[Ding! Perfect Justice Mission: Challenge the Viridian Gym Leader, Giovanni of Team Rocket, and win the Badge!]
Kazuki couldn't help but chuckle the moment he saw the mission. "Isn't this a little early to drop this kind of task?"
"Sure, I do need to collect all eight Badges… but Giovanni's Pokémon are all around Quasi Elite Four tier right now!"
"If I fought him now, my best shot might be just to fistfight him. Honestly, with that recent 50% physical boost, that might even work better."
Kazuki had just been debating whether to ignore the task when the reward made him freeze mid-thought.
[Mission Reward: One Mewtwo Fragment. Collect 7 Fragments to obtain a Mewtwo!]
Mewtwo.
The moment Kazuki saw those two characters, his heart skipped.
That was a Pokémon with a Base Stat total of 680, a true legendary!
Even if he needed seven pieces, it was absolutely worth it.
If he had a Mewtwo on his team, wouldn't every top-level league title be as good as his?
Fueled by that thought, Kazuki's motivation skyrocketed.
"Kazuki!"
Misty, walking over, saw him and immediately waved excitedly before jogging up to him.
"Hey, Kazuki, why do you look so happy? Did something happen?"
"Oh, Pikachu's all healed up now. That's a big relief, so yeah, I'm feeling great!"
Kazuki casually tossed out an excuse—obviously, he couldn't reveal the real reason.
And as it happened, that answer hit Misty right in the feels. Her eyes lit up with admiration.
"Wow! I didn't know you cared that deeply about your Pokémon—your emotions are tied to theirs!"
Seeing Misty so visibly moved, Kazuki realized he might not even have to lift a finger to complete that earlier Romance Side Mission.
So he went with the flow: "Of course. After all, Pikachu's my partner in battle."
"Mhm! Totally!" Misty nodded enthusiastically. "Oh right—what are your plans now?"
"Next up? Train, catch more Pokémon, and win the Indigo League Championship."
Misty stared at him for several seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Wait, what? Did I hear you right?"
"Did you just say—you're gonna win the Indigo League Championship?"
"Come on, be serious!"
Misty couldn't believe a word of it.
"What, you don't think I can win?" Kazuki asked with a smile.
"Hahahaha!"
Misty laughed out loud. "If you really win the Indigo League, I'll wear a swimsuit and dance for you!"
"What's the fun in a swimsuit dance?" Kazuki teased. "How about wearing a swimsuit and doing whatever I say—anything I want."
"Sure, sure! I'll wear a swimsuit and take your commands! Whatever you want… hahaha, win the Championship!"
Misty's family ran the Cerulean Gym, so she had a pretty good grasp of the competitive scene.
She knew winning a championship was incredibly difficult.
To her, there was no way Kazuki could actually pull it off. So she made that promise without a second thought.
Now that there was not just a system reward, but also a Misty swimsuit bonus?
Kazuki's motivation hit a new high. He grinned wickedly and accepted with enthusiasm:
"Deal. Once I win the championship, I'll do whatever I want with you."
Seeing the confident glint in Kazuki's eyes, Misty's smile slowly faded.
But since the words were already out of her mouth—and winning a championship wasn't something just any rookie Trainer could do—she let it go.
"D-Do whatever you want…? But you know, no rookie has ever won the Indigo League before, right?"
"Just getting into the Top 32 or Top 16 is already incredible!"
Kazuki, having gotten her promise, smiled with satisfaction.
"How I win doesn't matter. All you need to think about is your swimsuit show."
"What about you? What are your plans?"
"Go for it!" Misty, seeing how carefree he was, dropped the topic and shifted gears.
"I'm going to train too. My goal is to become the world's greatest Water-type Pokémon Trainer!"
"As for the Indigo League, I plan to enter as well—but I'm not that unrealistic!"
With her hands on her hips and a playful nose scrunch, Misty added, "I'll be happy just making it to the Top 32!"
"Hey, how about we travel together from now on?"
Misty still didn't believe Kazuki could win, but she was curious.
What kind of training methods did he use to be so confident?
That curiosity led her to suggest traveling as companions.
Perfect—this lined up exactly with Kazuki's Romance Side Mission.
So he gladly agreed. As for the "special relationship" part… well, if they traveled together, sparks would fly sooner or later. No need to rush.
"Yay! Let's support each other and do our best!"
Misty jumped for joy when Kazuki said yes.
Riiiing…
Just as they were laughing and chatting, a sudden ringtone interrupted them.
Misty glanced at her Pokédex, and the smile on her face instantly vanished.
She covered it slightly and said, "Um, I'm gonna take this call over there, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, she hurried off.
Kazuki watched her dash away, clearly hiding something, and chuckled.
"Hiding your Cerulean Gym identity, huh? No big deal. Let's see what my sweet Delia's up to now."
He ducked into a corner, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, and then dialed.
Why a corner?
Of course—to tease Delia over video chat in peace…