New Breakfast Offerings and Driving School

Heath had no idea that he had just come close to being mistaken for a legendary Pokémon. Had he known what Zorua was thinking, he would have told her with a perfectly serious face that he really wasn't a furry.

"Ugh, I suddenly don't really want to go out." After getting dressed, Heath looked at his food truck and sighed.

Although the truck had a self-driving feature, Sister Feng still insisted that Heath should learn to drive it himself. With her help, he now had to attend driving school every afternoon to learn the necessary skills.

Yes, driving school. It was perfectly normal for the Pokémon world to have driving schools, right? After all, Viridian City had plenty of cars, including taxis.

Heath had no objection to going to driving school, but the thought of Officer Jenny Aya, that veteran of dirty jokes, made his scalp prickle. That shameless woman was getting more outrageous by the day, to the point where he could barely handle her.

So the thought of learning to drive under Officer Jenny Aya's guidance filled Heath with utter despair. Still, no matter how miserable he felt, he had a business to run.

Heath's little food cart was now officially retired. He only moved the ingredients onto the truck; there was no need to bring anything else, since the truck already had everything.

After setting the destination for the self-driving system, Heath began preparing the day's food in advance.

Previously, Heath's breakfast selection had been rather limited: just Jianbing Guozi. But now that he had this chef's dream vehicle, he could try making other breakfast foods.

The simplest options were naturally steamed buns and fried dough sticks, part of the shared memories of generations of people in China.

Especially during their school days, when the rush to class often left little time for other breakfasts, steamed buns were the best choice: easy to carry and filling.

And the perfect partner for steamed buns was soy milk. Regular milk worked too, but it just wasn't quite the same.

After buying the ingredients he needed at the market, Heath drove the truck to his usual spot and busied himself inside, preparing the day's breakfast.

He kneaded and rolled out the dough. Dough with a good chew that wouldn't tear easily made the best bun wrappers. Heath made his buns with thin skins and generous fillings; one bite should leave half a mouthful of filling. That was the effect he wanted.

For the filling, Heath chose something tasty with broad appeal: shiitake mushrooms and minced pork.

For a good shiitake and pork bun, choosing the right mushrooms and meat was important, but so was the cooking method. Adding seasonings and stir-frying the filling beforehand were both necessary steps.

The shiitakes in the buns shouldn't be minced into tiny bits. They were best cut into small cubes, which gave their rich aroma a full-bodied depth. With one bite, the mushroom flavor spread across the taste buds, while the seasoned meat enhanced their deliciousness.

Heath soon placed the mushroom buns in the steamer. Then he picked up the signboard outside the truck and wrote down the day's breakfast specials: mushroom buns, soy milk, and Jianbing Guozi. After that, he patiently waited for customers to arrive.

"Farfetch~" Farfetch'd stood beside Heath, cutting carrots with a kitchen knife. Heath had assigned this task to Farfetch'd to provide more practice with knife skills.

"Keep it up, Farfetch'd. Next time there's a dish you want to make, tell me and I'll teach you." Smiling, Heath rubbed Farfetch'd's head. Farfetch'd's gourmet quest still hadn't triggered, and Heath suspected it might be because there wasn't a particular dish Farfetch'd wanted to make.

"This truck is so much warmer." Zorua lay lazily curled up on the table and stretched contentedly. It was rather cold outside, but wonderfully warm inside the truck.

"Of course." Heath smiled. The mobile food truck even had a temperature-control system, which he had set to a temperature suitable for storing ingredients.

Soon, Heath's food truck welcomed its first customer: Mr. Fujiyama.

"Heath, did you get a new kitchen?" Mr. Fujiyama stared at the food truck in astonishment, looking a little incredulous.

"Mr. Fujiyama! Yes, I won a prize yesterday-a mobile kitchen from Silph Co. What would you like to eat?" Heath asked with a smile.

But looking at what Mr. Fujiyama was carrying, Heath couldn't help marveling that the man really was inhuman. This was the first time he had ever seen someone jogging while holding a barbell overhead.

Even a certain bald man's workout routine wasn't this absurd.

"Hey, how big are the servings for these buns and soy milk?" Mr. Fujiyama lowered the barbell to the ground, making it shudder. The Machamp beside him was studying Heath's food truck curiously.

"Hmm, given your appetite, Mr. Fujiyama, I'd recommend fifteen buns and five cups of soy milk." Heath made a quick estimate. His buns were fairly large, so fifteen should be enough to fill Mr. Fujiyama up.

Mr. Fujiyama immediately took out his money and handed it to Heath. This time, Heath gave him change, since he was buying different food.

Before long, Heath packed a large bag with piping-hot buns, still giving off steam, and handed it to Mr. Fujiyama. For now, though, the soy milk could only be served in bowls.

Mr. Fujiyama took out a large bun and examined it in his hand. It was nearly as big as his palm. The wrapper was so thin that the bun wobbled in his hand, and its intense heat drove away the chill.

Unable to wait any longer, Mr. Fujiyama took a bite, then instinctively drew back. This mushroom bun actually had meat juices inside!

The rich, savory flavors of mushrooms and meat mingled in his mouth. Piping-hot juices flowed over his tongue, carrying their delicious aroma, while the outer wrapper kept the mushroom bun from tasting too rich. Mr. Fujiyama licked his lips, took a sip of soy milk, and nodded in satisfaction.

Watching Mr. Fujiyama dig in, Heath smiled. He then took two buns out of the steamer and handed them to his Pokémon. It was time Farfetch'd had a change of flavor, too. No matter how tasty Jianbing Guozi was, eating it all the time would get tiresome.

"How does it taste, Mr. Fujiyama?" Heath asked after Mr. Fujiyama had eaten three buns and finished all the soy milk.

"It tastes great, and it feels pretty energy-dense, too. Perfect for building muscle. I'll get these buns next time." Mr. Fujiyama nodded, thoroughly satisfied. Heath breathed a sigh of relief. As long as his customers liked them, that was enough.

Watching Mr. Fujiyama leave with the barbell held overhead, Heath rolled his neck. A new day had begun.