"I don't expect it too. Just enough till we can get the bigger boat and then sail to the Grand Line." I replied. The old man nodded.
"Name the boat." He commanded.
"Huh!" I was taken aback. But then I remembered that every boat should have its name as it had been the same at my home too. "Let me call this Menehune."
"Menehune? What does it even mean?" Boro asked.
"The place where I come from, it means small, strong warrior and excellent craftsman." I replied.
"You come from a very unusual place, Kid." Boro said.
"I know."
I stood there for several more minutes, quietly admiring the completed boat before finally bidding farewell to Boro for the day. Luffy had already run ahead toward Mount Colubo, proudly declaring that he was going to tell everyone their ship finally had a name. I simply shook my head with a smile before following the familiar forest path back toward Dadan's hideout, feeling a quiet sense of accomplishment settle inside my chest.
For the first time since arriving in this world, I truly felt prepared for the future. I had a roof over my head, money earned through honest work, a reliable boat waiting patiently at Foosha Village, and a teacher who had rediscovered his purpose. More importantly, I had grown stronger than I could have imagined only a few months ago. The journey ahead was still dangerous, but at least I no longer felt completely helpless before it.
The following morning began like every other. I lazily stretched in bed before instinctively summoning the familiar blue screen to collect my daily reward. However, instead of the usual roulette immediately appearing before me, the entire interface flickered several times before reorganizing itself into a completely new window.
New System Function Unlocked
Pokémon Exchange
Requirement Achieved: Possess 10 or more Pokémon Cards.
"...Exchange?"
I immediately sat upright, every trace of sleep vanishing from my body. This was the first entirely new feature my system had introduced since the beginning, and from experience, every new function had fundamentally changed my life.
The blue screen continued displaying line after line.
Sacrifice 10 Pokémon Cards.
Reward Options:
• 10% chance to obtain a Pokémon with 500+ Base Stats.
• 1% chance to obtain a Pokémon with 600+ Base Stats.
Warning:Sacrificed Pokémon Cards are permanently destroyed.
For several long moments, I simply stared at the notification in complete silence. My heartbeat gradually sped up as the implications sank in. Five-hundred base stat Pokémon were already monsters compared to most ordinary species. Six-hundred base stat Pokémon... those were the realm of pseudo-legendaries and legendary Pokémon themselves.
No there were actually some psuedo legendries already. Even my Gyarados has a base stats of 540, and if I could touch the threshold of 580+, it would mean I got myself legendary already. So I was beyond happy to know that now this function had opened up.
"...Ten cards..."
I quietly opened my collection and began counting. Over the past several months, I had accumulated far more cards than I regularly used. Many were weak Pokémon I had never even considered equipping after obtaining better alternatives. Others had become obsolete the moment stronger forms entered my collection.
Yet... sacrificing them permanently still made me hesitate.
Every Pokémon represented another possibility, another future ability, another unexpected situation where that seemingly useless creature might become invaluable. Magikarp itself had looked completely worthless until it became Gyarados.
But then again some Pokémon were really useless that I had received for the past months. I went through my Pokémon cards and decided on these 10 Pokémon.
Paras, Diglett x2 (Oh yes, I got two of these and that too on the same day), Sunkern, Pienco, Remoraid, Cherubi, Finneon, Alomomola and Carvanha. These were the Pokémon that I had received over the past few months along with Yanma, Timburr, evolved Gyarados and the Pikachu that Luffy wouldn't let go of.
I was actually thinking of exchanging Yanma with Carvanha, just because of the fact that Carvanha was the first Dark Pokémon I had received, but after much deliberation I had decided to just let go and wait for a better Dark Pokémon later. Another thing was that the notification came only after I received some quite useless Pokémon.
It was as if the system was deliberately asking me to sacrifice. I wasn't complaining though. Besides this wasn't the only new thing that I had received over the past few days. I had finally started receiving Pokémon item card too.
Though it wasn't as common as the Poke blocks, but there were a few of those now. They were Miracle Seed, Protective Pads, Razor Fang and Malicious Armor. If you ask me, then I would say that these items were quite useful but only in very selective situations.
I mean, sure, the Miracle Seed would help my Grass moves become more powerful, but I needed to have a good grass type Pokémon to start with. Razor Fang was again for that cry baby Pokémon of Ash and the Malicious Armor too could only be used in one Pokémon and one Pokémon only.
But it was fine. I wasn't complaining or anything. I am already happy with Gyarados, anything extra that I was getting was a bonus for me. My parents always told me one quote.
"Hope for the best but always expect the worst."
And that motto has been with my life since I started my college because boy did the world slapped me countless times. Getting ghosted on my first date, the supposed best friend turned out to be a snake.. so on and so forth.
So I was happy with whatever system was providing, but also a bit sad that I would have to sacrifice so many cards. Thankfully I came to realize that Pokémon cards do repeat, so there was always a chance for me to get a Pokémon that I was sacrificing.
Taking one final deep breath, I selected all ten cards. One after another, the familiar Pokémon floated out of my Card Storage before arranging themselves in a perfect circle around me. Paras, both Digletts, Sunkern, Pineco, Remoraid, Cherubi, Finneon, Alomomola, and Carvanha all glowed with a soft blue light. For a brief moment, I wondered if I was making a terrible mistake.
"...Exchange."
The instant I gave the command, all ten cards shattered into countless particles before merging into a single sphere of golden light. A brand-new roulette materialized above it, spinning far faster than my ordinary daily one. Unlike before, every image flashing across the wheel belonged to Pokémon whose power far exceeded anything I had obtained naturally.
"...Come on..."
I unconsciously clenched my fists as silhouettes flashed past one after another. Bisharp... Haxorus... Volcarona... Tyranitar... Goodra... and several others I couldn't even identify before they disappeared again. Every passing second made my heartbeat climb higher until, little by little, the spinning wheel finally began slowing down.
"...Stop..."
The pointer clicked past one final silhouette before settling completely.
Pokémon Card
Name: Charcadet
Level: 25
For several seconds, I simply stared. Then an enormous grin spread across my face.
"YES!"
I actually jumped off my bed in celebration. My first Fire-type Pokémon. Better yet, not just any Fire-type. Charcadet possessed enormous potential despite its modest appearance, and unlike most trainers, I already possessed exactly what it needed to evolve.
Almost trembling with excitement, I pulled out another card from my storage.
Item Card
Malicious Armor
"...I can't believe this."
I had originally considered the armor almost useless because only a single evolutionary line could even use it. Now it felt as though the system had been planning this from the very beginning.
Without hesitating any longer, I pressed the Malicious Armor against Charcadet's card.
The armor dissolved into dark violet flames before wrapping around the tiny armored Pokémon. Blue fire erupted outward, surrounding the card entirely as the silhouette rapidly grew taller. Twin spectral blades slowly formed where its forearms had once been, while an ominous azure flame danced from beneath a dark helmet.
Evolution Complete.
Ceruledge
Level: 25
The moment I equipped Ceruledge, a wave of heat and chilling cold surged through my body simultaneously. Swordsmanship, precise footwork, and an instinctive understanding of blade combat flooded my mind alongside ghostly blue flames that felt strangely calm rather than destructive. Every movement suddenly became sharper, cleaner, and unbelievably efficient.
And there was another thing that came with it, and that was speed. Speed enough to make most humans were unable to even see me, when I am in attack mode.
Another thing I realized was that, the level of Ceruledge was quite high. Level 25, which was the most I had ever got. Over the last couple of months, I had been focusing on one thing alone and that leveling up Gyarados.
And suffice to say I had been quite successful. Gyarados was now 32. I had a feeling that if I fought Luffy now, it would be quite hard for Luffy to win over me. In my estimate Luffy was around 36-37 now, and me being at 32 with the edge over control of water, definitely made me a nightmare for Luffy.