Seeing Ninetales' reaction, Roy realized his tone had been too harsh just moments ago.
"Sorry, I just now..."
Although Ninetales was usually gentle and sweet, from her perspective, Roy had suddenly yelled at her for no apparent reason.
This made her feel hurt, and her mood dropped suddenly.
However, Ninetales also understood that what they were facing now wasn't ordinary daily life where there was room for error.
And against so many opponents, this was already incredibly challenging.
So Ninetales simply snorted softly, pointing her large tail toward Roy.
But she obeyed Roy's order and didn't look behind her.
This made Roy exhale with relief.
No matter what, it was better not to let her experience anything traumatic for now.
Although in the wild, such scenes were fairly common.
But as a protective trainer, Roy was still unwilling to let his Pokémon be exposed to such brutal sights all at once.
He thought to himself, "You have to remember that I care about you."
If you're wondering why the Lycanroc immediately attacked the Murkrow upon meeting them, this has to do with the nature of Vast Poni Canyon itself.
In the past, the resources around Vast Poni Canyon were quite limited. Beyond Vast Poni Canyon lay the Altar of the Sunne, which was full of barren soil and rocks—nothing good for Pokémon to eat or drink.
So they could only look toward the entrance of Vast Poni Canyon.
Just outside were Poni Gauntlet and the surrounding Poni Wilds.
Near those areas were fields and gardens.
There was life everywhere, except in Vast Poni Canyon.
There weren't many Pokémon species in Vast Poni Canyon, but the Murkrow who ruled the skies and the Lycanroc who dominated the ground happened to be the two most powerful groups among them.
Among wild Pokémon, having a large population was naturally a significant advantage.
There would be more cooperation within the same species, but at the same time, providing for such a large population was a serious challenge.
This kind of survival knowledge was learned through generations of Pokémon battles.
Resources were limited, and only the victorious species could enjoy most of the resources and continue to thrive.
Inevitably, this created a deep rift between the Lycanroc and Murkrow.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say they were two groups that never cooperated with each other.
However, as Flying-type Pokémon with their unique ability to fly, Murkrow naturally held a certain advantage in the usual competitions.
So the Lycanroc had suffered their fair share of defeats at the wings of Murkrow.
Now that Murkrow were caught, it was only natural to settle both old and new grudges together.
That was why the extremely brutal scene in Vast Poni Canyon had just unfolded.
The atmosphere in the canyon was tense, and Honchkrow, surrounded by his forces in the sky, was in a foul mood.
Even if he could summon more Murkrow followers, the entire Alola region was completely cut off from the outside world.
Even though their species had a relatively good reproduction rate, they couldn't withstand such losses.
Honchkrow's heart was bleeding.
But he also understood that once he let this human escape from Vast Poni Canyon, the other Guardian Deities would definitely be alerted.
Even Solgaleo might investigate afterward.
He had been so careful recently, yet Tapu Fini had still caught him.
"Damn it!" he thought.
Honchkrow cried out in frustration, causing the Pokémon in the canyon and those around him to look over.
The most obvious change was actually in the Murkrow surrounding Honchkrow.
Those Murkrow seemed to have received the same order simultaneously.
No—perhaps it was because the Murkrow were being controlled by something. Almost all their actions became highly synchronized, like copies of each other.
The eerie scene made the Lycanroc in the canyon stop their attacks on the Murkrow.
The Lycanroc leader was the first to notice something was wrong and ordered his subordinates to temporarily halt their assault.
The Lycanroc naturally trusted their leader's commands completely.
Next, they watched as these Murkrow seemed to be praying, muttering to themselves while their wings formed strange, distorted shapes.
One Lycanroc tossed a small stone at a nearby Murkrow from a distance, but the Murkrow still didn't respond.
Roy also felt something was off, not understanding what had happened to the Murkrow he was facing.
Why were they suddenly ignoring everyone?
Not even the leader of the Lycanroc, or even Tapu Fini if she were here, could probably figure it out.
But Roy reacted immediately.
Their purpose wasn't to fight, but to escape. Now that they had such a perfect opportunity, why not run away quickly?
"What are you waiting for?" he called out.
"Let's go!"
With a wave of his hand, Roy led his Pokémon toward the exit of Vast Poni Canyon.
The Lycanroc also snapped out of their daze and hurriedly followed Roy and his team, escorting them away.
Seeing this, Honchkrow wouldn't easily let Roy and his companions escape.
Honchkrow spread his wings with a loud whoosh, casting a massive shadow across the ground of Vast Poni Canyon.
There was a good reason this Honchkrow could command so many Murkrow at once.
Just looking at his size, he was more than twice as large as other Honchkrow.
Ordinary Honchkrow stood only 0.9 to 1 meter tall, with wings spanning about two meters.
This one measured about two meters in body length alone, and when his massive black wings spread out instantly, the sight was truly intimidating.
A cold gleam flashed on Honchkrow's black wingtips, and in the next second, like a small missile, he flew straight toward Roy.
The moment his Aura sensed Honchkrow's movement, a dangerous warning sounded immediately in Roy's mind.
Roy didn't have time to raise his head, but he could feel a cold presence bypassing his head, approaching his neck.
The human skull was very hard, but the neck that connected it was extremely fragile.
For a moment, Roy felt his heartbeat become very steady, even gradually slowing down.
"Niiiine!"
The light of Ice Beam burst forth like a sudden flash, scattering the darkness near Roy.
Honchkrow hadn't expected Ninetales to react so quickly.
This move, Shadow Sneak, was supposed to be his specialty!
Though Honchkrow was hit by Ice Beam, he still didn't forget his purpose.
At the moment of being struck down, he deliberately pretended to lose his strength and fell.