Chapter Twenty-One: The Scallion Duck Wishes to Learn Beijing Roast Duck

"Scallion!" The Farfetch'd suddenly pointed its wing at a particular spot. Heath glanced curiously at the lunchbox—it was the one he remembered...

[Pokémon Chef Step Three: Teach Farfetch'd to make BJ Roast Duck on its own. Complete this task to receive a mysterious reward.]

Heath's lips twitched. Was it really that? Today, mindful that some inmates might care about eating meat, Heath had specially bought several ducks and prepared roast duck in the BJ style. He cut them into pieces and packed them into lunchboxes, adding shredded scallion, cucumber strips, sweet bean sauce, and a stack of lotus leaf pancakes he'd rolled out himself.

Yet despite making so much food, Heath hadn't expected Farfetch'd to zero in on the BJ Roast Duck at first glance. The discovery left him feeling a bit muddled. Farfetch'd was a duck Pokémon—teaching a duck to make roast duck felt almost cruel.

"Scallion! Scallion!" But seeing how excited Farfetch'd was, and since the quest had already triggered, Heath sighed. It seemed he really had no choice but to teach it.

"Wait until we've delivered these lunchboxes, then I'll buy some more ducks for you to practice on. How about that?" Heath asked softly.

"Scallion!" Farfetch'd nodded eagerly, without a moment’s hesitation.

Heath didn’t quite know what to say as he watched the Pokémon. Judging by Farfetch'd’s appearance and its prized scallion, Heath suspected it might have been inspired by BJ Roast Duck itself.

After all, BJ Roast Duck was a renowned dish in that era—a famous delicacy. The taste was exquisite; pairing duck meat with pancakes, scallion, and sweet bean sauce was pure pleasure. Just imagining the succulent duck, its crispy skin releasing fat with every chew, the sweetness of the sauce and freshness of the scallion cutting through the richness, made Heath swallow involuntarily.

Heath returned Farfetch'd to its Pokéball, then pushed his cart of lunchboxes to Viridian City Prison. After phoning Sister Maple, someone soon came out to inspect his food.

Once everything checked out, the lunchboxes were taken inside. Heath himself wasn’t permitted to enter.

Recently, Viridian City seemed to have raised its security levels several notches; perhaps it was connected to the Plasma Team member Heath had dealt with before.

"This quest’s criteria are so unclear... Though I explained to the staff, but... sigh." Heath pushed his cart and glanced back at Viridian Prison. Since he couldn’t go inside, he could only tell the staff about the special features of these lunchboxes. Without seeing the inmates, he had no way to get immediate feedback.

Viridian Prison wasn’t actually in the city proper, so by the time Heath pushed his cart back, lunchtime was already over. He felt a bit cheated—after all, mealtime was his chance to earn some money.

"Hey, did you hear? There’s been talk of hauntings in Viridian Forest lately. I saw the League send in investigators!" Just as Heath was considering whether to ask Sister Maple for more compensation to make up for his losses, two men came to buy pancakes and chatted as they waited.

"Of course I know! Officer Jenny and her team went to handle it, didn’t they?" The other man nodded. Clearly, gossip was a favorite pastime.

Heath focused on making the pancakes, but listened in on their conversation.

Viridian Forest—he knew it well. Supposedly, there was a strange and powerful Pokémon inside, though Heath had never learned its exact species. What had once seemed like an urban legend had now attracted the League’s intervention. Heath was curious: just what Pokémon was it?

"It’s useless, anyway. Viridian Forest is huge. The League’s been searching since last night, and they’ve found nothing." The men continued their conversation as Heath handed them their pancakes.

"They’re just issuing warnings, telling us to be careful..." The men left, still chatting, while Heath pondered the situation in Viridian Forest.

He suspected the little girl he'd seen before was likely a Gastly—after all, in the anime, a Gastly could sometimes take human form.

But he had no concrete evidence, and communicating with it would be another challenge.

[You have completed the prison meal delivery quest. Forty-three inmates expressed satisfaction with your food.]

[You have obtained an important clue (designated) and an Ingredient Identifier.]

Heath raised his eyebrows. Forty-three satisfied customers—he was quite pleased with that number, proof that his choices had been sound today, though he still wished for more concrete information.

If only he could push that number higher—he wondered what reward he might receive if everyone were satisfied.

For now, Heath decided to check his spoils and see what he'd gotten.

[Important Clue (Designated): You may designate a location and receive a random important clue about it.]

Heath smirked, thinking it wasn’t particularly useful. Then he remembered Viridian Forest, and realized how timely this reward actually was.

He promptly designated Viridian Forest, and a new clue appeared.

[She likes sweet and sour flavors. Best not to bring Poké Balls.]

Heath pondered this clue. It was clear and straightforward: the Pokémon was likely female, had a taste for sweet and sour, and disliked Poké Balls.

Armed with this information, and thinking of the golden perfume he'd acquired earlier, Heath began to form a preliminary plan—though he’d need to visit Viridian Forest to investigate further.

Next, Heath examined his other reward—a device resembling a magnifying glass.

[Ingredient Identifier: Can be used once per day to identify general information about an ingredient.]

The description was vague, but Heath decided to give it a try. He glanced at Farfetch'd, who was brandishing its scallion and practicing swordplay, and smiled.

He was curious: if he used the Ingredient Identifier on a Pokémon like Farfetch'd, what information would it reveal?