After leaving A.J.'s personal Gym, Kazuki quickly wrapped up the remaining nine battles to complete his 100-win streak.
The system notification even switched to the sound of fireworks.
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the Perfect 100-Win Streak Mission!]
[Special Grade Experience Boost Potion ×1 has been added to your system backpack!]
[Special Grade Miracle Seed has been added to your system backpack!]
Because Kazuki had defeated A.J., the rewards for the 100-win streak mission were all upgraded to Special Grade, with double the usual effects.
He immediately gave the Special Grade Experience Boost Potion to Pikachu—after all, something that good is best enjoyed early.
"Pika~?"
Pikachu scrunched its face at the weird taste of the potion.
"Doesn't taste good? Haha, as long as it works. Finish it and I'll get you a ketchup burger afterward!"
"Pika!!"
At the mention of ketchup, Pikachu chugged it down in one gulp without hesitation.
"Aaaah! Kazuki! You really pulled off a 100-win streak! Aaaah, oh my gosh! You're amazing!"
Seeing Kazuki claim his hundredth win, Misty leapt from the rock where she'd been watching and rushed over to his side.
Though she often bickered with him, her cheers were genuine—especially because she was relieved he didn't lose the badge.
But once she was close, Misty puffed up her cheeks and gave Kazuki a light smack on the arm. "You dummy! Next time don't go pulling off such reckless stunts! You had me worried sick!"
"Worried? You mean worried I'd get too far ahead of you after hitting 100 wins?" Kazuki saw right through her tsundere nature—and teasing her like this was half the fun.
"As if! I was worried you might par—Hey!! You're so annoying! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
Misty stomped her foot, flustered. She had something to say but just couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Hahaha, alright, alright—I know you care. Come on, we're celebrating my 100-win streak. Dinner's on me!"
"Huh? Yay!" Misty was easy to please—within a minute, her mood had lifted again.
...…
After feasting at a nearby town, Kazuki and Misty continued on their journey toward Vermilion City.
With Pikachu now boosted by the Special Grade Experience Boost Potion, Kazuki handed over every wild encounter along the road to Pikachu.
With all that focused attention and resource support, Pikachu's level soon shot up to 25.
However, after several days of wandering, it became clear that Kazuki and Misty had taken a wrong turn somewhere—they weren't getting any closer to Vermilion City.
To make matters worse, thick fog had rolled in today, and they couldn't tell which direction was which.
So, they decided to stay put and cook a meal.
"Ugh—Misty, what is this dish?! It tastes awful!"
Kazuki had taken just one bite of Misty's cooking before feeling like he'd been hit with a poison-type attack.
"Huh?! T-That's impossible… It must be the cheap ingredients you bought! I told you to get the most expensive ones!"
Misty, clearly flustered, scrambled to shift the blame and refused to admit her cooking was bad.
"Expensive? You went all-out with that big feast earlier! We're in the middle of the woods with no comms—how long do you think high-end stuff can last?"
"I thought you said you were good at cooking! And here I was, imagining a sweet, homey dinner atmosphere!"
"I… I only know how to roast fish for now! Everything else, um… still working on it!"
Misty tried a bite of her own dish—her whole mouth scrunched up in protest—but for pride's sake, she kept silent and forced it down.
"Screw it! Let's just make hot pot! We can't waste the leftover ingredients. Who knows how long we'll be stuck in these woods."
Kazuki poured mineral water into a small iron pot, added some spicy seasoning he'd bought back in town, and then tossed in the remaining ingredients to simmer them together.
Gurgle, gurgle…
The broth began to bubble. Kazuki took a taste—while it couldn't compare to a proper dishes, it was leagues better than Misty's disaster dish.
"Mmm, not bad! Misty, give it a try!"
Misty gave the pot a skeptical sniff. "What's so good about a big mess in a pot anyway…"
But once she tried a bite—maybe because she'd been eating nothing but instant food lately, or maybe because this was the first warm meal in days—she immediately lit up.
"Mm! It's actually really good! I think it tastes even better than the feast we had before!"
And so, Kazuki and Misty found themselves cooking hotpot right in the middle of someone else's school grounds.
Yes, you heard right—inside a school!
...
"Tell me, what Pokémon is in this photo?!"
Not far away, a group of students in suits and ties were grilling a fellow student who was running on a treadmill.
"I-It's… Zubat?"
"Wrong! Foggy terrain has more than just bats, you know!"
"Then… Pidgey? Huh? What's that smell? Smells amazing…"
The boy on the treadmill—Joe—suddenly caught a whiff of something savory.
"Don't get distracted! Keep answering! What's the best way to roast Pidgey wings?!"
Even the green-haired boy who was asking the questions got momentarily derailed by the sudden aroma.
"Pidgey wings… wait, huh? Roast?!"
Joe lost his focus and tumbled off the treadmill.
The green-haired boy quickly snapped out of it and summoned Zubat to blow away some of the thick fog. He turned in the direction of the scent and sternly shouted:
"Who's over there causing trouble and interrupting our training?!"
Kazuki and Misty, sitting on the ground with bowls in hand, looked blankly at the group of students.
But their mouths never stopped—still chomping away on freshly-cooked beef.