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"Wow! What is this place? Why does it look different from before?!"
Luffy shouted in excitement as he stared at the dark, rocky cave in front of him.
"Of course it's different~"
Red smacked him on the back of the head before striding toward the cave exit.
"This is the progress Zoro worked hard to push forward for you yesterday. You'd better thank me later."
"I didn't ask him to help~"
Luffy pouted in protest but still hurried to follow Red's footsteps.
As they walked, Red continued explaining,
"Today, our goal is to challenge the second Gym after the Pewter Gym—the Cerulean Gym."
"It specializes in Water-type Pokémon, so expect a lot of underwater battles."
"When the time comes, don't wait for my instructions—attack the moment they send out their Pokémon!"
"Don't give them a chance to dive underwater."
"Oh~"
Luffy nodded, though it was anyone's guess how much of that actually stuck.
Not that Red cared. He just kept going.
"Also, you want to train your Armament Haki, right?"
"There are plenty of trainers on this route, so use them as practice."
"And since you said using headbutt helps you get the feel of Armament Haki…"
"For now, only use headbutts. Beat every opponent with just that move!"
With that, Red led Luffy out of Mt. Moon.
All at once—
A blinding flash of sunlight hit their eyes, making them squint as they adjusted to the light.
Between Cerulean City and Mt. Moon lay the rugged Route 4.
The mountain path was steep and uneven, but nothing that could slow them down.
Standing atop the high ground, Red and Luffy scanned their surroundings, taking in the various trainer NPCs scattered across Route 4.
"Alright! Time is limited, so let's do this fast!"
Red clenched his fists, hyping Luffy up.
"Hey, leave it all to me!"
Luffy, brimming with energy, was already itching to fight.
With no orders needed, he leaped down onto a nearby plateau.
Since Red wasn't beside him, no battle dialogue triggered when he walked in front of the NPC trainers.
But that was fine!
A large patch of tall grass stretched out in front of him.
And as everyone knew—grass in Pokémon games meant wild encounters!
Sure enough, a rustling sound came from the grass—
And then—
A fierce-looking Spearow shot into the air, flapping its wings aggressively as it confronted Luffy.
A wild battle had begun.
And then…
"Rubber-Rubber… HEADBUTT!!!"
BAM!
With a loud thud, the poor little Spearow instantly had spiral eyes, dropping from the sky like a rock.
By the time Red reached the plateau, he took one look at the unconscious Spearow and sighed dramatically.
"Oh, what a shame~ If only we could bring Flying Pokémon back to the pirate world… We could compete with Big News Morgans in the delivery business!"
As for whether forcing Pokémon into labor counted as animal cruelty?
Too bad!
If he was already traveling between worlds, why would he care about animal protection laws?
"Hey! You over there! Are you a trainer too!?"
The moment Red landed, an NPC—who had been standing idly in the corner—suddenly sprang to life, blocking his path like a pre-programmed robot.
Red, already used to these scripted interactions, sighed internally.
—
One minute later.
"What an amazing battle! Here, take this 980 Pokédollars!"
"Another win~"
Watching the defeated Youngster hand over a pile of coins, Red couldn't help but feel like an upperclassman bullying a freshman.
But that didn't stop him from happily pocketing the money.
"Let's go! Pick up the pace!"
With a casual wave to Luffy, the two of them dashed forward.
—
In an instant—
Route 4 fell under the reign of two battle-hungry tyrants.
They fought every trainer they saw, crushed every Pokémon that appeared, and left nothing but chaos in their wake.
Soon, Route 4 was in complete disarray.
—
Thirty minutes later.
After racking up over 800 experience points, Red and Luffy finally reached a city surrounded by water.
Cerulean City.
The third major location they had arrived at in this game world.
Thanks to the game's restoration system, what was once just a handful of small buildings on a Game Boy screen had transformed into a bustling coastal metropolis.
Spacious, clean cement roads stretched out before them, leading straight to the city's landmark—Cerulean Gym.
Lining the streets were NPC-run shops selling various goods.
Of course, Red already knew the drill.
No matter how much variety these stores seemed to offer, he could only actually buy items from official Poké Marts and a handful of generic clothing shops.
He had learned that the hard way back in Viridian City.
So no matter how lively and developed Cerulean seemed…
For Red, it was nothing more than background decoration.
"Alright, quit gawking, Luffy!"
"If you level up enough, I can bring you back here whenever you want, no problem!"
"But for now—we head straight to the Gym. Best-case scenario, you awaken your Armament Haki today!"
Without waiting for Luffy's response, Red grabbed his outstretched arm and dragged him toward Cerulean Gym at top speed.
Although they had plenty of time, Red was far more eager to see if Luffy's training had finally paid off.
As for sightseeing in Cerulean?
That was in Red's plan—after all, every city in the game had hidden items.
But not right now.
If his memory served him right…
There should be a Rare Candy somewhere in Cerulean City.
An item that could instantly level up a Pokémon, no matter its current state.
But with the city being this huge, finding it would be a serious time sink.
—
Ten minutes later.
Under Red's relentless urging, the two finally arrived at the entrance of Cerulean Gym.
As the crystal-like automatic doors slid open—
A wave of cool, fresh air hit them.
The Cerulean Gym was dominated by a massive swimming pool, almost the size of a small water park.
The only structures in sight were the diving platforms on either side—no unnecessary gimmicks.
Floating across the water were transparent crystal platforms, with narrow glass walkways connecting them.
The spectator stands were built into the surrounding walls, and they were packed with cheering crowds.
A huge audience was applauding excitedly.
And the reason?
In the middle of the pool, a group of gorgeous young women in stylish bikinis performed an elegant water ballet.
"Hi~!"
The moment Red saw the scene, he instantly took a sharp breath.
As his eyes locked onto those long, slender, glistening legs emerging from the water…
His mind screamed—
'Machine! WELL DONE!!!'