Beneath the night sky, pristine moonlight illuminated the vast sea, reflecting countless stars upon the silent, unfathomably deep surface of the water.
Pitch-black waves rose and fell, striking the hull again and again, as though playing some mysterious instrument.
At that moment, a lazy yawn cut through the stillness of the night.
"Ahhh~ I'm so sleepy!"
Straw Hat Luffy rubbed his face and reluctantly opened his eyes, immediately turning his gaze forward.
On the other side of the small boat, Red was also slowly waking up.
Perhaps influenced by the late hour, the same wave of exhaustion washed over his mind.
"Sigh… another downside of the device is showing…"
"When entering the game world, the body goes to sleep, but the spirit doesn't actually get any rest."
"It looks like I'll need to strictly plan how long I stay in the game world from now on, so it doesn't affect real-world activities the next day."
After briefly explaining what Pokémon power was to Luffy, and noticing that the device's battery was running low, Red directly saved their progress inside the Pewter Gym and brought Luffy back to the real world.
He glanced at the compass, confirmed that the boat hadn't deviated from their planned route, and then spoke to Luffy.
"That's it for today, Luffy. Our adventure time is over."
"It's late. You get some rest."
"I'll rest after dawn."
"If everything goes smoothly, we should reach the next island by noon tomorrow."
"Ha~! Okay, I'll leave it to you, Red!"
Although he hadn't gone through any intense battles, Luffy had been active all night and was genuinely exhausted.
After yawning and greeting Red, he simply tilted his head—and fell asleep in an almost ridiculous instant.
"This guy… really is completely carefree,"
Red shook his head with a laugh.
But he soon pulled himself together, gazing at the bright moon on the horizon as he began to think.
"Well, since I'm free anyway, I might as well take stock of today's gains."
Red pulled out a small notebook from his bag and began jotting things down.
It was his personal habit—he liked to plan using pen and paper.
Even after transmigrating, that habit hadn't changed at all.
Before this, to prevent himself from forgetting the plot of the pirate world, he had deliberately filled an entire notebook, recording every detail.
Since it was written in Chinese characters, there was no need to worry about others accidentally reading it and causing unnecessary trouble.
"First is experience. Over the course of one night, Luffy gained 2,500 experience points. He's about 3,600 away from reaching level 47."
"Although the Pewter Gym is essentially an experience farm…"
"Considering that the Pokémon we encounter from now on will only be higher in level, Luffy's level is definitely going to skyrocket in the future."
"Next is the issue of Pokémon moves."
"Based on Luffy's feedback, when Headbutt activates, his head becomes sturdier, more aggressive, and it also reduces collision damage to a certain extent…"
"Clearly, this Pokémon move isn't just about learning a combat stance. It actually enhances his attacks and adds additional special effects."
"In terms of combat, Pokémon moves have immense potential!"
Red continued scribbling in his notebook.
He was extremely satisfied with the power Headbutt had demonstrated.
And the way Luffy learned moves was incredibly simple and brutal.
With just a single tap on the game interface, Luffy could instantly master a Pokémon move.
It was practically a blessing for anyone with learning difficulties!
More importantly…
The TM was a permanent item—it didn't disappear after use.
That meant that if Red could bring others into the game world in the future, he could instantly customize an appropriate moveset for them, causing their combat strength to skyrocket.
However…
"I just don't know how the device actually determines who becomes a Pokémon…" Red murmured softly.
He was certain that the condition to become a Pokémon was definitely not—or at least not only—things like affection level or length of contact.
Because over the past two and a half years, the person he had interacted with the most wasn't Luffy, but Makino at the tavern.
When he first transmigrated, Red had taken advantage of his orphan status and Makino's kindness to successfully live in her home and work as a child laborer at the bar.
Of course, calling it child labor was a bit much—Makino treated him extremely well, and considering his age, only assigned him simple, easy tasks.
Otherwise, Red wouldn't have had so much free time to train.
Thinking about it, if it weren't for the sudden appearance of the device, he had originally planned to lie low in Windmill Village, prying that lucky bastard loose and—once he came of age—offer this handsome young body to Makino.
Well… that's probably what they call the unpredictability of fate.
As for Luffy, he spent most of his time training deep in the mountains.
He'd only come down every few days to chat with Red and watch him show off with his transmigrator knowledge.
"So if I rule out closeness and familiarity…"
"The biggest difference between Luffy and everyone else… seems to be that I've always been guiding his training?"
Even though Red's combat power was far inferior to Luffy's, Luffy genuinely acknowledged and respected him in this area.
After all, the results spoke for themselves.
In an instant, a spark of insight flashed through Red's eyes, glaringly obvious against the pitch-dark night.
"Could it be that the condition to become my Pokémon is recognizing my identity as a Trainer?!"
"Damn—when you put it that way, it actually makes complete sense!"
Red couldn't help slamming his fist against the railing, a grin spreading across his face.
A problem that had troubled him for days suddenly seemed to reveal a clear line of reasoning.
And proving whether this guess was correct was actually very simple.
"Whether I'm right or not… I'll use the Straw Hat crew's third member as proof!" Red thought.
As for who that third crewmate would be, he'd already made up his mind.
After all, ever since their ship departed Windmill Village, it had been heading in one precise direction.
That was—
Shells Town, home of the 153rd Marine Branch, where the pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro was imprisoned—a place that had been causing an uproar throughout the East Blue!
That's right!
From the moment Red decided to become Luffy's partner, he had already carefully planned their route.
If you wanted a thrilling adventure in the pirate world, how could you possibly do it without Zoro—such a charismatic man!
Of course…
"Sorry about that, Zoro."
"Your vice-captain position has already been snatched by me!"
"But I'll make it up to you in other ways!"
Red chuckled softly, his eyes filled with anticipation as he gazed toward the distant sea.
But that state lasted only a few seconds.
Because suddenly, Red realized something.
"Wait! I don't actually know swordsmanship at all?!"
If he wanted Zoro to acknowledge him as vice-captain—and Trainer—he'd have to help with Zoro's training, just like he did with Luffy.
But…
He had no idea how to train Armament Haki, and even Observation Haki had taken Luffy quite a while to master on his own.
Zoro's aptitude for Observation Haki was clearly inferior to Luffy's ability to hear the Voice of All Things, so it would only be even harder.
Conqueror's Haki!?
That was something even Luffy hadn't touched yet.
And when it came to swordsmanship, Red was completely clueless.
"Oh no… am I about to become a clown?!"
Thinking about how he'd been delivering bold declarations one second, only to realize the next that he was actually useless, Red felt his face heat up.
"Forget it. I'd better hurry and make myself stronger!"
Red quickly accepted the harsh reality of his own weakness.
Fortunately, he had already found his path forward!
With a thought, Red activated the device within his mind.
Since he hadn't performed any operations, those notification prompts were still hanging at the top of the screen…
(End of Chapter)