Complicated, awkward humans

Heath remembered how shaken he had been when he first realized he had arrived in the world of Pokémon. This world could be pretty dangerous at times.

Especially when he discovered he was in Viridian City, where Giovanni lived, Heath had seriously considered fleeing. But after interacting with Giovanni and getting to know him, Heath had realized that this world's Giovanni was far more complex and real.

Giovanni wasn't some supervillain who hid in a base every day, plotting schemes and trying to conquer the world. He was a flesh-and-blood person who attended charity events and cheerfully taught the Trainers who came to study at his Gym.

Through the vehicle's window, Heath watched Mr. Giovanni still working hard to rescue people and couldn't help scratching his head. Although he knew Giovanni was Team Rocket's boss, at this moment, Giovanni really was a good person.

"Mom once told me that you humans are despicable, deceitful, and shameless. To survive, you'll trample other people underfoot and escape on your own." Zorua lay on Heath's shoulder, the firelight reflected in her eyes making them look especially beautiful.

"And?" Heath neither agreed nor disagreed. Things like that certainly happened. Didn't all those movies from his previous life that liked to test human nature say the same thing?

"Hmph. You humans are so complicated. Complicated and awkward." Zorua huffed, then turned her head away and stopped looking at Heath.

Heath smiled. Looking at Giovanni, he felt there wasn't really anything wrong with what Zorua had said. Humans truly were complicated creatures. They weren't perfect, but no perfect person existed in this world, either.

If someone really was utterly perfect, they wouldn't be human. They would be a god.

Through the combined efforts of the Pokémon and humans, the fire gradually came under control. Even so, it burned until two in the morning, lasting a full seven hours. Many of the onlookers had left by then.

"Sister Ling, these are the boxed meals I made." Heath put the meals he had prepared earlier into a large basket and carried it outside.

"You little rascal. Thank you. Everyone's starving. I'll hand these out to them." Officer Jenny Ling smiled and reached out to ruffle Heath's hair. He instinctively ducked out of the way. Though he didn't really mind, having his hair ruffled in front of so many people was still a little embarrassing.

"Hey, little Heath! Have you come to treat us to dinner?" Mr. Giovanni laughed heartily. His original appearance was almost unrecognizable now; at that moment, he looked just like an African chieftain.

For some inexplicable reason, a line popped into Heath's mind: The drop rate today is insanely high! Heath rubbed his face. Luckily, he hadn't said it aloud.

"Mr. Giovanni, thank you for all your hard work." Heath thanked him earnestly. Without Giovanni and the others helping, putting out this fire might have taken even longer.

Once they finished checking for any remaining hazards, everyone relaxed. Heath warmly welcomed each person who had come to fight the fire, and his boxed meals earned unanimous praise. Their happy smiles and satisfied expressions left him thoroughly content.

"Hey, not bad! There's even a chunk of meat this big." Officer Jenny Aya grinned and hooked an arm around Heath's neck, then deliberately pressed against him, making his face turn bright red. That shameless old flirt was at it again.

"Aya, stop teasing Heath." Officer Jenny Feng walked over with her meal box, smiling. She had already eaten more than half of it. The exhaustion of fighting the fire had given her quite an appetite.

At Sister Feng's words, Officer Jenny Aya stuck out her tongue and let go, allowing Heath to breathe a long sigh of relief.

"You did well. Just what I'd expect from one of our Viridian City kids." Officer Jenny Feng smiled and pinched Heath's cheek, instantly smearing it black.

"Of course! Just look at whose little brother I am." Heath proudly puffed out his chest. Although he hadn't helped fight the fire, he had made his contribution in another way.

The night passed amid cheerful chatter and laughter. The next morning, despite being very sleepy, Heath still woke up at his usual time.

"Yaaawn... I really want to sleep a little longer today." Looking at Zorua sleeping beside him, Heath let out an enormous yawn, then picked her up by the scruff of her neck and climbed out of bed.

The previous day's fire had finally been extinguished, and no further hazards remained. To prevent it from reigniting, several Water-type Pokémon had worked together to use Drizzle. Although the fine rain couldn't put out the flames, it could still keep them from flaring up again.

"You're so annoying. I haven't had enough sleep yet, you know." Zorua looked at Heath resentfully as she spoke. Heath examined her curiously. There were no dark circles under her eyes.

Still, Pokémon probably didn't get dark circles under their eyes anyway...

But when he thought of Ash's Pikachu, Heath decided he had better not jump to that conclusion just yet.

His biggest haul yesterday had been a huge pile of candies, all of which could increase Effort Values. However, Heath had also discovered that there were limits to using them. The more he used, the more candies he would need.

"Zorua, do you want to learn Night Daze?" Heath asked her while brushing his teeth.

He still had the disc he had received for serving Zorua earlier. Only Zorua could use that Technical Machine.

"Huh? Night Daze? I remember that's a move only talented Zoroark can learn." Zorua stood on the bathroom counter, diligently brushing her teeth, while Farfetch'd stood solemnly to Heath's left.

"Yeah, but you can learn it early." Heath nodded. Night Daze was a fairly powerful move.

Sure enough, Zorua was tempted. Torn, she kept lifting and lowering her paws in front of Heath. He couldn't shake the feeling that the movement looked familiar.

"Hmph, human. Don't think I'll be eternally grateful just because you teach me Night Daze. That's never going to happen!" Zorua turned her head away, but she couldn't hide the delight on her face.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Heath tapped her on the head, then used the Technical Machine. A moment later, Zorua, who had been about to bristle, suddenly froze.

Dazed, she felt the new knowledge in her mind. Had she really mastered Night Daze, a new move that only Zoroark could learn?

Zorua turned to look curiously at her Trainer. She suddenly felt that he was rather mysterious. Could he be a powerful Legendary Pokémon in disguise, just like the one in that novel?

Then would he come sword-fighting with me in the end? Huh, no, wait. I'm female, and this Trainer is male.

Zorua shook her head hard, feeling a little embarrassed.

Thanks to Snail Traveling Alone for the tip of 1,500 Qidian coins.

Thanks to Reader 20220110102808537 for the tip of 100 Qidian coins.