As it turns out, people never know their limits until they push themselves to the brink.
"Ah—!!!"
With a roar that sounded like someone finally relieved after three days of constipation, Zoro lifted the massive dumbbell. His arms bulged with veins as the weight slowly rose off the deck and hovered mid-air.
However...
This state didn't last long.
With a muffled thud, the entire ship shook slightly.
Zoro lowered the dumbbell with effort, panting heavily.
But judging by the flicker in his eyes and the smile tugging at his lips, he was clearly shocked—and proud—of what he just achieved.
"I... I did it!" he gasped out between breaths, grinning.
Meanwhile...
"Slow down, Luffy! We just bought this ship—I was planning to resell it for some cash!!!"
Seeing Luffy struggling to lift the dumbbell and quickly putting it down again, the distressed Red rushed over to stop him.
To be honest, in terms of pure strength, Luffy was way stronger than Zoro right now.
However...
"Stop, stop, stop! Luffy!!!"
Seeing Luffy getting ready to lift the weight again, Red hurriedly stopped him.
"Huh? What's wrong, Red?" Luffy blinked in confusion.
"You're using it wrong!" Red waved a hand. "Didn't you hear me?"
"This is a dumbbell, not a barbell—so you're supposed to lift it with one hand."
Red pulled over one of Luffy's arms and patted it. "Let go, try using just one hand."
"One hand? No way, that's impossible!"
Nami muttered under her breath.
Then she saw it: Luffy, now using only one hand, his arm bulging and veins popping on his face, let out a yell just like Zoro's:
"YEEAAARGH—!!!"
*BOOM*
The massive dumbbell slowly lifted from the deck and hovered.
Not as smooth as with both hands, but still, he did it.
"This... You've gotta be kidding!?"
Both Nami and Zoro were stunned.
But this made them even more aware of how strong Luffy really was.
Especially for Nami...
Seeing this, she couldn't help but recall what Red had told her earlier that afternoon.
"Can I really... rely on them?" she wondered silently.
Thanks to how smoothly things went, the group had already set sail from Shells Town by sunset, heading for their next island.
With Nami, the top-tier navigator onboard, they didn't have to worry about sailing at night.
After setting up training goals for Luffy and Zoro, Red returned to the cabin with Nami.
After a quick wash, he immediately lay on the bed.
Unlike Luffy and Zoro, who needed external stimulation, Red, with his Ancient Power, only needed to meditate comfortably to become stronger.
As a mysterious energy coursed through his body, he slipped into a deep trance, letting the power strengthen and nourish him.
Meanwhile, Nami sat at a desk, chin resting in her hand, eyes shining thoughtfully.
Staring out at the moonlight and listening to the waves hitting the ship, she seemed deep in thought.
Time passed.
Before they knew it, it was past midnight.
Nami had already fallen asleep.
Zoro and Luffy, completely worn out from training, were fast asleep on the deck.
The large, damp sweat stains on the ground were proof of their effort.
Step... Step... Step...
Suddenly, footsteps broke the peaceful night.
Red glanced at the sleeping duo, a smile forming on his lips.
"What dependable companions."
"In that case, I can't slack off either~"
He picked them up one by one and carried them to their rooms, then returned to his own.
"I might not be able to help much with training..."
"But when it comes to cheating the system... leave that to me!"
"System, activate!"
As Red gave the mental command, a blinding white light appeared before him.
But this time, instead of entering the familiar Pokémon world directly, a window popped up in the white light.
It was the Pokémon PC Box interface!
And at the top of the window, a line of text appeared:
[Please choose the Pokémon to enter battle with]
Below were two cartoon icons:
One wore a straw hat, Luffy...
The other had a head of wild green grass, Roronoa Zoro!!!
"Just as I thought!!!"
Red laughed in excitement.
So the condition to turn someone into a Pokémon was just as he had guessed!
His whole day's effort hadn't been wasted!
Without a second thought, and after a mental "Sorry" to Luffy, he ditched his old favorite and chose the new one!
The game's CG animation played once more.
With a flash of light
Red was back at his last saved location...
Inside the Pewter City Gym!
Next to him was Zoro, still fast asleep.
"So even after entering the game, their consciousness stays in the same state as the real world?"
"That's a detail worth noting."
"If they don't get enough rest, it could mess up a lot of things later."
Red thought to himself, but didn't wake Zoro just yet. Instead, he opened the menu to check Zoro's info.
[Pokémon: Roronoa Zoro]
Level: 38
Gender: ♂
Nature: Serious
Type: Dragon, Steel
Ability: Intimidation (When locking eyes with an opponent, creates an overwhelming pressure)
Moves: None
EXP: 0/4447
HP: 143
Attack: 117
Defense: 115
Sp. Atk: 140
Sp. Def: 100
Speed: 91
"Dragon and Steel type, huh?"
Looking at Zoro's stats, Red started analyzing:
"Steel makes sense—he's a swordsman who's always using blades."
"But Dragon... what's up with that?"
"In Pokémon, Dragon is both an energy type and a species classification."
"So..."
"System, are you saying Zoro's not human!?"
Red grinned. Unable to figure it out, he didn't overthink it.
After all, Dragon is a powerful type.
And paired with a guy as cool as Zoro? Perfect combo!
As for his ability, Intimidation, it wasn't bad, but not the most useful in Red's eyes.
Luffy's Regeneration had way more tactical value.
But Zoro's Sp. Atk stat clearly showed potential.
At level 38, his Sp. Atk was already 19 points higher than Luffy's at level 46.
This pretty much locked in Zoro's future development path.
"A special attacker, huh?"
"Sounds good."
"Special attack moves could fit really well into sword techniques!"
After thinking for a while, Red crouched down, pinched Zoro's nose, and covered his mouth.
This method was weirdly effective.
In under ten seconds, Zoro frowned like he was having a nightmare.
A few seconds later, he jolted awake and sat up.
"Huff... huff... Re-Red, what are you—"
He looked up, about to yell
But then he noticed something strange.
Wait a second!
Wasn't I already on the ship!?
Where... am I!?
Why am I here!!?
A million questions flooded his mind.
But at that moment, Red offered him a hand and helped him to his feet, smiling playfully:
"Zoro—welcome to... my world!"