Chapter 22: Quantum Fluctuation Dual-Flow Velocity Tri-Gamma Engine

Although Hiss felt that, as a chef, he would rarely encounter anything like this, he was still extremely satisfied with this Flame of Will. At the very least, it had improved his ability to survive.

“There really aren’t any customers...” Hiss scratched his head and glanced outside the truck. Beyond it lay an empty stretch of ground, while the road was almost completely silent. Only occasionally did a few freight trucks roar past him at high speed.

Hiss felt that he had overlooked something. When he came out to do business at night, he should have prepared a glowing neon sign with the word “Restaurant” on it. Otherwise, people driving past would have no idea what he was doing.

“Looks like the list of things I need to buy in the next city just got a little longer.” Hiss took out his notebook and wrote down “neon sign.” There were already plenty of things he needed to purchase: ingredients, for one, and furniture as well. Now he needed a sign too.

After waiting for roughly another hour, Hiss carried his tables and chairs back inside. He could now be certain that Victory Road had hardly any visitors at night. He just did not know whether there would be anyone around tomorrow, or whether his stock of ingredients would be enough.

Once everything had been brought inside and the windows and doors were shut, Hiss opened the door to the lounge and slipped in. After laying out his sleeping bag, he was ready for bed.

“Huh? Where’s my enormous bed?” Zorua complained in disappointment, circling Hiss’s sleeping bag twice with a look of disdain.

“We’ll buy one in the next city. When I left, I never imagined this food truck would be big enough to fit a bed.” Hiss yawned, sounding unconcerned.

The food truck had originally possessed only a tiny lounge, where even fitting a sleeping bag had been a tight squeeze. Hiss therefore had not brought any blankets or bedding with him. He had never expected the lounge to be expanded.

“Hmph. You just want to squeeze in and sleep with me, don’t you? In consideration of how carefully you prepared everything, I suppose I can reluctantly agree to your outrageous request.” Zorua raised her head and burrowed into Hiss’s sleeping bag.

Expressionless, Hiss pulled her back out. What on earth was this little creature thinking? The sleeping bag was only so large—where was there room for her to squeeze in beside him?

Ignoring Zorua’s protests, Hiss climbed into the sleeping bag and took out his phone. He had now left Viridian City behind, and the oppressive humid weather had disappeared as well. This made Hiss sigh with relief.

“There’s supposed to be a small-scale drop in temperature and snowfall around Victory Road and the Indigo Plateau tomorrow?” Hiss scratched his head. He had not expected to encounter such severe weather on his very first day out. Fortunately, he had brought a down jacket and other warm clothing. The food truck could also regulate its internal temperature, which made things considerably easier for him.

Elsewhere, Farfetch’d sat in the food truck’s lounge, stroking his chin while staring thoughtfully at the floor.

“Farfetch’d, what’s wrong?” Zorua asked curiously as she moved closer to him.

“Far...” Farfetch’d cried softly, his face filled with confusion.

Zorua froze for a moment, then turned and ran to Hiss’s side. She prodded his face with a paw, and Hiss helplessly opened his eyes to look at her.

“Trainer! What powers our truck?” Zorua asked curiously.

Farfetch’d came over as well, while Charmander, having finished his exercises for the day, lay beside Hiss and drank his protein shake.

Hiss looked at Zorua oddly. The little creature had actually thought to ask such a question? He had never expected it. He had assumed that none of them would ever wonder about something like that.

Hiss rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a copy of *Detailed Instructions for the Silph Experimental Food Truck*. After flipping through it, he finally found the relevant note.

“This food truck uses Silph Co.’s newest Quantum Oscillation Second-Flow Third-Gamma Engine. It features an internal energy circulation system with limitless operation, requiring neither fuel nor battery replacement.” Hiss read it aloud briefly, then put the book away.

Zorua and Farfetch’d wore expressions that seemed to say, “I understand.” Hiss was certain, however, that the two little creatures had not understood a word of it—because he himself had not understood it either.

Still, Hiss understood the basic idea. The note was simply meant to fool outsiders. In reality, his food truck had something akin to a nuclear-powered flashlight’s function. It did not need gasoline, which was a tremendous relief.

After all, even in the Pokémon world, gasoline was extremely expensive. Its price seemed only ever to rise and never to fall, leaving people utterly speechless.

“Go to sleep. We still have to get up tomorrow.” Hiss yawned and told Charmander to turn off the lights.

Thus, they spent their first night in the wilderness.

...

Hiss did not sleep particularly well that night. He discovered that he was rather particular about beds, and tossing and turning in a sleeping bag made it difficult for him to fall asleep. Only after a very long time did he finally drift off.

So when Hiss naturally awoke the following morning, he still felt mentally exhausted. He stared blankly at Zorua, who was sleeping sprawled across his sleeping bag, and only after taking quite some time to recover did he fully wake up.

“This little rascal. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to sleep on a sleeping bag?” Hiss looked at Zorua with both amusement and exasperation. Then he turned his head and glanced around. Farfetch’d was sleeping beside his sleeping bag as well, but Charmander was nowhere to be seen.

Hiss could already hear the sound of Charmander huffing and puffing as he exercised in the living area. Hiss could not help smiling. Charmander really was a considerate Pokémon. Knowing that exercising in the lounge would disturb everyone else, he had deliberately gone outside.

“Time to get up!” Hiss grabbed Zorua by the scruff of her neck and stood up. Zorua opened her eyes sleepily, while Farfetch’d rose with a yawn.

After calling Charmander in from the living area, Hiss took his Pokémon to the bathroom to wash up. The food truck even had water, though Hiss had no idea how that made any sense. Still, it saved him a great deal of trouble.

“Trainer... why did you get up so early? Are we going grocery shopping?” Zorua asked sleepily while brushing her teeth.

Hiss paused. That was a good question. Why had he gotten up so early? This was the entrance to Victory Road, with neither town nor village nearby. Forget a market—even finding a street cleaner would be impossible.

Slowly, Hiss’s brushing grew sluggish. Zorua was watching him through narrowed eyes, clearly having reached the same conclusion.

“Ahem. Of course I got up early to search for ingredients. A qualified chef must learn how to gather ingredients in the wild.” Hiss quickly came up with an excuse.