"Is this the smell?"
Silas placed a cup filled with slightly sour apple wine in front of Flapple and the Applin, gesturing for them to take a sniff.
Litten, who had been crouched on the sofa keeping watch, cast over a pair of cold little eyes, a low warning growl rumbling in its throat.
The first to be discovered, Flapple's small body trembled slightly. It awkwardly flapped its apple peel wings and edged closer, lowering its head to give the drink a tentative lick.
"Fla!" (No mistake! This is the smell.)
Immediately, it revealed a look of intoxicated bliss. In just a few gulps, Flapple drained the entire cup of apple wine, its cheek pouches flushing with a faint rosy red.
"Hic."
Flapple let out a satisfied burp and then, uncontrollably, spat out a mass of dark green, highly corrosive acid.
A sizzling sound followed, accompanied by a wisp of white smoke, as a large hole was burned straight through the floor.
"Meow!"
Litten, who had been staring at it the whole time, instantly grew angry. Its back arched as it prepared to pounce.
Silas raised a hand to stop Litten. At that moment, Flapple wobbled twice, then transformed back into what looked like a simple Applin wrapped in an apple, falling into a deep, contented sleep.
"It just said it got drunk, so it could not control the acid it spat out," Silas explained to Litten, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "And if I am not mistaken, Flapple's acid just now was strengthened."
No wonder the Applin had been attracted from so far away, crossing forests and rivers, even braving flocks of bird Pokémon just to come here.
Although Flapple had already evolved, its level was still not as high as Alcremie's.
It only knew three moves: Astonish, Withdraw, and Acid Spray.
The first two had been learned back when it was still an Applin.
From earlier questioning, Silas had learned that the Applin and Flapple had born in this world less than a month ago. They were still baby Pokémon in every sense.
"You all really have sharp noses. I only drank one cup at noon, and you managed to find your way here from so far away."
Silas shook his head as he spoke, taking a large serving of milk fruit platter from his younger Indeedee.
"Here. You must be hungry. Eat first. We can talk about everything else tomorrow."
Seeing that their good brother was fine, the Applin hopped around excitedly and surrounded Silas, staring eagerly at the berry platter in his hands.
Litten let out a dissatisfied meow but did not step forward again.
Perhaps out of respect for Silas, it temporarily spared these fruit stealing thieves.
Silas set the plate down. The Applin and Flapple immediately gathered in a circle and began nibbling delicately at the food.
Various fruits had been cut into small pieces, half soaked in milk and the other half coated generously with syrup. Each bite was pure enjoyment.
In an instant, the Applin and Flapple were conquered by the milk fruit platter. It was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.
Watching their wolfing down in amusement, Silas ate as well while pondering what kind of work would suit them.
Applin's normal abilities were Ripen and Gluttony.
Ripen was a unique ability exclusive to Applin, Flapple, and Appletun's evolutionary line.
Its effect was to double the effectiveness of berries by ripening them further.
To give an example, a Pecha Berry originally of silver star quality could be enhanced to gold star or even platinum star quality thanks to Ripen.
Of course, the specific effect varied from bug to bug. Some with higher talent could exceed the standard doubling effect, while others with lesser talent might only reach one and a half or 1.8 times the original effect.
Compared to that, Silas was actually more interested in raising a Hydrapple.
A serpent formed from seven little bugs sounded incredibly cool, but of course that would depend on the Applin's own wishes.
"Min Min..." Minccino suddenly whispered very softly to Silas, urging him to look behind him.
Turning around, he saw twelve Applin and five Flapple disguising themselves as simple apples, neatly arranged on a tray.
They were fast asleep, snoring gently, completely lacking any sense of caution.
As expected, they were still just children. In order to prevent them from being bullied in the wild, he could only reluctantly, though secretly quite happily, take them in.
…
The next morning, early.
After the Applin and Flapple finished eating a luxurious berry platter, Silas reached out and poked the greediest one.
"Do you know the way back home?"
Flapple thought very seriously for a moment, then shook its body.
"Fla Fla~"
It only remembered following the scent of apple wine all the way here, passing through a valley filled with many bird Pokémon and drifting along a river.
As for the way back, it had completely forgotten.
"Alright." Silas looked toward the other Pokémon. "What about you all?"
The Applin lifted their heads and stopped eating. Their green eyes, disguised as apple stems, blinked innocently.
Good.
None of them remembered.
"Ahem." Silas decisively changed the topic and picked up a sheet of paper from the nearby table. "Although you are still young, you still need to compensate for the damage you caused to the ranch."
The five Flapple moved closer. After taking one glance at the paper, they immediately shook their heads.
"Fla Fla…?"
(We do not understand. Is this food?)
"It is fine if you cannot read. I will read it to you," Silas said with a smile.
If they did not listen, how could he reasonably keep them working at the ranch?
"You damaged thirty Pecha Berries in total, fifteen Oran Berries, and at least ten apples."
"I will not ask you to pay triple. Just bring back the same amount of berries, and I will let you leave."
The bugs, who had been standing upright proudly a moment ago, suddenly bent over in dejection. They had never imagined that casually nibbling a few bites would result in ruining so many berries.
Not to mention that many fruits had only been bitten once before being tossed aside. Now all of it was counted against them. They did not even have the strength to argue.
The greediest Applin drooped its head and tapped its tail against the ground, as if counting how many bites it had taken.
How could it have known that the half eaten Pecha Berries and single bite Oran Berries it had casually discarded would add up to such an amount?
Litten, who had remained silent until now, softly let out a meow.
It jumped down from the sofa by the window and walked over with elegant steps, its calm eyes like a still pond fixed on the Applin.
There were no claws extended in threat, no low growl of intimidation. Instead, it raised a paw and gently placed its pink paw pad on top of one Applin's head.
The bugs were even more frightened by this and curled into tight balls, not daring to lift their heads.
Seeing how timid and scared they looked, Silas knew it was his turn to speak.
"I have a proposal. Would you like to hear it?"
"Fla?"
Flapple spoke weakly.
"How about staying at the ranch to work off your debt?"
"Fla Fla~"
(Working is impossible. Dragons will never work in this lifetime…)
"Room and board included."
"Fla!"
(We will work. Us apple dragons love working the most.)
In just a few seconds, Silas clearly saw the true colors of a certain apple and nearly burst out laughing.
"Alright. Then you will work at the ranch. If you complete your tasks on time every day, I can reward you with a cup of apple wine."
There was no need for Silas to persuade the remaining apple Pokémon anymore. This particular Flapple had already begun convincing them.
They huddled together, whispering and discussing.
At that moment, Silas looked at Litten and gently placed a hand on its back.
"I will leave the this guys in your care from now on, Litten."
"Meow."
Litten leaned slightly closer to him, its tail swaying gently, silently accepting the responsibility.
(End of Chapter)