"Impressive."
"I thought it was just going to be a playful spar, but it's surprisingly intense."
"Exactly, I have to consider whether there's any hidden meaning behind each of their commands."
"The people from the maritime world have a deeper understanding of their skills than we do, which is why we can't react as quickly."
"This battle is on par with a fight between jōnin."
"No, why are these Pokémon's physical abilities so absurd?"
As the battle concluded, the ninja from Konoha found their perceptions being refreshed over and over.
The first shock was seeing the giant Saul.
If someone that massive mastered ninjutsu, they could become a battlefield weapon comparable to a tailed beast. Especially considering the way people from that other world honed their bodies, it seemed even more likely.
Then there were the two Pokémon from the giants: Snorlax and Kangaskhan.
Their sizes were at least double the average height listed in the Pokédex, and their physiques were so powerful that they would have been rare summoning beasts in the ninja world.
Yet, despite their overwhelming strength, these two Pokémon were defeated by what appeared to be much weaker opponents.
It was clear that there was still much to learn about Pokémon battles.
Pokémon battles were far more exciting and blood-pumping than the ninja initially imagined.
"Froakie!"
After a week of training, Froakie was bouncing with excitement after watching the match.
"Are you interested in this?"
Kakashi could see Froakie's high spirits.
"Froakie!" 'Wants to battle.'
Froakie nodded.
"Let's wait a bit. Once the situation in the ninja world stabilizes, we'll become Trainers."
Kakashi smiled, gently patting Froakie on the head.
He hadn't had much he wanted to do in the past—perhaps reading his little novels was one thing.
But now, he had a goal.
He wanted to let Froakie live a happy life, proud to have him as a Trainer. So, after the current issues in the ninja world were resolved, Kakashi planned to quit being a ninja and become a Pokémon Trainer.
The battle tournament continued.
Many had thought that a year wouldn't be enough to produce skilled Trainers, but reality far exceeded everyone's expectations.
Nearly every battle was spectacular.
Although the levels of these Pokémon might not be high, their teamwork, reactions, and their Trainers' commands were exceptional.
The eight strict Gym Leaders had clearly set a high standard.
Any Trainer who had collected eight badges and reached this stage was no longer a novice or even an advanced Trainer—every one of them was an expert.
There were also some interesting moments during the day's battles.
In a double battle in Group D, one participant sent out a Donphan.
If it were just an ordinary Ground-type Donphan, that wouldn't be anything special.
But this was a Ground/Flying-type Donphan.
How?
This Donphan had eaten a Float-Float Fruit, gaining the ability to float in the air. Paired with a Pidgeot's Tailwind, it could fly as fast as some Flying-type Pokémon.
When Dak saw this, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
It seemed that certain Ground-type Legendary Pokémon might be able to shake off their shame.
The ninja from Konoha were even more shocked when they saw this. After asking around, they learned that the maritime world had something as miraculous as Devil Fruits.
At the same time...
"They actually fed a Devil Fruit to a Pokémon?"
"Unbelievable."
"I'm so jealous—I wish I could become a Pokémon."
The act of giving a valuable Devil Fruit to a Pokémon drew some criticism from the ninjas.
In their world, where war was always looming, every mission carried great risk, and ordinary people had difficulty increasing their strength. Naturally, something as precious as a Devil Fruit would be best eaten by the ninja themselves, greatly increasing their survival rate.
This didn't mean the ninja didn't value their Pokémon or summoning beasts.
However, when their Pokémon or summoning beasts faced danger, they could easily reverse the summoning jutsu to instantly remove them from the battlefield, ensuring their safety. The ninja, on the other hand, had no such escape, so they had to focus on enhancing their own abilities.
"This is a difference in mindset and environment," Asuma commented. "Their world is in a peaceful Pokémon era. Pokémon are strong enough to participate in all kinds of activities, so wealth, status, and fame follow, and they rarely have to worry about their own safety."
Asuma had a different perspective, likely influenced by his years away from Konoha as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. "So, investing in your Pokémon is the smartest thing to do. Eating a Devil Fruit yourself is useful but may limit your future potential."
"If these people want to live on Pokémon Island, then Devil Fruits will be useless to them."
Kakashi had spent a week at Vegapunk's research lab.
Besides helping Froakie grow, he had learned much about Pokémon Island from the patrolling Marines.
Devil Fruits were only useful to humans in the maritime world.
On Pokémon Island, eating one was equivalent to wasting it, and it could even make you feel sick.
The day passed quickly, and soon it was time for the final match of the afternoon.
The Konoha ninjas wished they could use Shadow Clone Jutsu to watch matches at all four arenas simultaneously.
When the matches in arenas A, B, and C concluded, the match in Arena D was still ongoing.
This piqued the curiosity of the departing spectators, who quickly flocked to Arena D, packing it full.
The two Trainers in this match were quite interesting.
One was a girl from a hundred years in the future: Uzumaki D. Charlotte
The other was Sabo, from the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue.
There was a connection between Charlotte and Sabo.
Charlotte had the bloodline of both the Hyuga and Portgas families. The Hyuga part was significant, but Portgas was even more so.
In other words, Charlotte was a descendant of Ace, and Sabo was Ace's brother, creating a subtle link between them.
Yet, these two were pitted against each other on the first day of the tournament.
Charlotte's team consisted of Charizard and Magmortar.
Sabo's team consisted of Typhlosion and Infernape.
It was a fire-type showdown.
Charizard had an additional Flying type, while Infernape had Fighting.
The Flying type seemed to be a tradition from Charlotte's paternal side, as Naruto's line had always been close to wind-style techniques, which had an affinity for Flying types.
As for fire-types, that was a Garp family tradition, while Fighting types were rooted in both the Monkey family and the Hyuga clan.
"Go, Sabo! Knock that girl down!"
In the stands, Ace, unaware of Charlotte's identity, was cheering loudly for Sabo.
Next to him, Luffy, Blaziken, Hinata, and the rest of the Garp family were waving flags and shouting encouragement.
This was truly a "battle of righteousness."
At this point, the battle had reached its most heated stage, with each side down to their final Pokémon.
Both Pokémon were evenly matched in terms of health.
Although Sabo's Pokémon had the level advantage, Charlotte, being a girl from a hundred years in the future, had watched countless battles and had plenty of strategies for Pokémon battles, closing the level gap.
Why was Sabo's level higher?
Because Charlotte had just started her journey this year and hadn't been training her Pokémon as long as Sabo.
Sabo had focused solely on raising his Typhlosion at the Pokémon Academy.
Meanwhile, Charlotte had been training six Pokémon.
Infernape had been training in the mountains on its own.
"Magmortar, Mach Punch!"
"Infernape, Mach Punch!"
Charlotte and Sabo ordered their Pokémon simultaneously, and the two red blurs rushed at each other with a punch.
"…"
From the beginning of the battle, Infernape and Magmortar had felt a sense of familiarity with each other, but they didn't know where it came from.
They didn't have time to think during the battle and could only focus on the fight.
They didn't know each other's identities, and for some reason, they might never meet again.
However, one point needed to be made: Magmortar could not naturally learn Mach Punch, a Fighting-type move.
The only way for Magmortar to learn such a move was through egg move.
And the only Pokémon that could pass down this move to Magmortar was Infernape's evolutionary line...
Boom!
The sound of a punch echoed, but only once.
This meant only one punch had landed.
"Grrrr…"
'You still have more to learn.'
Infernape grinned, baring its sharp teeth as it spoke to Magmortar.
Boom.
Dust kicked up as Magmortar's massive body collapsed to the ground.
Infernape was the last Pokémon standing.
"The winner is Sabo from the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue!"
The referee announced the result.
Sabo's first match ended in a hard-earned victory.
"I lost the first match…"
On the other side, Charlotte was in disbelief.
She had come to the first Pokémon Battle Tournament expecting to dominate, but it was far more difficult than she imagined!
(End of Chapter)
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