After reviewing the [Ability] section, Akira continued reading.
His gaze, which should have landed on the [Moves] section, skipped ahead instead, drawn to the text further down.
After all, that lengthy passage was far too eye-catching.
He was quite familiar with situations like this.
The notes at the back suggested that this Hisuian Zoroark likely possessed abilities beyond expectations!
Sure enough, when Akira clearly saw the so-called [Grudge Rebirth] ability, his breath caught involuntarily.
Because this ability was incredibly powerful!
In a sense, it was the most formidable special ability among all his Pokémon!
This [Grudge Rebirth] could make Hisuian Zoroark virtually unkillable.
His Pokémon weren't purely Aura Beasts—they could even be considered living, breathing organisms.
If they suffered fatal blows, there was a possibility of death.
Akira had known this since the very beginning when he first understood his Nen Ability.
Back then, he realized he had to cherish his Pokémon dearly, as he couldn't guarantee any method of resurrection.
Admittedly, the Pokémon world had many ways to bring creatures back from the dead, such as the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh.
But up until now, he still hadn't obtained any means to revive his Pokémon.
As for the so-called Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh or the Life God Xerneas… they remained utterly beyond his reach.
It all came down to luck.
Before this, the only truly unkillable Pokémon in his possession was the bug-like Sturdy Shedinja.
The first-tier Legendary Kyogre was simply too powerful, with no existence capable of threatening it, thus rendering it unkillable.
But today, he had acquired a second unkillable Pokémon besides Sturdy Shedinja—Hisuian Zoroark.
Its mechanism for immortality was rather unique, not as straightforward as Sturdy Shedinja's.
It had two states to counter death, pushing its survival capabilities to the absolute limit.
First, when it suffered severe injuries, its HP would freeze for a period of time.
This effect was comparable to Sturdy Shedinja's HP-lock ability.
Even if its HP was reduced to the last drop, it still wouldn't die.
Nor did he have to worry about it being too weakened after severe injuries to retaliate against enemies, like Netero after using Zero Hand.
Because under the immense power of grudge, its strength would skyrocket, allowing it to unleash Payback.
Upon successfully executing Payback, Hisuian Zoroark wouldn't just gain the enemy's EXP—the resentment generated during the process would also convert into EXP, further boosting its strength.
In other words, this ability was an enhanced version of Sturdy Shedinja—not only unkillable but also capable of growing stronger.
However, there was one aspect where it fell short of Sturdy Shedinja: the HP-lock had a time limit.
Within that timeframe, Hisuian Zoroark could rampage freely.
Once the time was up, if Hisuian Zoroark was killed by an enemy, its soul would be forcibly extracted.
Yet it still wouldn't die. Instead, it would transform into the enemy's form to seek revenge.
If the revenge failed, Hisuian Zoroark would remain in its spectral state.
If successful, it would resurrect, and the grudge energy would again turn into EXP to enhance its power.
Akira couldn't help but marvel, recognizing this as an utterly terrifying ability.
From this perspective, the only possible way he could find to kill Hisuian Zoroark would be to attack it while it was in its spectral state, transformed into an enemy's identity.
Moreover, the attack would need to be effective against spirits—or in other words, attacks that could harm souls.
Only then might it be possible to permanently eliminate Hisuian Zoroark.
There was no other way.However, even this sole method comes with extremely stringent conditions.
After all, attacks targeting the soul are exceedingly rare.
Since arriving in the world of Hunter x Hunter, the only soul-related attacks he had encountered were the Dark Sonata and the Hellbell Snake.
Both of these abilities originated from the Demon King.
Thus, it could be inferred that the Demon King possessed the power to influence souls.
Aside from the Demon King, he had yet to encounter any other creature with such an ability.
Moreover, with him and the other Pokémon aiding Hisuian Zoroark, there was no need to worry about the outcome of soul death.
Therefore, Hisuian Zoroark could freely rely on this ability to dominate even the most perilous environments.
Though it didn't possess complete immunity to death like Sturdy Shedinja, it had an effect that Sturdy Shedinja lacked.
That is, in the process of preserving its life, Hisuian Zoroark could revive repeatedly, growing stronger each time.
Akira found this ability quite reasonable.
After all, Hisuian Zoroark's lore stated that its soul would be reborn in Hisui after death.
Having died once, it carried profound resentment, which would manifest as power, rising from its head.
In this process, it would take on the appearance of its foes to exact vengeance.
Viewed this way, Hisuian Zoroark's Grudge Rebirth was simply a manifestation of its lore as an ability—merely a concrete depiction.
It made perfect sense.
At the same time, Akira became even more convinced that among all the Pokémon species, Hisuian Zoroark was the most suitable choice for this endeavor.
Because his speculation had not been wrong.
Hisuian Zoroark's Grudge Rebirth bore a striking resemblance to Don's Nen Ability!
Just as Hisuian Zoroark stood out among Pokémon, Don's Nen Ability was also one-of-a-kind among the Nen Abilities Akira had seen.
Human Evolution: Upon death, Don's soul would enter a dormant state—the more severe the damage to his body, the longer the dormancy.
Though his lifespan would still deplete during dormancy, the rate was far slower compared to when he was alive.
If Don's willpower was strong enough, he would successfully revive when the time came.
With sufficient willpower, he might even revive ahead of schedule.
If his willpower faltered, his soul would be lost, never to awaken again—effectively death.
During dormancy, his soul would grow stronger, and upon revival, his strength would increase as well.
Since the effect acted on the soul, it allowed him to evolve in an unconventional way.
Step by step, he would transcend humanity, evolving toward a higher existence.
Aside from the risk of soul corruption, this ability also had a cooldown period.
The length of the cooldown depended on the duration of the previous dormancy—the longer the dormancy, the longer the subsequent cooldown.
Only after the cooldown ended could the Nen Ability be activated again.
...
At first glance, Akira didn't even need to guess—Don's Nen Ability was undoubtedly a Specialist-Type.
Only a Specialist-Type Nen Ability could produce such an extraordinary effect.
Truly befitting Don Freecss, the legendary explorer who dedicated himself to the Dark Continent and spent centuries there.
Even his Nen Ability seemed tailor-made for navigating the perils of the Dark Continent.
Most likely, it was due to Don's extraordinary talent and his strong desire to challenge difficulties in his hobbies and interests that he developed such a Nen Ability.
After all, this ability perfectly embodies both survival and self-improvement.
It bears an extremely close resemblance to the Hisuian Zoroark's [Grudge Rebirth].
It could be said that among all the Nen Abilities he had witnessed, none were more suited for exploring the Dark Continent than Don's!
Moreover, with this ability, being a lone wolf was indeed the better choice, as he couldn't afford to spare attention for companions.
In the face of extreme danger, he still had his Nen Ability as a resurrection trump card, but his companions were different.
If they died, they would truly be gone.
Traveling alone allowed him to explore places ordinary people couldn't reach and experience greater dangers.
It was no exaggeration to say that the reason Don had been active on the Dark Continent for centuries and survived to this day was entirely due to the fact that he had "died" multiple times.
So, as strange as it sounded, it was precisely because he had died several times that he was still alive now—and had attained his current strength.
This ability also adhered to the Nen Ability's consistent principle of equivalent exchange.
Resurrection might sound overpowered, but the restrictions were numerous and harsh.
First, while the soul slumbered, it would still slowly consume lifespan.
If his lifespan was insufficient, even if resurrected, he would become an old man with little time left.
Perhaps Don's desire to seek lifespan-extending items was also connected to his Nen Ability.
Second, the slumber wasn't simple sleep—it carried the high risk of being lost in it forever.
If he let his guard down even slightly, he might never wake up again.
Finally, this Nen Ability also had a cooldown period. If he died during this time, it would mean true death.
In summary, compared to other Nen users, Don was effectively without a Nen Ability under normal circumstances.
Only at the brink of life and death could its true value be revealed.
This was the consensus all skilled hunters followed and pursued—survival was paramount!
For example, when Don advised his disciple Kite on developing his Nen Ability, he suggested incorporating a [survival-type] effect.
This decision directly led to Kite's eventual resurrection instead of dying outright at the hands of Neferpitou.
Unlike others, from the moment Don came into contact with [Nen], he understood the essence of this world—strength reigned supreme.
He also realized his own ambition was to constantly challenge hardships and encounter more novel experiences.
And for that, he needed the ability to survive.
Taking all this into account, he developed the Nen Ability [Evolution of Humanity], which allowed him to continuously push his limits.
...
As Akira pondered, Tyranitar, having received the message, cast a deep glance at Don in the distance.
Then, it turned its gaze to the stubborn vines tightly coiled around its body, the crimson glow in its eyes growing fiercer.
Enduring the immense crushing force of the vines, Tyranitar mustered its strength and opened its steel-like maw.
Inside were rows of sharp, metallic teeth.
Anyone who saw them would never doubt the sheer biting force of those jaws.
It seemed as though even the hardest substance would be crushed to pieces between those fangs.
"ROAR!!"
Tyranitar suddenly roared, the powerful sound waves piercing through space itself, causing the air to tremble.
Then, a red light abruptly flared in its mouth, rapidly expanding like a fireball forming within.
Seeing this, Don—who had been keeping his attention fixed on Tyranitar—grew uneasy.
A flicker of surprise flashed in his clear eyes.
A bad thought crossed his mind. His lips parted slightly as he stared intently at Tyranitar:
[No way… Could it be…?]
At the same moment, the flames in Tyranitar's mouth had fully formed.
Upon reaching their critical point, it lowered its head and spat them out directly.
The target was its own body!
To be precise, it was the writhing vines entangled around it.
After receiving Akira's hint, Tyranitar had decided to use fire attacks to deal with these damned vines.
Fire-type move—Flamethrower.
A blazing pillar of fire erupted from Tyranitar's mouth, resembling Godzilla's atomic breath at first glance.
After all, Tyranitar's design was inspired by Godzilla, sharing some visual similarities.
However, Tyranitar was much smaller in size, and its Flamethrower was far less powerful than atomic breath.
Moreover, Tyranitar only intended to burn away the vines without harming itself, so the intensity of the Flamethrower was significantly reduced.
In an instant, the raDon flames quickly engulfed the writhing vines, while Tyranitar used its Aura to resist the scorching heat.
Tyranitar had Aura for protection, but the vines did not.
Faced with their natural enemy—fire—the vines lost all their earlier menace, proving utterly defenseless.
The numerous, lengthy vines soon turned into burning torches, crackling and popping before rapidly turning to ash, shattered into dust by Tyranitar's movements.
For a moment, a thick, acrid smell of burning filled the air, reaching Don's nostrils.
Inhaling the pungent odor, Don could hardly believe his eyes, blinking twice in disbelief.
Yet the scene before him remained unchanged.
The colossal beast still stood tall and proud, its body dotted with lingering embers.
The writhing vines he had used were now nothing but scattered ashes on the ground.
[This steel behemoth actually knows fire-type attacks?]
Don's eyes widened, realizing he had underestimated his opponent yet again.
At this point, he wouldn't even be surprised if the creature suddenly unleashed a water-type attack.
Just what kind of attacks was this Aura Beast incapable of?