The day passed quickly.
After leaving the sweltering heat of Alabasta, the temperature at the Celestial Gym began to gradually drop.
In the arena, trainers faced off one after another. While none of the subsequent battles matched the intensity of Zoro and Usopp's duel, the fact that every trainer had purchased the bond evolution ability beforehand made each battle a spectacle to behold.
Leo, the dimensional merchant, was impressed by the Pokémon and trainers who had evolved through their bonds.
Finally, the day's competition concluded with Sanji's chivalrous concession of defeat to Nami.
Just as before, with a snap of Leo's fingers, the two remaining on the field were instantly teleported to their respective destinations.
"Sir Leo," a flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Enel suddenly appeared behind Leo, bowing as he reported, "All the trainers and Pokémon in the winner's group have entered recovery mode. They are expected to complete their recuperation by tonight."
"If nothing unforeseen occurs, they should be ready for steering training as planned tomorrow."
"Good," Leo nodded with a smile. "The records of their previous battles have been saved, right? How's Rotom handling everything?"
"Everything is going smoothly," Enel confirmed immediately. "Rotom and the others have finished analyzing the training plans for all the trainers in the winner's group. Next, they just need to follow the training goals set by Rotom."
"Excellent," Leo replied, still smiling.
To ensure the reputation of the Celestial Gym, Leo had ordered a batch of high-tech instruments from the system to assist with Pokémon training, capable of designing efficient and specific training plans based on each Pokémon's condition.
By integrating the electronic Pokémon, Rotom, into these machines, they had been transformed into fully automated intelligent training devices. With the right parameters entered, they could formulate and execute training plans effectively.
After using his observation Haki to assess the current state of the winner's group, Leo felt reassured and immediately instructed Enel, "I'll leave everything to you for the time being. If any issues arise, contact me immediately."
With that, Leo's figure instantly vanished before Enel.
Though Leo was gone, Enel still bowed respectfully and replied, "You can count on me, Sir Leo!"
…
In the dense forest behind the Celestial Gym island, the cold moonlight bathed the treetops in a soft, silvery glow.
In the dead of night, an unprecedented roar shattered the silence.
"Ah!!! Help!!!!"
A figure darted through the void, his legs a blur, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Behind the cloud of dust, a massive, bear-like creature stomped after him with heavy steps.
Usopp was thoroughly bewildered! Waking up in the middle of the forest was bad enough, but to encounter such a powerful Pokémon in a random cave?
[Pokémon: Bewear]
[Gender: —]
[Ability: Unknown]
[Level: 60]
Seeing the information displayed on the Rotom screen of his mobile phone, Usopp's pace quickened.
"How terrifying!" Usopp muttered, his face pale with fear.
Although he knew that the losers would be sent to live in the forest, encountering a level 60 Pokémon randomly seemed excessive!
Even with the bond evolution, Usopp felt he didn't stand much of a chance against such a powerful opponent.
The forest was so dangerous that no one knew what other threats lay ahead.
Usopp was careful not to waste his precious energy on fighting the bear, even using the "Shave" technique sparingly during his escape.
Half an hour later, with the help of the dim moonlight and his slender figure, Usopp managed to slip around a corner and hide inside a tree hollow, finally losing the bear.
"Huff~" Usopp gasped for breath, pressing hard on his chest to calm his pounding heart.
But just as he was about to peek outside, something hard suddenly fell from the tree and struck his head.
"Ow!" Usopp cried out in frustration, grabbing the heavy object that had hit him. As he examined it to see what had caused his bad luck, a buzzing sound filled the air above his head.
With a sinking feeling, Usopp looked at the object in his hand and found a pair of sharp, fierce eyes staring back at him.
It was a Kakuna, a Bug-type Pokémon. Usopp recognized it immediately without needing the Rotom prompt. But he also knew that Kakuna typically lived in social groups within the forest.
Wherever there are Kakuna…
"…" Usopp fell silent as the realization hit him.
Slowly, as if his neck were a rusty gear, he turned to look around. Under the moonlight, hundreds of yellow, spiky-tailed figures began to emerge from the hazy darkness.
"No… no way…"
A grimace that was more like a cry than a smile appeared on Usopp's face as his muscles tensed.
Without hesitation, he used the last of his strength to "Shave" his way out of the Beedrill swarm's encirclement.
But…
The Giant Beedrill, now awake and angry, had no intention of letting Usopp escape so easily.
With an ominous buzzing sound, the swarm of Beedrill, like a dark cloud, pursued Usopp relentlessly.
"Ahhh!!!! Help!!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the forest, reminiscent of a mournful ape's cry that could be heard throughout the empty valley.
…
At the same time, deep within the primeval forest, inside a towering ancient tree...
Leo watched with amusement as Usopp was chased by the Beedrill for half an hour.
The interior of this ancient tree had been transformed by Leo into a massive centralized control center capable of monitoring the entire forest.
Leo had divided the entire primeval forest into nearly a hundred zones, placing each defeated player into a specific area.
Most of the Pokémon in the forest were discounted ones, deemed by the system to have little potential or short lifespans. These Pokémon were hard to sell to trainers, so Leo had acquired them at a low price and placed them in this forest.
After months of living there, these Pokémon had adapted and now considered the forest their home. Some, like the Beedrill, had even started reproducing.
Leo had created this Pokémon forest not only to house these Pokémon but also to serve as an additional training ground for the Celestial Gym.
Watching the loser group members struggle for survival, Leo couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
"Work hard to survive! Once you adapt to this forest, your strength will surely grow exponentially!"
Following the principle of "easy to advise when not involved," Leo handed over the monitoring controls to the small Eevee.
In such a vast forest filled with numerous Pokémon, coordinating their attacks on the trainers at just the right moment is no easy task.
Luckily, Leo has little Eevee! As an experienced gamer, little Eevee's mind can handle multitasking like a pro.
When a command needs to be issued, Eevee can create a clone of itself and instantly teleport it to the specific Pokémon that needs direction.
For little Eevee, who monitors the forest in real-time, this is nothing more than an intricate RTS game.
Of course, simple survival in the forest wouldn't be enough to help these trainers become stronger quickly.
So, Leo implemented special modifications in each trainer's area of the forest, tailored to their bond-evolved attributes.
With the data gathered from today's battles, Leo now understands the changes Pokémon energy brings to their trainers.
The most common Admiral-type energy boosts the trainer's overall physical fitness, transforming a frail scholar into a robust warrior.
Similar to fighting-type energy, which also enhances physical fitness, it mainly strengthens fists and feet, making close combat more agile.
Other types, like fire, water, grass, electric, ice, rock, poison, etc., allow trainers to unleash energy attacks with corresponding attributes.
While each attribute has unique nuances, their primary function is to execute elemental attacks—like breathing fire, shooting water, or releasing electric discharges.
The steel type, as Zoro demonstrated today, grants control over metal and hardens the body.
Fairy-type energy can bewilder enemies, making it difficult for them to strike accurately.
Dark-type energy confuses the enemy's mind, causing them to take actions that benefit you.
Flying-type energy lightens the body, increasing speed. While it may not enable true flight, it makes light-footed movements from martial arts easy.
The bug type boosts recovery and sharpens senses. Under Leo's observation, he believes that at a certain level, bug energy might even allow for limb regeneration!
Psychic energy grants the trainer telepathic abilities.
Dragon-type energy increases physical strength and allows the trainer to release powerful energy waves but also makes them more prone to rage and losing control.
Ground-type energy is tricky; it lets trainers burrow and dig like Pokémon. However, in the solid arena of the Celestial Gym, today's ground-type trainer was left baffled when this ability proved useless.
Ghost-type energy is more varied, altering the trainer based on the specific Pokémon. Zoro, for instance, gained the soul extension of swordsmen, while Usopp could share vision with his Decidueye.
Other ghost-type trainers have gained abilities like creating illusions, rendering opponents unconscious, or launching shadow balls.
Overall, ghost-type energy appears to be deeply influenced by the soul, with different ghost-type Pokémon granting different mystical abilities to their trainers.
So far, Leo has collected data on 18 types of Pokémon energy.
This information allows him to select Pokémon for his customers with greater precision.
Meanwhile, in the forest, the members of the loser group were still dealing with the perils of the nighttime wilderness.
But Leo had already begun planning the Pokémon League Conference.
——
Two weeks flew by.
In the heart of the forest...
"Must-kill move! Bamboo Forest Javelin of Energen Star!!!"
A green, shimmering projectile shot out, igniting from friction and exploding mid-air.
With a loud bang, a massive tornado appeared, spiraling towards a large Bewear.
The bear roared mightily, channeling its fighting energy into its fists.
Move - Superpower!
With fists now brimming with immense power, the bear prepared to disperse the incoming storm.
But suddenly...
A sly grin appeared on Usopp's face.
"Did you really think today's attack would be as straightforward as before?"
As he spoke, tiny bamboo shoots erupted from the tornado.
With a swift motion, Usopp unleashed a powerful grass-type energy, causing the bamboo shoots to rapidly grow into long, sharp poles that then shot toward the bear like spears!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Unable to avoid the barrage, the bear had no choice but to raise its arms to protect its vital areas.
However...
Even with its incredible defense, the bear was seriously injured by the bamboo spears, which had been supercharged by the storm's power.
A deep focus gleamed in Usopp's eyes as he shouted:
"Decidueye, now!"
"Finish it off!!!"
"Chirp!!!"
A high-pitched bird cry echoed through the forest as Decidueye, now evolved through its bond, swooped down from the dense foliage behind the bear.
Its face, shrouded in a hood, flashed with an eerie light.
Powerful grass energy coalesced around Decidueye, forming cannonball-sized seeds.
Seed Bomb!!!
Without hesitation, several seeds, brimming with terrifying energy, rained down on the bear.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening sound of explosions filled the forest.
When the smoke finally cleared...
The bear, after enduring relentless attacks, lost consciousness and collapsed, its eyes turning into spirals.
"I... I won!?"
Usopp stood there in disbelief, staring at the aftermath.
After two weeks of training and refining his ammunition...
He had finally defeated this powerful, battle-hardened Pokémon!
From now on, nothing in this forest would be able to stop him.
Just then, a voice echoed in Usopp's mind:
"Congratulations, Usopp."
"You've successfully completed the second stage of training."
"Now, we'll move seamlessly into the third stage..."
"Survive Eevee's clone attacks for thirty minutes."
"Keep up the good work."
As the voice faded, a small, cute figure suddenly appeared before Usopp.
"Eevee~"
For some reason, the sight of the Pokémon in front of him made Usopp feel like he was staring into the eyes of a mischievous demon, plotting how to make the next round even more challenging and entertaining.
(End of this chapter)