Hello, everyone! This is BlueRaptor629, bringing you with some updates regarding my situation.

Now, I noticed that it's been 2 years since the last update of this story (as well as some others) and there are some good explanations for it.

First off, throughout these 2 years, I have been feeling ups and downs either from college or family life. The situation affected me so much that I suffered writer's block and some serious funk. I also have this nasty habit of manage to thought up a scene in my head but when it gets down to writing it... I struggled. I believe this is stemmed from my first ever story, a Pokémon x Strider story, that I considered as a failure (I don't want to go into further details, so please don't pry). This is the one problem I hope to solve. I tried watching animes, cartoons, and even tokusatsu (I'm a fan of Ultraman and Super Sentai series) to get motivations and inspirations. And most of the time, it didn't work. Fortunately, I'm starting to feel better after watching one of the recent animes. Especially World's Finest Assassin Reincarnated as a Nobleman in Another World (A long title, I know), Banished from the Hero'sParty, and Fruit of Evolution being my favorite anime series.

Second, I was very busy with so many college assignments and the changes in my life that I'm not prepared for (some of which are due to the pandemic). Especially since I'll be working on the essay next semester for graduation. Fortunately, since my major is English Literature, I might write a fanfic instead of a thesis as an alternative way to complete the course, and hopefully they may allow it.

The third is games. It's a curse for me to play for so long that I forgot time, mostly because I enjoyed playing video games on my PS4 and Nintendo Switch consoles. I'm not gonna stop playing but I gonna keep it in moderation.

So here comes the main focus of this update. I am going to make it as clear as day that this story isn't dead. It's not discontinued, the show still goes on. I'm not giving up on this, not when I still love writing it. While I still do some assignments from college, I will try balancing between playing and writing in my free time.

So yeah. I'll see what I can do for the next chapter and hopefully, not taking as long as before. The same goes to my other stories.

In the meantime, enjoy this sneak peek of the next chapter, to give you readers some idea on what's going to happen in this arc. (Though I think we all know what's going to happen)

Happy reading!

(With Seth)

The red eyed Pokémon Trainer was currently walking through the street, still looking for a shop that'll interest him. Beforehand, he asked Hoopa to hide due to the fact that he will attract some unwanted attention. Hoopa, in turn, told Seth that should he need something, he can call him by rubbing the item that he called the "Prison Bottle" right before the Mischief Pokémon went hiding. Surely enough, he found an interesting looking store.

"That one looks interesting..." Seth commented as he approached the shop at the place called "For Goods' Sake". He proceeded to walk inside it, but all of a sudden, a man was being thrown out of the shop's window.

"And stay out, you money grubbing moron!" A voice shouted as the man, who was thrown from the earlier, hastily left the premises.

"I wonder what's that all about?" Seth muttered before he entered and saw all the items that the store had to offer.

"Ah, a customer! Welcome to my shop! Don't mind the mess, of course." An unfamiliar voice greeted Seth as the latter turned to who he believed to be the shopkeeper, who was standing behind a counter.

The shopkeeper is a man in late 30s who has black hair with white streaks on them. The man wore his flower pattern shirt unbuttoned, revealing a blue t-shirt, beige shorts, and brown sandals. The most distinct feature of him is that he has a black eyepatch that covers his right eye.

"Hey, uh... Shop keep." Seth greeted him back.

"Just call me Tavien, boy. My regulars always called me that." The man named Tavien said.

"Okay then, Tavien..." Seth began. "I saw some guy was thrown out from your window. What was that all about?"

"It was some thug who thinks he can force me to give him protection money." Tavien stated. "Hmph. I don't want protection given by someone like him." He then proceeded to shrug it off like it didn't happen. "So. Got something in your mind, kid?"

"Well.." Seth began to think about what he was to buy in this shop. Luckily. It didn't take him long. "I want something important for the voyage on the Grand Line."

"Oho! Feeling confident to take on the Grand Line, aren't you?" The shopkeeper commented with a grin. "Well… I know just the thing."

Tavien then placed the item on to his counter. The item in question was a bracelet with a glass orb sitting on top, and a needle floating inside the middle of that orb suspended from the top by a thin piece of wire.

"What is this? A compass watch?" The red eyed young man asked.

"Not just any compass, kid! This is the Log Pose." The shopkeeper introduced the item. "The only navigational tool that every sailor needs to get through the Grand Line." He continued. "Truth to be told, you can't go through the Grand Line without this baby. Unless you want to sign your own death warrant."

"I see." Seth understood the explanation. "So basically, a normal compass won't do any good if sailors want this thing so much."

"Exactly." Tavien nodded. "That'll be 100,000 berries."

"Why isn't that a bit pricey?" Seth complained before pulling out some cash to buy the item. "But I can see why. Considering what a person is trying to do."

"Life on the sea isn't a pleasant one, kid. Even pirates and marines have it hard every now and then." Tavien said as he took the cash and began counting it. Fortunately, the payment was enough. "Pleasure doin' business with ya."

"The feeling's mutual." Seth put the Log Pose in his bag, hopefully it wouldn't break inside.

"Quick question: Are ya a pirate or an adventurer?"

"A little bit of both, but mostly a pirate." The young man stated.

"Yup."

"And are you traveling with a crew of one?" The shopkeeper asked.

"Also yup. But why do you ask?" The red eyed young man replied.

"In that case, you probably gonna need these." Tavien began to pull out a sheathed saber and a flintlock gun.

"What exactly are these for?"

"The things you need to be prepared for the Grand Line. The first two are the latest models and one with the best qualities in toughness too. Not unlike those flimsy things that most pirates used. Truth to be told, I am what you called an "arms dealer"."

"That's… good to know." He simply stated. Although he could just use the Plates to fight, Seth was fully aware that he can't rely on them for too much, risking exposing his true identity to the world. He proceeded to strapped the saber to his waist and then put the gun away in his jacket.

"One last thing." The young man turned to the shopkeeper. "I suggest that you leave this town as soon as possible. Otherwise, Captain Smoker will catch wind of you and he will do whatever it takes to never let you and your crew leave this island scot free."

"This Smoker guy… how dangerous are we talking here?"

"Dangerous enough to subdue and arrest every single pirate that has ever stepped foot on this island." Tavien warned him. "Trust me, you really don't wanna fight him. Word has it that he is a powerful Devil Fruit user."

"He's a what?" Seth raised one of his eyebrows before he listened any further.

(Later)

Nami and Seth just came out of the store, with the latter were carrying her bags of purchased clothes.

"See, wasn't that so hard?" The navigator asked Seth.

"Well, maybe for you. I feel like I'm just your personal shopping mule right about now." He answered.

"Come on, don't be like that! At the very least, I don't fine you for looking at me with that perverted look on your eyes."

"Like I said, it's nothing like that!" The red eyed young man denied. "I'm not Sanji, you know."

"You're not wrong." Nami agreed. "Come on, let's try find the others-"

"You bitch! Why don't you just apologize already!?"

Nami and Seth heard a deep, gruff voice shouting not too far from where they are.

"Looks like something's up over there." Seth commented. "I'm gonna see what it is!"

Just like that, Seth immediately sprinted to wherever the commotion is... while still holding the shopping bags.

"Seth, wait! If you lose any of them along the way, you'll be paying 50,000 berries!" The navigator then went after him.

The duo then arrived at the scene, where they saw a tall, slightly buff man in a pirate getup glaring towards a familiar-looking young woman.

"Seth, isn't that Reina!?" Nami told Seth.

"Yeah, it's her. What's she doing all the way here?" He wondered.

"And why should I? You're the one who bumped into me." Reina pointed out. "If anything, it's YOU who should be apologizing to me!"

"Yeah, big meanie! You bumped Mama first! So, apologize!" Monty the Drilbur added.

"Who asked you, Pipsqueak!?" The rude man yelled at him as the pair noticed Monty.

"Hey Seth. Do moles usually talk?" The orange haired girl asked.

"No, they don't." The red eyed Pokémon Trainer replied. "And that "mole" is actually a Pokémon. A Drilbur, to be exact."

"A Pokémon!? How does it show up here?"

"Beats me. But my guess is like how Snowy crossed over to this world."

The man gritted his teeth as he glared towards the young woman and her "son".

"You better tell that talking pet of yours to shut up. Before I want to do something nasty to it." The man threatened the blue haired young woman.

"You can try, but know that it won't end well for you." Reina replied, angering the man even further.

"Don't screw with me, you bitch!" The man immediately unsheathed a sword as he tried to cut the insolent girl in front of him.

"Just remember, you asked for it." Reina proceeded to dodge the incoming vertical slash with little effort before pulling out her new brand weapon, courtesy of her friend back in Luminous Island. Said weapon was revealed to be a rope dart. Tied to the strong rope is a magenta tinted dagger. She then proceeded to thrust the rope as the blade stabbed the man in the knee.

"Why you!" The man tried his best but the young girl in front of him was just too much for him. She then proceeded to waved the rope so fast that the burly man didn't realize that she slashed him vertically. He coughed up some blood before falling to the ground on his back.

"I told you that it won't end well for you." Reina remarked as she put away her weapon.

"That was impressive, Mama!" Monty complimented her as they heard a certain someone whistling with delight.

"Nice job. Impressive as always, I see." They then turned to see a familiar face, for Reina that is. "It's been a while, Reina."

"Seth!?" The blue haired young woman called out to him.

To be Continued...

And that's about it. Write down your impression of this in the review section.

Have a nice day, everyone! :)