Chapter 126: Panic in the Park

"Woah, hey! Everyone back off, or nobody gets any food!"

The Pokemon backed off, but they still growled angrily. Goh sighed, and started handing out the rations.

"Look, I know that we've had to cut back on food lately, but attacking me isn't going to change that!"

The Pokemon grunted, before retreating to their own corners to eat their breakfast.

"Trouble in paradise, huh? Chloe asked as she, Ash, and Lillie stepped into the park.

"I don't know where all the extra food has gone! We had plenty yesterday, but this morning we were reduced by more than half."

"That's impossible," Lillie mused. "Even with how many Pokemon there are here, there's no way they all could've eaten that much in one day."

"I guess we need to make a run to the store," Ash said.

"I don't like this," Goh continued. "Something's going on here, I just know it!"

"Why don't we stake out the park tonight?" Lillie suggested. "If there's someone stealing food or something, we'll catch them!"

"That's a good idea!" Chloe agreed. "Let's do it!"

So that night, the four of them and their Pokemon set up tents in the middle of the park.

"Alright, the tents are set up, we've got snacks, the bait is set, Dragonite and Bedrill are on patrol, we're all set for our camp out!"

"We're not camping out, Ash," Goh clarified. "The minute we get to the bottom of this, we're sleeping in our real beds."

"Oh, lighten up Goh!" Chloe said, playfully bumping into him. "Just because we're here for work doesn't mean we can't have some fun!"

"Yeah, chill out!" Lillie said. "Have a smore!"

Goh sighed, and sat down on a log.

"Alright, pass me a marshmallow."

"That's the spirit!"

Despite the situation, Goh did enjoy the mission. Right now, they were all sitting around the campfire telling ghost stories.

"But when he reached the passenger door, he found A HOOK!"

Ash, Chloe, and Lillie just stared at Goh, unimpressed. Goh rolled his eyes, and pouted.

"Well, I thought it was scary."

"You tried, honey," Chloe said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Alright, it's my turn right?" Ash said as Goh passed him the flashlight. "Thank you. Let's see…"

Just then, a nearby bush started to shake.

"Nice special effects, but you should wait until you get to the scary part."

"That wasn't me."

Suddenly, a Morpeko burst out, and immediately began chowing down on the bait they set out.

"Ah ha! We have our culprit!"

"That's weird," Chloe mused. "It looks a lot different than the one Marnie has."

Curious, she took out her Rotom Phone for more information.

"Morpeko, the Two-Sided Pokemon, Hangry Mode. Intense hunger drives it to extremes of violence, and the electricity in its cheek sacs has converted it into a Dark-Type energy."

"Well, whatever it is, we need to catch him before he eats all of the food stores!"

The minute Goh finished that, Morpeko finished off the bait and darted off into the forest.

"Maybe we should've spent less time gawking at it, and more time trying to catch it," Chloe deadpanned.

"Then why are we still sitting here? Let's nab it!"

Unfortunately, Goh's declaration was easier said than done. Morpeko was small, but fast, easily dashing to each of the traps and eating all of them before they could reach them.

"Man, Hangry Mode is one heck of a speed boost!"

"Less talking, more catching! Yamper, use Nuzzle! Eevee, use Swift!"

"Pyro Ball, Cinderace!"

"Electro Ball, Pikachu!"

"Snowy, use Powder Snow!"

Morpeko growled, jumping out of the way of most of the attacks easily, with Eevee's Swift only managed to slow him down a little bit before he darted off again.

"Oh, come on!"

At last, Morpeko reached the last store of food they had set up. Quietly, the four snuck up on him, ready to grab him.

"Alright, on three, got it?"

"Got it!"

"One…two…three!"

They leapt, but were immediately slapped back by Morpeko's tail.

"Well, that could've gone better…"

"Now what?"

Luckily, the question was quickly answered, because as Morpeko finished eating his meal, he returned to his normal state, and immediately curled up into a ball and went to sleep. Ash and his friends could only stare in disbelief.

"Well, that happened…"

"Do we catch him, or leave him be?"

"We'll call Officer Jenny in the morning. Right now, let's get some sleep."

Everyone was all too happy to agree.

Unfortunately, sleep didn't come easy. Morpeko soon woke up and went back to trying to eat everything in sight, forcing them to stay up and keep him under guard. Luckily, Officer Jenny arrived early the next morning, happily letting Morpeko finish her doughnut.

"There you are, Morpeko! Thanks so much for looking after him."

"It wasn't a problem."

"How'd he wind up here, though? I thought Morpeko were native to Galar."

Officer Jenny sighed.

"Poachers, how else? My guess was that he ate through the restraints and bolted."

"Figures," Goh scoffed. "Why can't they just leave Pokemon be?"

"Don't worry, they're already in custody as we speak. Come on buddy, let's get you on the next plane out of here!"

Morpeko cheerfully followed, waving goodbye to his new friends as he went. Once they had left, everyone flopped onto the ground in exhaustion.

"God, that was awful."

"You said it, Goh. I don't want to move ever again."

"Hey guys, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"We need to go to the store and buy more Pokemon food."

Ash's realization was met with groans of agony from his friends.

An hour later, they returned from the store with more food, and began handing it out. Needless to say, all of the Pokemon were more than happy to return to normal rations.

"Man, thank goodness that's over!" Goh said as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"You said it," Lillie nodded. "Now we can get some sleep!"

Just then, Ash's phone went off, derailing that plan.

"Oh, come on!"

With a sigh, he pulled it out, his email opening up to reveal a video message from the World Coronation Series.

"A special World Coronation Series Match has been scheduled!" Cecil Lockjaw announced. "In one week's time, the Alola Champion Ash Ketchum will go toe to toe with the Sinnoh Elite 4 member Flint for a spot in the Masters Eight! Catch it live at Lily of the Valley Island, home of the Sinnoh League!"

Ash sighed, and fell to the ground.

"You know, ordinarily I'd be stoked, but right now I'm too tired for this."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed, and everyone went right to sleep.