Harimu City.
It lay in the central region of the Eurubian Continent, within the borders of the Saheirta United States.
Harimu was an otherwise unremarkable city, lacking anything to make it stand out, yet people still came and went in large numbers every day.
The reason? The world-famous Harimu Ruins.
In fact, Harimu City itself had been built entirely upon the fame of these ruins.
"So this is the so-called 'Deadland'—the Harimu Ruins? Hmph, its reputation isn't exaggerated after all…"
Linck stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of his hotel, the best vantage point the building had to offer.
From here, one could see the massive sprawl of the Harimu Ruins lying just outside the city limits.
To ordinary eyes, they were nothing more than a ruin slightly larger than most, with nothing outwardly unusual.
But under Linck's Gyo (Focused Gaze), the heart of the ruins was seething with an overwhelming mass of Death Aura.
Even from here, the oppressive stillness seemed to crash over him like a suffocating tide, as though ready to devour anyone who dared approach.
It was like a vast, unbroken sea of black clouds, sealing the ruins' heart from the outside world, impossible to see through, impossible to enter.
The Harimu Ruins could be divided into two main sections, their overall shape roughly circular when seen from above.
By distinguishing areas that did or did not contain Death Aura, the V5 authorities had designated the outer section—free of Death Aura, as an open tourist site for anyone to visit.
The inner section, however, saturated with Death Aura, was closed to the public and accessible only to trained Nen users.
Those who dared venture in were usually either ruin hunters or treasure seekers, but according to rumors, none had ever reached the innermost depths.
Within the Death Aura, a Nen user's energy would be constantly drained every second they remained. The deeper one went, the thicker—and deadlier, the aura became.
In truth, ruins were far from rare on this continent. In the Hunter x Hunter world, with its Dark Continent beyond, the six continents were littered with countless ruins.
Most remained unexplored, not because of traps or collapsed passageways, but because of the Death Aura.
Among them, the Harimu Ruins ranked among the most dangerous, their Death Aura vastly more potent than that of other sites. This was why it had earned the ominous title of "Deadland."
Linck watched the mental progress bar in his head, the one tied to the hatching of Pokémon—creeping steadily forward, and murmured to himself:
"Didn't expect the very first ruin I visited to give me a surprise."
Since the day he'd slain Pierce and Hoth and obtained his identification papers, Linck had set out on his own journey.
According to the mechanics of Nen, not every place could nurture Pokémon eggs, and the chances improved if he visited locations featured in the original story during key events.
For that reason, he'd decided to postpone visiting major canon locations like the Heavens Arena and Yorknew City.
Even excluding those, there were still countless renowned sites across the six continents, such as the "Deadland" Harimu and the "City of Indulgence," Glamu Gaslan.
Now that he was truly here in this world, he realized that the places shown in the original plot were only the tip of the iceberg.
His arrival in Harimu had been partly by chance, it was simply close to the town where he'd first landed. He decided to test his luck here first.
To his surprise, the very first ruin he visited had already begun nurturing a Pokémon egg. Linck rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Was the success rate simply higher than he'd thought… or was his luck just that good?
Gazing out toward the ruins, he felt a spark of curiosity. Even if he couldn't reach the innermost section, seeing the place up close would be worthwhile.
For now, he planned to wander the city, quietly waiting for the progress bar to fill, at which point his second Pokémon would be born.
What kind of Pokémon would it be, he wondered…?
These past few days, Linck hadn't been idle. Repeatedly analyzing his own Nen ability, a new idea had begun to form in his mind.
From the very start, he'd been puzzled by the gaps in his Pokédex's entry on Gardevoir.
At last, he had thought of a method, not only to complete the missing data, but perhaps even to strengthen his Pokémon.
The answer lay in a principle he knew well: Restrictions and Oaths.
In short—set a rule, swear to it in one's heart, and uphold it without exception.
The harsher the rule, the greater the power it could unleash.
If normal Nen was like addition, Nen bound by a rule was like multiplication—the increase in power was exponential.
Kurapika, for example, had forged a restriction during his training: his special Nen ability could only be used against the Phantom Troupe. That single rule, driven by his deep hatred, had granted him incredible strength.
In only a short time, he had matched members of the Troupe who had trained for years.
Restrictions and Oaths were fair, while you gained great power, you were bound to the rules you set.
If you broke your oath, the backlash could strip you of your Nen entirely… or even take your life.
Linck intended to forge his own restriction and oath.
It was a decision made after deep consideration. Since arriving in this world, his greatest advantage was his Nen ability, Pokémon Master.
His second advantage was the priceless knowledge he carried from Blue Star.
And that knowledge was not just foresight of the original story's events—it was an encyclopedic familiarity with Pokémon.
So…
Here was the rule he would set:
For each Pokémon, he would have exactly one minute to recite, from memory, as much information as possible—abilities, typing, base stats, possible moves, and more.
If he recalled over 50% of the total known data, the Pokémon's strength would increase, up to a full rank.
If he recalled less than 50%, the Pokémon's strength would decrease, also by up to a full rank.
He would turn the knowledge in his mind into pure combat strength.
Even if the attempt failed, the only cost would be disappointment.
But if it succeeded… the gains would be far beyond words.
If it worked, Gardevoir could potentially jump from her current B-rank straight to A-rank.
Somewhere deep inside, Linck felt a strange, almost tangible sensation take root in his heart.
Equal exchange between cost and reward
Restriction and Oath, established.