At noon that day, in a forest on the way to Olivine City, Liu Qing and his six Pokémon were enjoying a delicious lunch when the roadside grass suddenly rustled. Three tail-like things poked out, drawing their attention.
"Those are... Murkrow." As he watched three Murkrow—two small and one large—emerge from the grass after swishing their tails, some hazy memories from his previous life surfaced. Didn't these three Murkrow play tricks on Ash in the anime I watched in my past life?
The three Murkrow walked straight toward Liu Qing without looking aside, seemingly unafraid of strangers. Liu Qing was a little surprised. Were they not afraid of Salamence and Gyarados?
Suddenly, the Murkrow that was larger than normal gave a cry. The two ordinary-sized Murkrow immediately flapped over to Liu Qing's picnic blanket and each grabbed a serving spoon in their beaks. The larger one was even faster. Though it moved last, it overtook the others and snatched up a cup in the blink of an eye, then joined them to fly away.
Unfortunately, the three Pokémon had clearly underestimated Liu Qing and his six Pokémon. Just as they were about to take off, an immense force of gravity bore down on them, making their bodies sink. Gyarados immediately unleashed Ice Fang, and the biting cold froze all three Murkrow into blocks of ice that glittered in the sunlight.
"Heh, these three little thieves must have stolen from plenty of Pokémon Trainers this way. Otherwise, how could they be so practiced at it?" Liu Qing found it amusing, but he was also impressed by the larger Murkrow's intelligence and speed. Remembering that Murkrow's evolved form was a good Pokémon too, he decided that this roughly sixty-centimeter-tall Murkrow looked quite promising. He took out a Poké Ball and threw it