After arriving in Fuchsia City, the Gym Leader, Koga, challenged Summer to a Gym battle to see if she can battle without relying on her Pokédex and her methodical thinking. Despite putting up a good effort, Summer was unable to defeat Koga and experienced her first Gym loss. After Summer told her team about her sister, everyone vowed to learn from the loss and train harder. How will Summer's new training go?

Chapter 35: The Wilds of the Safari Zone

Lightning and I laid on one of the Pokémon Center's sofas, exhausted. After I accepted Koga's offer to train us, he and his Poison-type Pokémon attacked us with Toxic for three days straight in order to help us sense and dodge multiple attacks. Unlike my past training sessions, Koga insisted I should practice dodging as well, to understand the pressure my Pokémon felt during battle. It was a new and interesting experience and I felt I could sense attacks better. Though the first few times, I had to take antidotes after every session.

Although I wanted to sleep right there on the couch, I was starving. I slowly got up and painfully walked into the cafeteria. Lightning followed me far behind, still sore from the session. After making the food , I bought some pan-fried vegetarian udon. As I sat down on a chair facing west, I felt someone watching us.

I immediately leaned my head back, almost falling off my seat. A shuriken flew over me, and a man chuckled. When I recovered to my original position, Koga was standing in front of me, smiling.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "Koga, really? I just want to eat and sleep."

Koga's smile grew wider. "Just wanted to make sure your reflexes are still sharp."

We then heard someone angrily stomp into the cafeteria. I saw the nurse remove the shuriken, despite her petite stature.

"KOGA!" she roared, threatening him with the ninja star. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO USE SHURIKEN IN THE POKÉMON CENTER?!"

Koga's smile evaporated as he tried to appease her. "I will pay for the damages, Nurse Furījia..."

Nurse Furījia calmed down, but still looked upset. Before she returned to the lobby, she hissed, "If this happens again, I'll stealth attack you in your Gym!"

After she left, Koga covered his eyes with his left hand and groaned. I nodded to my Pokémon, who were focused more on their dishes and food, and they ravenously ate their dinner.

"Anyway, why are you here, Koga?" I asked.

Koga sat down across from me and took out a black bento box. "Two things. One, I would appreciate it if I can join you for dinner. My wife and daughter are busy on a training mission."

I was surprised he had a family, given his status as a professional ninja. "Sure, I'd love the company. What's the other thing?"

Koga opened his box, which revealed a scoop of white rice and steamed vegetables covered in teriyaki sauce. "Let us eat first. I am exhausted from our session."

I gratefully smiled and ate my hot noodles. The Gym Leader then told me tales of his most thrilling missions, and I was surprised how much he had done after long years of training. Hopefully, I could do more exciting things on my journey.

After our meal, Koga put his box into his robes and said, "The second thing is that I need your help with a favor."

"A favor?"

My Pokémon stopped what they were doing and paid attention.

Koga nodded. "My friend, the Safari Zone Warden, has unfortunately lost his teeth in the preserve again."

I was confused. "Wait…do you mean false teeth?"

"That is correct. Because I occasionally patrol the Safari Zone and he does not have any Pokémon, I usually help him search for his teeth in the preserve. I figured you could help me with this ask. The preserve is quite large, so you will be exposed to Pokémon who are quite territorial."

"So...you're sending me into a locked field where I could potentially die…"

Koga scoffed, "How unlikely! If you apply your new skills, you shall be fine."

I chuckled nervously. This never would've happened at the Safari Zone in Hoenn…

Koga saw my uncertainty. "Summer," he reassured. "You will be fine. You and your Pokémon have improved greatly since our battle. I shall also be around in case you need my help. But knowing you, I believe you will be fine."

I smiled. "Thanks, Koga." I turned to my Pokémon. "What do you guys think?"

Errol playfully brushed his eyebrows. "Rocky and I shall help scout the area."

"Swirls and I can search the ponds and thick grass," Flower suggested.

"Blaze, Lightning, want to walk with me?" I asked.

Blaze and Lightning shouted, "Let's do it!"

Koga nodded. "I will let you rest for the night. Show up in front of the gateway to the Safari Zone at 9am sharp."

He then looked up at the ceiling, and I did as well. After I saw nothing, I realized he used it as a distraction. "Well, time for bed everyone."

"Did you get everything?" Raven whispered to her partner as she snuck through the Safari Zone gates.

"Yeah, yeah," Boulder muttered, pushing a large box through the bars. "Remind me why I'm carrying all this broken equipment?"

"We're using them to distract the Gym Leader from his duties of monitoring those islands."

After he crossed through the bars, Boulder reluctantly picked up a pair of golden false teeth. "Is this why we stole these from that warden?"

Raven smiled, glad she didn't have to touch them. "Yes. Koga occasionally helps that forgetful man find his teeth."

Boulder smirked and threw them back into the box. "I've always wanted to battle him, given his reputation and all."

"I'm looking forward to it as well. The boss made it seem like he was a strong Trainer and ninja."

Boulder cracked his knuckles. "I can't wait."

"What's taking Koga so long?!" I complained, angrily looking at my Pokégear. "It's 9:05, and he said 'sharp'!"

"Hey, Summer," Lightning asked, looking at the enormous metal gates. A wooden sign over the arch spelled, 'Kanto Safari Zone', in rainbow letters. "Does it feel like we're being watched?"

I looked up and glanced around. "Yeah, it does. Almost as if... Duck, Lightning!"

The Pikachu and I quickly fell flat on the ground as a Toxic attack harmlessly passed over us.

"Good morning, Summer. Nice reflexes."

"Thanks, Koga…" Lightning and I carefully got up and saw the Gym Leader and his Crobat, Yatate. I didn't have to scan him with my Pokédex, since I already did it before with him, Nekode, and Amigasa. "Are you going to keep doing this every time we see each other?"

Koga smiled. "I might. It is good practice. So…are you ready to find my friend's teeth?"

"I guess so. Did he say where he last saw them?"

"Hmm…" Koga stroked his chin. "I am not sure. He does not recall his actions when his teeth went missing. It is so strange; usually he remembers these things."

"I guess we should do the search like we planned yesterday." We walked through the gates and I looked at the guide map. I also did some research of the Safari Zone this morning and knew there were some rare Pokémon living there. "It seems the preserve is separated into four areas, with the southeast corner being Area 1. It then moves in a counterclockwise direction, with Area 4 to the left of Area 1."

"What is your strategy, Summer?" Koga curiously asked.

I sent out the rest of my Pokémon, who were eager to start our scavenger hunt.

"Okay, here's the plan. Errol, Rocky, go to Area 3. That's the farthest square, but you two can travel faster than all of us." The two nodded and headed northwest, with Errol scanning the ground and Rocky looking at the plateaus.

"Flower, Swirls," I continued. "Go to Area 4. There's plenty of ponds and grass for you to explore." The two female Pokémon were overjoyed and immediately ran off to the southwest.

"I shall take Area 2," Koga offered. "If there is any trouble, I will let you know. But I doubt there will be. Come, Yatate."

"Yes, Sensei," the Bat Pokémon lightly hissed. Both him and his Trainer dashed through the thick grass and disappeared.

I then looked at my remaining two Pokémon, who looked slightly nervous.

"What's wrong, you guys?" I asked.

Both of them blushed and looked away. "I-it's nothing, Summer…" Blaze muttered.

They then jumped into the grass and I obliviously followed them. After a few minutes of searching through, I overheard their conversation and realized what was going on.

"S-so...Blaze…" Lightning stuttered. "I-it's great working with you again."

"Oh, thanks, Lightning," Blaze bashfully replied. "You too. You've been doing better in battles lately..." He then hesitated. "I wish I could be better too."

"What are you talking about?! You're still the strongest out of all of us."

Blaze paused. "I don't feel like it. I feel like I'm missing something, but I don't know what."

"Why don't we tell, Summer? She can help us."

"No! I...I want to figure it out myself…"

"Oh!" Lightning was hurt by his words. "Sorry I offended you…"

"Y-you didn't offend me, Lightning…"

I then heard light rustling, signaling Lightning went to look elsewhere. Blaze sadly sighed.

I can't believe it! This grass is so soft and green! But more importantly, I didn't know Blaze felt that way. Maybe I should have a special training session with him soon.

Suddenly, the sound of stronger rustling came from my left. I turned in that direction and saw something red dash towards me. I quickly fell to the ground and a boy jumped over me.

"Guess my reflexes are sharper than I thought," I muttered, rubbing my arms. The grass blades were so sharp, they slightly cut my skin.

"Are you okay, Summer?" Blaze asked as he ran towards me.

"I'm fine, thanks Blaze." I got up at the same time as the boy, who was trying to fix his spiky green hair. After some thought, I asked, "Carlos, is that you?"

He turned around and smiled with surprise. "Señorita Summer! I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm helping Koga with an errand. Are you here to catch Pokémon?"

He then showed us his knapsack of camouflage-colored Pokéballs. "Sí! I've been trying to find a Scyther for an hour. I thought you were a Tauros because of your brown shirt. Lo siento." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Good thing I didn't throw any mud at you."

"Yeah...good thing…" I gratefully responded.

We both made it through the grass to a small plateau. Lightning hurriedly ran towards us, but when she saw we were fine, she ignored Blaze and climbed into my shoulder.

"So what're you helping Koga with?" Carlos asked, climbing the rocks and scanning the patches of grass on the other side.

I caught up to him and scanned as well. "Trying to find some false teeth. His friend, the warden, lost them."

"That makes sense now! When I arrived, I couldn't understand what that man was saying."

We both laughed. I then heard noises in the grass and saw my other four Pokémon come towards me. "How was the search?"

They unhappily sighed.

"I'm afraid we found nothing," Errol sadly said, stroking his chin.

"We looked everywhere but we couldn't find them," Flower added.

"Though Flower and I met a beautiful Pokémon," Swirls happily sighed. "She was white and blue, like an ocean wave."

Rocky chuckled. "We could say the same thing, but the Pokémon Errol and I saw was fierce with his sharp arms."

"You guys saw some of the rarest Pokémon in the Safari Zone?!" I gasped. "How lucky."

"Wait, what did they see?" Carlos asked curiously.

"Let me see." I took out my Pokédex and looked up the Pokémon. [Dratini, the Dragon Pokémon. A Dratini continually molts and sloughs off its old skin. It does because the life energy within its body steadily builds to reach uncontrollable.] [Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its blindingly fast speed adds to the sharpness of its twin forearm scythe. The scythes can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke.]

Carlos slightly fell over. "W-where did Rocky see the Scyther?"

"He and Errol were searching around Area 3."

The Ace Trainer's eyes sparkled. "I should get going!"

He was about to jump of the plateau when a large explosion rocked the ground. "What was that?"

I looked to the north and saw smoke rising. "Oh, no! Koga's searching over there! I have to go check up on him."

"I'll join you," Carlos said. "This might get ugly."

"Thanks, Carlos."

We headed towards the smoke and heard people coughing. Errol immediately used Foresight and scanned through the smoke. His eyes then glowed magenta, and he used his powers to pick up an injured Koga and a fainted Nekode. Rocky laid down, and Errol gently placed them onto the Rock Snake Pokémon's head.

"Koga!" I shouted as he tried to stand. "What happened?"

"Su-Summer…" he whispered. "G-get out of here...Team Rocket…" He then fell back down, exhausted.

"I can handle them, Koga. Just get some rest." I looked at Errol and Rocky. "Take Koga and Nekode back to the Pokémon Center."

The two nodded and carefully moved towards the exit. I then looked at the larger plateaus and saw two all too familiar people.

"You!" I angrily shouted at Boulder and Raven, who recovering from the Self Destruct. "Why did you attack Koga?!"

They glared back at me.

"You! That's none of your business, Summer!" Boulder growled.

"Qué?" Carlos asked, confused at the situation. "Who're they?"

"Team Rocket," I answered. "You know, that group that's been going around, causing trouble."

"Ya veo! Those red 'Rs' on their shirts make sense now."

"Enough! Where's Koga?!" Raven angrily demanded.

"He disappeared," I bluntly stated.

"Wow, he is good," Boulder said with surprise.

"Don't be an idiot, Boulder!" she shouted, slapping him over the head. "The dear sweetie must've used her Pokémon to take him to the Pokémon Center."

Boulder rubbed the back of his head. "That was my second guess. But we've done what we needed to do."

"What're you talking about?!" I demanded.

Raven slapped him harder. "I'm afraid that's all we'll say. We'd love to battle you, but we have somewhere else to be. Tara, use Haze!"

Boulder added, "Eric, Sandstorm!"

The Murkrow and Graveler came out of their Pokéballs and blinded us with cold smoke and swirling sand. When Carlos and I were able to see, the Grunts and their Pokémon were gone.

I inspected where they were standing and found a pair of golden teeth. Feeling this belonged to the warden, I took a plastic bag from my backpack and hastily threw them inside.

"Let me take those teeth back to the warden, Señorita Summer," Carlos offered. "I still want to find that Scyther."

"Thanks, Carlos." I gave him the bag, and he placed it into his zippered pocket.

"I better be off. Tell Señor Koga I hope he gets well."

I nodded, returned everyone, and ran to the Pokémon Center. When I got there, Nurse Furījia was waiting for me outside, along with Errol and Rocky.

She saw my worried face and gave me a soft smile. "Don't worry, Summer. Master Koga will be fine. Believe me, that ninja has suffered worse injuries before."

"That's a relief. Can you let me know if he can talk to me? I have something I need to ask him."

"Of course."

I went to the outdoor battlefield and sat on the bench. My other Pokémon let themselves out.

"Thanks for your help everyone," I softly praised. "I just wish it didn't have to turn out like this."

"You did not expect this to happen, Summer," Flower said. "I'm sure Koga was glad you came to help."

I smiled and was about to respond when my Pokégear vibrated. I took it out and saw I had Misty was calling me.

I answered the call and put it on speaker. I was about to say hi when she fearfully asked, Summer? Are you with Koga? I've been trying to contact him for an hour.

"We...we got caught up in something. What's going on?"

Team-team Rocket took Articuno!

Everyone was shocked. "H-how?! Aren't Legendary Pokémon hard to catch?"

It doesn't matter now. I hurt my ankle, and I need help getting out. It's really cold in here, and I don't think I can make it outside on my own.

"Where are you?"

I can't say. They might be still here. But you know the place. Please hurry.

"Okay, hang on Misty."

Thanks.

She hung up, and I put my Pokégear away.

"I heard everything," Koga said, standing to my right in a shady part of the building. He had a cast over his right arm and a head bandage, but otherwise, he looked fine. "I hate to say it, but I cannot leave in this condition."

I got up and firmly said, "Don't worry, Koga, I'll go and get Misty."

"The ocean route leading to those islands is known to have rough waves. It will be dangerous."

"I understand. I'll be careful and put my training to use."

Koga nodded. "I know you will succeed. Call me when you exit the caves."

I nodded, remembering I already had his Pokégear number. I returned everyone except for Errol and Swirls.

"Let's go save Misty!" I shouted, running to Route 20. Errol and Swirls followed me close behind, while Koga gave us a proud smile.

Pokémon: Blaze (Combusken, male): Brave Nature, moves: Quick Attack, Double Kick, Flamethrower, Focus Energy

Errol (Noctowl, male): Rash Nature, moves: Foresight, Confusion, Hypnosis, Peck

Swirls (Poliwhirl, female): Relaxed Nature, moves: Water Pulse, Hypnosis, Water Gun, Doubleslap

Lightning (Pikachu, female): Adamant Nature, moves: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Sweet Kiss

Flower (Ivysaur, female): Gentle Nature, moves: Sludge Bomb, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder

Rocky (Onix, male): Lonely Nature, moves: Rock Throw, Slam, Dragonbreath, Iron Tail

Questions for the Chapter:

What is Blaze missing?

What do you think of Koga as a teacher?