Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Ash
"Hey, what can I get you? One breakfast crepe with an extra egg and make it spicy," Giovanni laughed, then happily released his Nidoking and patted its head.
Heath nodded and started making the breakfast crepe for Giovanni.
When Giovanni first came, Heath didn't recognize him. Later, he found out that this was Giovanni, the Ground Type Gym Leader. Heath almost wanted to call Maple for help.
This was the leader of Team Rocket! Heath had overheard Hannah and her colleagues discussing Team Rocket in the dorm. Team Rocket had been growing rapidly, and the League was constantly trying to track down their headquarters.
If the League knew Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket, Viridian City's Gym would probably be shut down immediately.
Of course, the League didn't know Giovanni was the head of Team Rocket yet, and Giovanni stayed in Viridian City. But based on the games and anime, Giovanni would probably move soon.
"Mr. Giovanni, here's your breakfast crepe." Heath cheerfully handed the crepe to Giovanni. Giovanni took a bite, nodded in satisfaction, and handed Heath the money.
Watching Giovanni walk towards the Gym with Nidoking, Heath licked his lips, wondering if there would be any rewards.
[You served Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, and received ten Farfetch'd Candies.]
Heath was stunned. Farfetch'd Candies? What were those?
Heath tried to recall his hazy memories from his past life but gave up. He turned to his notebook, opened it, and found some similar information.
"Hmm, candies for Pokémon like in Pokémon Go? They can increase the EVs of the corresponding Pokémon?" Heath was delighted. Ten candies meant Farfetch'd's EVs would all increase by ten points?
Although Heath wasn't very familiar with calculating EVs and IVs, he knew the higher these values, the easier it was for Pokémon to grow. Combined with Farfetch'd's unique traits, Heath felt even more excited.
But then Heath realized a problem. All the cheats he had seen so far were rewards for serving customers. Did that mean his cheat was related to cooking?
With this experimental idea in mind, Heath started his business for the day.
Heath had understood the Pokémon world through anime and games, but being here in person, he found it much larger than he had imagined.
Every morning around six, the sanitation workers would start cleaning. They often brought Water-type Pokémon like Goldeen to lubricate the ground with foam and then clean it.
By seven, office workers began leaving for work, and the streets became bustling. Heath's breakfast stall also started its busy day.
After four years, Heath had built a solid reputation on this street. Everyone knew Heath's breakfasts were delicious, so many people chose to buy from him.
"Heath, good morning! You're up early again, same as always." Seeing a line of customers waiting for breakfast, Heath steadily handled the ingredients, working efficiently.
"Good morning, Uncle Edward." Heath greeted with a smile. This middle-aged man, who had worked late yesterday, was rubbing his back today.
Uncle Edward's wife was very gentle, but Heath had heard from customers that she really wanted a child, so Uncle Edward had been having a tough time recently.
After preparing Uncle Edward's breakfast, Heath saw something he had hoped for—a Quick Candy. It seemed similar to Farfetch'd Candy.
After a busy morning, Heath had earned over fifty candies. Some customers didn't yield any candies, but Heath was now confident his cheat was related to his cooking skills.
"Heath, brother!" A boy came running over, and Heath couldn't help but laugh.
"Ash, you're here for a breakfast crepe again?" Heath smiled at the boy. This was a younger boy named Ash.
Yes, it was Ash from Pallet Town, the future protagonist and Pokémon Master. But for now, Ash was still a child who hadn't started his journey.
"Yeah! Your cooking is the best, Heath!" Ash nodded happily, making Heath smile.
Ash seemed like a carefree kid, but he had an extraordinary love and dedication to Pokémon. Heath had often heard Ash boast about the Pokémon he discovered.
"Great, today we have some delicious leeks from Farfetch'd. Do you want some?" Heath asked with a smile.
Ash hesitated, then pulled out some crumpled bills from his pocket, counted them, and nodded firmly.
Heath wasn't surprised. Farfetch'd's leeks were an extra topping and quite pricey, even for working adults.
"Ash, how long until you can get your first Pokémon?" Heath asked as he cooked the breakfast crepe.
"Two more years! Mom said I can start my journey then." Ash calculated with an excited expression.
Heath nodded. In two years, Ash's journey would begin, signaling the start of many adventures.
Ash's journey often meant significant events. Heath could only hope the world wouldn't see too many outlandish occurrences.
"By the way, Heath, a new family moved into town recently. Their boy is about my age." Ash watched eagerly as Heath added a spoonful of chopped leeks from a box, swallowing his saliva.
"Oh? What's his name?" Heath was curious. Not many people moved to Pallet Town; most chose Viridian City.
"His name is… Red!" Ash's words made Heath's hand tremble, almost dropping the egg.
Red?
Heath looked at Ash in surprise. Wasn't Ash supposed to be Red? How could another Red have moved in? What was going on in this world?
Heath suddenly felt things were developing beyond his expectations. Was this Red the one he knew from the games?
(End of the chapter)
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