"Pi… Pikachu."
After Ash scolded him gently, Pikachu scratched his head shyly. But with its tiny forearms, it could only reach the side of its head, making the motion look even cuter.
"Let's find the owner of this orchard first. It's almost noon—if we're lucky, we can buy some apples to eat on the road."
Sabrina took the lead, stepping deeper into the orchard as Ash and Emiya Shirō followed behind her.
Once inside, the three continued searching for anyone who might be managing the orchard. Despite its enormous size, not a single person was in sight. The silence felt out of place.
"Pika?"
Suddenly, Pikachu perked up, ears raised high as it tried to catch a faint sound nearby.
Boom!
"Pikachuuu!!"
An apple dropped straight from a branch overhead, smacking Pikachu on the head and leaving him visibly dizzy.
"An apple?"
Ash picked up the fallen fruit, frowning. "Why are apples dropping so easily…?"
Looking around, he noticed multiple cores scattered on the ground. Each bore bite marks shaped like Pikachu's—but clearly smaller, a miniature version of the familiar lightning-bolt pattern.
"Master, these were eaten by a Pokémon," Shirō said, lifting a core of his own. "And yeah… those are Pikachu-like tooth marks."
Before they could continue examining the scene—
"You're the thieves stealing apples from my orchard! Hold it right there!"
A weighted net suddenly dropped toward Pikachu, clearly designed to capture small Pokémon.
"Pika?"
Momentarily startled, Pikachu blinked—then blurred away in a burst of Quick Attack. A flimsy trap like that didn't stand a chance against Ash's Pikachu.
"Don't run!"
The pursuer sprinted forward, stopping dead only when she finally noticed Ash, Sabrina, and Shirō.
"You are…?"
The girl wore suspenders over her work clothes, her long purple hair tied into twin ponytails with a pink hair clip. Her features weren't strikingly beautiful, but her presence was warm and pleasant.
"We should be asking you that," Shirō replied sternly. "Why are you trying to catch my master's Pikachu?"
He had always been a bit jealous of Ash's Pikachu and took every chance to play with him—so the sight of a net aimed at Pikachu immediately annoyed him.
"I'm the owner of this orchard. My name is Charmaine. And your Pikachu is eating my apples, so of course I tried to catch him!"
Hearing this, Shirō's eyebrow twitched so hard an entire row of ellipses seemed to appear over his head.
Ash? Steal apples?
If the heirs of the Draconis Family, the Oaks, or any of Kanto's elite circles heard that, they'd laugh themselves half-dead. The Champion of Kanto and the successor of two major families… lacking food?
What a joke.
"This may be a misunderstanding," Ash said calmly. "My Pikachu didn't eat these apples. We just arrived. And if you look at the bite marks on these cores—they resemble Pikachu's, but the size is completely different."
Holding up the bitten apple, Ash lifted Pikachu gently and compared its teeth to the marks. The difference was obvious at a glance.
Charmaine's eyes widened.
"You're right… I'm really sorry. I thought someone was stealing my apples. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
She bowed her head, clearly embarrassed now that the evidence contradicted her assumptions.
"It's fine—misunderstandings happen," Ash said calmly.
"But if you don't mind… could you sell us some apples? Pikachu really loves them."
"Pikapi~!"
Pikachu's eyes sparkled the moment apples were mentioned.
"No need to buy anything," Charmaine replied quickly.
"To apologize properly, please come to my home. I have more apples than I can ever finish. Please eat as much as you like!"
With that, she led Ash, Sabrina, and Emiya Shirō through the orchard toward a small wooden cabin nestled in its center. The cabin blended naturally into the scenery, looking peaceful and rustic.
Sabrina and Shirō entered first, but after a moment, Sabrina noticed Ash still standing outside, staring at an apple core.
"Ash, what are you doing? Hurry up and come inside—and throw that apple core away already."
"Ah—sorry," Ash said, still frowning at the tooth marks.
"It's just… these bite marks feel really familiar. I've seen this exact pattern somewhere before. I'm sure of it. Maybe even for a year or two. It's someone—or rather, some Pokémon—I know very well."
"Really?"
The moment Ash said that, Charmaine returned to the doorway, eyes lighting up with sudden hope. She rushed straight toward him.
"You recognize the bite marks? You actually know who's been eating my apples?"
Her tone was intense—overly intense for someone who had seemed so gentle moments before. Clearly, this apple thief had been tormenting her for several seasons.
Ash blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift in her energy.
"I do know them… I just can't recall it right this second."
Charmaine leaned in even closer, eyes burning with anticipation.
Ash took half a step back.
He hadn't expected the orchard owner to be this forceful. Despite her soft appearance, her personality was surprisingly fierce.
(End of Chapter)
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