The next several days settled into an almost disciplined routine. Every morning began with the familiar blue screen shimmering into existence the moment he woke, followed by the daily roulette. Most of the rewards remained practical rather than exciting. Inferior Poké Blocks, Normal Poké Blocks, another Heal Potion, and even a Full Heal card gradually accumulated inside his Card Storage.
At first I had been disappointed by the lack of new Pokémon, but I eventually realized that having reliable food and medicine in a world as dangerous as One Piece was probably worth far more than chasing rare rewards.
Survival came before ambition.
Not every reward was an item, however. On the fourth morning, the roulette stopped on a crimson card decorated with swirling flames. As soon as I touched it, the system displayed its details.
Move Card: Ember.
He stared at it for several long seconds before looking down at my yellow fur.
"PIka" (...Right. Last time I checked, Pikachu wasn't secretly a Charmander.)
With no way to use it, I carefully stored the card away, hoping that someday another Pokémon would make proper use of it.
The following days continued much the same. My hunting became more efficient, and I slowly expanded the safe area as I was willing to explore around my sleeping spots. The forest had become less frightening than before, but it never stopped being dangerous.
A few mornings later, the roulette surprised me once again. This time the glowing card depicted swirling purple energy surrounding a pair of narrowed eyes.
Move Card: Confusion.
"Pika" (Really? First a Fire-type move, and now a Psychic one? Are you trying to build an entire moveset for Pokémon I don't even have?)
Those unusable Move Cards proved something important. The system wasn't limited to supporting Pikachu alone. Somewhere in the future, I would almost certainly obtain other Pokémon, each capable of learning different techniques.
Several more days passed in much the same manner. My mornings always began with the roulette before I set out to hunt, train, and cautiously expand the territory I was familiar with. The forest slowly transformed from an endless maze into something resembling a map inside my head.
I memorized the locations of berry bushes, streams with clean water, and hollow trees suitable for sleeping. More importantly, I also remembered the places where Pikachu's instincts screamed at me to never venture near. There were creatures roaming this forest that I had absolutely no intention of meeting until I became far stronger.
My experience points continued to increase at a steady pace as insects gradually gave way to larger prey whenever opportunities presented themselves. Wild rabbits, oversized birds, and the occasional aggressive forest animal provided far more experience than the tiny bugs I had started with. Even then, I never sought out fights unnecessarily.
My exploration eventually carried me deeper into unfamiliar sections of the forest than ever before. The towering trees grew even older here, their enormous branches weaving together to form a natural canopy that allowed only scattered rays of sunlight to reach the ground. It was while following a trail of edible berries that I noticed something utterly out of place.
High among the branches stood a wooden platform connected to a surprisingly sturdy treehouse, complete with rope supports and a lookout point overlooking the surrounding forest.
I froze.
"...Pika?"
My tiny paws carried me closer almost on instinct. The craftsmanship wasn't sophisticated enough to belong to professional carpenters. The wooden planks, the rope bridge and the position overlooking the forest. I had seen it before—not in person, but through a television screen years ago.
The treehouse.
Ace.
Sabo.
Luffy.
Until now, some stubborn part of me had continued clinging to the ridiculous hope that everything was simply an impossible coincidence. Maybe there was another place with those names. Maybe fate was playing some elaborate joke on me. But this... this erased every last shred of doubt. There was only one treehouse like this.
I was truly inside the world of One Piece.
After the initial shock faded, another thought quietly surfaced in my mind. If this was the treehouse, then someone from the Dadan family would almost certainly come here sooner or later.
I carefully searched the surrounding area to make sure nobody was nearby before climbing inside, also making sure there were no traps because I wasn't sure what time period I was in. Maybe it was after Luffy had already left.
It was a bit dusty but surprisingly intact, offering shelter, concealment, and an excellent view of the forest below. For the first time since arriving in this world, I felt as though I had found something resembling a home.
My plan became simple. I would make this my base, continue growing stronger, and patiently wait. Eventually, someone from the Dadan family might come, and when they did, I would secretly follow them back to Foosha Village. Only then would I decide what kind of future I wanted to build in this strange new world.
The following seven days passed with a sense of purpose I hadn't felt since arriving in this world. Instead of wandering aimlessly through the forest, I now had a destination to return to every evening.
The treehouse became my base of operations. Every morning I climbed down before sunrise, completed the daily roulette, and spent the rest of the day hunting, training, and slowly pushing the boundaries of my territory before returning well before nightfall.
Pikachu steadily grew stronger alongside me. Quick Attack felt almost second nature now, while Thunder Shock and Electro Ball consumed less stamina than before as I learned exactly how much electricity to output instead of wasting it.
Current Form: Pikachu
Level: 20
"...Pika."
A grin spread across my tiny face. It wasn't an impressive number compared to the monsters that existed in the One Piece world, but compared to the terrified Level Fifteen Pikachu who had been hiding beneath tree roots only a couple of weeks ago, it was a massive improvement.
The next morning began no differently than the others. I lazily stretched inside the treehouse before calling up the familiar roulette, expecting another Poké Block or perhaps yet another utility item. The glowing cards spun around at tremendous speed before gradually slowing one by one.
Then they stopped.
Instead of an item, a single emerald-green card floated gently before me.
"...Another Pokémon?"
Pokémon Card
Name: Yanma
Level: 6
Ability: Speed Boost
Moves: Tackle, Quick Attack, Whirlwind
For several long seconds, I simply stared at the card before looking back toward the forest stretching endlessly beneath the treehouse.
"...A flying type."
Relief washed over me far stronger than I had expected. Until now, part of me had quietly feared that Pikachu might be my only partner forever. Seeing another Pokémon card erased that worry completely. The system, as I have started calling it, truly intended to build a collection.
Without wasting another moment, I pressed the card against my arm, as now I was in human form. Golden particles dissolved into my body once again. The transformation felt completely different from Pikachu's.
My body became lighter instead of sturdier. Four transparent wings unfolded from my back with a faint buzzing sound while my limbs became thin and streamlined. The most shocking change, however, wasn't physical strength.
It was my eyes. The world exploded outward.
"...Yan..."
I instinctively turned my head. Nothing changed. I was already looking there. It took several seconds before my human perspective started to process what I was witnessing while my brain was fine with it. But eyes were just one of the perks I was looking forward to.
It was the flying I was all excited about. My wings buzzed and the world dropped below slowly. Flying would be the word here, it was like hovering.
A single thought sent me darting sideways, then backward, before stopping almost instantly in midair. I accelerated forward again, weaving effortlessly between branches with a precision that would have terrified my human self. The longer I remained airborne, the lighter my body seemed to become as Speed Boost quietly pushed my flight faster and faster.
This ability theoretically could actually push me to light speed but I would rather not try. Physics was still a thing here, or was it? Only time would tell.
But one thing I came to realize was that Pikachu was kind of special because it gave me so many moves and now that I got Yanma, I realized that the moves were just like in the games while the first Pokémon, a.k.a. Pikachu was different multiple moves.
Maybe it was because that was my initial Pokémon and thus got the leeway, but regardless I was happy with what I got. I couldn't be too greedy. But it wasn't exactly all sunshine and roses.
In order to change from one Pokemon to another, I would need to be human and then use the cards, so I can't shift between Pokémon within a second, though the transformation wasn't very slow, but it wasn't instantaneous either.