"Wow! Where is this place? Why is it completely different from before?!"
Staring at the dim, rock-filled cave before him, Luffy immediately exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course it's different~"
Red gave the back of his head a smack and strode straight toward the cave exit.
"This is yesterday's progress that Zoro worked so hard to push for you. You'd better thank him properly later."
"I never asked him to help!"
Luffy muttered in dissatisfaction, but he still hurriedly followed after Red.
As they walked, Red instructed him casually,"Today's objective is to challenge the second Gym after the Pewter Gym—Cerulean Gym."
"That Gym specializes mainly in Water-type Pokémon. There may be a lot of underwater combat…"
"When the time comes, pay attention. Don't wait for my orders—attack the moment you see the opponent send out a Pokémon!"
"Absolutely do not give them a chance to dive underwater."
"Oh, oh~"
Luffy nodded like he half-understood.
Who knows how much of Red's words actually got through to him.
But Red didn't mind and continued:
"Also, Luffy, didn't you say you wanted to train Armament Haki?"
"Perfect timing. There will be plenty of Trainers along the way—you can use them as practice."
"Oh right, since you said Headbutt helps you grasp the feeling of Armament Haki, don't use any other moves later…"
"Every enemy—deal with them all using Headbutt!"
As they spoke, Red led Luffy out of Mt. Moon Cave.
In an instant!
Blinding sunlight flashed across their eyes, forcing both of them to close them briefly to adjust to the brightness.
Between Cerulean City and Mt. Moon lay a mountain road known as Route 4.
Because it wrapped around Mt. Moon, the road was exceptionally rugged and uneven.
But to Red and Luffy, this was nothing at all.
Standing at a higher vantage point, the two swept their gaze across the area, taking in every Trainer NPC on Route 4.
"Alright! Time is limited—let's finish this quickly!"
Red clenched his fist and cheered Luffy on.
"Hehe, leave everything to me!"
Luffy's fighting spirit surged.
Having eaten his fill, he now had energy to spare with nowhere to burn it!
Without waiting for Red's command, he leapt straight down onto a lower platform.
Since Red, the Trainer, wasn't following him, even if he walked right up to an NPC's face, it wouldn't trigger a battle dialogue.
But that didn't matter!
On this platform happened to be a large patch of tall grass.
As everyone knows, in Pokémon games, tall grass is where Pokémon appear!
With a sudden rustle in the grass, a vicious-looking Spearow shot into the air and flew straight toward Luffy.
The battle field instantly unfolded.
And then—
"Gum-Gum… Headbutt!!!"
Boom!!!
With a resounding crash, the poor Spearow instantly turned into spiraled eyes and crashed to the ground.
At this point, Red also stepped onto the platform. Looking at the fallen Spearow, a look of regret appeared on his face.
"Ah, what a shame~ If Flying-type Pokémon could be brought to the pirate world, maybe we could steal some business from Morgans~"
As for whether making Pokémon work counted as animal abuse?
Sorry!
I've already transmigrated into another world—why should I care about your animal protection laws?
All that can be said is… what a pity!
"Hey! You over there, you're a Trainer too, right?!"
The moment Red landed, an NPC who had been standing blankly in a corner suddenly sprang to life like a robot whose switch had been flipped, rushing forward to block his path.
Thankfully, Red was already long used to this kind of thing.
…
One minute later.
"What an amazing battle! I'll give you this 980 as a reward!"
"The reward's increased, huh~"
Watching the defeated Shorts Boy pull out a pile of coins and hand them over, Red inexplicably felt like an upperclassman bullying a junior.
Still, without hesitation, he took the money and stuffed it into his backpack.
"Let's go! Pick up the pace!"
He waved lightly at Luffy, and the two immediately set off.
In the blink of an eye!
Route 4 welcomed two young Yama Kings…
They attacked any Trainer they saw and crushed any Pokémon they encountered.
For a time, the entirety of Route 4 descended into total chaos!
Half an hour later.
Red, with Luffy—who had swept up more than 800 experience points—finally left Route 4 and arrived in a town filled with the scent of seawater.
Cerulean City—the third city Red and the others had reached in the game world!
Under the machine's powerful restoration capabilities, this city, which in the game consisted of only a few small houses, had completely transformed into a bustling seaside metropolis!
Wide, spotless concrete roads stretched straight toward the city's central landmark—the Cerulean Gym!
On both sides of the road were shops run by NPCs, selling all kinds of goods.
Of course, no matter how diverse the displays looked on the surface…
If Red went inside, the only things he could actually buy were still the standard items from the friendly shop, plus some simple clothing with no real combat value.
He had already experienced this back in Viridian City.
So no matter how prosperous and beautiful Cerulean City became under the machine's restoration, to Red, it was still just passing scenery.
"Alright, stop staring, Luffy!"
"Once you hit max level, I can bring you here every day if you want!"
"Right now, we're heading straight to the Gym—press the advantage and, ideally, get your Armament Haki trained out today!"
Red grabbed Luffy's stretched-out arm and, without further argument, dragged him straight toward Cerulean Gym at a brisk pace.
Although time was still plentiful, he was even more eager to see whether the leveled-up Luffy could truly awaken Armament Haki.
As for sightseeing in Cerulean City…
While that was also part of Red's plan—after all, every city in the game usually hid some concealed items—
Not now!
If his memory was correct…
Cerulean City should have a Rare Candy lying around!
That was an incredibly powerful item that could ignore level requirements and directly raise a Pokémon by one level.
The question was whether the machine had restored that detail into this world as well.
And finding a single item in such a massive city would be a huge time sink!
Ten minutes later.
Under Red's relentless urging, the two quickly arrived at the gates of Cerulean Gym.
As the crystal-like automatic doors slowly parted, a moist, youthful aura of water rushed straight at Red and Luffy!
Inside Cerulean Gym was nothing short of a gigantic swimming arena.
Its scale rivaled that of a small water park, yet aside from the diving platforms on both sides, there were no other recreational facilities.
Instead, floating above the water were numerous platforms made of crystal glass.
Connecting them were narrow crystal-glass walkways, wide enough for only one person to pass at a time.
As for the spectator stands that every Gym should have, they were embedded into the walls surrounding the pool.
Countless spectators were seated there, clapping and cheering—the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
And the reason for all of this…
Was that at this very moment, within the pool, there was a group of stunning older sisters dressed in refreshing bikinis, performing an elegant water ballet and showcasing their perfect figures.
"Hiss~!"
Seeing this scene, Red sharply sucked in a breath of cold air.
Watching those long legs emerge from the water—fair, smooth, and dazzling—he fiercely declared in his heart:
"Machine! Well done!!!"
(End of Chapter)