Pokémon Breeder In One Piece!

Alliance Calendar Year 3, March 1.

SAO Survivors: 37,000

Number of Trainers: 4,600

Current Floor Cleared: 75

Compared to last month's pace, progress this month has slowed considerably, even with Izuna's participation. However, considering they were reaching the later stages of the game, this was understandable.

Now at the three-fourths mark, tension ran high among the players. This time, the main forces in the raid were the players themselves, as Pokémon would play a much smaller role in this battle.

The players had already failed once.

Failure in this case did not mean total annihilation.

Instead, due to lack of intel and inadequate preparation, their remaining resources were insufficient to sustain the battle, forcing them to use Corridor Crystals to escape the Boss room.

However, having experienced the first attempt, they had now gathered much more information about the Boss.

The Boss of Floor 75 was known as "Skeletal Hunter", a massive skeleton-like monster, standing over ten meters tall and stretching dozens of meters in length.

This Boss was an all-around powerhouse—its HP, attack, defense, and battle techniques were heavily enhanced. Even Izuna struggled to deal significant damage to it.

Yet, the true reason this Boss held its position on the 75th floor was not just its raw power. It possessed three key traits that made it a nightmare to fight.

First Trait

When its HP dropped to 10% for the first time, it wouldn't immediately enter its berserk state. Instead, it would retreat to the ceiling of the room and encase itself in a giant cocoon.

Inside this cocoon, the Boss would continuously regenerate health. If left undisturbed, it would fully heal within five minutes before descending again.

The problem?

The ceiling was 50 to 60 meters high, making it almost impossible for players to attack the cocoon.

Fortunately, Flying-type Pokémon could carry select high-damage players into the air for an assault.

Second Trait

The Boss had a passive ability similar to a reflective armor effect, bouncing back physical damage.

However, instead of retaliating against the attacker, it damaged the weapons used to strike it.

If the backlash affected the players directly, they could simply chug potions to recover. But since it affected weapon durability, it meant weapons could break mid-fight—something that couldn't be repaired inside the labyrinth.

This was the main reason why the first raid attempt failed.

From start to finish, the Boss had complete resistance to control effects.

This meant that Pokémon, who had played critical roles in previous battles—like the 50th-floor raid—by using control moves, would be rendered useless here. Their status moves would not work.

Moreover, the Boss did not stagger when parried or countered. It could immediately launch its next attack without interruption.

Even Izuna found this Boss frustrating to fight.

Against such an enemy, players could only rely on a classic RPG raid strategy:

Tanks would stay in front, holding the Boss's aggro and absorbing damage.Damage dealers would attack from the sides.Inside the Boss Room

"Heracross, Pinsir, Tauros, Ursaring, Kangaskhan—withdraw!"

"Switch to the next group!"

Shangmei, the commander of the Trainer division, called out orders. The frontline players and Pokémon were reaching their limits, forcing a rotation.

Some Pokémon had access to Rest, making them natural tanks and significantly reducing the need for healing items.

Meanwhile, on the Boss's flank—

"Health is almost at 10%! Everyone, get down!"

As the player raid commander, Ban quickly ordered the damage dealers attacking the Boss's back to retreat. If they remained on top, they risked being dragged up into the air when the Boss transitioned into its cocoon phase.

"Flying squad, are you ready?"

Izuna checked with the airborne units. The Flying-type Pokémon immediately took flight, each carrying a designated player.

Even small Pokémon like Pidgey, Spearow, and Pidove could carry players in the game. SAO only cared about stats, so as long as their Strength value was high enough, they could lift a person.

The moment the Boss's HP hit 10%, a powerful gust of wind burst outward, and it leaped upward.

The players on the ground had braced themselves and were not blown away.

Meanwhile, the airborne unit, carrying high-damage players, flew towards the cocoon, attacking before it could fully recover.

Everything was going according to plan.

SAO was, after all, a programmed game. Unlike reality, the probability of unexpected variables was much lower. As long as the plan was sound, there was little room for error—and even if mistakes happened, they usually came from the players themselves.

By the time the Boss re-emerged, its HP had only recovered to 45%.

With this, the battle was all but won.

12 minutes later, Floor 75 was cleared.

The raid took a total of 37 minutes, making it the longest SAO raid in history.

However, there was also a new record—not for casualties increasing, but for dropping to zero.

No one died.

Not a single Pokémon was lost.

The Skeletal Hunter had been incredibly powerful, but ironically, it was the most traditional RPG Boss SAO had ever seen.

Players knew exactly how to deal with such a foe. Even without commands, they instinctively understood what to do.

[75th Floor Cleared with Zero Deaths]

This headline spread throughout Aincrad, shaking the hearts of players still trapped inside.

If they could keep up this momentum, in three to four months, they could finally return to reality.

For those who had once despaired, this moment filled them with hope.

Many mid-to-low-level players sold all their weapons, gear, and items, donating all their gold to the raid groups to speed up the floor-clearing efforts.

However, not everyone felt happy about this.

...

Floor 22 - Kirito & Asuna's Home

Kirito and Asuna had officially married in SAO and even consummated their relationship. They promised that once they returned to the real world, they would be together.

But after the 75th-floor raid, Asuna seemed down. As soon as they got home, she lay face-down on the bed, silent.

Heracross stood nearby, confused. The Sprigatito kitten nudged Asuna's head, but she didn't respond.

Kirito knew what she was thinking.

Because he felt the same way.

Taking his fishing rod, he silently walked towards the lake.

Sneasel glanced at him, smirking mischievously, but didn't speak—just quietly followed.

Back in the room, Asuna turned slightly, only to be pounced on by Sprigatito.

"Meow~"

The kitten licked her face.

"Stop, Coconut, that tickles."

Coconut was the name all three trainers had given the kitten.

"Heracross, come here."

Heracross stepped closer.

"Will we... ever meet again?"

Asuna gently touched Heracross's hard shell.

When she first met Heracross, she was terrified—like most girls, she hated bugs. If not for Heracross's goofy appearance, she would've run away.

Even now, she found Coconut way cuter.

But Heracross was her partner. No Pokémon could ever replace him.

If SAO was cleared, and she lost him...

She would be devastated.

Perhaps one day, she'd become a real-world bug trainer, raising hercules beetles, reliving her memories with Heracross.

"Hera!"

Heracross hugged Asuna, smiling.

It was a firm "Yes".

But Asuna wasn't convinced. She figured he just didn't understand.

She had no idea what Heracross truly meant.

Pokémon knew what this world was.

They knew what would happen after SAO was cleared.

And 5000 Pokémon willingly entered this world for a reason.

Pokémon weren't fools, and Dak certainly didn't force them into anything.

Compared to the somewhat clueless Heracross, who at least attempted to respond, the Sneasel accompanying Kirito was a completely different story—a cunning trickster.

Heracross was too simple-minded to pick up on Asuna's concerns. He was a straightforward type, incapable of understanding a woman's heart.

But Sneasel? Sneasel was sharp.

However, he had no intention of revealing the truth to Kirito.

For one, he found it far more amusing to watch things play out this way.

For another, every Pokémon that entered this world had already made an agreement with Dak—it was classified information. They were strictly forbidden from revealing it. If they did, they would be instantly "banned."

No matter what doubts or concerns Asuna and Kirito had, their only option was to continue climbing higher.

Even if not for their own sake—to return to the real world—they would fight on for those "lost Trainers", helping them reclaim their path.

(End of Chapter)

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