Chapter 17: Enoki Mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms—this thing actually has another name: “See You Tomorrow.” That’s because, generally speaking, the human body can’t digest or absorb enoki mushrooms, so however you eat them, they just come out the other end unchanged.

Because of this, a joke started circulating online about a man so poor he couldn't afford food, so he survived until payday by eating only a bag of enoki mushrooms. Heath thought that was pretty far-fetched—practically impossible.

After all, even if the enoki mushrooms aren’t absorbed, most of their nutrients would have already been taken in, so eating them wouldn’t really serve much purpose.

So at this moment, when Heath heard that Xiao Gang had fallen into a cave, struggling to survive with only a bag of enoki mushroom snacks, his mind inevitably went astray.

“Didn’t you bring your Pokédex?” Heath asked curiously. Normally, as the son of a gym leader, Xiao Gang should have access to a Pokédex. The Pokédex should have an SOS function, and even if not, he could have called for help on his phone.

“No signal... I wasted a good amount of time just finding my way out,” Xiao Gang replied, looking exhausted. Heath felt sorry for him; this guy was really unlucky.

“But I found something really interesting inside that cave,” Xiao Gang said mysteriously, pulling a shard from his pocket and handing it to Heath.

Heath took it with a puzzled look. It appeared to be a crystal shard—clear and sparkling, quite beautiful. But crystals weren’t valuable. Heath recalled a news story about an auction where some incredibly expensive item was sold.

The Diancie gem—a jewel that fetched an astronomical price that left Heath stunned. He figured he’d never be able to afford something like that in his lifetime.

“This isn’t just a crystal?” Heath asked blankly. It was just a piece of crystal, and even though it looked pretty good, there probably wasn’t anything special about it.

“Hey, haven’t you heard the legend passed down among rock-type Pokémon trainers?” Xiao Gang’s eyes widened as if to prove how credible his story was.

Heath felt a mild stomach ache. He wasn’t sure if he should tell Xiao Gang that every time he opened his eyes like that, it looked kind of funny and almost made him burst out laughing. If it weren’t impolite, he might have laughed out loud.

“What legend?” Heath decided to change the topic; otherwise, he might not be able to hold back.

“There’s a rumored mutation of a Steelix—a Steelix made entirely of crystal, and its type is supposedly different from a normal Steelix,” Xiao Gang said earnestly. Heath was momentarily stunned.

He actually knew about this. The anime had featured such a Steelix, called Crystal Steelix, and it did have different typing—he remembered it was weak to fire, which confirmed its attributes were indeed different from a regular Steelix.

But Heath also recalled that the game never officially featured Crystal Steelix. He’d only seen it in some fan-made Pokémon game mods.

“You mean the Crystal Steelix?” Heath looked at the shard in his hand, which was indeed similar in color to the one in the anime. But he remembered that Steelix didn’t usually appear near Evergreen City.

“Yeah! You know it too, Heath. It’s a very precious Pokémon—always rumored but never actually caught! If I could catch it, my life would be complete.” Xiao Gang looked obsessed, and Heath smirked slightly. There were indeed some rare and special Pokémon in their world.

For Xiao Gang, Crystal Steelix was clearly an object of great fascination, even if Heath’s memory of its exact location in the anime was fuzzy.

That was understandable. Those events had happened ages ago, and Heath only remembered the major story arcs and the latest movie releases.

“Then you might as well focus on mastering your Pokémon’s moves,” Heath said, recalling a Pokémon movie he had seen before his journey through time. People in the Pokémon world were starting to abandon old ways.

Besides Ash, the super rookie, there were now people who could use Pokémon moves themselves. Who knew what absurd things might happen in the future.

“That’s impossible! Humans can never master Pokémon moves—Professor Oak and all the Pokémon researchers have studied this!” Xiao Gang said firmly. Heath smiled to himself. When Ash eventually traveled to that region and met the mythical Pokémon Zarude, they wouldn’t be saying that anymore.

He returned the shard to Xiao Gang, who left with a cheerful smile. Heath was now free; he had already prepared the pickled vegetables and just needed to wait for them to develop their proper flavor over time.

Once the pickles were ready, Heath felt confident he could cook more delicious dishes.

“Trainer! Trainer! Are you going to the comic convention?” Zorua grabbed Heath’s shirt excitedly, speaking rapidly.

Heath paused. What was that?

“Comic convention? What comic convention?” Heath asked blankly. Although this world had anime, the kinds were somewhat strange. Heath had never attended a comic convention here, and he knew it cost money to get in.

“This one!” Zorua eagerly handed Heath a flyer. Heath took it curiously. It was an advertisement for a comic convention in Gray City, featuring many cosplayers, fan booths, and exclusive books from artists.

Heath eyed Zorua suspiciously. He suspected Zorua was just after the books, though he had no proof.

“Trainer! Trainer! Let’s go together~” Zorua pouted adorably. Heath stroked his chin, consulting Farfetch’d and Charmander. Charmander was indifferent, but Farfetch’d showed interest.

After hesitating a moment, Heath agreed to Zorua’s request.

Moreover, the convention was scheduled with ample time, so Heath thought he could stop by the Quartz Plateau first, then head to Gray City. Though that meant disrupting his travel plans again.

“Oh well, just go with the flow,” he sighed.