Purebloods have their advantages. As a 100% pure-blooded Mermaid, Rusalka, who has already passed thirty, can freely switch between a fishtail and human legs, adapting to life both on land and in the deep sea.
Although Maylo can breathe underwater, her swimming speed is ultimately no match for Rusalka's.
The difference in appearance made Maylo give up the options Wolff had offered. Since she had grown up around Mermaids, she developed a liking for Primarina.
She had met plenty of Mermaids on Fishman Island, and the differences in their bodies always made her feel that she was special.
Seeing that Maylo had made her decision, Wolff and Meowna didn't say anything, and simply continued with their night excursion.
Their understanding of Pokémon was still lacking. Strictly speaking, Primarina was actually the sibling of Wolff's Incineroar, since both were Starter Pokémon from the same region.
The process of granting abilities wasn't complicated. Mandrell had been the first to go through it, but once Primarina's ability was given to Maylo, her future training was arranged in a brand-new way.
Different Water-type Pokémon had their own methods of using water: Blastoise fired high-pressure streams from its cannons, Greninja condensed water into deadly shuriken, and Inteleon turned itself into a heavy sniper rifle.
Primarina's method was bubbles. The explosive water balloons of this species were its true trump card.
Tough water balloons could bounce around like rubber balls, or explode freely like bombs. The more experienced the Primarina, the wider the variety of balloons it could create.
If one was powerful enough, even triggering a chain of massive explosions wasn't impossible, which fit perfectly with the trait of heavy firepower.
After all, they were Starter Pokémon, and each region's Starters had their own strengths. Perhaps the ones from Johto were a bit weaker in comparison, but they were still considered quite formidable.
Water balloons were Primarina's specialty, and they manipulated them through their singing.
They dodged enemy attacks with their dance-like movements and controlled their balloons with songs. Primarina was truly a dancer in battle. But this also led to another problem; if a Primarina couldn't sing, its combat power would plummet.
Different melodies shaped the balloons in different ways, giving them different effects. A Primarina that couldn't sing was like a caveman with a machine gun; whether it fired or not was entirely up to chance, and most of the time it was just a fire stick.
"Go to Tesoro's place. It'd be best if Maylo trained under Uta and Ann for a while. There are professional music teachers there, so she can master a few fixed melodies first."
"Lord Arceus, thank you for your concern. Then I'll take Maylo and leave now."
"Go on, don't waste time. Before long, things at Tesoro's place won't be so peaceful either."
"Yes, I understand."
Without delaying too long, Mandrell ended his vacation and, on his way back to his stationed island, made a detour to Gran Tesoro.
Ever since the Red Line was deemed unsafe, this had become Tesoro's permanent base of operations. Like Morgans, he had taken to waging guerrilla warfare across the seas, never staying in one fixed location.
On Gran Tesoro.
Not long ago, a farewell party had just taken place. A bit earlier, the Soul King, Brook, had completed his final performance, announcing his retirement from show business. His destination afterward remained a secret.
After more than a year of spending time together, though not particularly close or companions, they had at least gotten acquainted with each other, so a farewell party was held for Brook.
At this farewell banquet, Cavendish was particularly excited. It was the happiest day he'd had with Brook all year.
There was no other reason than that he was finally able to see off the skeleton who had always overshadowed him.
Although he had never managed to surpass Brook in the rankings, sending Brook away was, in a sense, as good as surpassing him.
Brook thought Cavendish was reluctant to see him go, so he said that once his adventure was over, he'd come back for a visit. Hearing this made Cavendish's scalp tingle, and he personally raised the sails and set anchor for Brook, sending him off immediately.
The newly arrived Maylo didn't make Cavendish feel any sense of crisis. He was very clear about his own standing; women and middle-aged men like Tesoro were not his competitors.
Only peers of his own age, or oddballs like Brook, were true rivals in his eyes.
He paid no mind to Maylo's appearance and instead began preparing for his new performance.
Meanwhile, Maylo started practicing vocals under Uta's guidance, while Mandrell discussed some views on the situation at sea with Tesoro.
"Lord Arceus said your place won't stay stable for long. Do you have any new plans lately?"
"I don't have a plan, but it seems the World Government is plotting something again. I don't know the details, but it's definitely a big move.
You don't need to worry about the safety here; preparations are thorough, after all, my family is here too.
And as long as the World Government hasn't gone completely insane, they won't target this place."
The web of interests tied to Gran Tesoro was far too vast. It was connected with both the Beasts Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates, and because of the Underworld, even the Big Mom Pirates had interests here.
Making a move here wouldn't achieve anything decisive; on the contrary, it would ignite a giant powder keg.
Still, despite saying that, Tesoro had made many preparations. It could be said he was fully ready for anything.
"How long do you plan for your daughter to studydy here?"
"Just enough to get her started. Rusalka can sing too, so once we're back she can learn from her."
The main purpose of coming here was just to let Maylo get started.started The specific melodies had already been imprinted into Maylo's mind. Once she grasped the basic techniques, she could get familiar with them on her own.
Moreover, as a Water-type Pokémon, Primarina needs to dance in seawater. This was something Uta had no way of helping with, so she will have to rely on the skills of the Mermaids.
Meanwhile, in Mariejois, Jaygarcia Saturn, the Warrior God of Science and Defense, was preparing to personally speak with two "women." This was also the source of the World Government's recent actions.
After Vegapunk's death, many research projects had come to a halt. They needed a new leader, and at this time, York and Lilith, who had appeared here, became the best candidates.
They weren't Vegapunk, but as his satellites, they had similar skills.
At this moment, Jaygarcia Saturn was observing York and Lilith in a secret room.
"York, how did you survive?"
"I don't know either. That woman was like a lunatic. After she caught up, she started destroying everything indiscriminately. Whether it was the main body or Pythagoras, all of them were destroyed. I myself had most of my body shattered. It was a stroke of luck that I survived.
Later, I managed to repair my body at an old research institute.
Those useless Marines even mistook me for an intruder, wasting a lot of my time. What about you?"
"My luck was better. They didn't pay me any attention at all, so after I was thawed, I left smoothly."
"Is that so? What a pity."
"What did you say?"
"I said, what great news. From now on, we can only rely on each other."
With Punk Records destroyed, York and Lilith had lost the ability to share memories. But even if memories could still be uploaded, York would hide this part.
To her, Lilith being alive was not good news. A unique existence had far greater value. As fellow satellites, compared to Lilith, York lacked competitiveness.
It looked like they were smiling at each other, but York had already begun plotting how to get rid of Lilith.
When their exchange was nearly over, Saturn arrived in front of them and began discussing some projects, including the issue of repairing the Mother Flame.
Sabaody Archipelago.
The Straw Hat Pirates had returned here through all sorts of means.
Brook had been brought by a Beasts Fruits merchant ship, Nami had arrived by riding a cloud hot-air balloon, Franky had been arranged by York to come on an icebreaker, Usopp rode on a giant beetle, and Luffy had to be dragged back from the sea by Rayleigh. The Straw Hats had gathered here once more.
Hercules carried their luggage, leaving no extra space for Luffy, which ultimately forced him to "swim" alongside Rayleigh.
Because the Fake Straw Hat Pirates had been wiped out early due to the fake lottery ticket scheme, and since Luffy's reputation wasn't as big as it was in the original timeline, there was no impostor incident on the island.
Before long, Chopper also arrived riding a large bird. The only ones still missing were Sanji, Bon Kurei, and Zoro.
"Strange, how come those three are taking so long?"
"No idea, but they should be here soon. After all, the date is within the next couple of days."
Inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Usopp and Nami were fretting about the whereabouts of the others, while Luffy and Brook were watching Franky show off his new body.
Just then, the doors suddenly burst open and Bon Kurei rushed in, covered in blood.
"Straw-Chan, everyone! Come save him, quick!"
"Bon-chan?! You're hurt?!"
"It's not me, it's Sanji-kun! We just came across a troupe full of female dancers, and he insisted on going to watch. Then… then he started gushing nosebleeds like crazy, and it just won't stop!"
As he spoke, he dragged in Sanji from behind. Sanji's face had already gone pale, yet blood still spurted from his nose like a fountain.
"Doctor! Where's a doctor? Oh right, I'm the doctor! Quick, bring me the medical kit!"
In the midst of the chaos, Chopper remembered that he himself was the doctor and immediately began emergency treatment on Sanji, preventing a tragedy from happening.
"Do you really think they can make it to the New World?"
Shakky put out the cigarette in her hand, her eyes filled with doubt as she looked at Rayleigh behind her.
"Don't say that. There are some reliable ones among them. Isn't that right, beetle?"
"Heraaacross."
"Strange…but the meeting time is almost up, right? Where's the last person?"
As Shakky looked at the beetle, who was also getting a headache behind the counter, she felt more confused about the future of this pirate crew. Their people hadn't even fully gathered yet.
Meanwhile, out at sea, Hawk Eyes seemed to be restraining himself from doing something. Far ahead of him, Zoro was drifting off course.
In the original timeline, Perona had personally sent him back to Sabaody Archipelago. To keep Zoro from getting lost, Perona had gone to great lengths. But now Perona had already settled down in the basement, and Zoro had lost his reliable guide.
"Roronoa… you b*stard, this had better not be on purpose."
Seeing no one else around, Hawk Eyes turned his blade sideways and swung it like an oar, artificially generating a tsunami to once again correct Zoro's course.
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