According to Lucas's plan, the operation to catch the honey thief officially began.
The clear jar Lucas gave Vespiquen was now full of amber honey, sparkling in the fading light.
The sweet scent was intoxicating—truly worthy of the Combee's reputation.
Without sealing the jar, Lucas placed it in an open clearing. Nemona had Pawmo use Dig to hide underground while everyone else retreated to wait in ambush.
The wait was long. As dusk finally settled, the mysterious honey thief stirred.
With the Combee's vision weakened by the twilight, the small Pokémon's coloring let it blend into the shadows. Its bright, alert eyes showed it was clever.
This Pokémon had light brown fur and nimbly slipped through the grass, avoiding the Combee patrol. It didn't make a sound—a clear repeat offender.
It had a crescent-shaped white mark on its head, and its round brown tail twitched in anticipation of the honey.
Teddiursa's original target was the hive, but its sharp nose caught the scent of honey in the air. Eyes lighting up, it spotted the jar nearby.
Teddiursa's heart raced and it rushed forward, but then stopped and looked around warily, retreating into the grass.
After repeating this several times, Teddiursa finally decided it was safe and snuck up to the jar, plunging its paw in and happily licking the honey.
Just then, a flash of electricity shot from underground behind Teddiursa. It froze, eyes full of panic, and grabbed the jar to run.
Suddenly, a deafening thunder crashed overhead as Luxray, wreathed in lightning, descended like a god. In a split second, it appeared behind Teddiursa and pinned it down with one paw.
"Teddi!"
Teddiursa struggled frantically under Luxray's paw, nearly spilling the precious honey, but Pawmo emerged and carefully steadied the jar.
Lucas and the others hurried over, followed by Vespiquen and a swarm of Combee eager to see the infamous honey thief.
"Teddiursa?!"
"As expected."
Nemona was shocked that such a cute Pokémon would steal honey, while Lucas wasn't surprised at all—Teddiursa's species loved honey, so theft was only natural.
Pinned by Luxray, Teddiursa was terrified, especially with Lucas, Nemona, and the angry Vespiquen approaching.
Its clever eyes darted around, and it squeezed out a few tears, looking and sounding pitiful.
But this trick didn't work on Luxray, Lucas, or Vespiquen—though Nemona hesitated, asking, "Teacher Lucas, could Teddiursa have a reason for stealing?"
Seeing Nemona's sympathy, Teddiursa acted even more pathetic.
Luxray, knowing the species' tricks, didn't budge an inch, making Teddiursa grit its teeth in frustration.
Lucas patted Nemona's shoulder and shook his head. "It's just acting."
Before Nemona could react, Lucas signaled Luxray, who loosened its grip a bit.
Instantly, Teddiursa dropped the pitiful face, struggled free, and bolted for the grass.
But Luxray easily jumped ahead and recaptured it.
Now even Nemona couldn't defend Teddiursa, so she just lowered her head, lost in thought.
Lucas turned to Vespiquen and asked, "How do you want to handle Teddiursa?"
Vespiquen looked at the regretful Teddiursa, hesitated, and answered with body language.
"Beat it up and drive it out of the woods?"
Lucas stroked his chin, considering.
Honestly, Vespiquen's solution was merciful—other beehive Pokémon might have gone much further.
But…
Lucas looked at Nemona, who was clearly struggling with her decision, and remembered her earlier words. He smiled, "Nemona, do you want to catch Teddiursa?"
Nemona was stunned, but then her mind cleared and she nodded eagerly. "I want to catch it!"
She believed Teddiursa must have been stealing honey because it was hungry. She could promise it would never go hungry again, and its fluffy appearance was irresistible to her.
Even its evolution, Ursaring, was a powerful Pokémon.
Vespiquen, leading the Combee, looked troubled.
If she didn't punish Teddiursa, she'd lose authority in the hive. But she had no confidence against Luxray…
Since Nemona wanted to catch Teddiursa, how to appease the Combee became another issue.
Lucas thought for a moment and subtly reminded, "Nemona, since you want to catch Teddiursa, about what it's done recently…"
Nemona quickly got the hint. "I'll compensate Vespiquen and the Combee with enough Pokémon food!"
Lucas smiled with satisfaction and asked Vespiquen, "Is this solution acceptable?"
Vespiquen looked at Lucas, then at Luxray. Knowing this was the best outcome, she nodded her agreement.
As dusk turned to night, under the watchful eyes of Vespiquen and the Combee, Nemona commanded Pawmo to battle Teddiursa. No matter how clever Teddiursa was, with Combee all around, it couldn't escape.
Pawmo finally defeated Teddiursa with a Mach Punch. Nemona eagerly ran over and tapped Teddiursa's crescent head with a Poké Ball, catching it.
With Vespiquen and the Combee as witnesses, Nemona promised to send the agreed-upon compensation the next day.
Nemona now had her second Pokémon, Teddiursa, while Lucas had four jars of honey and the friendship of Vespiquen and the Combee.
This friendship would provide the farm with endless premium honey—a truly meaningful gain.