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"Um, little girl, what are you looking at?"
Dak observed Perona floating nearby, his curiosity piqued. He initially thought Perona was watching him, but that didn't seem to be the case.
The pink-haired girl's gaze had been fixed on Dak's shadow the whole time.
Could she sense Darkrai's presence?
"Aren't you surprised to see Perona flying?"
Perona was brought back to reality by Dak's question, shifting her gaze to Dak's face.
The Perona before him was quite different from the princess-dressed, somewhat haughty girl he remembered from his impressions.
There were several noticeable differences: she wasn't holding a delicate pink parasol, nor was she wearing a gothic dress, but rather a tattered cloth garment, and her once meticulously cared for pink hair seemed rough and unkempt.
It seemed her life hadn't been very easy.
"Why should I be surprised? I can do it too."
Dak curved his lips into a smile and levitated himself using his psychic powers.
Perona's mouth dropped open in surprise, a gleam of fascination appearing in her dark pupils, "Did you eat a weird fruit too? Everyone says Perona has turned into a cursed monster."
"What nonsense, that's called a Devil Fruit, and it gives us powers."
Dak frowned, feeling that Perona's script was eerily familiar.
Wasn't this the same story as Robin's from her childhood, where she was bullied by the unenlightened children in her village for eating the Flower-Flower Fruit?
And, just like Robin, Perona was also from the West Blue.
Speaking of which, how was Perona's 'Negative Hollow' developed? Did it have something to do with her childhood experiences?
Perona was a character in the original story who didn't have much screen time but gained a high level of popularity due to her unique look and personality. However, there was almost no backstory provided about her past in the original narrative.
"Devil Fruit... have we become demons?"
"That name doesn't matter. It's how we use the power that counts. If you use it for good, you might as well call it an Angel Fruit."
Perona looked puzzled, "Perona hasn't done anything bad."
"Then you're a good kid, and what you ate was an Angel Fruit."
Dak watched Perona's innocent demeanor and couldn't help but tease her a bit.
In the world of pirates, it was rare to find a 14-year-old girl as naïve as Perona. He guessed that she probably hadn't left this place much and hadn't seen much of the world outside.
As for the name 'Devil Fruit'...
Does it really matter?
If Dak wished, he could rename these fruits in the next era—Angel Fruit, Pokémon Fruit, whatever. Whatever the strongest and most dominant organization decided would be accepted by others.
Just as the World Government labeled a nine-year-old girl as a greatly evil 'Child of the Devil,' and the ignorant masses believed it.
Just as the World Government declared the Celestial Dragons as the supreme nobles of the world, and many treated them reverently.
Ultimately, in any world, power dictates who gets to speak the truth. Those who are behind get beaten.
"Big brother."
Perona's mood seemed to lift, and she began to circle Dak, her eyes showing a spark of interest.
"Hmm?"
"Your shadow is strange; it just ate Perona's ghost."
Perona pointed at Dak's shadow under his feet.
"Ah?"
Dak then realized.
So, the reason Perona had been staring at his shadow wasn't because she had discovered Darkrai, but because Darkrai had 'eaten' the ghosts that came near.
Perona's Devil Fruit was the Ghost-Ghost Fruit, which allowed her to release ghosts with special effects.
The exact effect of these ghosts depended on how they were developed; Perona's original 'Negative Hollow' was already bizarre enough. If she could develop something like 'Chaotic Ghost,' 'Rebellious Ghost,' or 'Lazy Ghost,' it could be even more terrifying.
"Dak."
Darkrai couldn't help but pop his head out, making a pitiful sound, while spitting out two little gray ghosts.
It was clear that these two ghosts had run into Dak's shadow on their own accord; he hadn't done anything.
The two little ghosts, after being thrown out, still stubbornly tried to cling to Darkrai.
"What is this?! Big brother, do you also have a ghost?"
Perona was astonished to see Darkrai.
She found Dak's big ghost far more frightening than her own little ones, almost not even in the same league.
"No, no, this is Darkrai, a Pokémon, my partner, not a ghost."
Dak waved his hand, quickly putting a stop to Perona's wild imagination.
He also glanced at the two gray ghosts that were still clinging to Darkrai, pondering.
Why did the little ghosts like Darkrai so much? Was it the 'evil' energy or the unique 'nightmare' aura of Darkrai that they were drawn to?
"Pokémon?"
"Yes, a very cute creature. Would you like to visit my house? I have a little guy called Eevee there; very cute and can do backflips."
"Can I?"
Perona seemed shy as she tugged at her faded clothes.
"If you'd like to come, you're welcome."
Dak grinned and reached out his hand to Perona.
"Okay."
Perona nodded and placed her slender hand in Dak's, like a princess accepting a knight's pledge.
Dak wasted no time, opening a door in mid-air and pulling Perona through with him.
Just as they entered...
Dak was suddenly restrained by a bunch of hands.
"Dak, kidnapping young girls is a crime."
"It's not, why would I be lectured by a wanted criminal?! And do I look like someone who would kidnap young girls?!"
Dak found himself immobilized by numerous arms, unable to move as he lay on the ground.
He could have used brute force or his psychic powers to free himself, but he didn't want to hurt Robin, and from her emotional cues, he could tell she was joking.
"But, Dak, didn't you already do it?"
Robin pointed at Perona, who was now on the ground, her smile barely contained.
The pink-haired girl seemed puzzled by her sudden inability to fly.
"It's not like that! Perona wanted to come with me, right?"
Dak would never admit to such an accusation, especially not with Perona being only 14.
"Yes, Perona wanted to come and see the Pokémon."
Thankfully, Perona wasn't the type to joke around and didn't make things difficult for Dak at this crucial moment.
After arriving at the clean and tidy Hatchery House, Perona seemed a bit restrained, her bare feet hesitating on the grass, and her hands lowered the torn umbrella to try to cover her unsightly clothes.
"Are you a new friend of the Hatchery House?"
Sugar, having heard a stranger's voice, came running out of the house and lit up upon seeing Perona, who was about her size.
Although life at the Hatchery House was good, with adoring older siblings, she longed for a playmate her age.
"The Hatchery House?"
Perona tilted her head, unfamiliar with the place.
"This is the Hatchery House, where we rise Pokémon. What do you think, Perona, would you like to stay here?"
Robin had withdrawn her Flower-Flower Fruit powers, and Dak stood up, looking at Perona beside him.
"Stay here?"
Perona seemed confused about what Dak meant.
"That means this could be your home now if you'd like to stay."
Dak clarified his offer.
"Everyone here came from different places to become friends."
Sugar seemed eager to keep this new 'sister,' bouncing around and tossing aside the umbrella Perona was holding, then tightly grabbing her hand.
"Ooh."
Perona, encountering such forwardness for the first time, looked perplexed at her umbrella lying on the grass and the girl holding her hand.
This was a first for her.
In her memory, boys who interacted with her always dirtied her clothes and pulled her pigtails, which she hated.
Since she had eaten the strange fruit, those boys, seeing her able to float, had stopped bothering her.
"Come on, let's show you an Eevee doing a backflip."
Seeing Perona's troubled look, Dak led the two girls towards Pokémon Island.
When Perona set foot on Pokémon Island and saw the vast grassland and the small animals running towards her, her eyes lit up with a brilliance she had never shown before.
"It's so beautiful."
Perona admired the world before her.
She loved the openness of the place, where she could feel truly free and unconcerned about others' opinions.
Dak was busy convincing his younger brother Eevee to perform a backflip, promising him a chicken leg afterward to take to his sister Eevee as a token of affection.
As soon as he heard about the reward, little Eevee perked up, performing eighteen consecutive backflips in front of Perona, making himself dizzy and his eyes spin.
"Purin-purin-purin."
Perona couldn't help but laugh at the sight of little Eevee's final goofy look.
Seeing Perona's happy face, Dak knew this young girl would likely choose to stay at the Hatchery House.
As for Perona's future role, Dak hadn't decided yet. Not because she lacked strong skills, but because she had so many that Dak wasn't sure where to place her.
The Ghost-Ghost Fruit's abilities were very whimsical; who knows, maybe a 'Healing Ghost' for the Fairy Center or a 'Surveillance Ghost' for the Inspection Squad could be developed.
No rush, though. Perona had just joined the Hatchery House, so there was time to see which areas interested her.
But, speaking of which...
Was Perona's laugh always this quirky?
(End of chapter)