Heath thought he was a person with strong willpower. After all, wasn't there a saying that goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way"? Initially, Heath believed he could focus on his studies, but soon enough, he put down his book and slumped onto the table.
"Ah, some things in this world just can't be forced, like advanced mathematics," Heath yawned, feeling drowsy without any customers around.
"Trainer! Trainer!" Just as Heath was contemplating whether to head back to the dormitory for an early rest, Zorua bounced over with a cheerful expression.
"What's up, Zorua?" Heath asked, resting his head on the counter.
"Trainer, what's this game hall mentioned in the novel?" Zorua asked curiously.
Heath noticed Farfetch'd had stopped its wok practice, clearly intrigued by the mention of the game hall. Only Charmander was still resting after completing its workout, sweat dripping from its body.
Heath frowned. Zorua's question wasn't unusual; after all, game halls existed in the Pokémon world too. People could exchange money for game tokens, earn points, and redeem various prizes.
However, Heath wasn't fond of the gambling-like nature of these places, reminiscent of pachinko machines that exploited loopholes in the system to operate.
Besides, there was another reason Heath disliked game halls.
"A game hall is a place with various gaming machines where you can insert coins to play, and they even have claw machines," Heath explained briefly. Zorua's eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at Heath expectantly.
Heath sighed, turning his head away deliberately. But Zorua's head soon popped back into his view, looking at him eagerly, her tail wagging.
"Alright, I'll take you there, but don't get your hopes too high," Heath relented, glancing at Zorua. Farfetch'd cheered, flipping the wok with a flourish.
"Let's go park," Heath set the auto-drive function and drove his food truck to the game hall.
The game hall in Viridian City was interestingly located diagonally opposite the Jenny dormitory, the farthest point from it. Despite this, the place had great service.
Using the auto-drive function, Heath parked the truck. The parking fee was cheap, so the area was usually crowded with cars.
Even in the humid, foggy weather, Heath noticed the parking lot was still quite full, indicating the game hall had many visitors.
"I hope those guys aren't there," Heath muttered as he stood at the entrance, taking a deep breath.
"What's wrong, Trainer?" Zorua asked curiously, while Farfetch'd and Charmander stood beside Heath. Unlike Farfetch'd's excitement, Charmander seemed a bit listless.
"Nothing, I just don't really want to go in," Heath admitted, licking his lips nervously as he looked at the glass doors.
Seeing Zorua's puzzled expression, Heath finally extended his hand and pushed open the door.
As soon as he entered, Heath saw several dance machines in the center of the game hall. This wouldn't have been surprising, except for the Machamps vigorously dancing on them to the sweet tunes and catchy music. The sight of their bulging muscles made Heath take a sharp breath.
These guys were really diligent, dancing even in this humid weather. Beside the Machamps were Hariyamas, also dancing energetically. Their sumo wrestler-like bodies made their movements look like waves of flesh, which made Heath's scalp tingle.
"Can we go back?" Zorua asked, covering her eyes in distress, trying to erase the horrifying images from her memory, though not very successfully.
"We're here, so let's have some fun," Heath said, closing the door and skillfully avoiding the dancing Machamps and Hariyamas. He led the skeptical Farfetch'd and the envious Charmander to the counter.
Heath bought 100 Alliance Coins worth of tokens, but due to a promotion for the humid weather, he received 200 game tokens, which he found quite satisfactory.
"Trainer, what's that?" Zorua asked, pointing excitedly. Heath followed her gaze to a twenty-square-meter pool with various plastic balls floating on the water's surface.
"So, what do you think that is?" Heath asked Zorua with a smile.
"Um, I guess it's a water park!" Zorua replied excitedly after some thought.
Heath shrugged and shook his head. Zorua pondered again and then guessed it was a children's play area. Heath still shook his head.
"That's a claw machine, but it's designed uniquely, and winning is more about luck," Heath finally revealed, laughing at Zorua's bewilderment.
Farfetch'd's eyes widened in confusion, staring at the pool. It didn't look like a claw machine at all. Shouldn't claw machines be those small machines next to the dance machines?
Charmander also showed interest, looking curiously at the pool and then at the ceiling. There were no hooks or anything else. How could it be a claw machine?
"Want to try? It costs ten game tokens per attempt," Heath asked his Pokémon. Zorua hesitated but eventually nodded, eager to see what this unique claw machine was all about.