Hisoka asked Lulu to handle dinner while he pulled a black case from his backpack. He opened it to reveal various components and began assembling them with practiced ease. Fifteen minutes later, a sleek black drone sat on the grass.
This was a custom-made reconnaissance drone from one of Silph Co.'s heavy industry subsidiaries. Hisoka had named it the "Falconer." It was equipped with solar charging panels and an infrared camera.
He needed to scout the terrain for his plan, and if he caught sight of the Sneasel, all the better.
As the Falconer ascended into the night sky, Hisoka linked his laptop to the drone's feed. Instantly, an overhead infrared view of the forest appeared on his screen.
Finding a specific Pokémon in such a vast area was like finding a needle in a haystack, but technology made the task much easier though a little luck was still required.
An hour passed. Hisoka had programmed the drone to flag any creature matching Sneasel's silhouette, but no match was found.
However, the drone's primary mission was to map the terrain and identify dangerous Pokémon territories. Finding the Sneasel would have been a bonus, but failing to do so wasn't a setback.
The reconnaissance data showed a group of Mankey led by two Primeape to the east. To the west were a Nidoking and Nidoqueen. To the north lived a herd of Rhyhorn. Only the southern region, a rugged canyon filled with jagged rocks, seemed relatively quiet, inhabited only by a few Geodude.
Hisoka fell into thought as he analyzed the data. He began to think like his prey. All creatures have an instinct for self-preservation, and a Sneasel's intelligence and emotional depth was comparable to a ten-year-old human child.
If this Sneasel is weak or injured, it would avoid the Mankey to the east. Fighting types have a natural advantage over Dark types, making it the most dangerous place for it to go. The Nidoking and Nidoqueen to the west are apex predators of the forest; anything with a brain stays away from them.
That leaves the north and the south. The south is the safest but lacks food. The northern herd of Rhyhorn is composed of herbivores that eat plants and ores. They are generally docile, heavy, and slow hardly a threat to a nimble Sneasel...
If I had to guess, that Sneasel is either in the northern or southern sector.
"Time for the process of elimination," Hisoka muttered. He set the drone to auto-pilot and decided to head north first, then south if he found nothing.
Guided by the drone, Hisoka soon reached the Rhyhorn territory.
"Something's not right." Hisoka looked around and saw multiple trees with significant damage. He walked to a tree and touched a deep indentation. The wood was splintered, a clear sign of a Horn Attack.
"Hisoka, I found something!" Lulu's voice chirped in his mind. With a wave of her hand, a dark shape flew out from the bushes and landed on the grass before them.
"It's a Rhyhorn carcass!" Hisoka's eyes narrowed. The body was covered in vicious claw marks, but those hadn't been fatal. The killing blow was a spiderweb-like fracture right in the center of its forehead.
A single, powerful strike to the skull.
The claw marks told him who the killer was. A Rhyhorn's head was its hardest part; for a Sneasel to deal such a crushing blow proved that this particular individual likely knew a powerful fighting-type move.
Hisoka had Lulu move the carcass back into the brush. His desire to capture this Sneasel had just reached a new level.
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