Chapter 7: An Apple in my Eyes
The new morning began with the rise of the sun. Misty opened her eyes to find that she's alone in her room. To her, the boys were eating breakfast. "I guess I must've slept later than normal," she moaned, waking Togepi. As she crawled out of bed, Brock entered the room.
"Misty, you're awake?" he wondered.
"Yeah, did I miss breakfast?"
"No, I'm nearly done preparing. Ash must be checking on Agitha. He'll probably be coming out soon." Misty gulped to the assumption and journeyed to Agitha's room. There, she found Ash and Agitha in the same bed, still asleep. However, Agitha's lips were pressed onto Ash's face. Misty gawked to seeing Ash with Agitha, she fumbled Togepi who landed on the ground but on his feet. Her anguish became anger.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Her shout stirred the other two awake. Brock heard the shout and suspected something happened between the three.
"Somehow, I don't want to know," he gulped. After everything became straightened between everyone, including apologies from Misty to those who stayed at the Pokémon Center. As the group left, Agitha could only wonder where her last sets of golden bugs are.
"My ladybugs," she listed. "My beetles, my phasmidas, my mantises…" The names made Ash turn to Agitha for comfort.
"We'll find them," Ash assured. "They may be waiting in Pollentasia as we speak." Agitha nodded, willing to believe him. Pikachu looked from Ash's shoulder to find trees full of growing apples. His squeaking caught everyone's attention.
"Pikachu, what's up?" asked Brock. Pikachu pointed to the apples where everyone looked. Ash realized what they've walked upon and he seemed excited.
"Check it out!" he shouted. "It's an orchard!" Everyone gawked and admired the apples that look ripe.
"I can't imagine the sales this place makes with apples this fresh!" awed Brock.
"Some of these would feed my bugs for at least a year!" added Agitha. Pikachu led Ash to the orchard while the others watch.
"Hold on, Pikachu!" he called out.
"Wait, Ash!" warned Misty. "You can't just go in and eat the apples! That's theft!" Ash didn't feel bothered by Misty's advice.
"It's not illegal to look!" he answered. Pikachu ran for a little while before he heard a rustle. Rattles alerted Pikachu to look up. Before he could blink, apples vanished. It made the Mouse Pokémon curious. Just then, cores of apples fell from the trees as the kids caught up with them. They gasped at the apple cores that laid by Pikachu's feet.
"Oh no!" hushed Agitha.
"I guess Pikachu wasn't content on just looking," Misty sighed. Brock crossed his arms.
"I'm surprised at you," he groaned. "I can understand that you're hungry but you can wait until I fix something!" Pikachu shook his head, denying the allegations and pointing up to the trees. Agitha looked up, getting an idea to Pikachu's claim.
"Pikachu believes something's in the trees eating the apples," she tried to understand. Another apple fell from said trees.
"I think you're right, Agitha," Misty believed. It fell into Pikachu's arms. Ash's partner freaked at seeing a new apple. Just as they wanted Pikachu to remove the apple, a fishing net snared the Pokémon.
"Gotchca, you little apple thief!" a young woman shouted. Out of nowhere came a young purple-haired woman in orange overalls over a white shirt. "Finally caught you red handed thanks to my noisemakers." Brock saw an opportunity to find love and rushed to her.
"I found the apple in my eyes, and where else but in an orchard would I find her!" he cheered while showing love-sickness. That's when he bowed to the woman. "Please accept my apology! My friend's Pikachu deserves punishment that you see fit!" Pikachu protested Brock's swooning offer. Ash took Pikachu's side, trusting his partner while Agitha grabbed Brock's ear and dragged him away.
"Excuse me while I dispose of this rotten apple," she mulled. In pain, Brock submitted his will to Agitha's yank. Ash confronted the woman about the accusation.
"Anyway, I believe Pikachu," he voiced. "And if he says he didn't do it…"
"Rather hard to deny when he's holding the evidence in his paws," she pointed out. Ash didn't believe the suspicion and removed the net.
"Let me see," he asked. Pikachu handed Ash the apple for a closer look. The apple had two fang scrapes. "Interesting… Pikachu, open your mouth as wide as you can." Complying, Pikachu opened his mouth where Ash studied the bite marks to Pikachu's fangs. He saw the bite marks shorter than Pikachu's mouth. "See? There's no way Pikachu bit into this apple. The bite marks are too close together!" The woman also looked and saw the evidence.
"That's true," she studied. Her accusation fell and soon, she became apologetic. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that!" Misty sighed, knowing Pikachu was cleared.
"Glad that worked out," she huffed. The woman glanced to the apple trees.
"It's so hard to keep up with the orchard and make sure my apples aren't stolen," she claimed. "That's why I hung noisemakers when my fruit's poached." Ash and Misty understood her dilemma. All followed the woman to a cottage deep within the orchard.
"Charmaine, how long ago has this been going on?" asked Agitha.
"About a few weeks ago," the purple-haired replied. "I do a lot to keep the orchard in shape and now that it's harvest time, the apples mean more than ever to me."
"That's a lot of work for one person," Ash gulped.
"It is," Charmaine sighed. "However, I had this interesting find the other day. As I checked the noisemakers, I heard a shimmering sound. I looked to see what I thought were miniature Scythers, like babies… but they were too small and one was-"
"Pink?" gasped Agitha.
"Yes and green!" confirmed Charmaine. "I stored them in a container with some leaves they munched on. They're over here." Charmaine brought a case with mantises inside.
"Yep, those are definitely not Scyther," Brock believed. "But their close resemblances means we found the golden mantises." Agitha brought each mantis from Charmaine's cage to hers.
"Lil mantis, li'l mantis," she sang a verse. "If I had sickles like that, I could slice onions better…" The rest sighed, expecting this from Agitha. That's when she had more. "Charmaine, since you found my golden mantises, we can help you with the apples!" Charmaine seemed in awe about the offer.
"Okay!" she agreed. All had baskets around their back. Looking up, they found a series of noisemakers strewn throughout the trees.
"So what's the purpose of the noisemakers?" questioned Misty.
"They're my many alarms for when Flying Pokémon like Pidgey and Spearow," Charmaine added. Before long, the noisemakers rattled. The collective shaking told Charmaine where the culprits were.
"That didn't take long," Ash warned.
"It's this way!" urged Charmaine. All began to chase the sound before they stopped rattling. This angered Charmaine. "Not again!" That's when Pikachu's ears caught sound of eating. He raced after the sound. That's when he found tiny yellow mice munching on the apples. He squeaked to alert the mice, who all turned to Pikachu waiving a finger and scolding them. The rest arrived to see the litter.
"What are they?" asked Agitha.
"It's a litter of Pichu!" answered Ash. He brought the PokéDex to scan.
"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon," it listed. "Pichu is the pre-evolved form of Pikachu. While able to produce electricity, Pichu are unskilled in controlling its voltage and can shock themselves." The litter gave everyone a thought to the vanishing of the apples.
"So a litter of Pichu were the ones that ransacked my orchard?" wondered Charmaine. Suddenly, caws from above alerted all. In the sky were brown sparrows with an orange vulture with a red crown staring down at the orchard.
"That's a flock of Spearow!" gawked Misty.
"And I bet that Fearow's the leader," Brock growled. With a caw from the vulture, the Spearow flew to the orchard. The Pichu leaped into the trees, confidence brimming as they set themselves. The Spearow were within reach when the Pichu emitted electricity, zapping the birds. They flew away, scared. However, the Pichu staggered and plopped.
"That was Thunder Shock!" noted Ash.
"Yes, but like Dexter said, the Pichu shocked themselves," Brock reminded. The vulture cawed angrily and flew down at the orchard. Another Pichu jumped up to defend the rest and offer its own dose of Thunder Shock. It nailed the vulture but not enough as it shook off the shock. However, Pichu also fell from the shock.
"The Fearow!" shouted Misty. "Pichu can't do it alone!" Pichu looked helplessly as Fearow closed in on Pichu. Pikachu jumped in front.
"Now, Pikachu!" ordered Ash. "Use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired his Thunderbolt, blasting Fearow. The electric blast hurt Fearow where it flew in retreat. "Nice work!" When the Pichu recovered, they brought the apples they plucked from the orchard. One Pichu squeaked in an apology.
"Why would a litter of Pichu want your orchard?" wondered Agitha. That's when a collection of rumbling stomachs hinted to Brock.
"They must be starving," he pointed out. Charmaine recalled something as she cupped her chin.
"Come to think of it," she started. "I read in the newspaper that the season's colder than normal in the mountains. The fruit up there hasn't grown naturally, if at all." Pikachu now worried about the Pichu. To Charmaine, she didn't want to turn down helpless Pokémon. She decided to let the Pichu have the apples picked. The Pichu seemed concerned.
"Charmaine wants to feed you so that you're not hungry," Agitha translated. Excited, the Pichu got to and ate the apples.
"Look at them go!" laughed Misty. "The Pichu can't get enough!" Charmaine mulled to the sight.
"That's the problem," she murmured. "The Pichu will eat the apples faster than I can pick them. I feel sorry for them but…" Ash palmed Charmaine on the shoulder.
"I've got an idea," he plotted. A while later, flock of small red pigeons found the orchard. They closed in on the apples. "Okay, here they come!" The Pichu prepared from the trees. They all used Thunder Shock. It proved effective as the pigeons flew back in retreat. However, the Pichu zapped themselves again, the lack of skill in controlling their Thunder Shock attacks showing up. To the rest, Ash's plan with the Pichu worked.
"The Pidgey didn't stand a chance," Agitha awed.
"Ash was right," Charmaine cheered. "The Pichu are doing exactly what Ash and Pikachu are training them to do!" Brock and Misty smiled to the effort.
"They must be paying you back for all the fruit they stole," Misty believed. Ash emerged from the trees with Pikachu and a Pichu on each shoulder.
"And that's not all," he grinned. "Pikachu, time for stage two. You ready?" Pikachu squeaked to the next step. Hopping down, Pikachu climbed a tree and picked an apple. The Pichu litter watched curiously. Pikachu climbed back down from the tree and placed the apple in a crate. With a few extra squeaks, the litter got the information before climbing the trees themselves and picking the fruit. They stored the apples in crates like Pikachu instructed. Agitha giggled to the sight.
"It's adorable to see, even if Ash is the one for this wannabe princess," she admitted. Misty and Brock gawked to the new confession.
"You're NOT a princess?" the breeder repeated.
"I guess you could say the way the bugs love me, I kinda felt like a princess like Zelda," she explained. "Also, I was a tad jealous of Zelda so…" Charmaine petted Agitha on the head.
"Since we know you better now, that's all that matters," she eased. Turning, she wondered about Ash's training with the Pichu. "I'm starting to see why you wanted to help me and the Pichu." Ash smiled with his plan working.
"Instead of being enemies," he pointed out. "You and the Pichu can become partners like me and Pikachu." The Mouse Pokémon squeaked with a smile. That's when one Pichu came down to alert the humans.
"What is it, Pichu?" asked Misty. Pichu pointed to a direction before leading the group.
"Did Pichu find something?" guessed Charmaine. All followed the Pichu when they heard shimmering noises.
"I think we found another of Agitha's golden bugs," Brock figured. Pichu picked an apple which had a pink and a green dot on it. Agitha came to Pichu who gave her the apple.
"They're my golden ladybugs!" she announced. The rest came over to where the pink ladybug flew onto Togepi. It tickled the Spike Ball Pokémon, causing a laugh.
"Only two more pairs to go!" determined Ash. With another golden bug found, Agitha had another verse.
"Li'l ladybug, li'l ladybug," she sang. "If I was smaller, I would get on your back and we'd fly around…" Misty giggled, knowing that her songs only had two more verses. Sometime later, and with her newly found ladybugs, the gang were set to get on the move.
"Pollentasia, huh?" repeated Charmaine.
"That's right," Ash confirmed.
"Luckily, you're almost there," Charmaine pointed. "It's down the road. There's a Pokémon Center that will be among the path. You'll be there by tomorrow morning."
"Thanks again, Charmaine," Misty praised. After their farewells, Ash and the gang were making the last strides to Pollentasia. To Agitha, she hoped to see the rest of her bugs as the Goddess Butterfly perched herself on a pigtail. Misty hoped the Bug Pokémon don't crawl on her. All that waited with the group was a paradise… or a nightmare.
TO BE CONTINUED…