Chapter Eighty-Three: The Peculiar Officer Junsha

Heath rarely returned early to the Officer Jenny dormitory area, and at this hour, most of the Jennies were still on duty. The whole dormitory area was quiet, with only a few Jennies on leave occasionally visible, so it was especially peaceful.

Normally, the Officer Jenny dormitory was anything but quiet. Maple was known for her strict self-discipline, and under her influence, Heath could often hear the Jennies training at night. Sometimes there would even be live sparring sessions to practice their combat techniques.

Heath would occasionally join them in their training, and it was Officer Jenny Maple who taught the combat skills. Her martial prowess was extraordinary—Heath believed that if she got serious, Maple could probably fend off two Jennies attacking her at once.

If it were against ordinary people, Heath reckoned she could handle four or five with ease, maybe even more.

What surprised Heath most, however, was that none of the Jennies ever complained. At first, Heath had worried that some might grumble about the rigorous training, thinking Goldenrod City was so safe they didn’t need to work so hard. But not a single word of complaint was ever uttered.

Only then did Heath truly understand why the citizens of Goldenrod City held such extraordinary trust in the Officer Jennies. Whenever they appeared and issued instructions, people would promptly comply, with no troublemakers in sight.

“It’s so quiet here today,” Zorua commented, sprawled on top of Heath’s head, curiously taking in the familiar surroundings, now unusually still. Zorua could even hear the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The gentle sound of the wind swept through the tranquil grove. Heath closed his eyes, and as a breeze blew against him, he stretched comfortably. He couldn’t help but admit that the world of Pokémon excelled at greenery—there were so many trees, making him feel truly immersed in nature.

“What are you doing?” came an unfamiliar voice. Heath opened his eyes in confusion and saw an Officer Jenny in uniform standing under the shade of a tree ahead, watching him with curiosity.

Heath gazed blankly at this Jenny. Ever since his arrival in this world, he had spent so much time with the Jennies that he could easily distinguish each one by their subtle differences. But this Jenny was completely unfamiliar to him.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Heath frowned, eyeing her warily and instinctively shifting into a combat stance.

“Fifth Set of Officer Jenny Combat Techniques? Looks like you’ve mastered it quite well,” the Jenny immediately recognized his stance. Heath was a bit surprised—there weren’t many who knew the name of that particular fighting style.

Seeing Heath’s astonished and guarded expression, the Jenny only laughed harder, tears even welling up as she wiped her eyes.

“How rare it is to see a boy like you in the Officer Jenny dormitory. We’ll meet again, little brother.” With a cheerful wave, she darted into the nearby woods.

Heath hurried after her, but she was already gone.

“She’s fast... but was she really an Officer Jenny?” Heath frowned, looking in the direction she’d vanished. Due to a hereditary trait, all female Officer Jennies looked nearly identical, with only subtle differences to distinguish them—a look that was hard to duplicate.

That said, duplication wasn’t impossible. After all, the world of Pokémon was full of peculiar items, like human-skin masks, or the effects of certain Pokémon moves.

But this Jenny had even known the name of the Fifth Set of Officer Jenny Combat Techniques and could identify it just from his initial stance. That suggested she was likely a true Officer Jenny.

Still, for safety’s sake, Heath quickly reported the encounter to the Jenny on duty in the dormitory area. Despite a thorough investigation, there were no leads; it was as if that Jenny had never appeared at all.

Though puzzled, Heath set about preparing a lavish dinner for the Jennies who would return later, and finished his own and his Pokémon’s meals as well.

“You’re saying that when you came back this afternoon, you saw an Officer Jenny? And she even recognized the opening stance of the Fifth Combat Set?” Jenny Maple sat across from Heath, shoveling braised pork and rice into her mouth.

“Yeah, I just reflexively made the move, and she recognized it right away,” Heath nodded.

“How odd... I haven’t heard anything about an inspector visiting lately.” Maple frowned in puzzlement, but soon shrugged it off and focused on her meal, leaving Heath both amused and exasperated.

Still, Maple’s mention of an inspector made Heath think of something.

Normally, each town had a fixed number of Officer Jennies—unless there were casualties or new recruits, outsiders rarely appeared. Of course, there were traveling Jennies, but they never wore uniforms.

Among them, inspectors were the ones who moved frequently between cities, responsible for surprise inspections of the Jennies’ conduct and checking if their attire was up to standard, earning them the “beloved” nickname of tattletales.

Heath figured that impressive Jenny was probably an inspector. Their job required them to be elusive, so it wasn’t strange for her to suddenly appear in the nearly-empty dormitory area that afternoon.

Besides, the inspector role wasn’t unique to the Pokémon world—his previous life had them, too.

Once he’d resolved his doubts, Heath felt much more at ease. He quickly finished his egg fried rice and braised chicken leg, and then hurried back to his dorm with Farfetch’d in tow.

He wanted to see how Farfetch’d’s arm strength training was going. The “Three Non-stick” dish didn’t require much culinary skill, but it did demand a lot from the chef’s stamina and strength. So as long as Farfetch’d met the physical requirements, making a decent Three Non-stick wouldn’t be too challenging.

Farfetch’d looked quite confident, which made Heath hopeful. But after trying in the dorm kitchen, Heath realized that making the dish was still a bit of a stretch for Farfetch’d. Even for Pokémon, consistent training was essential.

“Take it slow—you’ve already made great progress. I think with a few more days of practice, you’ll be able to make the dish,” Heath encouraged, patting Farfetch’d on the head. Even without the task rewards, he felt Farfetch’d’s earnest attitude towards learning the culinary arts was worthy of praise.

At the very least, from now on, Heath would have an extra hand in the kitchen, making cooking all the easier.