Heath froze for a moment at the wing slapping his hand. Although he and Farfetch'd had been friends for three years, he really hadn't expected Farfetch'd to actually agree.
Then a surge of wild joy flooded his heart. Heath told Farfetch'd to wait, then hurried to the Poké Mart to buy the most basic Poké Ball.
One hundred League coins spent the last of Heath's savings, but it was all worth it.
When Heath returned to his little pushcart, he found Farfetch'd standing beside it, curiously touching the batter he had set out with both wings.
"Do you want to learn to cook from me?" Heath looked at Farfetch'd with amusement. His sudden voice startled Farfetch'd into a shudder, and the Pokémon nearly dumped the batter over Heath's head.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd waved its wings and kept calling out, seemingly complaining about Heath suddenly appearing and scaring it.
Heath took out his Poké Ball, looked at Farfetch'd, then extended his hand, openly presenting the ball.
"Are you really willing to become my partner, Farfetch'd?" Heath asked softly as he looked at the Pokémon.
"Farfetch'd! Farfetch'd, Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd firmly patted its chest, then slapped the Poké Ball with one wing.
The Poké Ball emitted a beam of light and drew Farfetch'd inside. Then it dropped to the ground and lay perfectly still, without any further movement.
"Critical capture!" Heath was delighted. It seemed there really was a foundation to their bond. After all, he had been feeding this Pokémon for three years.
[You successfully obtained your first Pokémon. Reward: one Silver Bottle Cap.]
A strange text box suddenly appeared before Heath. He froze, staring at it, then reached out and waved his hand through it. The box hovered clearly before his eyes and only slowly faded after a while.
Heath suddenly felt something extra in his pocket. He took it out for a look. It was an exquisitely crafted Silver Bottle Cap that looked very beautiful.
"This is..." Heath's breathing quickened.
The Silver Bottle Cap was an item introduced in the later generations of Pokémon games. Its purpose was very simple: it could raise one random Individual Value of a max-level Pokémon to its maximum.
At that moment, an enormous wave of delight engulfed Heath. After everything he had seen, how could he not understand what had happened to him? He, too, had received the cheat that every transmigrator needed!
Heath picked up the Poké Ball. The moment he did, he sensed Farfetch'd's eagerness to come out, so he went ahead and released it.
"Farfetch'd, Farfetch'd!" As soon as Farfetch'd emerged, it happily waved its wings, then gazed hungrily at Heath's food cart. Heath understood exactly what it wanted.
"You little glutton." With a Pokémon of his own and a cheat to boot, Heath couldn't have been happier.
In high spirits, Heath made Farfetch'd another jianbing, adding an extra egg before handing it over. Farfetch'd eagerly took it and gobbled it down in just a few bites.
Watching Farfetch'd happily eat, Heath smiled brightly. He had been a chef in his previous life, and nothing pleased him more than seeing diners wear such blissful expressions because of the food he made.
[You served Farfetch'd. You obtained one opportunity to modify an Ability.]
The text box appeared again. Heath froze. What did that mean?
Modify an Ability? What was Farfetch'd's Ability?
Heath rubbed his face. He had been in this world for so long, and Farfetch'd was a relatively obscure Pokémon to begin with. He couldn't remember what its Ability was anymore.
"It's not like I can give it Desolate Land, right?" Heath remarked with a self-deprecating chuckle. It looked like he would have to ask Sister Feng later.
[Confirm changing Farfetch'd's Ability to Desolate Land?]
The text box appeared again. Heath froze. What did this mean? Could he really change Farfetch'd's Ability to Desolate Land?
"No!" Heath hastily declined.
Desolate Land was Groudon's Ability after Primal Reversion, with the powerful effect of making it immune to Water-type attacks. Of course, that was how the Ability worked in the games. In reality...
Heath shook his head fiercely. He had no desire to find out what it felt like to have a real Groudon standing before him. That was a scene he hoped would never happen.
He had to admit that Abilities like Desolate Land and primordial sea were incredibly tempting. Serene Grace was good, too, but Heath had thought of another Ability.
[Confirm changing Farfetch'd's Ability to Wonder Guard?]
"Yes!" This time, Heath nodded firmly. As he did, Farfetch'd, which was still rubbing against him in hopes of scoring another meal, suddenly shuddered, then looked around in confusion.
Heath looked at Farfetch'd in delight. If the Ability modification had really succeeded, then the Pokémon before him could only be described as ridiculously overpowered.
Wonder Guard was Shedinja's exclusive Ability. A Pokémon with this Ability could only be damaged by moves that were super effective against it!
And as a Normal- and Flying-type Pokémon, Farfetch'd could only be hit for super-effective damage by...
Electric-type, Rock-type, and Ice-type moves.
"Farfetch'd, do you feel any different?" Heath asked, happily stroking its head.
"Fetch'd?" Farfetch'd tilted its head and looked at Heath in confusion. It strongly suspected that its Trainer had gone stupid.
"Oh, right, there's this, too." Heath took the Silver Bottle Cap out of his pocket, but how was he supposed to use it?
Just as Heath was puzzling over that, the curious Farfetch'd picked up the Silver Bottle Cap, put it in its mouth, and bit down.
With that single bite, the Silver Bottle Cap vanished into Farfetch'd's mouth. Farfetch'd stared at its wings in panic, as though saying, Where did my great big bottle cap go?
[Farfetch'd used the Silver Bottle Cap. Its Special Defense increased.]
The corner of Heath's mouth twitched. Seriously, either Attack or Special Attack would have been a pretty good random result, but he hadn't expected Special Defense.
"It's okay, it's okay. We'll stack the thickest armor." Heath comforted the bewildered Farfetch'd, then started toward his current home with it.
Still, to avoid attracting anyone else's attention, Heath recalled Farfetch'd. It resisted fiercely, however, and only reluctantly went into the Poké Ball after Heath promised to add five eggs to tomorrow's jianbing.
"What am I supposed to make of this?" Looking at the food-obsessed Farfetch'd, Heath didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Before you continue