Well, it wouldn't hurt to have a quick review.

"It's real simple; we leave those gifts in its path, and when it tries to grab them: BAM! We catch them in the act, then we...catch them." A straightforward trap, but surely one that would catch whatever was robbing people of their holiday delights.

"I was thinking about leaving them in front of this house. The thief is focusing on those, so we're more likely to catch them this way." Seemed foolproof to Hideo's mind, and his Beheeyem could update him on any sudden developments.

Also, he wasn't the only person working on this.

With that in mind, his Beheeyem was already carrying the present he'd prepared. In the air, Psychically. "Alright, let's put'em down."

His Beheeyem moved the present in front of a door, lowering it down carefully. The box shuddered as it touched the ground, but afterwise went still.

"Now you just gotta put yours down, and then we wait."

Locke Jamison

With both presents laid out, it was time to wait for their target to hook onto the bait. "Oh, there's nothing in the one I put down," he casually said, sitting down.

There was no knowing how long it would take the thieves to arrive, so now was just a matter of passing the time until-

"Riolu! Riolu!" "Meowstic~"

Oh, that was fast. For those that could see, a Riolu and a white Meowstic rushed towards the presents, briefly looking around the area. Hideo's Beheeyem made sure to hide back in cover, avoiding detection.

And with no witnesses in sight, the two Pokemon each grabbed a present, the Riolu taking the one Hideo laid out and the Meowstic grabbing Locke's.

But just as they started to run off, the Beheeyem sent a Telepathic message to the two boxes - these were the thieves, so it was time to act!

Hideo's box immediately began to quiver, before it lost its shape. The Riolu panicked, dropping the "box" as its color changed to a light blue. Two black dots appeared as it took on a more familiar shape, with a wide mouth adorning it.

A wide mouth on a frowning shiny Ditto.

The two thieves stared at the Ditto, confused. Now was the perfect time for the other box to make its reveal.

Locke Jamison

Hideo was ready to (have his Beheeyem) charge right in there and capture the thieves red-handed. Until Locke had a question about the plan.

"Wait, then what's in your-"

He got his answer very audibly. The sound of an exploding Present was very familiar to him, courtesy of his Wigglytuff. Except that was usually followed by the cry of the pranked Pokemon.

The Meowstic was silent.

The Ditto just stared as the Meowstic, its mouth open.

Hideo's Beheeyem just stared silently, his attention solely on the Meowstic.

The curtain covering a window of the house they'd chosen opened, a young girl staring at the downed Meowstic.

The silence was broken by the Riolu, who began bawling as it went to the Meowstic, hugging her body in its arms. The fortunately-only-ko'ed Meowstic was out cold.

"We, uh," Hideo got out, fidgeting slightly, "We should take them to a Pokemon Center first. Then arrest them..."

There was an awkward pause as he wondered how he was even supposed to arrest a Pokemon. He hadn't actually thought that part through.

Locke Jamison

Oh, ok, good. Hideo could hear one of Locke’s Pokemon move over and wrap up one of the thieves - the injured one, as his Beheeyem informed him. The Riolu didn’t seem up for a fight, just clinging to the Leavanny.

“Yeah, Presents can be real tricky like that,” Hideo said, “Got a Wigglytuff that can make them. My other Pokemon have saved me from them more than once.” He had no idea if Locke’s Delibird was as devious as his own gift-giver, and it may have actually been a complete accident, judging from Locke’s aghast reaction.

With the culprits contained, it was time to head over to the Pokemon Center. Hideo’s Ditto waddled over to the boy, climbing up him until it got a nice seat on his hair. His Beheeyem looked to the girl in the window, raising a single hand in front of his face. The girl got the hint, raising a finger over her mouth and retreating back inside.

“I’m sure it’s nothing a trip to the Center won’t fix,” Hideo said, following Locke along. The trip over would be uneventful, and the Meowstic would indeed be fine - after some Pokemon Center-brand healing. Which the Riolu would wait for to complete.

Locke Jamison