Chapter Twenty-Four: Scallion Pancakes?

After placing down the ribs, Heath left as promised. Zorua was a timid Pokémon, and unless one had protagonist-level luck like Ash, Heath doubted a few words would win Zorua’s trust so easily. Rather than risk making Zorua more wary, he thought it better to accompany Farfetch’d in its search for a new leek.

Once Zorua encountered those who were hunting her, she would likely come to trust Heath a bit more. Such things could not be rushed; patience was essential. Besides, Heath was quite pleased with Zorua. Ever since he realized what she was, he’d felt a strong urge to make her his companion and travel together.

“Let’s go, Farfetch’d. Let’s keep looking for your leek,” Heath said with a cheerful smile, ruffling the duck’s head. His instincts as a chef made his hand stray to the veins, considering, If I cut here, I could avoid getting feathers in the meat, couldn’t I?

Heath shook his head abruptly to clear away the thought. Damn these chef’s instincts! After all these years, he couldn’t help but subconsciously assess the best way to carve up any animal he touched.

“Quack!” Farfetch’d cried out joyfully, and Heath smiled.

Once Zorua joined his team, communication with Farfetch’d would be much easier. After all, Zorua seemed to possess telepathy; she could act as a messenger between them.

[You have hosted Zorua. You have obtained TM: Dark Burst (Zorua exclusive).]

Heath’s mouth twitched. He’d expected a little reward for helping Zorua, but he hadn’t anticipated receiving Dark Burst. But what did “Zorua exclusive” mean?

Heath curiously pressed the disc to Farfetch’d’s head.

[Farfetch’d cannot learn Dark Burst. This move is exclusive to Zorua.]

He rubbed his nose, glancing at the confused Farfetch’d. It seemed teaching Zorua’s unique move to Farfetch’d wasn’t possible; the TM must be meant for Zorua herself.

Dark Burst—a signature move of Zoroark, and in the games, it could only be learned at high levels. But with this TM, it would be much easier. This meant that even before evolving, Zorua could master this powerful move. Incredible.

“It seems Zorua and I are destined for each other,” Heath thought, feeling a bit like the fox from ‘Investiture of the Gods’. Maybe next time he met Zorua, he should say, “Fellow traveler, wait a moment!”

Heath followed Farfetch’d a bit farther and soon came upon a small lake. Beside it grew some plants that resembled water celery.

“Quack!” Farfetch’d cried out, pointing excitedly at the plants before flying over to rummage in the water.

Heath studied the plants with curiosity. He recognized them—weren’t these leeks? In the Pokémon world, leeks were a rare plant, and usually when locals spoke of “leek,” they meant green onions. No wonder Farfetch’d were so scarce; leeks themselves were rare.

As Heath pondered, another Farfetch’d flew out of a nearby grove, clutching a leek and eyeing Heath warily.

“Quack, quack! Leek!” Heath’s Farfetch’d stared at the newcomer’s leek, eyes shining with excitement.

Heath recalled that Farfetch’d couldn’t survive without its leek, and would even fight others to get one. Judging from the situation, his own Farfetch’d had found its target.

The wild Farfetch’d, angered, brandished its leek before suddenly taking flight, folding its wings and rocketing toward Heath’s Farfetch’d at high speed. Heath’s jaw dropped in surprise—was that Brave Bird?

His Farfetch’d hesitated, clearly wary after previous losses to this rival.

“Don’t be afraid, Farfetch’d! Use Fire Punch!” Heath commanded, entering his first battle in the Pokémon world.

Brave Bird slammed into Fire Punch with tremendous force, but it was just raw strength, lacking the explosive energy of a true Flying-type attack. Meanwhile, Fire Punch landed squarely on the rival’s head, scorching its feathers bald, and the recoil from Brave Bird left it reeling.

“Quack?” Heath’s Farfetch’d stared at its hand in confusion. Last time, being hit by this attack had nearly made it cough up yesterday’s fish—what had changed?

Its little duck brain struggled to comprehend.

“Press the attack! Use Fire Punch again!” Heath was elated—choosing Magic Guard as an ability had been the right decision!

Farfetch’d instinctively followed orders, landing another Fire Punch—again right on the rival’s head. Now the wild Farfetch’d’s scalp was completely bald, with singe marks to boot.

“Quack!” The defeated rival dropped its leek and fled in panic, flapping desperately.

“Quack~” Heath’s Farfetch’d triumphantly picked up the fallen leek, hugging it with obvious satisfaction.

Heath glanced at his companion, then walked over to the lakeshore to inspect the plants. He noticed some oval, dandelion-like structures. Carefully peeling one open, he found small, black, grape-seed-like seeds inside. Satisfied, he gathered them up.

Unless you’re a farmer or have grown leeks yourself, you might not even recognize their seeds, but Heath knew exactly what they looked like. With these seeds, he could cultivate his own leeks, so Farfetch’d would never again have to worry about finding a suitable stalk.

Watching Farfetch’d bask in its victory, Heath was reminded of his old games. In one region, Farfetch’d could actually evolve—but only its regional form. What was the evolved form called again?

Heath racked his memory, then snapped his fingers: Sirfetch’d!

“Sirfetch’d… Scallion pancake… No matter how you evolve, you can’t escape being named after food,” Heath sighed, chuckling as he ruffled his Farfetch’d’s head.