Steadying his pounding heart, Linck immediately began performing the Vow and Covenant on Gardevoir.
Name: Gardevoir. Type: Psychic/Fairy. Ability: Trace, Synchronize…
In less than a minute, his words rattled out like a machine gun before finally coming to a halt.
At the same time, the aura that usually floated calmly around Gardevoir suddenly froze.
Then
A surge of power exploded forth, many times stronger than before! A vast wave of pink aura flooded the entire room in seconds.
It was as if someone had turned on a pink floodlight, transforming the space into a shimmering "ocean" of rose light.
Tables, chairs, and other objects all began floating, as though a giant invisible hand was holding them up in the air.
Gardevoir's emerald hair lifted in the psychic wind, and in the blink of an eye she transformed from an elegant lady into a regal queen whose very presence demanded respect.
[Pokédex Ability Activated]
Name: Gardevoir
Ability: Trace
Type: Psychic/Fairy
Power Level: A
Skills: Confusion, Psychic, Hypnosis, Dazzling Gleam…
"Hahahahaha! Yes! It worked!"
Looking at the Gardevoir before him, now leagues stronger than before, Linck could no longer contain his joy.
The best part? This was only his first Pokémon!
Soon there would be a second, a third…
B-rank would become A-rank, and A-rank would rise to S-rank!
As a diehard veteran Pokémon player, Linck could swear on his chest that he knew the details of most top-tier Pokémon like the back of his hand.
As for the more average ones, there was no need to worry about the Vow and Covenant weakening them—after all, their base strength wasn't that high to begin with.
And according to Gardevoir, she could now teleport not just him, but multiple people at once.
Even better, she could perform multiple long-distance teleports in succession, giving her life-saving capability yet another massive boost!
Linck's grin was so wide it nearly bloomed into a flower. He hadn't expected a single attempt to yield such an enormous gain.
On the streets of Harimu City
The city's overall style was uniform, built in a highly traditional Western fashion, somewhat reminiscent of Gothic architecture.
The roads were neatly paved with rows of brick and stone, pleasing to the eye—a perfectionist's paradise.
Most of the roadside buildings resembled villas, two or three stories tall, supported by stone skeleton arches and flying buttresses, giving them the look of small churches at first glance.
The color scheme was primarily gray and white, lending the city a natural sense of cleanliness and order.
With nothing urgent to do, Linck strolled through the city, comparing its scenery to styles from his home on Blue Star.
The shops and stalls mostly revolved around goods tied to the Harimu Ruins.
Many stalls sold "antiques" allegedly recovered from the ruins, but as time passed, the outer sections yielded fewer and fewer items, and ordinary folk couldn't access the inner areas.
The result? Less than one in ten of these so-called relics was actually genuine.
As Linck walked along the brick-paved road, his steps suddenly halted, and his brow furrowed.
"Hm?"
Just now, the progress bar in his mind, the one tracking his Pokémon incubation, had abruptly stopped.
Before, it had been slow but steady. Now, it had frozen entirely, as if pressed up against an invisible barrier.
Narrowing his eyes, Linck instinctively glanced toward the direction of the Harimu Ruins.
The next moment, he vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was in an empty clearing on the outskirts of the ruins.
Immediately, the stalled progress bar surged forward again, racing ahead as if injected with adrenaline.
So I was right…
Looking at the wall beside him, covered in intricate relief carvings, Linck thought to himself.
It was now obvious, inside the city, the progress bar had an upper limit. Once it hit that cap, he needed to move toward the area's central point for it to continue.
And for this particular incubation, the center was none other than the Harimu Ruins.
But… did every Pokémon incubation require moving toward the center?
Strictly speaking, this was his first real incubation. Gardevoir had simply appeared alongside him when he first awakened his Nen ability.
As if to confirm his theory, the progress bar froze again shortly after, stopping at exactly 50%.
Without hesitation, Linck stepped into the ruins, and the progress bar began to climb once more.
He didn't mind, he'd planned to visit the Harimu Ruins anyway. This was just a little earlier than expected.
The ruins were a labyrinth: pale yellow walls, scattered statues, and corridors twisting in all directions.
Most of the structures were intact, though some walls and statues lay in pieces, long since abandoned.
The wall reliefs were lifelike, their intricate details showcasing the sculptors' exceptional skill.
Legend had it that the Harimu Ruins were once the palace of a fallen kingdom. After some unknown upheaval, it became the ruin it was today, its mysteries drawing countless archaeologists and treasure hunters.
The carvings offered little concrete information, but they did hint at a romantic, artistic nation.
Its people were deeply emotional, its arts—painting, sculpture—thriving.
It was said the royal family wielded tremendous power, with each king the strongest of his era.
The continent was far less peaceful back then; the people needed the royal family's protection.
Strangely, despite the dangers of the outside world, the kingdom had never faced disaster, a fact the citizens credited entirely to their monarch's strength.
Many of the statues here were carved to honor those past kings.
Due to age and weathering, these relics were never moved. Instead, strict laws were enacted to protect them.
If you picked up a gold vase or a piece of jewelry here, that was fine.
But if you so much as touched the statues or reliefs, expect the authorities to come knocking.
As Linck strolled deeper in, the progress bar crept toward 100%.
Until
"Sigh… guess I'll have to face the Death Nen after all."
It wasn't a fixed obstacle, more like black mist, shifting and writhing in the air like a living thing, clawing and curling toward him in provocation.
Tendrils of smoke, like countless grasping tentacles, seemed eager to drag him in and devour him whole.
At the boundary between the outer and inner ruins, the progress bar halted at 70%—and refused to budge.
"Well… I've already hit 70%. It'd be a shame to give up now… There's got to be a way to deal with this Death Nen, right?"