The scream was simply what he was looking for, which both of his Poochyena had reacted to as well with a sudden shift of their heads towards its direction. Besides it though, another voice rose against the ambient noise of the wilderness, beckoning Kyle to approach its source. Those carefree words were simply not something he could ignore, especially in the face of what can be assumed to be danger.

"That sounded like adventure, you mean," he'd correct her out as he approached the girl from behind, his bland, deadpan tone unbefitting the words of enthusiasm he blurted out.

Two small Dark-types had followed his steps from behind, both of them easily amused with the snow as any other young canine would. Both of them would spot the stranger, along with her Eevees, at the same time, yapping incessantly at their presence as soon as their eyes laid on them. With both of them lunging at an Eevee, it took Kyle the effort to step on one of their tails just to stop one from acting impulsively, with the other stopping at the yelp of the other.

"Fucking heel, you two," he'd sternly instruct them, annoyance evident in his voice. He'd watch as the two behaved themselves, before turning back to Francie. He wouldn't question why she was in the middle of the woods when he was in an equally suspicious position, which he hoped that she wouldn't bring up as well.

"You wanna investigate that? Screams like that sound like some kind of prompt for a murder mystery story or something to begin, right?"

"Saying that makes me feel like I'm a main character," he chimed back, a smug expression forming on his smile.

While Francie instructed her Rockruff to stay vigilant, Kyle was more laid back with how he utilized his own set of canine Pokemon. He always kept at least one of them out at all times anyways, and so they learned to notify their trainer should any irregularity occur in the area. Besides, it wasn't like they needed four noses to do the same job.

"Kyle. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, gym leader." He'd sympathize with her smile with an awry one of his, offering a shrug of his shoulders after noticing her discomfort with the topic. Not that he was willing to change it though.

He would start pacing forward, whistling for both of his Pokemon's attention and cocking his head forward as a silent gesture for the two Poochyena to take the lead. An excited bark came from them, getting relieved from being forced to behave properly, as they trotted forward ahead of the trainers. He trusted the two of them to not get too far from him as he slowed down, turning to face Francie as he walked.

"That's a yes, right? You're gonna get in that mess too, right?" he'd asked enthusiastically in a dry voice. He'd turn back to the direction before even waiting for an answer from her. "There's no time to waste if it's actually a murder though. Maybe we should hurry."

"Or maybe she just has a stomachache or something," he jested, though the deadpan tone of his voice did not seem to suggest it.

He moved in closer, standing over the nest and the Froslass. Everything did seem to point to the conclusion that Francie had made. Wild Pokemon would either get defensive or territorial when people get too close to their nests after all, and Kyle could only think that weakness was the only thing that could get them to stay neutral with the given situation. From emotional trauma perhaps, he thought. No physical injuries were on it to prove him otherwise after all.

Both of his Dark-types were nudged towards the nest with a single motion of their trainer's head. "This isn't what I expected, but I suppose a detective case about a missing child isn't that bad." Eyes were on the pair of canine Pokemon as they searched for clues. With their ears popping up and their heads raised all of a sudden, Kyle got the signal that they already got the scent in their systems and that they were ready to go.

"I guess we're lucky that this is kinda my specialty."

Or his job for that matter. People he knew often went to him if they needed to find something or someone after all, which is what the situation called for. His Poochyena quickly went on the move, faces close to the ground to keep their noses on the trail, with Kyle following after them. Their direction backtracked them to where they came from, ultimately leading them back to the village, though it wasn't until they were more than half the distance away that the dog trainer noticed.

"Uh, what's the plan when we get there?" he'd ask Francie, who he just assumed noticed their destination. "Knock on every door and get a search warrant for the Froslass' child?"

"It's just, uh, how do I explain this..."

Kyle would pause as he crossed his arms and stared at the ground, thinking of he'd voice out his worries about going straight to the individual that kidnapped the Snorunt. Reluctantly, he'd lift his head and turn to Francie. They needed to sort it out before they could reach the place, after all.

"It just feels like we're going to look like the bad guys or something if we go straight to someone's house, barge in, and take their belongings. Going door to door makes it, I dunno, less suspicious to the neighbors, like they won't even think of demanding a proper search warrant from us or something. We're technically trespassing if we force ourselves into their home without one, after all, or maybe thieving too if the Snorunt has officially been caught in a Pokeball."

He was basically rambling about the possibility of breaking the law. Loopholes and workarounds on them were often exploited by Kyle whenever he has the chance, as what he was trying to do for this instance. His words eventually slowed down, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized that he could simply summarize everything he just said in a simple sentence.

"I mean, your plan's still going to work. We just need to do it casually so they wouldn't suspect us after we 'steal' this Snorunt, I guess."

"..."

"I can't explain it too well, sorry. You get what I mean though, right?"

"Could work, could work," he'd agree, nodding his head as he thought about the course of action she suggested.

Kyle wasn't sure on how exactly a wild Pokemon would cooperate with them. They have limited interaction with humans after all, and are likely prone to attack anyone. Then again, the one they encountered earlier seemed docile and safe enough to approach. He supposed he shouldn't be worrying too much and focus more on seeing the reunion between the mother and child come into fruition with their help.

"How about you get the Froslass and I rile up the people? You can probably connect with her than I could."

It was the truth, knowing that wild Pokemon tend to trust their instincts and not get associated with people who do not genuinely show the same care to them as with Francie. A convenient one too, since it probably was the harder one out of the roles she has given him to choose from. Besides, stirring trouble and panic was easy to establish in a small settlement, especially to one that abuses the fact that he owns a badge to show his authority as a League official.

"I have people skills," he mentioned. It didn't apply to conventional applications, however. "I can do that second part. Probably."

He didn't have people skills.

As the town came into view, Kyle's attention darted from one person to another. He wasn't sure how to start a confrontation with the whole populace, or even with just a single person to start things up. His eyes went to the calmer Poochyena beside him, which was then pounced on by the more energetic one as soon as their trainer slowed down. The roughhousing at least brought Kyle an idea that he didn't mind on doing.

...

"Oi, any of you guys noticed the rampaging Froslass?"

The question was asked to no one in particular, though his voice was clear enough to attract the interest of everyone hearing him. Eyes would gather around him, unnerving Kyle. Steeling his resolve to accomplish the tasked, he figured backing out at this moment would be more embarrassing than what he was already doing. "Shit's crazy. Poochy and I barely got out." The Dark-type limped forward on cue, fur ruffled and a hind leg lifted from the ground. The other Poochyena was kept inside the ball, deeming the canine lacking on the acting department.

"You guys didn't anger it, right?" He tried to resist the urge to give a hint, though his efforts proved to be futile as they came out on their own. "Like, I don't know, take its child or something," he added.

Mutters would fill the air, individual voices exchanging with whoever was beside them. Kyle's eyes would wander around, scanning for any sign of a guilty expression on each of their faces. There were none. He'd trudge along towards the center of the city, trying to get his own search for the individual along. He left one last message for the people of the town in case they needed a little more push to panic over the situation, however.

"You guys got something to ward them off, right? I heard blizzards they cause are outright terrorizing."

Should be enough for them to get the Snorunt out of its hiding place, he supposed.