The moon hung high in the sky like a rabbit.
One by one, the Pokémon said goodbye to Silas and returned to their rooms to sleep, and the ranch gradually returned to its usual silence.
The Meowth gang came to the ranch once again.
That special fragrance from the daytime lingered in their minds, making the Meowth unbearably, painfully hungry.
The gray Meowth was the first to reach the fence. With a light hop, it landed on top, gazing over the ranch and carefully surveying the surroundings. After confirming the situation, it called softly to those behind it.
"Meow~" (Come quickly.)
A rustling sound came from the grass, and soon a white Meowth and a black-brown Meowth emerged one after the other.
"Meow~" (We're here.)
The black-brown Meowth walked up to the fence, extended its claws that gleamed with a metallic sheen, and prepared to dig a hole through the fence.
Before it could act, the white Meowth hurriedly stopped it.
"Meow~" (No, Meow. That would make too much noise and we'd be discovered.)
The gray Meowth jumped down and added,
"Meow~" (This place has several Pokémon that look very strong. We shouldn't alarm them.)
Hearing this, the black-brown Meowth nodded seriously.
"Meow!"(Alright! Then let's hurry up and take the food back.)
The three differently colored Meowth exchanged glances. Moving slowly, they helped each other climb over the fence, then lined up and tiptoed toward the silo, holding hands as they went.
During the day, they had seen it.
The human had taken out a large amount of food from inside and distributed it to other Pokémon.
The gray Meowth was extremely cautious. Despite the short distance, it took them several minutes to get there.
Every two steps, it stopped to observe the surroundings, only moving on after confirming there was no danger.
After circling the silo once, the gray Meowth finally extended its paw and slowly pushed open the silo door.
The faint creaking sound of the door masked the sound of wings flapping. Three Noibat had already flown in through a window and were hanging upside down from the high, dark ceiling.
"Noi?" (Are these the thieves Silas mentioned today?)
"Noi." (Shouldn't be wrong.)
"Noi~ Noi" (Wait until they all come in, then we move. Don't let them escape.)
The three Noibat whispered among themselves and quickly reached an agreement.
They closed their eyes and used their large ears to emit ultrasonic waves in multiple directions, sensing the inside of the silo while keeping their presence hidden as much as possible.
Soon after, the silo door was pushed open a crack, and three silhouettes entered one by one.
The interior of the silo was deathly quiet, without the slightest sound.
"No danger?"
The gray Meowth looked around cautiously.
Inside the not-so-large silo, various tools were neatly arranged—it had clearly become Silas's storage space.
In a corner nearby, stacks of food for Pokémon were piled up.
Mud biscuits loved by Mudsdale, grassy dumplings, and the sweet and savory feed that Silas had specially purchased earlier to treat the Lapras pod.
This was the smell!!
The Meowth all swallowed hard at the same time—this was their favorite food.
After confirming that there was no danger, the Meowth quickly rushed forward, stretching out their paws to grab the dumpling-sized sweet feed.
They chewed carelessly a few times before swallowing it whole.
Even the most intelligent gray Meowth let down its guard, grabbing food and stuffing it into its mouth in big bites.
At the same time, it didn't forget to pack the food into the small satchel hanging from its belly.
Silas would certainly recognize it—it was a spatial satchel. Silas had one of the same type, with only a few cubic meters of space inside, used for carrying frequently used items.
The one on the gray Meowth was likely stolen from some Trainer.
Now, however, it had become the perfect tool for stealing food. No wonder they had succeeded time and time again.
After the other two Meowth had filled their bellies, they also came over to help.
This amount of food would be enough to last them several days—they could move on to another place.
High above, hanging upside down from the beams at the top of the silo, the Noibat silently watched everything unfold below.
Almost at the same time, the three Noibat released terrifying killing intent, each locking onto a Meowth.
"NOOOI!"
The air erupted with a series of explosive sounds like dragon roars. Three flying dragons formed of Dragon-type energy descended from above, launching a Dragon Rush.
A Dragon-type move was not something easy to dodge.
The sudden murderous aura stunned the Meowth, their bodies stiffening, unable to move.
Before they could react, the Noibat had already plunged down.
The gray Meowth and the white Meowth were knocked straight to the ground, pinned beneath the Noibat.
They had taken a direct hit from a Dragon-type move, and it had struck their vital points.
Their eyes instantly turned into spirals, and they passed out cold.
Only the black-brown Meowth escaped this fate. At the critical moment, it rolled forward, barely dodging the attack.
Even so, it was still swept up by the airflow from Dragon Rush and slammed heavily onto the ground.
"Noi!"
One Noibat shook its head in disbelief—it had actually been dodged.
Having trained constantly, Noibat's reactions were far from slow.
The three of them simultaneously released ultrasonic waves at maximum power. In the narrow, enclosed space, the black-brown Meowth had nowhere to escape.
Its body was struck by the ultrasound, swaying left and right.
Around its head, a ring of little yellow ducks quacked noisily—clear signs that it had fallen into a state of confusion.
A Dragon Claw, several times larger than normal, struck from behind and smacked the Meowth's head with full force.
The black-brown Meowth followed the same path as the others, entering a state of feigned death, its eyes turning into spirals as well.
…
When Silas received the notice and rushed over with Kangaskhan, he saw the three Noibat stepping on the Meowth's backs, chests puffed out, looking like victorious generals returning from battle.
Shining a flashlight over them, Silas exclaimed in surprise, "Huh!"
"A regular Meowth, an Alolan Meowth, and even one from the distant Galar region."
He couldn't figure out how they had ended up together, all the way here in the Kalos region.
And if he remembered correctly—
Regular Meowth and Galarian Meowth didn't get along. Forget internal fighting—they had actually formed a gang.
This was a criminal group spanning three regions.
"Great job! Noibat," Silas praised.
"Noi~" ×3
The Noibat responded happily, their hearts filled with sweetness.
Being able to help Silas made them think proudly to themselves, We have to become super, super strong and beat all the bad guys!
After asking Kangaskhan to bring some rope, Silas tied up the three Meowth, finally able to observe them up close.
Despite being the same species, their appearances were worlds apart.
The regular Meowth looked like a small domestic cat, its entire body covered in light yellow fur, with a tail curled into a spiral shape.
The Alolan Meowth was gray all over. Perhaps because of its darker coloration, the coin on its forehead appeared even brighter, glittering with gold.
The Galarian Meowth, on the other hand, had undergone a dramatic transformation—its forehead coin was black, and black-brown fur covered its entire body.
It was noticeably shorter than the other two, yet its overall appearance was especially fierce.
After observing them for a while, Silas had Kangaskhan carry them back to the cabin, then placed an Oran Berry into each of their mouths to restore their stamina.
Before long, replenished with energy, the Meowth slowly regained consciousness.
The first to wake up was the Galarian Meowth.
The moment it came to, it shot a vicious glare and tried to extend its claws to attack.
But no matter how it struggled, it couldn't move an inch—its claws were tightly bound together.
In contrast, the look Kangaskhan gave it weighed heavily on its heart.
As if it had run into some ferocious monster, its small body trembled nonstop, utterly terrified.
(End of Chapter)