Chapter Summaries

Heath accepted a slacking-related reward, recognized the customer eating beef offal as Norman, and delivered his boxed meals. Norman praised Heath’s cooking and invited him to make hot pot the next day because his daughter May was curious about him.

• Heath accepted the reward despite thinking the slacking skill had little use while he worked for himself.
• Heath recognized Norman and reflected on Norman’s daughter May and Wallace’s influence in Hoenn.
• Norman finished Heath’s beef offal and praised his cooking when Heath brought him seven boxed meals.
• Norman asked Heath if he planned to challenge Gyms and compete in the Hoenn League, but Heath said he only battled to fulfill Charizard’s wish.
• Norman asked Heath to make hot pot the next day because May was curious about him, and Heath agreed.

Heath wondered why May was curious about him while supervising Farfetch'd as he made takoyaki. After Farfetch'd again prepared to make an enormous takoyaki ball, Heath secretly searched online and discovered that Farfetch'd's brain was about that size.

• Heath wondered why May knew about him and considered whether she was interested in Cynthia.
• Kirlia told Heath that a customer had ordered takoyaki, and Heath reflected on the popular snack called deep-fried Pikachu.
• Heath recalled that Farfetch'd had become obsessed with takoyaki after a television expert claimed Farfetch'd's brain was as big as a takoyaki ball.
• Heath stopped Farfetch'd from making another fist-sized takoyaki ball and watched him switch to normal-sized ones.
• Heath secretly searched online and learned that Farfetch'd's brain really was about the size of a takoyaki ball.

Kirlia cautiously befriended a young girl who admired her, while Heath confronted an elderly woman who demanded money from his food stall. When she fled after he called the police, Heath ordered Kirlia to stop her.

• Kirlia sensed Farfetch'd's resentment as he cooked takoyaki, then shook hands with a little girl wearing Pokémon-themed clothes.
• Heath offered an elderly beggar a meal or help contacting the League's Welfare Home, but she insisted on receiving money.
• The elderly woman knelt and wailed at Heath in front of customers when he threatened to call the police.
• Heath called the police, and the woman cursed him before trying to run away.
• Heath told Kirlia to hold the fleeing woman.

Heath dealt with an elderly woman who caused a scene at his food truck, then served a customer who requested Fried Pikachu with shrimp paste filling. The customer’s unusual order left Heath preparing a sweet-and-sour version.

• Officer Jenny arrived and took the disruptive old woman away from Heath’s food truck.
• Heath reassured Jenny that he did not blame her and listened as she described how difficult it was to deal with people who disturbed the peace.
• Heath offered Jenny food, but she declined and returned to her duties.
• After the food truck returned to normal, a man asked Heath for Fried Pikachu with shrimp paste filling.
• Heath noticed the man liked sweet-and-sour flavors and agreed to make the requested dish.

Heath prepared deep-fried Pikachu stuffed with shrimp paste for a food critic visiting his truck in Petalburg City. As the critic enjoyed a dish tailored perfectly to his preferences, he reflected on how Heath’s uncanny ability to satisfy every customer had made him famous among food critics.

• Heath pounded shrimp meat into seasoned shrimp paste, stuffed it into Pikachu-shaped potatoes, and deep-fried them.
• Heath sent Kirlia to serve the dish, while Zoroark worried about how to match Kirlia’s skill as a server.
• The food critic admired the lifelike Pikachu and realized Heath had made the sweet-and-sour flavor he preferred without asking.
• The food critic recalled how reports of Heath matching every customer’s tastes had spread through food criticism circles and fueled theories about his abilities.
• The food critic judged Heath’s deep-fried Pikachu impeccable and well suited to his preferences.

Heath met Xing, a young apprentice cook at the Petalburg Gym, when Norman brought her to his food stall. Norman began explaining that Xing wanted something from Heath, but the chapter ended before he revealed what it was.

• A customer praised Heath for preparing a dish that perfectly matched his tastes.
• Norman arrived with a young girl, prompting Heath to wonder whether she was Norman's daughter, May.
• The girl introduced herself as Xing and said she was a cook at the Petalburg Gym.
• Norman clarified that Xing was an apprentice cook and one of the children he had taken in.
• Norman began to explain what Xing wanted, but the chapter ended mid-sentence.

Heath signed an autograph for Xing, then watched Norman leave his restaurant to battle a challenger with six Gym Badges. Heath brought Charizard and Kirlia to the crowded Gym arena, where the challenger took the field.

• Xing asked Heath for his autograph, and he signed her food magazine before she left happily.
• Norman apologized for Xing’s impulsive nature and was called away to face a challenger with six Gym Badges.
• Norman’s departure emptied Heath’s restaurant, and Heath considered making popcorn chicken before deciding to watch the battle.
• Charizard agreed to go with Heath, while Zoroark, Snorlax, and Farfetch'd stayed behind and Kirlia joined him.
• Heath, Charizard, and Kirlia reached the packed Gym arena, where the challenger took the field.

Heath watched Norman defeat a challenger’s Hariyama with Slaking and considered how training and strength could outweigh type advantages. Norman awarded the challenger a Badge and warned him that Wallace was stronger, while Heath returned to his food truck after the battle.

• Heath watched Norman’s Slaking easily defeat the challenger’s Hariyama, despite its Fighting-type advantage and three uses of Bulk Up.
• Heath and Charizard agreed that Slaking had not fought at full strength, and Heath reflected on how Gym Leaders adjusted battles for challengers.
• Norman awarded the challenger a Normal-type Badge after judging that his tactics and strength qualified him.
• Norman warned the challenger that Wallace was stronger and advised him to train before attempting the Water-type Gym.
• Heath thought that battling Wallace would soon become a rare opportunity when Wallace became Champion, then left the Gym to return to his food truck.

After losing to Mr. Norman, Huoying visited Heath’s food truck and ordered dry pot shrimp. Heath discovered that Huoying was a promising Team Magma member who might become one of Maxie’s admins.

• After Mr. Norman’s battle, Heath welcomed a rush of customers who discussed the match.
• Huoying, the young trainer who had challenged Mr. Norman, ordered dry pot shrimp from Heath.
• Heath made Huoying a generous, lightly seasoned dish that suited his dislike of salty and spicy food.
• Heath received a Wonderful Meteorite Fragment for serving Huoying and wondered why his name seemed familiar.
• Heath scanned Huoying and learned that he was a powerful Team Magma member whom Maxie might train to become an admin.

Heath put away the meteorite fragment Huoying gave him, planning to save it for Rayquaza, and prepared for Norman and May’s visit. After Charizard worried he could not defeat Norman’s Slaking, Heath offered to let him battle Norman.

• Heath learned that Huoying’s meteorite fragment had a green apple flavor and was one of Rayquaza’s favorite foods.
• Heath stored the oversized fragment to serve Rayquaza if she visited again.
• Heath decided to stay near the Gym the next day to serve Norman and May before exploring more of Hoenn.
• Charizard admitted that watching Slaking battle had made him doubt he could defeat it, then trained by pouring water over himself.
• Heath reassured Charizard and suggested he could battle Norman, exciting Charizard.

Heath reassured Zoroark that he would not dock her pay for her upcoming day on duty, then warned Cynthia about a possible connection between Cyrus and the rising crime in Sinnoh. Cynthia agreed to investigate Cyrus, leaving Heath’s suspicion of Team Galactic unresolved.

• Heath reflected on Norman’s battling style and considered whether competitive Pokémon players from his previous life could become skilled Trainers in this world.
• Zoroark asked Heath not to dock her pay when she took her turn on duty, and Heath reassured her.
• Heath spoke with Cynthia and learned that crime in Sinnoh had recently increased, apparently due to a sinister organization.
• Heath urged Cynthia to investigate Cyrus, and she agreed despite being puzzled by his warning.

Heath took the morning off from his restaurant and enjoyed a rare slow start with Kirlia and his Pokémon. After waking and washing up, he left most of the household asleep as he began the day with Mew and Charizard.

• Heath decided to keep his restaurant closed until noon while Norman visited with May.
• Heath woke at seven thirty beside Zoroark, and Kirlia greeted him cheerfully.
• Kirlia pressed Heath back down and insisted he sleep when he tried to get up.
• Heath convinced Kirlia to get up and brush their teeth and wash.
• Heath found Mew gaming and Charizard exercising, while the other Pokémon stayed asleep, and headed to the bathroom with them.

Heath considered what to serve May and Norman during Petalburg City’s scorching summer and decided against hot pot. He settled on home-style dishes with chilled summer refreshments and waited for May to arrive.

• Heath checked the hot weather and decided hot pot would be uncomfortable and unsuitable for his first meeting with May and Norman.
• Heath asked Mew what it liked to eat in hot weather, and Mew said chilled watermelon was its favorite.
• Heath considered watermelon, shaved ice, and ice jelly, then decided he could serve shaved ice before the main meal if May and Norman arrived early.
• Heath remembered mung bean soup and took mung beans from storage, noting that it should contain little or no sugar.
• Heath decided what to make for lunch and waited for May to arrive.

May learned that Heath had brought his food truck to Petalburg City and visited him with her father, Norman. Heath welcomed them inside, where May marveled at the truck’s spacious interior, and he offered her mung bean soup.

• Norman told May that Heath was in Petalburg City and had set up beside the Gym, and May eagerly asked her father to take her there.
• May arrived at Heath’s food truck with Norman and nervously greeted Heath with an exuberant shout.
• Heath laughed with May to ease her embarrassment, then welcomed her and Norman inside.
• May explored the surprisingly spacious food truck, and Heath offered her mung bean soup.

May and Norman waited at Heath’s food truck while Heath prepared a banquet meal, and May reflected on how food could bring a family together. Heath served vegetable salad with Three-Not-Sticky as the starter and began making the next dish.

• May enjoyed Heath’s mung bean soup and asked Norman what Heath would cook for them.
• Norman admitted he did not know, while privately feeling jealous of how much May admired Heath.
• May watched Heath cook and thought about how shared meals had brought her family happiness and sparked her interest in cooking.
• Heath served May and Norman vegetable salad with Three-Not-Sticky and explained why the dish had that name.
• May eagerly picked up her chopsticks as Heath returned to the kitchen to prepare the next dish.

Heath prepared Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Ciba Chongqing Spicy Chicken for May and Norman, after deciding his first homemade ham was not good enough to serve. He brought the dishes to the table just as May and Norman finished their salad, and Norman eagerly anticipated the meal.

• Heath tasted his home-cured ham, found it edible but disappointing, and chose store-bought ham for his customers.
• Heath used Dialga's Pressure Cooker to prepare Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
• Heath also made Ciba Chongqing Spicy Chicken to serve alongside the rich soup.
• Heath brought both dishes to May and Norman after they nearly finished their salad.
• Norman admired the aroma of the Chongqing Spicy Chicken and swallowed in anticipation.

Heath served Norman and May a mild ciba chili chicken, and May decided what she wanted to do with her future. Norman learned she wanted to become a chef and considered how to support her choice.

• Heath explained that he had made the ciba chili chicken mild so May could eat it.
• Norman and May tried the dishes, and May said she had figured out what she wanted to do.
• Norman guessed that May wanted to become a chef, and May hesitantly confirmed it.
• Norman felt conflicted but reflected that he had never expected his children to follow in his footsteps as Trainers.

Norman accepted May’s wish to become a chef and reassured her that she did not have to follow in his footsteps as a Trainer. The chapter ended with Norman asking Heath to take May on as an apprentice.

• Norman encouraged May to pursue cooking, though he worried that the work might prove too demanding.
• May told Norman she was surprised he was not angry, and reflected on the pressure of living in her accomplished father’s shadow.
• Norman told May she could choose any path she liked, and May decided she still wanted to become a chef.
• May thanked Norman, leaving him feeling guilty that he had not spent enough time understanding her.
• Heath brought their food and found May’s eyes red and Norman looking melancholy.
• Norman asked Heath whether he was still taking apprentices and said May wanted to become a chef.

May asked Heath to take her as an apprentice chef, and Heath considered agreeing despite his upcoming return to Kanto. The chapter left May and Norman to weigh whether she would travel with Heath or stay in Hoenn.

• Norman told Heath that May was serious about wanting to learn cooking from him.
• Heath considered taking May as an apprentice, partly because she could eventually help cover Farfetch'd’s shifts.
• Heath explained that he would leave for Kanto in a few days, making it unclear where May would live and train.
• Norman looked to May for her decision, while May felt torn between traveling and staying at home.
• Heath told May she could take her time deciding, then let Norman take the leftover food to go.

Norman learned that May wanted to go to Kanto and train as a chef with Heath, and he agreed to support her despite worrying about the hard work and missing her. Mitsuko revealed she had already anticipated May’s plans and had prepared for her eventual journey.

• May nervously asked Norman if he would still support her cooking ambitions after they left Heath’s food truck, and Norman assured her he would.
• May told Norman she wanted to make food that made people happy, and he said she would need to convince Mitsuko.
• At home, Norman told Mitsuko about May’s plans and realized she already knew their daughter wanted to become a chef.
• Norman watched May pack and worried that she would leave for Kanto for an unknown length of time, reflecting that he had not spent enough time with her.
• Mitsuko explained that she had expected May to begin her journey soon and thought traveling with Heath would be safer amid Team Magma and Team Aqua’s trouble.