Heath had no idea what Brock was thinking. He cheerfully saw off Brock after his purchase, then tidied up his food cart. At the very least, he wanted it to look clean.
Heath paid a great deal of attention to appearances. Often, diners cared about more than just flavor; they expected good hygiene, too. After all, put a grubby-looking kitchen next to a clean, tidy one, and the difference was obvious.
Back when Heath was still on Earth, he had once accidentally wandered into a restaurant's kitchen and immediately lost his appetite. That was why he took the cleanliness of his own kitchen so seriously.
The reward he received after serving Brock also made Heath rather happy.
[You served Brock and received one bottle of Full Restore (game version).]
Normally, Heath would not have been particularly excited about a Full Restore. The Poké Mart sold them, after all, though they were expensive-ten thousand League dollars a bottle. But the words "game version" after this Full Restore made him very happy.
A game-version Full Restore was a miraculous thing. It could instantly restore all HP and cure every status condition. Incredibly useful.
"Farfetch'd!" Farfetch'd looked at Heath expectantly. Apparently, he wanted another turn at making Jianbing Guozi and egg fried rice, but Heath firmly refused his request.
He had to save some ingredients for his customers. Otherwise, he would run out and have to close up early.
"Little Heath, do you have egg fried rice and chicken drumsticks today?" An elderly voice made Heath look up from his work. Before him stood an old man, accompanied by a Charizard in his twilight years.
"Oh, Grandpa Ma Zhide! Of course, though you might have to wait a moment." Heath recognized the old man and hurriedly brought out a stool for him to sit on.
"Ah, little Heath, you're such a kind boy. Sorry for the trouble, then. The usual." Ma Zhide sat down with a cheerful smile.
Although Grandpa Ma Zhide was quite old, with white hair, wrinkles, and age spots, he still looked full of vigor. He walked with his back straight and needed no cane. He was one of Heath's regulars.
The first time Heath had served old Mr. Ma Zhide was while selling breakfast. The old man bought a Jianbing Guozi from him and became a regular afterward.
Heath deftly took out his wok and began preparing the old man's order. This time, however, he used soft, freshly cooked rice. It was tender and particularly suitable for anyone whose teeth were no longer in good shape.
He treated the chicken drumstick the same way. He took out the pot of braising liquid beneath his cart, fished out a drumstick that had been cooked until tender, placed it on the finished egg fried rice, and handed the plate to Charizard.
Charizard bared his teeth in a smile. He was in his twilight years, his skin no longer as smooth as it had been in his youth. Instead, it bore the marks of time, with scars from old battles still visible.
Charizard had lost almost all his teeth, with only two fangs remaining in his mouth. The egg fried rice and chicken drumstick old Mr. Ma Zhide ordered had never been for himself.
Heath remembered how the old man had come to him back then and asked why his Jianbing Guozi was so soft yet so delicious. Heath had simply explained that he had taken elderly people's dental problems into account.
That answer delighted Ma Zhide. He brought his old partner, Charizard, over and asked Heath to find a way to make a meal for him.
That had been Heath's first time preparing food for a Pokémon. After doing it, though, he realized it was really no different from serving a human. Charizard was simply old, and his teeth were no longer up to the task.
Watching the flames emerge from Charizard's mouth and the chicken drumstick turn a little black from the heat, Heath shook his head helplessly. Charizard was the same as ever.
Despite his age, Charizard always breathed a burst of flame whenever he ate, seemingly trying to prove to his Trainer that he still had some fight left in him. But old Mr. Ma Zhide ignored him every time, leaving Charizard deeply hurt.
"Honestly, at your age, you still think about battling all day! I'm worried you'll wrench your back in a battle and break your bones!" The old man gave Charizard an exasperated glare.
"Raaawr..." Charizard ate the egg fried rice on his plate with an aggrieved look, bickering with his Trainer between bites.
Heath watched the scene with a smile. Since coming to this world, he had found that, aside from the Pokémon and some futuristic technology, most things were the same as on Earth.
People still had to go to work. Breakfast time was already over, and the streets of Viridian City were growing quieter. Heath enjoyed a rare moment of peace.
[You served Charizard and received a Fire Punch TM (disappears after use).]
Looking at Charizard, who had finished his meal, Heath rubbed his chin. I can even get Technical Machines? The discovery excited him. He wondered whether he might someday have a chance to serve Mewtwo, Mew, and the others.
If I can, does that mean I can get Legendary Pokémon's moves, too? If so, Precipice Blade and Roar of Time wouldn't just be dreams.
Who needs Legendary Pokémon then? They'd be total pushovers in front of my Farfetch'd!
"Little Heath, thank you. Here's the money for the meal." Old Mr. Ma Zhide happily left twenty-five League dollars, then slowly walked away with Charizard.
Watching Ma Zhide and Charizard continue arguing as they walked, Heath did not know whether to laugh or cry. Isn't this old man just adorable?
But as Heath watched Charizard's aging figure retreat, and the old man deliberately slow his steps, he could not help sighing. He wondered how much longer Charizard had left to live.
After arriving in this world, the first thing Heath had learned was that it was the world of Pokémon. The second was that both Pokémon and humans here could die. Countless Pokémon lay in their final rest in the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town.
[Serve ten Trainers, and you will receive one random important clue.]
Heath stared at the text box that popped up before him. So this cheat ability has quests, too?
Still, calling it a quest did not seem quite right. At the very least, there was no punishment, nor any mention of being erased from existence. That made Heath much happier.
"Ten Trainers? Then the fastest way would be to go there, wouldn't it?" Heath looked toward Viridian City's Gym. At this point, Giovanni was still a conscientious Gym Leader.
[Ma Zhide just shares the same name; he is not the character from Pokémon Sword and Shield.]
The book has been signed, so let me talk a little about it.
This book... was really an idea I had. I've read plenty of Pokémon fanfiction and tried writing some myself, but I think what makes the Pokémon world most appealing is its wide variety of Pokémon, along with their bonds with Trainers and the stories they share.
So I thought, why not write a novel like that? Not too many battles, not too much love, hatred, and revenge, or badge collecting. Just standing in the Pokémon world, looking at its stories, and seeing the stories between Trainers and Pokémon.
And so this book was born. It also successfully got signed today. Starting today, there will be two updates a day. Thank you, everyone.
As for extra chapters, shall we stick to the usual rules? One extra chapter for every ten thousand Qidian coins in tips. There will be a burst of updates when the book goes premium. That's about it.
Before you continue