It is not too unusual for a Galarian eating an apple to taste something weird and spit it out, and in the process to find that they have inadvertently made an Applin homeless. Without its shell, Applin are as weak and helpless as Caterpie, but can survive until the apple is replaced. Should one have purchased a whole batch, it is straightforward enough to set another one aside for these pokemon, but often they are sold alone, and superstition claims that Applin apples are always eaten last.

After spitting an Applin out, it is common for the unwitting eater to panic and try to improvise. Fortunately, Applin can subsist for a time on berries, curry, and other generic pokemon food, and a box or a hat (if not a pokeball) can protect it from the elements until a new apple can be obtained. And nearly everyone in Galar makes their best effort to protect these young dragon pokemon.

Although it would be simple to forget a pokemon known for its weakness and leave it to starve, what Applin lack in fighting strength they make up for with the power of their curse. Wherever an Applin dies, plants cease to grow, for they will not easily forgive disrespect towards the youngest forms of plant dragons. Should some vegetation do otherwise, a rampaging Flapple or Appletun will swiftly destroy the harvest, considering it a just revenge on anyone who let an Applin die of hunger.

Today, Galar is no longer an agrarian society, and home insurance limits the practical damage that Applin's elders can do. But trainers continue to care for those Applin whose homes they devour, for the fact of the curse is remembered, even if its precise details have long since been forgotten.