As expected…
With zero intention of holding back, Arelon ordered Luffy to go all out from the start.
At Level 46, Luffy's raw strength completely crushed Brock's Level 15 Onix. The poor thing didn't even get a chance to use Dig—it was instantly smashed into the ground, eyes spinning as it fainted on the spot.
"Yeah… at this stage it's impossible for me to get anything higher than an 'Average' command rating."
Watching the notification fade away along with the battle domain, Arelon could only sigh to himself.
But almost immediately, his attention shifted back to Brock.
With his final Pokémon defeated and the battle domain fading, Brock's artificial intelligence seemed to be "reset."
His earlier shock at Luffy's power disappeared completely, replaced by a warm, appreciative smile as he strode forward.
"That was a fantastic battle!"
"I underestimated you. As a reward, take these 2,000!"
He… he dropped gold!!!
As Brock made a grabbing motion in the air, Arelon watched his savings increase by 2,000, breaking past the 6,000 mark.
Way more generous than those wild-route Trainers.
"What a good man! Truly a good man!"
Arelon cheered internally.
And Brock wasn't done giving rewards.
"To prove you defeated me, I'll give you this—the Pewter Badge, certified by the Pokémon League!"
"And this as well…"
Brock's hands flashed again, and two items appeared:
—a stone-carved badge shaped like the tip of a diamond
—and a CD-like TM disc.
He handed both to Arelon and explained:
"This is the TM for Headbutt. With this, you can teach any compatible Pokémon the Normal-type move Headbutt."
"Good! Very good!!!"
Arelon grabbed both items immediately, not bothering to question why a Rock-type Gym was giving away a Normal-type TM.
And right then—
The device inside his body triggered a chain of pop-up notifications:
[Congratulations! You've obtained your first Badge. Achievement unlocked: Badge Collector.]
[Badge Collector: Each time the player obtains a Badge, their physical abilities increase, corresponding to the Badge's type.]
[Congratulations on obtaining the Pewter Badge. Reward: Random Rock-type Pokémon move.]
[Draw move now?]
[YES] / [NO]
Multiple messages appeared, clearly not from the game—these were exclusive system rewards.
Arelon skimmed through them once.
And then—
His heart exploded with joy.
"As expected! There's no way the device would give all the benefits to Luffy!"
"Achievement rewards? Badge rewards?"
"My path to becoming stronger has finally begun!"
As much as he wanted to test the rewards immediately, he remembered the battery problem.
The device wasn't going anywhere anyway.
Better finish things in the game world first.
Returning his focus to the game, Arelon looked up—and saw Luffy rushing toward him excitedly.
He stared at the badge and TM in Arelon's hands.
Left… right… still clueless.
After a long moment, Luffy pouted:
"Hey! Arelon, didn't you say beating a Gym gives amazing rewards? Why are the rewards just these two weird things?"
"They're not edible! What's the point!?"
"Eat!? All you know is eating!"
Arelon shot him an annoyed look.
"Don't you dare underestimate these!"
"These are priceless treasures!"
He hadn't checked all the rewards yet, but the moment he received the Pewter Badge, a strange energy washed through his body, strengthening him from the inside out.
That must be the Badge Collector effect.
"Priceless treasure?" Luffy tilted his head, unable to see the value in a badge and a shiny disc.
Seeing that, Arelon no longer kept him guessing.
He held up the Headbutt TM and waved it in front of him.
"You won't understand by looking. You have to experience it yourself!"
With that, Arelon tossed the badge and TM into his backpack.
His view switched into the familiar game interface.
Opening Bag → TM section, a new TM appeared:
TM – Headbutt
He tapped it.
[Move: Headbutt]
[Type: Normal]
[Category: Physical]
[Power: 70]
[Description: The user rams the target with its head. May cause the target to flinch.]
Below was a big [USE] button.
"Power 70?" Arelon murmured.
"In the game, that's not especially strong… Wonder how it works in the real world."
"But…"
"At the very least, should make Luffy's head even harder, right?"
His intelligence couldn't be saved anyway.
Maybe his durability could.
Arelon pressed USE.
There was only one "Pokémon" he could choose.
Luffy.
Seeing [Compatible] under Luffy's icon, Arelon's eyes lit with excitement.
He tapped.
[Monkey D. Luffy has learned Headbutt.]
"…That's it?"
Arelon blinked.
No animations, no flashy effects, nothing.
"That felt way too anticlimactic."
He closed the interface and looked at Luffy.
Luffy was staring blankly, eyes wide.
"Arelon, my head feels itchy. Like something is… growing inside!?"
He scratched his scalp in confusion.
Arelon only smiled.
"Relax, Luffy."
"Didn't I tell you? This world can make us stronger—fast."
He pointed toward a distant pile of fake rocks and said without hesitation:
"Luffy! Use Headbutt on that!"
"Huh? Headbutt? What's that!?"
He was confused—
but his body suddenly surged with energy, gathering toward his head.
Luffy instinctively snapped his neck forward.
His head stretched—
and launched straight at the rock pile.
BOOM!!!
A deafening impact shook the Gym.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Snap!
Luffy's head sprang back through the dust cloud, returning to his neck.
Seconds later, the dust settled—
The tall fake mountain…
had become a sea of shattered rubble.
"What… what happened!? Did my head turn into stone!?"
Luffy touched his forehead, stunned.
He had used his head as a weapon before—
but usually relying on the elasticity of his rubber body to generate momentum.
This time was different.
His head wasn't sore at all.
In fact—he felt nothing.
As if some mysterious energy had protected him.
And the destructive power was far higher than normal.
Suddenly, Luffy's eyes sparkled.
"Wait! Is this… Armament Haki!?"
Armament Haki—the trademark of all strong fighters.
Arelon talked about it constantly over the past two and a half years.
But without any guidance, Luffy never managed to awaken it.
And the feeling just now… was similar to Arelon's descriptions.
But Arelon poured a bucket of cold water over him.
"If Armament Haki were that easy, we'd all be masters already."
He continued:
"What you used just now isn't Haki."
"It's a form of Pokémon energy!"
"Pokémon… energy?" Luffy blinked.
Arelon nodded.
"Like Geodude's Rollout, or Onix's Rock Throw."
"Those are manifestations of Pokémon energy."
"And now you, Luffy—just like them—have learned how to use that energy."
"This is one of the benefits we get from beating Gyms!"
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