"You… your world?"
Zoro stared at Arelon, utterly dumbfounded.
"You're kidding, right, Arelon!?"
No matter how he thought about it, this explanation was way too outrageous.
But Arelon only gave him a light smile.
"What do you think?"
"I…"
Zoro's words got stuck in his throat.
"This is just too unbelievable."
"Haha, nothing unbelievable about it."
Arelon laughed out loud.
"Remember the Trainer abilities I mentioned before?"
"Compared to helping you get stronger through real-world training, this is where I can truly发挥 my role as a Trainer!"
"In this strange world, as long as you defeat enough enemies, your strength increases immediately."
"You can even learn brand-new abilities and powers!"
"Time's short. I'll explain the rest as we go."
Arelon glanced at the three swords on Zoro's waist.
He still didn't understand the specific mechanism, but since Zoro was able to bring his swords into the game, everything became much easier.
"Huh!? …Oh."
Still confused, Zoro scratched his head.
He didn't understand a thing Arelon said, but somehow… he felt like he had boarded a very powerful man's ship.
Looks like I really joined the right pirate crew…
He said to himself and followed Arelon toward the exit of the Gym.
But just as they stepped out—before Zoro even had time to think—
a spiky-haired boy suddenly shouted at them.
"Hey! You there!"
Zoro subconsciously turned toward the voice and saw a guy in a long purple coat walking toward them with a confident grin.
The guy spoke to Arelon in an arrogant tone:
"You, over there—are you the guy called Arelon?"
"Is he here to pick a fight?"
Zoro instinctively treated this place like the real world.
He even prepared to draw his swords and teach the brat a lesson—
—but Arelon stopped him.
"Don't mind him."
"…"
Zoro blinked, but obediently put his swords away.
Despite being ignored, the spiky-haired boy began talking to himself:
"As expected! Just as I thought! No surprise for someone like me!"
He rambled on with a string of words Zoro couldn't understand and then handed Arelon something.
What the heck?
He was… giving a gift!?
Zoro stared wide-eyed.
Arelon explained:
"In this world, every creature outside of battles has no real intelligence. So don't mind anything they say."
"…Oh."
Zoro nodded, half-comprehending.
Weird, but acceptable.
Arelon then looked at the item he received.
[Item: Great Ball]
[Effect: After successfully catching a Pokémon, grants more EXP and increases item drop rate compared to an ordinary Poké Ball.]
"Didn't expect a freebie the moment we step out. Good omen."
He happily stored the five Great Balls given by NPC Green.
But since they were still in the beginner area, wasting Poké Balls and Great Balls here for tiny amounts of EXP would be pointless—he'd save them for later.
"Let's go." Arelon patted Zoro's shoulder.
"The wonders of this world are just beginning!"
With Zoro following behind, the two headed toward Route 3 on the right side of Pewter City.
Arelon vaguely remembered that each city had small hidden quests with minor rewards…
But time was tight, and he wasn't interested in detouring.
Besides, nothing in the early cities was worth exploring anyway.
After about twenty minutes of fast walking, they left the city.
Soon, a smooth yet undulating mountain-side road came into view.
During the walk, Arelon gave Zoro a simple explanation of how the game world worked.
Unlike Luffy—who wouldn't understand even after hearing it three times—
Zoro understood it instantly.
And then fell into deep shock.
A world where you grew stronger just by fighting!?
Could something like that even exist!?
Zoro couldn't wrap his head around it.
In the end, he attributed it to the mysterious powers of Devil Fruits.
Realizing his own lack of knowledge, Zoro didn't ask further and simply followed Arelon silently.
He wanted to see if this world was really as magical as Arelon claimed.
Before long, they encountered their first battle in the game world.
A ranger stood at the entrance of the path, and when he saw them approach, he stepped forward to block them.
"Let me show you what a real Pokémon battle is!"
The ranger shouted unreasonably, throwing out a level-11 Bulbasaur.
A circular battlefield instantly unfolded, wrapping everyone inside.
The battle began—immediately!
"Bulbasaur! Use Vine Whip!"
The ranger, granted intelligence within the battlefield, commanded instantly.
Arelon was no less decisive.
"Zoro, use Oni Giri—finish him!!!"
"Got it!"
Seeing the onion-headed frog, Zoro didn't hesitate.
He drew his three swords in one swift motion.
A ghostly aura erupted from him, swirling around the blades.
"Three-Sword Style—Oni Giri!!!"
Slash!!!
Before the Vine Whip even swung, Zoro was already moving.
A terrifying pressure surged from his body, freezing Bulbasaur in place!
Zoro's Pressure ability had activated!
A dark-purple flash sliced across the field.
The level-11 Bulbasaur let out a miserable cry.
"Bulba—!"
[Roronoa Zoro defeated Ranger's Bulbasaur. EXP gained: +68]
[Command rating: Average]
[Bonus EXP: +14]
"EXP really shoots up fast!"
Arelon grinned as he read the EXP prompt.
Just a level-11 Pokémon was worth nearly a hundred EXP…
At this speed, Zoro and Luffy would grow terrifyingly strong in no time.
"Nice work, Zoro!"
Arelon praised him.
Thus, the two charged straight down Route 3.
Cut anyone who appeared.
Slice anyone who blocked the way.
Invincible from start to finish!
They cut from the start of the road to the end without even blinking.
An hour later—
Zoro had over 1,000 EXP.
At this pace, he would level up in less than four hours!
Way faster than grinding Viridian Forest.
"If Route 3 is already like this… then once we reach Mt. Moon, Zoro might level up today!?"
Arelon clicked his tongue in amazement, but didn't slow down.
At the end of Route 3, a rugged mountain path appeared.
Arelon shielded his eyes with one hand and looked upward.
At the top stood a large Pokémon Center
and a tunnel leading into Mt. Moon.
"Didn't expect Mt. Moon to be this huge when rendered on this console!"
"Good! In that case, let's keep the momentum and get Zoro leveled up today."
He made his decision.
But the moment they stepped onto the climbing path—
—A middle-aged ranger suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Hold it! Mt. Moon ahead is extremely dangerous! You can't enter without sufficient strength!"
"Allow me to test you!"
He threw out a Poké Ball.
A level-13 Geodude appeared.
The battlefield unfolded again.
But after cutting down countless Pokémon all the way here, Arelon and Zoro had developed muscle memory.
Before the battlefield even fully formed—
Arelon shouted:
"Zoro! Oni Giri!!!"
Flash!
A black shadow streaked across the field.
In an instant, three deep cuts appeared across the Geodude's rocky body.
"Geee—!"
With a cry, the Geodude was instantly defeated.
Arelon and Zoro prepared to pass—
—but the ranger stopped them again.
"Incredible! I didn't expect such strength!"
"Very well, you've passed the test. You may enter Mt. Moon."
"And take this, too!"
He handed Arelon a disc from who-knows-where.
"A TM!?"
Arelon's eyes lit up.
A normal NPC battle dropping something like this!?
He hadn't expected that at all.
He immediately opened his Bag to inspect it.
Moves he once considered worthless were now treasures he examined word for word.
[Move: Pay Day]
[Type: Normal]
[Category: Physical]
[Power: 40]
[Description: Hurls small coins infused with energy at the target. If the opponent is defeated, the coins remain and can be collected.]
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