"Meow~!"
"Meow!"
"Meow meow meow!"
Rubbing his temples, Silas stepped forward. "Stop, stop, stop! Quiet down, all of you. There are still people sleeping in the house."
In the guest room next door, Serena and Minccino were fast asleep. Waking them up would be a bad idea.
He carefully pushed the door open and took a look—sure enough, the two of them were cuddled together, sleeping soundly and sweetly.
Silas returned, raised his hand, and pointed. "You. You talk."
Under the unfriendly stares of the surrounding Pokémon, the Alolan Meowth stepped forward. "Meow~ meow!"
"You met on a cruise ship?" Silas asked.
"Meow!"
The Alolan Meowth nodded. At the time, it had been fleeing from the relentless pursuit of a Yungoos and had panicked its way onto a ship.
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—the ship had just set sail.
Just like that, it left its homeland. Frightened and uneasy, the Alolan Meowth didn't dare wander around, so it lived on the cruise ship the entire time.
Later on, the cruise ship docked twice. Through various accidents and coincidences, a Galarian Meowth and a regular Meowth also ended up boarding the same ship.
"And where did you get this spatial satchel?" Silas asked, lifting the bag in his hand. This thing wasn't cheap—its newest model cost over ten thousand League Coins.
The regular Meowth immediately yowled in protest. "Meow~ uuu!"
"You picked it up from a trash bin?" Silas asked, his tone full of doubt. The crafty Meowth was clearly still trying to argue its way out.
"Meow~!" The regular Meowth jumped up, waving its claws and baring its teeth as it explained.
The satchel really had been picked up, and along with it, they had also found a little Pokémon.
If it weren't for having to raise that bottomless pit, they wouldn't be stealing food everywhere, meow!
With just a bit of probing, Silas had already obtained quite a lot of information—these three Meowth even had accomplices.
He tapped the table lightly, signaling them to be quiet, his expression turning especially serious.
"Do you know how much damage your actions cause to ranch owners? According to the Pokémon laws issued by the League, you could be locked up in Pokémon prison for ten years. By the time you're released, you'll be old and frail."
Silas's words made the three Meowth shudder violently.
In their minds appeared an image of themselves hunched over with canes, exhausted after taking just a few steps.
"Meooowth~" (No! I don't want to be locked up for my whole life!)
The regular Meowth was the first to have its psychological defenses collapse. Tears streamed down uncontrollably, pooling into a small river on the floor.
The other two Meowth weren't much better—faces pale as death, heads hanging low, completely dejected.
Their Meowth lives were over, meow…
Silas coughed awkwardly twice. His original intention had just been to scare them a little so he could continue the interrogation.
Judging by the results, he might have gone a bit too far.
"Don't cry yet. Things aren't that bad," he said, taking a small egg tart from the fridge brought over by Cyclizar—and handing it to them. "If you really have extenuating circumstances, your sentence can be reduced."
The Meowth, now untied, glanced at the tempting egg tart and confirmed that the human didn't intend to harm them.
They hugged the egg tart and began eating it in small bites. The sweet flavor made their faces soften in bliss, instantly washing away their earlier worries.
This human didn't seem that scary after all. They felt much less afraid of him now.
Only after the Meowth had finished the egg tart and were diligently licking the custard residue from their paws did Silas finally speak again.
"Meowth, what are you using all that stolen food for?"
With trust established through food, the gray Alolan Meowth glanced at Cyclizar on its left and Kangaskhan on its right, then answered honestly.
"Meowuu!"
"All of it was fed to a single Pokémon?" Silas asked. "A Snorlax?"
Given the amount they had stolen this time, it would have been enough to feed more than ten Pokémon for over a month.
Those supplies had originally been prepared for the Lapras group.
Unexpectedly, they had left early, so the food ended up stored in the granary.
"Meow meow~"
The Alolan Meowth shook its head—nothing that big.
"A Munchlax?"
The Meowth continued shaking its head, then pointed at the Galarian Meowth, indicating that it had seen the Pokémon before boarding the ship—they came from the same region.
Its appetite was enormous, its body very small, and it was from the Galar region.
Putting all the information together, only one possibility remained.
A two-faced Pokémon first discovered in Galar—Morpeko, an Electric/Dark-type.
Telling the Meowth to wait a moment, Silas picked up a paper Pokémon Pokédex, flipped toward the back, and pointed at an illustration of a yellow, hamster-like Pokémon holding food and waving cheerfully.
"Is it this one?"
The Alolan Meowth leaned in to examine it, nodded, then shook its head.
"Meow!"
The color was wrong. Silas flipped to the next page. "This color, then?"
"Meow!"
The Alolan Meowth nodded vigorously, indicating that this was the one—looking extremely fierce.
Well, that explained it. The poor thing had been starved into its Hangry Mode.
Now Silas finally understood why the Meowth had been stealing such massive amounts of food.
Morpeko—a rodent Pokémon based on the golden hamster.
Because its cheek pouches constantly generate electrical energy, it is perpetually hungry. With its small stomach, it must eat continuously, consuming an amount of food equivalent to a Snorlax every single day.
Having three Meowth raise a Morpeko was truly a daunting task.
If they hadn't been utterly desperate, they wouldn't have stolen food from ranch owners.
They specifically targeted sweet feed and savory feed—the cheap flavored feeds.
They didn't even bother stealing berries.
This was information Silas had received from Gario over the past few days. The Meowth gang still had some restraint—the losses they caused were within what ranch owners could tolerate.
"Morpeko…" Silas murmured, then looked at the three Meowth. "I can temporarily let you go, but you have to bring Morpeko to the ranch."
"Meow—!" The Alolan Meowth backed away warily, as if saying, Don't even think about using our companion to threaten us.
The Galarian Meowth rubbed its claws together, preparing to attack, while the regular Meowth fiercely polished the coin on its forehead, staring at Silas in tension.
'Pretty loyal,' Silas thought, then explained his reasoning to them.
He couldn't just take their word for it—he needed to see Morpeko in person.
The clever Alolan Meowth understood his meaning and let out a low sound. "Meow?"
"If you really run away and get caught again, the sentence will be twenty years," Silas said with a gentle smile, uttering words that were utterly cruel. He even added, "And little Morpeko will be adopted by another human and taken away. You'll never see it again."
"Meow—ha!"
All three Meowth took a step back at the same time, utterly terrified.
After a moment, the three Meowth whispered among themselves.
The regular Meowth and the Galarian Meowth would stay at the ranch as hostages, while the Alolan Meowth would go bring Morpeko over.
Watching the Alolan Meowth dash into the forest, the two Meowth beside Silas waved vigorously, their faces full of reluctance.
Squatting down, Silas pinched and kneaded them playfully.
The regular Meowth's fur was soft and comfortable to the touch, while the Galarian Meowth was completely different—its fur felt like steel needles, extremely hard.
The two Meowth closed their eyes, looking as though they were ready to accept death, allowing Silas to "mistreat" them without resistance.
Rubbing his forehead, Silas smiled and asked, "Are you still hungry? How about having breakfast together?"
(End of Chapter)