Energy cubes, made from nourishing berries, are incredibly tempting for Pokémon like Snover, who love berry-based food—especially now, when this Snover is hungry.
Ever since its Abomasnow parents disappeared, it's been living on edge near the peak of Glaseado Mountain, surrounded by powerful wild Pokémon. It hasn't had a proper al for who knows how long.
Though these are only pre-prepared food items, the aroma of the energy cubes had been sealed inside the container until now. Even Lucas can still catch a faint scent, not to ntion a Pokémon's keener nose.
Snover quietly swallowed, still keeping a wary eye on the three humans, but its little gaze kept drifting toward the energy cube in Lucas's palm.
What is that? It slls so good. I want to eat it!
But that big cat is scary. I don't dare go over.
With a glance from Lucas, Luxray reluctantly lay down, using its body language to show Snover it ant no harm. Only then, driven by hunger, did Snover take timid little steps toward Lucas.
"It really works!"
Anabel covered her mouth, whispering in surprise.
Tront stroked his Delibird's feathers and smiled. "Although Abomasnow looks fierce, they rarely attack humans first. They typically live quietly in the depths of snowy mountains, far from people. They only act out to protect young ones like Snover."
"And Snovers are curious about many things—including humans. After a while, they often beco good friends with people. They especially like kids around their own size."
Anabel suddenly understood, impressed by Tront and Lucas's knowledge of Pokémon.
Her only impression of Abomasnow was news about them sotis coming down to attack villages—she never expected the real story to be so different.
While they talked, Snover had already co up to Lucas. Sensing no ill intent, the always-tense Snover finally plucked up the courage to carefully take the energy cube from Lucas's palm.
Snover's pine-shoot-like fingers brushing against Lucas's palm made his arm twitch, but he managed not to react too strongly.
Just a bit of tickling—he could bear it. The important thing was not to scare off the hard-won trust of this hungry Snover.
The blizzard outside was getting worse. If Snover went out again, it could be dangerous.
After taking the energy cube, Snover seed to confirm Lucas ant no harm. Rubbing its rumbling belly, it looked at Lucas with bright, eager eyes, as if asking permission to eat.
Lucas nodded kindly. "Go ahead, it's for you. But in exchange, is it alright if we stay in your cave for a while to wait out the blizzard?"
Snover paused, but hunger ca first. It nodded, agreeing to the deal.
With the trade settled, Snover no longer held back. Grateful, it popped the energy cube into its mouth, savoring it in small bites, as if cherishing this rare treat.
Unfortunately, the cube was small, and it finished quickly. Eating the last bite, Snover felt a little disappointed.
It had traded a night's shelter in its cave for a single piece of food, and with nothing else to barter, it would probably go hungry again soon.
But suddenly, a warm rush filled its belly—Snover's eyes widened. For the first ti since its parents left, it felt full!
How could it be? Just one small cube and it was satisfied?
Snover touched its belly, its expression lively and animated.
Lucas smiled even more, waving to Tront and Anabel behind him, signaling that the negotiation was complete.
Tront stroked his chin as he entered the windproof cave, teasing, "I thought trainers would always solve things with Pokémon battles, no questions asked. You're the first one I've seen who thinks so flexibly."
Anabel quietly entered the cave and crouched down to organize her pack, glancing at Lucas, who was now interacting warmly with Snover, feeling a little defeated inside.
She'd boasted before, "Leave all the trivial matters along the way to , you just worry about the battles." Yet she'd been the one coasting along the entire ti.
Still, at least she knew the equipnt in their packs well enough to handle setup and adjustnts. If they wanted to detect Hunter J's whereabouts, they'd have to rely on her environntal monitoring gear.
That thought gave Anabel a bit of comfort.
By the ti the campfire was lit, Anabel had just finished installing her devices and was beginning to calibrate them.
Luxray watched the cave entrance on guard, while Lucas brought Snover—still wary of the fire—over to Anabel, both of them curious about the high-tech gear.
"Anabel, what are these for?" Lucas asked.
Anabel paused from syncing her system with other colleagues scattered across Glaseado Mountain. "Environntal monitoring devices. Together with the devices my colleagues have, we're temporarily building a surveillance network across the mountain. Hunter J's team loves using high-tech weapons—this gear will detect anything that doesn't belong to these mountains."
"There's also radar for scanning the skies. If Hunter J's coming in by airship, the radar will pick them up."
Her voice was calm, but her face brimd with confidence.
This was Interpol's cutting-edge gear. Anabel was proud of its advanced technology.
Snover, finally relaxing, wanted to poke at the strange black devices, but Anabel's guard-dog protectiveness made it hesitate. After so wavering, Snover didn't dare get closer.
"What if Hunter J's ship is invisible? Can your radar still catch it?" Lucas asked, seemingly offhand.
Anabel paused, then replied confidently, "I thought you'd ask sothing difficult. Don't worry, this is Interpol's best equipnt. There's no way Hunter J's gang of shady hyenas can match it."
"Is that so?" Lucas's words slipped out as he saw Anabel's changing expression: "Then how co, even with all this gear, Hunter J is still at large?"
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