Chapter Forty-Three: Xiaogang and Sakaki

"Keith, did you get a new car?" Keith was resting inside the food truck when he heard Xiao Gang's voice. He looked up and saw Xiao Gang, his eyes perpetually narrowed in a squint.

"Yeah, I won it in a lottery... But why are you here again?" Keith eyed Xiao Gang with some confusion. He remembered that Xiao Gang lived in Charcoal City; how could he have so much free time to drop by so often?

"I'm staying in Evergreen City for a while. By the way, did you notice the explosion last night?" Xiao Gang leaned on the counter, smiling as he asked.

Keith’s mouth twitched—what a strange question! Not only had he noticed, he was right there at the scene.

The chemical plant explosion from yesterday was already in the news. According to the investigation, it had been caused by equipment malfunction and improper operation by the staff. This conclusion brought Keith a sense of relief; he’d worried it might have been sabotage.

"Of course I saw it. What would you like to eat?" Keith wiped his hands and stood up. He hadn’t prepared much today, but he always had fried rice.

"Hmm... Give me fried rice then. Do you have scallions for the Scallion Duck?" Xiao Gang nodded, but as he spoke, his face kept turning toward the side. Keith glanced over curiously and saw it was Miss Joey passing by.

Keith felt helpless. Xiao Gang truly was a lover of beautiful women. Though he was still young, he already showed signs of this tendency. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though; Xiao Gang might not be the most reliable, but in front of ladies, he always conducted himself well.

"I have some, wait a moment." Keith nodded, then turned to prepare the fried rice Xiao Gang wanted.

Fried rice was not a complicated dish, easy to make. Some chefs would coat the rice with an egg mixture so the finished fried rice looked golden, with no visible chunks of egg—some restaurants even renamed it "Golden Fried Rice" and sold it at a premium.

But Xiao Gang preferred the kind where the rice and egg were separate, and Keith was well aware of his tastes.

"By the way, wasn’t your father sent you to Evergreen City to study? How’s your studying going?" Keith chatted calmly as he tossed the pan.

"Don’t even mention it. I’m just now realizing how much trouble being a Gym Leader is. There’s always a mountain of things to handle, plus I have to keep training my Pokémon." Xiao Gang propped his chin, his face full of misery.

Yet, with those squinting eyes, it was hard to discern any expression at all. That was probably why Xiao Gang always exaggerated his mouth movements, so others could recognize his emotions. Squinting eyes were truly a hardship.

Keith agreed with Xiao Gang’s complaints. The more he thought about it, the more he suspected that the reason Xiao Gang had accompanied Ash on his journey was perhaps to escape the burdens of Gym Leader life.

If that were so, then Xiao Gang and Steven would have something in common—after all, Steven handed the Champion title to his friend Wallace because it interfered with his search for stones.

"Oh, oh, oh! Champion Lance! The Dragon Master!" As Keith was about to speak, he heard cheers outside. He poked his head out in curiosity.

A fossil pterosaur swept swiftly across the sky. Though it was fast, it was still possible to recognize the caped man: one of the Elite Four of the Quartz League, Lance.

"Lance! Wow, his Aerodactyl looks amazing, so well-trained! I bet it could defeat dozens of me!" Xiao Gang’s jaw dropped in admiration.

To Keith, Xiao Gang’s shock was mostly expressed by his wide-open mouth—those squinting eyes were... best left unmentioned.

"Be bold—Aerodactyl could defeat thousands of you," Keith joked as he handed the fried rice to Xiao Gang.

Lance, one of the Elite Four of the Quartz League, was recognized as the strongest among them and considered the most likely to become the League Champion. But what people praised most were Lance’s Pokémon.

Lance always claimed to be a master of dragon-type Pokémon, but people soon discovered that most of his team consisted of flying-types—even TV shows poked fun at this fact.

Xiao Gang tried hard to widen his eyes, attempting to look angry, but his expression wasn’t threatening in the least. Even the Scallion Duck didn’t notice, continuing its intense practice.

"Is Champion Lance just passing through Evergreen City?" Keith asked Xiao Gang curiously.

"Of course not. He’s here to investigate whether Team Rocket was involved in the chemical plant explosion." A familiar uncle’s voice made Keith turn in surprise—it was Giovanni.

Today, Giovanni had regained his usual composure. He wore his everyday clothes, though his hair was still a bit curled—a consequence of being too close to the fire.

"Mr. Giovanni! Hello! I’m... I’m—" Xiao Gang spun around, eyes brimming with admiration.

"Oh? That face... You must be Mr. Brock's son, right?" Giovanni regarded Xiao Gang’s squinting eyes with interest; he remembered seeing such eyes before.

Xiao Gang was so excited he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Keith found it both amusing and exasperating.

If Xiao Gang ever learned that the Giovanni he admired was actually the head of Team Rocket, what kind of expression would he make? The thought was entertaining.

Keith couldn’t help but glance at Giovanni. He was so unconcerned—Champion Lance had come to Evergreen City specifically to investigate, but so far, there were no results.

"Yes!" Xiao Gang instantly straightened up, like a student being called upon by the teacher.

"Mr. Giovanni, would you like something to eat?" Keith asked, and the Scallion Duck turned curiously to see if it could help.

Only Zorua remained sprawled on the table, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the commotion.

"Me? I’ll have... hmm, a mushroom bun and some soy milk. Just a simple breakfast." Giovanni smiled, occasionally greeting passersby who nodded to him with respect, and he responded cheerfully.

Keith nodded, packed three buns into a bag, handed them to Giovanni, and turned to prepare the soy milk.