"Does the new year start today?" The next morning, as Heath brushed his teeth and yawned, Zoroark beside him asked curiously. This was her first time celebrating this so-called new year. Back when she had been with her companions, Zoroark had had little impression of or feeling about the new year. After all, to Pokémon, every day was simply another day, with no special meaning.
But after Zoroark had started reading novels and becoming more active, she had learned what the term meant, so she was rather looking forward to her first real new year in this world.
"Strictly speaking, today isn't actually the new year, but there's not much difference. This is usually when people have their New Year's Eve dinner and things like that." Heath spat out his toothpaste, rinsed his mouth, then answered Zoroark's question.
Was today the new year? Strictly speaking, no. Today did not count as the new year; it was only the last day, and tomorrow was the actual new year. Today should have been New Year's Eve, but according to how people celebrated in the Pokémon world, today was effectively the new year, with little difference. Heath was planning to celebrate with Sister Feng and the others today and have New Year's Eve dinner, so naturally, he did not need to open for business. But that did not mean he could sit back and do nothing.
At the very least, Heath still had to clean up, then start preparing all the ingredients for the New Year's Eve dishes and so on. If he were only eating with Sister Feng and the others on his own, it would not have been so much trouble. But from what Heath knew of Sister Feng, she would probably have him cook for an entire unit of Officer