Something Was Very Wrong with This Manor

Night deepened. In the dim orchard, even the fruit trees seemed to have fallen asleep, and the fragrance hanging in the air faded as darkness settled.

There was no need to worry about mutated crops rotting on the trees or in the ground. As long as they were not picked or damaged badly enough to turn back into cards, a steady supply of nutrients would keep them ripe indefinitely.

At that moment, three figures wearing Ogre Masks were moving swiftly through the orchard...

"Found them! There are apple trees over there with fruit on them!"

"Keep it down. Don't wake the Wild Pokémon here. What if you wake that thing up?"

"We'll just knock it out again."

The three stopped before the Noctowl Trees. The fruit still had a few days to go before it ripened, but the branches were already heavy with unripe berries. They were edible, though they had no special effect yet and were terribly sour.

The people in Ogre Masks were members of the Kitakami Ogre Mask Group. Despite the frightening name, it was not some evil organization, but a small group that ran a challenge during the Festival of Masks.

The group consisted of some of Kitakami's strongest Trainers. Each member used the name of a famous sword as an alias and specialized in Pokémon of a particular type...

The three began discussing their next move. At the front stood a curvaceous woman called Raikiri. She plucked an unripe Noctowl Berry and examined it.

"These apples look strange. They're shaped a bit like cat heads. Probably not ripe yet... Ugh, sour. Definitely not ripe. Should we take some back, Masamune?"

After taking a bite, she tossed the fruit onto the ground and looked at the man behind her.

Masamune glanced up and replied, "Let's take