HxH : Pokemon Master

"If it's the Dark Sonata..."

"Then the changes in these bones make sense" Satotz murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the bone glowing faintly white in the box.

He had previously questioned the transformation but had never understood the reason.

Now, Akira explanation provided the clarity he needed—it was due to the influence of the Dark Sonata.

Just as Satotz had this epiphany, the Death Aura on the bone suddenly stirred, as if moved by a faint breeze.

However, among the three present, only Akira could clearly see this.

The Death Aura, just like the scene from yesterday, swiftly flew into Akira shadow and disappeared.

If others had witnessed this, they might have thought Akira shadow was made of Death Aura.

Unlike yesterday, today it was Gengar that devoured the Death Aura.

After tasting it yesterday, Marshadow found the "flavor" unremarkable and decided to leave these to Gengar from now on.

According to Akira estimation, they would likely have to reach the Dark Continent to find Death Aura that could pique Marshadow interest.

Among the six continents, the Death Aura from the Dark Sonata were already the most potent.

Yet, in Marshadow eyes, they still fell short.

"The Death Aura on it has been removed. You can safely store it now."

Seeing the Death Aura completely vanish, Akira informed Satotz, allowing him to keep the bone without worry.

Though it had been transformed by the Dark Sonata, with the Death Aura gone, there was no longer any risk.

What was once a dangerous artifact harboring hidden perils had now become an extremely rare piece of art.

Satotz was momentarily stunned before realizing Akira had removed the Death Aura. After thanking him, he placed the bone back into his pack.

"Based on our speculation, the Dark Sonata is most likely deep within the Karst Mining Valley."

"Especially in places where these bones appear—there's a high chance that's where the Dark Sonata is located" Pyon explained their intentions and then quietly observed Satotz.

Having someone familiar to guide them here would make things much easier.

"I'm quite familiar with this area. Let me take you to where we found these bones" Satotz responded, immediately picking up on the implication.

He suggested they work together as they had during the Moros Ruins expedition.

Since neither Akira nor Pyon were ordinary people, there was no need for miner's outfits.

The protective gear was Satotz personal preference, plus he needed it for extended periods in the mines.

Without requiring additional tools, the three immediately began descending into the valley.

***

With Satotz leading the way, Akira and Pyon followed behind, forming a triangular formation.

Their conversation along the way mainly revolved around Akira exploits over the past year.

First, he had defeated numerous Floor Masters at Heavens Arena, earning the title of Strongest Floor Master.

Then he won the championship at the Gourmet Festival's culinary competition.

During the Yorknew City auction, he eliminated half the members of the A-class criminal group, the Phantom Troupe.

Most recently, at the Olympus Martial Arts Tournament, Akira had struck down the invaders live on broadcast.

Some of these deeds had been widely publicized across the six continents, known by most people. Others circulated only within Nen User circles, like the gourmet competition victory and eliminating half the Troupe.

As Satotz and Pyon recounted these events, Akira realized just how much he had accomplished.

Unconsciously, his reputation among Nen Users had grown increasingly formidable—nearly reaching the point where everyone knew his name.

The last person to achieve such renown had been Chairman Netero.

Satotz own year had been comparatively uneventful—either overseeing restoration work at ruins or excavating fossils on Flame Rock Island.

As he put it, this was true happiness—being able to do what he loved.

While chatting, the trio followed the spiraling path deeper underground.

Suddenly, a strange creature emerged beside them, It had a slightly pointed head, stubby limbs relative to its fat body and fur resembling a rat's.

Its small eyes were nearly hidden by dense fur.

Most distinctive were its thick forelimbs ending in terrifyingly sharp claws that gleamed with a metallic sheen—its digging tools.

The creature looked like an oversized mole, though its spotted fur pattern distinguished it from ordinary moles.

"Ah, a Spotted Mole. They're very common here" Satotz remarked, glancing at the creature and explaining for his companions' benefit.

Admittedly, the mole looked rather cute.

At first glance, it somewhat resembled a Drilbur—perhaps it would grow up to look more like an Excadrill?

"Although this mineral valley consists mostly of rock, soil and fossils, some creatures do live here" Satotz continued.

"The Spotted Mole is one of them—among the most numerous species on Flame Rock Island."

"Thud! Thud!"

As soon as Satotz finished speaking, two more spotted moles emerged beside the three of them, as if deliberately echoing his words.

With their comically beady eyes, they gave off an irresistibly amusing vibe.

"Their nature is to dig. Those large claws of theirs can cut through metal—they're exceptionally sharp."

"Because of this, you'll often see tunnels of varying sizes in the mines."

"From fist-sized holes to passages large enough for multiple people to pass through—most of these are dug by spotted moles."

"In a way, they actually bring convenience to miners, making it easier to excavate ore."

"But it's a double-edged sword. With so many mole-dug tunnels underground, cave-ins happen frequently."

Under Satotz explanation, the three of them arrived before the lowest-level mine shaft in the entire Karst Mine Valley.

According to Satotz, it was in this mine shaft that he had dug out that fossilized bone.

"Wait, you're saying there are many tunnels dug by moles underground?" Akira had a sudden flash of inspiration, a thought crossing his mind as he instinctively asked.

"Yes, although there's no exact number, there are indeed many hollowed-out passages inside."

Satotz words successfully resolved the previous doubts he and Pyon had, indirectly confirming their suspicions.

Based on Pyon earlier intelligence gathering, the Dark Sonata had never been discovered by anyone.

Only occasionally would faint traces of music emerge, yet without any sudden casualties.

So even if those who heard the music spoke of it, no one would believe them.

Others simply assumed they'd stayed in the mines too long, causing auditory hallucinations.

From this perspective, the Dark Sonata was most likely deep within the ore valley, in the lower underground regions. Normally, the underground is all rock, leaving no place for the Dark Sonata to reside—but the presence of moles changes that.

The tunnels dug by moles underground could perfectly serve as spaces for the Dark Sonata to linger. Even those cases of disappearances due to cave-ins might well be related to the Dark Sonata.

Those peculiar bones were likely from other subterranean creatures. While traversing the mole-dug tunnels, they happened to hear the music of the Dark Sonata.

Thus ensnared by Death Aura, they could only collapse there.

"Then let's go in. This is where I found it last time" Satotz said seriously.

If before he could have faced it with a lighthearted mood, now that he knew it was connected to the Dark Sonata, his vigilance was at its peak.

When dealing with something as sinister as the Dark Sonata, no amount of caution was excessive.

At that moment, an undetectable Aura ripple emanated from Akira shadow, swiftly probing underground.

The ripple was extremely obscure and dark—no living being could sense this fluctuation.

It was "En"!

Normally, "En" involves expanding Aura from the body surface, spreading outward to gather information through contact with objects.

But this would alert those being sensed, as unknown Aura touches them.

The effects of "En" are largely similar, mostly differing in range—which relates to strength and Nen ability types.

At most, there might be variations in directional use, such as focusing "En" in a single direction rather than spreading it outward.

This maximizes the probing distance.

In the original work, Neferpitou demonstrated this method of use.

But currently, Marshadow "En" was even more formidable than ordinary "En"!

Not only did it cover an extremely wide range, allowing it to probe very distant areas, but when combined with its concealment ability, it could execute "En" without detection.

While it used "En" to observe every move of its enemies "visually" the targets remained completely unaware.

This "En" effect was the most powerful Akira had ever seen—truly befitting a legendary Pokémon.

Marshadow's "En" continued to extend downward, images appearing one after another in its mind.

There were golden-glowing ores, perfectly preserved monster fossils, and numerous crisscrossing underground tunnels.

It was obvious that those tunnels had been dug by moles.

A moment later, a gleam flashed in Akira eyes.

Found it!

"No, we won't go in through the mine shaft." Akira shook his head, not intending to follow the mine path—after all, it didn't lead directly to their destination.

He had a simpler and faster method!

"Huh? Not going through the mine? Or are we just going to dig straight down?" Pyon asked curiously.

She thought Akira had likely pinpointed the general location of the Dark Sonata and decided to carve a direct path there.

"If that's the case, then it would indeed be quite convenient."

Hearing this, Satotz also nodded in agreement, thinking this method was indeed efficient—though they still had to consider the impact of digging.

If the disturbance was too great, it could easily cause a large-scale collapse. This was also one of the reasons why high-powered digging machines were rarely used in the mining valley.

Large machines were undoubtedly convenient—just a few digs could accomplish what an ordinary person could do in a day.

But the underground was a maze of interconnected tunnels and the slightest misstep could trigger a massive collapse.

The losses then would be far from trivial.

Facing their curious gazes, Akira smiled calmly and said.

"You guessed half right. I do plan to go straight down, but not by digging."

??

Question marks appeared above their heads.

If they weren't digging, how were they supposed to get down?

After a brief moment of confusion, they both remembered one of Akira Nen beasts.

If they recalled correctly, that Nen beast had the ability to teleport!

Just as this thought crossed their minds, a flash of white light suddenly appeared before them.

As the light faded, an elegant, noblewoman-like Nen beast materialized in front of the group.

Its beautiful dress accentuated its grace to the fullest.

If it underwent Mega Evolution in the future, the dress would grow even larger.

Gardevoir mesmerizing eyes took on a faint pink hue as pink Aura expanded across its body, enveloping all three of them.

In an instant, boundless Aura erupted in a dazzling radiance and the figures of the three humans and the beast vanished into the light.

Fortunately, there was no one around—otherwise, they would have surely been startled by the sight.

***

Deep within the Karst Mining Valley, the place was riddled with tunnels of varying sizes and irregular shapes, distinctly different from those dug by humans.

These were all mole-dug passages.

A flash of pink light later, the trio and the beast suddenly appeared underground.

To accommodate them, Gardevoir had deliberately chosen a larger tunnel for their arrival. Unfortunately, Gardevoir abilities were limited—its En range was nowhere near as vast as Marshadow.

Thus, a single teleport could only take them into the tunnels, not directly to their destination.

Still, they were already close to the location of the Dark Sonata—just a short walk ahead would get them there.

There was no need to teleport again.

"We're already underground? Just like that?"

"So it really was teleportation!" Pyon looked around, confirming that they had indeed descended to who-knows-how-deep underground.

Unlike the surface, the underground had no light to illuminate the surroundings, leaving everything in complete darkness.

Fortunately, the group were all Nen Users.

By channeling Aura into their eyes and using 'Gyo', their vision remained largely unaffected.

"It seems the environment isn't as bad as we imagined." Satotz raised his palm, sensing a faint breeze brushing against it.

Even underground, there was some air circulation—this was how creatures like moles survived beneath the surface.

The underground and the surface weren't entirely sealed off from each other; there were passages allowing air to flow between them.

"The environment may not be terrible, but the situation could be far more dangerous." Akira frowned slightly, casually gesturing beside them with a meaningful tone.

Satotz and Pyon quickly turned to look, their expressions shifting as they saw what lay there. Before them was the skeletal remains of a large creature.

The skeleton was relatively intact, allowing them to roughly identify its features.

Judging by its structure, it likely belonged to some kind of land dragon—a wyvern-type beast.

Creatures of this kind were usually quite powerful, anything related to dragons was rarely weak.

If this skeleton were taken to the surface, it could probably fetch a high price.

But what shocked the two wasn't just the complete skeleton of a land dragon—it was the thick, clinging Death Aura covering it! Unlike the faint traces on the smaller bones earlier, which were too weak for even their level of skill to detect, this time, the Death Aura were overwhelming.

The black, ink-like Death Aura had nearly solidified, staining the naturally white bones a deep, unnatural shade.

Normally, Death Aura took on a mist-like, wispy form, but here, they had almost condensed into a solid state!

Just then, an eerie melody drifted from the depths—a low, haunting hum, as if from the depths of hell itself.

It felt as though it sought to drag every listener down into the abyss.

At the same time, the Incubation Bar in Akira mind surged forward wildly, as if fueled by adrenaline.

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

Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.

patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator