"Merry."
Staring at Merry, who for some inexplicable reason now carried a faint sense of desolation about her, Red stepped forward without hesitation.
"Don't worry, Merry!"
"Since I've already come to this world, I absolutely won't let that kind of thing happen to you ever again."
His tone wasn't impassioned, nor was his voice especially loud…
Yet beneath the night sky, Red radiated a strangely captivating presence.
Even though, above his head, the center of the Silph Inspection Lens continued to glow with an eerie red light.
"Yes! I believe you, Red!"
Merry turned toward him, lifting herself onto her toes, hands clasped behind her back, and smiled sweetly.
"So then…"
Red suddenly extended his hand toward her in invitation.
"Will you become my Pokémon, little Merry?!"
Now that Merry had already obtained his memories, Red decided there was no need to keep up any pretenses.
Hearing his invitation, little Merry immediately showed a look of surprise and disbelief.
"A Pokémon!? I… I can do that too?"
As a being formed from the combined memories of the Straw Hat crew, Merry naturally understood what it meant to become a Pokémon.
However, after her birth, she had become an independent entity, no longer sharing memories directly with the Straw Hats.
She could only continue to absorb the emotions and stray mental energy they unconsciously released, strengthening herself through them.
With that power, Merry could manifest a physical form capable of interacting with reality—or directly control the ship's movements.
Yet no matter which she chose, it would rapidly deplete the energy within her.
But that was precisely the meaning of a ship spirit's existence.
Still…
If she could, like the others, truly enter the Pokémon world and obtain the power granted by the system…
Would she perhaps no longer be just a special ship spirit?
If her strength became great enough, could she one day live like an ordinary being—laughing together with everyone, holding banquets side by side?
"I don't know if it'll work," Red said honestly.
He didn't give an overly optimistic answer, but the slight upward curve of his lips carried encouragement.
"But if you don't try, you'll never succeed, right?"
The very fact that Merry could ask such a question showed just how cautious she had been before.
Even knowing about Red's special abilities, she had never dared hope for something like this.
Formed from memories and emotions, Merry understood better than anyone just how terrifying the power of emotions could be.
If she allowed herself to hope, only to fail in the end, the disappointment and regret would permeate her entirely.
Over time, she would either completely dissipate—or become a ship spirit that resented her crew.
To avoid becoming that, little Merry had cut off such thoughts at the root.
That was also why most ship spirits avoided forming overly close bonds with their crews.
But this racial trait of ship spirits was something Red naturally didn't know.
Looking at the outstretched hand before her, hesitation flickered across little Merry's face.
But only for a moment.
She stepped forward and firmly grasped Red's hand.
"Let me become your Pokémon, Trainer!!!"
The moment she said that, relief and heartfelt joy appeared on Red's face.
"As you wish, little Merry," Red said softly.
A dazzling light instantly engulfed their vision.
When they opened their eyes again, they had already successfully entered the Pokémon world.
They were standing right in front of the Pokémon Center in Saffron City.
"I did it! I really did it!!!"
Looking at a scene that had once existed only in memories, little Merry jumped excitedly in place.
After a moment, as if she suddenly remembered something, she hurriedly turned to Red.
"Oh right, Red!"
"Hurry—show me my status screen!"
Carrying Red's memories, Merry was not only completely unfamiliar with the Pokémon world—she was, in fact, even more familiar with it than the rest of the Straw Hat crew.
"Don't rush," Red replied with a laugh, tapping open the Pokémon interface and pulling up Merry's status screen.
Pokémon: Going Merry (Ship Spirit Form)
Level: 5
Gender: —
Nature: Naughty (+Attack, −Sp. Def)
Type: Ghost
Ability: Levitate (Allows free movement in the air, easily avoiding ground-based attacks)
HP: 27 Attack: 18 Defense: 13 Sp. Attack: 20 Sp. Defense: 14 Speed: 20
"Ship Spirit Form?"
After reading her status, Red froze.
Realizing something, he quickly looked up at her.
"Merry… can you still turn back into a ship right now?!"
"Of course I can. Why?" Merry replied, blinking in confusion.
As a ship spirit, she found the question perfectly natural.
After all, despite common legends saying ship spirits were born from ships, in truth, while ship and spirit appeared separate, their consciousness existed simultaneously in both.
"Why?!"
Hearing her casual response, Red began to seriously suspect whether she had actually inherited the memories of himself, Luffy, and Usopp.
That's a ship!
An actual ship!
Having a ship as your Pokémon was ridiculously cool, okay?!
Red immediately cracked his knuckles in excitement.
"Quick, Merry—show me your other form!"
"Huh? Here?"
Little Merry grabbed the edges of her hood and glanced around, looking slightly embarrassed.
"But…"
"It's too small here~!"
Even so, in the very next moment, she still demonstrated her "super transformation form" for Red.
In the blink of an eye—
A light sailing ship that should have been out at sea carrying the Straw Hat crew suddenly appeared right before him!
"Holy crap! You really can do it!!!"
Red couldn't help swearing aloud.
The next second, he eagerly opened Merry's status screen again.
Pokémon: Going Merry (Ship Form)
Level: 5
Gender: —
Nature: Naughty (+Attack, −Sp. Def)
Type: Normal
Ability: AR System (Allows the Pokémon to change its type by loading items infused with different elemental energies)
HP: 27 Attack: 19 Defense: 15 Sp. Attack: 17 Sp. Defense: 16 Speed: 17
"AR System!? What kind of ability is that?"
Seeing a completely unfamiliar ability, Red froze again.
But before he could get an answer, Merry transformed once more, reverting to her ship spirit form.
She pouted slightly, sounding aggrieved.
"I can't, Red… I still don't have enough stored energy. Even answering your question is hard…"
"Let alone controlling such a huge body."
"The current me is still very far from the Merry you remember."
"I see."
Red immediately understood.
After all, the Straw Hat Pirates had only just passed their second island in the Grand Line.
In such a short time, even a naturally gifted ship spirit like Merry couldn't grow that fast.
But that was fine.
Red suddenly grinned.
"I think I understand how this works now."
"Don't worry, little Merry!"
"Since you've entered the Pokémon world, you should know…"
"From here on out, you're going to grow at an astonishing pace!!!"
Despite spending massive power to exchange for the Silph Inspection Lens, Red still had some energy left.
Though it only supported about half an hour of gameplay…
That was more than enough.
Ten minutes later.
After bringing Merry into the wilderness, Red didn't hesitate at all.
He charged straight into tall grass, mercilessly and cold-bloodedly "harvesting" Pokémon.
Under massive experience gains, Merry's level skyrocketed.
In just half an hour, she had already reached Level 9.
Four whole levels!
This was the advantage of Red's overwhelming strength.
He could directly crush high-level Pokémon and provide new partners a fast track through the early-game grind.
Of course, this was all thanks to Luffy, Zoro, and the others pushing the storyline ahead.
Without them, Red wouldn't have found a training area that was high-level—yet still unable to threaten him.
When yet another Level 26 Raticate collapsed, little Merry leveled up once more, reaching Level 10.
It wasn't a huge boost—but her physique became several times sturdier than before.
"Red! I feel stronger again!" Merry exclaimed excitedly.
She suddenly swung her arm, releasing a pitch-black orb of energy from her palm and hurling it at a distant tree.
It was the only move she could learn in her ship spirit form—
Shadow Ball!
Whoosh!Boom!
The Shadow Ball struck the trunk and exploded with a loud detonation.
The power was modest—about the same as a standard artillery shell.
But even so, Merry was overjoyed.
"It's just like you guessed, Red!"
"The power of Pokémon has merged with the power of a ship spirit!"
"And I can even clearly feel my energy slowly restoring!"
"This is completely different from how my ship spirit power grows normally!"
"I think I'm no longer just a ship spirit anymore!!!"
Little Merry excitedly poured out her joy.
Seeing this, satisfaction shimmered in Red's eyes.
He reached out and gently patted her head.
"This is only the beginning."
"Grow stronger quickly, little Merry."
"We're all counting on you to carry us across the seas—and into the skies."
"Mm!!!" she nodded vigorously.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, as the first rays of sunlight illuminated the ship's bow, Robin—who had just "joined" the Straw Hats—was already awake.
She walked lightly to the railing, gazing at the rising sun, lost in thought.
"You're up early, Robin."
Red's voice suddenly came from behind her.
As if she'd expected it, she replied without turning around.
"You too, Vice Captain."
She turned, her dark hair gleaming like silk in the sunlight, her gentle smile full of mature charm.
Yet Red remained completely unfazed.
Leaning against the railing beside her, he smiled and replied,
"That's not quite right, Robin~"
"I didn't wake up early—I didn't sleep at all."
"Maybe my ability is insomnia."
"I don't quite understand," Robin blinked, "but it sounds impressive."
Just as she was about to probe for more information—
A cloaked child suddenly appeared beside Red.
It was little Merry.
She immediately reported, right in front of Robin's widening eyes:
"Red, there's a weird submarine ahead that looks like a hippopotamus!"
"And it has a pirate flag on it!"
"A submarine? A pirate flag?!"
Red's mind instantly flashed through familiar plot points.
He turned sharply to Merry.
Even though ship spirits had no visible eyes, Red could still see boundless anticipation in her posture.
Because they both knew—
That submarine almost certainly belonged to Wapol, who had been driven out after Blackbeard devastated Drum Island.
And who was Wapol?
Former king of the Drum Kingdom, current captain of the Blackbeard Pirates—
And a user of the Munch-Munch Fruit!!!
In Red's eyes, the Munch-Munch Fruit was an utterly broken Devil Fruit.
Nika? The Dark-Dark Fruit?
None of them compared to a power that could devour everything and convert it into one's own strength.
Of course, since the fruit already had an owner, Red couldn't steal it.
So there was only one thing to do.
"Merry—activate the AR System!"
"Yes, sir!"
Little Merry snapped to attention and vanished.
The next moment, a strange cylindrical device emerged from beneath Red's feet, as if protruding from another dimension.
At its center was a black concave slot.
Red pulled out a Fire Stone—originally intended for Usopp—and placed it inside.
Instantly—
A ring of undying flames ignited around the Going Merry, just like the life-fire on Charmander's tail.
Without anyone controlling her, the Merry turned, tilting slightly so her figurehead aimed toward something beneath the sea.
Terrifying energy gathered at the ram's tip.
If Luffy were there, he'd be screaming:
"Holy crap! Hyper Beam!!!"
But the attack immediately changed.
The flames surged, infusing the Hyper Beam with fire—
Transforming it into a Fire-type move.
Standing at the bow, Red laughed heartily at the sea blazing red before him.
"Go, Going Merry!!!"
"Show everyone that you can protect others too!!!"
"Let your power shine at this very moment!!!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
A roaring beam of blazing energy tore through the sea, blasting straight toward the pirate submarine in the distance…
(End of Chapter)