Tobias narrates Animorphs: The Encounter is the third book in the series. The book starts with him and Rachel freeing a captive red-tailed hawk used by a company in their advertisements. Tobias feels, as a red-tailed hawk himself, that all hawks should have the ability to fly free. The next day, Tobias sees a flock of geese run into an invisible, shimmering something in the air. He follows it, suspecting it to be a Yeerk ship, but it moves swiftly and he is left behind. After telling the other Animorphs about it, they decide to morph into wolves and search the mountains, where Tobias saw the ship was headed. They find a lake with the ship hovering over it, with the entire area tightly guarded by Controllers. They realize that the ship is a cargo ship, transporting air and water to the Yeerk Pool ship in orbit. While there, Tobias notices the hawk that he and Rachel freed, and feels an urge from the hawk brain to go with her.
After leaving the mountains, the Animorphs come up with a plan to become fish, get sucked up into the ship, and disable it from the inside. They hope to deactivate the cloaking device and reveal the Yeerks to the public. As Tobias scouts out the area around the lake, searching for a place for the Animorphs to hide, the hawk brain overpowers him and he kills a rat. Terrified and horrified, Tobias flies to the mall, where Rachel is doing a gymnastics exhibition. He tries to commit suicide, and almost succeeds until Marco throws a ball through the skylight he was about to hit. For several days Tobias lives as a hawk, letting the hawk brain take complete control. However, one day Tobias sees a human trying to escape from a Hork-Bajir. As he realizes what is happening, his human side regains control and he leads the man to safety. That night he talks with Rachel, and realizes that in order to stay human he needs to have a purpose: fighting the Yeerks.
The Animorphs go back to the lake and hide in a cave. After the Yeerks arrive, they morph into trout and Tobias carries them one by one to the lake. They are sucked up into the ship, only to realize that the water tank is sealed off inside. Since they are trapped and can’t demorph, they ask Tobias to attempt to bring down the ship. Tobias is noticed and fired upon; he lands on the ship itself to avoid being shot at. When a Taxxon comes out of the ship to eat him, he kills it and takes its Dracon beam. He fires at the ship’s bridge, which causes it to spin out of control and hit another ship. The ship splits open, and tons of water as well as the other Animorphs come pouring out. The Animorphs morph into birds and escape before hitting the ground. As they fly away, Tobias sees the female hawk he saved get shot down and killed.
Tobias is depressed that the female hawk has died, but he realizes that his ability to feel emotion is what makes him human. After grasping this fact and talking with Rachel, Tobias begins to accept who and what he is.
