The runaway Pokémon

"Sister Feng, welcome home." Heath greeted Officer Jenny Feng with a cheerful smile as she came home looking exhausted.

"Good evening, Heath... Huh? Why are there so many ducks today? What did you do?" Officer Jenny Feng stared blankly at the roast ducks on the table, sinking deep into thought.

Officer Jenny Feng had eaten roast duck before, of course, and Arcanine loved it too. Heath truly lived up to his reputation: his roast duck tasted incredible, and she had never forgotten it after trying it once.

But this was out of character for Heath. Officer Jenny Feng knew the younger brother she looked after very well. Perhaps because he was still paying off his debt, Heath watched every penny, and he only splurged on roast duck for holidays.

But today wasn't a holiday.

"Heath! Come clean right now!" Officer Jenny Feng slammed the table, making the roast ducks bounce slightly.

"Huh? Come clean about what?" Heath looked at Officer Jenny Feng in bewilderment. What was he supposed to confess? That Mr. Giovanni was actually the boss of Team Rocket?

What a joke. Never mind whether the League would believe him; whether Officer Jenny Feng would believe him was already a question. Without solid evidence, even if Giovanni walked past her wearing a Team Rocket uniform, she would only think someone had framed him.

That was the prestige Giovanni of the Earth commanded in Viridian City. Without solid evidence, people here would find it hard to question his identity.

"Then why did you make so much roast duck today?" Seeing Heath's bewildered expression, Officer Jenny Feng knew he really hadn't done anything wrong, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Farfetch'd wanted to learn how to make roast duck, so I taught him." Heath shrugged. Buying the ducks that afternoon had hurt his heart.

But even though Heath had let Farfetch'd prepare both roast ducks himself, Farfetch'd still hadn't made one that the golden finger would recognize. Heath had taken a bite; the cooking time was a little off.

It pained Heath, but there was nothing he could do. The ducks were already cooked, after all. He had considered taking them out to sell, but these imperfect roast ducks didn't meet his standards, so he had kept them to eat himself.

"You taught Farfetch'd to make roast duck?" Officer Jenny Feng stared at Heath in shock. She felt this was probably the second most absurd thing she had heard all day.

"Yeah, Farfetch'd seems pretty interested in cooking, so I'm planning to teach him." Heath couldn't help smiling at Officer Jenny Feng's shocked expression. Apparently, he wasn't the only one stunned by the idea of Farfetch'd making roast duck.

Officer Jenny Feng looked at Farfetch'd, who was exercising behind Heath by repeatedly swinging his leek, then looked back at Heath. She scratched her head, muttered a few words, and sat down.

"By the way, Sister Feng, did something happen in Viridian City today? Why did I see so many people looking for something in the streets?" Heath asked curiously.

Heath had noticed it while shopping for groceries that afternoon. At first, he had thought the supermarket next door might have put potato chips on sale, but after taking a closer look, he realized those people seemed to be searching the streets for something.

Thanks to those people, Heath hadn't seen Meowth, Ekans, or the others all day. Those little fellows were probably having another miserable day hiding all over Viridian City.

"Well, they started handing out starter Pokémon yesterday, right? Then one family's Charmander ran away. You know, the Pokémon belonging to the son of our city's supermarket owner." Officer Jenny Feng picked up a piece of duck, popped it into her mouth, and chewed before cheerfully praising Farfetch'd.

Although Officer Jenny Feng thought this roast duck tasted excellent, it was still a long way from Heath's cooking. Even so, she felt that perhaps Farfetch'd really could become a chef.

Heath raised an eyebrow. No wonder so many people were searching. If they could catch a runaway Charmander, they would save a huge amount of money.

Even if they couldn't catch it, returning it to the supermarket owner would earn them a reward. After all, that supermarket owner ranked among Viridian City's five wealthiest people.

Heath wasn't particularly interested, though. It was someone else's Pokémon, after all, and with so many people searching the streets, he didn't think he would be able to find it. Of course, if he happened to stumble across it through sheer luck, that might be another story.

Heath and Officer Jenny Feng had a thoroughly greasy dinner of roast duck and some vegetables. The richness made Heath feel a little sick. For the first time, he discovered that eating roast duck could be an ordeal.

After finishing the meal, Heath took Farfetch'd out for a walk. Before leaving, however, he picked up one of his lunch boxes, which held the sweet and sour pork ribs he had made.

Yes, Heath planned to visit Viridian Forest. Taking sweet and sour pork ribs along to look for Zorua was an excellent choice. It would help strengthen his bond with Zorua, and he could get some exercise along the way-two birds with one stone.

Although Officer Jennys still patrolled Viridian Forest at night, there were far fewer of them than during the day, and Heath slipped inside without trouble.

After walking a little way, Heath spotted an elderly man lying on the grass, fast asleep. He almost burst out laughing.

Honestly, did Zorua have to take human form even while sleeping?

"Hey, wake up." Heath gently tugged at the old man's clothes.

"Hmm? Young man, did you need something from me?" The old man opened his eyes groggily and looked at Heath, his face full of confusion.

Heath froze for a moment. Could this old man not be Zorua?

"May I ask who you are?" Heath regarded the old man cautiously. He didn't remember seeing him in Viridian City, so he was most likely a visitor from another town.

"I'm just a traveler. I was a little tired and accidentally fell asleep. I'm terribly sorry." The old man spoke with a chuckle. His behavior seemed perfectly normal, and Heath couldn't spot anything wrong.

"I see... Are you hungry? I have some food here." Heath took out the sweet and sour pork ribs. As long as he served this guest, he would be able to learn his identity.

Although this could also serve as a way to identify people's names, Heath felt the ingredient identification magnifying glass was better. This method was rather troublesome, after all, and if the guest refused to eat, there was nothing he could do.

"No, thank you, kind child. Oh dear... These old bones of mine. Thank you." The old man pounded his lower back, then slowly walked away.