"Y-Your... world?"
Zoro stared blankly at Red. "Are you joking, Red?!"
No matter how he tried to process it, that kind of statement was absolutely insane!
However, in response to Zoro's doubt, Red merely smiled lightly.
"What do you think?"
"This…" Zoro was at a loss for words. "This is just too unbelievable."
"Haha, nothing unbelievable about it."
Red laughed heartily. "Remember what I said about my Trainer abilities?"
"Well, rather than giving you strength through training in the real world, this is where my true role as a Trainer shines!"
"In this mysterious world, as long as you defeat enough enemies, your strength can increase instantly."
"You can even gain new powers and abilities!"
"Time is short, so I'll fill you in on the rest as we go!"
Red smiled as he glanced at the three swords on Zoro's waist.
Although he didn't quite understand how or why, the fact that Zoro could bring his swords into the game world made everything much easier.
"Ah!? …Oh!"
Still confused, Zoro scratched his head. He didn't really understand what Red meant, but for some reason, he felt like he'd met someone truly formidable.
'Looks like I really joined the right pirate crew!'
Zoro muttered to himself and followed Red out of the gym.
But as soon as they stepped outside, before Zoro could fully process things, a spiky-haired youth suddenly called out to them.
"Hey! You over there!"
Zoro instinctively turned and saw a confident-looking guy in a purple long coat walking toward them.
The guy opened arrogantly, "You… You must be that guy called Red, right?"
"Here to challenge me?"
Zoro instinctively treated this as if it were the real world.
Just as he was about to draw his blades to teach the guy a lesson, Red stopped him and whispered,
"No need to bother with him."
"…?"
Zoro paused, but obediently sheathed his swords.
Meanwhile, the spiky-haired youth rambled on, even though no one was responding to him:
"Just as I thought! I really am a genius!…"
What followed was a bunch of dialogue Zoro couldn't understand. Then he watched the guy hand something to Red.
…What's going on? A gift?
Zoro looked on curiously.
At that moment, Red turned to explain:
"In this world, all beings—aside from in battle—lack intelligence. So you don't need to pay attention to what they say."
"…Oh." Zoro nodded, still not fully getting it, but quickly accepted the premise.
Red focused his attention on the new item in his hands:
[Item: Great Ball]
[Effect: After successfully catching a Pokémon, grants more experience and increases item drop chances compared to a normal Poké Ball.]
"Didn't expect a free gift the moment we stepped out, must be a good omen."
He happily stored the five Great Balls given by the NPC Green into his inventory.
Unfortunately, since they were still in the beginner zone, it wasn't worth wasting even one Poké Ball or Great Ball for a bit of EXP. He decided to save them for later.
"Let's go." Red patted Zoro on the shoulder, smiling. "The wonders of this world are just beginning!"
With Zoro in tow, the two headed for Route 3, on the east side of Pewter City.
Red remembered that each city had hidden side quests with small rewards...
But for now, time was tight, he didn't have the energy to bother with them.
Besides, in his memory, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy in the first few cities.
And so, the two of them spent just over 20 minutes quickly crossing the city.
Soon, a path beside a mountain, flat but with clear elevation changes, appeared before them.
Along the way, Red had given Zoro a basic rundown of how the game world worked.
Compared to Luffy's thick head, who never understood, no matter how many times you explained things, Zoro grasped it immediately.
And then he was completely shaken.
'A world where you could grow stronger through battle!?'
'Was something like that even possible!?'
Zoro couldn't wrap his head around it.
In the end, he just chalked it up to some mysterious Devil Fruit power.
Realizing how little he truly understood, Zoro didn't ask further questions and simply followed silently behind Red.
He wanted to see for himself, was this world really as incredible as Red said?
It wasn't long before they encountered their first battle in the game world!
A forest ranger stood blocking the road ahead. Seeing Red and Zoro approach, he stepped forward and stopped them.
"Let me show you what a real Pokémon battle looks like!"
Shouting irrationally, the ranger threw out a level 11 Bulbasaur.
A circular battlefield dome suddenly opened up, enclosing everyone present.
The battle began in an instant!
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
The ranger, now intelligent within the battle zone, gave his order instantly.
On the other side, Red wasn't about to be outdone:
"Zoro, use Oni Giri (Demon Slash), end this!"
"Got it!"
Facing the garlic frog-looking creature, Zoro didn't hesitate. He drew his three swords instantly.
A ghostly aura surged from within him and quickly enveloped his blades.
"Three-Sword Style—Demon Slash!!!"
Whoosh!!!
Before the Vine Whip could even strike, Zoro was already in motion.
A terrifying aura erupted from his body, freezing the Bulbasaur in place, too scared to move!
Zoro's pressure had activated!
As a flash of dark purple light streaked past, the level 11 Bulbasaur let out a scream:
"Bulbaaa~!"
[Roronoa Zoro defeated the ranger's Bulbasaur. Gained: EXP +68.]
[Command Rating: Average]
[Bonus EXP +14]
"The EXP really does shoot up!"
Seeing Zoro's EXP gain pop up, Red grinned with delight.
Just one level 11 Pokémon gave nearly 100 EXP...
At this rate, Zoro and Luffy would be leveling up like crazy!
"Nice work, Zoro!"
Red praised Zoro's swift and decisive move.
And so, the two charged down Route 3, cutting through everything in their path.
From one end of the road to the other, they didn't even blink.
An hour later, Zoro's EXP had already surpassed 1,000!
At this pace, he could level up in just about four hours!
This was way faster than training in Viridian Forest.
"If even Route 3 is like this, then once we reach Mt. Moon, Zoro might level up today!"
Red clicked his tongue in amazement, yet didn't slow down one bit.
At the end of Route 3, a rugged mountain path loomed before them.
Red shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up.
At the peak, there stood a massive Pokémon Center and a passage leading into Mt. Moon.
"Didn't expect Mt. Moon to be this huge, even in the game!"
"Alright, let's ride this momentum and try to get Zoro to level up today."
Red thought silently to himself.
However, just as they stepped onto the climbing path, a middle-aged forest ranger appeared out of nowhere to block their way.
"Hey! Up ahead is the extremely dangerous Mt. Moon! You can't enter without sufficient strength!"
"Let me test your strength first!"
With that, the ranger threw out a Poké Ball, releasing a level 13 Geodude.
Another battle zone formed.
But after cutting down who-knows-how-many Pokémon, Red and Zoro were already on autopilot.
Even before the battlefield finished forming, Red shamelessly gave his command first:
"Zoro, use Demon Slash!!!"
Swish!
A shadow streaked through the air.
In an instant, three clear slash marks appeared on Geodude's rocky body.
"Geeeo!"
With a cry of pain, Geodude immediately fainted.
But just as Red and Zoro were about to move on past this minor obstacle, the ranger blocked them again.
"Didn't expect you to be this strong!"
"Very well, you've passed the test. You're allowed to enter Mt. Moon."
"Oh, and take this too!"
The middle-aged ranger pulled out a disc from who knows where and handed it to Red.
"A TM!?"
Red's eyes lit up.
An ordinary NPC drops a reward like this? He hadn't seen that coming!
He quickly opened the [Bag] menu to check the TM's info.
Once, he'd scoffed at these basic TMs. But now, he treated them like treasures, analyzing every word!
[Move: Pay Day]
[Type: Normal]
[Category: Physical]
[Power: 40]
[Description: Numerous coins are hurled at the target to inflict damage. Money is earned after the battle.]