"Huff~"
"I got stronger again!"
Although she couldn't see her stat screen, Nami could clearly feel it—her stamina, strength, and the Pokémon energy flowing within her body had all surged once more.
In that instant, she realized—
All the hardship she had endured yesterday had finally paid off!
Over the past two days, Nami had given it her all.By day, she trained combat movements at the manor.By night, inside the game world, she battled powerful Pokémon one after another.
The Trainers on Route 25 were already using Pokémon whose levels all exceeded 15, with the strongest even reaching level 18!
When facing Flying- or Water-type Pokémon weak to Electric-type attacks, Nami could exploit electricity's speed and ferocity to finish them off swiftly.
But if her opponent was a Ground-type Pokémon, she had no choice but to abandon her Electric-type moves and rely on Pay Day together with the three-section staff in her hands to fight head-on.
However, Nami was ultimately human. Compared to Pokémon bred specifically for combat, there was an inherent racial gap—coupled with type disadvantage…
As a result, during yesterday's game session, level-17 Nami was sent straight back to the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City by a level-18 Sandshrew.
With no other option, Red and Nami had to retrace their path and temporarily switch combatants, letting Zoro step in to instantly take down the enemy before swapping Nami back in to continue pushing the map.
That defeat yesterday had clearly left Nami in a poor mood.
But fortunately, today began with a good start.
Defeating the very first opponent allowed Nami to level up successfully.
Watching Nami over there testing the changes in her move power after leveling up, Red began thinking to himself:
"With this leveling speed, beating Arlong shouldn't be a problem for Nami."
"The real issue is still map progression speed…"
"A Nami with only Electric-type moves is completely helpless against Ground-type Pokémon. For now, it seems the only option is to ask for outside help."
"Looks like I'll need to increase Usopp's workload ahead of time and have him make the Clima-Tact earlier."
The first prototype of the Clima-Tact didn't require any rare materials—it was entirely the result of Usopp's ingenuity—so it shouldn't be too difficult.
And with the Clima-Tact's moisture-generating ability, even Ground-type Pokémon would take normal damage from Nami.
After a simple reorganization, the two continued onward.
At the far end of Route 25 lay Bill's Lighthouse.
That was the lab of the strange scientist who, in the game, had fused himself with a Pokémon.
After helping him press the control button and freeing him, Bill gave Red two tickets that could be used freely for ship travel.
In the open space outside Bill's lab, there was also a seductive, alluring older woman.
The moment she saw Red, her first words were:
"Let big sis teach you a lesson, little brother~"
And the Pokémon she used was a level-18 Machop.
This made it very hard for Red not to suspect whether this clearly unsatisfied big sister had done something indescribable with that muscle-bound manchild Machop.
After all, in the Pokémon world, Pokémon and humans don't have reproductive barriers!
"Nami—Buzzy Buzz plus Zippy Zap! Finish her in one go!"
As the battle field formed, Red issued his command swiftly.
Nami's lightning might be completely countered by Ground-type Pokémon—
But against Pokémon of other attributes, it was still an unstoppable force!
Crackle—!!!
Brilliant lightning tore through the air and struck the Machop that couldn't dodge in time.
In an instant, the once energetic Machop stiffened.
Golden arcs of electricity flickered intermittently across its skin.
It was unmistakably the guaranteed paralysis effect of Buzzy Buzz!
Strike while the iron is hot—finish it while it's down!
Already familiar with Pokémon battles, Nami didn't hesitate. Wielding her steel staff wrapped in crackling lightning, stepping on flashes of electric sparks, she darted to Machop's front and brought the staff down in a crushing blow!
"Take this!" Nami shouted.
As the lightning-charged staff smashed into Machop's forehead, the little manchild—who looked like he'd definitely driven a truck before—went stiff for a moment, then collapsed backward.
"My Machop~!"
The big sister swayed her ample curves, letting out a sultry cry.
But it couldn't change the already decided outcome!
After the battle ended, Red received a farewell gift from her hand—
A Technical Machine for the Fighting-type move Seismic Toss!
[Move: Seismic Toss][Type: Fighting][Category: Physical][Power: Variable][Description: The target is thrown high into the air, then slammed down by gravity. Damage dealt depends on the user's level.]
"Thrown into the air… so does this move have some sort of launch effect?" Red wondered after reading the description.
He compared the Seismic Toss TM with everyone in the Pokémon list and discovered that, for now, only Luffy could learn it.
"So even without the Fighting type, as long as certain conditions are met, you can still learn the corresponding moves?"
"That really is similar to game mechanics."
Thinking of how Nami could learn the Normal-type move Pay Day, Red nodded in realization.
Seeing Nami walk over, he immediately waved the ship tickets in his hand and told her about their next destination.
"Let's go. Next, we're heading back to Cerulean City again!"
"Ugh… I really don't want to go back to that depressing place," Nami sighed.
Counting the time she'd been beaten back by Sandshrew, this would already be their third time passing through Cerulean City.
And now, they were about to make it the fourth.
"No helping it. Our next destination can only be reached through Cerulean City," Red spread his hands helplessly.
If he could avoid it, he wouldn't want to waste game time just traveling either.
In the end, by the time today's game session was over, all they had accomplished was defeating a Team Rocket grunt behind the backyard of a robbed house in Cerulean City.
And their reward was—
Another Technical Machine added to Red's inventory: Dig!
[Move: Dig][Type: Ground][Category: Physical][Power: 80][Description: Quickly digs a tunnel that can fit the user. While active, the user may move freely underground by continuously consuming stamina and can launch surprise attacks on enemies.]
"I really don't know whether to call this a great harvest… or a complete waste of time," Red muttered.
Back in the pirate world, in Kaya's guest room, Red looked at the two new TMs in his inventory—and at Nami's barely increased experience bar—with a conflicted expression.
But soon, he put it all out of his mind.
Their time was still plentiful. There was no need to rush.
What's more, today was an important day—they were going to meet their new companion, the Going Merry.
Red didn't want to meet such a special partner with dark circles under his eyes. He still wanted to leave a good first impression.
...
...
Nothing happened overnight.
And just as the Straw Hat crew finished a day of training and drifted into peaceful sleep—
In the waters of the Moonlight Islands, on an uninhabited islet near Syrup Village—
A ship bearing a cat-faced skull pirate flag was quietly docked at the edge of the shore.
"Captain Jango, how long are we supposed to wait!?"
"It's been three days already—why hasn't Captain Kuro sent any news at all!?"
"That's right! If we wait any longer, we're going to run out of supplies!"
"...…"
"...…"
On the deck, pirates adorned with all kinds of cat-related decorations gathered noisily around a man wearing heart-shaped glasses.
The man with heart-shaped glasses was none other than the former vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirates—Jango!
After Kuro's retirement, he had temporarily taken over as captain during the past three years.
But at this moment, the acting captain wore a helpless expression.
Facing his subordinates' fierce questioning, he could only raise his hands and placate them:
"Three days ago, Captain Kuro secretly contacted me and told us to wait in these nearby waters. It seems he still has some preparations to finish."
"Since no new orders have come from Captain Kuro, we should just obey and not disrupt his plan."
"Otherwise… none of us will end well."
However, the moment Jango finished speaking, an angry roar suddenly erupted from the crowd:
"We object!"
The crowd split apart as a tall-and-skinny plus short-and-fat duo wielding razor-sharp cat claws stepped forward.
They were the catman brothers—second in status only to Jango within the Black Cat Pirates.
The fat one, Buchi, spoke with indignation:
"Captain Jango! That bastard abandoned us for three whole years! Why should we still follow his orders!?"
"Even if we complete the task he assigned, what do we get out of it?!"
The catman brothers were clearly in their rebellious phase, having no respect whatsoever for their former captain.
And within the Black Cat Pirates, quite a few shared the same thoughts.
After all, Kuro had always been ruthless to them. Aside from Jango, almost no one in the crew was truly loyal to him.
The tall, skinny Sham added:
"Captain Jango, our strength isn't weak! Why do we have to obey that bastard!?"
"Instead of helping him with some ridiculous plan, we might as well do it ourselves—raid that village and that rich guy, then head back out to sea and live our pirate lives!"
"I'm sick of hiding like a rat these past three years!!!"
"Yeah! We're sick of it!!!"
Sham's words quickly won the approval of the rest of the crew.
Seeing this, Buchi waved his hand decisively:
"To hell with Kuro!"
"Brothers, we set out at dawn! We'll plunder the village and that rich man, then go back to living the free life on the seas!!!"
"Ohhh!!!!"
The pirates roared in response, waving their weapons.
At the sight of this, Jango rubbed his temples.
Knowing he could no longer suppress the crew's rebellious intent, he could only let things take their course.
"I just hope Captain Kuro won't blame me," Jango sighed silently.
Little did he know—
The Captain Kuro he was waiting for had already fallen into eternal silence within the realm of the dead.
(End of Chapter)