Heath rubbed his hands together. The special lottery ticket was one of his favorite, yet most nerve-wracking, reward items. Using it could randomly grant him an item from any world, with outcomes ranging from excellent to terrible.
The last time Heath used one of these was after preparing a barbecue for Officer Jenny and her colleagues, which earned him an achievement and this item. Upon using it, he received the "Heaven and Earth Supreme Sword," which made him feel like he was supposed to become a Monster Hunter in this world.
"A legendary kitchen utensil would be nice," Heath thought, looking excitedly at the golden lottery ticket in his hand.
He then washed his hands and even his face, much to the bewilderment of Zorua, who watched him intently. Heath hummed his lucky song, hoping to boost his luck and get something good.
"What song is that, Trainer?" Zorua asked, hopping next to Heath and eyeing the golden lottery ticket curiously.
"It's called 'Good Luck,' a song to wish for good fortune," Heath replied as he placed his hand on the golden lottery ticket.
Heath considered that maybe he should capture a Pokémon with the Serene Grace ability or some other lucky Pokémon to improve his chances of winning. However, he was well aware of his notoriously bad luck.
[You used a lottery ticket and received Joker's Makeup Kit.]
[Joker's Makeup Kit: Using this will grant you exceptional intelligence, but your thinking will become pathological, and you will develop an obsessive attraction to people dressed as bats. Washing it off will render it ineffective.]
Heath was stunned. What was this?
After rummaging through his cabinet, Heath found it. It was indeed the Joker's makeup kit from the DC Universe, a small amount that seemed to be a one-time use item.
"I didn't come here to be a villain," Heath muttered, feeling a bit helpless as he put away the makeup kit. He had hoped for something useful, but this seemed impractical.
However, it might come in handy someday. Despite the Joker's madness, he was a high-intelligence criminal mastermind in a world full of supervillains, causing Batman significant trouble. So, Heath decided to keep it.
Even though the lottery ticket provided another odd item, Heath was content. Receiving something was better than nothing.
"Good afternoon, Heath. What's on the menu today?" A gentle voice interrupted Heath. It was Giovanni, looking a bit tired.
"Mr. Giovanni, it's the usual today. I made deliveries to the mental hospital, so no new dishes," Heath replied cheerfully. Giovanni ordered a serving of egg fried rice and sat down, stretching his neck and pulling out a newspaper, resembling an old man enjoying his day.
Heath quickly prepared Giovanni's egg fried rice. Giovanni was very interested in current events, frequently reading newspapers or watching news programs. Heath had heard from the Viridian City Gym apprentices that Giovanni often watched the news at the gym as well.
Heath felt Giovanni was either searching for something or planning something, but he couldn't read minds, so his curiosity remained unfulfilled.
"Heath, what do you think about Legendary Pokémon?" Giovanni asked, putting down his newspaper and looking curiously at Heath.
As Heath cracked eggs into the pan and stirred them rapidly, he pondered Giovanni's question.
"I don't have much of an opinion since I've never seen a Legendary Pokémon," Heath shrugged. He genuinely had no thoughts about them; after all, this wasn't a game where Legendary Pokémon could be encountered at will.
"I see. I have a bit of interest in them—their time-traveling abilities and immense powers are quite enviable," Giovanni said with a smile. Heath glanced at Giovanni and then added the rice to the pan.
Soon, Heath served Giovanni his egg fried rice, collected the payment, and returned to his food truck.
Heath was curious about what news Giovanni had read or discovered that prompted him to think about Legendary Pokémon. Based on Giovanni's comments, Heath speculated that he might be referring to Celebi, a time-traveling Legendary Pokémon. This suspicion was strengthened when Heath noticed an article about Celebi in the newspaper Giovanni was reading.
However, Heath also considered that Team Rocket might have discovered Mew's DNA and reported it to Giovanni. If that were the case, it meant the creation of Mewtwo was on the horizon—a lengthy process that required significant time from gene discovery to project initiation to Mewtwo's formation.
After bidding farewell to a contemplative Giovanni, Heath continued serving various customers as lunchtime arrived.
Once the lunch rush was over, Heath drove to the driving school. He had mastered a lot of the material for the first part of the driving test and planned to take the exam once he had fully memorized everything and understood it thoroughly.
"Trainer, will you take me to the bookstore this afternoon to buy some books?" Zorua asked, perched on Heath's head and playing with his hair.
"You usually just read books. Why do you want to buy some now?" Heath asked, puzzled, putting down his textbook.
Heath felt embarrassed to buy Zorua's books. Though he was old enough, the thought of walking into a bookstore and picking out those peculiar books made him cringe with second-hand embarrassment.
"I want to buy some because I can't find anything interesting to read at your place. It's so boring," Zorua whined, moving around on Heath's head and messing up his hair.
"No way. The books you want are definitely strange," Heath shook his head firmly. He didn't want to be misunderstood.
"Sigh, then I'll have to ask Sister Maple why you have a *tent* every morning," Zorua sighed.
(End of Chapter 71)