Brock and Giovanni

"Heath, did you get a new truck?" Heath was sitting in his food truck, taking a break, when he heard Brock's voice. He looked up, and sure enough, there was Brock with his narrow eyes.

"Yeah, I won a prize a while ago. But what brings you here again?" Heath gave Brock a puzzled look. He remembered that Brock lived in Pewter City, so why did he keep coming over every day as though he had nothing else to do?

"I'm staying in Viridian City for now. Speaking of which, did you notice that explosion last night?" Brock leaned against the food truck's counter with a smile and asked Heath.

The corner of Heath's mouth twitched. What kind of strange question was that? He had done more than notice it. He had been right there at the scene.

An official notice about yesterday's chemical plant explosion had been released that morning. According to the investigation, faulty equipment and improper operation by the employees had caused it. That came as a relief to Heath, who had thought someone might have sabotaged the place.

"Of course I saw it. What would you like to eat?" Heath wiped his hands and stood up. He hadn't prepared any other food that day, but he could still make Egg Fried Rice.

"Hmm, I'll have some Egg Fried Rice, then. Do you have any of Farfetch'd's leek?" Brock nodded, but as he spoke, his entire face kept turning to the side. Heath glanced over curiously and saw a Nurse Joy walking past.

Heath was a little speechless. Brock really did love beautiful women. He was still young, yet he was already showing that tendency. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. Brock might not be all that dependable, but he behaved quite well around ladies.

"I do. Give me a moment." Heath nodded, then turned around and started preparing the Egg Fried Rice Brock wanted.

Egg fried rice wasn't particularly difficult to make. It was fairly simple, really. Some cooks would coat the rice in beaten egg, producing fried rice with no visible chunks of egg, but with golden grains instead.

Some restaurants renamed it golden fried rice, which let them charge a higher price.

Brock didn't like that kind of egg fried rice, though. He preferred the kind with separate pieces of egg and rice, and Heath knew his tastes.

"Speaking of which, didn't your dad send you to Viridian City to learn? How's that going?" Heath chatted casually with Brock as he tossed the rice in the wok.

"Ugh, don't even ask. I've only just realized what a hassle being a Gym Leader is. There's a mountain of things to deal with every day, and you still have to make sure you train your Pokémon." Brock propped up his chin, looking as though he had lost the will to live.

With those narrow eyes, though, it was always hard to make out Brock's expression. Perhaps that was why he exaggerated his mouth movements every time. It was the only way other people could tell how he felt.

Having eyes like that really was hard work.

Still, Heath rather agreed with what Brock had said. But as he thought about it, his expression grew a little strange. He began to wonder whether Brock had originally joined Ash on his travels partly because he had grown tired of life as a Gym Leader.

Put that way, Brock might have quite a bit in common with Steven. After all, hadn't Steven felt that being Champion got in the way of searching for stones, and handed the position over to his good friend Wallace?

"Oh, oh, oh! Elite Four Lance! The Dragon Master!" Just as Heath was about to say something, he heard cheers outside. Curious, he poked his head out for a look.

An Aerodactyl streaked across the sky. Despite its speed, he could still make out the man wearing a cape: Lance, one of the Indigo League's Elite Four.

"Lance! Oh my gosh, his Aerodactyl looks amazing! He's raised it so well. I bet it could beat dozens of me!" Brock looked stunned as he spoke, his face full of envy.

To Heath, though, Brock's stunned expression amounted to little more than an open mouth. As for those narrow eyes...

The less said, the better.

"Think bigger. It could beat thousands of you without a problem." Chuckling, Heath handed Brock the finished Egg Fried Rice and gave him a teasing look.

Lance, one of the Indigo League's Elite Four, was the strongest of the four and widely considered the most likely to become the Indigo League Champion. What people praised most, however, were his Pokémon.

Although Lance had always called himself a Dragon-type specialist of the Elite Four, people soon discovered that most of the Pokémon he used were Flying-types. There had even been programs dedicated to poking fun at that fact.

Brock tried hard to widen his eyes and show how angry he was, but he hardly looked threatening. Farfetch'd didn't even react and kept diligently practicing with head lowered.

"Is Elite Four Lance just passing through Viridian City?" Heath asked Brock curiously.

"Of course not. Elite Four Lance is here to investigate whether Team Rocket had anything to do with the chemical plant explosion." At the familiar older man's voice, Heath turned around in surprise. It was Giovanni.

Giovanni had regained his usual vigor that day. He was dressed casually, though his hair was still a little curled from having been too close to the fire.

"Mr. Giovanni! Hello! I'm... I'm..." Brock spun around excitedly and gazed at Giovanni with admiration.

"Oh? That face... You must be Mr. Brock's son, right?" Giovanni studied Brock's narrow eyes with interest. He remembered seeing eyes like those before.

Brock was already too excited to speak. He was so worked up that he didn't even know where to put his hands. Heath didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

What expression would Brock make if he found out someday that the Mr. Giovanni he admired was actually the boss of Team Rocket? Just imagining it was entertaining.

Still, Heath couldn't help glancing at Giovanni. The man really was unbothered. Lance had come all the way to Viridian City specifically to investigate, but so far, it seemed he had found nothing.

"Yes, sir!" Brock instantly stood straight, like a student whose teacher was checking his homework.

"Mr. Giovanni, would you like something to eat?" Heath asked. Farfetch'd turned around curiously, looking to see whether there was anything to help with.

Only Zorua remained comfortably sprawled on the table, fast asleep and completely still.

"Me? Could I trouble you for... hmm, some of your mushroom buns and soy milk? A little breakfast will do." Giovanni smiled as he spoke. Every so often, a passerby greeted him with great respect, and he cheerfully waved back.

Heath nodded, then put three buns into a bag and handed them to Giovanni before turning around to prepare the soy milk.