Pokémon Breeder In One Piece!

August 10th, 9th Floor

Today, Asuna went out as usual with Heracross to hunt monsters and gather ingredients.

"P-Coins? What's this?"

Asuna looked curiously at a sudden panel that popped up before her and tapped it.

[Congratulations! You have received 50 P-Coins.]

[P-Coins (Pokémon Coins): Obtained by collaborating with Pokémon to defeat monsters. Can be used to pay for services at Pokémon Centers and Friendly Shops. The closer the bond between the Trainer and Pokémon, the more P-Coins earned upon defeating monsters. (Non-tradable, non-droppable, and cannot be stolen.)]

"A new currency? What are Pokémon Centers and Friendly Shops?"

Asuna furrowed her brows and pulled out one of the P-Coins.

It appeared to be an ordinary gold coin, except for a "P" inscribed on it.

"Herra?"

Heracross approached, sniffed the coin in Asuna's hand, then scrunched its face in distaste.

"Could this be a game update?"

Asuna pondered for a moment and then glanced at Heracross beside her. "Let's head back and check."

These terms were entirely new to her; they hadn't existed in the game before.

"Herra!"

Heracross skillfully grabbed Asuna and flapped its wings, taking to the skies.

By now, Asuna had grown accustomed to this method of travel.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the teleportation area and headed straight for the 12th Floor, the current highest level in the game.

Today, the major guilds were holding a pre-battle meeting on this floor to strategize for tomorrow's raid on the 12th Floor Boss.

If she wanted information about P-Coins, this was the perfect place to inquire.

Upon reaching the 12th Floor, Asuna headed straight to the temporary base of the Trainer Association.

The guild leader was likely in a meeting and unavailable to answer her questions, so asking other guild members seemed like the best option.

"Asuna, you're back!"

Asuna was immediately noticed by Celia, who was scratching her Skitty with a back scratcher.

"Celia-chan, do you know about P-Coins? Like this one."

Asuna held out a P-Coin to Celia.

[Non-tradable Item]

Celia took it, but a red panel appeared before her.

She dismissed it with a casual tap and read the item description for the P-Coin.

"So this is a P-Coin. Where did you get it, Asuna?"

Celia's eyes lit up after reading the description and asked excitedly.

"From hunting monsters on the 9th Floor. Just an ordinary small monster."

"I see. Then it doesn't seem to drop from specific monsters but works like G-Coins from hunting. No... it seems only Trainers can earn them."

Celia nodded in realization after rereading the description.

"Celia-chan, what's going on here?"

"Meow~"

Skitty suddenly jumped up, grabbed the P-Coin from Celia's hand with its mouth, and started playing with it on the ground.

"You noticed the mention of Pokémon Centers and Friendly Shops too, right?"

Celia crouched to pat Skitty's head.

The little Pokémon flicked its ears and swatted her hand away with its grassy tail-like appendage.

"Yeah."

Asuna nodded earnestly.

"Those are two new 'buildings' introduced today. They mostly seem to cater to Pokémon-related services, but I've only heard about them and haven't seen them myself yet."

Celia shared what she knew and pointed to the P-Coin Skitty was playing with. "It's said that only P-Coins can be used as payment in those buildings."

Interestingly, even the game's administrator, Dak, was puzzled by this.

Dak had originally set the Pokémon Center and Friendly Shops to accept G-Coins (Gold Coins), the currency players earned by hunting monsters.

However, once the buildings were placed, G-Coins automatically converted to P-Coins.

This wasn't a setting Dak had implemented; it appeared automatically after the buildings were added to the game.

Even Kayaba Akihiko, with his highest-level administrator privileges, was unable to modify or remove the P-Coin system.

When Akihiko suggested deploying Porygon-2 to intervene, Dak stopped him, suspecting it would be risky.

Dak conducted his own investigation and found a different description of P-Coins:

[P-Coins: A data manifestation of positive emotions between Trainers and Pokémon. The amount is determined by the depth of their bond. It holds value and can be converted into equivalent Pokémon Coins within the game's Pokémon Centers and Friendly Shops.]

Seeing this description, Dak realized P-Coins were the Pokémon currency system within SAO.

However, despite being a virtual currency, P-Coins couldn't be manipulated directly by the administrator. Dak couldn't flood players with P-Coins from the backend.

It was technically possible to cheat by enhancing the emotional bond between Trainers and their Pokémon to increase P-Coin rewards, but Dak wasn't willing to take such underhanded measures.

"Why don't we go check it out?"

Asuna, deeply interested in Pokémon-related matters, suggested visiting the Pokémon Center.

"Sure! But this floor only has a Pokémon Center. Friendly Shops appear every five floors, with the first one on the 15th Floor, which we haven't unlocked yet."

Celia nodded and followed Asuna out of the guild base.

"Celia-chan, how do you know so much?"

"That's in the announcements. Didn't you check your mail today, Asuna? There's an email about it."

"Ah, I see."

Asuna opened her system mail and found an email from the administrator, Kayaba Akihiko, which contained information about the Pokémon Center, Friendly Shops, and P-Coins—just as Celia had described.

As they walked through the town, they noticed more and more players gathering on the streets.

"So many people?"

Asuna was surprised by the crowd around them.

Many players noticed Asuna and Celia and made way for them, as both were well-known figures in SAO. Especially Asuna, whose fame rivaled the "Dual-Bladed Trainer."

"They're probably here to see the Pokémon Center. But why aren't they going in? Is it too crowded, or do they have to queue?"

Celia, carrying Skitty in her arms, looked at the players curiously.

When the two entered the Pokémon Center, their confusion only grew.

The Pokémon Center, a red-themed, angular building with a Poké Ball symbol on its exterior, had a spacious and welcoming interior, but very few players were inside.

The design was vibrant and cozy, exuding a sense of safety akin to a Safe Zone.

Behind the semicircular counter stood an NPC with pink hair named "Joy," accompanied by an egg-shaped Pokémon, Chansey.

Unlike other NPCs, Joy and Chansey were purely digital characters with no special differences.

"Wow, what a beautiful NPC! And this Pokémon is so cute!"

Celia's eyes sparkled at the sight of them.

"Yo, Asuna!"

Before Asuna could respond, a familiar voice called out.

"Lisbeth."

It was her close friend Lisbeth with her Pokémon, Hariyama. Lisbeth pointed outside. "Why aren't those people coming in?"

"Oh, it seems the Pokémon Center only allows players with the Trainer sub-class to enter. I imagine the same goes for the Friendly Shop."

"I see. That explains it."

Asuna nodded in understanding.

The exterior of the Pokémon Center was certainly eye-catching. Without restrictions, it would likely be overcrowded.

"Asuna, do you know what the Pokémon Center does?"

"No, not yet."

"Hehe, it's amazing! Look at Hariyama; its HP is down to 180, and it's exhausted from a morning of hunting monsters."

Lisbeth crouched to hug her tired Hariyama.

"Yeah, it looks worn out."

Asuna could tell Hariyama had been pushed hard during training, thanks to Lisbeth and Mr. Mime's rigorous coaching.

"Miss Joy, could you help restore Hariyama?"

"Of course! That'll be 100 P-Coins."

"Sure."

After Lisbeth paid the 100 P-Coins, Hariyama returned to its original Poké Ball, which Joy placed in a nearby machine and activated it.

A cheerful sound played, and five seconds later...

"Hariyama is fully restored!"

Joy handed the Poké Ball back to Lisbeth, and Hariyama emerged, brimming with energy.

"Hari!"

Hariyama flexed its biceps enthusiastically, full of vitality.

"Wow! So the Pokémon Center is like a hospital for restoring Pokémon, but the speed is unbelievable!"

Asuna was stunned.

(End of Chapter)

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