Chapter 50 Retro, Oh So Retro

Heath stretched lazily. The Officer Jennys had finished their meal by now, and instead of lingering in the mess hall, Heath made his way back to his food truck. He had already settled in some of his small pieces of furniture, meaning he could finally escape the torment of sleeping in a sleeping bag every night.

Heath did not stay in the Officer Jennys' dormitory; the veteran Officer Jenny had reserved a parking spot for him in the precinct lot. Heath was quite satisfied with this arrangement, as parking fees in the Indigo League were truly exorbitant, and saving a buck or two was always a good option.

In truth, buying a car nowadays wasn't much of a hassle, and many people could afford one. There were cheap cars to be had; the real problem was that while buying a car was easy, maintaining one was expensive. The simple matter of parking was enough to give countless car owners a headache.

Parking spaces were hard to find, parking fees were steep, and paying to own a spot didn't guarantee peace of mind either. The news frequently reported on people who bought parking spaces only to find them constantly occupied by others, leading to no end of conflicts. Moreover, since the headquarters of the Indigo League was integrated with the Johto League, this city was a sprawling metropolis teeming with people.

If the veteran Officer Jenny hadn't provided a parking spot, Heath figured it might have taken him ages to find a place to park—or he might not have found one at all.

"Let's go, time for a stroll," Heath rubbed Zorua's head. Zorua let out a huff, then turned its head away, ignoring him.

Farfetch'd looked on curiously, Charmander was busy practicing its flame control, and the Snow Snorlax had fallen asleep again. Heath suspected that the Snow Snorlax must be part feline, capable of sleeping twenty hours out of twenty-four.

"Aren't you going to buy your book?" Heath asked, looking at the sulking Zorua with a smiling, feigned expression of confusion. At Heath's words, Zorua instantly bounced up from the bed, turning its head with excitement. But the next moment, catching Heath's playful gaze, Zorua let out another huff and turned away again.

Heath laughed in spite of himself at the little creature. Zorua was just too proud; clearly, it wanted to go get its book, but it refused to back down.

"If you're not going, I guess we won't buy it then?" Heath deliberately turned around as if intending to leave. Before he even reached the door, he felt a weight land on his head, and in a flash, Zorua was draped right over it.

"Hmph, it's not like I'm happy just because you're taking me to buy it," Zorua mumbled grudgingly. Heath didn't mind; the little guy was always like this, and he had grown used to it. If Zorua ever stopped acting this way, Heath might actually feel a bit out of place.

***

By nightfall, the Indigo League was ablaze with neon lights, and the streets were packed with pedestrians—a stark contrast to Viridian City. If one could still spot a few stars in the sky over Viridian City, then in the Indigo League, stars were completely out of the question; only the moon could be seen.

This was due to the severe light pollution in the Indigo League. The light pollution in this region was unimaginably intense; Heath figured one would have to travel a fair distance away from the Indigo League just to catch a glimpse of a truly breathtaking starry sky.

Still, the lively atmosphere had its charms. The Indigo League tonight felt just like the tier-one cities from his past life, bustling with people everywhere, and Heath occasionally spotted Officer Jennys on patrol.

As he walked, Heath caught sight of something quite interesting.

"Is this... a sticker photo booth?" Heath stared blankly at the large machine standing by the roadside. It was a street photo kiosk where people could step inside, choose their own picture borders, draw a black curtain, and snap some photos. The price wasn't too steep either—twenty-five League Dollars for a strip of six instant prints.

The concept was agonizingly familiar. Wasn't this just a purikura booth? These things were classic memories from Heath's childhood. Back then, his older brother had been utterly obsessed with taking sticker photos, slapping on some so-called smoky eye makeup to become a edgy internet rebel. Even in modern times, that counter-culture subculture still existed; it had simply transitioned from a trend of the times to a form of retro irony.

Heath walked over curiously to take a closer look. The machine certainly looked familiar, and the equipment inside gave him a nostalgic flashback to his days on the Blue Planet.

"Let's hope I don't run into any edgy youth around here... though I suppose the Pokémon world shouldn't have subcultures like that, right?" Heath shook his head. Had this been a while ago, he might actually have considered going inside to play around, trying out a decorative frame and picking some melodramatic slogan, but now, Heath was well past that age.

Pulling back the black curtain, Heath stepped outside, only to find two youths with multi-colored, glowing hair waiting nearby. Their faces were caked in heavy smoky makeup, one of them had a nose piercing, and as Heath glanced down involuntarily, he noticed they were wearing ripped pants as well.

"Hey there, handsome~ Are you interested in our Seven-Color Gothic style?" It wasn't until they spoke that Heath realized the two individuals were actually girls.

What on earth was "Seven-Color Gothic"? Heath was familiar with Gothic fashion, Gothic Lolita styles, and the like, but what kind of bizarre concept was Seven-Color Gothic?

***

Heath hurriedly waved his hands in denial. He finally understood: the two girls before him were essentially the Pokémon world's equivalent of edgy punks. It left him somewhat amused; it seemed that particular subculture existed even in the world of Pokémon.

Leaving the two members of the Seven-Color Gothic clan behind, Heath continued walking toward the bookstore.

"Trainer, were those two women just now hitting on you?" Zorua asked, peering down from atop Heath's head with a curious expression.

"Why would you say that?" Heath asked, bewildered. How on earth did they look like they were hitting on him? They probably just mistook him for some youngster trying to break into the edgy youth scene.

"Because in the Pokémon world, isn't dressing up in such weird, flashy ways what people do during mating season?" Zorua tilted its head in genuine confusion. Heath's mouth twitched. Was that even a thing?

Yet, when he thought about it, the possibility wasn't entirely zero. In the animal kingdom of his past life, creatures like peacocks dressed up in flashy displays, relying on their magnificent tails to attract females.

But those were animals. Humans ought to...

Heath pictured the heavy smoky makeup on the two girls' faces and their unexplainably vibrant, glowing hair, and for a moment, he genuinely had no counterargument to Zorua's logic.