"Snea?"
The leader Sneasel looked at the mark on the tree and began to wonder. According to the mark, there should only be one bird's nest here—so why were there so many nests in the tree?
The key issue was that the Noctowl was gone, since Noctowl, like Sneasel, were nocturnal Pokémon.
Even though Sneasel had a type advantage over Noctowl, it still didn't want to clash with one. After all, if it got injured out in the wild, there was no treatment to be had, and one careless infection could mean death.
That was why the Sneasel knew Noctowl's habits well—they waited for the Noctowl to go out hunting, then came to steal the eggs. But according to their companion's report, there was supposed to be only one nest here. So why had so many nests suddenly appeared?
"Snea." The leader pointed at one of its companions, telling it to climb up and take a look. The assigned Sneasel dug its claws into the trunk and climbed up bit by bit. Soon it reached a nest and saw several eggs sitting inside.
The Sneasel was puzzled. It had lived in the snowy mountains all its life and had seen Pokémon eggs before, but never chicken eggs. The mountain climate was far too cold for chickens to live there, so it had never laid eyes on one.
The four Sneasel under the tree stared blankly up at their companion, wondering what it was doing.
Hearing the calls from below, the Sneasel in the tree simply grabbed the entire nest, climbed down quickly, and handed the eggs out to its companions.
The Sneasel were all taken aback at the sight of the eggs. It was their first time seeing them too. They were much smaller than Pokémon eggs, but they were still eggs. One Sneasel picked an egg up and gave it a light tap with its sharp claw, cracking it open instantly and splattering egg fluid everywhere.
"Ah!!"
Seeing the splash, the Sneasel realized it really was an egg and immediately began slurping it up, the wonderful flavor sweeping through its whole mouth.
Once the others saw that the eggs were edible, they each grabbed one, cracked a hole in it, and started sucking away. The taste was similar to Pokémon eggs, which suited them perfectly—and there were even some Berries in the nests as well.
Suddenly, the Sneasel realized they'd hit the jackpot. After finishing the food in one nest, they moved on to take down the next, eating to their hearts' content.
"Looks like the research isn't entirely accurate. Such an obvious trap, and these Sneasel dug right in without a second thought. Not very bright, it seems," Gary sighed.
But Gary was a well-fed man who didn't know the pain of hunger. If he'd starved for days, eating one meal for every nine missed, he wouldn't be saying that about the Sneasel when food finally appeared.
"Eat up, eat plenty." Gary had no intention of making a move yet, because he'd mixed in a few sleep-inducing Berries. If a Pokémon ate too many of them, it would gradually sink into a deep sleep. Once the Sneasel dozed off, he could simply capture them outright.
Before long, the five Sneasel had finished all the food Gary prepared—but things didn't unfold quite as he'd expected. Of the five, only four fell asleep. The Elite-potential Sneasel remained wide awake.
The reason was that Sneasel disliked the taste of the sleep Berries, and as the leader, this Elite-potential Sneasel had naturally left the unpalatable food to its subordinates while keeping the tastier eggs for itself. As a result, it hadn't been affected at all.
But with its four companions suddenly asleep, the leader Sneasel was thoroughly confused. Even if they wanted to rest, they should have returned to the cave first. Sneasel might be a Dark-type with a nasty temperament, but these four underlings were its lifeline for survival, and it couldn't just abandon them.
The Sneasel tried to wake its companions, but no matter how it cried out, the four slept on and couldn't be roused. If they hadn't still been breathing, it would have thought they'd gone to meet their maker.
"Stop shouting. Your companions are fine—they're just asleep." A voice came from behind.
"Snea!"
The Sneasel whipped its head around, and the moment it saw Gary and Eevee, its expression turned wary. As a highly intelligent Pokémon, Sneasel understood well how dangerous humans were. Plenty of Trainers came to these mountains hunting for Ice-type Pokémon, so it had seen humans before.
"Sneasel, let's have a battle. If you beat me, I'll leave and give you plenty of food. But if you lose, you come with me. As for your subordinates, I can prepare food for them too," Gary said.
Gary had briefly considered taking the whole group, but thought better of it. Sneasel were sinister and cunning by nature, and they were sure to cause mischief for any Trainer they didn't fully trust. It would be safest for the rest of them to stay here.
"Snea!" The Sneasel sized up the Eevee at Gary's side. Seeing how small and unimposing Eevee looked, it figured its odds of winning were good, so it nodded and agreed to the battle.
"Eevee, it's all yours," Gary said.
"Vee!"
Eevee hopped forward at once. It wasn't bothered by the cold, but it didn't want to stay out in the snow any longer than necessary—it planned to finish quickly and get back somewhere warm.
Whoosh!!
The Sneasel suddenly shot toward Eevee, a band of white light trailing behind it. That would be Quick Attack.
Bang!!
Caught off guard, Eevee was sent flying. It tumbled into the snow, thoroughly annoyed, hot breath puffing from its mouth as it prepared to unleash Fire Blast. The Sneasel saw the flames and immediately darted aside.
Boom!!
The Fire Blast struck the snow and exploded on impact. It hadn't hit the Sneasel, but the heat wave from the blast still washed over it.
"Snea!" Having witnessed how terrifying Fire Blast was, the Sneasel no longer dared to get close to Eevee. It switched to Icy Wind for a ranged attack. Eevee answered with Thunderbolt—the Icy Wind was torn apart instantly by the lightning, and the Thunderbolt slammed into the Sneasel, shocking it to the ground.
The level gap between the two was simply too large. Sneasel's special attack was weak; trying to fight with special moves was asking for destruction.
Gary took out a Poké Ball and threw it at the Sneasel, capturing it successfully.
He then took a look at the Sneasel's stats.
[Pokémon: Sneasel ♂]
[Type: Dark, Ice]
[Level: 35]
[Potential: Elite]
[Ability: Inner Focus (Possesses a disciplined spirit—it won't flinch from an opponent's attacks or be shaken by intimidation.)]
[Moves: Scratch, Leer, Taunt, Quick Attack, Metal Claw, Icy Wind, Fury Swipes]
[Friendship: 65 (maximum 255)]
"The friendship is really low. It truly is a notoriously hard-to-tame Dark-type Pokémon," Gary said.
Dark-type Pokémon were famously difficult to tame, but once a Trainer genuinely won them over, they became extremely loyal. That was why Dark-types weren't suited to novice Trainers or Breeders. Even for an old hand like Gary, raising a Dark-type Pokémon would take some time.