Harim City.
Located in the central region of the Yorbian Continent, it also lies within the territory of the United States of Saherta.
Harim City, a rather unremarkable town with no distinguishing features, still sees a steady stream of people coming and going every day.
The reason for this is the renowned Harim Ruins.
In fact, Harim City was even built around the fame of the Harim Ruins.
"So this is the so-called 'dead zone' known as the Harim Ruins? Truly lives up to its reputation…"
Link stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the hotel. This was the place with the best view in the entire hotel.
From the window, one could gaze directly at the vast Harim Ruins beyond the city.
To the common eye, the Harim Ruins might seem just like any other large ruins, nothing particularly extraordinary about it.
But through Link's "Condensation" gaze, he could sense the enormous presence of death energy gathering at the very center of the ruins.
Even just looking at it, he could feel a crushing silence emanating from it, as though it was ready to devour anyone who dared approach.
It was like a vast, uNending storm cloud that completely enveloped the center of the Harim Ruins, blocking anyone from entering or even seeing inside.
The Harim Ruins could be divided into two parts, and from a bird's-eye view, it formed a roughly circular shape.
The outer city, which contained no death energy, was open to tourists and anyone who wished to visit, as it was safe and accessible.
However, the inner city, filled with death energy, was off-limits to the public, with only a select few Nen users allowed to enter.
Most of these Nen users were either ruin hunters or treasure hunters, but it was said that no one had ever reached the deeper sections of the ruins.
This was because the deeper one ventured into the death energy, the more Nen one would burn up every second, and the intensity of the death energy only increased as they went further.
In fact, ruins were not rare on this Continent. With a world-building akin to the dark Continent in Hunter x Hunter, there were many ruins scattered across the various lands.
Most of these ruins, however, remained unexplored due to the overwhelming presence of death energy.
The Harim Ruins were among the most dangerous, as its death energy was stronger than that of most other ruins. This is why it has earned the ominous title of "Dead Zone."
Link felt a sense of satisfaction as he watched the progress bar in his mind, a symbol of nurturing Pokémon, slowly advancing. He murmured to himself, "I didn't expect my first ruin to be such a pleasant surprise."
Since the day he had slain Pierce and Hoss and obtained his ID, Link had begun his journey of exploration.
Considering what had been explained about Nen abilities, not every location would necessarily nurture Pokémon, and involvement in the original plot increased the chances of it happening.
Thus, Link decided to save places like the Sky Arena and Yoke City, locations with extensive descriptions in the original work, until later.
Even if he didn't specifically target those places, there were still plenty of famous locations to visit across the six Continents.
For example: the "Dead Zone" Harim Ruins, the "City of Pleasure" Gramogaslan… and so on.
Now that he had actually come to this world, Link realized that the places mentioned in the plot were only the tip of the iceberg!
The reason he had started with the Harim Ruins was simply due to its proximity to the town he had arrived in. So, Link figured he'd try his luck here first.
What surprised him was that the first ruin he visited had already begun to nurture Pokémon. He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Was the probability of nurturing Pokémon just that high, or was he simply lucky?
Looking out at the distant Harim Ruins, Link couldn't help but entertain the idea of venturing inside. Even if he couldn't reach the depths, it would still be worth exploring the exterior.
He decided to spend some time sightseeing in the city, quietly waiting for the progress bar to fill, and then await the second Pokémon.
He wondered what Pokémon it would be…
…
Over the past few days, Link hadn't been idle. After analyzing his Nen ability repeatedly, an idea began to form in his mind.
At first, he had been puzzled by the absence of information about Shalnark in his Pokédex.
But then he came up with a method that might not only fill in the gaps in his Pokédex but also enhance the strength of his Pokémon!
And for this, he would need to tap into the vast knowledge of Pokémon stored in his mind.
Constraints and Oaths!
In simple terms, it was about setting rules, making a vow in his heart, and then adhering to them.
The more difficult the rule, the more powerful the resulting effect.
If regular Nen abilities could be compared to addition, then the Nen ability created by adhering to a rule was like multiplication, the power would increase expoNentially!
Kurapika, for example, swore to limit his Nen ability to only be used against the Phantom Troupe due to his hatred for them, and as a result, he gained immense power.
In a short period of training, he was able to match the strength of Phantom Troupe members who had been training for years.
Constraints and oaths were fair. While one could enjoy the abilities they brought, they also had to abide by the rules.
If one broke their vow, the backlash could cause them to lose their Nen ability, or even their life.
What Link needed to do was set a constraint and vow!
This decision came after careful consideration. Since arriving in this world, Link felt that his greatest advantage was his Nen ability, "Pokémon Master."
The second advantage was the valuable memories from Blue Star!
These memories were not just of the original plot, but also of his deep knowledge of Pokémon.
So…
It was time to set the rules!
For each Pokémon, Link would have one minute to review all its traits, its characteristics, types, even its base stats and potential moves.
If he managed to correctly recount more than 50% of the information, the Pokémon's strength would increase, possibly by a full tier.
If he managed less than 50%, the Pokémon would lose strength, potentially dropping a full tier.
Link was going to turn the knowledge in his mind into power!
Even if the vow and constraint failed, he wouldn't lose much, just a little disappointment.
But if it succeeded, the gains would be far beyond simple words!
If it truly worked, Shalnark could rise from his current B-rank to an A-rank!
Deep down, Link sensed an odd feeling lingering in his heart.
The balance of gain and sacrifice—
The constraint and oath had been made!