Shalour City – Police Station
"Officer Jenny, that's the situation."
Hayato Sora glanced at the three Meowth lowering their heads in shame and explained to the officer in front of him.
"The reason the Meowth stole food was to keep this little guy fed."
Both of them turned their eyes toward the small Pokémon whose mouth hadn't stopped moving since they arrived.
Morpeko looked nothing like it was being interrogated. When it noticed Hayato Sora looking at it, Morpeko happily smiled and pulled a small spherical sweet feed pellet from the pouch on its chest.
"Morpeko~ Peko?"
It held up the food, offering to share it with them.
"This little guy…" Hayato Sora rubbed his head and laughed. "We're not hungry. You eat it yourself."
Morpeko immediately tossed the pellet into its mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it.
Then it took out another one.
Soon, the entire interrogation room was filled with the sound of Morpeko chewing.
Officer Jenny withdrew her gaze and quietly took a deep breath.
In just this short time, Morpeko had already finished all the snacks she had prepared for her Growlithe.
Trying to raise a glutton like this…
The Meowth couldn't beat other wild Pokémon in the wild, so of course they had resorted to stealing.
Fortunately, the losses they caused to the ranch owners weren't very large. Combined with the circumstances, the punishment could be lighter.
"Mr. Hayato Sora, I've considered the proposal you mentioned earlier," Officer Jenny said with a serious expression.
The Meowth, who had been secretly glancing at the two of them, immediately trembled.
They could already imagine themselves being photographed for prison records.
No!
They didn't want to grow old and die in prison!
Three pleading gazes instantly turned toward Hayato Sora.
Out of the corner of his eye, Hayato Sora saw the three Meowth asking him for help.
"Because the damage caused by the Meowth is within controllable limits, a reduced sentence is possible," Officer Jenny continued.
"However, they must obtain forgiveness from the affected ranch owners and compensate for the losses."
"You heard that, Meowth," Hayato Sora said, looking at them.
The Meowth nodded vigorously.
In order to receive forgiveness from the ranchers, they would do their best.
Hayato Sora didn't forget about Morpeko either.
It would also need to accompany them to apologize.
But Hayato Sora smiled slyly and picked up a sheet of paper from the table.
Written on it were the losses from each ranch.
The Meowth would need to compensate for those as well.
Fortunately, the Meowth had only stolen sweet feed and salty feed.
The total came to just 3,000 Poké Dollars.
When Hayato Sora told the Meowth the amount, it felt as if the sky had collapsed.
They hurriedly rummaged through the Spatial Satchel, dumping everything they had collected onto the floor.
"Meow?"
A large pile of items appeared at their feet.
These were all things they had picked up along their travels—objects they thought were precious, which they kept with them in the satchel.
"Pretty glass marbles, a single white shoe, golden tableware…"
Hayato Sora shook his head.
"These things aren't worth much. If you sell them at a general store, you'd get at most 100 credits. You still owe 2,900 Poké Dollars."
The regular Meowth was stunned.
"Meow!!!"
(These are all our treasures! How can they be worthless?!)
The Meowth fell into deep confusion.
It seemed they were destined to visit prison after all.
In an instant, all the energy drained from them.
A faint aura of despair surrounded the three Meowth.
Seeing this, Hayato Sora knew the moment had come.
He actually intended to hire the three Meowth to help at his ranch.
For example, the coffee beans that were about to ripen would require extra hands for harvesting.
In summer, he also planned to grow large amounts of hops.
Once the trellises were set up, medium and large Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Cyclizar wouldn't be able to enter.
Small Pokémon like Meowth would be perfect for the job.
For the Meowth, joining the ranch meant they wouldn't have to wander the wild anymore.
Life as a wandering Pokémon wasn't easy—especially for a relatively weak species like Meowth.
As for why he went through such a complicated setup—
it was because of Meowth's pride.
Being Pokémon modeled after cats, Meowth had strong self-esteem.
Hayato Sora crouched down with a warm smile.
"Meowth, I have an idea. What do you think?"
"Meow!"
(As long as we don't have to go to prison, we'll do anything!)
The regular Meowth rushed forward and hugged Hayato Sora's leg, smearing a mixture of tears and snot all over his pants.
Hayato Sora: "..."
After gently calming the Meowth down and waiting until it stopped crying, Hayato Sora continued.
"You've traveled to many places, so you must be very experienced, right?"
The three Meowth nodded.
Clap!
Hayato Sora clapped his hands and grabbed Alolan Meowth's paw excitedly.
"My ranch needs capable Pokémon like you to help out. Would you be willing to work there?"
Then he added while observing their reactions,
"As for the 2,900 Poké Dollars you owe, I can pay it for you first. The money can be deducted gradually from your monthly salary."
Not only did Hayato Sora solve their wandering problem—
he also paid their compensation in advance.
The Meowth had no reason to refuse.
The three little Pokémon immediately agreed.
"Meow!" ×3
(Please take care of us from now on!)
While the regular Meowth and Galarian Meowth celebrated happily, the Alolan Meowth walked over to Hayato Sora with a conflicted expression.
It pointed its paw toward Morpeko.
"Meow…"
(Can Morpeko stay at the ranch too? We'll take care of it ourselves. It won't consume the ranch's food.)
Alolan Meowth nodded firmly.
The three of them had long considered Morpeko part of their family.
They would never abandon it.
If they wanted to abandon it, they could have done so when they first met—taking Morpeko's satchel and leaving it behind.
Instead, they kept it with them and even risked stealing food just to keep it from starving.
They hadn't abandoned it before.
They wouldn't abandon it in the future.
And they wouldn't abandon it now.
The other two Meowth overheard the conversation and hurried over, their eyes filled with determination.
Hayato Sora smiled and lifted Morpeko into his arms.
"You might not know this, but Morpeko already agreed to become my Pokémon."
"Meow?"
Morpeko, still chewing nonstop, explained shyly.
"Morpeko!"
(Hayato Sora promised I could eat until I'm full every day… I couldn't resist the temptation.)
After saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, Hayato Sora took the four Pokémon and began visiting each ranch on the victim list.
Now that he was the Meowth's Trainer, he had the responsibility to answer for their mistakes.
He also had the responsibility to educate them.
Children needed to learn the right values from a young age.
Otherwise, they might end up joining Team Rocket and causing trouble.
The ranch owners were quite surprised to see the Meowth.
After hearing the full story from Hayato Sora, they chose to forgive them.
They even took out food from their ranches to feed Morpeko.
"That's the right attitude. If you're hungry in the future, just come to the ranch. Don't steal anymore."
"Come, try these cookies I just made and see if you like them."
The three Meowth quietly placed the snacks into their mouths.
Sweet.
And incredibly delicious.
"When you make a mistake, apologize sincerely. People won't blame you."
Noticing their actions, Hayato Sora handed some snacks he carried with him to Morpeko.
"Meow!"
The Meowth nodded firmly, engraving today's events deeply into their hearts.
"Wait—!"
Suddenly Hayato Sora jumped up from the sofa after returning to the ranch.
"I forgot to pick up Serena!"
He hurriedly called Cyclizar and rushed out again.
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