Chapter 7: Limitation and Vow
Harimu City.
Located in the central part of the Yorbian Continent, it also falls within the territory of the United States of Saherta.
Though Harimu City is an ordinary, unremarkable city without any outstanding features, it still sees a constant flow of people entering and leaving every day.
That's because the famous Harimu Ruins are located here.
In fact, Harimu City was built precisely to capitalize on the reputation of the Harimu Ruins.
"So this is the Harimu Ruins, known as the 'Land of Death'? It truly lives up to its name..."
Ivan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the upper floor of his hotel—the spot with the best view in the entire building.
Looking out through the window, he could directly see the vast expanse of the Harimu Ruins beyond the city walls.
To ordinary people, the Harimu Ruins appeared merely as a larger-than-average archaeological site, with nothing particularly unusual about it.
But under Ivan's Gyo-enhanced gaze, the central area of the distant Harimu Ruins was concentrated with an immense Post-Mortem Nen!
Just looking at it made one feel an overwhelming sense of lifelessness, as if it sought to devour anyone attempting to approach.
It resembled an enormous, continuous mass of dark clouds, completely shrouding the center of the Harimu Ruins—impenetrable and indiscernible to those outside.
The Harimu Ruins are roughly divided into two sections, forming a circular shape when viewed from above.
Based on the presence or absence of Post-Mortem Nen, the V5 designated the outer city—free from Post-Mortem Nen—as a tourist site accessible to anyone.
The inner city, filled with Post-Mortem Nen, is closed to ordinary people and only accessible to some Nen Ability users.
Among those who visit, the Nen Ability users are primarily Ruins Hunters and Treasure Hunters, though it's said that no one has ever reached the deepest parts.
That's because within the Post-Mortem Nen, Nen Ability users must constantly expend significant amounts of aura, and the deeper they go, the higher the concentration of Post-Mortem Nen becomes.
In truth, ruins are far from scarce on this continent. In the world of Hunter x Hunter, which features the Dark Continent, numerous ruins are scattered across several continents.
Yet, the vast majority remain unexplored—precisely because of the existence of Post-Mortem Nen!
Among them, the Harimu Ruins rank among the most dangerous due to their exceptionally strong Post-Mortem Nen, earning them the title "Land of Death."
As Ivan felt the progress bar in his mind, symbolizing the incubation of Pokémon, slowly advance, he murmured to himself, "I never expected the first ruins to bring me such a surprise."
Ever since that day when he killed Piers and Hose and obtained his identification, Ivan had embarked on his journey.
Considering that the Nen Ability explanation mentioned not every location would incubate Pokémon, and that participating in events from the original storyline could increase the incubation probability, Ivan decided to postpone visiting places like Heavens Arena and Yorknew City, which were extensively described in the original work.
Even without targeting those locations first, there were still many famous places to visit across the six continents.
For example: the current "Land of Death" Harimu Ruins, the "City of Pleasure" Gramugaslan City... and so on.
Only after truly arriving in this world did Ivan realize that the locations appearing in the storyline were merely the tip of the iceberg!
His decision to come to the Harimu Ruins first was coincidental—it happened to be very close to the town where he had arrived. Thus, Ivan decided to try his luck here first.
To his surprise, the very first ruins already housed a Pokémon. Ivan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Was the probability of encountering one here just that high, or was he simply incredibly lucky?
Gazing at the distant Harimu Ruins, Ivan felt a growing curiosity to explore them further. Even if he couldn't venture deep inside, experiencing the outskirts would still be worthwhile.
He planned to wander around the city first, quietly waiting for the progress bar to fill, anticipating the arrival of his second Pokémon.
I wonder which Pokémon it will be...
...
Over the past few days, Ivan hadn't been idle. After repeatedly analyzing his Nen Ability, an idea began to form in his mind.
From the very beginning, he had found it strange that Gardevoir's information was missing from the Pokédex.
Finally, he thought of a method that might not only complete the Pokédex entries but also enhance his Pokémon's strength!
This would require utilizing the vast knowledge of Pokémon stored in his mind.
Limitation and Vow!
In simple terms, it meant setting rules, making an inner oath, and adhering to them strictly.
The more challenging the rules, the greater the power unleashed.
If ordinary Nen Ability could be compared to addition, then Nen Ability governed by rules was like multiplication—its power increasing exponentially!
Kurapika, driven by his hatred for the Phantom Troupe, had sworn a vow to use his Nen Ability exclusively against them, gaining immense power in return.
Despite training for only a short time, he could rival members of the Troupe who had trained for years.
Limitation and Vow were fair: while enjoying the abilities they granted, one must abide by the restrictions.
Breaking the vow could lead to backlash, potentially resulting in the loss of one's Nen Ability or even their life.
What Ivan needed to do was establish his own Limitation and Vow!
This was a decision Ivan had reached after careful consideration. Since arriving in this world, he believed his greatest advantage was his Nen Ability, "Pokémon Master."
His second advantage was the precious memories from Earth!
These memories weren't just about foreknowledge of the original plot but also included a deep understanding of Pokémon.
So...
Hereby, he set the rules!
For each Pokémon, he would have one minute. Within that time, he must recite all relevant knowledge, including the Pokémon's characteristics and attributes.
He would even cover base stats and learnable moves.
Using 50% as the baseline: if he recounted more than 50% of the knowledge, the Pokémon's strength would increase, up to a full major stage!
If he recounted less than 50%, the Pokémon's strength would decrease, also up to a full major stage!
Ivan intended to convert the knowledge in his mind into tangible power!
First, even if the Limitation and Vow failed, he would lose nothing—at most, he'd be disappointed.
But if it succeeded, the rewards would be beyond words!
If it truly worked, Gardevoir could potentially rise directly from her current B-rank to A-rank!
Faintly, Ivan sensed a peculiar feeling lingering in his heart.
Gains and sacrifices in balance—
Limitation and Vow, established!