Rowlet perched on a branch keeping a watchful eye on the Aloha Meowth. His sharp eyes focused intently on the bag of fruit the Meowth carried. As soon as there was a safe distance that guaranteed the Meowth wouldn't notice him, Rowlet continued to follow it, only to stop and perch on another tree, keeping the distance.
After about the fourth tree Rowlet stopped at, the Meowth came to a stop at an old hollowed out tree just up ahead. Just as it had done before, the Meowth cautiously observed its surroundings, and sensing no one around, or so it thought, the Meowth swiftly crawled into the hollow of the tree.
Rowlet flapped its wings excitedly and hooted happily. He had found exactly where this Meowth had been going with all the things it had stolen. He then caught a glimpse of a Pokémon peeking out cautiously. The Pokémon disappeared swiftly back into the tree. Rowlet could not get a very good look at the Pokémon, but he knew that it was not the Aloha Meowth! Now, there was no time to waste. Rowlet flapped his wings and hurried as fast as he could to get back to Ash and the others.
Meanwhile, Gary, Ash and the Aloha classmates waited anxiously for Rowlet's return. Gary stared intently into the dense forest of Melemele island observing all that he could see and hear and more especially keeping an eye out for the return of Ash's Rowlet. "I just hope Ash's Rowlet was able to keep up with that Meowth," he said to himself as he continued to face the forest.
Ash waited patiently and confidently for Rowlet's return. Even though, Rowlet had never really partaken in such an important mission, he completely trusted Rowlet.
"Rowlet has been gone for quite a while, Ash," Lillie said a bit concerned as she looked off toward the treetops hoping to catch sight of the little owl Pokémon.
Ash nodded. Rowlet had been gone for longer than he had or anyone had anticipated, but he was confident that Rowlet would be back at any moment and might have possibly found something.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling that Rowlet might have found out where that Meowth went off to. I'm sure he'll be back any second!" Ash said confidently.
"That Meowth sure was fast!" Sophocles pondered. "You think Rowlet was able to keep up with it?"
Ash thought. Meowth were a fast Pokémon, but maybe Rowlet was able to keep up with it just within sight. "I sure hope so,"
"Meowth are rather agile and are quick to make an escape especially when they sense they are in danger," Gary stated. He thought more intently. "However, Rowlet's strong ability to be able to fly without making any sound whatsoever and his exceptionally sharp eyesight would give him a huge advantage."
Ash nodded retaining his confidence in Rowlet. "You're right!"
Just then, Rowlet came flying out of the forest, doing his best to flap his wings in order to keep him in flight. As soon as he spotted Ash, he landed close to his feet noticeably exhausted from flying nonstop and hooted eagerly.
Ash gasped. "I think Rowlet might have found something!"
Ash bent down to Rowlet's level. "Were you able to see where that Meowth went, Rowlet?"
Rowlet continued to hoot and flap his wings about with what energy he did have left as everyone gathered around to figure out what he was trying to tell them. Pikachu who was perched on Ash's shoulder took in every word of the little owl Pokémon.
Pikachu leaned in closer to Rowlet, listening intently.
"Pika! Pika! Pika!" Pikachu's voice was strong and demanding. Rowlet had most certainly seen something of significance.
Ash's eyes widened as he looked over at Pikachu. "All right," he said affirmatively quickly standing up. "Rowlet definitely spotted something. We should find out what it is!"
Rowlet hopped and flapped his wings in an attempt to fly and lead everyone to the old hollow tree that the Meowth had gone into. However, he flopped back down defeated by exhaustion.
Ash hurried back over to Rowlet, bent down, and gently stroked the back of Rowlet's head. "Following that Meowth sure was exhausting, huh?" Ash smiled.
"Poor thing," Mallow said sympathetically.
Rowlet looked up at Pikachu and hooted once again, his voice strong and confident.
Pikachu nodded, jumped off Ash's shoulder, and ran ahead just a few feet before stopping and looking back at the others. "Pika! Pika! Pika!"
"Pikachu wants us to follow him! Rowlet must have told him where he saw that Meowth go!" Ash exclaimed. Ash then took off his backpack, opened it up, and placed it on the ground for Rowlet to hop in. Rowlet hopped in Ash's backpack, nestled in, and hooted contently. Ash pulled his backpack over his shoulders with Rowlet poking his head out, and hurried to follow Pikachu eager to finally figure out the dilemma with that Meowth once and for all. However, Gary's own eagerness in understanding that Meowth rivaled that ofAsh's. He stepped just ahead of Ash and paused for just a moment taking on a look of determination, carefully contemplating his next plan.
"Something tells me that Meowth didn't go very far," Gary pondered out loud. "And wherever that Meowth went, it might not stay there for long!"
Ash nodded. "Right! Alright, Pikachu! Lead the way!"
Pikachu rushed ahead but adjusted his pace, pausing every now and then so that everyone could easily keep up with him. Rowlet continued to poke his head out of Ash's backpack, hooting excitedly as he realized that they were getting closer to where he discovered where that Meowth had gone.
"I wonder how much further into the forest that Meowth could have gone." Lillie pondered out of pure curiosity.
"Not very far," Gary reinstated not slowing down his pace.
Just then, Pikachu stopped abruptly and Rowlet hooted excitedly. Everyone paused and carefully observed their surroundings for the Meowth.
Sophocles scratched his head and raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "I don't see a Meowth anywhere."
Rowlet hooted once more calling for Pikachu's attention.
Pikachu listened intently then turned his attention to a rather large hollowed out tree.
"Pika! Pika!" And with that, Pikachu bounded over to the tree. When he got closer, he approached it with caution. "Pika pi," Pikachu said quite curiously.
"I think Pikachu might have found something!" Kiawe said excitedly. Everyone was silent and waited a bit on edge wondering what Pikachu had seen.
Pikachu turned and faced everyone clearly surprised at what he saw in the hollow of the tree. "Pika pi!"
Unwilling to wait any longer, Ash bolted toward the tree. "Pikachu found something alright!" Ash exclaimed.
"Ash!" Gary started. None of them had any idea what they were getting themselves into. One wrong decision could ruin the whole mission to solve the mystery behind this thieving Meowth. Gary thought. There were times he admitted that it was Ash's quick thinking and bravery that had saved the day. He took a deep breath and hurried to where Ash stood. Lillie, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, and Kiawe quietly and cautiously moved closer to the hollow tree.
"Whoa! Check it out!" Ash gasped in awe.
Just as Ash spoke, Gary caught sight of what was inside the hollow of the tree. He was momentarily speechless. There, inside the hollow curled up and nestled, asleep on a bed of soft green moss was an Aloha Vulpix, an Aloha Sandshrew, and an Aloha Rattata.
Gary stayed quiet observing the three Aloha form Pokémon. There was something about these Pokémon. Why were these three Pokémon of completely different species together there in the hollow of this tree in the middle of the forest? The Vulpix, Sandshrew, and Rattata felt safe. It was clear just from observing them, that they had a bond, like a family.
Lillie, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, and Kiawe each stepped closer, eagerly peering over Ash and Gary's shoulders to get a better look.
Lillie was the first to catch sight of the Pokémon. "Oh, how cute!" she smiled in awe.
"I wonder why these three Pokémon are hanging out in this tree?" pondered Sophocles.
Gary nodded not taking his eyes off the three sleeping Pokémon. "That's just what I'd like to find out." Just then, he caught sight of something shiny lying on the moss. He gasped, and then reached into the tree, careful not to disturb the sleeping Pokémon.
"Find something, Gary?" Ash asked.
"Yeah," Gary said as he pulled the shiny object out from the hollow of the tree. He held it in the palm of his hand, examining it, as it glistened in the Aloha sunlight. The others peered over his shoulder to get a good look.
"The charm bracelet!' gasped Mallow.
"Just what that guy was talking about, that he was going to give to his fiancé!" Lana added.
It was a beautiful silver bracelet with a charm of a turquoise water drop. Other than a few marks from it being in the dirt, it was in great condition, which was a relief.
Gary nodded. "And I'd say just from the looks of it, this has to be one of the more expensive bracelets out there. That guy must have spent a good amount of money to get a bracelet as nice as this one!"
Ash sighed feeling bad for guy that had the bracelet stolen. "That's too bad." And then just typical of Ash, he became more positive the more he reflected on the situation. "But, you know what, Gary? I just know we're going to figure out once and for all why this Meowth's been stealing and we're going to get that bracelet along with every item that Meowth stole back to its owner!"
Gary smiled. "Thanks, Ash! And you can bet these three sleeping Pokémon here have something to do with it!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" Lana gasped reaching into the hollow and pulling out another stolen object – a small Teddiursa plush. "Looks like there's some more stolen items here."
Suddenly Ash remembered the whole reason that led them all here. "See any bags of fruit in there?"
"I didn't see any bag of fruit," Lana said disappointed.
Out of curiosity, Sophocles peeked inside the hollow to see if he could find anything.
"No bags of fruit in here!' he said keeping his voice quiet enough so he didn't wake the three Aloha Pokémon. "Hey, wait a minute..."
Gary frowned. No such bag of fruit, huh? "That's just what I was afraid of."
"You mean?" Ash said knowing exactly what Gary meant.
Gary nodded. "Yep. Before these three Pokémon took a nice nap, they decided to have a snack first and it looks like they ate the entire bag of fruit!"
Sophocles continued to scan the ground around the sleeping Pokémon and caught sight of a straw summer hat propped up against the inside of the tree. He excitedly pulled the hat out. It had a bright lime green ribbon around it.
Sophocles held the hat up for all to see. "A hat! A really colorful one too!"
"An expensive and shiny bracelet, a stuffed Teddiursa, and a hat with a bright green ribbon," Gary pondered perplexed. "Meowth are attracted to shiny objects, so that might explain why it stole the bracelet, but why would a Meowth want anything to do with those other things?"
Everyone stood just as perplexed as Gary did. No one had the slightest idea why this Meowth was stealing these particular objects.
Kiawe scratched his head looking as far as he could in every direction. "You know, It's funny we haven't seen that Meowth yet."
"I bet he's doing another round of stealing!" Mallow frowned.
Everyone stood still. It was strangely quiet, too quiet. And then, there directly behind them came a strong and demanding MEOW!
"The Meowth!" everyone exclaimed freezing in their tracks as they carefully watched the Meowth. It walked hesitantly toward them keeping its distance. It was clear it wanted to get past them and back to the hollow of the tree with no trouble.
"MEOW! MEOW!" the thieving Meowth sounded serious seemingly demanding to know exactly why these humans were here.
Everyone kept a watchful eye on the Meowth as it kept a watchful eye on them.
"This Meowth is not only crafty with stealing but very protective as well," Gary said quietly not taking his eyes off the Meowth.
"But I wonder why it's protecting these Pokémon?" Sophocles pondered.
"They all must be like a family," Lana replied.
"Only one way to find out!" Ash said. He had that usual look of determination – a look that Gary, with being Ash's childhood friend and former rival, was all too familiar with.
Ash stepped a foot closer to the Meowth. "Hey, Meowth! " Ash beamed bending down to the Meowth's level.
"Pika!" Pikachu gave his most friendly composure as well.
The Meowth paused as it studied Ash, Pikachu, and then the others seemingly debating its trust of them. It was still hesitant of these humans.
Ash continued not losing his smile. "We didn't mean to startle you, but we really want to know why you've been stealing from everyone. Everyone would really like their things back."
"PIka!" Pikachu replied in full agreement.
Gary's observations of this Meowth ran through his mind. They knew this Meowth was stealing random objects from unsuspecting trainers. The three sleeping Pokémon here in the hollow had something to do with this Meowth, and by the looks of it, this Meowth seemed very protective of them. Now, it was probable that this Meowth was stealing items to give to these three Pokémon – an Aloha Vulpix, an Aloha Sandshrew, and an Aloha Rattata.
A shiny silver bracelet, a soft and, I admit,cute Teddiursa plush, and a sun hat with a bright lime green ribbon. Gary pondered. These sounded like very random objects but then again, maybe they weren't so random after all.
The Meowth seemed to relax and then abruptly shifted its attention to the hollow. Gary, Ash and the others turned their attention back to the hollow as well. There, finally awake and alert poking their heads out were the Aloha Vulpix, Aloha Sandshrew, and the Aloha Rattata.
One Pokémon, the Aloha Vulpix boldly ventured out. The other two were hesitant but with curiosity getting the best of them, followed the Vulpix's lead. The reason behind this thieving Meowth was slowly but surely beginning to become clear.
The Meowth bounded toward the tree and stood protectively in front of it and the three Aloha form Pokémon.
Gary held his breath. This Meowth still didn't trust them. Even though it looked like Ash had been successful in gaining a little trust from the Meowth, they still had to be careful. They would have to do a lot more convincing to gain the trust of this Meowth!
Suddenly Lillie had an idea. "Since one of these Pokémon is an Aloha Vulpix, maybe the Aloha Meowth and the other Pokémon might be interested in meeting her."
"That sounds like a great idea!" Ash exclaimed.
The others nodded in agreement. Gary nodded as well. When Lillie introduced herself, she had also introduced her Vulpix that she named Snowy, also an Aloha form just like the Vulpix here in the hollow. It just might work.
"Good thinking, Lillie!" Gary said. "Introducing your Aloha Vulpix, Snowy to the Meowth might help make it feel more comfortable especially realizing that one of us has a familiar Pokémon."
Lillie reached for Snowy's Pokéball and hoped for the best. "Alright Snowy, we need your help to make some new friends."