"At last, something incredible has appeared!"
Akira's triumphant cry echoed across the virtual grassland as he stared at the slowly disappearing system message, his fist clenched in victorious excitement. After hours of methodical Abra hunting, their persistence had finally paid off with the Technical Machine they'd been searching for.
Standing nearby, Nami had long since grown accustomed to her partner's occasional emotional outbursts during their virtual adventures. She continued her systematic collection of the golden coins scattered across the digital grass, the tangible rewards of her Pay Day technique that had proven so devastatingly effective against her Psychic-type opponents.
Since experimenting with Pay Day in the real world during her battle with the Black Cat Pirates, Nami's appreciation for the move had reached almost obsessive levels. The sight of actual currency materializing from supernatural energy never failed to send a thrill through her treasure-loving heart.
"Every single coin..." she murmured with satisfaction, carefully collecting each piece of virtual currency that would somehow be converted into real-world value by the mysterious mechanics of Akira's abilities.
During today's intensive two-hour training session, she'd pushed herself beyond all previous limits. The combination of high-level encounters with wild Pokémon and her growing mastery of electrical techniques had successfully raised her to level 19, with her experience bar climbing past the halfway point to her next level.
At this rate of progress, level 20 was within reach, possibly as early as tomorrow's session. By East Blue standards, such strength would officially place her among the ranks of true powerhouses, capable of holding her own against most threats they might encounter.
While Nami focused on collecting money, Akira opened the newly acquired technical machine and examined its contents with the keen interest of a strategist planning future battles.
[Move: Reflect][Type: Psychic][Category: Status][Power: , ][Description: Uses Pokémon Energy to create a magical, transparent barrier that significantly reduces damage from physical attacks for several turns.]
"Reflect? A psychic-type defense technique?" Akira mused aloud, his analytical mind immediately recognizing the strategic value of such an ability.
The move represented a relatively rare psychic-type ability, but what intrigued him most was its potential compatibility with his current crew members. Activating the TM's learning interface, he quickly scanned the available options.
Only one name appeared in the [Learnable] category: Monkey D. Luffy, with his Fairy-type classification.
"Just as I suspected," Akira murmured with growing satisfaction.
His earlier theories about attribute interactions were confirmed by practical application. Just as dragon-type energy could manifest in multiple elemental categories due to its fundamental nature as the embodiment of pure power, fairy-type energy possessed a similar versatility, albeit geared toward different purposes.
Where dragons excelled at destruction and overwhelming force, fairies specialized in transformation, illusion, and protective magic. This philosophical alignment naturally created compatibility with Psychic-type techniques, which shared a similar emphasis on mental manipulation and reality-altering effects.
"Let's see..." Akira reviewed Luffy's current moveset with tactical precision. "Headbutt provides his basic physical attack, Seismic Toss provides crowd control, and now Reflect can defend against enemy physical attacks."
His expression grew more thoughtful as he identified the remaining gap in their captain's arsenal. "He still lacks reliable long-range attack options. I remember that the Celadon City Department Store sells a Hyper Beam TM, but the price is astronomical."
Checking his virtual wallet, Akira winced at the modest balance of barely 50,000 Pokédollars. Even with their careful resource management and refusal to spend money on unnecessary items, their funds were still woefully inadequate for the expensive technologies sold in the major trading centers.
"It seems that Nami's Pay Day will indeed become a permanent part of our strategy," he sighed with rueful acceptance.
The eternal struggle between limited resources and unlimited ambitions was a familiar burden. If money weren't a constant constraint, he'd have bought dozens of Poké Balls and systematically captured every wild Pokémon he encountered, hoping for rare TM drops from the expanded creature roster.
While wild Pokémon had frustratingly low drop rates compared to trainer rewards, usually yielding nothing more valuable than ordinary berries, their sheer numbers created mathematical possibilities. Even a simple Rattata could occasionally yield an unexpected Dark Technique worth months of grinding.
"Such potential wasted on poverty," Akira muttered with mock tragedy.
By this time, Nami had completed her coin collection and approached with the collected loot, her amber eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a successful treasure hunt.
"Ready to continue?" she asked, though her tone suggested that she was already prepared to proceed regardless of his answer.
With their primary goal accomplished and time running out, they abandoned their systematic approach to exploration in favor of a fast transit to the end of Route 5. When weak or inexperienced Pokémon appeared in their path, they simply bypassed the encounters altogether.
After two hours of intense combat, both participants were running on fumes, their physical and mental stamina stretched to the breaking point by the prolonged high-level battles.
Just as the game system's battery indicator began flashing warnings of imminent shutdown, Akira and Nami successfully reached their destination: the most distinctive structure they'd encountered in the expanded virtual world.
Instead of the modest hut depicted in the original games, they were greeted by a sprawling complex that looked more like a modern educational facility than a simple residence. The Pokémon Breeding Center had been transformed into something approaching the size of a small university campus.
"A breeding center..." Akira breathed, his voice filled with wonder and anticipation.
Through the facility's panoramic windows, he could observe specialized environments designed to accommodate Pokémon of every type imaginable. Fire Types lounged in volcanic chambers, Water Types played in elaborate water parks, and Grass Types flourished in meticulously tended botanical gardens. The attention to detail was breathtaking.
"This is going to be interesting," he decided, striding purposefully toward the main entrance.
The moment they stepped inside, two elderly figures materialized behind the reception desk, an old man and a woman whose gentle expressions radiated the patience of lifelong Pokémon caretakers. The woman immediately activated her dialog protocols as soon as Akira entered her interaction range.
"Welcome to our Pokémon Breeding Center!" she announced with mechanical cheerfulness. "We specialize in providing professional care and development services for trainers' beloved pets."
Her explanation continued with the practiced efficiency of someone who had delivered this speech countless times. "Any Pokémon left in our care will earn 200 experience points per hour of real-time play. When you're ready to retrieve your partner, payment will be 100 Pokédollars per hour, with partial hours rounded up to full billing periods."
As she finished speaking, a familiar interface menu materialized in Akira's field of vision.
[Deposit Pokémon]
Curiosity overcame caution, and he mentally selected the option. The display immediately switched to show his current party roster, with every crew member currently within range of his gaming system appearing as available for deposit.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami... and prominently their newest addition, Usopp, whose name had appeared on the list after his official recruitment.
"A passive experience farming location," Akira mused with growing interest. "The mechanics have been adapted for this expanded world, but the basic concept remains unchanged."
Without hesitation, he navigated to Usopp's entry and opened the sniper's detailed status information.
[Pokémon: Usopp][Level: 16][Sex: Male ♂][Type: Shy (+Speed, -Attack)][Type: Bug/Grass][Ability: Run Away (Guarantees successful escape from any battle, ignoring enemy attempts to prevent retreat)][Moves: , , , , , , , , , , ][Experience: 136/1,021]
[HP: 64][Attack: 36][Defense: 36][Special Attack: 42][Special Defense: 54][Speed: 52]
"Truly worthy of the great god Usopp," Akira chuckled with affectionate annoyance as he studied the most unconventional stat distribution he'd ever encountered.
The Sniper's stat profile was a masterpiece of contradictions. His Shy nature reduced his attack options while increasing his speed, hardly ideal for a sniper whose job was to deal maximum damage. His Bug/Grass typing was considered by many to be the weakest possible combination in competitive Pokémon battles, offering minimal offensive options and numerous exploitable weaknesses.
Most tellingly, his Run Away ability offered no advantage in combat, but ensured that he could always escape from dangerous situations.
Yet somehow these seeming disadvantages combined to create something uniquely valuable. The speed boost from their timid nature gave them mobility that most ranged specialists lacked entirely. Bug types excelled at stealth and infiltration, while Grass types possessed unparalleled survival instincts in natural environments.
Combined with an ability to escape that bordered on the rule-breaking, the result was a support specialist that might lack raw combat power, but could survive situations that would destroy conventional fighters.
"A walking contradiction, yet somehow perfectly balanced," Akira observed with growing appreciation. "Weak in direct confrontation, but almost invincible in his chosen role."
The decision to place Usopp in the breeding center was purely practical. While Luffy and Zoro could gain 200-300 experience points daily through their intensive real-world training regimens, and Nami's development was accelerated by her virtual adventures, their sniper had no equivalent advancement mechanism.
His strength came primarily from equipment development and tactical innovation rather than personal physical enhancement. Though his various specialized ammunition and technical skills would eventually make him formidable regardless of level progression, raw attribute growth remained valuable for long-term survivability.
In addition, Usopp had recently spent most of his time researching and developing the Weather Rod. This arrangement would allow him to gain passive benefits while pursuing his engineering projects.
"Time for a little vacation, future Sniper King," Akira decided with a satisfied grin.
With decisive authority, he selected the [Confirm] option.
Brilliant light suddenly enveloped the room around them, and when it faded, Usopp materialized in the special care area of the breeding center. A transparent barrier separated him from the main facility, though his confused expression was clearly visible through the partition.
"Akira? Nami?" Usopp shouted in obvious confusion, reaching for her before his hand hit the invisible barrier. "What's happening? Where am I?"
"Good evening, Usopp!" Akira replied cheerfully, waving from the other side of the barrier. "Don't worry, I'll explain everything when we get back to the real world."
"For now, just think of this as a special training retreat!" His tone carried the casual authority of someone accustomed to making executive decisions for the benefit of his crew.
"Time is running short, so enjoy your stay!" He added, already turning towards the exit as their gaming session drew to a close.
"Wait! Akira!" Usopp's voice carried a note of growing panic as he pressed against the barrier. "You can't just leave me here without an explanation!"
But the virtual world around them began to fade as the console's battery reached its limit. The last thing Akira saw was their sniper's expression of utter bewilderment as the breeding center dissolved into white light.
"Don't worry," he murmured to himself as consciousness returned to the Going Merry's peaceful hut. "This will be good for you in ways you cannot imagine."
Outside their window, moonlight painted silver paths across the gentle waves as their ship continued its steady progress through the peaceful waters of the East Blue. Tomorrow would bring new challenges and opportunities, but for tonight, he was content with their steady progress toward greater strength.
Usopp's passive training had begun, Nami's combat skills continued to grow exponentially, and their crew was inching closer to the power they'd need to survive the Grand Line.
The pieces were falling into place exactly as planned.