HxH : Pokemon Master

With their privileges, the two saw no need to wait in line at the checkpoint.

A quick glance revealed about a dozen people, and it was unclear how long the wait would be. In a flash, they materialized on the other side of the gate.

This effortless passage was a prime example of why Hunters enjoyed such extensive privileges.

Their Nen abilities made standard entry barriers obsolete, gates designed for ordinary people were completely ineffective. Consequently, unrestricted access to most locations worldwide was simply designated as one of the many benefits granted to Hunters.

Once past the gate, the vast expanse of Karst Mine Valley unfolded before them.

True to its name, this was a mining valley, with their entry point marking the highest elevation.

Karst Mine Valley was immense, one of the largest mining valleys on Flame Stone Island.

It spiraled downward, its deepest center having been excavated to an incredible depth over the years.

Miners descended via winding paths along the edges.

From a bird's-eye view, the entire valley resembled a colossal vortex in the ground—almost like an enormous quicksand whirlpool. Numerous mine shafts dotted the valley, mostly lining the spiral pathways, ensuring travelers would pass many of them.

The area where they stood still had some vegetation, but further down, the terrain became nothing but bare rock.

Towering mountain ridges, primarily composed of Crimson Rock, surrounded the valley.

It was said that even on pitch-black nights, these rocks emitted faint glimmers of light.

Upon first seeing Karst Mine Valley, Akira felt an odd sense of familiarity.

He thought it bore a striking resemblance to Area Zero from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

The spiraling descent, the mine shafts embedded in the rock walls—it all looked very similar.

The main difference was that this place lacked the lush beauty of Area Zero, there wasn't much greenery, no waterfalls and certainly no Paradox Pokémon.

Would he ever have the chance to obtain a Paradox Pokémon in the future?

Some of those creatures were incredibly powerful, but their origins were peculiar, hailing from the past or the future.

Given the world of Hunter x Hunter, it would probably be extremely difficult to incubate a Paradox Pokémon.

Ding!

"Pokémon incubation complete!"

Just as Akira was surveying the valley, a sudden notification rang in his mind.

The faster of the two Incubation Bars had finished!

Akira immediately focused his mind inward, eager to see which Pokémon had emerged.

The new creature's body was gray, with wings featuring purple membranes.

It had four sharp claws, a fierce visage, jagged teeth, and a gaze filled with aggression—a true ruler of the skies. Two horns protruded from its head, clearly marking it as a dragon.

It was one of the ancient overlords of the Pokémon world—Aerodactyl!

Among fossil-based Pokémon, Aerodactyl was a solid choice, fitting perfectly within his expectations.

With just this single Aerodactyl, coming to Flame Stone Island was already worth it! And that wasn't even counting the second Pokémon still incubating, or the trail of the Dark Sonata.

Back when Akira played the Pokémon single-player games, he had always been quite fond of using Aerodactyl.

Now, Akira applied the Restriction and Vow to Aerodactyl.

Name: Aerodactyl

Ability: Pressure

Type: Rock/Flying

Strength: A- tier

Moves: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge, Sky Drop, Tailwind, Taunt

...

Since Aerodactyl base stat total was 515, its final strength settled at A- tier.

However, strength wasn't the main focus here, as the experience points gained within the A-rank range weren't significant and could easily be compensated for.

Moreover, Aerodactyl possessed a Mega Evolution form, which could be activated once its strength reached S-rank in the future.

There was nothing particularly special about its moves, the only noteworthy aspect was Aerodactyl's ability.

The ability "Pressure" was once considered exclusive to Legendary Pokémon.

For instance, legendary pokemons like Ho-Oh, Lugia and Dialga all possessed this ability.

It wasn't until later that people realized non-Legendary Pokémon could also have the Pressure ability. Aerodactyl was one of the rare non-Legendary Pokémon that could possess it.

Others included Wailord and Absol.

In the games, the effect of "Pressure" was: when the opponent uses a move, it consumes one additional PP.

This could roughly be understood as executing a move once but consuming double the usual amount.

In single battles, if two "Pressure" Pokémon were on the field simultaneously, the opponent's move consumption tripled.

Compared to other abilities, this one seemed somewhat lackluster, only slightly better than negative abilities like "Defeatist" or "Slow Start."

It was essentially one of the blank-slate abilities.

But in the real world, the "Pressure" ability took on a different descriptive effect:

[Pressure]: When an enemy acts, the consumption of their every move doubles, and this effect applies to multiple enemies as well.

Whenever an enemy attempts to attack, their Aura and stamina consumption will double.

This holds true whether facing one enemy or many.

This was practically a god-tier ability!

No matter who or what enemies were faced, their consumption rate would double.

This was incredibly important for prolonged battles, significantly accelerating the opponent's exhaustion. If one was weaker than the opponent, this ability provided a viable strategy to wear them down.

However, for Akira, who possessed Marshadow and a team of S-rank Pokémon, the likelihood of being forced into a battle of attrition was quite low.

Still, having an extra ace up one's sleeve was always beneficial.

Marshadow battles rarely required it—most ended in an instant. But for battles involving Gengar and others, perhaps Aerodactyl could be brought out for some fresh air.

It could serve as a debuff applicator, imposing a "fatigue" effect on the opponent, rapidly draining their stamina and Aura.

This supportive capability was nearly on par with Blissey's.

While lacking Blissey's healing abilities, Aerodactyl offered effects that Blissey didn't possess.

What was once a formidable sky overlord, an ancient and fearsome Pokémon, had been reduced to a utility dragon in Akira hands.

Its greatest value lay in its ability.

The first fossil Pokémon had emerged, and its capabilities had exceeded Akira's expectations. This naturally made Akira even more eager to see the next Pokémon.

With Aerodactyl already accounted for, the question remained: which Pokémon would it be?

"Mr. Akira?" "Pyon?"

Just as Akira and Pyon were about to descend, an uncertain questioning voice came from another direction.

The voice was familiar to both, its tone quite distinctive.

A look of surprise flashed simultaneously in their eyes; both thought of the same person.

Could it be...

The two turned around, looking in the direction of the voice.

There stood a man with a face full of astonishment.

Though no longer wearing his usual formal suit, his distinctive curled mustache revealed his identity. It was their mutual friend—Satotz!

"Satotz?" Pyon lightly covered her mouth, unable to suppress a gasp of surprise.

Just like Satotz moments earlier, Pyon couldn't help exclaiming. Neither side had expected to encounter the other here.

"Truly didn't expect to meet you two here~" Seeing that he hadn't mistaken their figures, Satotz couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

It had been some time sinceSatotz last saw either of them.

Satotz had once been merely a hunter chasing fame until meeting Ging brought him enlightenment.

Thus, he wasn't a star-ranked hunter, just an ordinary yet senior member of the Hunter Association.

He hadn't qualified to attend the previous [New Five Strongest Nen users] conference.

Only high-ranking representatives of major factions or star-ranked hunters could attend that meeting. Therefore, apart from seeing Akira on television, Satotz last in-person encounter had been during last year's Hunter Exam.

As for Pyon, it had been even longer—their last meeting was during that expedition to the Moros Ruins.

Meeting unexpectedly like this could only be explained by fate.

"Long time no see, Satotz."

Like Pyon, Akira was equally surprised to encounter an old acquaintance here.

After arriving in the Hunter x Hunter world, Akira hadn't made many friends—Pyon and Satotz were among them and they were actually among the earliest friends he'd made.

They shared a relatively deep bond among his acquaintances.

Though over a year had passed since their last meetings, there was no awkwardness between them.

"Satotz, are you... planning to go mining?" Not seeing Satotz in his usual suit felt somewhat unfamiliar to Akira, who then inquired.

Satotz was currently wearing a full set of dark miner's clothing: a navy-blue miner's outfit with one or two white stripes, a yellow hard hat covering his purple curly hair, and a large brown backpack.

From the faintly visible pickaxe head, it likely contained mining tools.

Satotz attire was textbook miner's gear—no one could find fault with it.

"Indeed. Actually, I've already spent a month here at Karst Mining Valley, staying in nearby Flame Rock City." Satotz nodded.

He'd arrived here a full month before Akira and Pyon.

"Oh! I remember now—Satotz specialization as a ruin hunter is fossil research!" Pyon suddenly recalled, adding this detail about Satotz.

Ruin hunter was actually a broad category with many sub-specializations, fossil research being one of them.

As a ruin hunter, Satotz primarily focused on fossil studies and ruin restoration.

"Exactly so. Fossil research is one of my passions—I spend much time each year on Flame Rock Island." Satotz explained.

"This time I came to Karst Mining Valley after hearing reports of peculiar white skeletal fossils appearing."

This also explained why they ran into Satotz here, it turned out he belonged to the fossil research category among ruin hunters.

Given that Flame Rock Island was one of the six continents with an exceptionally high number of fossils, it was only natural that Satotz frequented this place.

According to him, he owned properties in three or four locations across the island, all for easier access to the mining valleys.

For the past month, he'd been staying in his house in Flame Rock City, heading out during the day and returning at night.

Occasionally, he even pulled all-nighters in the mining valleys, not returning every day.

"So that's how it is. No wonder we met you here, Satotz." Akira now fully understood why they had encountered Satotz here.

If he had to put it into words, they were likely here for the same objective—though Satotz remained unaware of the truth at this point.

The white skeletal fossils Satotz mentioned were clearly the same as the claw bones they had uncovered yesterday—both were products of the Dark Sonata's influence!

One could say it was the Dark Sonata that brought them together.

Near the entrance, there were several shops selling portable food and mining tools.

Satotz had just stepped out of one of these shops when he spotted the two admiring the scenery of the mining valley.

"Speaking of which, it's quite nostalgic—the three of us gathering like this" Pyon remarked, sighing at the familiar sight.

"Indeed. The last time was at the Moros Ruins, where we first met Mr. Akira" Satotz mused, twirling his curly mustache as his gaze drifted, recalling their experiences in the Moros Ruins.

During that expedition, he and Pyon had met Akira and were astonished by his Nen ability to dispel Aura.

Later, they encountered Aqua Glass, one of the Seven Beauties, and even crossed paths with the S-class criminals Wrath and Envy from the Seven Deadly Sins.

Fortunately, with Akira present, they emerged unscathed.

If anything,Akira was their savior.

This was also why Satotz still used honorifics when addressing him.

Satotz was particularly meticulous about etiquette, habitually adding honorifics when referring to others—especially figures like Chairman Netero and Akira.

"Yes, the last time the three of us gathered like this was during our first meeting at the Moros Ruins" Akira said slowly, glancing at Pyon and Satotz.

Before today, none of them had imagined they would reunite here.

***

"By the way, may I ask why you two are here?"

"Is it also for the unusual fossils that have been appearing lately?"

Akira and Pyon attire stood in stark contrast to Satotz and the other miners preparing to descend into the valley in the distance.

The others were fully equipped, either in miner's gear or outfits resembling those of archaeologists.

Only Akira and Pyon wore casual clothing, looking entirely out of place among the crowd.

They seemed more like tourists than fossil hunters.

"Yes and no" Akira replied after exchanging a glance with Pyon, leaving Satotz thoroughly puzzled.

"We're here for the root cause behind these peculiar skeletal fossils!" Akira stated, catching Satotz off guard.

"Satotz, have you excavated any of those fossils recently?" Akira continued, preparing to reveal the truth behind it all.

"Yes, it's in my backpack." Satotz nodded, set down his hiking pack, and pulled out a wooden box from inside.

Upon opening it, there lay a long bone, strikingly white just like the claw bones they had seen earlier.

"You might find this hard to believe, but there's an extremely faint layer of Death Aura attached to this." Akira used Focus to examine the bone and, as expected, detected the presence of Death Aura on it.

"So it really has Death Aura?"

A look of astonishment crossed Satotz face, even causing his curled mustache to tremble involuntarily.

If the [World's Strongest Nen Exorcist] said there was Death Aura on it, then there absolutely was Death Aura!

At this moment, Satotz also began to understand that the peculiarity of the fossilized bones was likely related to the Death Aura on them.

"Satotz, do you know how these unusual fossilized bones were formed?" Satotz shook his head.

"Based on Pyon and my exploration, the unique transformation of these bones is highly likely connected to the Dark Sonata!" Akira stared solemnly at the fossilized bone in the box.

Hearing this, Satotz eyes widened instantly, his face filled with shock as if he had heard something utterly bizarre.

Could it really be related to the legendary Dark Sonata?!

------------------------------

Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.

patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator