Chapter Thirty-Five: Arbok’s Warning

"Meow~" After finishing her meal, Meow Meow sprawled lazily in front of Heath, exposing her little belly and rolling contentedly on the ground. Heath chuckled, reaching out to scratch her stomach.

Perhaps because Heath often fed these little ones, Meow Meow, Little Rattata, and Ekans were all very friendly toward him. He could pet them however he liked, even picking up Meow Meow and spinning her around.

"Hiss..." Ekans flicked her tongue, slithering up beside Heath and raising her head to stare at the green caterpillar perched on Heath's head. With only one eye left, her expression was wary and fierce.

"This one's awfully on guard. She keeps threatening me, saying I’m not allowed to harm you," Zorua lay on Heath's shoulder, looking down at Ekans below, pursing her lips and sticking out her tongue at the snake.

Heath, amused and exasperated, tapped Zorua's head, then introduced her to Ekans, Meow Meow, and the others. Only then did the tension ease and the group seemed more at ease. Heath suspected that if Zorua had deliberately acted aggressive, Ekans and Meow Meow would have intervened for real.

"Spring will be here soon. Life will be easier then," Heath basked in the warm sunlight, stretching lazily and ruffling Ekans' head with a gentle smile.

Though Ekans looked fierce, her head was surprisingly pleasant to touch. Heath would always give it a fond rub. At first, Ekans was reluctant, but after realizing she couldn’t resist, she simply accepted her fate.

Heath kneaded Ekans’ head happily—it was soft, cool, and had the texture of dough. He imagined that rubbing her head would feel even better in the heat of summer.

Winter was always harsh for stray Pokémon. In spring, summer, and autumn, Ekans and the others rarely came seeking food from Heath. Only during the food-scarce winter would they show up for a meal, and Heath never minded.

"Hiss... hiss..." Ekans flicked her tongue, her face in Heath’s hand like a lump of dough. She even rolled her eyes, feeling as though Heath was about to mix up her brains.

"Trainer, she says she recently discovered an intruder in their territory and wants you to be careful," Zorua shuddered, silently vowing never to let Heath knead her head like that—it was just like kneading dough!

Heath was taken aback. He couldn’t understand Ekans’ words, but now that he had Zorua to translate, it was much easier.

"An intruder?" Heath was puzzled. Could it be that someone in Viridian City had abandoned their Pokémon again?

It wouldn’t be surprising. In a big city like Viridian, all kinds of people lived here. Heath had even once met someone who tried to run off without paying for his breakfast, only to be caught by Officer Junsha passing by. If she hadn’t shown up, it would have been Heath’s first time experiencing a dine-and-dash.

There were plenty of people who abandoned their Pokémon. Most Pokémon were given up for all sorts of reasons—take Ekans, for example. She’d been left in the wild after falling ill and losing an eye. The treatment was far too expensive, so her trainer dumped her to fend for herself. If she hadn’t been lucky, she probably wouldn’t have survived.

"She says she doesn’t know what it is either, only that it has a strange smell, like the scent of evaporating sweat," Zorua dutifully translated.

Heath’s expression grew stranger. The scent of evaporating sweat? Was there really such a bizarre smell these days? He thought about it for ages but still couldn’t figure out what that was supposed to smell like.

Though he didn’t quite understand what Ekans meant, Heath appreciated the warning and made a mental note of it. He figured it was probably just another abandoned Pokémon.

Once Meow Meow and the others left, Heath settled in to wait for the meal rush. Viridian City was much like any ordinary city—breakfast and mealtimes were the busiest, and after running his stall for so long, Heath was well aware of the patterns.

Still, there were always a few customers who didn’t have to work and would drop by for a meal, so Heath kept his stall open.

"Little Heath, do you have... hmm? What’s this? Is it edible?" Old Master Ma Zhihde ambled over, hands clasped behind his back, his Charizard lumbering along at his side.

"Of course, Grandpa Ma Zhihde. This is a new dish I’m offering—it tastes quite nice," Heath smiled. The dish the old man was pointing to was braised pork belly with fried tofu.

"Is that so? Then give me two portions, please. I’d like to try it," the old man grinned, revealing a missing tooth that made his smile endearing.

Heath nodded. Braised pork belly with fried tofu over rice was easy enough; all he had to do was serve a bowl of rice and ladle the stew over it.

Charizard eyed the green caterpillar on Heath’s shoulder curiously. It felt something odd about this caterpillar. Normally, such a bug could be incinerated with a stray Ember, but this one roused a strange sense of unease.

"Char! How old are you now? We’re long past the days of being chased through the woods by caterpillars!" Old Master Ma Zhihde shot his Pokémon a glare, stopping Charizard from indulging its curiosity.

Heath almost burst out laughing at the old man’s words, while Charizard’s face darkened in embarrassment. That was a piece of its shameful past, but its trainer loved to bring it up.

"Trainer, what’s so funny?" Zorua asked, puzzled, not understanding where the humor was.

Heath cleared his throat and said nothing, handing over two bowls of braised pork belly with fried tofu and rice to Old Master Ma Zhihde, watching as the old man and his aged Charizard took them.

"Grandpa Ma Zhihde, you still remember those days?" Heath smiled. Charizard glared at him, but it was no use—Heath wouldn’t let up.

"Haha, of course I do! Back then, I took Char, when he was still a little Charmander, to train in Viridian Forest, and this little guy..." Old Master Ma Zhihde’s hearty laughter rang out as Charizard, annoyed, puffed out a cloud of smoke—only to hurriedly suck it back in before it could drift onto the food.

The meal smelled delicious.