["We are now heading to interview the hero of Porta Vista, Mr. Kazuki, along with Miss Misty! It was thanks to their valiant efforts that the city was saved from being swallowed by the ocean!"]
Lillie sat cross-legged on the floor, her wide eyes glued to the news video playing on TV, showing Kazuki riding Pidgeot into battle against the Tentacruel.
"Mom! This guy is so handsome!"
"And his Pokémon are amazing!"
"I didn't think a single Pokémon Trainer could pull off something like this!"
Lillie's gaze stayed fixed on Kazuki.
"I'm going to be a Pokémon Trainer just like him one day!"
The President of the Aether Foundation—Lusamine—heard her daughter's excited cries and walked over with a cup of coffee in hand, stopping in front of the TV.
"Kanto Region, Pallet Town, Pokémon Trainer—Kazuki! Wait, Lillie, pause it!"
Lusamine suddenly noticed the Pidgeot Kazuki was riding.
"Mom, it's a live broadcast! How am I supposed to pause it?"
Lillie tilted her head and glanced at Lusamine. "You want to watch the hero Kazuki, right?"
"There are videos of him battling the Tentacruel online!"
Without hesitation, Lusamine set down her coffee and hurried over to the computer, pulling up the footage of Kazuki.
Her eyes immediately zeroed in on Kazuki's massive Pidgeot.
"Oh my goodness! It's huge!"
"For a man to raise a Pokémon this well... How fascinating. I'd love to meet him if the chance arises!"
Kazuki's heroic feat of saving Porta Vista not only caught the attention of Lusamine and Lillie, but also the Pokémon League.
However, the League was mainly interested in the enormous Tentacruel. After awarding Kazuki a generous sum, they quickly shifted focus to researching the Tentacruel.
At this stage, too much attention wouldn't have been good anyway, so Kazuki, satisfied after confirming the prize money had been deposited, turned to checking his mission rewards.
[Ding! Perfect Hero Mission: Save Porta Vista! Protect the ocean and resolve the Tentacruel incident—completed!]
[Dragon Scale has been placed in the system inventory]
[Beginner Hero's Soul Aura has been loaded]
[Justice Reputation +2]
Two more points added to Justice Reputation—and with the Hero's Soul Aura now active, next time anything involving Officer Jenny came up, Kazuki could steer things toward a more favorable outcome.
The Dragon Scale would be perfect for evolving his Shiny Horsea into a Kingdra. With how quickly it was leveling up, it should be ready to evolve by the time the Indigo Plateau Conference rolled around!
Oh, right—leveling up! My Minor Champion Aura!
Remembering his Minor Champion Aura, Kazuki quickly closed the system screen and threw himself back into training.
Meanwhile, the Mayor, following Kazuki's advice, handled the situation diligently—not only avoiding reprimand from his superiors but actually gaining recognition.
After wrapping up the thank-you ceremony, the Mayor arranged a fireworks display just for Kazuki.
Got to admit, the Mayor really knew how to handle personal favors.
He even specially arranged the best, most private spot for Kazuki and Misty to watch the fireworks together, ensuring they had plenty of space to "talk."
"Come on, Delia! Let's go up and watch the fireworks!"
Delia glanced at the secluded, quiet upper deck and let go of Misty's hand.
"Eh, Misty, that's the spot the Mayor reserved for you and Kazuki!"
"Ehh, it's fine! Let's just go together!" Misty still didn't catch on to what Delia meant.
Delia decided to spell it out:
"I can watch from down here. Didn't you have something you wanted to tell Kazuki? This is the perfect chance!"
She patted Misty's arm and quickly made her exit, leaving Kazuki and Misty some private time.
Misty, reminded by Delia, suddenly felt the emotions she'd been suppressing bubble back to the surface.
Frozen in place for a while, fumbling for words, she finally made her way up.
Kazuki, hearing footsteps, glanced back.
"Where's Delia? She's not coming up with you?"
"Oh! Um… Delia went to grab some snacks! So I came up first..."
Misty sat down beside Kazuki after a moment's hesitation, sitting close enough that their arms brushed together.
Feeling the warmth of her skin, Kazuki immediately sensed Misty was ready to take a step forward in their relationship.
"Um, Kazuki… I..."
"Mm, go ahead." Kazuki's voice was calm and patient.
"I wanted to thank you for saving me today!" Misty's breathing grew a little rapid.
"It was nothing—you were trying to save Porta Vista and the Tentacruel too! Besides, we're partners, aren't we?"
"Partners?" Misty's heart started pounding faster. Clearly, she didn't want to stay stuck at just "partners" anymore.
"Are we really just partners?"
Kazuki turned to look at her.
"Then what else do you want us to be?"
"I... I..."
Misty's chest heaved slightly, her soft body pressing gently against Kazuki's arm.
"I also want to thank you! Thank you for helping me catch Horsea!"
In the end, Misty chickened out, using Horsea as an excuse.
"That's your own skill—you're the daughter of a Water-type Gym Leader after all! I just gave you a little nudge!"
Kazuki responded kindly, though the conversation drifted into silence afterward.
After a moment, Misty took a deep breath and blurted out:
"Kazuki! I..."
"I like you!"
She finally mustered her courage and whispered her feelings—but the exact moment the fireworks exploded, drowning out her words.
"What? What did you say?" Kazuki turned back, puzzled.
Misty looked at him, her tiny fists clenched, feeling utterly wronged and cursing the fireworks a hundred times over inside.
But now that she had decided to confess, there was no backing down.
Misty leaned in and kissed him.
[Ding! Misty's Romance Side Mission completed!]
[Adult Poké Ball 1 placed in system inventory!]
[Host's Charm increased by 50%!]
A delightful surprise—after being stuck on the lower half of the romance mission for so long, it had finally completed with just a light kiss.
It was clearly Misty's first kiss—just a quick brush of lips before she pulled back.
"Kazuki, I... I want to be your girlfriend! Is... is that okay?"
Misty twisted the hem of her clothes, shrinking her neck in embarrassment, blushing furiously.
Hearing a tomboyish girl confess—it was about very rare.
With the quest complete and her girlfriend status confirmed, Kazuki pulled Misty into his arms by her slender waist.
He kissed her again—this time teaching Misty what a real kiss was.
Misty trembled, startled at first, but soon melted into him, shyly returning the kiss.
Of course, when you sit down to a meal, you don't just sit there.
Kazuki's hand naturally wandered toward the hem of Misty's clothes.
Mmm~ Naughty Kazuki~
[Ding! Misty's Romance Advanced Version: During sweet romance, trigger three special emotional responses from Misty!]
[Quest Reward: Progress toward Perfect Romance Mission without needing "special relations"!
Romance Space Summon: Call any captured heroine to your side at any time, lasts 1 day, 7-day cooldown!]
System! Not now? I'm Busy here!
Misty, too, was pouring out all her pent-up feelings for Kazuki, kissing him for a long time before they finally broke apart.
Afterward, Misty, without even realizing it, picked up a "girlfriend habit" and pinched Kazuki lightly.
It took her a while to catch her breath and stammer:
"You... Kazuki, you're so bad!"
Though she had officially changed status, Misty was still adorably shy about certain things.
Kazuki laughed, pulling Misty snug against him.
"You've known that from day one, haven't you?"
"Ugh! You're such a pervert! How did I ever fall for you?!"
Though Misty grumbled, the sweet smile on her face was impossible to hide.
"Exactly! You're stuck with me now, so prepare to suffer!"
With his boyfriend status secured, Kazuki boldly rested his hand on Misty's smooth thigh.
Misty squirmed a little but didn't push him away—just huffed arrogantly:
"Hmph! Who's scared! I... I'm not scared at all!"
"B-but can we... take things slow? I mean... I just had my first kiss..."
Kazuki, hearing the sincerity in Misty's voice, nodded.
They had been close for a while, but now that they had officially confirmed their relationship, rushing would only backfire.
They had all the time in the world now—and with the Romance Advancement Mission ahead, it would be better to take things naturally.
Plus, the Romance Space Summon function was super useful—he could summon any captured heroine to his side anytime.
After all, no one wanted their loved ones locked in a Poké Ball all day like lifeless dolls.
Letting them live freely, showing different flavors and personalities—that was the real joy of life!
And with the Private Estate feature coming in the future, everything would only get better.
Misty, seeing Kazuki nod, happily kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm so happy! I love you!"
"Hey... since you're my girlfriend now, doesn't that make our Champion bet kind of meaningless?"
Kazuki teased lightly, brushing Misty's arm.
"Oh no!" Misty suddenly jolted.
"That means you won't have any motivation anymore! Maybe we should've waited a bit longer to get together!"
Kazuki playfully flicked her forehead.
"Don't worry, I'll always have the drive to become Champion!"
"Good! Then the previous rewards still stand!"
"Even if some of those rewards might get sneakily claimed early by you, you big pervert!"
"But I'll add one more!"
Misty raised a finger proudly.
"In addition to the previous promises, you can ask me to do something I normally wouldn't agree to!"
"Er... even if it's... a little perverted!"
In Misty's mind, "perverted" basically meant getting... intimate.
Which, for a tomboy like her, was already pushing the limit.
"Oh?"
Kazuki grinned wickedly, eyeing Misty's gorgeous figure, already planning how to fully "develop" her.