The wind howled, and the clouds raced across the sky...
In the blink of an eye, the day stretched on slowly.
Yet, in the once silent desert, it felt as though the New Year had arrived, with the constant rumbling sounds echoing through the air.
The noise was overwhelming, as if countless construction teams surrounded a building from all sides.
Under the scorching sun, a grand structure—so magnificent it could astound the world and invoke fear in the gods—had taken root in this desolate desert.
The base of the enormous tower sank heavily into the dust, while the wind and sand left their marks on the walls, telling tales of time.
Its towering spire pierced the sky, resembling a pillar of heaven, subduing the winds and clouds from all directions.
The Pokémon Center of Alabasta was now fully constructed!
Warm sunlight filtered through the pyramid's body, casting a radiant glow that lingered around it.
From a distance, it appeared like the dwelling of the gods—everything about it seemed magical.
"Finally... it's done!"
Leo habitually dusted off his hands, though they were spotless, and laughed with a sense of accomplishment.
Though he had envisioned the framework in his mind, the actual execution presented countless unexpected challenges.
Leo spent an extraordinary amount of time and energy on design and renovation—far more than what was required for the Pokémon Center on Upside Down Mountain!
In his mind, this Pokémon Center would serve most of the trainers along the Grand Line. Unlike the novice village on Upside Down Mountain, this place was meant to be a more official service center for trainers.
With this in mind, Leo meticulously incorporated numerous duel and training arenas within the pyramid.
The variety of environments was staggering.
Whether it be forests, grasslands, oceans, hills, or swamps, any natural environment could be found within this pyramid.
And this complexity was a major concern for Leo.
Allowing such diverse environments to coexist was impossible without special methods.
In addition to arranging similar environments in layers, he spent significant points creating barriers to prevent these different environments from interfering with one another.
Fortunately...
As Leo gazed at the final result, he felt that all the effort had been worthwhile.
Soon, this place would become one of the officially designated venues for ranking matches!
Although the Pokémon League Tournament was still 10 months away, the prospects for qualifying were not promising.
The first issue was the scarcity of traders who could reach VIP2 status.
In these seas, only a few individuals could easily trade over a billion in supplies.
The second issue was the vast distances between traders, making it time-consuming to hold a qualifying match.
Sometimes, a single match could last over a month!
With an officially designated ranking battle venue, those truly dedicated to participating in the Pokémon League Conference would move closer to the venue, greatly speeding up the ranking battle cycles.
Leo hadn't prioritized this earlier due to his budding trading career, but now, with the necessary conditions in place, he was determined to organize things properly.
After all, he planned to continue holding the Pokémon League Conference annually!
To ensure that the pyramid wouldn't be damaged by the aftermath of battles between powerful trainers, Leo invested heavily in strengthening the material's durability.
The entire construction of the Pyramid Pokémon Center ended up costing him 30,000 points!
This expense was a bit beyond Leo's expectations, especially since he still needed to allocate resources for staffing and defenses.
First, there were 100 Rotoms for basic inquiries and daily maintenance of the Pokémon Center.
These Pokémon were cheap, efficient, and perfect for Leo's needs, solving countless problems for him.
And then there was Miss Joy...
This time, Leo was generous enough to summon three Miss Joys.
Unlike the Upside Down Mountain, which might only receive a few visitors a month, this location was expected to welcome significantly more trainers.
If Miss Joy hadn't been so costly, Leo would have filled the place with them!
But with limited funds...
he decided to leave non-essential tasks to the Rotoms.
Since this center would be facing a large number of trainers, the security system was also a top priority.
Although Rotoms had some combat capabilities, they could only handle low-level threats.
Against truly strong opponents, they would be rendered ineffective.
Thus, Leo spent another 30,000 points to redeem a Charizard, a Venusaur, and a Blastoise—each powerful enough to dominate most enemies on land, sea, and air.
Additionally, Leo acquired 10 level 40 Chansey, which cost him 20,000 points...and 20 extraordinary young Happiny, the pre-evolution form of Chansey, for another 20,000 points.
Altogether, Leo's expenditure on this Pokémon Center almost reached 150,000 points!
"The money really goes quickly…"
After the sweet-voiced Miss Joy finished explaining everything to everyone, Leo shook his head and teleported out of the Pokémon Center.
Initially, he had thought building the Pokémon Center would cost around 50,000-60,000 points at most.
But once the project began, he couldn't stop striving for perfection in every aspect.
It was like building a computer—at first, he only planned to install a 1060 graphics card, but soon realized that for just a little more, he could get a higher-end 3060ti...
So of course, he decided to spend more for the better one!
And once the graphics card was upgraded, how could he leave the CPU and motherboard unchanged?
The CPU and motherboard were fine, but then he couldn't just use a basic case, right?
That would be an injustice to such a high-end setup.
In the end, what could have been done for 3,000 ended up costing over 10,000!
Leo had fallen into this trap himself.
But then again, who could blame him for having plenty of resources?
"Never mind, Alabasta is vast and rich in resources, making it perfect for development as a main hub..."
Future Pokémon Centers should focus on healing and mission assignments!"
With the help of the Rotoms, Leo completed the design of the mission system.
But for now, most missions were small and real-time.
For example, bounties on pirates, bandits, mafia, and corrupt officials...or rescuing islands under the control of evil pirates.
Due to the high requirements for up-to-date information, the mission system currently had a limited number of tasks.
Most of these were sourced from the Navy's intelligence library by Garp and Aokiji's cell phone Rotom...along with news from major newspapers and information compiled from the Kingdom of Alabasta's intelligence system.
However, the authenticity of this information was sometimes questionable.
This wasn't ideal.
For now, with few traders to manage, Leo could get away with it.
But if he wanted to grow bigger and stronger, the mission system would need significant investment and careful refinement.
——
——
Shortly after, a special notification appeared on the Rotom phones of all traders.
[Big News! The Ranked Battle Area is now open to all trainers!]
[Starting today, all participants in the Pokémon League Conference can engage in ranking matches here.]
[This area features a large Pokémon Center, staffed by the most professional medical teams and equipped with advanced Pokémon treatment methods, allowing every trainer to fully immerse themselves in the excitement of Pokémon battles!]
[Additionally, various tasks will be periodically released at major Pokémon Centers. Completing these tasks will earn you points and item rewards.]
[The Ranked Battle Area is located in the Kingdom of Alabasta in the first half of the Grand Line. Click to view more details, and use the Rotom map on your phone for directions.]
Powerful electrical signals sliced through the air, reaching every Rotom phone, heralding the launch of a new version of this real Pokémon game online!
——
In the first half of the Grand Line, under a sky roiled by strong winds and dark clouds, a small sailboat drifted like a speck in the raging sea. Towering waves, like ravenous beasts, crashed down mercilessly on the boat.
Amidst the life-threatening crisis, hearty laughter erupted from the sailboat.
"Charizard, use Heat Wave! And be careful not to set our ship on fire this time!"
A deep roar echoed in response: "Roar!!! (Alright, alright! I got it! Stop nagging, or I'll burn down the ship just to spite you!)"
With a roar, Charizard unfurled its massive wings, creating a ripple of air that spread across the deck. The crimson dragon soared into the sky, a streak of color piercing the black clouds like a flaming arrow.
In the next moment, a scorching wave of heat burst from the heavens, slamming into the turbulent sea below. The air, laden with searing heat, clashed with the crashing waves.
Suddenly, with a hiss...
A vast cloud of steam rose from the ocean.
The entire sea was enveloped in a thick white mist. The relentless heat caused the seawater to boil, but as the steam increased, the waves gradually subsided.
Eventually, under the influence of the hot wind, the waves vanished.
A gust of wind swept through the area, but this time it was just an ordinary breeze. The mist dispersed instantly, revealing the sailboat's surroundings once more.
After completing its task, Charizard gracefully descended back to the deck.
"Well done, Charizard!"
Ace stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Charizard's neck. Despite its immense strength, even the powerful Charizard, who had been training relentlessly, struggled under Ace's enthusiastic embrace.
The two, one man and one dragon, shared a moment of camaraderie.
"Roar~"
Charizard growled in mild annoyance, but no matter how much it wriggled, it couldn't escape Ace's iron grip. This bruised its pride as a Pokémon!
A Pokémon whose strength couldn't match that of its trainer? Charizard might be the only one in the world with this problem!
But it wasn't for lack of effort. Charizard had been pushing its limits day and night, constantly engaging in physical training.
Yet, in sheer strength, it still couldn't surpass Ace. It had never won a single arm-wrestling match.
For a Charizard, known for its power and flames, this was a blow to its pride!
Fortunately, Ace's affectionate yet humiliating gesture didn't last long.
At that moment, the Rotom phone hanging on Ace's waist suddenly opened its large eyes, emitting a flash of light as it floated into the air.
"Huh, a new system notification!?"
Ace exclaimed in surprise.
Since the last time he sought a ranking opponent and accidentally spotted his old man's name, he had been avoiding his Rotom phone. But now, this new message had captured his attention.
"Ranked Battle Area!?"
A gleam of excitement flashed in Ace's eyes.
"Brother Leo, you've finally made it to the Grand Line!"
Although he had anticipated this, seeing the actual news brought a wave of relief.
He had been considering returning to the East Blue for the ranking matches, but now there was no need!
Leo didn't set up a battle area in the East Blue, where many trainers were located, but instead in the Grand Line. This signaled that the future focus of the dimensional traders would be in the Grand Line!
"It's decided!"
Ace suddenly shouted after reading the notification.
Turning to his companions who had journeyed with him, a radiant smile spread across his face as he declared loudly:
"Alright, everyone! Set sail! Set sail!"
"Our destination: The Kingdom of Alabasta!!!"
——
Meanwhile, at the Navy Headquarters in Marineford, during a meeting for recruit training and selection, two distinct notification sounds suddenly rang out.
"Huh?"
Garp and Aokiji, who had been dozing off during the meeting, both jolted awake.
Without hesitation, they pulled out their Rotom phones, reading the push notification under the curious gaze of the other navy members.
After quickly scanning the message, their reactions were entirely different.
One looked grave, while the other was ecstatic.
Garp abruptly stood up, not caring about the presence of the high-ranking navy officials, and shoved his Rotom phone in Sengoku's face, demanding:
"Sengoku, prepare a fast ship for me immediately!"
"Hehehe... I've been working hard on my Machop. It's time to show off the results!"
——
In the East Blue, Syrup Village.
Inside Usopp's military factory.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion shattered the silence, and the factory's roof was blown off, crashing into the nearby open space and shattering to pieces.
The military factory building itself was reduced to rubble.
"Cough...cough…"
Usopp, his hair now an explosion of frizz, struggled out from beneath the debris.
Behind him, a newly evolved Dartrix emerged, clutching a large package. Dartrix looked dazed, its feathers covered in dust, giving it a disheveled appearance.
Thump!
Irritated, Dartrix tossed the package onto the ground. Surprisingly, the package also had an explosive hairdo.
And...
As soon as it landed, the package squirmed and shouted:
"Hey! You clumsy bird! Be more gentle, will ya! That hurt!!!"
(End of this chapter)