"Woohoo~!"
"An adventure in a magical world—I'm hereee~!"
The moment he set foot on this otherworldly land, Luffy split his face into a huge grin, threw both arms high above his head, and cheered with boundless excitement.
Then, remembering their agreement—"In another world, everything follows Red's command"—he quickly turned his gaze toward Red.
"Red! Can we go find that talking little cat from last time?!"
"That trio was hilarious—I wanna see their performance again!"
"That's Team Rocket," Red replied dryly. "They're an evil organization, not some comedy troupe for your entertainment."
"Huh?" Luffy looked utterly confused. "But they were really funny!"
Red shot him an annoyed glance and then said,
"I'm not arguing with you. Quiet down. I need to verify something first."
As he spoke, his consciousness shifted, and a vivid interface that only Red could see appeared before his eyes.
A red [Pokédex], a yellow [Bag], a green [Pokémon], and a purple [Record]…
Four neatly arranged options, each glowing with a different color.
The [Pokédex] function recorded detailed information on every Pokémon they had encountered so far.
To Red, it was mostly useless—barely good enough to serve as a database.
The [Bag] function worked just like a game inventory, storing items they obtained in this world.
But since they had only just begun progressing through this game world, there was nothing particularly interesting inside yet.
As for [Record], it normally saved game progress—but for Red, it was essentially an option to actively log out of the game world.
After entering the game world, their senses toward the outside didn't completely disappear.
Their current state was rather mysterious—something like being deeply immersed in a game.
Most of their consciousness was focused inside the game, but if anything happened in the real world, they could immediately sense it and return via the [Record] function.
And as for the last option…
With a flicker of thought from Red, the [Pokémon] icon suddenly flashed.
The next instant, a familiar-yet-strange interface appeared before him.
Six Pokémon slots were neatly arranged—but the last five were completely grayed out. Only the first slot was occupied, showing a chibi cartoon figure of Luffy.
Viewing Luffy's information.
As a background voice declared, "I'm the man who will become the King of the Pirates!", Red entered Luffy's Pokémon status screen.
[Pokémon: Monkey D. Luffy]
[Level: 46]
[Gender: ♂]
[Nature: Bold (+Defense, –Attack)]
[Type: Normal / Fairy]
[Ability: Regenerator (Recovers stamina and injuries rapidly when out of battle)]
[Moves: Empty, Empty, Empty, Empty]
[EXP: 693 / 6787]
…
[HP: 194][Attack: 141][Defense: 156][Sp. Atk: 121][Sp. Def: 135][Speed: 138]
…
That was the entirety of Luffy's status.
The moment Red opened this screen, his eyes locked onto Luffy's EXP bar.
"693 points?! That's almost two hundred more than when we left last time."
A gleam flashed through Red's pitch-black eyes.
"So EXP doesn't only come from the game world…"
"Training and battles in the real world can also grant EXP to Luffy as a Pokémon!"
Discovering another system mechanic, Red's lips curled upward into a "so that's how it works" smile.
Seeing Luffy beside him, already itching to wreak havoc, Red let out a light chuckle.
"Alright, Luffy."
"You've been idle all day. Time to stretch and warm up a bit."
"Hehehe, I've been waiting for this!"
Luffy laughed foolishly.
Then he immediately locked onto a completely purple mouse Pokémon with two sharp front teeth that had just popped out of the grass.
It was one of the most classic early-game Pokémon—
Rattata!
In a flash, Luffy vanished, his body turning into a blurred afterimage as he appeared behind Rattata almost like teleportation.
At the same time, a strange domain materialized, enveloping both him and Rattata.
Red, watching from the side, also found himself surrounded by a barrier-like field that he could freely toggle on and off.
This game world was both real—and illusory.
What made it real was that even though Luffy hadn't learned a single Pokémon move yet, he could still fight freely.
Even these wild Pokémon scattered along the roadside possessed combat instincts appropriate to their level—they could run, jump, and evade using instinctive techniques, nothing like the stiff, mechanical behavior seen in traditional games.
And yet, what made it illusory was—
Every time Red and Luffy initiated a battle, a special domain formed that isolated them from all other Pokémon.
Above the target Pokémon's head—Rattata, in this case—floated a status bar that moved along with it:
[Lv: 5 | HP: 21 / 21]
This clearly displayed Rattata's level and remaining HP.
Not only that—this world wasn't as lively as it appeared at first glance.
Although every person they encountered along the way had vivid expressions, they could only repeat fixed lines of dialogue and were incapable of genuine communication.
But—
Who cares!
As long as this world could make them stronger, it was a good world!
"Gum-Gum… Pistol!!!"
BANG!!!
A lightning-fast punch shot forward, utterly shameless as it brutalized the unsuspecting Rattata.
Level 46 versus Level 5!
The outcome of this absurdly lopsided battle had been decided long before it began.
"Chiii—!"
Rattata never imagined it would be ambushed by someone so strong.
After a pitiful cry, its eyes turned into spiraling circles.
Another distinctive trait of the game world: Pokémon would never die—only lose the ability to battle.
And once a Pokémon entered this spiral-eyed state, Red could capture it with a Poké Ball.
Although captured Pokémon couldn't be added to the party, they were automatically converted into bonus EXP, sometimes even dropping items.
Essentially, it was a double-EXP buff.
"Want to capture it, Red?" Luffy asked after effortlessly dealing with the Rattata.
He had already grasped some of the mechanics of this game world.
Red shook his head. "No need. A Level 5 Rattata isn't worth wasting a 200-Poké-dollar Poké Ball."
"Let's keep moving."
As he spoke, Red glanced at the notification that flashed briefly as the domain vanished:
[Monkey D. Luffy defeated Rattata. Gained: EXP +12.]
"Only 12 EXP? That barely dents Luffy's massive EXP bar…"
"Looks like our top priority is pushing the main storyline and entering higher-level training zones."
Red pondered silently.
"Luffy's types are Normal and Fairy. In theory, that lets him counter Bug-types, Ghost-types, Dragon-types, and Dark-types…"
There were eighteen Pokémon types in total, all with defined strengths and weaknesses.
Mastering type matchups was basic knowledge for anyone aspiring to be a powerful Trainer.
As for why Luffy had the dual Normal/Fairy type, Red had his own theory.
First, Luffy's fighting style relied on no special energy—he fought purely with his body, using the most basic, primal forms of combat.
That was textbook Normal-type behavior.
So having the Normal type made total sense.
The Fairy type, on the other hand, likely stemmed from Luffy's Devil Fruit ability.
A Zoan-type Mythical Fruit—Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika—an ability written as rubber, yet divine in essence.
The game world classifying that kind of mysterious transformation as Fairy-type wasn't strange at all.
"Still…"
Red's thoughts paused for a moment.
"Before Nika's awakening, Luffy's combat style leans far more toward Normal-type."
"And Normal-type doesn't counter other types—and can't even hit Ghost-types…"
"Even with Regenerator's insane sustain, we have to be careful."
"I need to raise Luffy as quickly as possible."
"Only a strong enough Luffy can help me clear stages faster and earn more rewards from the system!"
A strange gleam flickered in Red's eyes.
He refused to believe his cheat only existed to strengthen those around him.
Everything now rested on a mechanic he hadn't accessed yet:
Clear game stages or achievements, and receive rewards aligned with game mechanics.
Red had a feeling—his own path to power would be deeply tied to these rewards.
And to obtain them, he could only rely on his sole "Pokémon" for now—
Luffy!
He absolutely couldn't allow this guy to slack off.
Standing behind him, watching as Luffy laughed wildly and charged toward a Pidgey, a meaningful smile slowly spread across Red's face.
"Enjoy this world to your heart's content, Luffy."
"I hope you'll never grow tired of charging forward and fighting with everything you've got."
"For your dreams and goals, I won't hold back when pushing you onward!"
"When the time comes, don't get annoyed with your Trainer~"
(End of Chapter)