"Dimensional Transaction?"
Moria's sinister eyes froze for a moment, and a sudden realization flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.
He instantly raised his hand, pointed at Leo, and exclaimed, "Could it be..."
"You're the dimensional merchant, Leo!?"
"What? A dimensional merchant!?"
Upon hearing Moria's words, the trio of peculiar characters behind him straightened up, displaying the same astonished expression as their captain.
Though Moria and his crew spent their days in the eerie Devil's Triangle, as a Warlord of the Sea, Moria had access to a unique stream of intelligence.
While it may not be as comprehensive as what outsiders know, Moria was still well-informed about the major events happening in the world.
However...
Having not watched the Pokémon League Conference, Moria still believed his zombie army was the most unbeatable force in existence.
Recognized now, Leo smiled graciously, nodding in acknowledgment.
"Yes, I am Leo Drago, a dimensional merchant from the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce."
"I'm currently traveling the seas, looking for worthy partners to trade with."
He smirked slightly, looking at Moria with eyes as deep as the night sky.
"So, I wonder, is the renowned Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, interested in a dimensional transaction?"
"Interested? Kishishishishishi..." Moria's signature, unsettling laugh filled the room.
"Who in this world wouldn't want to trade with a dimensional merchant?"
"However..." Moria's gaze sharpened, his aura growing heavy.
Arrogant as ever and unfamiliar with the true power of Pokémon, Moria didn't show Leo the same reverence the other Warlords had.
In a more casual, equal tone, he asked, "I've heard that dimensional merchants deal in some kind of magical creature called 'Pokémon'? I'd like to know what exactly Pokémon can offer me."
"In other words, why should I trade with you?"
"Why trade?" Leo chuckled, narrowing his eyes.
Clearly, Moria was neither fully convinced of the merchant's legitimacy nor overly impressed by his sudden appearance. Or perhaps Moria was simply overconfident in his own power.
Yet, Leo wasn't bothered in the slightest by Moria's skepticism.
In fact, it had been so long since a customer had doubted him that Leo almost felt nostalgic.
A mischievous smile crept onto his face.
"Well, there are many reasons to trade," Leo began, his tone playful yet filled with intent. "Some seek health, some seek power, and some simply enjoy the companionship of Pokémon."
He paused, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Since you're curious, Mr. Moria, allow me—The Dimensional Merchant—to give you a closer look at what Pokémon can do~"
Snap!
A sharp snap of Leo's fingers echoed through the room like a bell ringing through eternity.
All at once, shadows began stretching out from the ground beneath them, engulfing the entire world in darkness.
"M-Mamma Mia! Moria-sama, save me!"
Hogback, the only powerless member of Moria's crew, shrieked in terror as the shadows surrounded them. He leapt in panic, fearing Leo was launching an attack.
The others weren't much better off—each of them on edge, their faces tight with fear and confusion.
In the blink of an eye, it was as though they had been transported to a bizarre and mysterious world.
Despite the overwhelming darkness, they could still see each other clearly, as well as the shadows that slithered across the ground like living creatures.
"What... What is this place?"
Perona, the gothic Lolita, trembled as she looked around, her expression a mixture of fear and intrigue.
Oddly, as someone with such dark tastes, she found herself both frightened and thrilled by the eerie atmosphere.
Then, suddenly—
A flash of dark purple light!
The shadows receded, and the world around them was illuminated once again.
But the scene before them was no longer the pirate world they were familiar with!
Boom!
A pair of gigantic shadowy arms appeared from nowhere, looming over Moria and the others before reaching out to grab something behind them.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out behind Moria.
Turning quickly, Moria and his crew were stunned to see those enormous shadowy arms had seized a person.
And within the shadows, a small creature slowly emerged.
At first glance, one might have found it "cute" based on its size and appearance—if it weren't for its blood-red, eerie eyes.
But...
"Oh my gosh! What a cute little guy! I want to hug it!"
Perona's dark and twisted heart couldn't resist the sight of the Pokémon. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
"Ugh..."
Her outburst caught Moria and the others off-guard, and they glanced at her with a mix of confusion and disbelief.
At this, Leo smiled softly.
"Miss Perona has excellent taste!" he said with a chuckle. "This is indeed one of the most unique and powerful Pokémon. It's a rare blend of cuteness and strength."
"Its name is—Marshadow!"
Boom!
As Leo introduced the Pokémon, the scene shifted once more.
A werewolf-like Pokémon suddenly appeared and attacked, shattering the grip of the shadows and rescuing the person.
"This is..." Moria's eyes widened as he glanced at Leo, now even more perplexed by what he was witnessing.
He had already realized that this must be some sort of illusion.
After all, neither the gigantic shadow arms nor the explosions had physically affected them.
Sensing Moria's confusion, Leo nodded and explained with a smile, "What you're seeing is a battle from the Pokémon world."
"I've recreated it as an illusion, so you can better understand the power of Pokémon."
With a gentle gesture, Leo invited them to keep watching.
What Moria and his crew were witnessing was a scene from a real battle that had taken place in the Pokémon world.
Specifically, it was from the movie Pokémon: I Choose You!, one of the most intense moments.
Only now, Leo had slightly edited the scene for dramatic effect, adding his own unique filters and rendering techniques.
In this illusion, there wasn't much focus on human characters like Ash. The spotlight was on the battle between Marshadow, Pikachu, and a group of other Pokémon.
Just as Leo finished speaking, the battlefield underwent another dramatic change.
Upon seeing the human trainer rescued by a Pokémon, the cute-looking Marshadow suddenly unleashed an overwhelming surge of shadow power!
Dark purple light shot into the sky, and in an instant, the entire island was engulfed in the energy of Marshadow's shadows.
As a user of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit, Moria's face twisted in shock.
The familiar sensation hit him immediately, making him realize that this Pokémon possessed abilities remarkably similar to his own!
But in the next moment, Moria understood he had been wrong—terribly wrong.
The immense shadow power began to transform into ghost-like entities, rushing toward every living being on the island.
Within mere seconds, all the Pokémon on the island fell under the influence of Marshadow's shadowy force, as they turned against the human trainers and their Pokémon.
"Is it... controlling others through shadow power!?"
Moria's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched Marshadow manipulate the power of shadows to control others.
He knew shadows could control zombies, allowing them to overcome the limitations of their bodies and act freely.
But using shadows to dominate other creatures...
That was a power he had never even imagined.
A sudden flash of excitement appeared in Moria's eyes.
The battle intensified.
A yellow-skinned mouse named Pikachu surged with electricity, its body wrapped in lightning. Moving like a god of thunder, it dodged each of Marshadow's shadow attacks with ease, closing the gap between itself and the shadowy Pokémon.
But Marshadow was not intimidated.
A tremendous burst of energy surged from its small frame, and it engaged Pikachu in fierce, close-quarter combat.
In an instant, both Pokémon vanished from sight, as if teleporting, leaving the spectators in stunned silence.
The only evidence of their ongoing battle was the crackling thunder and terrifying shockwaves bursting through the air, demonstrating the immense power of their clash.
"This... This kind of power is terrifying!"
Absalom, a man who had consumed the Clear-Clear Fruit, marveled at how Pikachu could move with such incredible speed.
In that moment, he realized that his own fruit's ability, which he'd often used for nefarious purposes—like peeking on girls in the bath—felt embarrassingly mundane by comparison.
Boom!
At last, the illusion Leo had conjured dissipated in a massive explosion of energy, and Moria and his crew found themselves back in the real world, blinking as they tried to recover from what they had just witnessed.
Leo chuckled warmly, his tone friendly.
"So, what do you think?"
"Are any of you interested in trading after witnessing the power of Pokémon?"
"Uhm..."
Moria remained silent for a moment, his mind still occupied by the terrifying display of Marshadow's shadow power.
Though they both wielded the power of shadows, how could his abilities be so inferior to that of this Pokémon?
After a long pause, Moria seemed to gather his thoughts. His arrogance from earlier had subsided, and his tone became noticeably more subdued.
"I have a question... That Pokémon from earlier..."
"Earlier?" Leo smiled knowingly. "You mean Marshadow?"
"Yes, yes!!!" Moria nodded eagerly.
"That Pokémon—Marshadow. If I wanted to acquire it, what would it cost me?"
After watching Leo's demonstration, Moria had become utterly captivated by the idea of owning a Pokémon.
Especially Marshadow, with its mastery over shadows, similar to his own power.
Though Pikachu had been equally impressive with its lightning abilities, Moria's mind was now entirely fixated on Marshadow.
Noticing Moria's eagerness, Leo smirked slightly, speaking with a casual air.
"The cost?"
"Mr. Moria, you needn't use such weighty words—this is just a transaction."
"But..." Leo's tone shifted ever so slightly, immediately drawing Moria's full attention.
Even Perona and the other two were now focused intently on what Leo had to say.
"But what?" Moria asked, impatient.
Leo chuckled softly before continuing.
"However, even in the Pokémon world, Marshadow is considered a rare and mythical Pokémon. And given its powerful abilities in both battle and control..."
"Even a newly born Marshadow would cost at least 5,000 points."
Marshadow, as a mythical Pokémon, wasn't as rare as some like Hoopa or Jirachi, but not everyone was qualified to purchase one.
The moment Leo finished speaking, several beams of strange light flashed across Moria and his crew's foreheads, allowing them to instantly comprehend the rules of the transaction.
"5,000 points!? That's equivalent to 2.5 billion beli!" Moria muttered to himself in shock.
If this had been twenty years ago, 2.5 billion beli would have been a significant sum, but not beyond Moria's means.
He would never let such a powerful Pokémon slip through his fingers!
But after nearly ten years living in the Devil's Triangle, combined with his investments in Hogback's research and zombie transformation, Moria's financial situation wasn't as it once was.
For the first time, Moria found himself feeling somewhat embarrassed. His current wealth might not even cover a fraction of the cost.
Sensing Moria's discomfort with his mind-reading ability, Leo chimed in reassuringly.
"While Marshadow might be on the pricier side, there are still many powerful yet more affordable Pokémon in the world."
"How about this..."
"Mr. Moria, why don't you redeem some points first, and I'll help you choose a Pokémon that fits your current budget?"
"Well..."
Moria chuckled awkwardly, forcing a smile.
"Let's go with your suggestion, Sir Leo."
"Very well," Leo nodded, snapping his fingers. Immediately, a transaction interface appeared in Moria's mind.
Moria, already familiar with the transaction process, quickly focused his consciousness on the interface, eager to see just how much wealth he had left.
But at that very moment, a long, dark sword appeared in Moria's thoughts—Shusui.
The legendary sword wielded by the dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma of Wano Country.
Years ago, after being defeated by Kaido, Moria had secretly stolen Ryuma's corpse and all his burial treasures during a covert raid on Wano, including the famed blade.
Staring at Shusui, one of the 21 Great Grade Swords, a thought crossed Moria's mind.
Surely this national treasure of Wano could be worth enough points for the trade?