Kecleon

"That man's outfit was pretty distinctive. Finding him shouldn't be hard."

"But he clearly knew how to avoid being tracked. He's probably an old hand."

"If I catch him, I might even collect another bounty."

"And I still don't know what Pokémon he has, so it's hard to judge how strong he is."

"Even with three Pokémon, I might not be able to take him down."

"If we clash, there's still a fair bit of risk."

Bai Shi weighed his options briefly, then decided to find the thief first. Once he had, he could work out a plan.

If he found the thief and judged him to be within his ability to handle, he would strike at once, take him down, and collect the bounty from the jewelry store owner.

Even if the thief was far stronger than he was, Bai Shi could still lead the way and provide the owner with clues.

The owner could then ask Officer Jenny or another Pokémon Trainer to deal with the thief.

Bai Shi could stay out of it and collect the informant's reward.

As long as he found the man, Bai Shi had plenty of ways to deal with him.

"No time to waste. Let's get moving!"

Using the thief's distinctive clothing in the footage as a lead, Bai Shi asked shopkeepers around the jewelry store if they had seen him.

He hoped they could help him trace the thief's movements.

From those scraps of information, he could work out where the man was staying.

Along the way, Bai Shi ran into other Pokémon Trainers pursuing the same goal.

They, too, had been drawn by the generous bounty the jewelry store owner had offered. That made them his competition.

If Bai Shi didn't want his efforts to go to waste, he had to find the thief before they did.

Fortunately, most of those Pokémon Trainers were used to solving every problem with their Pokémon.

Even Officer Jenny, in her blue uniform, was leading a Growlithe around the area to sniff out a trail.

None of them had thought to use technology, such as cameras, to track the thief.

It had nothing to do with intelligence. They were simply shaped by the prevailing culture of their world.

A mage would use Fire-type magic to light a fire, while a Pokémon Trainer would be more inclined to use a Fire-type Pokémon.

Unlike Bai Shi, that "sneaky outsider," they didn't combine technology and Pokémon when looking for someone.

By the time they found a lead, it would probably be too late.

Bai Shi was confident he was among the frontrunners.

Besides, he already had a lead on the thief.

As long as the man hadn't left Jubilife City, Bai Shi was confident he could catch him.

He had recently obtained quite a few odd items through the Check-In System. This was the perfect chance to try them out on someone.

Sometimes, people were easier to deal with than Pokémon.

In a secluded corner of Jubilife City, Watanabe admired the "spoils" he had acquired that day, excitement written all over his face.

To prepare, he had disguised himself as a customer, put on a wig and fake mustache, and visited several shops and malls multiple times to scout them out.

Only after comparing them carefully had he chosen the jewelry store with the weakest security as his target.

Then, with the help of his Pokémon's special ability, he had slipped into the store early that morning and taken some of the jewelry from its display cases.

"Thanks for the effort, Kecleon! I really am a genius!"

As Watanabe spoke, he turned to glance at his shoulder and took out a large amount of Pokémon Food as a reward.

A green, chameleon-like Pokémon with red markings on its belly suddenly appeared on his shoulder.

It gave Watanabe an affectionate lick with its long, slick tongue, then wolfed down the food.

Kecleon was the one who had done most of the work.

Without its ability to turn invisible, evade the cameras, and temporarily hold small pieces of jewelry in its mouth, Watanabe could never have carried out the theft without anyone noticing.

Getting the jewelry back out of its mouth had been a little disgusting, though.

He had needed time to clean the saliva off the pieces.

He also had to make sure the store hadn't left any special scent or markings on them.

"The jewelry I brought back is all cleaned up."

"Once I leave, I can find a black market and sell it. Then I'll have enough to live it up for a while."

After putting away the cleaned jewelry, Watanabe immediately began packing.

He planned to leave Jubilife City under cover of night, leaving no chance of being caught.

He didn't even intend to reclaim the deposit he had paid his landlord.

He had rented the place under a false identity anyway, and he wouldn't be coming back anytime soon.

Even if his identity was exposed later, he would already be in another city.

Clearly, this wasn't Watanabe's first theft.

His unusual methods and cautious nature had kept him free until now.

"I've hit almost every major city in Sinnoh."

"Maybe it's time to set my sights on another region."

"Hoenn Region, for example, sounds promising."

Watanabe had always idolized Phantom Thief Bannai.

Bannai was the reason he had become a thief in the first place.

Now that he had enough money to live as he pleased, he naturally wanted to visit his idol's home region.

Perhaps, once he reached Hoenn Region, he might even have a chance to stage a long-distance "showdown" with Bannai.

"Finally decided to come out after I waited all this time?"

"Take this Flash Spell!"

After learning Watanabe's whereabouts, Bai Shi had kept watch nearby, waiting for the man to step outside so he could catch him off guard.

Now Watanabe had emerged laden with bags and looking ready to flee. With the bounty in mind, Bai Shi attacked without hesitation.

The best way to deal with a sneaky opponent was to be even sneakier.

Bai Shi pulled out a powerful flashlight he had obtained through the Check-In System, aimed it at Watanabe, and pressed the button.

"Ah! My eyes!"

A blinding beam struck Watanabe's face without warning, nearly searing his eyes.

Because it was night, Watanabe wasn't wearing his usual sunglasses. That was exactly what Bai Shi had hoped for.

"Staravia, use Quick Attack!"

Before Watanabe could recover, he heard something hurtling toward him with a fierce rush of air.

"Kecleon, protect me!"

Clutching his face with one hand, Watanabe realized he had been ambushed.

Ignoring the pain in his eyes, he hurriedly shouted to his Pokémon.

He needed Kecleon to protect him and buy him precious time to fight back.

Still invisible, Kecleon scrambled onto Watanabe's head and whipped its long tongue toward the oncoming Staravia.

With its attention fixed on Watanabe, Staravia had clearly failed to notice Kecleon.

The chameleon's tongue wrapped around the unsuspecting Staravia like a rope, leaving it unable to move.

Fortunately, Bai Shi had prepared for this. Everything was still under his control.

Staravia had only been bait to draw their attention.

Bai Shi's real attack was still to come.

"Now, Dunsparce!"

Dunsparce burst from the ground behind Watanabe and slammed into him with all its strength.

"Ow! My back!"

Watanabe cried out and instantly lost his balance. He and the Kecleon on his head tumbled to the ground.

Staravia, which had been bound by Kecleon's tongue, broke free as well.

"Stantler, use Confusion! Pin them down!"

An invisible force descended, pressing Watanabe and Kecleon against the ground and giving them no chance to get up.

While they were immobilized, Staravia and Dunsparce rushed in together.

They soon knocked both Watanabe and Kecleon unconscious.

Bzzzt!

Still taking no chances, Bai Shi hit each of them with Thunder Shock, then pulled out a large net and threw it over them.

Only after making certain they couldn't escape did he breathe a little easier.