Shalour City, Police Station.
"Officer Jenny, that's basically the situation." Silas explained calmly to the Officer Jenny in front of him, his peripheral vision falling on the three Meowth who were hanging their heads in shame. "The reason the Meowth stole food was so that this little guy could eat his fill."
Both of them subconsciously turned their eyes toward the small Pokémon whose mouth had not stopped moving since entering the room.
Morpeko showed absolutely no signs of being interrogated. When it noticed Silas looking over, it broke into a cheerful grin and pulled out a small, round piece of sweet feed from the pouch on its chest.
"Morpeko~ peko?"
Holding the food up, Morpeko wanted to share it with everyone.
"This little guy…" Silas rubbed its head and laughed. "We're not hungry. You eat it yourself."
Hearing that, Morpeko tossed the food straight into its mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it whole. Immediately after, it pulled out another piece, and the entire interrogation room echoed with Morpeko's munching sounds.
Officer Jenny withdrew her gaze and took a deep breath.
In just this short span of time, Morpeko had already eaten up all the snacks she had prepared for her Growlithe.
Raising such a big-eater Pokémon, while the Meowth couldn't defeat other wild Pokémon out in the wilderness—of course they had no choice but to steal.
Fortunately, the damage they caused to the ranch owners wasn't severe, and given the circumstances, the punishment could be lenient.
"Mr. Silas, I've considered the proposal you made earlier," Officer Jenny said, putting on a stern expression.
The three Meowth, who had been sneakily peeking at the two of them, felt their hearts skip a beat. In their minds, images of being stripped naked and photographed for mugshots flashed before their eyes.
No!
They didn't want to rot in prison until old age! Three pairs of pleading eyes immediately focused on Silas.
Silas noticed the three Meowth silently begging him for help out of the corner of his eye.
"The damage caused by the Meowth is within a controllable range. To receive a reduced sentence, they need to obtain forgiveness from the affected ranch owners and compensate for the losses."
"Did you hear that, you three?" Silas turned to look at them.
The Meowth nodded vigorously. As long as they could gain the ranch owners' forgiveness, they would do their absolute best.
Silas hadn't forgotten about Morpeko either—it would also need to go along and apologize.
However, Silas gave a sly smile and picked up a sheet of paper from the table. It recorded the losses of each ranch, all of which the three Meowth would need to compensate for.
Thankfully, the three Meowth had only stolen sweet feed and savory feed. Adding everything together, the total came to just 3,000 Poké Dollars.
When Silas told the three Meowth this number, it felt as if the sky had collapsed.
In a panic, they rummaged through their spatial satchel, dumping everything they had collected onto the floor.
"Meow?"
At the three Meowth's feet appeared a huge pile of items—things they had picked up while wandering around, which they thought were precious and had kept with them in the satchel.
"Pretty glass marbles, a single small white shoe, golden tableware…" Silas shook his head. "None of these are valuable. If you take them to a general store, you'd get at most 100. You're still short 2,900 Poké Dollars."
The regular Meowth stared in shock, its face filled with disbelief. "Meow!!!"
(These are all our treasures! How can they be completely worthless?!)
The three fell into deep confusion. It seemed they were destined to take a trip to prison after all.
In an instant, all spirit drained from them, a faint aura of despair spreading over their bodies.
Seeing this, Silas knew the timing was right.
He had already planned to hire the three Meowth to help out at his ranch. For example, the coffee beans were about to ripen, and he would need extra hands to help with harvesting.
He also planned to plant hops in large quantities during the summer. Once the trellises were set up, medium- and large-sized Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Cyclizar wouldn't be able to get in.
A small-bodied Meowth were perfect for avoiding this problem—they were the ideal candidates.
For the three Meowth, joining the ranch meant they wouldn't have to continue wandering anymore.
Life as drifters wasn't easy, especially for weak Pokémon like Meowth.
As for why he had gone through such a roundabout process, it was because he had considered the three's pride.
Meowth, being based on cats, had very strong self-esteem.
Silas squatted down with a warm smile and proposed, "You three, I have an idea. What do you think?"
"Meow!" (As long as we don't have to go to jail, we'll do anything!)
The regular Meowth rushed forward and hugged Silas's leg, smearing a mixture of snot and tears all over it.
Silas: "..."
After gently comforting it and waiting for the Meowth to stop crying, Silas continued.
"You've traveled through many places, so you must be very knowledgeable, right?"
The three Meowth nodded noncommittally.
"Snap!" Silas clapped his hands, grabbed Alolan Meowth's paw, and said excitedly, "My ranch just happens to need capable Pokémon like you to help out. May I hire you to work there?"
After speaking, he observed their expressions and added, "As for the 2,900 Poké Dollars you need to compensate, I can pay it for you in advance. We'll just deduct it from your monthly wages—how does that sound?"
Silas not only solved their problem of wandering, but also fronted the compensation money for them.
The Meowth had no reason left to refuse. The three little ones agreed immediately.
"Meow!" ×3
(We'll be in your care from now on!)
Just as the regular Meowth and the Galarian Meowth were overjoyed, the Alolan Meowth hesitated before walking up to Silas, extending a paw to point at Morpeko.
"Meow~"
(Can Morpeko also stay at the ranch? We'll take care of it and won't use up the ranch's feed.)
Alolan Meowth nodded firmly. The three of them had long since treated Morpeko as family—they could never abandon it.
If they were going to abandon it, they could have stolen Morpeko's satchel and left it behind the first time they met. Instead, they had kept it with them the whole time, even risking themselves to steal food just so it wouldn't go hungry.
They hadn't abandoned it in the past. They wouldn't in the future. And they certainly wouldn't now.
The other two Meowth overheard the conversation and came over as well, their eyes filled with determination and resolve.
Silas smiled, picked Morpeko up, and said, "You don't know yet? Morpeko already agreed to become my Pokémon a long time ago."
"Meow?"
With its mouth still busy, Morpeko shyly explained, "Morpe!"
(Silas promised I could eat until I'm full every day, and I couldn't resist the temptation, so I agreed!)
After bidding farewell to Officer Jenny, Silas led the four Pokémon and went door to door according to the list of affected ranches.
Now that he was the three Meowth's Trainer, he had a responsibility to take accountability for their mistakes and to shoulder the duty of educating them properly.
Children needed to establish the right values from a young age.
That way, they wouldn't end up running off to join Team Rocket and do evil deeds.
The affected ranch owners were quite surprised to see the three Meowth. After hearing the full story from Silas, they chose to forgive them and even brought out food from their ranches to feed Morpeko.
"That's how it should be. If you're hungry in the future, just come straight to the ranch—don't steal anymore."
"Come on, come on, try these cookies I just baked. See if they suit your taste?"
The three Meowth quietly slipped the snacks into their mouths. Sweet and delicious, they were exceptionally tasty.
"If you make a mistake, you have to apologize sincerely. People won't blame you for it."
Noticing their actions, Silas handed the small snacks he carried with him to Morpeko.
"Meow!" The Meowth nodded, engraving today's events deeply into their hearts.
"Oh no! I forgot to pick up Serena!"
Having just returned to the ranch and barely lain down on the sofa, Silas suddenly sprang up, hurriedly calling for Cyclizar as he rushed out.
(End of Chapter)