A Few Days Later.
In the East Blue Sea, within an unknown area, the ship of the Black Cat Pirates gradually came to a halt. Nami stood at the bow, her eyes fixed on the screen of the Rotom phone in her hand.
Two red dots blinked on the screen.
One red dot marked the center, indicating Nami's current position, while the other, not far off, was rapidly approaching them.
"Hurry! Master Leo will be here soon!" Nami exclaimed, her excitement growing as the two dots drew closer.
"The legendary Dimensional Merchant?" Sabo grinned behind her. Although all the funds he brought from headquarters had been spent by Koala to aid those in need, just meeting the legendary Dimensional Merchant was a thrill in itself for him.
At this moment, Kuro, who had already completed a transaction, and Carina, who was about to, both gazed expectantly toward the distant sea.
Soon, countless tiny bubbles rose from the calm waters.
This subtle disturbance instantly caught everyone's attention, and all eyes turned toward the bubbling spot.
A massive red Magikarp slowly surfaced from the sea.
Its two enormous eyes, as large as lanterns, stared directly at them.
"Magikarp!?" Nami instantly recognized the Pokémon.
However, according to the data, wasn't Magikarp supposed to be just a few dozen centimeters long? Could this gigantic Magikarp, towering several meters high, be the new companion of the Dimensional Merchant?
A flurry of thoughts raced through Nami's mind.
Carina and Sabo, standing beside her, looked at the enormous Magikarp in bewilderment and asked, "What is this?"
At that moment, a female voice suddenly resonated from the Magikarp's body.
"What is this!? Since you asked sincerely!"
Another male voice followed, "Then we'll answer with generosity!"
"To prevent the world's destruction!"
"To protect the world's peace!"
"To carry out the trade of love and truth!"
"With the cute and charming assistant character!"
The Magikarp's mouth slowly opened, and a staircase extended, placing itself directly onto the boat where Nami stood.
The silhouettes of the Team Rocket trio emerged, walking up the steps toward Nami.
The two of them raised their heads, looking at Nami with determined and bright eyes:
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"We are Team Rocket, traveling through the dimensional world!"
"White hole, the white tomorrow awaits us!"
"That's it, Meowth~!"
"..."
Seeing these peculiar figures suddenly appear, Nami and her group were left dumbfounded, staring at the unexpected appearance of Team Rocket.
Their expressions mirrored the puzzled look in the giant Magikarp's eyes.
But then Jessie stepped forward, eyeing the Rotom in Nami's hand with a smile:
"You must be Miss Nami, correct?"
"Hello, we're Master Leo's trading assistants. From now on, Team Rocket will be handling all transactions in the East Blue Sea!"
"Trading assistants?" Nami repeated, slightly disappointed that the expected Master Leo had not appeared.
However, she quickly adjusted her mindset, looking at the trio with hopeful eyes, and asked politely, "So, I can make trades directly with the three of you from now on, right?"
"That's correct!" James replied with a smile.
Meowth, sniffing around excitedly, couldn't hide his grin. He eagerly rubbed his hands together, saying, "Alright, let's get down to business! I can already smell the treasure!"
"Please! Let's start our deal, Miss Nami!"
*Swish!*
As Meowth waved a hand, an information interface suddenly appeared in Nami's mind.
Then, Meowth's voice echoed in her thoughts.
"Please select the items you wish to trade!"
As Nami browsed the various items displayed, she quickly grasped how to navigate the interface.
Amazed at the magic of the Dimensional Merchant, she immediately began selecting items to trade.
This time, they had accumulated about 4 billion Berries from the Hyde Kingdom.
According to their pre-arranged plan, Kuro would take 2 billion for himself.
As for the remaining 2 billion, although Carina felt somewhat embarrassed, she remembered what Nami had said about needing to trade more than 10 Berries to qualify for the Pokémon Contest.
After some thought, she decided not to hold back this time.
After all, she was with Nami now, so she didn't need to be reserved!
With that, Nami and Carina split the remaining 2 billion Berries equally.
After completing the transaction in her mind, Nami's Rotom phone immediately notified her: "Points credited."
Her personal information interface popped up:
[Nami]
[VIP Level: 2]
[VIP Experience: 2714/10000]
[Current Points: 2000]
"Two thousand points!!!"
Seeing the point balance displayed on the screen, Nami jumped up in excitement!
Although she had anticipated it, when it actually happened, she still felt overwhelmed, almost breathless with joy.
2000 points!
She was one step closer to her goal of resurrecting Bell-mère!
However...
Nami didn't plan to hoard all 2000 points.
She knew well that everything she had now came from Pikachu's power.
Additionally, now that she had attained VIP Level 2 trading authority, Nami didn't hesitate and asked:
"Excuse me... Are you Sir Meowth?"
"That's right, Meowth!"
Meowth, clearly pleased to be addressed as "Sir," folded his arms and nodded proudly.
But Nami continued:
"Sir Meowth, I want to make my Pikachu stronger. Do you have any recommendations for me to buy?"
"Pikachu!!?"
As soon as the words left Nami's mouth, Jessie and James suddenly leaned in, staring at her intently.
Nami couldn't help but sense a flicker of fear in the three trading assistants.
"W-what's wrong?" Nami asked cautiously.
"N-nothing!"
The trio shook their heads in unison.
After all the failed attempts to catch Ash's Pikachu, they had developed a phobia of Pikachus.
The trio quickly returned to normal and then pulled out their respective Rotoms to check Nami's information.
Because there were few Level 1 members, the trio hadn't noticed Nami before.
Now, upon reviewing her information again, they discovered...
A note beside Nami's name read: (Great Potential)!
The trio exchanged glances, communicating silently:
"It seems that Master Leo is quite optimistic about this girl named Nami!"
"And her resume is ordinary. She's neither a noble nor a wealthy merchant, nor a notorious pirate, yet she managed to gather 1 billion Berries in such a short time..."
With just a look, the same thought appeared in the minds of Team Rocket:
"This girl is no ordinary person!"
Meowth immediately stepped forward.
Although the trio didn't have a clear division of labor, when faced with an important client like Nami, Meowth, being the brains of the group, took the lead and smiled:
"Miss Nami, we've understood your request..."
"Based on our knowledge, we highly recommend you buy this item for your Pikachu..."
*Swish!*
With a wave of Meowth's hand, the tablet Rotom in James's hand flew out.
The screen displayed information about an item:
[Electric Ball]
[Effect: A special item exclusive to Pikachu; after equipping it, the power of Pikachu's moves is doubled, and the electric power within Pikachu's body is optimized, greatly enhancing physical fitness.]
[Price: 1000 points]
[Purchase Requirement: VIP2 or above]