"This is impossible!!!"
Misty screamed, her face filled with shock.
"Nothing is impossible, Gym Leader Misty."
Red flashed a victor's smile.
"Your Psyduck is no longer able to battle. Please send out your second Pokémon!"
"Ugh… damn it~!"
Misty's eyes glinted with a touch of anger. She focused on Luffy, then muttered in frustration:
"You're no rookie Trainer!"
"I never said I was~"Red replied coolly, completely unashamed of his advantages. In fact, he pressed on:
"Alright, let's not waste time. Gym Leader, send out your second Pokémon!"
"You Jerk!!!" Misty snapped."Don't get too full of yourself!!!"
With that, she hurled out her second Poké Ball.
Now aware that Red and Luffy weren't ordinary, Misty stepped up to her role as a seasoned Gym Leader.
Even before her Pokémon appeared, she shouted:
"Starmie, use Psybeam!!"
"Huh!? You're going for a sneak attack too!?"
Red was caught off guard by Misty's aggressive move, but quickly recovered and shouted:
"Luffy! Use Soru! Don't let it hit you!!"
Psybeam is a Psychic-type move. Though it only has 65 power, it carries a chance to confuse the target. And if Luffy got unlucky and fell into confusion, with his loose fighting style and Devil Fruit weaknesses, the consequences could be disastrous.
Thankfully, Red reacted in time. Luffy's Observation Haki had already sensed that something was off.
Just as Red finished speaking, Luffy became a blur of shadow and instantly vanished from his original spot.
BOOM!!!
The missed Psybeam smashed into the tiled floor, sending out a strong shockwave.
The impact was so strong that it even traveled to Red's feet.
"A level 20 Pokémon can unleash this kind of power!? This is already comparable to a standard Marine Captain."
Red analyzed Starmie's battle performance, mentally mapping Pokémon levels to power rankings in the One Piece world.
Just then, Misty shouted again:
"Starmie, use Confuse Ray!"
Whether she sensed something intuitively as a Gym Leader, or it was just lucky guessing...
Misty once again commanded her Starmie to use a confusion-inducing move!
This time it wasn't just Psybeam, but Confuse Ray, which has no damage, but causes 100% confusion if it hits!
But Red, already wary, wasn't about to let her succeed twice.
"The same trick won't work twice!!!"
"Luffy! Jump into the air!!!"
"Got it!" Luffy shouted.
A faint, dark-purple glow flickered in the gem at Starmie's center before releasing a circular pulse.
Tap!
Following Red's command, Luffy leapt high into the air.
Since the Pokémon Center could heal him later, Red wasn't worried about Luffy's stamina being drained and affecting tomorrow's training.
He gave the order without hesitation:
"Use Gear Third! Go for the finishing blow!!!"
'Sorry, Miss Misty.'
'You've got skill, I'll admit that. But if I have Level 46 Luffy use Gear Third... how are you going to counter that!?'
Misty: "This isn't even fair!!!"
Staring up at the giant arm that suddenly blocked out the entire Gym's ceiling, Misty's mouth fell open.
"Wh-what kind of move is this!?"
Panic rushed through her as she cried:
"Starmie, use Protect!!!"
Protect, a Normal-type move, had the powerful effect of completely blocking an opponent's attack in the games!
But…
This was a world closer to reality. Against an overwhelming difference in strength, even the sturdiest defensive moves could crumble!
"Gear Third!"
"Gomu Gomu no… Gigant Pistol!!!"
Whoooosh!!!
A blast of intense wind pressure came crashing down, so fierce it made Misty feel like she could hardly breathe.
A faint glow appeared over Starmie's body.
Even without a face or expression, you could feel it — Starmie was clearly tense, maybe even afraid.
And then…
A godlike giant fist came crashing down!
BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!
A thunderous explosion rocked the Cerulean Gym.
Under the monstrous impact, every crystal tile shattered. The pool water surged outward like a miniature tsunami, slamming into the walls around the battlefield.
In an instant, it was like someone had used Rain Dance, the whole inside of Cerulean Gym poured like a storm.
Splashing sounds echoed everywhere.
Red stood on a piece of crystal tile he had scouted ahead of time.
Looking at the slowly vanishing battlefield and the notification of Luffy gaining experience, a satisfied smile curved on his face.
"The battle is over! The winner is Red, of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
Red mimicked the referee's pose from the anime as he announced the victory.
At the same time, his outstretched arm caught the tiny, shrunken Luffy as he fell from the sky.
"Great job, Luffy!" Red praised him without hesitation, then placed the doll-sized Luffy gently at his feet.
With the battle complete, the Gym's self-repair mechanism activated.
The broken tiles sank into the pool and were automatically replaced with brand-new ones, returning everything to its original pristine state.
Misty, no longer shaken, resumed her default NPC-style polite smile.
Stepping on the fresh tiles, Red walked up to her, instantly triggering the dialogue sequence.
"I didn't think you'd actually beat me."
"As proof of your victory, I present you with the Cascade Badge!"
"And also…"
"This is my prized TM—Scald!"
"If a compatible Pokémon learns it, they can unleash a stream of boiling water to damage their foe, with a high chance of inflicting a burn."
"Thank you very much."
Red accepted the two items politely.
The moment he did, he felt a cool, refreshing energy surge through him, invigorating every cell and organ in his body.
He knew…
The [Badge Collector] achievement reward had just activated.
And once Red returned to the One Piece world, he could use the Cascade Badge to draw a Water-type Pokémon move!
Plus the TM for Scald, and Luffy leveling up to 47…
Today's game-world trip was beyond rewarding!!!
Whoosh—
A flash of white light passed through his vision, and Red's consciousness returned to his real body.
Then, from the next room, he suddenly heard loud yelling:
"SHISHISHISHI—!!!"
Moments later, his bedroom door burst open.
Luffy stood there, raising a fist that gleamed with a dark metallic shine, and shouted excitedly:
"Red! I did it!!!"