"Hey, what else would I want? Give me a Jianbing Guozi, with an extra egg. Make it spicy." Giovanni smiled, then cheerfully let Nidoking out and stroked his head.
Heath nodded and began making Giovanni's Jianbing Guozi.
Heath hadn't actually recognized Giovanni on his first visit. Only later had he learned that this was Giovanni of the Earth. At the time, Heath had almost pulled out his phone to ask Sister Feng for help.
This was the leader of Team Rocket! Back at the dorm, Heath had even heard Sister Feng and her colleagues discussing Team Rocket. The organization had been expanding rapidly lately, and the League had been trying to track down its headquarters.
If the League found out that Giovanni was Team Rocket's boss, the Viridian Gym in Viridian City would probably be shut down.
Of course, the League didn't know that Giovanni was Team Rocket's boss yet, and he had remained in Viridian City. Still, judging by the games and anime, he would probably move somewhere else soon.
"Mr. Giovanni, here's your Jianbing Guozi." Heath smiled as he handed it over. Giovanni took a bite, nodded in satisfaction, and handed Heath the money.
Watching Giovanni head toward the Gym with Nidoking, Heath licked his lips, wondering whether he would get a reward this time.
[You served Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, and received ten Farfetch'd Candies.]
Heath froze. Farfetch'd Candy? What was that?
Heath tried hard to recall his somewhat hazy memories of his previous life, but eventually gave up. He took out his notebook instead, opened it, and finally found some related information.
"Hmm, the candies from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!? They can raise the corresponding Pokémon's effort values?" Heath was a little delighted. Then wouldn't ten candies mean all of Farfetch'd's effort values would go up by ten points?
Although Heath didn't really understand how effort values and individual values were calculated, he knew that the higher those numbers were, the easier it was for a Pokémon to grow stronger. With Farfetch'd's Ability on top of that, his mood improved even further.
But then a question occurred to Heath. Every reward from his Golden Finger so far had come after he served a customer a meal. Did that mean his Golden Finger was related to cooking?
With that experiment in mind, Heath began the day's business.
Heath's previous understanding of the Pokémon world had come from anime and games, but once he was actually living there, he discovered that this world was far larger than he had imagined.
A little after six every morning, the sanitation workers would head out. They usually brought Water-type Pokémon such as Goldeen along, using Bubble to slick the ground before cleaning it.
After seven, the office workers began leaving home, bringing the streets to life, and Heath's breakfast stall got busy too.
After four years, Heath had built up quite a following on this street. Everyone knew his breakfasts were delicious, so plenty of people chose to buy their morning meals from him.
"Heath, good morning! You're up early again today. I'll have my usual." As customer after customer lined up to buy breakfast, Heath steadily worked through the ingredients at hand, his movements orderly and efficient.
"Good morning, Uncle Yan Ning." Heath greeted him with a smile. The middle-aged man, who had worked overtime just yesterday, had come out rubbing his lower back again today.
Well, Uncle Yan Ning's wife was a very gentle woman, but Heath had heard customers mention that she seemed eager to have a child. As a result, Uncle Yan Ning had been having a rough time lately.
After preparing Uncle Yan Ning's breakfast, Heath saw what he had been hoping to see. He received another Agility Candy, which seemed to be much like the Farfetch'd Candies.
Over the busy morning, Heath collected more than fifty candies. Some customers hadn't earned him any candy after he served them, but he was now fairly certain that his Golden Finger was related to cooking.
"Heath!" A boy came scampering over. The moment Heath saw him, he couldn't help smiling.
"Hey, Ash. Here for another jianbing today?" Heath smiled at the boy in front of him. He was a few years younger than Heath, and his name was Ash.
Yes, that Ash from Pallet Town-the future protagonist and Pokémon Master. Right now, though, Ash was still a little kid who hadn't set out on his journey.
"Yep! Your food's delicious!" Ash nodded happily, making Heath smile again.
Ash looked like any other carefree child, but his love for Pokémon and his devotion to them were extraordinary. More than once, Heath had heard him proudly recount the Pokémon he had discovered.
"All right! I've got some delicious leek today. Want some?" Heath asked Ash with a smile.
Ash hesitated, then pulled a few crumpled bills from his pocket. He counted them before giving an emphatic nod.
Heath wasn't surprised. Farfetch'd's leek was an extra topping, after all, and it was fairly expensive. Even working adults had to think twice about buying it.
"By the way, Ash, how long until you can get your starter Pokémon?" Heath chatted with him as he spread out the jianbing batter.
"Um, two more years! Mom said I can't go traveling until then." Ash counted it out, his face full of anticipation.
Heath nodded. It seemed Ash's journey would begin in two years, which also meant a strange era was on its way.
Ash's travels tended to set all sorts of events in motion. Heath could only hope that this world wouldn't have quite so many outrageous things happen.
"Oh, right, Heath! A family moved into town recently. Their boy's about my age." Ash watched eagerly as Heath scooped a spoonful of chopped leek from a container, swallowing hungrily.
"Oh? What's his name?" Heath was a little curious. Not many people moved to Pallet Town; most chose Viridian City instead.
"His name's... Red!" Ash's words made Heath's hand jerk, and he nearly dropped the egg.
Red?
Heath stared at Ash in surprise. Aren't you supposed to be Red yourself, with those thick brows and big eyes? How has another Red moved here? What's going on with this world?
Heath suddenly felt that things were developing beyond his expectations. Would this Red be the one he knew?
Happy New Year!
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