I opened a restaurant in the Pokémon world.

After Mew took the towel from Heath, it put down Charmander's towel. Charmander then put away the threatening flame in its mouth, washed itself several times with water, and began to wash its face. Mew watched Charmander and imitated it.

After washing up, Mew disappeared into Heath's food cart. Heath wasn't surprised anymore. Mew, being a Pokémon, always did things according to its own whims and had no concept of human morality. So, Heath didn't find anything strange about what it would do. Heath figured that if Mew voluntarily lay down on his bed to sleep one day, he could take it in stride.

After setting up autopilot, Heath took his Pokémon to the market he visited every day. There, he bought some ingredients for the day, including extra chicken, because Heath noticed that many customers at the Indigo League liked fried chicken.

After buying the ingredients, Heath also went to the wholesale market and bought a large batch of Charizard Coke at wholesale prices. Fried chicken with Coke is a good choice, and of course, it's also good with beer. However, Heath thought that not many people would buy beer in broad daylight, but for the sake of potential customers, Heath still bought a few cases of Electric Dragon beer.

Heath didn't understand why the brand name was "Electric Dragon," and why it had something like "tingling electric shock pleasure" written on it—all he knew was that this beer was quite popular.

After buying the ingredients and some drinks he needed for the day, Heath went to his usual stall location. As soon as he arrived, he saw Karenia standing there in casual clothes. When she saw Heath, she waved to him.

"Good morning, Karenia." Heath wasn't too surprised. This student got up very early every day, so going to school must be quite an ordeal for him. Heath even suspected that Ash ran off to become a trainer at such a young age just to avoid continuing his studies.

"Good morning, Brother Heath. I'd like a bowl of braised beef noodles, some fried chicken, and a can of Dragon Cola." Karenya nodded shyly and then made her request. Heath wrote them down and began preparing breakfast for Karenya.

However, Karenia was much more normal today, and she no longer had that strange smell. This made Heath even more certain that the smell he had smelled yesterday was the smell of the nearby garbage truck, or something else.

"Karenya isn't in school today, is she?" Heath chatted with Karenya while making ramen, while Farfetch'd diligently prepared his crab roe soup dumplings. Now that the feathers were gone, these crab roe soup dumplings were finally ready to be sold.

"No school today, it's the weekend, but my parents want me to go to tutoring classes, so I have to go this afternoon." Karenia smiled.

Chapter 216 Winning at the Starting Line

"Tutoring classes? That's really tough. But it should get a little easier after university, though not by much." Heath said with a chuckle. He really hadn't expected that there were tutoring classes in this world, which inevitably brought back painful memories for him.

“Yes, I want to apply to Indigo University for college.” Karenia said seriously. Heath was a little surprised. Indigo University is basically the best university in the Indigo League and the City League, without exception. However, it is precisely because of the excellence of the universities in the Indigo League that the admission requirements of Indigo League universities are very strict, and the requirements for students’ academic performance are also very high.

Moreover, getting into Quartz University doesn't mean you can relax. After getting into Quartz University, you still need to go through four long years of study. Every year is like the college entrance exam. Failing a subject will result in expulsion. There are no make-up exams or retakes. And while 60 points is enough at other schools, the passing score at Quartz University is 75 points.

It is precisely for this reason that although Quartz University is a top university that all students dream of, it is also a very difficult path to cross. Those who can cross it are all the cream of the crop, and their starting point for finding a job is much higher than others.

"That's a top-tier university, good luck." Heath smiled, then threw the noodles into the pot. Luckily, he wasn't a student and had no interest in taking the college entrance exam. After all, since coming to this world, Heath knew absolutely nothing about the subjects taught here.

Karenya nodded, looking calmly at Heath with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. However, Heath did not notice this. After making the large bowl of crispy beef noodles, he served it to Karenya and then turned to prepare the fried chicken and cola that Karenya needed.

The sun rises early on a summer morning, and soon it shines on Karenia and the food cart, casting long shadows. Karenia's shadow wriggles, as if something is lurking inside. However, after Karenia gives the shadow a cold look, the shadow becomes much more obedient and becomes like an ordinary shadow.

After Heath brought out the fried chicken, Karenia had already finished her breakfast and was wiping her mouth. When she saw Heath, she gave him a shy smile.

"Brother Heath, can I trouble you for a favor?" Karenia lowered his head shyly, clearly showing how timid the boy was.

"What's wrong?" Heath looked at Karenia curiously. Sometimes guests would talk to him like that, but those guests were all shy girls. After all, Heath's appearance was exactly the same as in his previous life. Although he wasn't very handsome, he was still very good-looking and belonged to the "handsome but not overly handsome" type.

"Well, our school requires us to do social practice activities during the holidays, and I'd like to work at your dining car. Could you help me fill out the social practice form?" Karenia said shyly. Heath was taken aback. The request wasn't too difficult, but Heath didn't know how long he would stay in the Indigo League.

"How long?" Heath asked. This wasn't unheard of; Heath had seen several students working as cleaners when he was setting up his stall before, and when he asked, he learned that it was also a form of social practice activity.

“A day or two will be fine.” Karenia looked at Heath with some expectation, her eyes filled with embarrassment and fear of rejection. Heath nodded; a day or two was no problem.

“Let’s start today. Karenia, you can help me carry the plates and serve the food to the guests. Speed ​​isn’t important, but you have to be steady.” Heath agreed. It wasn’t a difficult task, and Heath didn’t mind giving the little guy a chance to complete his homework.

"Okay! Thank you, Brother Heath!" Karenia's lips twitched into a smile.

Heath scratched his head, looking at Karenia who was standing very enthusiastically outside the food truck. Heath felt something was off, but this didn't count as employing child labor. Students in this world always had such a social practice course, so it wasn't strange.

After a while, as time passed, more and more people joined Heath's food cart. The crab roe soup dumplings with scallion duck smelled delicious and attracted many customers. Those customers who wanted to sit down to eat were well taken care of by Karenia. After observing for a while, Heath felt much more at ease, since Karenia was very skilled at it.

Heath thought that Karenia might have also done her last social practice at a restaurant.

"Yawn... Boss, the usual takeout for today, could you give me some... um... crab roe soup dumplings? I'd like some breakfast." Heath knew who it was as soon as he heard the voice; no one but Mr. Assom would yawn so early in the morning.

"Are you guys still going to work today?" Heath looked at Asong with some surprise. He really didn't expect to see Mr. Asong looking like he was about to die from staying up all night on the weekend.

"Go for it, work six days a week, rest one day." Ah Song yawned again, his eyelids drooping.

Heath looked on with amusement. This company was quite similar to those internet companies from his previous life. He figured working 996 was a blessing, since the company also offered a powerful maid slap service to wake people up and dispel their sleepiness.

"Mr. Asong, staying up late can cause hair loss, dark circles under your eyes, worsen your skin, cause endocrine disorders, and increase the risk of sudden death." Heath used clips to pick up two crab roe soup dumplings, put them in a plastic bag, and handed them to Mr. Asong.

"I guess I've won at the starting line in these things," Mr. Asong said with a helpless self-deprecating laugh, then paid the money and staggered away.

Heath shook his head. It seems that no matter what world it is, it is always difficult for working people to live a good life in this society.

Heath glanced at Karenia, who was clearing away the dishes. Several customers had ordered large pieces of crispy beef, and they had already finished eating. Karenia was working very diligently, which pleased Heath. If it weren't for Karenia's dream and Heath's travel plans, Heath thought it would be a good choice to have Karenia work as a waitress with him.

"But if I really want to become one, I guess it will take a few years, right?" Heath yawned, having caught the yawn from Mr. Asson.

Heath shook his head and ignored it, instead attending to the guests who came for breakfast that morning. If they sold out quickly, Heath could get some rest sooner.

Chapter 217 Cynthia's Departure

"Wonderful conch shell, can you tell me how to cook edible quartz?" Heath took out the strange item he had obtained last time, the magical conch shell, and asked again while he went back to the restroom to use the restroom. This thing could be used once a day, but he could not always get an answer each time he asked. Heath had had this thing for two days, but in those two days, he had not been able to get the answer he wanted even once.

The magical conch shell was quiet, and Heath was somewhat disappointed. It seemed that this attempt to ask had been in vain. Heath thought that if he was lucky enough to draw something like a Felix Felicis or a lucky rabbit's foot next time, he might be able to increase his chances of getting an answer. However, until then, there probably wasn't a good way, and he could only try slowly.

Heath walked back to the food truck with a sigh. The morning rush hour was almost over, and fewer customers were coming in. Karenia was still the same as always, standing outside the food truck diligently tidying up the tables, chairs, and dishes. Although she occasionally made some small mistakes, Heath thought Karenia was very dedicated, at least better than that guy who only knew how to act cute.

"Achoo!" Zoroah sneezed, then rubbed his nose in confusion. Could he have caught a cold? But then Zoroah's attention was completely focused on the game in front of him. A zombie Pikachu was charging towards him!

Zorua frantically fiddled with the controller, then controlled her character to throw a Poké Ball at the Pikachu. Seeing that her character was safe, Zorua breathed a sigh of relief. It was safe now; she didn't want to be bitten to death by this zombie Pikachu. She was the only surviving human now, and restoring humanity's glory was Zorua's duty!

"Karenya, have you picked up your Pokémon yet?" One advantage of having a waiter is that Heath can chat with him occasionally, since the food truck isn't always full of customers.

“No, the family that adopted me isn’t very well-off.” Karenia lowered her head, her face downcast. In the world of Pokémon, unless you have a phobia of Pokémon, most people are very excited about them. Children dream of owning their own Pokémon, and most parents will get one for their children, even if it’s not one of the starter Pokémon, something like Caterpie or Rattata would be nice.

“Well… if you want to have your own Pokémon, there are other ways to get it…” Heath scratched his head and then looked at Karenia, who seemed a little downcast, and said this. Karenia nodded and then happily took out a small notebook and handed it to Heath with both hands. Heath took it curiously. It had a picture of a Hypnos on it, but it was a cartoon drawing that looked a bit childish and cute.

"Do you want a Hypno?" Heath was a little surprised. Hypno was a rather unusual Pokémon. Perhaps because of its name, Hypno was very popular among certain professions. In many of those outrageous movies and comics, Hypno was often the Pokémon of evil trainers.

As for its uses...

You know everything.

However, putting all that aside, Hypnos is actually a very special Pokémon. What makes it special is that Hypnos is even less likely to be found than Abra. Compared to Abra, which occasionally makes contact with humans to try to learn new knowledge, Hypnos is much more cautious and rarely appears in front of humans.

"Hmm! He looks so cool!" Karenia now looks like an ordinary boy with aspirations and dreams for the future. Heath thinks Karenia and Ash should have a lot in common.

"..." Just as Heath was about to say something, she noticed a guest had come to her food cart and was standing there quietly looking at her. It was Miss Naz.

"Miss Naz? What would you like to eat?" Upon seeing the guest arrive, Heath had no intention of chatting with Karenia anymore. He smiled and asked Miss Naz, but Naz didn't immediately tell him what she wanted to eat. Instead, she looked at Karenia with a strange gaze, watching Karenia's shadow.

Karenia smiled gently, seemingly just an ordinary working person. But Naz was still looking at Karenia. After a moment, Naz extended her finger and gently beckoned. Karenia stared at Miss Naz in surprise, but Naz didn't say anything more. Instead, she lowered her hand and looked at Heath.

"...How to make...something delicious?" Sabrina looked at Heath calmly, but for some reason, Heath felt that there was a sense of watching a show in Sabrina's expression, and a subtle hint of schadenfreude. This left Heath somewhat bewildered. What was wrong with Sabrina?

"What delicious food?" Heath asked Sabrina with a puzzled look. There were so many delicious things to eat, and if Sabrina didn't tell her, Heath wouldn't know what to make.

“…It’s not something to make people angry…” Sabrina was silent for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence, which made Heath feel a little tired. This Miss Sabrina is really something. She could have just said it all in one breath, but she had to hold it in for so long before she could come up with this sentence.

Heath scratched his head. Could it be that Mr. Sakaki was angry? This was really strange, since Sakaki always had a very good temper. He wondered what could have made Sakaki angry.

“But if we’re talking about things that don’t make you angry, I think it would be desserts.” Heath said to Nazja with certainty, while Karenia cast a curious glance at her from the other side. However, in Karenia’s shadow, something seemed to be churning, but it was being blocked by something and couldn’t get out.

……

"Oh, Mr. Sakaki, thank you so much! You've really helped me a lot." Cynthia smiled at Sakaki and politely extended her hand to shake his hand in a friendly gesture.

However, compared to Cynthia's kind smile, Giovanni's smile looked much more 'kind'.

"Oh, not at all. But if Miss Takeran wants to have a match next time, she can invite other people. I'm really ashamed," Sakaki said cheerfully.

Since last night, Cynthia has been battling Giovanni all night. After Giovanni's Pokémon went to get treated, they started battling again. Giovanni tried to find an excuse to leave in the middle of the battle, but it was no use.

Sakaki is on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Chapter 218 Chicken Soup Rice

“Miss Nazja, you see, when someone is angry, eating some dessert might make them feel better.” Heath said earnestly to Nazja, and a very pleasant aroma wafted from the oven behind him, which attracted even more customers.

It has to be said that the aroma of the dessert is so enticing that it makes your mouth water. Heath made a chiffon cake, which has a very good aroma. In addition, Heath tried to add some sweet berries, which made the taste even better.

Heath thought he could probably buy some berries and try incorporating these Pokémon-themed foods into his own meals.

Naz's little nose twitched, and then she nodded in agreement. The smell was indeed very fragrant, making Naz feel an irresistible urge to take a bite.

“…Dessert…thank you.” Naza swallowed hard. The chiffon cake with added sweet berries tasted even better. Naza felt her previous shame, which had made her want to drag Heath down with her, miraculously subside.

"Recipe." Naz reached out her hand. Heath paused for a moment before realizing that Naz was asking him for a recipe, probably a chiffon cake recipe. With that in mind, Heath took out a piece of paper and wrote it down. Anyway, the method for making a chiffon cake wasn't complicated, and it would only take Heath a short while.

After receiving the recipe and cake, Sabrina generously gave Heath over six thousand Alliance coins, which made Heath beam with joy. Although Heath had already received a considerable reward from the rich woman, seeing so much money still made Heath admit that she was a little excited. Indeed, you can never have too much money.

After Naz left, Heath began processing Mr. Asong's takeout orders. Today's order volume was less than yesterday's, which Asong explained was because some of his colleagues were off today. Heath also roughly figured out Mr. Asong's company work and rest schedule.

Mr. Asong's company also seems to have a six-day work week with one day off, but the rest time is not fixed. Some people might have to work on Saturdays, while others might have to work on Sundays. This results in people being in the company every day, which would make capitalists weep.

"Ah... Heath, is there anything good to eat? I need to replenish my energy." Heath looked at Mr. Sakaki in surprise. He really didn't expect Mr. Sakaki to come again. However, Sakaki looked a little tired today. Although his dark circles were not as severe as Matsu's, they looked about the same.

"Mr. Sakaki...did you stay up all night yesterday?" Heath looked at Sakaki in surprise. Sakaki usually lived a very regular life. When they were in Evergreen City, Heath even knew what Mr. Sakaki did every day at what time. For example, every day at one o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Sakaki would go to the badminton hall in Evergreen City to play badminton, and Mr. Sakaki's skill level was also very good.

"Sigh... I was dragged into battles all night by Cynthia yesterday, and then we discussed tactics and Pokémon training for a long time. I couldn't sleep all night." Giovanni shook his head helplessly, then sat down, while Karenia stood quietly to the side.

Heath looked at Giovanni with sympathy. It is very difficult for a person with a very regular life to suddenly have an irregular life, especially for someone like Giovanni who never stays up late.

However, Giovanni's question made Heath ponder. He was thinking about what kind of food to make for Giovanni. However, considering that Giovanni had just stayed up all night, drinking some porridge might be better at this time. But looking at Giovanni's likes and dislikes, Heath had some other ideas.

After hesitating for a moment, Heath decided on the meal he would make for Sakaki today.

Heath skillfully took a chicken that hadn't been processed yet from the refrigerator, then started boiling water. He planned to make a pot of chicken soup and then serve Mr. Sakaki a light and stomach-friendly dish of chicken soup with rice.

Chicken soup with rice is a very common home-style dish. It tastes quite good and has a decent texture. Depending on the person eating it, more ingredients can be added to the chicken soup to create different kinds of soup. For example, some patients who need to recuperate can add some traditional Chinese medicine to their chicken soup to increase its medicinal value.

Some people like to add wild mushrooms to their chicken soup to make it even more delicious, while others simply prefer to eat chicken soup without any other ingredients, as if only in this way can they taste the original flavor of the chicken soup.

However, making chicken soup is a very time-consuming task, so Heath could only ask Mr. Giovanni to wait a little longer. Mr. Giovanni chuckled and agreed. Then, Mr. Giovanni leaned against his Pokémon and closed his eyes, seemingly taking a nap.

"Brother Heath, why do you know how to make rice soup?" Karenia asked Heath, looking puzzled.

Heath didn't care too much. After all, rice soaked in soup was a controversial dish even in his previous life. Some people believed that rice soaked in soup would increase the burden on the digestive tract because it was not chewed properly, resulting in nutrient loss and digestive problems.

Some people think that rice soaked in soup is just like drinking soup while eating, and there's nothing to pay attention to. However, the two are different.

"Because Mr. Sakaki just stayed up all night, he's prone to having a poor appetite at this time. Soup-soaked rice is easier for him to eat, and I also grind the rice into smaller pieces beforehand to reduce the burden on his stomach," Heath explained patiently. Karenya nodded in understanding, looking like she had learned something new.

While serving the guests who kept arriving, Heath kept an eye on the time for the chicken soup. When it was almost ready, Heath woke up Sakaki and then served the chicken soup with rice to Mr. Sakaki.

"Hmm? Chicken soup rice... yawn...?" Sakaki let out a big yawn, and Heath couldn't help but yawn as well.

It has to be said that Giovanni is Giovanni. He looked like he hadn't slept enough when he was first woken up, but he quickly became normal and more energetic.

Heath's chicken soup rice was approved by Giovanni, which made Heath quite happy. After Giovanni finished eating, he left. Heath thought that Giovanni would probably go back and get a good night's sleep.