Stray Pokémon

"Oh, yes, just like that. You need to cut this pork into small chunks, but not too small." Heath patiently guided Farfetch'd through making braised pork, though he also noticed that Farfetch'd seemed remarkably talented at cutting things.

Farfetch'd did an excellent job of cutting the pork. Every piece was the same size, and the knife work was very good, following the grain of the meat to give it a better texture when eaten.

But once they actually got to the boiling and stir-frying stages, Farfetch'd's cooking station turned into something out of a disaster horror movie, leaving Heath scrambling the entire time.

Even though Heath did his best to teach Farfetch'd, even guiding the movements himself, Farfetch'd still managed to burn a whole pot of pork. The sight made Heath's stomach ache a little.

"Good thing there wasn't much pork in this batch, or I think I'd be going bankrupt." Heath looked at the somewhat blackened pork in the pot and sighed.

Fortunately, Heath had prepared ahead of time and cut the pork into small portions, so the loss wasn't too great.

After a few more lessons, Farfetch'd finally managed to make a barely passable serving of Red-Braised Pork with Fried Tofu. But it still hadn't earned his golden finger's approval, which Heath suspected was because it didn't taste very good.

Still, Heath wasn't planning to keep teaching Farfetch'd how to make Red-Braised Pork with Fried Tofu right now. It was almost lunchtime, and he needed to get the ingredients ready as quickly as possible.

Next, Heath had Farfetch'd watch from the side as he made another batch of Red-Braised Pork with Fried Tofu. Only then did he push his food cart to the street with the most offices in Viridian City, set up, and wait for customers to arrive.

"Meow!" At the strange sound, Heath tossed over some of Farfetch'd's slightly burnt pork without even turning his head.

A bout of chewing came from behind him, followed by another meow. Heath turned around and saw three Meowth sitting behind him, gazing at him pleadingly.

"You lot can't keep milking me alone for freebies, you know." Heath looked helplessly at the Meowth behind him. These little fellows were back again.

"Rat, rat!" Then two Raticate emerged from the bushes, cautiously looking around.

Last came an Ekans, flicking its tongue and looking happily at Heath, its eye full of joy.

Heath felt a little helpless as he looked at the little fellows behind him, but he still took out the less-than-successful braised pork from Farfetch'd's earlier experiments. Then he retrieved a small basin from beneath the cart, poured the pork into it, and set it in front of them.

Looking at these Pokémon roaming the city, Heath crouched down and stroked a Meowth's head with a smile. Its ears twitched, but it otherwise showed no reaction and continued eating.

Just as there had been stray animals in cities on Earth in his previous life, the Pokémon world naturally had them too. These Pokémon had been abandoned by their original trainers for all sorts of reasons. Unable to return to the wild, they could only wander the city.

When Heath first encountered them, he had thought someone had brought their Pokémon out for a walk. Only later did he realize these little fellows were strays.

"Ekans, staying in the city forever isn't a solution." Heath stroked Ekans's head. This Ekans had only one eye, and it had already been that way when he found it.

Heath suspected that Ekans's missing eye probably had something to do with why it had been abandoned and become a stray.

"Hiss..." Ekans swallowed a piece of pork, flicked out its tongue to lick its mouth contentedly, then raised its head to look at Heath.

Heath understood what it meant and reached out to stroke its head.

After the Meowth, Raticate, and Ekans finished eating, they slipped back into the bushes. Heath knew they would continue roaming the city. These little fellows had their own secret base, a place to take shelter.

"Heath, one serving of braised pork with rice!" As lunchtime arrived, customers began turning up one after another. Heath had no time to think about anything else and focused on serving them.

Once the lunch rush was over, Heath packed up his food cart. Hardly any customers came by at this hour, something he had learned from running his business in Viridian City for four years.

Every year, this was also the time when a new group of trainers set off on their journeys with their starter Pokémon. Heath saw quite a few children on the street, holding their Pokémon and chatting happily.

Most had Pokémon like Pidgey and Raticate. Occasionally, he spotted a few Pikachu and Eevee, while Kanto's three starter Pokémon were the rarest.

"Hey, young Heath, packing up already?" At the sound of Giovanni's voice, Heath looked up. Giovanni stood in front of him in a black suit, smiling, with a Persian beside him.

"Mr. Giovanni! Would you like some braised pork with rice? It tastes pretty good." Heath smiled at Giovanni. He had to admit that although Giovanni was the boss of Team Rocket, he presented himself extremely well in public.

To Heath, Mr. Giovanni felt like a school's head of discipline. Yet with elderly people and girls, he was like a gentleman, exceptionally considerate.

Viridian City's television station had previously reported on Mr. Giovanni volunteering at a nursing home. Only after investigating did they discover that Giovanni went every year, and the media had simply happened to notice this time. Otherwise, no one would have realized that this smiling man was Viridian City's Gym Leader.

"Well, since you put it that way, young Heath, I'll have a serving. I'm very curious about this new dish of yours," Mr. Giovanni said with a smile.

Heath deftly opened the pot and ladled out a bowl of Red-Braised Pork with Fried Tofu, then added rice and placed it in front of Giovanni.

"Oh, that smells nice. Mm, it tastes wonderful too." Giovanni sniffed the aroma in the air and nodded in satisfaction. Then he took a bite and was even more pleasantly surprised.

Heath watched Giovanni with a smile. His interactions with Giovanni over the past four years often made him feel that Giovanni might not be the evil boss from the anime at all, but rather a kindly man.

But looking at the Persian beside Giovanni, Heath knew that, no matter what, Giovanni was still the boss of Team Rocket. That composed, calculating man, full of schemes, was his true self.

"Young Heath, what do you plan to do in the future? It's already the season for people to collect their starter Pokémon and head off on their journeys." Giovanni asked Heath the question as he ate.

Thanks to the uncle who loves reading chat-group stories for the tip of 1,500 Qidian coins.