One Piece: Luffy is My Pokemon

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"No one seems to be home?"

Pushing open the old castle door, Luffy curiously poked his head inside and made a puzzled sound as he observed the deserted, empty interior.

"Maybe they went down the mountain to treat patients?" 

"Let's go in. It's freezing outside!" Red pushed open another door forcefully, then waved to Smoker and Robin behind him. He showed no sense of hesitation about entering someone else's home.

Led by Red, the group wandered left and right until they found a small tearoom where they settled in without ceremony.

Time passed slowly.

In the blink of an eye, night had fallen over Drum Kingdom.

The bright full moon cast a cold light, giving the pristine white snow a pinkish glow.

A sleigh loaded with large and small bags landed on the pure white snow under the moonlight, as if it had emerged from a fairy tale. The runners of the sleigh carved two straight lines across the ground.

Chopper, who had returned to his normal form, removed his harness, then instinctively glanced toward the castle.

"Huh?! Doctorine, it seems someone is in the castle!" Chopper suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Dr. Kureha, dismounting from the sleigh, was also slightly taken aback. She removed her sunglasses and looked confusedly toward the castle's summit.

In the desolate castle that should have been empty, several lights were now glowing. Occasionally, they could see figures moving past the windows, accompanied by bursts of laughter.

"What impolite visitors!" Dr. Kureha remarked, tucking her sunglasses into her collar. "Breaking into someone's home when they're not around." She smiled gently at the shadows visible through the castle windows.

Chopper beside her immediately displayed a nervous expression. "Is it... thieves?"

"Who cares~" Kureha waved her hand dismissively, then grinned and strode forward.

"Wait... wait for me, Doctorine!" Seeing this, Chopper's face suddenly showed a hint of panic, and he quickly chased after her on his short legs.

Meanwhile, inside the castle.

Beside a burning stove, Luffy—the only one among the Straw Hat Pirates who hadn't noticed anything amiss—was enthusiastically explaining the wonders of the Pokémon world to Robin.

"Hey, Robin, did you know?! In the Pokémon world, there's this magical candy. If you eat it, you can immediately gain incredible power! But because that candy is super rare, and Red always talks about weird stuff like cost-effectiveness, I'm the only one who's gotten to eat it so far~!"

"Oh?! That's truly fascinating!" The mature Robin crossed her slender legs and gently rested one hand against her cheek. After hearing Luffy's explanation, she immediately made an impressed sound to show her interest.

It was hard to tell whether she was genuinely listening or merely pretending to be engaged.

In stark contrast to Robin's composure, Smoker was pretending to make tea nearby, but his ears were eagerly straining to catch every word as Luffy described... the Pokémon world!

"Fake! It must be fake!" Smoker thought to himself. "How could such a magical place exist in this world?! That's right! What Pokémon world? It's just a fantasy dreamed up by these pirates! If it really exists, why have I never heard of it?! If it really exists, why haven't I seen it until now?!"

Smoker's eyes were vacant. Under Red's bemused gaze, he poured boiling water into an already full teacup, allowing it to overflow and spill to the floor without noticing.

"Um... Captain Smoker..." Red spoke up, gently reminding him: "Would you consider pouring a cup for me too?!"

"Huh?!" Smoker was startled, and his hand tilted sharply.

In an instant, the scalding water ran directly down his trouser leg, causing him to jump up with a start.

"Careful!" Red moved swiftly, accurately catching the teapot that Smoker had inadvertently tossed, then began pouring tea into his own cup.

But before he was halfway done, the pot was already empty.

"Alas~ What a waste of water!" Red murmured softly.

At that moment, a sound like a heavy object falling suddenly echoed through the room.

The door was pushed open.

Dr. Kureha, dressed in casual attire, strode in with an opened bottle of whiskey in her hand.

"Well, well, you youngsters seem to be having quite a party here!"

"Huh?!"

The sudden interruption instantly drew everyone's attention.

Upon seeing Kureha, a gleam of recognition flashed in Red's eyes, and he quickly glanced toward the doorway.

There... he spotted a small, furry figure who had half-hidden his head behind the door while leaving his body fully exposed. The little reindeer wore an expression that mixed curiosity with fear, his eyes fixed on the intruders.

"Hey, old lady, who are you?" Luffy, characteristically bold, stood up and addressed the newcomer.

WHAM!!!

A lightning-fast flying kick suddenly flashed through the air, sending the unprepared Luffy flying across the room and smashing into the wall.

Immediately afterward, Kureha planted her foot on the chair where Luffy had been sitting and swept her stern gaze over Red, Robin, and Smoker.

"So, you're here to steal my secret recipe for eternal youth?!"

"If such a thing exists..." Red's lips curved into a slight smile, "Please make sure to teach it to me!"

"Hahahaha, that kind of thing won't be easily passed on to pirates like you!" Kureha retorted, revealing in one sentence that she had already identified them.

Obviously, she had recognized Luffy as the notorious pirate with a recently issued bounty of 180 million berries on the Grand Line!

Although pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million weren't uncommon in the first half of the Grand Line, those individuals typically accumulated their bounties through one atrocity after another!

For someone like Luffy to receive such a high bounty immediately upon entering the Grand Line... while not unprecedented, it was certainly rare. Each such individual was typically a figure destined to shape an era!

THUD!

At that moment, Luffy, who had been kicked against the wall by Kureha, finally dropped to the floor.

He stood up, rubbing his forehead in pain.

"Owww~ That hurt! Why did you suddenly attack me?!"

Luffy, genuinely confused, questioned Kureha without hesitation.

Facing this infamous pirate, Kureha showed no fear whatsoever, but instead glared at Luffy with fiery eyes.

"Why?! You break into my castle uninvited, and you have the audacity to ask me why?!"

For a moment, she locked eyes with Luffy, the two of them like competing spirits, each attempting to assert dominance.

But in the next second, Luffy's intensity suddenly dissipated.

He slapped his palm against his forehead.

"Oh! So this is your castle! I'm so sorry!" Luffy suddenly bowed to Kureha in apology, and his rapid change in attitude stunned everyone present.

Kureha's lips curled upward, revealing a roguish smile.

"Interesting kid!"

As she spoke, she hooked one foot behind her to pull up a chair, then sat down. Her legs, as slender as bamboo poles, crossed elegantly as she leaned back.

"I forgive you! You lot don't look like thieves. Tell me, why did you break into our castle?"

"You're such a nice person, shishishi~!" Luffy first awarded Kureha his "good person" approval, then stepped closer to her and smiled:

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm looking for nakama to adventure with me so I can become the Pirate King! I heard there's an interesting person here who can understand animals, so we came to invite them to join our crew!"

"Hmm?!"

Kureha, who had been smiling, frowned slightly when she heard this.

Chopper, hiding by the doorway, also showed a confused expression as thousands of thoughts raced through his mind:

'A person who can understand animals talking?'

'Who?!'

'Do we have someone like that here?'

'Wait... aren't there only Doctorine and me here?'

'Doctorine is human, so she can't understand animals talking...'

'So the person they're talking about is... me?!'

"EEEK!!!"

Chopper, who was "hiding," suddenly jumped up, then backed away repeatedly until he hit the cold castle wall.

Meanwhile, Kureha asked with confusion:

"Where did you get this information?!"

Since Chopper's adoptive father, Dr. Hiluluk, had passed away, Chopper had been living with her. Even when he went down the mountain to treat villagers, Chopper always disguised himself as a regular reindeer to avoid causing panic...

So it should have been impossible for anyone in Drum Kingdom to know about Chopper's abilities.

Kureha looked up to see Luffy's arm suddenly stretch out and rest on Red's shoulder.

Luffy laughed and said, "Where else would I get it?! Of course I heard it from my vice-captain Red! As the vice-captain I personally selected, Red's information is never wrong!"

Luffy was unclear whether he was praising Red or himself as he laughed.

Red smiled cooperatively.

"Dr. Kureha, I understand you may have many questions. But we truly came here today to invite Chopper to sail with us as pirates. As for the questions in your mind, I think we can sit down and discuss them calmly, don't you agree?"

Red smiled politely, gesturing toward the hot tea in front of him as he invited Kureha to join them.

"Invite... invite me to be a pirate?!" Chopper, eavesdropping, was stunned.

"..."

Kureha fell silent after hearing this.

She had initially been intrigued when she heard the "D." in Luffy's name, but now her mind was completely preoccupied with Chopper's situation.

After a moment, she glanced at the hot tea before her, but instead raised the whiskey bottle in her hand and took a direct swig.

"Hiss~Ahh!"

Kureha let out a refreshed sigh, then focused her sharp eyes on Red and Luffy once more.

She pressed further: "So... where exactly did you get this information from?!"

"From the future," Red answered casually, causing Robin and Smoker, who were unaware of the context, to glance at him quizzically.

"The future?" Kureha scoffed. "Tsk~ That kind of answer won't satisfy me!"

"But I'm telling the truth," Red replied with a confident smile as he pushed the teacup in front of him toward Kureha again.

"Dr. Kureha, I know you can't easily entrust Chopper to strangers like us... That's fine. Although time is limited, we're willing to stay here for a few days for Chopper's sake. Trust me~ Give me some time, and I'll definitely show you... what a miracle from a pirate truly is! What do you think, Chopper?"

"EEEEP!"

Seeing Red's sudden gaze in his direction, Chopper immediately trembled all over. His legs remained frozen in place, only the support of the wall keeping him upright.

"Ah? Is that Chopper?!" Luffy, Smoker, and the others also turned to look.

Upon seeing Chopper's large antlers, Luffy's eyes lit up instantly:

"A reindeer!!! It's a reindeer!!! Wow, shishishi~ It's so cool to see a reindeer walking on two legs!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy spread his arms wide and charged toward Chopper.

"You, you, you... don't come over here!!!"

Chopper was terrified. After shouting his warning, he quickly scampered away on his short legs.

Man and reindeer immediately began racing wildly through the empty castle.

One was so frightened that tears streamed from his eyes, while the other laughed jubilantly.

Seeing this scene, Red immediately gestured toward them and said to Kureha:

"Look! Chopper and our captain are having so much fun!"

"..."

Kureha thought to herself: Are you sure that's what's happening?

But...

Perhaps influenced by Red's confident demeanor, or perhaps because of the significance of the name "D" that Luffy carried, she ultimately didn't reject Red outright. Instead, she smirked:

"Let the little guy decide his own affairs. I don't want to interfere! If you want to stay here, stay here. There are plenty of empty rooms anyway. As for me... it's time for bed now!"

Dr. Kureha suddenly stood up and stretched, showing off her slender waist and figure that belied her true age. If she had been a hundred years younger, she might have been among the world's greatest beauties~

With those words, Kureha waved casually to Red and the others, then walked out of the room with characteristic swagger.

In an instant!

Only three people remained in the room: Red, Robin, and Smoker.

"Another Devil Fruit user?" Smoker, standing near the windowsill, bit down on his cigar and muttered as if talking to himself.

Watching the Straw Hat crew grow ever stronger, he, a Marine, felt inexplicably irritated, though he would have found it difficult to articulate exactly why...

Robin, standing nearby, also fixed her gaze on Red.

"Can you really see the future?"

After sailing with the Straw Hat Pirates for several days, Robin had become fairly familiar with Red's personality.

She had never outright doubted him, but she had never fully believed him either.

Just as she had never become one of Red's Pokémon.

It wasn't that Robin didn't believe Red possessed such an ability.

It was simply that she... didn't want to become too involved with anyone but herself.

From that fateful day onward, her world had contained only herself...