Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Leek pancake?
After placing the ribs down, Heath left as promised. Zorua was a timid Pokémon, and unless one had protagonist-level luck like Ash, Heath doubted a few words could earn Zorua's trust.
Rather than increasing Zorua's wariness, Heath decided it was better to accompany Farfetch'd to find some leeks.
Once Zorua encountered the people searching for her, she might trust Heath more. These things had to be approached gradually; rushing wouldn't work.
Heath was very pleased with Zorua. Since learning it was a Zorua, Heath felt a strong urge to make it his companion and travel together.
"Let's go, Farfetch'd. Let's continue our search for some leeks," Heath said with a smile, rubbing Farfetch'd's head. The chef in him instinctively checked for veins.
Hmm, cutting here should avoid contaminating the feathers, right?
Heath shook his head vigorously. This cursed instinct—being a chef for so long had this effect. Now, when he touched animals, he instinctively thought about the best way to cut them.
"Leek~" Farfetch'd quacked happily, making Heath chuckle.
If Zorua joined his team, communication with Farfetch'd would become much easier. After all, the Zorua they just met seemed to have telepathic abilities, making it a perfect communicator.
[You entertained Zorua and obtained a TM for Dark Pulse (Zorua exclusive).]
Heath's mouth twitched. While he expected some reward for entertaining Zorua, he hadn't anticipated getting Dark Pulse. But what did "Zorua exclusive" mean?
Curious, Heath placed the disk on Farfetch'd's head.
[Farfetch'd cannot learn Dark Pulse because it is exclusive to Zorua.]
Heath rubbed his nose, looking at the puzzled Farfetch'd. It seemed teaching Farfetch'd a Zorua-exclusive move was impossible. The TM must be for Zorua.
Dark Pulse was a signature move of Zoroark. In the games, it required a high level to learn, but having a TM made things much simpler.
This meant Zorua could learn Dark Pulse even before evolving, which was incredible.
"It seems Zorua and I are fated."
Heath and Farfetch'd walked a bit further and spotted a small lake with some plants resembling water celery growing nearby.
"Leek!" Farfetch'd excitedly pointed to the plants and flew over, rummaging through the water.
Heath curiously examined the plants. These were indeed leeks. However, in the Pokémon world, leeks were rare, while "leek" generally referred to green onions. Heath pondered this—no wonder Farfetch'd were scarce since leeks were rare.
"Leek!" As Heath was lost in thought, a Farfetch'd flew out of the nearby woods, holding a leek and eyeing Heath warily.
"Leek leek! Leek!" Farfetch'd's eyes sparkled as it looked at the leek in the other Farfetch'd's hand, extremely excited.
Heath recalled that Farfetch'd couldn't survive without their leeks, so they would fight each other for them. It seemed his Farfetch'd had found a target.
The opposing Farfetch'd angrily waved its leek and suddenly took off, folding its wings and charging at Farfetch'd. Heath's jaw dropped—was this Brave Bird?
Farfetch'd appeared fearful, showing that it had suffered at the hands of this Farfetch'd before.
"Farfetch'd, don't be afraid! Use Fire Punch!" Heath quickly commanded his first battle in the Pokémon world.
Brave Bird collided with Fire Punch, and Farfetch'd felt a tremendous force but not the explosive damage from Flying-type energy.
Instead, Fire Punch struck the opponent's head, scorching its feathers and leaving it with recoil damage.
"Leek?" Farfetch'd looked at its hand in confusion. Last time, it nearly vomited its food from such a hit. Why was it fine today?
Farfetch'd's little brain couldn't figure it out.
"Press the advantage! Use Fire Punch again!" Heath cheered. Choosing Wonder Guard was indeed the right decision!
Farfetch'd instinctively followed Heath's command, delivering another Fire Punch to its opponent.
Heath's mouth twitched, unsure if Farfetch'd did it on purpose, as this punch also hit the opponent's head, now bald and scorched.
"Leek!" The other Farfetch'd dropped its leek and desperately flapped its wings to escape.
"Leek~" Farfetch'd proudly picked up the leek, snuggling it contentedly.
Heath glanced at Farfetch'd, then walked to the lake to examine the plants. He carefully peeled back an oval, dandelion-like part to reveal black seeds resembling grape seeds. Satisfied, Heath collected them.
People unfamiliar with farming or growing leeks often didn't know what leek seeds looked like, but Heath did.
With these seeds, Heath could grow his own leeks, ensuring Farfetch'd always had a supply.
Seeing Farfetch'd's joy, Heath remembered a game he played, where Farfetch'd could evolve in a specific region, but only in that region's form.
What was the evolved Farfetch'd called again?
Heath tried to recall, then snapped his fingers. Farfetch'd's evolved form was called Sirfetch'd!
"Sirfetch'd, scallion pancake... It seems Farfetch'd can't escape being named after food no matter how it evolves," Heath sighed, shaking his head and rubbing Farfetch'd's head with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
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