"Waaah—oh! So this is the Gym you were talking about, Red!?"
"It's… seriously huge!!!"
Upon arriving in Pewter City, Red and Luffy looked like two cash-strapped tourists, strolling past all kinds of distinctly Pewter-style buildings before heading straight for the largest place in the city aside from the Pokémon Center—the Pewter Gym!
Just as Viridian Forest had transformed into an actual forest, the Pewter Gym here was nothing like the tiny stone room from the games.
Even from afar, they could see two colossal Onix statues standing on either side of the Gym's entrance, imbuing the entire building with an air of majesty and imposing grandeur.
Simply standing at the door, one could feel a heavy, stone-like aura rushing toward them.
From inside the Gym, faint but noisy sounds could be heard through the massive doors—clear proof of the place's vitality.
"Let's go!" Red stepped forward and pushed open the two rock doors that looked heavy but were actually fitted with electric rails.
The moment they entered, the interior decor proved perfectly aligned with the Gym's theme.
The floors and walls were entirely assembled from stone, presenting a deep, earthy brown tone that felt ancient and austere.
At the very center lay the training arena, filled with jagged rocks and tall piles of boulders stacked together.
Near each rock pile stood one or two Trainers in green uniforms, all training Rock-type Pokémon.
No need to think too hard…
These had to be the "experience fodder" Trainers from the original game—there to give challengers extra battles before reaching the Gym Leader!
On both sides at the edge of the Gym were enormous spectator stands.
At the moment, scattered groups of spectators were seated there—neither many nor few—watching the Rock-type arena below without blinking.
"They're just Trainers training Pokémon. Why bother with an audience like this?"
"The console's design really isn't very rigorous in this regard~"
With the air of a connoisseur, Red casually evaluated the Gym scene created by the game system.
Beside him, Luffy marveled in awe, "Wow~ there are so many people!"
Clearly, the system had put far more effort into optimizing the Gym than other areas, making it feel far more like a real Pokémon Gym—
Rather than just a small room from the game.
Hearing Luffy's excitement, Red shifted his gaze toward the Gym Trainers and curled his lips slightly.
"Yeah. There are quite a few people."
In the game, these Gym Trainers provided far more experience and rewards than wild Trainers.
Maybe the gains from this Gym challenge would exceed his expectations.
As the thought crossed his mind, Red suddenly turned to the curious Luffy and shouted:
"Luffy!"
"See those guys dressed like walking scallions ahead!?"
"Let's go!"
"We'll harvest them!"
"Another fight!? Leave it all to me!" Luffy grinned broadly, rolling his shoulders as he strode forward, his face brimming with anticipation.
Every opponent they'd met so far had been weak, but battling interesting creatures still felt novel and exciting to him.
Entering deeper into the Gym, Red and Luffy followed a stone-paved path straight toward a girl who was training a Geodude.
Before Red could even speak, the girl's expression turned stern upon seeing them, and she took the initiative:
"Who are you!?"
"This is the Pewter Gym—not a playground!"
"What? You want to challenge Gym Leader Brock? You're ten thousand light-years too early!"
"Let me test your strength first!"
"Go, Geodude!"
Without giving them a chance to say anything, she tossed out a Poké Ball, releasing her Pokémon.
A semicircular battle field instantly deployed, enveloping Red and Luffy.
"Seriously… everyone in this world is so weird!" Luffy muttered, still unable to understand the NPCs' mindset, staring at the girl in confusion.
Red, however, merely smiled, entirely unfazed.
Playing along with her dramatic lines, he replied in equally chuunibyou fashion:
"Just a Pewter Gym, yet you talk so boldly!"
With that, Red stepped back, positioning Luffy in front of him.
"Let's go, Luffy! Show her what you can do!"
"Okaaay!"
Experienced by now, Luffy leapt forward, landing in the center of the battlefield and facing Geodude head-on.
A status panel appeared above Geodude's head:
[LV: 7 | HP: 28/28]
At the same time—
The entire Gym suddenly fell silent.
Every NPC seemed to receive some unseen command, all eyes turning toward the battlefield where Luffy and Geodude stood.
A deep, stately BGM began to play above the Gym, lingering in the air.
Each drumbeat struck straight at the heart.
Even the spectators began cheering inexplicably, as if they were truly watching an intense Pokémon battle.
"Hey, hey… it's just a Gym Trainer battle. Is all this really necessary?" Red thought helplessly.
So this was why the audience existed…
Still, being watched by a crowd like this felt oddly strange.
Even knowing the opponents were mere NPCs, the atmosphere stirred Red's emotions.
"The hype's really kicking in now~"
"Guess I have no choice but to play along!"
Suddenly acting like a real Trainer, Red shouted his command:
"Luffy! Use Shave! Get behind Geodude!"
"Huh?"
Used to fighting on instinct, Luffy froze for a split second.
But he quickly realized this was Red's instruction.
Abandoning the need to think, he instinctively obeyed, stomping the ground and activating the Six Powers—Shave.
A black blur flashed by as Luffy instantly appeared behind Geodude.
Geodude was already clumsy by nature—and at only level 7, there was no way it could keep up with Luffy's speed.
As for the Gym Trainer, she was left completely dumbfounded by Luffy's sudden maneuver.
Red's voice rang out again:
"Now! Attack its back!"
Luffy's arm stretched violently—
"Gum-Gum… PISTOL!!!"
"Oh no! Dodge, Geodude!"
Within the battlefield, the opposing Trainer clearly broke free from her scripted rigidity, displaying battle instincts worthy of her role.
But—
Before absolute power, any command was meaningless.
Even the divine art of Quick, dodge!
BANG!!!
Luffy's fist slammed into Geodude's solid body like a fired bullet, forcing even the tough-hearted Pokémon to cry out in agony.
"Ge—o—dude…!"
The status bar above its head demonstrated a vanishing act—the full HP dropping instantly to zero.
One hit.The battle was over.
The battle field slowly faded away.
At that moment, however, surprise flashed across Red's face.
Beneath Luffy's experience gain notification, a new message appeared:
[Command completed. Rating: Average.]
[Additional reward obtained: EXP +8]
"What's this? Extra rewards!?"
With a thought, Red froze the disappearing text in place and reread it carefully.
"…Come to think of it, this is the first time I've actually given Luffy battle commands."
"Could it be…"
"Does the quality of my commands affect bonus experience after defeating an opponent!?"
"I didn't expect the system to have something like this—nice, nice. The sense of participation really shoots up!"
"As for whether I'm right…"
Red's eyes flickered as he turned toward another Trainer near the rock piles.
"I'll just test it!"
...
...
[Monkey D. Luffy defeated the Gym Trainer's Geodude. EXP gained: +38.]
[Command completed. Rating: Useless.][No additional reward.]
...
...
[Monkey D. Luffy defeated the Gym Trainer's Geodude. EXP gained: +38.]
[Command completed. Rating: Average.][Additional reward obtained: EXP +8]
...
...
For the next two Gym Trainers, Red deliberately gave Luffy different commands.
One involved making Luffy perform various strange actions, taking two hits from Geodude before finishing it off.
The other repeated the earlier Shave + basic attack combo, instantly defeating Geodude again.
The results—"Useless" and "Average"—confirmed Red's suspicions.
"Just as I thought—my role can't possibly be just to fill a slot and start the game!"
"Right. As a Trainer, how could I not know how to command my Pokémon?"
"Looks like I can't slack off. I'll have to work harder on this."
"Useless commands give no bonus. Average commands grant an extra one-fifth of the base experience."
"As for whether there's an even higher rating…"
Red paused.
He wanted to do better—see if anything existed beyond "Average"—
But with Luffy overwhelming the opponents by level alone, no amount of command finesse could really change much.
That expectation would have to wait for the future.
After all—
They still had far more important things to do.
(End of Chapter)