Boys, I have news.
I proposed to my longtime girlfriend and she accepted.
She's now my fiancée.
The date hasn't been set yet.
Thanks for tuning in and have a good day.
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The Hoenn Region Ever Grande Conference was a grand event where Pokémon Trainers who have participated in the Hoenn Region Gym Challenge and won the necessary 8 Gym Badges will use their honed strength and unique skills to fight fiercely and see who the strongest Pokémon Trainer truly is.
This was a moment of glory for Pokémon Trainer, and it was also the ultimate goal that Ash makes whenever he travels to a new region. What he wants is to become the champion, to compete against others, and Ash was determined to win this time, just like he did in the Johto Region.
But before that can even begin, there are still about two weeks before the Ever Grande Conference begins, so May decided to take the group to check around in advance and taste the food that can be found here in Ever Grande City.
"Food?" Ash didn't mind this, he himself had always enjoyed new food, it was like a reward for himself and to his Pokémon's.
This is why the saying the more the merrier still works; the more friends there are, the more fun it will be. Ash knew that if Misty was here with them, the first thing she would've done was most likely to go to the giant beaches here.
"That's right, new food! Let's go get some ramen this time!" It seemed that May had already done some research into this. "I heard that there is a very delicious ramen shop in Ever Grande City called the Ever Grande Noddle Nosh!"
"I looked it up, and people say it's delicious enough to be ranked among the top three places to eat in the entire Hoenn Region! Although it is said to look ordinary, the power lies within its taste and texture, they even say that the soup there paired with their homemade noodles is the most perfect word for delicious!"
Saying that, May looked at Ash with gleaming eyes, "I have already decided that during the Ever Grande Conference, I will visit the well known restaurants and street food and taste what they got. Let's go to the ramen shop first!"
Although she said that, they should have known how unreliable May was to be able to lead the group to where the store was. After walking here and there, she led the group to a deserted place.
"Pika pika pi pi…" Pikachu said with little to no emotion in his voice, which roughly translates to "I think we are lost…"
It's hard to imagine that such a big and populated city like Ever Grande City could have such a desolate place despite the land price being sky high. What is even more unimaginable was that May was actually able to bring the group here so confidently.
The last time something like this happened was because of the guidebook she got, which happened to be from ten years ago, which led the group to miss their boat to Dewford Island.
But this time she used the Ever Grande Conference guide book, and she still managed to take the wrong path.
She really was like Zora in this sense.
"Sis, is that restaurant you mentioned really opened in a place like this? There is nothing here other than… well nothing!" Max couldn'thelp but question his sister's sense of direction.
"It's strange, it should be around here… that's what the guidebook says." She didn't realize yet that while the group was discussing them being lost, they were already surrounded by a group of wild Pokémon.
Ash noticed it the moment they got here, but he had a feeling something good would happen, so he let it flow without interfering to see what would happen.
May turned around and saw a flash of light appearing in Ash's eyes, and dozens of black flying Pokémon suddenly rushed out, mostly pecking at Ash like they had some sort of beef with him.
The dense black feathers even obscured the line of sight of those who weren't being the most targeted, giving Brock and the other two no chance to parry them away and help Ash.
"Hey! That stings, stop pecking me you shity black creature!" May yelled out more in annoyance than in pain.
"These Pokémon are Murkrows! And from the looks of it, a pretty big group of them! I heard before that Murkrow was amongst the most territorial Pokémon, but I didn't think it would be this much!"
Max yelled as well after recognizing this Pokémon as this was a mostly black Pokémon, and he really had a dislike for these black Pokémon's.
He also yelled out its types, which were the dual Flying-type and Dark-type.
This kind of Pokémon is quite common in the Hoenn Region, but still mostly found in their native region of Johto.
"Dang, just because we accidentally came to their territory doesn't mean they have to be so damn aggressive!" Brock realized that their situation was not good, as they broke into Murkrow's territory at the wrong time. No wonder they made their territory here, this place was not only on the edge of the city, but it was also open enough to where they could go all out.
"The reason that these Murkrows are being so aggressive is property because they thought we are here to steal the treasures from their lair."
Ash finally decided to take a little action and took the two Pokémon next to him a step forward, "Togetic, Fairy Wind!"
Fairy-type skills have an outstanding effect on the Dark-type Murkrow. Additionally, this attack was not all that powerful and Togetic also had some great control over it, so it hopefully will not accidentally hurt May and the other two.
The pink wind blew Murkrow into a whirlwind, but soon another group of Murkrows were seen attacking from the sky.
"More and more of these black creatures are coming from their lair!" Brock exclaimed and quickly pulled May and Mac to hide behind Ash's Aura Shield.
"Would you look at that, their hatred value towards us is getting higher and higher with every passing second…" Ash murmured in dissatisfaction, and Togetic and Pikachu both stood in front of him and pushed back all the dark crows that attacked them with a few of their attacks.
"This will never end if things continue to be like this." Brock said after seeing their immense anger and large numbers.
These Murkrows actually engaged in a wheel battle against Ash despite knowing they can't defeat either Pikachu or Togetic. Their bravery most likely came from their astonishing numbers, and they seem to be divided into several groups where they surround and attack in batches.
Even if Pikachu and Togetic's attacks were very strong and effective against them, these black crows just didn't know what the word give up meant. Each time they got hit, roasted, or confused, they went back to rest for a few seconds and then they were immediately sent back to the front lines.
Although these crows could rotate again and again to get enough rest and recovery, Ash's Pikachu and Togetic don't get any rest.
If this continues, no matter how strong Pikachu is, there will be times when it becomes too much and would launch an actual serious attack that will most likely end them.
Ash's eyes lit up after seeing them rotate again after hearing their leader's command, "With such organization and discipline, these little crows really are something else. Alright then, we played your games for long enough, it's time for you to play my games! In the name of the Art of War, Togetic, use Sweet Kiss!"
What happened after that was Togetic blowing a cute kiss towards those BLACK crows, and several of them falling into a stage of confusion.
Unlike the last few times they got confused but were able to recover soon after, this time they could no longer continue fighting. This was because Togetic was no longer holding back and using her actual power to vent out a little bit of her annoyance.
Then seeing all this, Ash's eyes shone with beautiful blue light, and he raised his head and looked at the single Murkrow standing on one of the faraway tree branches, even behind their so-called "leader."
If it weren't for his power over Aura and its detection capabilities, Ash and the others would have never really guessed that the true leader of the Murkrows was actually like a hiding puppeteer, hiding behind its puppet on the very eaves in their lair, behind all the other Murkrows that seemed ready to defend it any given moment.
However, Ash noted that his Pikachu had already come to this conclusion, just by looking at it, he could notice the difference in this one compared to all the others.
Murkrows were all black, the feathers on their head resembled that of a wizard's hat, and its tail was shaped like a broom, giving him the aura of a dark magical creature used by witches.
However, this Murkrow in front of him looked even more like it walked out of a Harley Potter set compared to its brethren's. Just standing there, it revealed a magical dark aura.
Murkrow was generally a pretty small Pokémon at about .5 meters, but this one had actually grown to about 0.8 meters long. Of course, this was also because the wizard's hat on its head was bigger than usual and its broom-like tail was even longer, and it really looked like it was sitting on a broom, there was no denying that fact that it was special.
It was because of its command that made this group of Murkrows look like a real working army. It was extremely organized and had effective tactics in combat. This guy was good, in fact it was very good.
"Looks like I know what to do. Guys, we will soon welcome a new friend to our team! Let's go!" Ash took out a Poké Ball, "Murkrow, let's finish this now!"
Since that last Sweet Kiss from Togetic caused a new group of Murkrows to fall into a state of heavy confusion and made some of them unable to battle, the Murkrows became less aggressive after realizing they were being played by a far stronger force.
As soon as the true bosses figure came to Ash, it faced the remaining Murkrow to move away with its wings slightly spread out.
The battle of adding a new member begins!
"Sweet Kiss!" However, this time the cute little blowing kisses were slashed away by Murkrow's wings. This was the Dark-type skill, Feint Attack!
Immediately afterwards, the boss Murkrow raised his head and sang out a dark song. Different from the songs of charm that Togetic can use, this song was laced with something far more dangerous, full of death.
Ash frowned, "Is that Perish Song?"
There was only one way for Murkrow to be able to use Perish Song like this, inheritance (an egg move).
This means that one of its parents must have been a Swablu or an Altaria.
However, judging from its high talent, Ash was more willing to lean towards the side that it was the offspring of an Altaria.
This also means that this guy has a little meager dragon blood, no wonder it looked like this compared to the rest of its underlings.
The power of the Perish Song skill was very scary to say the least. The Pokémon that listens to the sound will lose their combat ability after a short period of time.
This also meant that if Ash continued to use his Togetic to fight in this battle, the countdown to its defeat had already begun as Togetic was not much stronger than it, thus being immune to it like his Pikachu.
Although taking back his Pokémon could cancel the effect of Perish Sing, that may as well mean that the battle has failed. Murkrow will definitely not give Ash a second chance despite probably going out with its own move.
Therefore, he had to defeat the Murkrow in a short time to win its respect.
"Togetic, Ancient Power!" As a Rock-type attack, this also had an outstanding effect on the Flying-type black crow. The earth-yellow energy lingered around Togetic, forming a dozen or so small rocky balls, and they were all sent towards Murkrow's position.
However, Murkrow's figure was split into two at the last moment. This was its Foul Play attack mixed with its Double Team skill, but it was nowhere near enough for Ash to not be able to detect it and counter it at the same time.
Ash casually pointed his finger at the last moment, and the Rock-type Ancient Power hit Murkrow directly, causing a large amount of effective damage!
After that move that disrupted the crows' plan, Ash's next attack came like a shower. He wanted to fight and finish this before Parish Song came into play, so of course he had to beat it in a short time.
"Play Rough!"
After receiving her Trainers order, Togetic's figure disappeared instantly. It was now shining with pink light. It came to Murkrow's side in a flash, and grabbed its tail with its small hand!
Murkrow, who was larger than Togetic, was actually treated like a toy by the timid Togetic. It wasn't even a toy, it was more like a rag doll. She pulled Murkrow's tail and swung it around, and even successfully pulled out two of its highly prized feathers.
Then, with a flutter of its little wings, it landed directly on the broom tail, pinched its neck, and shook its head that looked to be wearing a wizard's hat.
Murkrow was stunned.
How can such a thing happen to him, the strongest Murkrow on the island?
But its attack power was greatly reduced before it could do anything to counterattack. Not only that, at the end, it stumbled in front of Ash like a confused duck.
Seeing this, Ash knew that the effect of Perish Song was soon about to take effect, so he quickly threw a Poké Ball over, and the red light turned on for a moment and then went out.
Ash had just caught his newest teammate, a Murkrow!