Thievul

It looks like a storybook thief, but it is still a fox that steals food and eggs in the most literal sense. It marks its prey with an undetectable scent, follows the trail and waits for them to let their guard down before acting. Its agile body, sharp claws and bushy tail reinforce that image of a raider, while the dark facial details resemble a mask and a criminal’s moustache. It also has a hostile relationship with Boltund, its natural enemy according to the Pokédex.

It occupies the final spot in a short evolutionary line. It evolves from Nickit when it reaches level 18, leaving behind its pre-evolution’s small, elusive silhouette for a more adult and specialised appearance. Its category, Fox Pokémon, makes the animal basis of the design clear; the Dark type and its behaviour do the rest.

It is not a strong competitive choice, although it has a specific role in lower tiers. Smogon has placed it in ZU and also considers it in PU within Sword and Shield. Its stats point to a fast special attacker: 70 HP, 58 Attack, 58 Defense, 87 Special Attack, 92 Special Defense and 90 Speed. Its physical Defense is poor, and its Speed falls short against well-prepared offensive teams.

The ability that defines its sets is Stakeout: it doubles the damage dealt to a Pokémon that has just switched in. That makes moves such as Dark Pulse, Psychic and Burning Jealousy genuine threats to targets that are not expecting the hit. Nasty Plot raises its Special Attack, while Parting Shot lets it weaken the opponent and leave the field.

The Dark type gives it an immunity to Psychic and resistances to Dark and Ghost, but leaves it exposed to Bug, Fairy and Fighting. In a normal playthrough, it works best as a mid-game special attacker, especially when the opponent switches frequently. Run Away offers little value outside single-player, while Unburden requires losing or using up the held item to activate its Speed.

Breeding belongs to the Field Egg Group. The sex ratio is balanced, with 50 % female, and hatching requires 15 cycles, around 4080 steps according to the usual conversion. That is a long wait for a species that does not offer any Egg Moves of its own at this stage of its evolutionary line.

The evolution is exact: Nickit evolves into Thievul when it reaches level 18. Its catch rate is 127, an average figure; catching it is not trivial with a full HP bar, but it does not require preparing a particularly complicated capture either. Breeding allows you to obtain specimens with Run Away, Unburden or the hidden ability Stakeout, depending on the individual and the methods available in the game.