched Haunter's behavior thoughtfully and nodded.
"That's true…"
"Although there's a bond between every Trainer and their Pokémon, most of the time, Trainers rely on familiarity, coordination, and repeated practice to make their Pokémon accustomed to their commands…"
A bond was a bond.
Even Wang Tao had relied on repeated practice and battle coordination to make Torterra respond to his commands as naturally as an extension of his own body.
But even then, Wang Tao couldn't possibly instruct Torterra to perform movements with such precision.
"So, you can directly give your Pokémon commands through that mental connection you mentioned?"
Su Bai stroked his chin.
"Looking at it this way, although it isn't the Power of the Bond…"
"It doesn't seem bad at all."
Rock smiled.
"Let me correct you. It isn't a command."
"It's a request."
"Haunter may be simple-minded, but it can still distinguish right from wrong. If I had malicious intentions, I doubt Haunter would simply obey me."
"The mental connection merely allows us to understand the feedback given by our Pokémon more clearly, while also allowing our Pokémon to perceive our thoughts more clearly."
He looked at Su Bai gratefully.
"Perhaps… Contract Masters really are born Trainers!"
"I've decided to use myself as a test subject and become a true Trainer in every sense of the word."
"Whether it's the Rock family or the Contract Master Association, neither of them is something I can control with a single word."
"As major powers, the relationships and complications within them are far too tangled for me to explain in just a few sentences."
"But once I achieve genuine and meaningful results on the path of a Trainer…"
"Then the name 'Rock' should still carry enough weight to make a difference."
Su Bai looked at the determined expression on Rock's face and nodded.
Now that made sense.
If a single word from Rock could make every Contract Master "turn over a new leaf," that would actually be strange.
But if Rock could truly go far down the path of becoming a Trainer and obtain combat power that was no weaker than that of Contract Masters, then the weight carried by the name "Rock" would finally become apparent.
"That really is a good idea…"
"I have to admit, you're right."
"The mental connection you mentioned would be incredibly useful to Trainers. In fact…"
"It might be even more useful than you realize!"
Su Bai wasn't saying this without reason.
The most important way a Pokémon grew stronger was through training by its Trainer.
And in this regard, Contract Masters possessed an innate advantage.
Although they themselves didn't have much combat ability, imagine if every Contract Master possessed an ability like Rock's—an ability that allowed them to communicate with their Pokémon on a mental level.
Whether in training or in battle, everything would become far more effortless!
Take Zhou Xiaofei's training of Magikarp to learn Tackle, for example.
Back then, he had to use his hands to demonstrate the movement, even making all sorts of comical gestures.
But if Zhou Xiaofei, after awakening the Power of the Bond, wanted to train another Magikarp…
He could probably make it understand how to perform Tackle directly.
The ability for a Pokémon to directly understand its Trainer's thoughts was practically something every Trainer dreamed of!
So when Rock said that Contract Masters were born Trainers…
He really wasn't wrong.
However…
"Having newly awakened Contract Masters become Trainers really is a good idea."
Su Bai hesitated before continuing.
"But… what about those Contract Masters who have already awakened?"
The secrets Rock had revealed weren't enough to make Su Bai sympathize with those Contract Masters, who could practically be described as scum.
But if there was a way to rescue them from the abyss created by the influence of death energy, then perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing.
There was also another problem.
If new Contract Masters stopped contracting death beasts and instead began raising Pokémon, how could they possibly integrate with the old generation of Contract Masters?
Could the Contract Master Association end up splitting into two factions?
Under such circumstances, setting the old and new Contract Masters against each other would probably not be a good thing.
And anyone could figure out that those Contract Masters whose values had already become twisted wouldn't simply stand by and watch all this fresh blood leave.
"As for that…"
"I already have a solution."
Rock gave a mischievous grin.
"To be honest, my original plan was to start from scratch."
"If I confirmed that this method really worked, I would voluntarily leave the Rock family and provide assistance to newcomers who awakened the Contract Master profession."
Rock's words made Su Bai look at him again.
This squinty-eyed fellow had far more courage than he appeared to have.
The current head of the Rock family voluntarily leaving the Rock family…
Tsk, tsk.
He really was willing to go all out.
"But I've realized that I don't need to do that anymore!"
Rock's expression brightened.
"You know that there's no shortage of Contract Masters in the Rock family."
"In that environment, no matter how careful they are, the death energy and violent mental power that seep out…"
"They'll inevitably 'contaminate' me to some extent."
"It's just that my mental power is strong enough."
"If you imagine mental power as a ball with a shell, then I've kept all those things outside the shell."
"But death energy has an extremely strong ability to cling to things."
"The same goes for that damn violent mental power."
"I've protected the core of my mental power myself, so it won't become contaminated."
"But the outer shell…"
"It still got stained."
As he spoke, Rock couldn't help reaching out and rubbing Haunter's head again..
"Originally, I didn't really care about this kind of contamination."
"But after successfully establishing a mental pathway with this little guy…"
"I discovered that the contamination was being driven out by some powerful force!"
"That force is something that accompanies Pokémon by nature."
"It's completely different from death energy, and yet the two are naturally opposed to and repel each other!"
"Although this force itself isn't aggressive…"
"It's incredibly sensitive to the mental power of death beasts!"
"In just this short amount of time, the 'contamination' on the outer shell of my mental power…"
"Has already been completely cleansed!"
"Do you know what that means?!"
By the time he reached the end, Rock excitedly raised his head.
"It means that even those Contract Masters who have already contracted death beasts…"
"Can still be saved!"
Su Bai took a deep breath.
That was an outcome he hadn't expected.
The emergence of Pokémon had actually given those Contract Masters a second chance?
An incident report suddenly surfaced in Su Bai's mind.
It was Li Jian's incident report.
Aside from the details of the incident itself, the report also contained Li Jian's life history.
Su Bai had the authority to access that information.
That was how he knew that Li Jian had originally wanted to become an Awakened who fought for the sake of humanity.
Unfortunately, fate had dealt him a cruel hand.
He had awakened as a Contract Master instead.
If all of these Contract Masters could be turned into…
Normal people…
Then without a doubt, it would be a good thing.
However…
Su Bai stared at Rock for a moment before hesitantly speaking..
"That would certainly be an excellent outcome."
"But there are conditions, aren't there…?"
"First of all, those Contract Masters who have already been contaminated would have to…"
"Kill all of their contracted beasts!"
"Otherwise, forget about whether the Pokémon Center would even welcome them."
"Even if I agreed to let them purchase Pokémon…"
"Those Pokémon would immediately run away!"
Just imagine what it would be like for Pokémon to be purchased by Contract Masters.
That feeling would probably be even more unbearable than being killed outright.
That was why, within Su's Pokemon Center, Zhou Xiaofei remained the only Contract Master who had ever become a customer.