Chapter Forty-One: Complicated and Awkward Humans

Heath remembered how, when he first realized he had arrived in the world of Pokémon, he felt utterly unsettled—after all, the Pokémon world could be quite dangerous at times. Especially upon discovering he was in Viridian City, where Giovanni resided, Heath's instinct was to flee. Yet, as he later interacted with Giovanni and came to understand him, Heath realized that Giovanni in this world was far more complex and real.

Giovanni was not a villain who spent every day hiding in a base, scheming various plots to conquer the world. Instead, he was a flesh-and-blood human being: he attended charity events, and he smiled warmly while teaching trainers who came to the gym to learn.

Through the car window, Heath watched as Mr. Giovanni continued rescuing people, scratching his head in bewilderment. Though he knew Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket, at this moment Giovanni truly seemed like a good person.

“I once heard my mother say that you humans are despicable, cunning, and shameless; for survival, you’d trample others underfoot to escape yourselves,” Zorua perched on Heath’s shoulder, her eyes reflecting the flickering flames, making her look especially beautiful.

“And then?” Heath neither affirmed nor denied; such things did exist, and movies from his previous life that explored human nature often spoke of this.

“Hmph, humans are so complicated, complicated and awkward,” Zorua snorted and turned away, refusing to look at Heath any longer.

Heath chuckled, gazing at Giovanni. Zorua’s words weren’t wrong; humans were indeed complex creatures, imperfect, and in this world, no one was perfect.

If a person were truly perfect, they’d no longer be human, but a god.

With the combined efforts of Pokémon and humans, the blaze was gradually brought under control. Yet, even so, the fire burned until two o’clock in the morning, lasting a full seven hours, and many onlookers had departed.

“Sister Bell, here are some boxed meals I made,” Heath placed the meals he had prepared into a large basket and carried them out.

“You little rascal... thank you, everyone’s starving. I’ll distribute them,” Officer Jenny Bell smiled and ruffled Heath’s hair. Heath instinctively ducked away, feeling a bit embarrassed to have his head rubbed in front of so many people, though he didn’t mind too much.

“Well, Heath, are you here to provide us with a late-night meal?” Mr. Giovanni laughed heartily; he was barely recognizable now, looking for all the world like a tribal chief from Africa.

A phrase popped inexplicably into Heath’s mind: “The drop rate today is really high.” Heath rubbed his face, glad he hadn’t said it aloud.

“Mr. Giovanni, thank you for your hard work,” Heath offered sincere gratitude. Without Giovanni and his team’s help, extinguishing the fire would have taken far longer.

After checking for lingering hazards, everyone finally relaxed. Heath warmly welcomed each firefighter, and his boxed meals received unanimous praise. The happy smiles and content expressions filled Heath with satisfaction.

“Hey, not bad—there’s even such a big piece of meat!” Officer Jenny Ling grinned, wrapping an arm around Heath’s neck and nudging him until his face flushed bright red. The old rascal was at it again.

“Ling, stop teasing Heath,” Officer Jenny Maple walked over, smiling as she balanced her half-eaten meal box. The exhaustion from firefighting had given her a healthy appetite.

Upon hearing Maple’s words, Ling stuck out her tongue and released Heath, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

“You did well—you’re truly a child of Viridian City,” Maple smiled, pinching Heath’s face and smearing it black.

“Of course! You know who my sister is,” Heath puffed his chest with pride. He hadn’t fought the fire, but he’d contributed in his own way.

Amid laughter and chatter, the night passed quickly, and the next day, though Heath was still tired, he woke up as usual.

“Yawn... I really wish I could sleep a bit longer today,” Heath looked at Zorua sleeping beside him, let out a huge yawn, and then grabbed Zorua by the scruff to climb out of bed.

Yesterday’s fire was finally extinguished, with no further dangers. Several Water-type Pokémon, to prevent reignition, worked together to summon rain. The fine drizzle couldn’t put out flames but was enough to guard against flare-ups.

“You’re so annoying, I haven’t slept enough yet,” Zorua complained, looking at Heath with resentment. Heath glanced curiously at Zorua—no dark circles under her eyes.

But then, Pokémon probably didn’t get dark circles, did they...?

Thinking of Ash’s Pikachu, Heath decided not to draw conclusions too quickly.

His biggest gain yesterday was a pile of candies, all useful for boosting effort values. Yet Heath also discovered that they had usage limits—the more he used, the greater the quantity required.

“Zorua, do you want to learn Dark Blast?” Heath asked while brushing his teeth, glancing at Zorua.

The TM he had received for entertaining Zorua was still in his possession, and only Zorua could use it.

“Huh? Dark Blast? Isn’t that a move only gifted Zoroark can learn?” Zorua stood on the bathroom sink, diligently brushing her teeth, while Farfetch’d stood solemnly at Heath’s left.

“Yes, but you can learn it first,” Heath nodded. Dark Blast was quite powerful.

Zorua was clearly tempted, hesitating as she hopped up and down before Heath, a gesture that seemed oddly familiar to him.

“Hmph, human, don’t think that teaching me Dark Blast will make me eternally grateful—that’s impossible!” Zorua turned away, though her joy was impossible to hide.

Heath couldn’t help but laugh, tapping her on the head and then activating the TM. In the next moment, Zorua, who had been about to bristle, froze in astonishment.

She stood there, dazed, feeling the new knowledge in her mind—she had actually mastered Dark Blast, a move only Zoroark could learn?

Zorua turned curiously to look at her trainer, suddenly feeling he was quite mysterious. Perhaps he, like the protagonist in that novel, was a powerful legendary Pokémon in disguise?

Would he, in the end, come to fence with her...? Wait, no, she was female, and this trainer was male...

Zorua shook her head vigorously, feeling a bit embarrassed.