Viridian City's specialty ingredients?

"Me? Well..." Heath scratched his head, a little taken aback by Giovanni's question. In the Pokémon world, traveling was something every child dreamed of, especially setting out with their own Pokémon.

It was much like China's college entrance exam, a milestone almost every child went through. Heath had once envied that life, too. He had wanted to travel with his own Pokémon.

But now Heath had other ambitions.

"I'd probably earn more money, then save up to open a restaurant and serve all kinds of customers." Heath smiled as he spoke. Traveling sounded fun, but he thought opening his own restaurant was a pretty good idea, too.

"Hahaha, that's exactly what I'd expect you to say, little Heath." Giovanni laughed heartily, while the Persian beside him flicked its tail.

"But if you want to become a really good chef, traveling might be the best way. The world is so big, and every city has its own ingredients. Wouldn't you be missing out if you never went?" Giovanni wiped away the tears from his laughter, then smiled at Heath.

Heath nodded. He had considered that, too. Viridian City was inland, and although neighboring Pallet Town bordered the sea, the variety of seafood available there was rather limited.

Heath had heard that Pewter City had some unusual ingredients. One of them, called the Pewter Rice Berry, could even help Pokémon recover from status conditions when eaten. It didn't taste very good, though, so it wasn't particularly popular.

"Mr. Giovanni, have you ever tried any unusual dishes?" Heath looked at Giovanni curiously, eager to know what someone of his standing had eaten.

"Me? I've eaten quite a lot of things, but one that left a particularly strong impression... would probably be the seafood sashimi in Vermilion City." Giovanni thought for a moment before giving an unexpected answer.

Heath's expression grew a little odd. Did people eat Pokémon in this world? They certainly did. Even setting aside the Farfetch'd he had caught, Heath knew plenty of examples.

There was Moomoo Milk produced by Miltank, for instance, and honey from Combee. But in Kanto, the Pokémon that gave the League the biggest headache-and the only one for which it issued disposal permits-was Magikarp.

Magikarp was a peculiar Pokémon. It was incredibly weak before evolving. Despite being a Water-type Pokémon, it couldn't even beat a Charmander. It learned very few moves, and its chances of evolving into Gyarados were slim.

Within the Indigo League's territory, Magikarp were essentially at the very bottom of the food chain. Yet these powerless Pokémon had become the Indigo League's biggest headache.

A Magikarp could lay huge numbers of eggs at once, producing even more Magikarp and overcrowding waterways. Most importantly, Magikarp had lots of bones and very little meat, so few people were willing to eat them.

All those factors combined meant that Magikarp populations frequently grew out of control within the Indigo League's territory. Magikarp were also the first Pokémon for which the Indigo League issued disposal permits. When their numbers became excessive, they were caught and turned into feed or buried.

"Don't overthink it. Almost everything sold in Vermilion City is ordinary fish." Giovanni instantly saw what Heath was thinking and waved a hand, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Only after Giovanni finished eating and paid did Heath finally have some time to himself. He checked his ingredients; there wasn't much left.

"I'm making money a lot faster now." Heath counted the day's earnings and nodded in satisfaction. At this rate, if he worked hard for another year or two, he should be able to rent a place and open a restaurant, right?

Still, Giovanni's words had tempted Heath. Although logistics were developing in the Pokémon world, they were still far from mature. Ordering all the ingredients he needed without leaving home, as he could in his old world, remained difficult.

[Chef's Path: Collect the specialty ingredients of every town and city, and develop the most suitable cooking methods for them. Each time you complete a town or city, you will receive a random reward.]

Just as Heath was considering his future path, a text box suddenly popped up before him.

"Every city's specialty ingredients, huh?" Heath rubbed his chin. The quest had appeared at just the right time, helping him commit to the idea he had still been wavering over.

"So what's Viridian City's specialty ingredient?" Heath frowned. After living in Viridian City for so long, he honestly couldn't remember it having any special ingredients.

Heath was also curious about what Pallet Town's specialty ingredient might be. Surely he wasn't supposed to make super Pallet Town human stir-fry? After all, whenever Viridian City came up, he thought of those superhuman people from Pallet Town.

"Little Heath, what are you thinking about~? You're staring at my legs without even blinking. What are you planning~? Do you want to get something white all over me~?" At the familiar voice, Heath's mouth twitched. He knew who had arrived the moment he heard it.

"Aya... You really are..." Heath looked at the Officer Jenny before him, caught between laughter and exasperation. One glance was enough to recognize her.

Officer Jenny Aya, the queen of dirty jokes among the Officer Jennys, an elite among seasoned flirts-a woman who particularly enjoyed saying outrageous things.

Every time Heath ran into Officer Jenny Aya, he worried about whether this shameless flirt would tease him. He hadn't escaped today, either. If he'd known, he wouldn't have stood there daydreaming.

"By the way, Aya, do you know what Viridian City's specialty ingredient is?" Seeing Officer Jenny Aya smiling and about to speak, Heath hurriedly beat her to it with a question. He had absolutely no desire to find out what that seasoned flirt was about to say.

"Huh? A specialty ingredient~?" Officer Jenny Aya pinched Heath's cheeks with a mischievous grin. Heath felt as though his mouth had been stretched considerably.

"I'm not-not talking about my pancakes!" Heath slapped Officer Jenny Aya's hand, finally freeing his mouth from its painful ordeal.

"Heh, Viridian City doesn't really have anything especially tasty. If I had to name something, I remember hearing someone say there used to be a special fruit in Viridian Forest called the Evergreen Fruit. Eating it supposedly gave you powerful psychic abilities. I think that was the story." Sitting on her motorcycle with her chin propped on one hand, Officer Jenny Aya gave Heath an answer.

"The Evergreen Fruit?" Heath paused. How had he never heard of this thing before?