After the battle, the beautiful blonde girl left with the little girl, and Heath had no intention of going over to ask them anything. After all, no matter how he looked at it, yesterday's scene wasn't something a normal person could have pulled off.
Unless some purple potato monster had happened to snap his fingers just as the little girl appeared yesterday, and she just happened to be turned to dust, that scene could only have been a Pokémon's doing.
Heath watched several more battles at the arena, adding a little to his own battling experience. Most were amateurs flailing at each other, but there were still some excellent matches.
The one that caught Heath's eye most was a battle between two young Trainers: Charizard against Blastoise. Charizard overcame the type disadvantage and defeated Blastoise, winning the match. Heath took a curious look at Charizard's Trainer.
It was an unfamiliar, unremarkable face. He probably wasn't anyone important in the story.
"There really are hidden talents everywhere." Heath stretched, thanked the older security guard for looking after his cart, then pushed it out of the battle hall.
It was almost quitting time. Heath planned to follow his usual routine and set up his stall to earn one last bit of money for the day before returning to the dorm to rest.
Although Heath had already decided on his future path, he still needed to save up if he wanted to visit other cities. Besides, he really did feel reluctant to say goodbye to Sister Feng.
"Heath, one egg-hmm? Have you added a new dish? Do you still have any of this red-braised pork?" At the sound of that pleasant voice, Heath knew who had arrived without even looking up.
"Of course, Ms. Lori. Would you like a serving?" Heath smiled at the woman before him. She was very beautiful and had an air of elegance about her.
Heath thought Ms. Lori was probably in her forties, but there was absolutely no way to tell from her appearance. She looked just like a beautiful young woman of twenty-three.
Heath had once tried asking Ms. Lori her age, only to receive a death glare. The look in her beautiful eyes had made him break out in a cold sweat even in the scorching heat. Then she had delivered a famous line.
"Oh, I'm always eighteen~" That sounded a little familiar to Heath. He remembered a certain several-thousand-year-old hag saying the same...
Well, since something like transmigration had actually happened, Heath thought he had better keep that to himself.
Otherwise, who knew what that eternally eighteen-year-old beauty might do?
"Of course I do~ My daughter finally came home today, and I'm so happy~ So give me another two servings to take away~" Ms. Lori smiled happily. Her smile was beautiful too, and her captivating eyes seemed to hold an entire starry sky.
Still, Heath had no romantic interest in Ms. Lori. He knew perfectly well that this beautiful-looking woman was a formidable figure.
Ms. Lori, the Indigo League's strongest Looker, had once defeated a Pokémon Hunter team numbering in the dozens with her six Pokémon. From that day on, her name had been known throughout Kanto.
Many people believed that Viridian City's having the lowest crime rate in all of Kanto was closely tied to Ms. Lori living there, though Heath thought Giovanni was the reason.
"All right, just a moment." Heath nodded. He had heard Ms. Lori mention her daughter before. She was a highly skilled Electric-type Pokémon expert in her twenties, and apparently planned to challenge Lt. Surge and become an Electric-type Gym Leader.
Heath wasn't particularly optimistic about Ms. Lori's daughter, though. Wasn't Lt. Surge still the Electric-type Gym Leader later on, after Ash and Red set out on their journeys?
Still, Heath wasn't going to offer his unsolicited opinion. With a cheerful smile, he prepared Ms. Lori's red-braised pork and rice, then handed it over along with the two takeaway containers. Ms. Lori didn't reach for them, but a purplish-black hand emerged from behind her and took the containers.
Heath took the money from the hand without batting an eye, then played a round of rock-paper-scissors with it for good measure, beating it yet again.
"Gengar!" A Gengar puffed up with anger emerged from behind Ms. Lori, looking utterly indignant.
"You can't blame me for that." Heath shrugged. Ms. Lori had a Gengar who particularly loved playing rock-paper-scissors with him.
Although Gengar often lost, that didn't stop Gengar from challenging Heath every time they met.
"Including this round, that makes it a hundred and twenty-seven to three hundred and forty-five between us, Gengar." Heath took out a little notebook and cheerfully recorded the result.
Gengar floated out with a defiant look, intending to challenge Heath to another round, but before getting all the way out, Gengar noticed Ms. Lori's "kindly" smile.
Muttering, Gengar shrank back, looking as aggrieved as a forty-kilogram fatty.
"Honestly, Heath, couldn't you let Gengar win once in a while? On our last mission, this one was still complaining to me about always losing to you." Ms. Lori rubbed her brow helplessly.
Ms. Lori now deeply regretted ever agreeing to let Heath and Gengar play rock-paper-scissors. These days, Gengar secretly studied foolproof ways to win every single day.
Yes, there was a Rock-Paper-Scissors Beginner's Guide, a Rock-Paper-Scissors Advanced Guide, and Rock-Paper-Scissors: How to Become a Master, all handwritten little booklets.
Yet Gengar had shelled out a full three thousand League Coins for those three little booklets, and had done so quite willingly.
That left Ms. Lori deeply displeased, but seeing Gengar's expression of "What a bargain!" she couldn't really say anything.
Besides, however Ms. Lori looked at it, the handwriting in those three rock-paper-scissors guides wasn't merely similar to Heath's. It was identical.
"Hehe, I just threw out a hand at random. But I did learn that technique for winning without trying from a book called Rock-Paper-Scissors: The Master's Secret Technique," Heath said with a perfectly straight face. Gengar instantly popped out from behind Ms. Lori.
Those big eyes gazed at Heath, brimming with longing.
Ms. Lori took a deep breath. This little swindler!
If she hadn't known that Gengar was willingly falling for it, and that Heath had made up for it afterward, Ms. Lori swore she would have thoroughly investigated Heath to find out just how much he had fleeced her Gengar for!
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