The issue of establishing an intelligence network didn't trouble Red for long.After all, there were certain things that simply weren't within their reach to handle at the moment.
He quickly shifted his focus back to the matter right in front of him.
After accidentally overhearing the conversation between Ace and Doflamingo, the entire Bellamy Pirates—save for the still-unconscious Bellamy himself—had instantly transformed into Red's, Luffy's, and Ren's loyal lackeys. They took over the inn's staff duties and eagerly served the three.
Following a North Blue–style dinner prepared by the Bellamy Pirates' chef, night fell, quiet and heavy.
Pokémon Game World — Route 17
Standing by the lakeshore, Red's eyes glowed faintly with a violet-pink light. His lips didn't move, yet through psychic power he sent a direct command into Luffy's mind.
"Luffy! Use Hyper Beam!"
"Got it!!"
On the open field, Luffy—his short black hair waving like flickering flame and blood-red markings burning across his cheeks—responded at once.
The next moment, he drew in a deep breath.A terrifying beam of energy began to condense at his chest, while surging Armament Haki poured out like a tidal wave, infusing the forming Hyper Beam with even greater might.
"Such an intense aura!"
Across from Red and Luffy stood an Elite Trainer clad in a forest-green ranger's outfit. His face darkened as he clenched his fists, staring at his Spearow whose stamina was nearly depleted.
"No choice… we'll use Hyper Beam too! Go, Fearow!!"
The Elite Trainer shouted his defiant command.
His Pokémon, Fearow, immediately obeyed—its long, needle-like beak opening as it gathered its own surge of terrifying energy.
Yet the same move that was so renowned across the Pokémon world appeared utterly insignificant and pitiful in this battlefield.
Boom!!!
As if by agreement, Luffy and Fearow unleashed their rampaging energy beams at the same instant.A black beam and a white beam clashed together, detonating with thunderous force.
In an instant, the entire sky darkened and churned; clouds tore apart under the violent shockwave, vanishing without a trace.
The Elite Trainer's Fearow was already at a high level—Level 42—its power comparable to that of a hundred-million-Beli pirate on the Grand Line.And yet…
That powerful Pokémon's final desperate strike lasted only a few seconds before being overwhelmed.
The black energy devoured the trembling beam and then surged along the wave, engulfing Fearow completely.
"Kaa—!!"
A miserable cry echoed before Fearow collapsed under the energy impact, losing all ability to battle.
"What a magnificent fight."
When the dust settled, the virtual battle field dissolved, and the Elite Trainer's face returned to its default blank expression.
He withdrew his unconscious Fearow, walked up to Red, and spoke the scripted dialogue:
"I'm honored to have faced such an outstanding Trainer. Please accept this as a gift."
[TM Acquired: Drill Run]
Type: Ground
Category: Physical
Power: 80
Description: Spins the body like a drill while charging the opponent, dealing piercing damage.
"A Ground-type move, huh? Shame it's not Normal-type."
Red muttered with mild regret as he read the move's data.
"It'd be perfect if it were a Normal-type attack…"
Though Drill Run wasn't particularly remarkable in terms of power or utility compared to the TMs Red already possessed, it at least represented a new form of combat movement.
Perhaps, through this move, his companions could develop new body techniques.
Unfortunately… ever since Vivi had left the ship, no one aboard the Going Merry could learn Ground-type moves anymore.
With a faint sigh, Red stored the TM back into his pack.On his virtual light-screen interface, the move Drill Run was immediately added to the list—beside another TM he'd recently obtained from a little girl: Fly.
He'd already had Nami, who possessed Flying-type attributes, test it.The Fly move worked quite similarly to his own Magnet Rise ability—both allowed for free movement in the air.
However, unlike Magnet Rise, which emphasized speed, Fly sacrificed velocity for incredible aerial maneuverability.
Once Red realized this trait, he immediately replaced Nami's old Partner Move, Floaty Fall, with Fly, pairing it with another Partner Move—Zippy Zap.
Now, Nami could soar freely through the skies like a bird, and burst forward at lightning speed.
Coupled with her Clima-Tact—upgraded many times by Usopp and embedded with multiple elemental evolution stones—Nami was now closer than ever to becoming a true Child of the Weather.
"Let's move out."
Red tucked away the spoils and turned toward Luffy, who was just reverting from his Gear Fourth form. He pulled out a Super Potion and handed it to him.
Though, under Red's instruction, Luffy had finally managed to barely enter Gear Fourth, his current physique and Haki reserves were still insufficient.While the form granted explosive short-term boosts to strength and speed, the actual improvement in sustained combat was limited.
In fact, the excessive Haki consumption often left him drained—sometimes even weakening his performance instead of enhancing it.
He couldn't yet maintain the form through a full fight against an equal opponent—let alone face someone stronger.
That's why, in order to help him master Gear Fourth quickly, Red had insisted that Luffy enter the form for every single battle in the Pokémon world.
After each match, Red used Super Potions and other recovery items to restore Luffy's stamina, allowing him to continue.
Through this endless "battle–recover–battle" cycle, the pirate-turned-Pokémon had steadily strengthened his control over the form—like a Super Saiyan training through relentless repetition.
Now, while Luffy still couldn't overcome the post-Gear-Fourth side effect of temporarily losing access to Haki, he could at least sustain the form for an entire fight without collapsing.
"Still not enough levels."
Walking along the narrow path connecting Routes 17 and 18, Red commanded Luffy to challenge every nearby Trainer while checking his stats.
After more than half a month of intense training, Luffy had reached Level 59.
Beyond Level 50, each level-up brought tremendous power growth for the "Pokémon-form" Luffy.
Compared to ordinary self-training, the leveling pace in the Pokémon world was far faster—and even by those standards, his rate of progress was monstrous.
At least, back in the day, Ace had never advanced this quickly in just two weeks.
After defeating every Trainer across Routes 17 and 18 in two and a half days, Luffy's EXP bar was again on the verge of overflowing.
"Only two thousand EXP away from leveling up!?"
At the end of Route 18, Red glanced at the lakeside bushes behind him, where wild Doduo and Pidgeotto occasionally appeared, then looked ahead at the crimson-roofed city within sight.
"Fuchsia City."
"If I remember right, the remaining Partner Moves are learned here, aren't they?"
"There's still over an hour of in-game time left… Sure, we could grind the last bit of EXP in the wild…"
"But learning new move data sooner will help everyone's future training and coordination."
After a moment of thought, Red made up his mind.With Luffy beside him, he began walking toward Fuchsia City.
(End of Chapter)