Chapter Thirty-Three: AE86, How About That?

Heath took a deep breath, deciding to suppress the anger brewing within him. After all, the creature before him was nothing more than a foolish Pokémon. Besides, the signs and warnings he had seen earlier had already noted the fiery nature of this Rapidash. Heath resolved to roll up the car window, hoping to shield himself from any further molestation.

But before he could even steady his mind, he saw the Rapidash raise its tail and suddenly—*splat*—it aimed right at Heath’s food truck.

“What? You can’t be…” Heath was both shocked and furious. Could this guy really be so shameless? No way. Aren’t Pokémon supposed to be cute, obedient, and considerate? Not this brazen, at least.

Before he could finish his thought, Heath noticed streaks of a thick, yellowish, unidentified liquid splattered across the truck’s windows. Though the windshield wipers quickly cleared it away without much damage, Heath’s temper flared uncontrollably.

“You’re seriously pissed off? I’m driving an AE86, you know!” Heath exploded with anger. While he had encountered plenty of oddities on the road before, this was the first time a vehicle ahead of him had actually urinated on his own. In that instant, all reason fled his mind.

With practiced ease, he slammed on the accelerator and engaged the truck’s assisted driving mode. The storm had just eased as he began a high-speed chase with the Rapidash along the winding roads of Mount Akina. He had to admit, the mobile food truck was surprisingly fast, and as he pushed it, Heath discovered more impressive features.

The engine roared powerfully, the tires gripped the asphalt tenaciously, and with the help of the assisted driving system, Heath even executed a flawless drift around a sharp curve. Yet, despite all this, he still couldn’t catch up to the Rapidash.

Because it was drifting too.

Yes, drifting.

The Rapidash maneuvered through bends by swiftly leaning its body sideways, then galloping with fluid grace as it drifted through the corners. Its speed even surpassed Heath’s AE86 fitted with autopilot. Heath stared in disbelief.

Could it be that he wasn’t the one delivering tofu here? Perhaps he was just a bystander—like those two guys watching an AE86 slide through the roadside ditches?

Heath sank deep into doubt. As the chase wore on, his initial shock gave way to an expressionless calm. At this point, he simply no longer cared. This Rapidash was genuinely drifting before his eyes, even accelerating mid-turn, occasionally performing flashy moves like leaping from the side of rocky walls up to the road above.

Heath resigned himself to the fact that this Rapidash was likely a Pokémon owned by some professional racer. To master drifting so skillfully spoke volumes about its formidable strength.

After the intense pursuit, the Rapidash finally ceased its taunting antics and bolted away in a flash. Relaxing his grip, Heath activated the truck’s autopilot and headed for the resting quarters.

He lay down on the ample belly of his sleeping Snorlax, who was dozing peacefully. Fortunately, Snorlax didn’t snore, so the resting room remained fairly quiet.

“Hey, Trainer, what are you doing here?” Zorua, curled up inside Heath’s sleeping bag engrossed in a book, looked up in surprise when Heath entered.

“I’m resting a bit. The next stretch is all mountain roads; autopilot can handle it,” Heath replied, shifting his weight comfortably. The plush belly of Snorlax was like lying on soft, unmelting snow—far better than any mattress.

Thanks to the air conditioning, Snorlax’s body temperature wasn’t too low either, and Heath soon felt drowsy. He found himself admiring Ash’s endurance. Heath, with his mobile food truck, already found the journey challenging, yet Ash had traveled the Kanto region relying solely on his trusty eleven-line bus and had gone on to explore other regions.

He imagined Ash’s legs must have become quite muscular from all that walking.

The resting room was serene. The connecting door between it and the food truck seemed soundproof, muffling all outside noise. Only by opening the window could one glimpse the passing scenery.

At some unknown moment, the gentle patter of rain resumed, droplets falling softly on the truck, the road, and the verdant grass. The soothing sound coaxed Heath’s eyes closed, and he quickly drifted into sleep.

When he awoke groggily, he faintly heard a barely audible laugh. But as he opened his eyes, the strange sound vanished. Stretching with a yawn, he glanced around.

Charmander was drinking protein shake, sweat tracing the contours of its developing muscles—already beginning to show some definition.

Farfetch’d was not inside the resting room. Zorua lay beneath Snorlax, watching quietly, while Snorlax continued to snooze. Checking his phone, Heath saw that at least an hour had passed.

“Ahh... sleeping in feels pretty good,” Heath yawned again, then glanced outside. The earlier drizzle had turned into a downpour.

“Zorua, where’s Farfetch’d?” Heath asked, looking at the little fox.

Zorua lifted its chin and nodded toward the door.

“Farfetch’d and a pink-furred Rattata went up to the food truck to play,” Zorua explained simply, though Heath detected a slight tremor in its voice, as if suppressing something.

“Pink-furred Rattata, huh...” Heath yawned once more. It was nice to see Farfetch’d had found a playmate.

But then, mid-yawn, Heath froze. His foggy brain from sleep slowly registered a question: what did Zorua just say? Pink-furred Rattata?

Wasn’t it supposed to be a yellow-furred Rattata?

Heath instinctively moved to the door of the resting room and pulled it open. There, he saw Farfetch’d proudly flipping a pan, chatting animatedly with another Pokémon. The so-called pink-furred Rattata watched Farfetch’d with its tail curled.

Mew!

Heath hadn’t expected to see Mew again. He had glimpsed Mew earlier inside the food truck, apparently studying the cooking utensils. Now, it seemed Mew was learning how to cook from Farfetch’d.

Heath observed as Farfetch’d demonstrated the “Three No-Stick” dish eagerly, clearly excited to show off its skills.