The exceptionally small Sandslash was barely larger than an ordinary Sandshrew, perhaps even a little smaller. What it lacked in size, however, it made up for with incredible speed.
"Rustle, rustle~"
It burrowed deep underground and disappeared without a trace.
If not for the Mind Contract between the thief and the Sandslash, even the thief himself would have struggled to track its movements. There wasn't the slightest tremor on the surface.
This Sandslash was the ace card behind all of his successful thefts.
"Tap, tap~"
It quickly reached Icarus's tent.
Outside, Houndoom and Airi's Pokémon remained completely unaware.
The tiny Sandslash carefully crept toward the two spatial backpacks. Its claws were only inches away.
"Mmm~"
Suddenly, the sleeping Luna rolled over.
Two enormous, soft mounds immediately pinned the unsuspecting Sandslash beneath them.
"Kuu! Kuga~"
Caught completely off guard, the Sandslash was flattened face-first.
Fortunately, its belly was pressed against the soft cushions. Had it landed on its back instead, Luna might have suffered considerably more than it did.
"Kuu… kuu…"
Too afraid to struggle violently, the Sandslash slowly crawled outward.
Because of the slight moisture on Luna's chest, it actually slid along more easily than expected.
"Mmm… Clefairy, stop messing around…"
Still half-asleep, Luna mistook the movement for Clefairy, who often slept beside her after battles.
Without opening her eyes, she casually pushed the poor Sandslash right back where it had escaped from.
"Kuga~"
The tiny Sandslash looked utterly despairing.
It could only start climbing out all over again.
"Pipi~"
At that moment, the real Clefairy, sleeping nearby, woke up.
As a Pokémon, it was extremely sensitive to its Trainer's voice.
Rubbing its eyes, it looked over—
—and immediately froze.
"Clefairy!"
Who was this mouse?!
Why was it inside its Trainer's arms?!
"Kuga!"
Realizing it had been exposed, the Sandslash abandoned all thoughts of stealth.
It shot out from between the two soft mounds and immediately tried to burrow underground.
"Clefairy!"
But the furious Clefairy was faster.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Several rapid Double Slaps landed before the Sandslash could escape.
Its strength was only around the high Ordinary rank, and after nearly being suffocated moments ago, it couldn't react in time.
The blows sent it flying straight into the specially-made soundproof tent wall.
"Crap! How dare you take advantage of my woman!
Squirtle, Spiral Water Gun!"
The moment Clefairy cried out, Icarus was already awake.
Years of wilderness experience had honed his instincts.
Although he was slightly surprised by the unusually small Sandslash, he immediately released Squirtle and gave an order.
"Zeni! Zeni!"
Still confused from being woken up, Squirtle instantly snapped into battle mode.
Whoosh!
A Spiral Water Gun shot toward the black blur attempting to escape.
Bang!
The attack struck the Sandslash just as it tried to dig another tunnel.
The little thief understood its own limits.
It specialized in stealing, not fighting.
In a direct battle, it probably couldn't even defeat a properly raised Sandshrew.
Unfortunately, it had encountered the wrong opponent.
First came Clefairy's Double Slap.
Then Squirtle's Spiral Water Gun.
"Kuga~"
The Sandslash cried out before collapsing unconscious.
"Ah!"
The commotion finally woke Luna completely.
One glance at the lingering moisture on the unconscious Sandslash, and she immediately understood what had happened.
A sharp scream escaped her lips.
"It's alright, Luna. It's already been dealt with."
Icarus quickly comforted her.
"Get yourself cleaned up. There may still be enemies nearby."
After saying that, he picked up the unconscious Sandslash and walked outside.
"Houndoom, Airi, search the area immediately! See if there are any hidden enemies nearby!"
He then released Pidgeotto and Weepinbell.
"Pidgeotto, Weepinbell, stay alert. We've got intruders."
"Moo moo!"
"Beep!"
Unlike the groggy Squirtle, these two veterans instantly entered combat mode.
Their eyes sharpened as they scanned the darkness.
"Woof!"
The moment Houndoom saw the special Sandslash, it understood what had happened.
Furious at being tricked, it immediately lowered its nose to the ground and began tracking the thief's scent.
Meanwhile, hidden far away in the darkness, a man wearing a black protective suit was already fleeing at full speed.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
His eyes burned with frustration.
He had gotten greedy.
One or two million PokéDollars wasn't worth provoking a group like this.
Now he had gained nothing and lost his ace thief Pokémon.
Still, he wasn't about to risk his own life.
As someone who survived through dirty work, abandoning a Pokémon to save himself was nothing new.
Painful though it was, losing the Sandslash was better than getting caught.
⸻
After searching for a long time, none of the scouting Pokémon managed to find the thief.
The moment the Sandslash had been exposed, the man had decisively fled.
Even Houndoom could only locate the spot where he had previously been hiding.
By then, he was already long gone.
"It's fine. Don't blame yourselves."
Seeing the guilt on Houndoom, Airi's Pokémon, and even Staryu, Icarus shook his head.
"This Sandslash is different from normal ones."
Everyone soon gathered around the unconscious Pokémon.
Most of the examination work naturally fell to Stone, who was the team's expert on Rock- and Ground-type Pokémon.
After a careful inspection, he finally reached a conclusion.
"Brother Icarus, this Sandslash was probably born with a congenital defect or developmental abnormality."
"Oh?"
Icarus frowned.
"Could it have been specially bred? Its stealth ability is extraordinary."
Stone shook his head.
"Probably not."
"I checked its development carefully. Aside from its unusual size, it's actually very healthy."
"The claws and back spikes might have been trained in a special way, but its small body seems to be something it was born with."
Hearing that, Icarus couldn't help feeling disappointed.
Such an excellent stealth talent would have made an incredible assassin Pokémon.
A few moments later, Airi spoke up.
"Let's heal it first."
"Then we'll have Da Shu and Xiao Ling question it."
Stone nodded.
Soon, the tiny Sandslash was treated and awakened.
The moment it opened its eyes, however, it found itself staring at two much larger members of its own species.
"Kuga?!"
Terrified, it immediately shut its eyes again and pretended to still be unconscious.
Smack!
Airi slapped it without hesitation.
She had absolutely no sympathy for a thief that had nearly stolen their belongings.
"Kuga!"
Little thief!
Talk honestly!
Why are you so small?!
Otherwise we'll beat you to death!
Beside her, Sandslash deliberately drove its claws deep into the ground.
The display was extremely intimidating.
The tiny Sandslash looked at those powerful claws with a mixture of envy and fear.
Finally, it began answering their questions.
After nearly half an hour of interrogation, the whole story came out.
The Sandslash had been born much smaller than normal.
Its strength developed slowly, and it was constantly bullied by others of its kind.
The only thing it excelled at was concealing its presence.
Eventually, it survived by stealing.
Later, it was caught by the thief Trainer.
Instead of abandoning it, the man kept it and used its talent for theft.
Because of that, the little Sandslash genuinely believed its Trainer cared for it.
Unfortunately, that same Trainer had abandoned it without hesitation the moment things went wrong.
When the explanation ended, Stone sighed.
"What a waste."
Its aptitude was surprisingly high—between good and excellent.
With proper training, it could easily have reached the Ordinary rank and become an exceptional assassin.
But years of neglect had damaged its potential.
Worse, it remained fiercely loyal to the thief who abandoned it.
Because the Mind Contract still existed, it couldn't even be captured with a normal Poké Ball.
Keeping it alive would only become a burden.
In the end, there was only one practical option.
"It has to be killed."
Stone delivered the verdict.
"I agree."
Airi nodded.
"Alright then."
Icarus turned toward Luna.
"Luna, you do it."
Without showing any reaction, he led her away from the others.
Once they were out of sight, he quietly handed her a black Poké Ball and another Poké Ball containing a Sandshrew.
Then he gave her a meaningful look.
Understanding immediately, Luna nodded.
"Yes, Master."
She knew exactly what he intended.
Neither Airi nor Stone suspected anything.
They simply assumed Icarus was once again trying to toughen up his maid by making her handle unpleasant tasks herself.