Pokémon Breeder In One Piece!

When the Poké Ball opened and a figure appeared before Izuna, he was momentarily stunned.

"Growlithe?"

Izuna stared at the Growlithe in front of him, a bit taken aback.

He was sure that this Growlithe was the very same one that had evolved into his Arcanine. From its gaze to its appearance, everything was familiar.

"Woof!"

Growlithe barked in response, as if greeting Izuna.

"It's been a long time," Izuna said with a soft smile, crouching down to rub the fluffy head of Growlithe.

Years ago, when Dak left 38 years back, he left behind two Fire Stones for them. Both Madara and Izuna used them early on to evolve their Growlithe into Arcanine.

For Izuna, seeing Growlithe again brought back memories from 36 or 37 years ago.

"So this means..."

Madara glanced at the Poké Ball in his hand and threw it to the ground.

A Hisuian Growlithe leapt out immediately, standing obediently in front of Madara.

The two brothers had different approaches to raising Pokémon, which resulted in their Pokémon displaying distinct personalities.

Izuna, being overly indulgent, raised a lively and mischievous Growlithe.

Madara, on the other hand, treated his Growlithe like a strict parent would a child, raising it to be disciplined and composed in his presence.

Madara didn't say much, only smiling faintly.

"How about it? Like the surprise I prepared?"

Dak suddenly appeared beside them, grinning.

Now, Dak had physically entered Aincrad, though under the guise of the NPC [Arceus], thanks to his GM privileges. He played the role of a traveling merchant, specializing in selling Pokémon-related items.

"Not bad. What's going on, though?" Madara asked.

"The Pokémon system in SAO only retains the first stage of every Pokémon species. That means in this game, Pokémon cannot evolve," Dak explained.

Since Pokémon were entering Aincrad with their consciousness, defeating monsters here didn't yield experience points, let alone allow them to evolve. To avoid creating a disparity between their in-game and real-world experiences, Dak had Kayaba Akihiko limit the Pokémon system in SAO to their first forms only.

So, Pokémon like Arcanine reverted to their Growlithe stage upon entering SAO.

However, since Growlithe and Arcanine's behavior weren't drastically different, this change was manageable.

"Is the weapon system ready yet?"

This was what Madara cared about the most.

In the game, players couldn't deal damage without equipping a weapon. During the beta test, Madara had struggled with the default weapons until he crafted a long-handled kunai as a blacksmith, which suited him better.

"Yes, I've added a unique passive skill called 'Fist Flow', specifically for you. This allows you to craft and equip 'glove' weapons. However, glove weapons only provide attribute bonuses without any associated weapon skills. Akihiko and I figured you wouldn't need those anyway, so we didn't bother," Dak said, pulling up a menu and handing Madara a pair of [Beginner Gloves].

Madara equipped them and opened his skill list, confirming the 'Fist Flow' passive skill, which functioned similarly to Kirito's 'Dual Blades'.

"So, what should we do now?" Izuna asked Dak.

Whenever Dak was around, he was the strategist, while Izuna and Madara preferred to leave the thinking to him.

Dak pointed to the semi-transparent red barrier in the sky and said, "Kayaba's performance inside will soon end, and the players will fall into a period of panic. During this time, you should focus on grinding monsters to widen the gap in levels and equipment. The stronger you are, the better your performance will be later."

He then turned to Madara. "When establishing your guild, make sure to avoid those who don't deserve the title of 'Trainer.'"

"I understand," Madara nodded. Even without Dak's reminder, he wouldn't tolerate anyone who didn't value their Pokémon companions.

Anyone who couldn't cherish their Pokémon today could just as easily stab you in the back tomorrow during a raid.

At this moment, the massive red barrier began to dissolve, and a cacophony erupted from the teleport plaza as 50,000 players descended into chaos.

Yes, the number of players trapped in the game during the official release was five times the original 10,000.

In the original timeline, the long gap between the beta and official release had caused interest in SAO to wane, even with frequent promotional campaigns. Additionally, the servers weren't shut down immediately during the public release but waited until most players were logged in during the evening.

This time, the beta and official release were only a month apart, coinciding with a peak moment of hype in the gaming community. At 7 PM, many players had already logged in. By 9 or 10 PM, when working adults returned home, the number of online players could have peaked at 100,000.

For Japan, a tightly paced society, this was a significant number.

Dak glanced toward the plaza and handed each brother a package before disappearing.

The two opened their packages to find items for their Pokémon:

[Waggy Grain]: Beautiful and vibrant grains loved by land-based Pokémon ×10

[Charcoal]: Fuel for burning; boosts the power of Fire-type moves by 10% ×1

[Potion]: Spray-type medicine that restores 20% HP to one Pokémon ×10

[Castella Biscuit]: Cures all status conditions of one Pokémon ×2

It wasn't much, but it was a decent starter kit for their Pokémon.

"Let's split up for now," Madara suggested, looking at Izuna.

"Alright. I'll head to the northeast corner to get the 'Forest Remedy' and claim the 'Steel Refining Sword.' You can go to the southeast corner for the 'Wolf Pack Hunt' to get the 'Wolf King Fang.'"

Izuna recalled some information from the beta test.

The former was a one-handed sword suitable for him, while the latter was a necklace that granted a rare 'Bleeding' effect on attacks.

"Let's go, Growlithe," Madara said.

Growlithe nodded and followed closely.

"Come on, Growlithe. Other beta testers probably know this too, so let's hurry," Izuna urged.

"Woof!"

Meanwhile, Kirito rushed out from the teleport plaza, heading straight for the next town.

He had to survive this death game!

The nearby wild monsters would soon be wiped out by the 50,000 players. Using his beta test knowledge, Kirito aimed to complete quests in the next town that offered good rewards.

While running, he glanced at an item in his inventory, the [Diamond Contract].

"A new addition for the official release?"

He had seen trainers and Pokémon before.

Just over a month ago, he had even played with Madara and Izuna's Pokémon.

Those creatures were so unique that Kirito often doubted whether they were AI or living, intelligent beings.

But as someone who believed in science, he quickly dismissed those thoughts.

"What's that?"

Kirito suddenly spotted something strange on the plains ahead.

Two wild creatures were fighting?!

"If wild monsters can attack each other, it'll slow down player progression!" Kirito thought, his eyes widening.

However, upon closer inspection, one creature was a yellow-named wild boar—a standard low-level monster in the starting zone.

The other resembled a purple rat with a green name: Rattata.

Green names typically indicated NPCs, not wild monsters.

"Why is there a green-named creature here?" Kirito muttered, confused.

(End of Chapter)

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