After a round of careful consideration, Red ultimately equipped Usopp with Facade and Tri Attack.
One of these moves boosted the user's physical prowess significantly when afflicted by a status condition.
The other, upon hitting the enemy, had a high chance of randomly inflicting one of three status conditions: burn, paralysis, or freeze.
Both moves were Normal-type techniques without strict restrictions, so even a Bug/Grass-type like Usopp could learn them.
One focused on defense, the other on offense—balanced both ways.
Moreover, Tri Attack was a ranged assault fired in the form of energy beams, making it especially suitable for a sniper like Usopp.
It would allow him to familiarize himself with Pokémon energy in advance, striving to someday—like Zoro and Sanji—turn Pokémon moves into a combat style uniquely his own.
As for why Red chose Tri Attack instead of the far more destructive Hyper Beam…
Even Luffy and the others hadn't fully grasped the secrets of that move yet. Red had absolutely no expectation that Usopp, who was only level 21, could properly unleash its true power.
Moves could always be switched later, and there weren't that many usable options at the moment anyway.
So Red didn't agonize over it—usable was good enough.
A multicolored glimmer flashed briefly across Usopp's pupils.
When he opened his eyes again, he had fully mastered four brand-new Pokémon moves.
"Red, I—"
Feeling completely renewed, Usopp stared in shock at his own hands.
A strange energy flowed through his body, as if he could freely manipulate it with a single thought.
The sensation was incredibly novel.
"Haha, don't get too excited just yet," Red laughed, then turned and walked back toward the NPC granny at the Pokémon Day Care.
After a short sequence of operations, a straw-hatted figure fast asleep suddenly appeared inside the Day Care—right where Usopp had been standing moments ago.
It was their captain—Monkey D. Luffy!
Something as good as gaining experience points just by parking someone here couldn't be wasted.
"Luffy's still a few hundred EXP short of leveling up," Red said.
"With today's Day Care experience, he can go straight to level 50."
"Then we'll feed him two Rare Candies and give his level a massive boost!"
"Consider it some last-minute cramming before dealing with Crocodile!"
Recently, Red's focus had been almost entirely on training Zoro and Sanji, so Luffy hadn't entered the Pokémon world with him for quite some time.
And looking ahead, the number of companions needing training would only keep increasing—this situation would become more and more common.
But that didn't mean Luffy had been forgotten.
"Give it your all, future Pirate King!"
Without waking the sleeping Luffy, Red exchanged a glance with Usopp, and the two stepped out of the Day Care together.
In the next instant, Red waved one hand.
A strange, bicycle-like contraption—tethered to a bunch of balloons and floating in midair—materialized before them.
"What is this?" Usopp blinked curiously.
Then he watched as Red plopped himself onto the seat and patted the child-sized seat behind him.
"Come on! No time to waste—we're heading to Saffron City to challenge a small Gym!"
"W-wait, wait—!" Usopp's eyes went wide in disbelief.
He already knew what Gyms were from all the casual conversations he'd overheard between Red and the others.
But still…
Staring at the colorful balloons—things usually only seen at festivals—Usopp felt his scalp go numb.
"Ride that?! Are you serious, Red?!"
"Of course! Stop wasting time—get on!"
Under Red's insistence, Usopp shakily climbed onto the bizarre contraption.
The very next second, the utterly unscientific device lifted off into the air—and under Red's control, shot forward at high speed.
This device was none other than the special technique that replaced the traditional Fly move in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! / Let's Go, Eevee!—Sky Dash.
After clearing out the Team Rocket base, a man who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere on the street had passed this technique—or rather, this device—on to Red.
Granting them the ability to travel rapidly between cities.
The contraption had a built-in navigation system, so getting lost or taking detours wasn't a concern.
However, it only activated routes between towns they had already visited, making it impossible to skip key storyline progression with it.
"What kind of principle is this based on?! This is way too weird!" Usopp exclaimed.
Looking down at the steadily shrinking towns and forests below, goggles now strapped to his face, he couldn't help but marvel.
Unlike the instant arrival effect in the game.
This real-world version still took a certain amount of time to travel.
Though compared to walking, the time saved was still enormous.
About ten minutes later—
Above a city even more prosperous than Celadon City, the Sky Dash device slowly descended in front of the Pokémon Center.
"Huff…!"
Usopp clutched his fragile heart after landing, his face pale as if he had just gone through a full combo of roller coasters—looping rides, pirate ships, and pendulums—all without warning.
Who could have imagined that something powered by nothing more than a bunch of balloons could unleash speeds comparable to a fighter jet?!
Absolutely outrageous!
After landing, perhaps due to habits formed when his available playtime had been scarce—
Even though his daily game time had now climbed close to four hours, Red still acted with his usual decisiveness.
He'd already taken a brief look around Saffron City yesterday, even obtaining a powerful Psychic-type TM—Psychic—from a well-meaning balding middle-aged man.
Unfortunately, no one in the Straw Hat crew could learn it at present.
This time, Red had brought Usopp back to Saffron City specifically to challenge a small Gym here.
Unlike the standard one-Gym-per-city setup.
Next to Saffron City's Psychic-type Saffron Gym, there was also an unofficial, small-scale Fighting-type Gym.
In the game, defeating this Gym didn't grant a Badge—but it did reward the challenger with a signature Fighting-type Pokémon.
Because Red and the others hadn't yet progressed through the normal storyline, Saffron City was still entirely under Team Rocket's control.
Only this unofficial Gym and the Pokémon Center were functioning normally.
And with Bug typing, Usopp just happened to have a mutual resistance relationship with Fighting type.
Bug-type attacks against Fighting type—and Fighting-type attacks against Bug type—both dealt only half damage!
And more importantly…
Usopp's current combat style had absolutely nothing to do with Bug type!
At that thought, a mischievous grin spread across Red's face.
"It's time for the Pokémon world to experience the power of pirates!"
"Let's go, Usopp!"
"Yeah!!!"
Standing before the Gym entrance—far less grand than the massive structure next door—yet as the automatic doors slid open, a dense aura of warriors rushed to greet them.
Though he was a sniper by trade, Usopp—
Had always longed to become a brave warrior of the seas!!!