"Are you here to learn a Secret Technique from me as well?"
"Hm… judging by the sharp look in your eyes, I suppose I might as well teach you this move!!!"
Inside the captain's cabin of the S.S. Anne.
As Red triggered the dialogue event, the white-bearded captain—despite his age, still radiating vigor—immediately strode over to a potted plant.
His eyes narrowed, his expression turning grave in an instant.
The next moment—
Whoosh!
A razor-sharp hand strike flashed through the air before him.
There was no physical contact at all, yet the potted plant instantly shattered into fine powder, dispersing into the air.
"Well? Did you see it clearly?"
After finishing the demonstration, the old captain turned back without even breaking a sweat and asked Red and Zoro.
Red: "..."
Captain! And you still say you're not a Pokémon!?
Staring at the scattered dead leaves and broken branches all over the floor, even Red was momentarily stunned.
At that very moment, a system notification flashed before his eyes:
[Your Pokémon Roronoa Zoro has learned the Secret Technique · Chop Down!]
Red immediately turned his head, only to see Zoro slowly opening his eyes. A piercing glint burst forth from his gaze, as if sword energy were about to erupt at any second.
But when he noticed Red watching him, the battle intent receded, hidden deep within his eyes as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"So… it's done?" Red asked curiously.
Zoro gave a light nod.
Clang!
He suddenly drew Wado Ichimonji.
As the blade left its sheath, a profound aura surged once more from Zoro's body—rising, then coiling tightly around him, condensed yet unbroken.
Zoro suddenly broke into a wild grin and answered Red's question.
"Red, I think… I've understood everything now!!!"
"I feel like even if a mountain of iron were standing in front of me, I could cut it down without hesitation!"
"This must be what you meant by the Realm of Cutting Steel, right?!"
Just as Red had expected, after learning Chop Down, Zoro's swordsmanship had indeed taken another step forward.
And worth noting was the fact that—
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee, Secret Techniques did not occupy a Pokémon's move slots, so Zoro still retained four open move positions.
But because of this, Red was unable to analyze the true power of Chop Down through the data panel.
Even so…
Judging by the confidence radiating from Zoro, Red could more or less guess the outcome.
He grinned.
Though deeply pleased with Zoro's progress, he still said aloud:
"Don't get happy too soon, Zoro~"
"The Realm of Cutting Steel is only the first threshold to becoming a true swordsman."
"We still have a long road ahead of us!"
Cutting steel was merely the entrance requirement.
Flying slashes—and forging a black blade—those were the real hallmarks of a master swordsman.
"That's true~"
Clang!
Zoro sheathed his sword at once. The fighting spirit in his eyes faded, replaced by an even more intense and aggressive gleam.
He exhaled slowly, then took the initiative:
"Time waits for no one!"
"Red, take me into battle already!"
"I finally got here before Nami, and I can't wait to cut something up!"
"Hahahaha! As you wish!!!"
Red laughed loudly.
A young man who didn't need reminders and actively demanded growth…
Those were his favorites!!!
Not long after that,
the two left the S.S. Anne and returned to the front of the Vermilion Gym.
Unlike other gyms that stood wide open to challengers,
the entrance of the Vermilion Gym was now completely sealed off by a dense row of lush trees.
When Red and Nami had arrived here a few days earlier, they had spent a long time trying—without success—to get through them.
Clearly, these trees had been imbued by the system with some kind of special rule.
That was why Red and Nami had gone south to grind levels aboard the S.S. Anne instead.
And now, two days later, Red returned once more.
This time, however, he brought along the ultimate tree-cutting weapon—
Roronoa Zoro, who had mastered Chop Down!
"Come on, Zoro. Try out your new technique!"
"Use Chop Down on those trees!!!"
Red pointed ahead.
With Zoro around, the Vermilion Gym was no longer a concern at all!
And that also meant today would be another day of massive gains.
Red was eager to see what kind of boosts—and what new moves—the next Badge would bring him.
"Leave it to me, Vice-Captain!"
Zoro flashed a toothy grin, suddenly lowering his stance, one hand resting on the hilt of the Great Grade blade Wado Ichimonji.
A sharp gleam flickered through his eyes like lightning.
The next instant—
"One-Sword Style · Iai: Lion's Song!!!"
Whoosh!
The blade left its sheath!
Like a sudden bolt of lightning, a fierce slash of sword energy tore through the trees before the gym entrance.
Carrying the unique power of the Pokémon world, the strike was blindingly swift, instantly cutting down every single tree.
Broken branches and shredded leaves rained down like scattered petals.
Seeing this, Red merely smiled calmly.
"Nicely done."
As his words fell, he strode forward toward the Vermilion Gym.
Behind him, Zoro retracted his blade and followed under the falling debris of leaves, stepping into the gym along with Red.
As the electric doors slid shut behind them, a gym of bizarre appearance revealed itself.
Despite being an Electricity-type Gym,
what greeted them inside was not anything electric—but rows upon rows of identical metal trash cans filling the hall!
The only thing remotely related to electricity…
was the pair of intense electric barriers in the distance, blocking access to the Gym Leader like iron railings.
Just then, the familiar overalls-wearing man—present in every gym—appeared again, introducing the place to Red and Zoro:
"You've made it this far, so you're qualified to challenge the Vermilion Gym!"
"Now let me explain the traps inside!"
"See those two electric barriers in front of the Gym Leader?"
"You'll need to find the switches hidden inside the trash cans to disable them before you can proceed!"
"But be careful~"
"The trainers inside won't let you find the switches so easily!"
"Hey, hey—does it really have to be this faithful to the original…?"
Watching the man revert fully into NPC mode, Red felt utterly helpless.
"Hiding switches in trash cans—who the hell came up with this brain-dead design!?"
Even back when he'd played the game, he had found this mechanic absolutely ridiculous.
Now, standing in front of dozens of trash cans filled with actual garbage, it was even harder to accept.
Still, complaints were complaints.
In the end, Red led Zoro into action, searching one trash can after another.
During the process, they frequently triggered forced battles with Gym Trainers.
As an Electricity-type Gym, every trainer used Electric-type Pokémon, all of them Level 22 or higher!
And as the Pokémon they faced grew stronger, even Zoro inevitably took more hits during battle.
While the damage itself wasn't severe, the paralysis effects from Electric-type moves were another story entirely.
By the time they finally located both switches and shut down the electric barriers,
Zoro's green hair had puffed up in all directions like a hedgehog, forming a full-blown afro.
"Pfft…"
"Y-you sure you don't need a break, Zoro?"
Red barely managed to hold his laughter, quickly averting his gaze from Zoro's ridiculous hairstyle.
"…No!"
"I just leveled up! I feel amazing right now!!!"
Zoro ground his teeth.
Maintaining his Three Sword Style stance, he stared fiercely at Lt. Surge, as if trying to pierce him with sheer killing intent.
"I swear…"
"I'm going to cut down every last one of these electricity-using bastards!!!"