Chapter Eight: An Important Clue?

The dojo in Evergreen City could be considered the first one encountered after leaving Pallet Town. The fame of Giovanni, known as the lord of the earth, was renowned throughout the entire League. Because of this, many trainers frequently gathered outside the Evergreen Dojo. Most of them were collecting Pokémon badges, preparing to challenge the Indigo League.

Apart from this place, Heath thought the next most crowded spot would probably be the Pokémon Center. However, since the Center was quite far from his current location, Heath decided to head to the dojo instead.

As soon as he arrived at the Evergreen City Dojo, Heath spotted numerous trainers—some accompanied by Pidgey, some by Oddish, and even a couple with Vileplume. An odd scent wafted from the scene, prompting Heath to cover his mouth instinctively.

How could he forget that as a famous ground-type dojo, most people brought grass-type and water-type Pokémon to challenge it? Among these trainers, there were surely some with Gloom. Gloom was a rather unfortunate Pokémon, its distinctive smell earning it a place on the "Do Not Release in the City" Pokémon ranking.

Then there were Grimer and Koffing, and Pokémon like Snorlax and Onix, whose excessive weight also posed problems.

“If I’d known, I would’ve brought a mask… This is unbearable…” Heath touched the Poké Balls at his waist, but for the sake of his mission, he had no choice but to set up his food cart at this spot.

Perhaps because Gloom’s odor was so intense, there weren't many people in the mood to eat. Heath waited until the trainers with Gloom went inside to challenge the dojo before receiving his first customer.

These trainers were not much different from ordinary guests, and there was nothing special about serving them. After a busy stretch, Heath had served nine customers.

Some gave him a candy, others nothing at all. Heath couldn’t quite figure out how his golden finger determined whether a reward was given.

“Hello, do you make food for Pokémon here?” asked a stranger. Heath looked up to see a somewhat arrogant young boy, a necklace hanging from his neck.

“I do… but are you sure your Pokémon will like it?” Heath hesitated, nodding slightly. The boy appeared to be around Ash’s age.

But Heath wasn’t confident enough to assure him; when he had served Charizard before, he realized different Pokémon had varying tastes. Fried rice and pancakes were liked by some, disliked by others—Pokémon would be even more particular.

Heath wasn’t Superman; he couldn’t hope to please everyone.

“I saw the trainers who bought your food all seemed quite satisfied, so it should be fine,” the boy replied confidently.

Heath’s lips twitched. What on earth was this boy thinking? But since the customer insisted, Heath didn’t mind preparing a meal, though first he wanted to see what Pokémon the boy had.

“So, what kind of Pokémon do you have?” Heath asked. Pokémon had different taste preferences, often evident in their favorite berries.

Of course, not every Pokémon liked the same berry. Some were unique—like Charizard, whom Heath had just served, preferring sweet flavors.

“I... I don’t have a Pokémon yet! But if I have Pokémon food, I’ll definitely catch one!” The boy was brimming with confidence. Heath frowned—no Pokémon, yet here to buy food?

“If you don’t have a Pokémon, I can’t guarantee the food will help. You’d better reconsider,” Heath shook his head, refusing the boy’s request.

“I just want a portion of… fried rice!” The boy pulled fifteen League coins from his pocket and handed them to Heath, leaving him helpless.

But since the customer had paid, it would be inappropriate to refuse. Heath prepared a portion of fried rice as he would for a human, placed it in a box, and handed it to the boy, who took it and ran off excitedly.

Heath shook his head, doubting the boy was a real trainer. He hadn’t received any notification of a completed mission, so he continued to quietly wait outside the Evergreen City Dojo.

There were still plenty of people at the dojo, but most who emerged wore disappointed expressions. Only a few looked pleased. Watching their faces, Heath could easily guess the outcome of their challenges.

“Could it be Giovanni got so fed up he decided to focus solely on running Team Rocket instead?” Heath mused, his face twisted as he observed the endless stream of people. There were just too many.

[You have served Green, and received one Farfetch’d candy.]

A sudden notification popped up, making Heath’s hand tremble, almost flinging his spatula at a customer. He looked at the trainer before him—an elderly man.

This definitely didn’t look like Green. Yet Heath had only handed one portion of fried rice to a young boy, so was that boy actually Green?

Heath was bewildered, but it didn’t stop him from quickly preparing fried rice for the customer and pocketing the cash.

[You have served ten trainers, and received a random important clue.]
[Rumor has it someone saw a very fast white figure running in the Viridian Forest.]

Two more notifications appeared, leaving Heath stunned. Before he could ponder them, other hungry trainers, drawn by the aroma, approached. To serve them, Heath temporarily pushed aside the clue.

After selling all his food, it was still afternoon. Heath hurriedly packed up his cart and headed home.

“A very fast white figure running in the forest? What could that be?” Heath was puzzled. Since this clue was given by his golden finger, it must have a special significance, though its meaning escaped him.

At least he had a location—Viridian Forest.

“Leek, leek!” Farfetch’d flew beside Heath, circling him and calling out incessantly.

Heath felt a headache coming on. This stubborn Farfetch’d just wouldn’t give up, always wanting to keep learning how to make pancakes. If Heath had Farfetch’d’s perseverance, he would have breezed through his graduate exams.

“Yes, yes, I’ll get some for you later!” Heath replied, helpless. He had to placate Farfetch’d before he could think about the clue.