Under the night sky, the clean moonlight shimmered across the vast sea, reflecting the countless stars onto its deep, tranquil surface.
Waves, dark as ink, rose and fell against the hull of the small boat, tapping rhythmically like a mysterious instrument.
Suddenly, a lazy yawn broke the stillness of the night.
"Ah~ so sleepy…"
Rubbing his face, Luffy blinked awake and immediately turned to look at the person opposite him.
On the other side of the small boat, Arelon was slowly waking up as well.
Perhaps influenced by the late hour, a wave of fatigue washed over his mind.
"Sigh… another drawback of the device is showing itself…"
"When I enter the game world, my physical body rests, but my mind doesn't."
"I'll have to start planning my game sessions more carefully. I can't let it mess up my schedule in the real world."
After briefly explaining to Luffy what "Pokémon power" was, Arelon—seeing the device's battery nearly depleted—saved their progress inside the Pewter Gym and returned to reality with Luffy.
He glanced at the compass to ensure the boat was still on course.
Only then did he say:
"All right, Luffy. Today's adventure is over."
"It's late. You get some sleep first."
"When the sun comes up, I'll rest."
"If everything goes smoothly, we should reach the next island by noon tomorrow."
"Huaah~ Okay! I'll leave it to you, Arelon."
Luffy wasn't exhausted from intense fighting, but he had been active all night, and he was definitely tired.
After a yawn and a wave, he tilted his head—
—and fell asleep instantly in the most ridiculous posture imaginable.
"This guy… really has no worries at all."
Arelon couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.
But soon, he straightened up and looked at the bright moon hanging in the sky, his mind quietly beginning to work.
"Well… might as well make use of the time and review today's gains."
He took a small notebook from his pack and began writing and sketching on it.
It was a habit of his—he liked to jot down plans and ideas on paper.
Even after crossing into this world, that habit hadn't changed.
He had even filled an entire notebook with the plot of One Piece to avoid forgetting anything.
Written in Chinese characters, nobody could understand it anyway—no risk of accidentally exposing himself.
"First, experience. In one night, Luffy gained 2,500 EXP. He's about 3,600 short of Level 47."
"Part of that was thanks to Pewter Gym being an EXP treasure trove…"
"But as the enemies get stronger and higher-leveled, Luffy's growth speed will only increase from here."
"Next, Pokémon moves."
"From Luffy's feedback, Headbutt seems to harden his skull, increase offensive power, and reduce collision damage…"
"It's obvious that Pokémon moves are not just battle postures—they enhance strength and come with additional effects."
"In battle, Pokémon moves have limitless potential."
Arelon scribbled more notes.
He was quite satisfied with the power of Headbutt.
And the learning process was absurdly simple.
Just a single tap in the game interface—
—and Luffy instantly mastered a Pokémon move.
This was the lifelong dream of every student suffering from learning disorders!
Even better…
TMs were permanent.
They didn't disappear upon use.
Meaning in the future, if Arelon could bring others into the game world…
He could instantly customize a full moveset for them and skyrocket their combat power.
However…
"I still don't know how the device chooses who can become a Pokémon…" Arelon murmured.
He was certain the criteria wasn't—
or wasn't just—closeness or time spent together.
After all, the person he had spent the most time with these past two and a half years wasn't Luffy.
It was Makino from the bar.
When he first crossed over, Arelon relied on his "orphan" identity and Makino's kindness to stay at her home while working at the bar.
Of course, "working" was an exaggeration—Makino treated him extremely well, giving him only light chores because of his age.
Otherwise he wouldn't have had so much free time to train.
If the device hadn't suddenly appeared that day…
He had already planned to lie low in Foosha Village, grow up, and steal the "lucky bastard's" spot—
using his handsome, youthful body to win over Makino in adulthood.
But fate had other plans~
As for Luffy, he spent most of his time training in the mountains.
He only came down every few days to talk to Arelon—and watch Arelon"pretend to be a cool transmigrator."
"So after eliminating closeness… what's the biggest difference between Luffy and everyone else?"
"Well… I've been training Luffy, haven't I?"
Even though Arelon's combat power was miles below Luffy's, in terms of guidance, Luffy actually recognized and respected him.
Because the results were real.
Suddenly—
A spark of realization flashed in Arelon's eyes, bright even in the dark.
"Don't tell me… the requirement to become my Pokémon is that the other person must acknowledge me as a Trainer!?"
"Damn… that actually makes perfect sense!"
He couldn't help slamming his fist lightly on the boat railing, a joyous grin spreading across his face.
A problem that had bothered him for days finally had a potential answer.
And verifying the hypothesis was easy.
Arelon whispered:
"If I want to know whether this is true…
—I'll test it on the third member of the Straw Hat Crew!"
And of course, he already knew who that was.
Ever since leaving Foosha Village, their boat had been heading steadily toward a single destination—
The base of the 153rd Marine Branch.
The place that had recently become the talk of the entire East Blue.
The place where the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, was imprisoned.
Shells Town.
That's right.
Arelon had planned their route the very moment he decided to join Luffy.
If he was going to have a grand adventure in the One Piece world—
How could he possibly do it without that charismatic man known as "Zoro the Big Bro"?
However…
"Sorry, Zoro."
"The position of vice-captain… I already stole it!"
"But don't worry—I'll make it up to you in other ways!"
Arelon chuckled softly, staring expectantly into the distance.
But his excitement lasted only a few seconds.
Because suddenly—
"Wait. I… don't know swordsmanship at all!?"
If he wanted Zoro to recognize him as a vice-captain and a Trainer, he needed to help Zoro in his training—just like with Luffy.
But…
He had no idea how to train Armament Haki.
Observation Haki took Luffy ages to learn on his own.
Zoro definitely had lower talent for it than Luffy.
As for Conqueror's Haki…
Even Luffy hadn't awakened it yet!
Swordsmanship?
He didn't know a thing.
"…Crap. Am I going to make a fool of myself?"
Thinking about how he was talking big just moments ago, only to realize he himself was the weakest link, Arelon's face flushed red.
"Forget it! I need to get stronger first!"
He quickly accepted reality.
Fortunately… he had already found his own path.
Arelon focused his thoughts and activated the device.
Since he hadn't done any operations earlier, the previous notifications were still floating in the interface…
~~--------------------------
P@treon 30+ Advanced Chapters:
patreon.com/FrostWarden