Pokémon Park, near the seaside bathing beach.
Hearing Red's question, Anniu immediately put one of his fingerless tentacles under his chin, mimicking Red's thinking pose.
Only after a long moment did he suddenly smack a tentacle into his other palm, a bright light flashing through those tiny beady eyes.
"Wuuu~ wuuu!!!" Anniu hurriedly chattered at Red.
Beside him, Chopper once again dutifully played the role of a living Den Den Mushi, copying both expression and tone as he translated word for word for Red:
"Master Red, forget about caves and stuff!"
"If possible, I'd like you to prepare a gym for us—a special place for training!"
"It wasn't easy to obtain the powerful strength you granted us. We have to seize every bit of time we can to get stronger!"
"Only then can I better help you guard and manage this land, Master!"
"…You really don't have to push yourself that hard."
Hearing that, the corners of Red's mouth curled up into a satisfied, relieved smile.
He hadn't expected a casual line he'd tossed out back then… to be remembered by Anniu all the way until now.
Kid, your path just got a whole lot wider~
Red sighed inwardly, then chose not to explain too much. He simply nodded with a smile and mentally noted down Anniu's request.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi on him suddenly rang out with a "buru buru~".
Red took out the tiny palm-sized Den Den Mushi and lifted the receiver.
In an instant, the Den Den Mushi's face turned wildly excited and… greedy.
"Red! I've almost finished the plan for the commercial street and the visitor spending center over here. When do you have time to come take a look?"
Nami's voice came out of the Den Den Mushi's mouth. Just from how eager she sounded, Red could already tell…
She had definitely put together a perfect money-making scheme.
Ever since Nami had heard from Red that somewhere on the Grand Line there existed a resort that could rake in ten billion Beli a year, she'd basically been in a permanent state of excitement.
And the revenue plan she was building now was aimed precisely at that goal.
Hearing her, Red was momentarily stunned.
"So fast?!"
The next second, he caught himself.
The moment money got involved, Nami's ability and execution could no longer be measured by common sense.
After thinking about his own schedule, he answered into the receiver,
"I still need to plan out a proper habitat area for the Dwebble and the Ducklett flocks…"
"How about this: get Robin to come over first and have her look through it."
"She's managed Rain Dinners and Baroque Works, so she might have some good suggestions."
"If she feels there's no problem, then we'll lock in the final version together."
"Ah!" Nami responded, immediately understanding. "That works too~"
Robin's management skills were obvious to everyone.
The fact that the former Baroque Works agents and bounty hunters had been able to so smoothly accept their new identities and become members of Alabasta's Thirteen Royal Guard Squads…
Owed a great deal to Robin's efforts.
She knew the Baroque people's temperaments inside out, and with that slightly black-bellied streak of hers, getting them to behave was as easy as flipping her hand.
…
…
With the Straw Hat crew working hard and the Kingdom of Alabasta providing full support, construction on the entire Pokémon Park advanced at a terrifying pace.
A huge number of green plants began to grow across the scorching desert, forming, together with lakes fed by underground water, a string of desert oases that Alabastans had dreamed of all their lives.
At the very center of the park stood a giant fountain—a channel bored straight through to the sea by Miss Merry Christmas—pouring salty sea water into Pokémon Park without end.
Following that underground sea current, fish and other marine creatures could also be guided into Pokémon Park, providing a rich and steady food source for the "Pokémon" living there.
Thanks to the efforts of Red and Chopper, more and more desert-dwelling species chose to settle in Pokémon Park, greatly enriching its ecosystem.
Most of these creatures had originally lived in the desert, so the majority of them were Ground- or Rock-type, with the occasional Poison-, Grass-, or Flying-type mixed in.
Time flowed quietly by.
With each passing day, Pokémon Park seemed to evolve into something new.
Until, on a certain day half a month later…
A massive oasis-like park that made Cobra—who had only just finished cleaning up the mess in his kingdom—drop his jaw in shock…
Appeared in the middle of an otherwise barren desert.
"Is… is this really something my country deserves to possess?!"
Even though he was still several kilometers away from the front gate, the Pokémon Park before him glimmered with seven-colored radiance under the blazing sun. With every step forward, Cobra felt as if he were taking one step closer to a dreamlike world.
Beside him, Vivi was equally dumbfounded, murmuring in disbelief:
"I never would've thought they could be this outrageous…"
She had mentally prepared herself, and had even participated in a large portion of the park's early construction. But still…
It had only been a little over ten days. She truly couldn't understand how Red and the others had managed to grow an entire tropical rainforest out of a bone-dry desert.
In that instant, Cobra and Vivi turned to look at each other in unison.
From each other's eyes, they saw the same deep astonishment.
After taking a moment to settle their emotions, they continued forward, riding their camels under the escort of Igaram, Pell, and Chaka.
As they drew closer, the grand view of Pokémon Park's main gate finally unfolded before their eyes.
In a land where water was more precious than anything, the massive gate of Pokémon Park featured a blue turtle-like sculpture with two heavy cannons resting on its shoulders, spewing out clear streams of water from both barrels.
The shimmering water arced into the air, then burst apart, turning into a fine, moist mist that drifted down like a veil.
What was even more outrageous was that within that mist, there were faint traces of ice crystals. Under the sunlight, they formed a gorgeous rainbow that hung right above the Pokémon Park gate.
Cobra climbed down from his camel and stepped forward in a daze. The moment he walked into the mist, a wave of icy coolness poured down from his head, slowly spreading through his entire body.
After traveling under the blazing sun for so long, his clothes were soaked with sweat and his skin was parched and tight.
Now, an unprecedented coolness seeped into his heart, making the king of Alabasta unconsciously let out a soft sigh:
"Ah~ that feels amazing~"
"Welcome to Pokémon Park, Your Majesty Cobra!"
At that moment, the great gate slowly swung open from within.
Red's figure appeared before Cobra, Vivi, and the others.
Because she had left early to deal with kingdom affairs and the assessment and selection of the Royal Guard Squads, Vivi now broke into a genuine smile and waved as she stepped forward.
"Red, long time no see!"
"Ahem! Lord Red!"
Realizing there were outsiders present, and recalling his rather un-kingly behavior just now, Cobra's face flushed red. He quickly stepped out of the cooling mist and greeted Red with solemn formality.
Strictly speaking…
Although they'd spoken several times through a Den Den Mushi, this was actually their first face-to-face meeting.
An old hand and a young hand clasped tightly together.
Cobra spoke with emotion:
"Lord Red, thank you for everything you've done for the Kingdom of Alabasta!"
"The Nefertari family will never forget your great kindness!!"
As he spoke, crystal tears gathered in the eyes of the old king.
No one truly knew the despair and helplessness he'd felt when he learned that the man who had brought calamity to his country and his people was someone they could never hope to defeat.
If not for the appearance of the Straw Hats, he had no idea how many of his subjects would have had to die to bring the country peace.
And beyond that…
What moved him even more was…
In this period of time, even though Red himself was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, he had still dispatched thousands of Water-type Pokémon, leading Baroque Works members to the hardest-hit cities across Alabasta…
Bringing rain and life-giving water to the drought-stricken land, saving countless citizens who were on the verge of death from thirst.
Red might be a pirate…
But what he'd done for Alabasta in this short span of time was more useful than anything Cobra as a king had managed to accomplish.
"Haha, you flatter me, Your Majesty Cobra!"
Faced with such earnest gratitude, Red responded with modesty.
Then he stepped aside and gestured toward the interior of Pokémon Park, inviting them in.
"All right, let's not stand out here."
"Since you've finally come, let me give you a proper tour of the Pokémon Park we've built."
"That would be wonderful… truly wonderful…" Cobra nodded again and again.
But in the next moment, his gaze went straight back to the Blastoise statue behind him, and he couldn't help asking about a question that had plagued his country for years:
"Lord Red, how in the world did you manage to create so much water in the middle of the desert?"
"Ah… that?"
Red smiled lightly. "That's actually very simple."
"All you need is a handy partner like Usopp… and a Water Stone brimming with water-type energy."
"Water Stone?!"
Cobra's confusion only deepened.
Vivi, however, struck her palm with her fist in sudden realization.
"So that's it~"
"This is one of the new tools Usopp came up with, isn't it?!"
"I didn't expect that after Leaf Stones, he'd even find a way to make use of Water Stones—an evolution stone whose attribute doesn't match his at all."
"No, wait! Just now there were clearly ice crystals in the mist that fell from above!"
"So that means it's a combined application of a Water Stone and an Ice Stone!"
"Smart."
Seeing Vivi piece it all together in an instant, Red didn't hesitate to praise her.
But if you looked deep into his eyes, the pride hidden there made it clear that more than praising Vivi, he was feeling gratified and proud of Usopp's masterpiece.
Of course, aside from Usopp, Wapol's existence was also a critical factor.
However…
Who would bother giving credit to a glorified tool man?
"As expected of Usopp~" Vivi couldn't help voicing her admiration.
But Red continued,
"And that's not all!"
"Usopp has now fully mastered how to channel energy from every evolution stone type. He's created a whole set of external devices based on them and installed them at the four major entrances of Pokémon Park."
"The Blastoise entrance leads directly to the leisure area, so the water it sprays is tuned to make people feel refreshed and comfortable even under the blazing sun."
"The Charizard entrance connects to the Pokémon battle zone, so what erupts there is a blazing flame that stirs people's fighting spirit and filters for the truly strong!"
"The Venusaur entrance leads straight into the Safari Zone, where the 'Pokémon' live in the wild. There, Venusaur's petals constantly release a fragrance brimming with life, helping visitors calm down and stop acting impulsively."
"As for the Pikachu entrance, that one connects to the park's commercial street. There aren't many shops settled in yet, so it's still quite empty."
"At that gate, a faint electromagnetic field flickers in the air, subtly numbing people's brains and making them more likely to spend impulsively."
"Of course, whether that effect actually works is… still up for debate."
"After all, Thunder Stones don't really have Psychic-type hypnotic properties."
"And naturally, all four of these areas I've just mentioned are… fee-based."
"Or, to put it another way…"
"From the very moment you step into Pokémon Park, you're already spending money without even realizing it."
Red smiled faintly, speaking very frankly as he introduced everything to Cobra and the others.
He had racked his brains for this, even sacrificing a huge amount of game time to figure out move sets for the "Pokémon." Beyond wanting to test whether inherited moves could actually work in the real world…
He was even more determined to create a stable source of income for the Straw Hat Pirates.
Looking across the major pirate crews of the world, most either possessed territories and industries like Doflamingo… or held sway over countless islands and nations like Whitebeard and the Red-Haired Pirates, collecting "protection fees" at regular intervals.
However…
Given the way the Straw Hats did things, neither of those options was ever going to be on the table.
So Red pinned his hopes on Pokémon Park.
In the future, whether it was upgrading the Going Merry so it could stand toe-to-toe with New World warships, restructuring Laboon's body to stabilize the space within, or building more research bases for Usopp so he could keep inventing miraculous gadgets…
Every one of those projects was going to cost a lot of money.
Add in Luffy's habit of casually footing the bill anytime he wanted someone to throw a banquet…
If Red didn't prepare ahead of time and build revenue streams for the Straw Hats…
Then, when they truly needed money down the line, they'd only be able to scrape their pockets in embarrassment.
"Come, Your Majesty Cobra. Let me show you just how fun Pokémon Park really is…"
Considering that, once they left, Pokémon Park would depend heavily on Cobra and Vivi's care and promotion, Red was especially enthusiastic this time. He practically dragged the completely overwhelmed king straight into the heart of the park.
Over the next few hours, Cobra really did wander through Pokémon Park from top to bottom, inside and out…
The more he walked, the more astonished he became.
The more he walked… the more afraid he grew.
Especially when he stepped into the Safari Zone and saw one familiar desert creature after another suddenly breathing fire, spitting water, soaring into the sky, or diving underground…
Whether through gourmet temptations or the thrill of combat, as long as you earned their recognition, you could spend Beli to take them out of the Safari Zone and make them your own pets.
In that moment, Cobra seemed to glimpse a bizarre future in which every citizen of Alabasta owned one—or even several—of these miraculous animals.
But if that happened… would it really be a good thing for a kingdom that had long grown used to peace and tranquility?
(End of Chapter)