Contract Construction Succeeded: Shinx

Everyone around him pricked up their ears, except for Sen Anxiang, who was a complete novice.

"These things in my hand are scales from the Sandslash, and they're the key to constructing a contract: tokens."

"Contract Construction requires a token to form a bond between a Pokémon and a human."

A bond was something intangible.

But what if a bond could take physical form?

What exactly would that look like?

Nobody had considered it. They simply thought of a bond as a connection between people and Pokémon.

But the older man thought differently. He had spent years researching bonds in depth and ultimately developed Contract Construction.

Contract Construction required a token to form a bond, and that bond connected the Trainer and the Pokémon.

The Pokémon had to be willing to form a bond with you, and you had to give something in return, fulfilling its needs. Only then could the contract be successfully constructed.

After explaining the principles, the older man returned the scales in his hand to the group of Sandslash. Although they all looked a little reluctant to part with him, they eventually left happily.

"That's Contract Construction. Once both parties have fulfilled each other's needs, you can return the token and part ways."

"I approached them because I wanted their help with your trial, while they wanted me to deal with a few bandits."

"Our Contract Construction was founded on mutual benefit. They carried out the trial, and I dealt with the bandits, so the contract naturally ended."

"Remember, Contract Construction requires mutual trust. Otherwise, you can't form a bond at all."

"You probably think bonds are intangible, but I can tell you with complete confidence that Pokémon are far more complicated creatures than you imagine. To them, a bond may well be both a restraint and something that actually exists."

Why couldn't Pokémon harm their Trainers at will?

In truth, humanity's research into Pokémon was still far from sufficient.

Ito Hei looked a little puzzled. "Sir, you keep emphasizing that bonds actually exist, but how can we detect them?"

The older man smiled proudly at the question. "Young man, that's an excellent question."

"This is where my high-tech invention comes in: the Bond-Detecting Glasses."

According to his explanation, putting on these glasses allowed someone to see exactly how strong the bond between a Trainer and a Pokémon was.

They were the older man's pride and joy.

Everyone put on the glasses and began trying them out.

Liu Xin looked at the four Pokémon before him. Each was connected to him by a red thread, though their shades differed.

The deepest shades naturally belonged to Shiny Cubone and Mutant Phanpy, followed by Giant Onix. Super Gible's thread was the palest.

Looking at it this way, the results seemed plausible.

After all, they had each spent different amounts of time with him.

He looked at the other Pokémon around him. Ito Hei's and Sen Anxiang's Pokémon did have red threads connecting them to him, but they were so faint they might as well not have existed.

As for the Pokémon belonging to the Pokémon Academy group, there weren't even any of those supposed red threads of bonds.

"So this thing actually does something. It's not a toy."

Shinya said it outright. He was painfully blunt.

Dazhi quickly grasped the principle and summed it up. "As long as we talk to wild Pokémon and form a bond, then obtain a token and agree to cooperate, the contract is established. Is that right?"

The older man excitedly clasped Dazhi's hand. "Yes, yes, yes! I never thought someone would understand what I was saying so quickly."

"But all this talk is hard to grasp without seeing it in action. How about we go put it into practice?"

Behind them lay a forest, with plenty of wild Pokémon inside.

They quickly agreed and headed into the forest.

Excitement began stirring in Liu Xin's heart. If this worked, he would no longer be limited to Ground-type Pokémon.

Even if it was more or less like borrowing them, that was still better than nothing, right?

Before long, a Shinx appeared in front of Liu Xin.

Shinx was a small blue creature. Its head and the front half of its body were light blue, while its hindquarters and tail were black.

Its ears and tail bore yellow four-pointed star markings, the base of its neck was black, and its forelegs had yellow bands.

This was an Electric-type Pokémon. If he tried to catch it himself, he would fail with absolute certainty. That was the system's restriction.

He made himself look kind and approachable, then spoke softly from a distance. "I see you're covered in wounds. Have you run into some trouble?"

"Could you tell me about it? Share it with me?"

"Shinx!"

Electricity crackled all around its body. A few words weren't enough to make it lower its guard, and it kept discharging electricity.

Liu Xin took a step closer and continued, "You don't have to be so scared. I'm not a bad guy. You can tell I'm a good person just by looking, right?"

Zap!

A bolt of lightning struck Liu Xin directly, shocking his entire body and leaving him blackened and smoking.

Aside from a little twitching and numbness, however, it didn't do much actual damage.

He kept approaching, smiling as he spoke. "Don't be afraid. We can just have a chat, can't we?"

Seeing Liu Xin still approaching after being attacked, Shinx stopped lashing out, though electricity continued coursing over its body.

Although it still couldn't let down its guard, a bond slowly began forming between them.

Through the glasses, he could see an exceedingly fine red thread forming between the two of them.

The first step had succeeded!

Liu Xin felt a small thrill of delight. It seemed Contract Construction didn't conflict with the system's strict requirements.

Next came Liu Xin's silver tongue and his shameless persistence in drawing closer.

After a full half hour, Liu Xin finally obtained some of Shinx's fur and successfully completed Contract Construction.

Through the glasses, he could see a fairly deep red thread of a bond connecting them.

At the very least, he could command Shinx until he fulfilled its request.

"An Electric-type Pokémon! I—I can actually use Pokémon of other types!"

"This is so exciting! Contract Construction is a miracle. I love you, sir!"

The older man sneezed, feeling a little unnerved.

Once the contract was constructed, Liu Xin could roughly understand what Shinx wanted.

As it turned out, the Shinx before him had been beaten black and blue in a fight over its habitat.

Its opponent was a Voltorb, another Electric-type Pokémon.

"It's level 25, and you're only level 19. How are you supposed to fight it?"

"So if you want to beat it, you need to get stronger first."

Shinx nodded, indicating that it understood.

It had constructed a contract with Liu Xin precisely so it could grow stronger!

During that time, Liu Xin's requirement was that it behave and follow his commands.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xin said, "Let's grind some levels first. Once you're stronger, everything else will be easier."

Ding! Host has triggered a quest: help Shinx secure its habitat and evolve.

Successfully completing the quest will award one Ground-type item and 100 points.