Author's Note: Safari Zone, good times… After having countless Pikachus and Pinsirs run away from me… Yeah. Anyway. Now Lynnie gets to try her luck there…

Chapter Thirty Five: Vs Heracross!

"Where do I go from here again?"

Lynnie checked her PokéNav one more time as she left Fortree's Pokémon Center the next morning. Looking at the map display, she saw a route leading southeast from there to a city called Lilycove. Grinning, Lynnie clipped her PokéNav back onto her bag's strap as she started weaving through the trees.

"I wonder if there's a Gym there… Or even a Contest Hall," Lynnie wondered aloud.

As she dodged a vine, she hoped for a Contest Hall. It had been a while since she'd run into one, after all.

Eventually, Lynnie stumbled out of Fortree City's near jungle onto a fairly clear area, signaling she'd just left the edge of the city. Sighing in relief, Lynnie took a turn to the left and started walking again. She then crossed her eyes; a bit further on the route, there was more super tall grass similar to the grass near the Weather Institute.

"Oh well," she grumbled.

Taking a deep breath, she ducked forward, parted the grass, and started tripping through it. Eventually, Lynnie eventually came out near a bridge crossing a steep cliff that dropped into a river. Gulping slightly, she tiptoed across it (the bridge thankfully didn't sway... too much), and slowly made her way across.

"This route is not good for me at all…"

With that said, Lynnie promptly ran into something and crashed to the ground. Looking around impatiently, she didn't see anything at first. She then suddenly saw a red zigzagged line floating in front of her, and blinked.

Grabbing a nearby fallen tree branch, Lynnie slowly poked the red line. Suddenly, something very sticky lashed out and struck her face.

"Gross!"

Lynnie quickly rubbed her cheek with the back of her sleeve, and as she did so, a green lizard-like Pokémon slowly materialized in front of her. A red zigzag pattern was on its stomach, and Lynnie groaned.

"What the heck is that thing?"

"Kec… leon!"

With a startled cry, the Kecleon turned and fled across the bridge in the direction of the tall grass. Lynnie grumbled under her breath as she stood up, still wiping the side of her face. Eventually she sighed and tried to forget about the Pokémon as she started walking again.

Unfortunately, every time she saw the vaguest flash of red—usually something like a plant or some other wild Pokémon—Lynnie instinctively covered her cheeks with her hands.

Consequently, when Lynnie eventually reached a right turn, she was paying more attention to the area around her knees (for more Kecleons) than to the area directly in front of her. She smacked her forehead on a large cement building and stumbled backwards, crossing her eyes. As she looked up, blinking, she also noticed a tall, metal fence enclosing a large pasture behind said building. Cocking her head to the side, Lynnie rubbed her forehead as she read the sign near the door: "Safari Zone entrance."

"He-ey… Safari Zone… Johto doesn't have a Safari Zone… Does it?"

Lynnie muttered to herself as she twisted the door knob and entered the building. It was rather simple on the inside, with a plain tiled floor, a registration counter, and a door to an office in the back.

As she approached the desk in the back, the man behind it suddenly snapped awake. He grinned sheepishly as he held out a clipboard.

"Excuse me, miss, we need a record of everyone who comes in and out. For safety reasons."

"Okay…"

Lynnie quickly signed the clipboard, and the man handed her a set of five special, green Pokéballs. When she crossed her eyes again, the man explained.

"Safari Balls. They're to help keep tabs on who's been capturing what out of here. And we can't have you catching too many of the Pokémon. They're all rare, see. Any other questions?"

Lynnie grinned. "Nope! I'm ready."

"All right. Go 'til you're outta Safari Balls. Have fun."

"Yeah, he sounds really excited," Lynnie grumbled, as she turned to the door at the side of the room.

Turning the knob, Lynnie pushed open the door with her shoulder, and therefore stumbled slightly as she entered the Safari Zone. She sheepishly scratched the back of her neck as she looked around. Several paths branched off of the main area she was in, and a pond was in the distance.

Pausing, Lynnie pulled a coin out of her pocket and flipped it—heads for north, tails for east. When it hit the ground, Lynnie dusted it off, revealing the heads side up. Pocketing it, Lynnie hurried towards the north path, hoping she'd run into something rare.

Suddenly, something rustled in the bush next to her. Lynnie grinned, quickly tossing out a Safari Ball. However, the ball glowed and then shattered, and Lynnie blinked.

A Girafarig ambled out of the shrubbery, its tail head narrowing its eyes. Lynnie groaned, grabbing another Safari Ball. However, the tail head glared again, shattering the new ball as it ambled away.

"That's not fair! Come back!" Lynnie wailed.

However, before she had a chance to grab another Safari Ball, the Girafarig was already gone. Shaking her head and muttering under her breath, Lynnie started walking again.

Soon, she reached a somewhat steep trail leading up a mountain. Sighing, Lynnie took a few large steps, stumbling a few times but eventually managing to get a good footing.

"There better be something good up here for all this effort," she grumbled.

As she scrambled to the top of the path, Lynnie brushed herself off and looked around. She'd arrived on a somewhat flat area, with a sandy area to the right and a grassy area to the left. She immediately grinned and ducked into the tall grass.

Moments later, Lynnie crossed her eyes as she nearly tripped on something. A large, blue, beetle-like Pokémon was curled up near her feet, and it slowly opened its eyes from the surprise trip. The Heracross just as slowly picked itself up, and as it blinked, it started to glare and got into a fighting stance.

"Oh great," Lynnie grumbled.

She quickly reached for a Safari Ball and tossed it towards the Heracross. It quickly managed to duck, and as the ball caught on its horn, it rose upwards, knocking the ball away.

Lynnie blinked, and then crossed her eyes. She grabbed another Safari Ball—she only had one left after this—and threw it towards the Heracross as well, crossing her fingers. However, Heracross easily knocked the ball away with its horn again, and then ducked back into its fighting pose.

Gulping, Lynnie reached for one of her own Pokéballs, but then stopped. Was she even allowed to use her own Pokémon? Breaking the rules here would probably get her in a lot more trouble than it did at school, after all…

Taking advantage of Lynnie's pause, Heracross charged forward with its claws raised. Lynnie instinctively reached for her last Safari Ball, and as she raised it, Heracross's claws got stuck in the release button. The surprised Bug-type stumbled backwards and waved its claws around, trying to dislodge the Safari Ball.

Lynnie giggled slightly. Her luck had hit again, and the Safari Ball had ended up protecting her, even if it had broken.

"Wait, what?"

Lynnie blinked. That had been her last one, after all…

"So much for luck!" she cried.

Just after Lynnie's outburst, Heracross managed to dislodge its claws from the Safari Ball, breaking it in the process. It looked over at Lynnie again, and the girl gulped.

"I'm sorry! I'm leaving! Don't hurt me!"

Lynnie backed up slowly, and then turned around and dashed away. Heracross simply stared at where Lynnie had just been, and then shook its head. Shrugging, it turned around, bored now, and ducked back into the tall grass…

Minutes later, Lynnie was back at the Safari Entrance, resting against the building and panting. She then sighed. It hadn't even been an hour, and she was already out of her Safari Balls.

Sighing again, Lynnie turned the door's knob, and leaned against it again to close it all the way. The man at the counter suddenly snapped back to attention as she came in.

"You finished already?" he yawned.

"More than," Lynnie mumbled

She hastily scrawled her name on the sign-out sheet before the man could remind her. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she turned back towards the front of the building, and started walking out.

Lynnie leaned against the building for a moment when she got out, just to catch her breath all the way. As she straightened back up, she took her PokéNav off of her bag's strap to double-check the map. She promptly grinned as she clipped it back onto the strap.

The display had shown Lilycove City just a short distance to the east. Picking up her pace, Lynnie started jogging in the direction of the city, eager to find out what lay ahead…