Chapter 33: Sabrina

[You entertained Mr. William and received a set of muscle training tools.]

Heath was stunned by the sudden notification. What exactly was a set of muscle training tools? And how would such a thing appear?

As Heath pondered this, he suddenly felt his food cart shift slightly. He had a bad feeling about this. Opening the cart, he found a small toolbox inside.

"Can this thing really help build muscle?" Heath was deeply puzzled. The small toolbox didn't seem very large, but now wasn't the time to investigate. Heath put the toolbox back, planning to examine it later.

"Human, is your daily life always like this?" Zorua, perched on Heath's shoulder, peeked out and curiously asked, looking at the food cart.

"Sometimes I make different foods, but I'm saving up money to travel to other cities." Heath spoke softly, not wanting to seem too strange.

Zorua shook her little head and settled back on Heath's shoulder, her tiny feet fidgeting against his shoulder. It seemed that while Zorua's illusions could change her appearance, they couldn't alter her basic form, making it obvious upon physical contact.

Heath looked around. There was still some time before the people of Viridian City woke up for work. He planned to serve his Pokémon breakfast first. He also hadn't used the TM he got from Zorua last time.

With this in mind, Heath started making breakfast crepes. He knew how to handle Farfetch'd's order, but Zorua's required a different approach.

Zorua liked sweet and sour flavors, so Heath decided to make her a sweet and sour crepe, using ketchup for the job.

"Farfetch'd, here's your crepe, with an extra egg as usual." Heath handed the hot crepe to Farfetch'd, then gave another crepe with ketchup to Zorua.

Zorua curiously looked at the crepe in Heath's hand, then at Farfetch'd, who was happily nibbling on his crepe.

"What is this?" Zorua asked curiously, feeling that this Trainer was full of secrets, having never tasted such food before.

"A crepe, breakfast. I'll make lunch for you later." Heath yawned as he made a smaller crepe for himself.

Perhaps because Heath was a chef, he often lost his appetite after cooking. His mentor had once told him it was due to the constant smell of cooking.

Zorua took a small bite of the sweet and sour crepe, her face lighting up with happiness. The sweet and sour taste perfectly matched her preferences.

Heath took out the magnifying glass from his pocket. After cooling down overnight, it should be usable now. With some of his suspicions in mind, Heath decided to test it on Zorua first.

He pointed the magnifying glass at Zorua.

[Zorua, edible, non-toxic. The meat is sour and gamey, requiring special preparation. Recommended to blanch twice and use various seasonings to mask the flavor.]

Heath was delighted. It seemed this gadget could see through Zorua's illusions. But what about people? He was curious about its effects on humans but had already used the food identifier's one daily use. He would have to wait until tomorrow to try again.

Just as Heath was about to say something, he noticed someone approaching. Turning, he saw Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader that Giovanni had introduced to him yesterday.

"Uh, Miss Sabrina, is there something you need?" Heath asked, puzzled by Sabrina's appearance. She should be meeting with Giovanni, so why was she here?

Sabrina, with her long black hair, stood before Heath, staring at him with her emotionless black eyes.

"." Sabrina pointed to a sign on Heath's food cart that read "Braised Pork with Tofu Rice."

"You want this? It's still cooking, so you'll have to wait a bit." Heath breathed a sigh of relief. She was just here for food.

Sabrina nodded and stood aside, but Heath felt uneasy with her staring at him. He checked his pants to make sure his zipper was up.

Despite the awkwardness, Sabrina continued watching him as he patiently waited for the braised pork with tofu to finish cooking.

Heath reminded Zorua not to use telepathy, knowing Sabrina was a powerful Psychic-type Trainer who might detect something unusual about Zorua.

As the sky brightened, more customers arrived at Heath's stall. He busily served crepes to his customers, smiling as he collected their payments.

After the morning rush, Heath noticed Sabrina still watching him. He quickly checked the pot—it was ready.

"Miss Sabrina, your braised pork with tofu rice." Heath handed her the meal, curious about what reward he might receive for serving her.

"." Sabrina calmly took the meal. Heath had expected her to use telekinesis.

Then, to Heath's shock, Sabrina pulled out a large stack of League coins, all in 100-coin denominations, totaling several thousand coins, and handed them to him.

"...Teach me how to make Giovanni... happy." Sabrina said calmly, her expression unchanged.

"Huh?"

(End of this chapter)