Chapter 26: Dratini in the Safari Zone
"A draw?" Lillie said in surprise.
"No, I won. Look—Greninja hasn't exited its bond form yet," Ryan shook his head.
As Ryan had predicted, Greninja stirred, struggled to stand up, then reverted to its normal form and sat on the ground, breathing heavily. Ryan walked over, patted Greninja's shoulder, and said, "You did incredibly well, Greninja. Let me heal you right away."
He pulled out an Antidote, Paralyze Heal, and Super Potion from his backpack and administered them to Greninja. Koga also recalled his Crobat and walked over. He retrieved a scroll from his chest and opened it, handing the pink Soul Badge to Ryan. "You're truly formidable, and Greninja's performance was exceptional. I'm even more determined to capture one myself now. I might visit the Kalos region later to see if I can find a Froakie."
"Thank you for the badge, Gym Leader Koga. But I also want to thank you for not using your main team. If you had, I probably would have been completely outmatched," Ryan said. "Could you tell me where that Crobat ranks in your team? I'd like to gauge my current strength."
"Haha, even if I had lost, I would have given you the badge based on your performance," Koga said without hesitation. "As for this Crobat, to be honest, I only caught it recently, but it has tremendous potential and will be part of my main team eventually. Right now, it's probably around my twentieth strongest."
Ryan was somewhat shocked by this revelation, but it only reinforced how much stronger he needed to become. After healing Greninja, Ryan and Lillie bid farewell to Koga and Janine and headed toward the Safari Zone.
"Dad, you're not being entirely truthful. That Crobat is clearly worthy of your second team, and its strength is at least in your top ten. While it's not quite elite level, it's hardly weak either," Janine said curiously after watching them leave. "Why didn't you tell Ryan the truth?"
"You're too young to understand the bigger picture," Koga said, patting Janine's head. "Ryan possesses a Legendary Pokémon, making him a key focus for the League. It's been ages since the Kanto and Johto regions produced a Champion. Lance is almost ready and will soon head to Johto to claim that title, but Kanto still lacks a Champion. This young trainer is improving rapidly, and the League intends to groom him for that position."
Janine fell silent, shocked by this revelation. Then she said seriously, " I want to get stronger too. After you join the Elite Four, I'll take over this gym."
Koga patted Janine's shoulder with satisfaction. "Then prepare yourself for intensive training. You're my daughter—you can't afford to slack off."
"Yes, " Janine replied earnestly.
Meanwhile, as Koga and Janine made their plans, Ryan and Lillie entered the protected wildlife preserve. Pokémon capture was forbidden in this conservation area. After a day's journey, they finally reached the Laramie Ranch in the preserve, but unfortunately their timing was off and they couldn't participate in any of the Ponyta races.
After spending the night at the Laramie Ranch, they hurried to the Safari Zone the next day. Although Ryan had no particular interest in the Dragonair and Dratini rumored to inhabit the Safari Zone, he needed to gather information about them to complete his research.
As soon as they approached the Safari Zone entrance, two gun barrels pointed directly at Ryan and Lillie, startling them both. An older man wielding the weapons demanded, "Who are you? What's your business here?"
"Hey now, don't point those at us—we're not criminals," Ryan said with a shrug. "Besides, if we were bad guys, you'd already be in serious trouble."
He gestured behind him where Mewtwo had appeared, holding a psychic spoon menacingly close to the man's head. Ryan told Mewtwo to stand down and said, "Sir, please lower your weapons first. We're just ordinary Pokémon Trainers here to catch some Pokémon and conduct research."
"Yes, sir. We really aren't bad people," Lillie added.
"Alright, understood. I'm Baoba, the Safari Zone Warden. Come with me," the old man said, putting away his weapons.
Walking into the facility, he provided them with 30 Safari Balls and a fishing rod, saying, "You can only use Safari Balls within the Safari Zone. If I catch you breaking the rules, I'll ban you permanently."
"Yes, yes, understood," Ryan said. "By the way, I have my own Super Rod. Is it okay to use that instead?"
"Well, as long as you only use Safari Balls to capture Pokémon, that's fine," Baoba replied.
Ryan then took Lillie into the Safari Zone proper. As soon as they entered, a large herd of Tauros thundered past them. Ryan couldn't help but think of the 30 Tauros that Ash had famously caught here.
Shaking his head to dismiss the amusing thought, he handed 15 Safari Balls to Lillie. "Here you go, Lillie. If you see any Pokémon you like, just use these to catch them."
"Thanks! Let's have a contest to see who can catch 15 Pokémon first," Lillie said excitedly. "But no following me around. After we each catch 15, we'll meet back at Warden Baoba's station."
Ryan nodded, saying with mild concern, "Just be careful and don't get hurt."
Lillie said she understood, released her Alolan Vulpix to accompany her, picked a direction, and ran off. Ryan shook his head, released Charizard, climbed onto his back, and began searching for the location known as Dragon Valley from the anime.
After an hour of searching, Ryan finally found the secluded area and had Charizard land beside the lake in the small canyon. He recalled Charizard, found a flat rock to use as a seat, took out his Super Rod and some Pokéblocks, and began his fishing expedition.
Since he was planning to install an aquarium on the first floor of his villa, he wanted to catch some Water-type Pokémon. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to fill all 15 Safari Balls.
Ryan was quite selective though, ignoring average-quality Pokémon and only catching those with exceptional or premium stats. He attached a Pokéblock to his hook and cast his line into the lake.
Soon, the line went taut, and Ryan pulled up a blue and white serpentine Pokémon from the water. He took a closer look and hesitated.
A Dratini—and a premium-quality one at that. Ryan didn't know what to think. He hadn't intended to catch the mother and child duo from the anime, but the quality of this specimen was truly enviable!
"Splash!" There was a sound of breaking water, and a longer, more mature blue and white Pokémon emerged before Ryan.
A Dragonair—top-tier quality. Ryan gave a rueful smile. Well, I caught the little one, and now here comes the parent. He gently set Dratini down, took out several Pokéblocks and offered them to the young Dragon-type, saying, "Your mother is here. Go home safely."
Ryan's heart ached as he said this. A top-tier Pokémon! And he was just letting it go!
But he knew it was the right thing to do. Some bonds between Pokémon and their families were more important than any trainer's ambitions.
(End of Chapter)
join patreon for update and advance 40+ chapters
https://www.p-atreon.com/c/Soulforger
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
"If you're enjoying this story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone! Your support keeps me motivated and helps the novel reach more readers."
"100 Power Stones this week = 1 extra chapter release!"
"500 Power Stones = 2 extra chapter release ."