Simipour, logically speaking, this Pokémon has two other relatives, Simisear and Simisage. As the classic Water, Fire, and Grass trio, their presence is overshadowed by the Starter Pokémon in each region, but as an objectively existing Pokémon, they have their own reason for existence.
“Hmm, it’s pretty cute. But those eyes… Mizerka, can you still see clearly?”
“Of course I can, Miss Yamato. Are you thinking of something weird?”
As she spoke, Mizerka opened her eyes wide, but soon reverted to her squinting expression. The Pokémon abilities subtly influence their users, leaving them with some of the Pokémon’s habits.
Simipour is an example of this. Most of the time, they maintain a squinted-eye look. It’s rare for them to fully open their eyes.
“This color… it’s Water-type, right? This will definitely make things more convenient at sea.”
“Yes, Lord Arceus even slightly boosted its resistance. But this ability is best used for storing fresh water.”
Like many Water-type Pokémon, in addition to their ability to create water, they can also store it. Simipour’s hair acts as a unique water storage organ—it looks like regular hair but can hold an enormous amount of water.
Its tail isn’t just for attacking; when the water stored in its hair depletes, it can use the tail to absorb more water and replenish itself.
Normal Simipour cannot absorb too much seawater due to their physiology, as it would make them sick. However, Mizerka is different—she has a much higher tolerance for seawater.
Still, she doesn’t plan on storing seawater. When convenient, she plans to stock up on fresh water.
During their voyages, she also doubles as the ship’s cook, making fresh water even more in demand.
Since the duration of a voyage is unpredictable, most pirate ships have simple desalination devices to filter seawater.
But with this ability, things are different. From now on, she can be seen as a mobile, human-shaped reservoir, capable of providing hot water 24/7.
“Sounds pretty good. Now, hit me.”
“Huh? Miss Yamato, you mean… hit you?”
“Yes, how else will I know how strong you are? Don’t worry—you can’t hurt me.”
“Alright then, excuse me…”
As Mizerka spoke, her tail pointed toward Yamato, and a high-pressure stream of water shot out. Yamato immediately reached out to grab the water stream, and after a few seconds of resistance, a chill radiated from her palm, freezing Mizerka’s water into an ice pillar.
“Not bad. Practice more, and it could be pretty powerful.”
“Understood…”
Even though she knew Yamato was strong, experiencing it firsthand was hard to accept. She had tested her ability on targets earlier—even concrete walls would be pierced through by her high-pressure Water Gun. But this same attack didn’t even make Yamato take a step back.
Of course, not many could counter an attack like that. Most Devil Fruit Users without countermeasures wouldn’t fare so well if hit by one.
“Alright, next up—Solitaire and Speed, you two come together.”
…
The first to transform was Speed, who still maintained her centaur-like appearance. Overall, her transformation wasn’t drastic, as she was already the user of the Zebra Fruit. However, with her ability Pokémon-ized, her humanoid upper half also changed significantly.
Her pupils turned blue, with lightning-like patterns appearing at the corners of her eyes. Lightning-shaped horns emerged on her head, and while her body retained its white stripes, those stripes now clearly resemble lightning symbols.
Thunderbolt Pokémon—Zebstrika.
“It doesn’t seem like a big change?”
“It’s just how it looks. I feel like I’ve been completely reborn.”
Her hair color was similar to Uta’s, distinctly divided into two halves—one black, one white. Originally, her hair was a neat and professional short cut, but after gaining her ability, her hair blended seamlessly with the horse mane that extended all the way down her back.
Sparks of electricity flickered through the mane, and the sound of thunder rumbled with each movement of her hooves.
In contrast, Solitaire’s changes were not as noticeable. At least, she didn’t benefit from the temporary hair transplant service.
She already had light green long hair and was the most conservatively dressed, even habitually wearing a helmet and goggles.
While she didn’t grow new hair, she ended up with a dye job—her hair turned purple, and beneath her helmet, two purple strands poked out slightly. Behind her, two longer arms—or rather, tails—floated in the air.
Long Tail Pokémon—Ambipom
Though they looked like arms, they were actually tails, and incredibly flexible—more so than her actual arms.
Because its tail was so convenient, its real arms were gradually forgotten and became almost like auxiliary limbs.
From peeling fruit to engaging in battles, Ambipom could accomplish everything with its arms. From this moment forward, Solitaire had automatically evolved into four-sword style, and while she had gained flexible twin tails, her arms were not forgotten either.
“Miss Yamato, are we doing the same thing?”
Steam puffed out of her nostrils. Yamato sensed a surge in Speed’s fighting spirit, likely influenced by Zebstrika.
As a Pokémon with immense explosive power, Zebstrika’s personality was similarly volatile. Based on Yamato’s usual routine, since Mizerka had gone through a test, the other two should do the same.
“Bring it on. Oh, by the way, here is your new equipment. Almost forgot to hand them out.”
Yamato pulled out a bundle of arrows, a new bow, and two long swords from her cloud purse.
The arrows were for Speed, and the swords were for Solitaire. Mizerka, being more of a close-combat fighter, didn’t receive any new equipment. Now with her long-range sniping ability, she didn’t need additional equipment.
The arrows looked no different from regular ones but were made entirely of metal.
The abilities of these three had been determined earlier through a draw, and new equipment was prepared accordingly.
Thanks to her powerful physical strength, Speed could shoot the heavy metal arrows just as far as normal ones. The reason for the arrow swap was simply to make it easier for her to imbue them with lightning.
Lightning wasn’t like the Power of Aura. Speed is still unable to condense the intangible lightning into a physical form, so external aid is needed.
Drawing the bow and nocking an arrow, lightning wrapped around the shaft of the arrow as she prepared to attack.
Meanwhile, Solitaire’s twin tails gleamed with a metallic sheen—her Iron Tail might as well be called “iron fists.” At Yamato’s signal, Mizerka also prepared herself for battle.
Even though it was a three-on-one fight, there wasn’t much change in the outcome. However, it allowed Yamato to get a clear sense of her team’s strength.
Meanwhile, somewhere else, Jack’s crew, including Ginrummy and Sheepshead, were also engaged in battle with Jack.
“Wait a second, Sir Jack! I’m quite curious—who came up with this testing method?!”
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