Chapter Thirty-Six: Sakaki—My Thanks to You

Zorua boredly flicked her tail, feeling that these humans were truly strange. Was it really so amusing that a little Charmander had been chased all through the entire Viridian Forest by a swarm of Caterpie? She couldn’t see what was so funny about it.

But as she watched the aged Charizard, Zorua felt a spark of curiosity. By rights, this Charizard shouldn’t be particularly large, so why did he seem so old?

“Oh dear… Grandpa Mazhite, every time you tell this story, I can’t help but laugh.” Heath wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He’d long known about Charizard’s past, but whenever he thought of a young Charmander being hunted by a crowd of green caterpillars, he felt the urge to chuckle again.

“Haha, this is A-Charge’s dark history! I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.” Old Mazhite laughed heartily, patting Charizard’s shoulder. Charizard bared his teeth at Heath, as if to say he wouldn’t have to hear his own embarrassing tale again if Heath weren’t so insistent.

After Mazhite handed over the payment, he departed, strolling leisurely through Viridian City with his Charizard. Winter in Viridian was somewhat cold, and Charizard wore a roughly knitted sweater, made by Mazhite himself.

Once Mazhite had left, Zorua voiced the question that lingered in her mind. She truly didn’t understand why that Charizard appeared so aged.

“Grandpa Mazhite used to be an investigator for the League. Charizard’s injuries accumulated from those days—Nurse Joy said his vitality was greatly depleted, so…” Heath sighed. Mazhite’s story was no secret in Viridian City.

In fact, everyone in Viridian was familiar with Mazhite’s history. This distinguished old man had been the protagonist of a League film, and his exploits with Charizard had inspired countless young trainers.

For a time, Charizard became the most sought-after Pokémon in all of Kanto. Even now, its popularity remained high; every year, Charmander was the top choice among starter Pokémon.

Seeing Zorua fall silent, Heath smiled and gently stroked her small ears. Zorua pulled her ears back and glared at Heath before turning away and presenting her backside to him.

Heath could only shake his head with a wry smile, but he went on to prepare lunch for his two Pokémon.

“Farfetch’d, your timing is still off… Let’s do this, I’ll set a timer for you,” Heath said, looking at Farfetch’d with a headache.

Farfetch’d had excellent knife skills, but his control over the cooking heat was like a disaster film. Heath had noticed that Farfetch’d always messed up when it came to roasting duck.

Roast duck, while seemingly simple and easily judged by a fixed cooking time, required a competent chef to grasp the perfect moment. The quality of the duck’s meat, the type of honey and oil applied, and even the day’s temperature had to be taken into account. That was why Heath could produce a fine roast duck, whereas Farfetch’d could not.

“Leek! Leek!” Farfetch’d waved his leek with great determination. Heath couldn’t help but smile at the little fellow’s stubbornness.

He didn’t want to give up, but perhaps it was time to let Farfetch’d learn to master the heat, making the path ahead a little smoother. Heath abandoned the idea of formulaic cooking.

...

“Um… Sabrina, what are you doing?” Giovanni stared blankly at Sabrina standing in his kitchen, lost in deep thought. Hadn’t he told her to return to Saffron City and await further instructions from the organization?

“I… I want to cook,” Sabrina replied coldly, her face devoid of expression. Giovanni didn’t mind; he knew Sabrina’s character—a girl who seemed unfamiliar with both smiles and sorrow, and whose face rarely showed emotion.

“Huh? Cook?” Giovanni was perplexed. He hadn’t expected his subordinate to want to cook in his home.

Sabrina nodded. She recalled something she’d heard from Heath: to win a man’s heart, one must first win his stomach. Sabrina found the phrase very reasonable—wasn’t Giovanni’s stomach won over by Heath?

If Heath knew Sabrina had commented on him this way, he’d protest his innocence. He was only invited by Giovanni to cook a meal, nothing more.

Then, before Giovanni could react, Sabrina carried a bowl over and presented it to him with both hands.

Giovanni looked at the bowl, catching the scent of cucumber chicken soup. He noticed a cookbook in the kitchen—the recipe for cucumber and egg soup with rice was written there. Sabrina seemed to notice his gaze.

The cookbook slid aside, pulled away by an invisible force under Sabrina’s watchful eye.

Giovanni’s mouth twitched, but seeing Sabrina stubbornly standing before him, he smiled and took the bowl, intending to set it on the nearby table.

But Sabrina was still watching him intently, making Giovanni feel pressured. Not wanting to disappoint his subordinate, he took a sip from the bowl.

“How… how is it?” Sabrina asked with a cold face, as if conducting an experiment.

“Mm, it’s delicious,” Giovanni replied with a smile. Then, assuming his role as Team Rocket’s boss, he ordered Sabrina back to Saffron City to gather intelligence properly.

After Sabrina left, Giovanni clutched his stomach, frowning. If he hadn’t seen the cucumber and egg in the soup, he would’ve thought he’d drunk a bowl of salty water.

“Ugh… what’s gotten into Sabrina?” Giovanni felt discomfort, puzzled by her sudden determination to cook for him. Didn’t she just say yesterday she had no interest in cooking?

...

“Ah… ah-choo!” Heath sneezed, rubbing his nose. Farfetch’d had accidentally scattered charcoal dust onto his face again. But Heath’s heart was full of joy.

Because Farfetch’d had finally made a roast duck that Heath thought was good enough to serve to customers.

[Farfetch’d has independently prepared a fine roast duck. You have obtained the Mobile Kitchen Trial Type I.]

Heath was stunned. This reward was indeed unique, but what was a Mobile Kitchen Trial Type? And how was he supposed to use it?