I found the banned episode of "The Legend of Dratini" on pokeflix dot tv, if someone is curious.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 24: The Legend of Dratini

We heeded Koga's suggestion and headed to the Safari Zone before Saffron City. Before we left Fuchsia City, Ash sent Beedrill to Professor Oak's lab and added the leader of the Squirtle Squad to the team. Squirtle knew Bite, which was an effective move against Sabrina's psychic-type Pokémon, so he wanted to train Squirtle before the Gym.

When I looked up Eevee's moves, I found out it could learn Bite, so I sent Kobra to the lab and added Eevee to my party so I could train him and, hopefully, make a decision of which evolution he should evolve into.

The closer we got to the Safari Zone, the more the environment changed. We were first in a forest before the place transformed into savanna plains. I was still in awe of how many terrains there were in Kanto. But then again, Kanto and Johto were close to the equator, so that kinda explained the different terrains.

"Gotta catch 'em all! Gotta catch 'em all in the Safari Zone, yay!~" Ash sang loudly shortly before we arrived to the Safari Zone.

The whole place was surrounded by a long wall and a gate that was the only way in and out. There was also a house next to the gate, so I had a feeling we had to go there first to get permission to enter the Safari Zone.

"This must be the place, yay~!" Ash continued singing.

"Ash, could you please stop singing now?" Brock asked tiredly. "You've been doing it for the last hour."

"Sorry, but I can't help it", Ash chuckled sheepishly. "We're going to see lots of Pokémon and I'm gonna catch 'em all, yay~!"

"Pikachu~!"

"Save some for me, Ash", I giggled softly.

"Well, I'll try fishing some rare water-type Pokémon", Misty smiled widely. "What about you, Brock?"

"Me? I heard there are Rhyhorns here, so maybe I'll catch one for the Gym", Brock said.

"Who are you fours?!" a loud voice yelled all of the sudden.

I jumped in fear and hid behind Ash as a man stood on the pouch outside of the house. He was an elderly man, maybe in his sixties, and was dressed like a cowboy…

Wait… Were those holsters strapped on his waist gun holsters?!

"Are you poachers who've come to steal every wild Pokémon?!" the man yelled before aiming a gun at us.

I shrieked in fear at the sight of the weapon and stayed behind Ash as I held onto his jacket. I didn't want to die! I didn't want us to die!

"N-No, sir! We're Pokémon Trainers who've come to visit the Safari Zone!" Ash panicked.

"W-We have no ill intentions, s-so, please don't shoot!" Misty added.

I waited to hear gun fire and cries, but when nothing of that sort erupted I slowly opened my eyes and saw the man had put away his gun, but he still had a sour expression.

"For the sake of the young ladies, I won't shoot you", the man said. "I'm Kaiser; the warden of the Safari Zone. You said you're here to catch Pokémon?"

"Y-Yes…", Ash nodded slowly.

"There are certain rules of catching Pokémon here", Kaiser said. "Step inside and listen very closely."

I was still hiding behind Ash as we walked into the office. The walls were decorated by both old and few photos of the different Pokémon that could be found on the Safari Zone. We had to pay 500 Poké Dollar each for the fee. With that money, we each got a basket of Safari Balls and a fishing rod to use.

"You'll only have thirty Safari Balls to use", Kaiser explained. "All other Poké Balls are forbidden to use. Do not leave any trash or broken Safari Balls behind; bring them back to the office. The Safari Zone closes by 6 p.m., so make sure to be back before then. If not…" He rested his hand on one of his guns. "…my 'Thunderbolt' will teach you a lesson."

"Yes, sir!" Ash nodded frantically before he grabbed his basket and fishing rod.

"Is that a Dratini?!" Misty exclaimed all of the sudden.

I immediately turned around when I heard the Pokémon's name. "Dratini?!"

Misty picked down one of the framed photos off the wall and showed it to me. "Look."

Ash and Brock joined us as we took a closer look at the photo. "Oh? Is that Kaiser?" Ash said.

There was a man on the photo kneeling down next to a Dratini that had a scar on its horn. The picture looked old, so it was obviously taken when Kaiser was young.

"He looks so young", Brock chuckled.

"A Dratini…", I mumbled in awe. "Does this mean you can find Dratinis here?"

"Already dreaming about your future dragon, sis?" Ash chuckled.

"I've heard rumors that there are Dratinis here in the Safari Zone, so they must be true", Brock pointed out.

Next thing we knew, Kaiser quickly ran to us and snatched the photo frame out of Misty's hands. "No! There aren't any Dratinis here!"

"Huh? But that picture-", Ash began, only to panic when Kaiser rested a hand on his guns again. "I get it! I get it! There are no Dratinis here!"

Kaiser snorted loudly before he walked out of the house with the framed photo and shut the door with a loud bang.

"I wonder why he got so defensive about Dratini?" Misty wondered.

"He must have his reasons", Brock shrugged.

"Maybe Professor Oak knows something about the Safari Zone", Ash said.

"Good idea", I nodded. "Let's call him."

There was a payphone in the office, so we used it to contact Professor Oak. "Hi, Ash, Ashley, Misty, Brock!"

"Hi, Professor!" we greeted simultaneously.

"Professor Oak, we're in the Safari Zone, but we have some questions", Ash began.

"Oh? What questions?"

"The warden, Kaiser, has a picture of himself with a Dratini, but he says there are no Dratinis here. Do you happen to know something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. The one who discovered Dratini in the Safari Zone thirty years ago was Kaiser himself. When the news about Dratini spread, Trainers from all over the region traveled there to catch it. Unfortunately, when they couldn't find Dratini, they caught the other Pokémon, which threatened the many species to almost go extinct and the Safari Zone ended up completely wrecked. After that incident, they had no other choice but to close the gates and give the species a chance to repopulate. When the Safari Zone opened again, they established the rule to only use a certain amount of Safari Balls to catch the Pokémon."

"So that's what happened", Misty said sadly.

"It's terrible how we humans can be so cruel and cold-hearted when we're looking for rare Pokémon and almost forced species to go extinct…", I mumbled sadly, suddenly feeling a little guilty for thinking about catching Dratini.

"But what happened to the Dratini?" Ash asked.

"In the end, no one ever found or caught it. But I guess only that picture you mentioned remains as proof that Dratinis used to live there. Dratini is considered one of the rarest Pokémon here in Kanto, so only a few has seen and caught it, like Lance."

"I wonder where Lance caught his Dratinis…", I mumbled softly.

"Well, make sure to catch some new Pokémon, twins! Gary's been busy catching and sending many different Pokémon to me."

Ash growled softly when he heard his rival's name, but then quickly calmed down. "I'll do my best, Professor."

"Me too", I nodded.

"I'm looking forward to see them! Take care and be careful!"

"We will!" we nodded.

"Pika pika!"

With that said, we ended the call.

"I guess we should respect Kaiser's wishes and leave Dratini alone", Brock suggested.

"Yeah, but I just want to see it once", Ash said excitedly. "Only see it; not catch it."

"Me too", I nodded. "I've always wanted to see a Dratini and… Well, catch it for my team, but I won't catch the Dratini here."

"Same here", Misty added.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kaiser opened the gate for us to enter the Safari Zone and wished us good luck, but he used his gun to threaten us one last time to not go all ballistic over the wild Pokémon. We promised him we weren't going to be reckless and come back once we had used all of our Safari Balls, which were 120 in total.

The Safari Zone was such a large area. I could already see so many different Pokémon. It was like a paradise for Pokémon Trainers.

Or… What was the other word for it?

Oh yeah! Smörgåsbord!

"Okay! What should I catch first?" Ash asked out loud as he looked around.

"Piiika!" Pikachu chirped as he looked around as well.

"Well, I'll head to a lake to fish some Pokémon", Misty said.

"Shouldn't we stay together instead so we don't lose sight of each other?" I asked.

"That's actually a good idea", Brock nodded. "We don't know how big the Safari Zone is, so it's best we stick together."

"Let's use one hour to look for some Pokémon on land and then we can go fishing", Ash suggested.

"I'm fine with that", Misty shrugged. "And when we do get to fish, I'll gladly lend you my lures."

XXXXXXXXXX

The sun was about to set when we were walking back to the gate. We managed to catch a few Pokémon, but the majority managed to break out of the devices. We made sure to pick up every used Safari Ball to return them to Kaiser.

Ash hummed happily as he bounced ahead of us. "I caught so many nice Pokémon! Gary will be so jealous when he hears about them!"

Ash caught Tauros, Rhyhorn, Exeggcute, Nidorino, and Poliwag. Brock caught a Rhyhorn, which he was happy about. Misty found no new Pokémon she wanted, so she got a little jealous when Ash fished up Poliwag.

And what about me? Well, the only Pokémon I caught was a Nidorina I decided to nickname Rina. For some weird reason, I now had three Pokémon that were poison-type. I found it a little odd, since I wanted to become a dragon tamer, but I was an odd-ball and I loved every Pokémon I caught so far.

"It's sad we couldn't see Dratini", I commented.

"Yeah, but Dratini might've left the Safari Zone a long time ago", Brock pointed out.

"Or it was hiding and saw us, but we didn't see it", Misty added.

"Yeah…", I mumbled softly.

"Don't worry, Ashley", Ash said as he patted my shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find a Dratini someday."

"Pika pika!"

I half-smiled and placed a hand on top of my brother's. "Thank you, Ash…"

The gate was still open, but Kaiser wasn't waiting for us. I was expecting him to show up with his guns aimed at us for being a few minutes late. We hurried to the house and saw the door to the office was open, which was weird.

However, the biggest shock was we found Kaiser lying on the floor all tied up and even had his mouth covered by a cloth. His guns were missing from the two holsters.

"Kaiser?!" we exclaimed in shock.

We dropped our stuff before untying Kaiser and removed the cloth around his mouth. "Kaiser, what happened?!" Misty asked worriedly.

"Two people with a talking Meowth showed up and demanded me to tell them where Dratini is hiding so they can capture it!" Kaiser panicked.

"Team Rocket?! That must be Jessie and James!" Ash gasped in realization.

"It's been a while since we saw them…", I mumbled softly.

"But you said there are no Dratinis in the Safari Zone", Brock said confusedly.

"I… I lied…", Kaiser mumbled. "They… They are in the Valley of Dragons."

"The Valley of Dragons?" Ash and I repeated simultaneously.

"It's by the mountains far away from here", Kaiser explained while Brock helped him stand up. "We have to hurry and stop them!"

"Right!" we nodded.

We hurried outside and ran back into the Safari Zone. I had a terrible feeling Team Rocket was far ahead, so I got an idea. "Kaiser, are we allowed to call out our Pokémon to give us a ride?"

"Normally, it's prohibited, but I'll make an exception this time!" Kaiser replied.

"Okay!" I nodded before I grabbed Firered's Poké Ball. "Firered, we need your help!"

"Rawr!"

"Onix, help us out too!" Brock shouted as he threw his Pokémon's Poké Ball.

"Oooo!"

XXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take that long to reach the mountains and the Valley of Dragons, thanks to our Pokémon. Ash and I flew on Firered while Brock, Misty, and Kaiser rode on Onix. We soon found Team Rocket by a lake that looked the same as in that photo of Kaiser and Dratini. The lake was surrounded by pointy rocks, as if they were meant to defend the lake.

"Stop!" Ash yelled as Firered landed at the other side of the lake just as Onix reached us.

"It's the twerps again!" Team Rocket growled in frustration.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" Ash asked angrily.

"Pikachu!"

"Rawr!"

"Oooo!"

"We're here to catch every single Pokémon in the Safari Zone, twerp", Jessie said while wagging her index finger.

"But before that, we're gonna catch the crown jewel of them all; Dratini!" James added.

"If you hadn't taken my guns, I would've immobilized you by now!" Kaiser growled. "Leave the Safari Zone immediately!"

"Nope! Not until I drop this in the lake!" Meowth exclaimed before holding up a bomb.

"A bomb?!" my friends, brother, and I exclaimed in shock.

"A stun bomb! If you care so much about Dratini, catch it before it blows up!" Meowth taunted before throwing the bomb into the lake.

"No!" Kaiser panicked. "The bomb will hurt every Pokémon in the lake!"

Without thinking, the old man dived into the lake.

"Kaiser!" Ash yelled. "I have to go too!"

"No!" Misty and I cried worriedly before grabbing his arms.

"Let go of me!" Ash demanded.

"But if you jump in now, you'll get hurt!" Misty panicked.

"I don't want to lose you, Ash!" I added as I felt my whole body was shaking in fear.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine", Ash assured us with a smile.

"B-But…", Misty stuttered.

"I won't let Team Rocket hurt Pokémon like this", Ash added.

I could tell by my brother's eyes that he was serious about this. He cared for Pokémon just as much as I did, but he was willing to put his life at stake to protect them, whether they were his own or wild.

"Okay…", I nodded slowly as I let go of Ash's arm. "But come back alive!"

"I will", Ash nodded.

Misty let go of his other arm before he dived into the lake. She quickly grabbed one of her Poké Balls. "Staryu, go and assist Ash!"

"Kraa!"

XXXXXXXXXX – Ash's POV

Seconds after I dived into the lake, Staryu joined forces and allowed me to hold onto it so it could guide me to the bottom. We caught up with Kaiser, so I gestured to Staryu to bring him back to the surface. Staryu understood my message and left me alone so it could help Kaiser.

I pushed myself to swim down to the bottom. Luckily, I managed to find the bomb and picked it up. It turned out to be a time bomb and the timer was already under 1 minute and 30 seconds.

I had to hurry back to land before the bomb could detonate. I had to protect the Pokémon that Kaiser has protected for thirty years!

I was half-way up in the lake when I felt how the air was vanishing from my lungs. The lake was deeper than I first anticipated. I had to push myself to get out faster. I promised my friends to come back.

I promised my sister we would go on a journey together until we both reached our dreams! I refused to break that promise!

My lungs were giving up on me. I could feel how they wanted to get fresh oxygen, but I was still far away from the surface.

Just a little more…

Just a little…

More…

XXXXXXXXXX – Ashley's POV

We were waiting anxiously for Ash to come up with the bomb. Kaiser came back to Staryu, so he was okay. Team Rocket was also waiting anxiously, but that was because of the bomb.

Less than a minute after Ash dived in, I suddenly got a weird feeling in my soul. Like a thread got cut and I was no longer feeling the bond I had with my brother.

"No…", I mumbled in shock as I was slowly going into panic mode. "No…! NO! ASH!"

Everyone around me flinched by my sudden outburst. "Ashley, what's wrong?" Brock asked.

"ASH! ASH!" I yelled as I hurried into the lake.

"Ashley, wait!" Misty yelled before I felt two pairs of hands grab my arms.

"Let me go!" I fought against the grip while splashing the water around us with my feet. "Something happened to Ash! I have to save him!"

"What do you mean?!" Brock asked.

"Ash is dead!" I yelled as tears ran down my cheeks. "I have to get him!"

"Ash's dead?!" Misty exclaimed in shock.

"Calm down, Ashley!" Brock said as he tightened his grip on my right arm. "Ash's a trooper! He will come back!"

"Let me gooo…!" I sobbed.

My legs gave up on me as they were shaking violently. Misty and Brock figured I wouldn't do anything stupid now, so they slowly helped me sit down in the water. As soon as they let go of my arms, I covered my face as I sobbed loudly. I barely felt Firered's warm scales and wings against my body.

"AAASH!" I cried to the sky.

The bright sky became dark with heavy rain and thunderclouds that appeared out of nowhere. Seconds later, rain started pouring down while the rumble of thunder echoed around us. Firered growled irritably for getting wet, but he used one of his wings to shield me from the rain.

"What's with the sudden weather change?" Jessie wondered.

I slowly calmed down as I sensed something different. I removed my hands from my face as a whirlpool appeared in the middle of the lake.

"What's that?!" Misty shouted.

"Something's happening to the lake!" Brock called.

I quickly pushed myself out of the water as a beam of light shot up from the whirlpool. A long serpent body flew up in the light before it vanished with the rain and thunder, revealing a beautiful Dragonair!

But what made me relax was Ash sitting on Dragonair! He was alive!

"Ash!" we called in relief.

"T-That's a Dragonair!" James exclaimed in shock.

"Dragonair…?" Kaiser mumbled.

"Hey, Team Rocket! Here's your bomb!" Ash yelled before throwing the bomb to them.

The bomb landed in Jessie's hands just as it detonated and threw the evil team up in the sky.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

I was staring at Dragonair in awe, too stunned to say a word. This was the first time I've ever seen one in real life.

Dragonair flew down to the lake and swam close enough to the land so Ash could climb off. As soon as he did, I ran straight into his arms.

"Ash!" I cried in joy as I held him tight. "I… I thought I lost you, brother…"

"I'm sorry I made you worry, Ashley", Ash said softly as he caressed my head. "I did promise I will come back."

I let go of him just before Misty gave him a tight hug as well. "Ash, you idiot! Never make me so worried again!" she shouted irritably.

"Ow! I'm sorry, Misty!" Ash hissed in pain by the bear hug.

Misty relaxed her arms before she slowly moved back and gave my brother a teary smile. "Just… Don't be so reckless next time."

"Can't promise that…", Ash said sheepishly.

"You almost gave us a heart attack, Ash", Brock chuckled softly. "But I knew you would make it back."

We turned our attention at Dragonair that was staring intensely at Kaiser. Kaiser looked at it before gasping in realization. "That scar on your horn… It's you…", he mumbled softly before tears ran down his cheeks. "Dratini! It is you!"

Dragonair placed its head on Kaiser's shoulder, so they could give each other a big reunion hug. Even the dragon Pokémon was crying by the joy of seeing its friend again. It made me cry a little bit as well.

"Guys, look!" Brock called as he pointed at the lake.

Another Dragonair swam to the surface of the lake along with two Dratini. "Kyuu?" the two Dratini chirped.

"Another Dragonair and two Dratini…?" Kaiser mumbled as he wiped his tears. "Are they…your family, my friend?"

"Kyruu", Dragonair nodded.

"You've grown so much since last time, my friend… I'm so happy for you", Kaiser smiled widely.

"What a touching reunion", Ash smiled as Pikachu jumped into his arms.

"Chu…"

"I'm so glad Kaiser got to see his Dratini friend again", Misty smiled.

"This is one of the biggest rewards a Trainer can get when they raise their Pokémon and release them so they can have reunions like this", Brock nodded as he rubbed Onix's muzzle.

"Oooo…"

It made me think of Honey, my Butterfree. I looked at the sky and imagined her flying above us with her shiny mate. "I hope we'll see each other again, Honey…", I mumbled softly.

"Rawr…"

"Kyuu!" one of the Dratini chirped.

Ash noticed the youngest Dratini was staring at him. He kneeled down in front of it while Pikachu jumped out of his arms. "What is it, Dratini?" my brother asked.

Dratini crawled out of the water and got close enough to Ash so it could nuzzle its head against his arm. I suddenly felt a ting of jealously for seeing that. It looked like Dratini had taken a liking to my brother. Could it mean…

"Boy…", Kaiser spoke up, making Ash look at him. "I think…my friend's baby wants to go with you."

"What…?" Ash gasped softly in surprise.

"Really?" Misty gasped excitedly.

Kaiser exchanged a glance with his Dragonair friend who nodded its head. The old man nodded in return before turning back to Ash. "Dragonair says you can catch Dratini, as long as you promise not to tell a single soul that you found it here in the Safari Zone."

"I… I promise", Ash nodded hesitantly before looking over his shoulder. "But, Ashley…"

I got over my jealousy and shook my head. "It's okay, Ash. Dratini chose you. One day, I will find my own Dratini. But… Can I take care of it from time to time?"

"Of course", Ash nodded before turning back to Dratini. "Dratini, want to come with us on our journey?"

"Kyuu!" Dratini nodded.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu smiled.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash got permission from Kaiser to catch Dratini with a normal Poké Ball, so the Safari Ball wouldn't expose where he found the dragon Pokémon. My brother wanted to keep Dratini in the party, so he sent Haunter to Professor Oak's lab along with the other Pokémon he caught in the Safari Zone. However, just as Haunter made it to the lab and Professor Oak opened the Poké Ball, Haunter evolved into a Gengar!

Before leaving the Safari Zone, we promised Kaiser and Professor Oak not to tell a single soul about the dragon family, so the place wouldn't get wrecked again.

I was still feeling a little heavy in my heart that Ash caught a Dratini, but I was happy for him. And, like I said, I wasn't going to give up looking and catching my own Dratini in the future.

For now, I was happy to help Ash take care of Dratini and learn every little thing about the species for future use.

XXXXXXXXXX

I decided to let Ash catch a Dratini instead of Ashley. I have other plans for her Dratini in the Johto Saga.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Firered the Charizard (male)

Bruce the Primeape (male)

Luna the Clefairy (female)

Wanda the Gyarados (female)

Oliver the Gloom (male)

Eevee (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Kobra the Arbok (male)

Rina the Nidorina (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Bulbasaur (male)

Charmeleon (male)

Pidgeotto (male)

Pikachu (male)

Squirtle (male)

Dratini (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Squirtle x4 (males)

Krabby (male)

Primeape (male)

Muk (male)

Beedrill (male)

Tauros (male)

Rhyhorn (male)

Exeggcute (male)

Nidorino (male)

Poliwag (male)

Gengar (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Starmie (genderless)

Horsea (female)

Psyduck (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)

Rhyhorn (male)