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Harimu City.
Located in the heart of the Yorbian continent, it also falls within the territory of the Saheilta Union.
On the surface, Harimu City seemed like an ordinary place, unremarkable and devoid of any distinguishing features. Yet people came and went in droves every day.
That's because of the famous Harimu Ruins that lay nearby.
In fact, Harimu City was built upon and because of the fame of these ruins.
"So this is the so-called 'Land of Death,' the Harimu Ruins? Hmph… They live up to their reputation after all."
Rinku stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the upper floors of his hotel, the best view in the entire building.
From here, one could see straight out toward the vast expanse of the ruins that lay just outside the city limits.
To the average person, the Harimu Ruins were nothing more than a slightly larger-than-usual archaeological site, interesting, perhaps, but not particularly dangerous.
But under Rinku's enhanced gaze through the focused Nen state known as Gyo, he could clearly perceive the overwhelming death-aura (Shi-Nen) concentrated at the heart of the ruins.
Even from a distance, just looking at it made his skin crawl. It exuded a crushing stillness — a silence that felt like it would devour any who dared approach.
It resembled a dense, unending storm cloud hanging over the center of the ruins, impenetrable and all-consuming. No one could enter, and nothing could be seen inside.
The Harimu Ruins were roughly divided into two parts. From above, the entire site formed a perfect circle.
According to the V5 Council's assessment, the outer ring devoid of death-aura was designated as a public tourist area open to all visitors.
The inner zone, however, was saturated with Shi-Nen and sealed off from ordinary people. Only Nen users were permitted to enter.
Those who dared enter were mostly Ruins Hunters or Treasure Hunters, but it was said that no one had ever reached the inner depths.
That's because surviving inside that death-aura demanded constant Nen output — and the deeper one ventured, the denser the aura became.
In truth, ruins were abundant across this world. As a setting modeled after the Dark Continent from Hunter x Hunter, each of the continents teemed with mysterious ruins.
Yet the vast majority remained unexplored, all because of Shi-Nen.
And among them, the Harimu Ruins ranked among the deadliest. Its death-aura far surpassed that of other sites, earning it the infamous title: Land of Death.
Rinku watched the progress bar in his mind, the symbol of a Pokémon's gestation inch forward ever so slightly. He murmured to himself:
"I didn't expect my very first ruin to bring me such a surprise."
Since defeating Piers and Horus that day and acquiring his identification, Rinku had begun traveling the world.
He remembered from the explanations of Nen that not every place would spawn a Pokémon — the probability increased in locations involved in original story events.
So Rinku decided to postpone visits to major canon locations like the Heavens Arena and Youkexin City.
Even without those, the Six Continents still offered countless notable destinations.
Like this Land of Death Harimu. Or Glam Gas City, the City of Pleasure... and so many more.
Only after entering this world did Rinku realize that the places featured in the story were merely the tip of the iceberg!
His visit to the Harimu Ruins happened mostly by chance. The place was conveniently close to the town where he had arrived, so he decided to test his luck here first.
To his astonishment, the very first ruin he visited successfully nurtured a Pokémon. Rinku stroked his chin, deep in thought.
"Is the incubation rate just that high... or am I just incredibly lucky?"
Gazing out at the distant ruins, Rinku couldn't help but feel the urge to explore. Even if he couldn't reach the inner core, seeing it up close would still be worthwhile.
But for now, he planned to explore the city while quietly waiting for the progress bar to fill — and for his second Pokémon to arrive.
"I wonder which one it'll be this time…"
These past few days, Rinku hadn't been idle. After analyzing his Nen ability over and over again, a new idea began to take shape.
He had always found it strange that Gardevoir's Pokédex entry lacked so much key information.
Eventually, he thought of a way, a method that could not only complete the Pokédex data but also enhance his Pokémon's power.
It involved using the immense Pokémon knowledge stored in his mind.
Vows and Restrictions!
The core concept was simple: set a rule, take an oath, and strictly adhere to it.
The more difficult the rule, the greater the power it would unleash.
If standard Nen abilities were like addition, then Vow-based Nen was multiplication — the power could grow exponentially.
Kurapika, for example, had gained tremendous strength by restricting his chain Nen abilities to be used only against the Phantom Troupe fueled by his hatred and vow.
Thanks to that, even with limited training time, he was able to rival members who had trained for years.
Vows and restrictions were a fair trade, they granted power, but imposed a price.
Breaking an oath could lead to backlash, potentially resulting in the loss of one's Nen ability — or even one's life.
And now, Rinku was ready to make a vow of his own.
After careful deliberation, he'd come to believe that his greatest advantage in this world was his Nen ability: Pokémon Master.
His second greatest asset, the memories from Blue Planet.
Not just his knowledge of future events, but his deep familiarity with every aspect of Pokémon.
So...
Here is the rule:
For each Pokémon, he would have exactly one minute.
Within that time, he had to recite aloud all knowledge he had of the Pokémon: abilities, type, stats...
Even base stats, potential moves, and more.
If the knowledge he recited surpassed 50% of the total known data, the Pokémon's power would increase — up to a full rank!
If he recited less than 50%, the Pokémon's power would decrease also by up to one rank.
Rinku would turn his knowledge into strength!
Even if this vow failed, he had little to lose, at worst, it would just be a disappointment.
But if it succeeded, the benefits would be beyond imagination!
If it really worked, Gardevoir could be promoted from B-Rank to A-Rank instantly!
Rinku could already sense a strange sensation taking root in his heart.
Effort and reward must be balanced.
The Vow and the Restriction… is now in effect.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 100, 200, 300 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!