Nickit

In the paths and wild areas of Galar, Nickit moves stealthily to get food without confronting anyone. It feeds on what it steals from other Pokémon and wipes away its tracks with its tail when it flees, behavior that fits its appearance as a small thief fox. The pads on its paws are so soft that it can walk without making a sound.

Its design is based on a fox kit, with a facial mask and front paws that resemble a disguised thief. Its tail not only helps conceal its trail, but also looks like a sack for storing what it has stolen. The English name combines “nick”, used in colloquial English with the meaning of stealing, and “kit”, a young fox. The Japanese Kusune joins kusuneru, “to pilfer”, with kitsune, “fox”.

It is the first stage of a two-species evolutionary line. When it reaches level 18, it evolves into Thievul, which keeps the thief theme and develops a slimmer silhouette.

In competitive battles, Nickit has no established use outside formats focused on unevolved Pokémon. It enters Little Cup because it is a first-stage Pokémon, but its 40 HP, 28 Attack, and 28 Defense leave little room to take hits or deal physical damage. Its best figures are 52 Special Defense, 50 Speed, and 47 Special Attack, for a total of 245.

Stakeout is the ability that makes the most sense: it doubles the damage dealt to a Pokémon that has just entered battle through a switch. That rewards bringing Nickit in after forcing a switch, although Nickit’s Attack is too low to make good use of its physical moves, and its Special Attack is nothing special either. Run Away only works for escaping from wild Pokémon, while Unburden doubles its Speed if it uses or loses the held item.

The Dark type gives it an immunity to Psychic and resistances to Dark and Ghost, but leaves it with three clear weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, and Fighting. Nasty Plot can raise its Special Attack, while Snarl offers special damage and lowers the opponent’s Special Attack. Foul Play partly makes up for its poor physical strength by using the target’s Attack. Taunt, Substitute, and Baton Pass add utility, but its fragility, lack of power, and competition from other Dark-type Pokémon leave it relegated to experimental teams.

Nickit belongs to the Field Egg Group, so it can breed with compatible species from that group. The gender ratio is 50% female and 50% male. Its eggs need 15 cycles to hatch, equivalent to approximately four thousand eighty steps.

Its notable egg moves include Knock Off, which removes the opponent’s held item, Quick Guard, useful against priority attacks, and Torment, which prevents the same move from being used consecutively. Howl is also available to boost the Attack of the user and its allies.

The evolution is straightforward: Nickit evolves into Thievul when it reaches level 18. Its catch rate is 255, so catching it is easy even at the beginning of a game. The species is associated with Galar’s land-based environments and grows quickly, making it easy to add to the team early and take it to its evolution.