When everyone turned to look at it, Pikachu suddenly grew timid. Trembling with unease, it quickly hid its small, rounded face behind Akimichi's leg, using his calf as a shield from their stares. Despite the fear surrounding its Thunder Shock earlier, the sight of Pikachu's bashful and frightened reaction melted some of the tension. The adorable creature's behavior softened even the sternest hearts.
Even though Pikachu had electrocuted Helbert , and the danger it posed was undeniable, its innocent expression and trembling form sparked a wave of affection—especially among the women. Their eyes sparkled with admiration, and their expressions turned into smiles filled with doting warmth. Still, those feelings were momentary; after all, Pikachu's electrical attack had caused someone to be injured, even if not seriously.
Seeing Pikachu so scared, Akimichi bent down and gently patted the back of its head, his voice reassuring.
"Don't be scared! I'm here," he said softly.
Encouraged by its master's calming voice, Pikachu peeked its head out from between Akimichi's legs again. It let out a cute and gentle cry—
"Pika Pika!"
Its ears twitched, and it turned its large, worried eyes toward Helbert, who was now resting on a pile of packages off to the side, unconscious but breathing. There was clear guilt in Pikachu's gaze.
Akimichi looked at the crew and explained, "It's apologizing."
Everyone was stunned.
"It's... it's saying sorry?" said May, her eyes widening with surprise.
"That's amazing!" added another crew member.
Director Hughie took a step forward, fixing his eyes on Akimichi and asked seriously, "You're the master of this... genetic creature?"
Akimichi nodded with calm confidence. "Yes. It's a genetic creature I created myself. Its name is Pikachu."
The group murmured among themselves, clearly impressed. The concept of creating a genetically engineered organism was already incredible—but for it to be so intelligent and even capable of apologizing?
Turning to Hughie, Akimichi gave a sincere bow. "I apologize for not watching it closely enough. I didn't expect it to lash out, and I'm deeply sorry that it hurt one of your people. I will take full responsibility."
Hughie waved his hand. "Let's not talk about compensation now. We'll discuss that after Helbert wakes up."
Akimichi nodded respectfully, then turned to Pikachu with a mock stern expression.
"You really gave me trouble this time," he scolded gently.
Pikachu's ears drooped. It looked devastated by the scolding, its little body trembling slightly as tears welled in its big, watery eyes. Its tail drooped, and it clutched Akimichi's pants as if seeking forgiveness.
Seeing Pikachu's pitiful look, the program crew couldn't stay mad. The women, especially, had their hearts completely stolen by the adorable creature. They shot glares at Akimichi as if saying, "How can you scold such a cute little thing?"
Some even muttered under their breaths, "It wasn't even Pikachu's fault! Helbert startled it—what else could it do?"
Moved by Pikachu's sorrowful state and realizing he might have been too harsh, Akimichi softened. He crouched again, gently stroking its head and coaxed it, "Alright, alright. I'm not mad anymore. But remember, you can't discharge at humans, okay? Only if you're absolutely sure they're bad people."
Pikachu blinked up at Akimichi in surprise, then beamed. Its eyes sparkled with joy, and it nodded enthusiastically.
Without warning, Pikachu jumped up, caught Akimichi's arm, and quickly climbed up onto his shoulder. Once there, it rubbed its furry cheek affectionately against Akimichi's face.
"Pikachu~" it squealed joyfully.
Akimichi chuckled. The ticklish fur against his face made him laugh uncontrollably.
"That's too cute!" someone shouted.
"I'm so jealous!"
"I want to be that lucky guy!" exclaimed another.
Everyone burst into laughter. The envious cries of the crew, especially the women, filled the air. They looked at Akimichi with a mix of admiration and pure jealousy.
Tierno ,who had been quietly watching, looked as though she'd fallen into a dream. In her mind, she had replaced Akimichi with herself—she was the one getting the loving face rubs from Pikachu. She unconsciously put a finger in her mouth and smiled with a dazed, almost silly look.
Steven Stone,standing beside her, noticed. He waved his hand in front of her face.
"Come back to Earth," he teased with a laugh.
Snapping out of her daze, Tierno laughed and quickly covered her face in embarrassment. Despite her flushed cheeks, her eyes peeked through her fingers, still locked on Pikachu.
"It's so cute! How can something this adorable even exist?" she murmured. "I want one too..."
She wasn't the only one. Everyone was silently hoping they could own such a creature—if only it weren't for its dangerous electric power.
Director Hughie turned to Akimichi again. "So, Mr. Akimichi... Pikachu can discharge electricity? That's incredible. Was its gene taken from something like an electric eel?"
Akimichi smiled and shook his head. "No, actually. This is a genetic program I developed on my own. It's part of a new branch of genetic engineering—a breakthrough, really. The program allows me to give created organisms all kinds of special abilities."
His words caused a visible stir among the production crew. This wasn't just basic bioengineering—this was science fiction turned reality. For most, just understanding genetic code was a massive hurdle. Writing custom genetic programs that produced living organisms with supernormal abilities? That was an impossible feat... at least for normal scientists.
Most couldn't wrap their heads around it. They figured Akimichi must be exaggerating. Sure, Pikachu was impressive, but electric eels already existed. If someone simply extracted and modified electric eel genes, creating a discharging creature wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
But talking about genetic programs capable of bestowing all kinds of "magical" powers? That was a bit much to believe. Many of them chalked it up to youthful arrogance or exaggeration.
Even if they didn't fully believe his claim, Akimichi's genius was undeniable. The fact that he had created a living creature with such complex behavior and power was already revolutionary. No one in modern genetic engineering had successfully integrated and expressed electricity in a warm-blooded, mammalian organism like Pikachu.
Akimichi, of course, understood their skepticism. He didn't press the issue further. After all, he couldn't truly explain Pikachu's origin. In truth, Pikachu wasn't a genetic experiment at all—it was a real creature from another world.
Smiling calmly, he looked at Hughie. "Anyway, this isn't the place for long talks. You're here to film Longing for Life, right? My second grandfather told me you'd be arriving."
"Second grandfather?" Hughie raised an eyebrow.
"He's the head of the village," Akimichi explained with a chuckle. "Come on, I'll take you all to the Mushroom House first."
The crew began following him, their curiosity about Akimichi—and his strange, adorable companion—only growing with each step.