Ace dropped the lifeless crocodile on the ground. When he saw Okami standing beside Luffy like they were chums, he narrowed his eyes and approached them cautiously. "Who's that?"
The 3-foot lizard pokemon ran behind Ace as he wagged his fiery tail and shouted, "Charmeleon!"
Even Sabo was alarmed when he noticed Okami's outfit, suspecting that he was a noble. After making sure that he did not know the person, his mind calmed down and looked behind him and called out. "Dogg! Hurry up!"
"Growlithe!" The small puppy pokemon ran towards him and rubbed his body against Sabo's legs.
Both of them went beside Ace and eyed the visitor.
Luffy was oblivious about his friends' worries and laughed. "He's the one I've been talking about! Okami!" He then pointed his fingers at them as he shifted back his attention to Okami. "They're Sabo and Ace, my good brothers."
Okami waved his hands. "Hello, guys."
Dadan snorted. "Whatever! Just don't stay long here, Okami. You're an outsider. Please leave this place after you've done your business here." Then they all went back inside the house, leaving only Sabo, Ace, Luffy, and Okami outside.
Charmeleon hid behind Ace and almost whimpered as if something was scaring him. Even Growlithe stayed away from them, his body almost trembling.
When Ace noticed the anomaly, he squinted his eyes and took out his pole. "What are you doing to them?!"
Sabo stood in a fighting stance as he readied his pole as well.
Okami ignored what they were doing and continued inspecting them. Despite having a pokemon ally, he could not detect any Pokeballs on their body. He understood something and muttered, "So you are not a Pokemon Trainer. Did you tame them?"
"Pokemon Trainer or not, you better stop what you are doing and stop scaring them!" Ace shouted, his eyes peeled on Okami.
Luffy got in between them and spread his arms. "Hey, hey! Stop threatening him, Ace! He is a friend as well."
"He is not my friend!" Ace refuted.
Okami shrugged his shoulders and snapped his finger, summoning a Muk beside him. "I also have my pokemon. And I don't know why they are afraid of me but I assure you that I don't want to harm them because I am a Pokemon lover."
Sabo's eyes widened as he pointed at Muk. "You have that shitty abomination as your Pokemon?! That's fucking disgusting!"
Luffy went beside Muk and gagged because of the stench. "Ugh! It is indeed the same as those sludges back at the Gray Terminal..."
Okami chuckled. "Indeed, it is the evolution form of Grimer."
"What's evolution?" Sabo asked.
Not only did Okami explain the evolution form but he also told them about Pokemon Trainer. "I have all the pokemon you can encounter in this world. Wanna see the evolved form of those pokemon beside you?"
Sabo lowered his weapon. "Sure! Show us!"
Ace, on the other hand, did not release his pole, although he was also interested to see it.
"Two fully evolved pokemon coming up." Okami snapped his fingers and the two fire-type pokemon appeared right beside him.
Charizard roared and breathe out a stream of flame upward while Arcanine barked loudly while standing still.
Everyone inside the house rushed outside once they heard the monstrous sound.
Dadan's eyes almost popped out when she realized that there were two monsters within her territory. "Everyone! Prepare to fight!"
"Hey! They're my pokemon, you don't have to panic." Okami stepped forward and wagged his fingers. "I am only doing some demonstrations here."
Dadan frowned. "Oh, so you are one of those people who call themselves Pokemon Trainers. Just make sure you control them properly or I'll kick your butt."
"No problem."
All of her bandit members went back to the house while she grabbed the large chair just beside the door and took a seat. "Go on and continue with your demonstration. I want to watch it as well."
"Sure. Be my guest."
Sabo ignored Dadan and kept on looking at Arcanine and Growlithe. "Wow! You mean Dogg can become like that?! Is that an evolution form?!"
Okami nodded his head. "But you can't enjoy their powers fully simply because you are not a Pokemon Trainer."
"That's what I've been telling you, Sabo!" Luffy interjected as he rubbed his hands and faced Okami. "Hey! I've been waiting for you to turn me into a Pokemon Trainer. I hope you can fulfill your promise back then."
"Well, you simply left with Old Garp before I can even turn you into one."
Luffy pouted his mouth. "I did not want to come here. The old man forced me!"
Ace slowly put his weapon on his back as he stared at the imposing Charizard. "Can they make me stronger if I become a Pokemon Trainer?"
"Of course." Okami tilted his face slightly and asked, "Why? Are you interested in becoming one?"
Ace paused for a bit before he replied, "Yes! I've seen some of them hunting within the forests and they're pretty good. Unlike you, they have these sorta round objects with them."
"They're called Pokeballs." Okami redeemed three Pokeballs from the App and gave each one of them. "They are yours."
Ace, Sabo, and Luffy inspected the Pokeballs they have received from him, visibly impressed because of its intricate designs.
Okami coughed loudly to grab their attention and said, "It's better to turn you into Pokemon Trainers before you catch a pokemon using those Pokeballs. What starter do you want to have?"
Ace patted Charmeleon's head. "I want him."
Sabo stooped down and petted Growlithe. "I choose him."
Luffy looked around and shook his head once he saw Muk. "Ugh! Nope, nope, nope!"
Okami laughed at his funny antics. "Well, do you want a pokemon that can increase the number of your arms?"
Luffy imagined what would happen if he had extra arms and giggled. "That will be fun!"
"Then better get ready."
"Count me in!" Sabo shouted.
Okami summoned Machoke and the Pokemon Duplicating machine before him and proceeded with the reproducing process. Growlithe, Charmander, and Machop stood before the trio while Okami unsummoned the rest of his pokemon.
He then called out his Pokemon App and turned them into Pokemon Trainers. After several minutes, the ritual was completed successfully.
Okami taught Ace and Sabo the proper way to catch their Growlithe and Charmeleon. The procedure went smoothly because both the pokemon were not resisting at all.
The trio stood still as if in deep contemplation.
Okami knew that they were currently communicating with their pokemon starters and went toward the curious Dadan. "Well, I'm done here. I hope you can take care of them just like how Old Garp told you."
Dadan raised her brows. "You know that old devil?"
"I've met him back at the Partys Bar."
"You are a truly mysterious kid just like how Makino described." Dadan stood up and went back to her house without bidding goodbye.
Okami turned around and called the trio out. "Hey, I've got to go! You may look for me at the Partys Bar if you have any questions. Got to do something."
Luffy gave him a thumbs-up sign. "Don't worry, Okami! I'll visit you then."
Ace snorted and returned Charmeleon to the Pokeball.
Sabo laughed when he saw how Ace reacted. "Goodbye, Okami. I hope you can teach me a lot about pokemon."
Okami summoned his Pidgeot and embarked on her back. The bird pokemon then soared up and flew away.
The trio did not take away their gazes from Pidgeot until they could not see her anymore.
Luffy puffed up his chest. "See?! Now, do you believe me when I say that my friend is strong?"
Without warning, Ace punched him on the face and headed to the house.
Sabo laughed boisterously when he saw how miserable Luffy was. "Heh! Anyway, I don't know if he's strong but one thing for sure, he truly is mysterious."
"You should have seen how he destroyed Higuma easily."
Luffy and Sabo followed Ace back to their quarters.
=========================
Meanwhile, Okami spent the rest of the day killing monsters in the nearby islands. When he could not detect the presence of living monsters through his Observation Haki, he called it a day and teleported back to the Foosha village. He headed to the port and reappeared right inside the captain's quarters to take a rest.
Four days had passed by and his crew did not return to the ship even for a single day. Okami spent his time training and exploring the nearby islands.
Today, he was tinkering with the Pokemon App when he sensed that someone was approaching his room. When he recognized the aura, he continued with what he was doing. After a few seconds, there was a knocking sound on the door.
"Come in, Bunny."
The door opened and true enough, Bunny entered his room. "I can't hide from you no matter how I disguise my powers, Boss."
Okami sat properly and grinned. "Of course. You should awaken your Observation Haki as well."
"I'm almost there but there is something more urgent that I want to inform you."
"What is it?"
"It's about the Inspectors from the World Government. They are intending to visit the Goa Kingdom five days from now."
When Okami heard about it, he remembered the original plot and realized that something important was about to happen. He stopped what he was doing and asked, "What are they planning to do?"
"It was not a big deal if the inspectors were the only visitors but this time, a Celestial Dragon is aboard their ship. The royals are desperate to earn the favor of these visitors so they're planning to do something heinous."
Even though Okami knew what was about to happen, he still asked, "What is it?"
Bunny's expression became serious. "They're planning to burn the Gray Terminal to ash. This way, their visitors could not see the filth that the royals were harboring within this kingdom."
Okami tried to recall the events as much as he could and analyzed the best way to tackle it. If his memory served him right, then this was the time that Sabo was separated from his two brothers. He instructed Bunny to gather more news while he teleported to Dadan's house.
The first thing he noticed was the unusual silence within the vicinity. He activated his Observation Haki and realized that the trio was not here. He did not bother meeting with Dadan and headed to the Gray Terminal.
Okami saw several Grimer and Magnemite roaming as he passed through the heaps of trash. Even though the stench was almost unbearable despite him visiting the place frequently in the past, he continued towards the Great Gate that led to the Outskirts of the Goa Kingdom. He noticed several people carrying some boxes and suspected that they were the oils and explosives used to burn the Gray Terminal.
Even if Okami wanted to prevent the situation from happening, he did not want to create any trouble for his crew right now. Besides, he did not want to change the plot as much as possible because it was easier for him to execute his plans if he knew what was about to happen. Once he was done organizing his thoughts, he searched for Luffy and Ace's whereabouts through his Observation Haki. He immediately quickened his pace when he found out their locations.
"Luffy! Ace!" Okami shouted their names as soon as he saw their figures.
Both of them turned around, dropped their boxes when they found out it was Okami who was calling them, and rushed towards their visitor.
"Okami!" Luffy cried loudly as he rubbed his eyes. "They took Sabo away from us!"
"Stop crying, will you?!" Ace reprimanded him and shifted his attention to Okami. "What are you doing here?"
"To the Central District. Tell me what happened to Sabo?"
Ace told him exactly what transpired yesterday. The plot was still consistent with how the reality turned out to be.
Okami leaned closer to Ace and whispered, "I've got some news right now. The royals will burn this place tomorrow so you better tell them to evacuate."
"WHA - MMPH!"
Okami covered Ace's mouth to prevent him from speaking. "Calm down. Do you want to alert those people who are in cahoots with the royals?" Once he was sure that Ace understood what he meant, he slowly took off his hand.
"The Bluejam Pirates - wait, don't tell me those boxes that we are carrying will be used to burn the place?" Ace asked.
Luffy was about to shout when he was stopped by Ace.
"Be silent and don't shout or I will punch you again," Ace threatened him.
Luffy nodded.
"Where were we, oh, the boxes. What are they?"
"They're explosives."
Ace gnashed his teeth. "But why?! People are living here. Do they want to kill them as well?"
"Yes." Okami relayed to them the news that he received from Bunny. "That's the whole story. I think you should - "
Okami stopped talking when he felt someone approaching. True enough, several middle-aged men surrounded them.
The chapter for today. XD