Chapter 6

[Pokémon: Pikachu, Level Lv1 → Lv5] 

Dozens of Spearow provided a solid chunk of experience, and since early-leveling required little EXP, this battle alone boosted Pikachu to level 5.

With the Spearow problem resolved, Kazuki's mission rewards also arrived right on time.

This time, he clearly felt the physical enhancement from the rewards—his muscles seemed to swell as if he'd just mastered some strength magic.

Behind him, Misty, who had been watching the battle unfold, was left slack-jawed. It took her a while before she finally managed to close her mouth.

Slowly edging closer to Kazuki, Misty looked at him with eyes full of admiration. "That… your Pikachu is amazing! You trained it so well!"

"I was lucky—it had good potential to begin with," Kazuki answered humbly. Then he introduced himself: "I'm Kazuki, a Trainer from Pallet Town."

"I'm Misty, the world's number one beautiful girl Trainer!" 

When it came to introductions, Misty's tone took on a dramatic flair.

"My food got stolen by some Rattata, so I was looking for bait to go fishing… but I accidentally ran into those aggressive Spearow!"

"Luckily, you came to my rescue. Thank you so much! I owe you big time. I promise I'll repay you in the future!"

With a deep bow, Misty expressed her gratitude. 

Her generous cleavage peeked through the collar of her top, catching Kazuki's eye.

Kazuki couldn't help but notice that her figure seemed much fuller than in the anime—likely a result of this world's altered reality. Misty had definitely matured.

Just then, Kazuki's system dinged twice in quick succession, and two new missions popped up.

Two missions at once? Did I trigger something?

Kazuki opened the system out of curiosity.

[Perfect Romance Mission: Win the hearts of 10 romantic partners and establish a special relationship with each!] 

[Mission Reward: A private estate, plus access to the Estate Teleport Gate — allows three round-trips per week from any region!] 

[Progress: 1/10 — Captured: Delia]

Whoa! Now this is a major quest—and those rewards are pretty generous!

A private estate with a teleport gate? 

That's practically the romance version of the base-building system!

I was wondering how I'd juggle all these girls spread across the regions—now I don't need to run around chasing them down. 

With a whole estate to manage them in one place, things just got a lot more convenient!

Too bad the teleport gate only works three times a week… Is the system afraid I'll get drained dry?

Still, three trips are plenty. I've got to focus on capturing Pokémon and competing in tournaments too. 

There'll probably be future upgrades for the estate anyway.

Ten romantic partners should keep me busy for a good while. I've only got two Adult Poké Balls, so I'll need to use my natural charm when possible to win them over.

After reviewing the big quest, Kazuki checked the second mission prompt.

[Ding! Romance Side Mission: Travel with Misty as companions, and trigger any one instance of an intimate special interaction!] 

[Mission Reward: One Adult Poké Ball; Host's Charm +50%]

Oh? Another Adult Poké Ball? I thought that reward wouldn't show up again!

And a 50% charm boost? With a few of these bonuses stacked up, I'll probably have girls swooning just from a few words—or even a single look.

Nice reward! And it's not too difficult—just any kind of intimate moment will do. 

It doesn't even have to go all the way, nor does it require a full-on "conquest." 

Probably just traveling together for a while will complete the mission automatically.

Satisfied with the mission setup, Kazuki cheerfully accepted Misty's thanks. "Alright then, we'll leave that for the future."

"Mmhm! I'll definitely repay you!" Misty smiled brightly as she stood back up.

Just as they continued chatting, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Kazuki looked up—and saw a golden, bird-shaped Pokémon flying overhead, gliding through a rainbow.

Kazuki's brows furrowed slightly as he observed it more closely. Wait… that shimmer… that radiance… No way—is that Ho-Oh?!

"Pikachu!" Kazuki shouted excitedly.

"Piiiii~kaaaa~~~"

Pikachu responded with a long, tired whine, clearly drained.

Kazuki glanced at it and couldn't help but laugh. 

What am I thinking?! Trying to catch Ho-Oh with a level 5 Pikachu? 

Got way too hyped! 

Forget it. Better just snap a photo to remember the moment. It's not every day you see a legendary Pokémon!

Without bothering to find the perfect angle, Kazuki whipped out his Pokédex and snapped shot after shot, trying to capture Ho-Oh's full figure as best he could.

Misty looked up dazedly, then asked with a puzzled look, "Isn't that just a Shiny Pokémon? Sure, it's rare, but is it really worth getting this worked up over?"

"Shiny? Heh…" 

Kazuki chuckled without explaining, continuing to photograph Ho-Oh's retreating silhouette. 

After all, this was a legendary Pokémon some researchers never got to see in their entire lives. Who knew when these photos might come in handy?

"Okay! That's our memory logged. Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Piiiii~~~kaaa…"

Pikachu took a couple tired steps before face-planting onto the ground…