Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Safari, a Battle, and Teeth?

"Excellent, miss," the Safari Zone worker said, double-checking and ensuring payment went through. He reached behind the counter and pulled out a satchel which he handed to Leaf. "Thirty Safari Balls. Now, your safari game is over once you run out of Balls or once an hour goes by, whichever comes first, and the time starts once you set foot in the Safari Zone itself. Oh, and you can end it early if you choose, so don't feel obligated to use the full hour."

"Thank you," Leaf said, opening the satchel to find Poké Balls that had the upper red half replaced by camo colours. She emptied her own bag, placing four Poké Balls, five Great Balls, and an Ultra Ball onto the counter. "So, you said you'll look after these, isn't that right?"

"Precisely, miss," the worker said, storing them behind the counter. "Can't have someone trying to take advantage of this place and over capture. Anyway," he gestured to Red, "do you want to explore the Safari Zone too?"

"Yeah, it sounds fun," Red said, hopping forward. "I'm probably not going to capture anything though. Do I still have to leave my Poké Balls?"

"I'm afraid so." The worker rubbed his chin and furrowed his brow. "Well, if you're not going to capture any Pokémon, then how about you take part in a game?"

Red gasped, his eyes wide and shining. "A game? What kind of game? Is it fun?"

"I would say so," the worker said. "You've got to find the Secret House in an hour. And you can have multiple attempts to find it, although you'll have to pay the entrance fee each time. You can get a cool prize."

As the humans were talking, Pikachu and Eevee scurried off towards an elderly man who slouched into the building and sat on a seat, head down, quite obviously dejected, although the vacant look in his eyes might have made someone guess otherwise.

"I can do that!" Red exclaimed. "I totally can!" He slammed money and his Poké Balls, which numbered three, onto the countertop. "Er…" He faced Leaf sheepishly, "sorry, Leaf. Can I do this? It sounds like a blast."

"I mean, I did want to show you how well I can catch tonnes of Pokémon," she said, her lips downturned ever so slightly. "But if you want to do it, then it's up to you, isn't it? Besides, you'll probably end up chasing away the extremely rare ones. I'm talking star rare."

Red scowled. "No, I wouldn't. Maybe. But thanks, Leaf. Don't worry, I'll find this Secret House place as soon as possible as head back to you. How's that sound?"

"Whatever you say, Red," Leaf said, putting on her game face, which was just her lowering her hat a couple millimetres. "Maybe I'll catch all the Pokémon here and find the Secret House before you?"

"Nope," Red said, folding his arms. "The Secret House is all mine." He chuckled apologetically. "Sorry though, Leaf. But if I find a rare Pokémon, then I'll tell you where I found it and you can get it, okay?"

Leaf pretended to think about it for a moment. "Hmm, okay, you've twisted my arm. Good luck with your Secret House hunt."

"And good luck with doing the job I had given up on before I'd even started it."

"Well, I guess we'd best be on our way," Leaf said, flinging the satchel over her shoulders. "Eevee, over here, girl."

Eevee, instead of running over to her Trainer, stayed where she was, nuzzling the unhappy stranger's shin. The man lightly stroked the top of her head and sighed for so long that it was a shock his body did not deflate like a balloon. Pikachu clambered on the seat next to him and poked him, getting a petting himself.

"Huh?" Red said. "Who is he?"

"He looks so sad," Leaf said, her heart going out to the old fellow.

"He's been like that the past few days," the worker said. "Lost his false teeth, he did. He said he dropped them in the Safari Zone somewhere."

"Er.." Red took off his cap and scratched his head. "Why is he sad about that? Can't you buy new teeth at the Poké Mart?"

"You don't buy false teeth at the Poké Mart," Leaf explained. "You would need to see a dentist or a dental technician. But yeah, the best ones aren't cheap, but he could still buy them, couldn't he?"

"Normally, yes," the worker said. "But the thing is his teeth were solid gold."

Red and Leaf blinked and blinked again, waiting dimly for the worker's words to seep into their brains.

"Solid gold?" Red shouted.

"Why would anyone want gold teeth?" Leaf said, tactful enough to not raise her voice like Red. "It seems pointless."

"I'm not one to judge," the worker said. He grimaced at the elderly man. "But either way, it's upset him, and that's not good for the morale of the Safari Zone to have its warden be this unhappy. He can't even talk without them, only mumble things we can't understand."

Red and Leaf blinked and blinked again, waiting dimly for the worker's words to seep into their brains.

"He's the warden?" Red and Leaf shouted together.

"Uh-huh. Warden Baoba, but everyone mostly calls him Warden Slowpoke because of the fact they share that same blank look in their eyes." The worker appeared as if he wanted to laugh, yet thankfully did not. "Even when he's upset, he still kind of looks like one. Still, I would like to have the happy warden we know and love back. He's a great guy."

The worker cleared his throat and gave the children the standard smile all retail employees are forced to give customers. "Anyway, I hope you both have an amazing time in the Safari Zone. Good luck."

o~o~o~o~o

The Safari Zone was one heck of a giant place! There were flat, shrub-filled plains that seemed to stretch for ages, areas where towering trees seemed to touch the clouds, hills that rose and fell like green and brown waves, and the lakes were silvery and silky, the clouds that drifted in the sky reflected in their clear surfaces.

There was a lot to explore.

Finding the Secret House was going to be no easy feat.

"Where should we go first, Pikachu?" Red asked his partner.

Pikachu's tiny black nose twitched, enticed by the concoction of scents the Safari Zone was imbued with. He darted north and came to the side of a lake, where a familiar person was sat, cross-legged, back as straight as a board.

"Hey, is that…" Red mumbled. "Hey, Pikachu, wait up."

Pikachu looked up at the person, a girl with a spiky purple ponytail, a girl one might recognise as Janine from the other day.

What was she doing in the Safari Zone? It did not appear that she was catching Pokémon. As a matter of fact, now that Red was closer, her eyes were shut.

Is she meditating? Red mouthed to Pikachu, careful not to disturb.

It was most likely she was, but it did not matter for at that moment, Janine leapt to her feet, so suddenly Red shrieked and stumbled into the lake.

"Whoa!" Janine said, throwing a hand to her mouth. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you, even though it's actually weird you came so near to me. Here, let me help you up."

She held out her hand and pulled Red out of the lake. Recognition lit up her face. "Oh, you're Red," she said. "Didn't think I'd see you again so soon."

"Same here," Red said, smiling despite the cold and dampness as Janine tickled Pikachu's chin. "I thought you had gone off with everybody else."

"I just wanted to recharge my batteries," she said. She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled loudly. "Just coming here, somewhere I'd come all the time growing up, where it's quiet. Just meditating and listening to myself. It makes me feel better." She grinned sheepishly. "But dad says I can still be a little…zany. I should never jump out of a meditation, you know. But anyway, are you here to capture Pokémon? There's a lot of tough ones you can get here that could help you get the remaining Badges."

Red shook his head. "Not me, no. Leaf is, but we went different ways when we got in."

"Leaf's here?" Janine said. "Awesome, she's fun to hang out with. Wait," she frowned, "then, why are you here? Just to explore?"

"Kind of," Red said. "I'm looking for the Secret House, and I'm also keeping an eye out for Warden Baoba's false teeth."

"Warden Slowpoke's lost his false teeth?" Janine said. "Gold, right?"

"That's right."

Janine groaned. "Of course he has. Well, I can't help you there, Red, but I can help you with the Secret House if you want."

"You know where it is?" Red gasped.

"Yep," Janine said. "My dad does patrols around the Safari Zone, so he's friends with Warden Slowpoke and all the employees. They told him and he told me, but because of that I'm not allowed to win the prize myself." She shrugged. "Doesn't matter though."

"And what's the prize?" Red asked.

Janine gave him a wink. "You'll have to wait and see."

"But I can't wait!"

"It's not far, especially if we take my shortcut."

"Oh. Are you sure you can't tell me right now?"

"I can go back to meditating and you can go by yourself."

Red held up his hands. "Okay, okay, I'll wait. So, you want to head off now?"

"Totally," Janine said. "And are you a fast runner?"

"I'd be faster if my clothes weren't carrying half that lake."

Janine shook her head. "A pity. Oh well, you're going to have to find a way to keep up with me. Catch me if you can, Red."

As though she could use Quick Attack, Janine flew around the lake's shoreline, Pikachu keeping pace and poor Red floundering behind, his soggy trainers squelching with every step he took.

o~o~o~o~o

Leaf was on a roll. Well, that was what she liked to think. She had already exhausted her thirty Safari Balls within fifteen minutes and was on her second round. Those blasted Chansey are a heck of a lot harder to catch than one would believe. But she would get one sooner or later, she would make certain of that. Still, it was a pity Eevee could only stand there and watch. The paralysis from Buzzy Buzz would work wonders.

She scrolled through her Pokédex, mentally checking off the Pokémon she had captured in the Safari Zone thus far: Nidorina and Nidorino, which meant she did not have to evolve the two Nidoran she already had; a Parasect; a Scyther; a Seaking; a Tangela; and a Psyduck. Not bad within the first thirty Safari Balls, right? Especially when most were wasted on a Chansey.

Leaf snapped shut her Pokédex, which beeped and growled, and she resisted the temptation to throw it away for the hundredth time. Oh, she knew what was up with it, yes, she did, but she would not sacrifice all her hard work and rid herself of the now accursed device. She glared at it, silently declaring war on the thing that inhabited it, pushing away the nightmarish memories that occurred on Cinnabar Island.

Exhaling deeply, Leaf clipped the Pokédex back onto her belt and swivelled around…

…and found herself staring into the beady red pupils of a wild Rhyhorn.

"Oh," she said. "We haven't got one of these yet, have we, Eevee? Hopefully this'll go better than our encounter with Giovanni's."

That man's name burned her tongue like acid.

The Rhyhorn snorted and lowered its head. It scraped its feet on the ground, creating tiny trenches within the earth. It snorted louder.

"Oh," she said again. "Agitated, huh? Nothing a Safari Ball can't handle."

With a flick of her wrist, the Safari Ball floated onto the Rhyhorn, and the Spikes Pokémon disappeared into it.

The Ball did not shake once before the stone-plated rhino exploded out of it.

The Rhyhorn growled, bucked its head wildly, and slammed its front feet into the ground. Its gaze seemed to squash Leaf under an invisible weight. It charged towards her.

Well, a failed capture was not unprecedented, was it? Is it ever? However, a Rage-using Rhyhorn was not exactly something anyone would want to take on directly, especially without the use of their Pokémon.

So, Leaf and Eevee ran away, with the Rhyhorn on their tail.

o~o~o~o~o

"Ta-da!" Janine said, gesturing like a gameshow assistant to a grey and chalky-white building by another lake. "The Secret House! Told you it wasn't that far, but it's hard to see because it's camouflaged against the cliff, which is why many people don't find it, especially on their first go."

"I mean, it would be hard enough even without it being camouflaged because it took us almost forty minutes to get here with your shortcut," Red said grimacing. "I guess people would need three or four goes at least to get here regardless, you know, memorising the entire place and all that and then finding this shortcut. Or other ones. There probably are other shortcuts, aren't there?"

"Maybe," Janine said after a minute of pondering over it. "There might be shorter shortcuts. But we took this one and we're here, so any other one doesn't matter now." She beckoned for Red to follow her and together they walked up to the Secret House front door.

Red strode up confidently to the door and rapped his knuckles against it. Oh, whatever could the prize be? A super rare item? A TM that contained an incredibly useful move? Or how about a HM like Cut or Flash or Fly? Hmm, maybe not the third option. While they could make decent battle techniques, HMs were not that important in helping him explore and discover things, not when Secret Techniques existed.

The door burst open and Red was flung away. Woozy, he picked himself up, Pikachu looking to him with a fair amount of concern.

"Hello!" a man said, dressed in a khaki shirt, khaki shorts, a safari hat, and thick brown boots. He grabbed Red's hand and shook it vigorously. "Congratulations! You have found the Secret House!"

"Awesome," Red said, trying to refocus his eyes. "What do I get?"

"You get an amazing prize!"

"Which is?"

"A Secret Technique known as Sea Skim!"

"A Secret Technique!" Red exclaimed. Pikachu's ears perked up. "Yeah, I totally want that! Man, I was just thinking that maybe I could get one as a prize."

"Excellent!" The man said. "And I shall teach you… oh." The man caught sight of Janine and paused, frowning.

Red gulped. Were they in trouble? Was her bringing him here considered cheating? Was his win automatically rendered null and void?

However, he need not have worried for the man gave Janine a sweeping hug. "Janine, so glad to see you again! Have you already got all the Badges?"

"Not yet, Mche," Janine said, puffing out her chest proudly. "But I'll get there soon."

"I know you will, and I know Koga has really high expectations for you too," the man named Mche said.

"Er… yeah," Janine said, rubbing her forearm. "Hopefully I can live up to being his daughter."

"And is our Secret House winner here going on the same path?" Mche asked.

"He is," Janine said. "And he's got some serious wins under his belt already, right, Red?"

"Yeah, I do."

"And if the other competitors are like Falkner and Red, then I've got my work cut out for me," Janine continued. "But I know I can defeat anyone I have to come up against."

"Then, how about a battle now?" a voice said, one that was both calm and stoic.

Janine jumped and swivelled around, the youthful excitement her face contained drained away, replaced by an attempted stoical expression, as though trying to embody the voice's tone into her visage.

Red beheld the man, the Pokémon Trainer – no, the Gym Leader – who reports over the last few months were linking him with an Elite Four position, replacing Agatha after her imminent retirement in the next year or two.

Koga.

He was dressed much like his daughter, his ninja uniform purple and black, a red scarf wrapped around his neck. His eyes were sharp, like Giovanni's, but deep beneath the sternness they held Red could glimpse someone kind, someone trustworthy, intuition if you will.

"Da– I mean, Father," Janine said, bowing to him. "I'm glad to see you. I'm sorry I didn't visit the Gym yet, I only –"

Koga hushed her with a wave of his hand. "Never mind that. Janine, I wish to see how far you have progressed, and this boy will be the perfect opponent." His onyx-black eyes seemed to freeze Red into place. "The Gym Leaders you have fought and defeated have been full of praise for you, young man. Even Lorelei has mentioned you a couple of times."

Red turned red. "Whoa, really?"

"And I look forward to our battle," Koga said. "But first I wish to witness how far my daughter has progressed. Janine. Red. Do you accept to battle each other?"

"You bet I do!" Red shouted, shaking his fists up and down.

"Um," Janine said. "Are you sure, father? I would love for you to watch me battle, but… um… wouldn't you rather battle me yourself when I challenge you for the Soul Badge?"

"I have waited this long," Koga said. "I can wait a while longer."

"But… um… you're here in the Safari Zone," Janine said, twiddling her fingers behind her back. "Aren't you obviously patrolling? Shouldn't you finish doing that?"

"Mche," Koga said to the khaki-clad man, "I have finished patrolling today. There is nothing insidious happening anywhere."

"Good to hear," Mche said, clasping hands with the ninja.

"Oh, er… um," Janine said, obviously grasping at straws. "But we can't battle here? There are wild Pokémon about. We might set off stampedes of seriously hurt them with our attacks."

"Automatic Max Repel dispensers have been set up around the Secret House two-hundred and fifty paces in all directions," Koga said. "We boosted them from the normal Repels and bypassed the Super Repels. We will not disrupt anyone or anything." He peered down at his daughter. "Have you run out of excuses?"

"'Excuses'?" Janine said, flustered. "They're not excuses, father. No, I just wanted to make sure nothing would ruin our battle, that's it? Why wouldn't I want to battle right now?"

Koga's stare lingered on Janine so long even Red and Pikachu squirmed uncomfortably.

"Very well," he said at last. "We shall commence with a two versus two battle. That should give me enough time to see your progress, Janine."

"Yes, father," Janine said with joviality so forced even Red could sense it.

o~o~o~o~o

Blasted Rhyhorn. It gave Leaf more trouble than it was worth. At least she learned it could only run in a straight line, so doubling back around it and getting it with a second Safari Ball was child's play. She could have sworn it had even forgotten it was chasing her in the first place.

On the bright side, she did not have to capture another one.

On the not so bright side, there were others she had to still catch.

Tauros and Kangaskhan and Pinsir, Exeggcute and Slowpoke and Poliwhirl, Leaf went on another catching spree, her sense of accomplishment growing with every Ball that clicked and broke into millions of tiny data fragments as they were sent into her Pokémon Box.

But still no Chansey.

However, while she did not find a Chansey, someone else did find her.

"Leaf!" someone shouted. "Hey, Leaf!"

Running towards Leaf was a man wearing a red tailcoat, waving an arm over his head.

"Evan?" Leaf said as Eevee bounded towards the man. "What are you doing here? Talk about a coincidence."

Evan grinned, holding Eevee to his chest. "Not really a coincidence. I received word that you and Red both arrived in Fuchsia, so I rushed here."

"Huh? Really? Who told you that?"

"Koga. You know, this city's Gym Leader. He's got eyes everywhere." Evan shifted his eyes from side-to-side in a conspiratorially, jokey fashion. "Which is great because I think I've perfected the final moves for Pikachu and Eevee. I was going to wait another few days at most before trying to get into contact with you and Red again, but this works out too."

"That's great," Leaf said, holding out her arms for Eevee to jump into. "Those moves have been so useful to us, so it'll be great to learn the rest."

"Brilliant!" Evan said, beaming. "And we can practice them any time you and Red want. Speaking of… where is he?"

"Oh," Leaf said, waving her hand flippantly. "He's in the Safari Zone too, but he went ahead to search for the Secret House. I've been trying to catch all the Pokémon I can find."

"Ah, of course," Evan said. "Filling your Pokédex. And how many more do you have to catch now?"

"According to which Pokémon you can get here," Leaf said, scrunching her face as she tried to recall the list of Safari Zone Pokémon by the front desk, "I'm now missing a Dratini and a Chansey. I haven't seen a Dratini yet, but a Chansey got away from me. Apart from them, I've done well; I've even captured some of the Pokémon you can usually get in other areas."

"That's major progress," Evan said, smiling like a proud father or at least an older brother. "But you don't have to worry about those two; you can get Dratini on Route Ten, by the Power Plant, and Chansey can be found anywhere provided you look hard enough. They've got a low catch rate, so maybe using Berries and status techniques would make it easier than merely tossing a Safari Ball at them."

"Oh, I didn't know that!" Leaf said, taking out her Pokédex, scrolling down to Chansey's name, and clicking on it. "You're right. I could use my Venonat's radar to help me find one. Or Growlithe's keen sense of smell if we got its scent." She scrolled further down. "Dratini should be easy enough too if I go to Route Ten. I haven't got any Electric-types, you know, so I was planning on going to the Power Plant anyway after FINALLY heading back to Pewter. Thanks for telling me all this, Evan!"

"Anytime, Leaf," Evan replied, beaming. "But I guess it means there's not much for you to do in the Safari Zone anymore."

"I guess not," Leaf said. "I suppose we could get out of here and talk about the new moves Eevee can learn until Red is done."

"We can," Evan said. "And I'm sure you'll find them as equally impressive as the others."

"I bet I will," Leaf said, beginning to head back to the Safari Zone's front gate. "And I bet Eevee will… will… hey, what's that shining in the grass?"

Evan furrowed his brow and squatted, peering closer at the shining object. "Is it me or is that a set of teeth? Gold teeth?"

And a set of gold teeth is exactly what the object was. Surprising even herself, Leaf picked up the teeth and studied them. "What are these doing here?"

"Maybe they're a hold item?" Evan suggested. "Maybe it increases the power of biting techniques?"

"Maybe," Leaf said, herself not a stranger to finding items randomly on the ground. "Wait, is it… no, it can't be the warden's dentures. But how many people would have a gold set? And how many would drop them in the Safari Zone? Yes, it must be the warden's dentures, but maybe the man at the front gate will definitely know. Anyway, let's go wait for Red there. Who knows, maybe he's there right now?"

o~o~o~o~o

"Charmeleon, Metal Claw!"

"Golbat, Leech Life!"

Charmeleon's claws of steel slashed Golbat across its face as the bat sunk its fangs into the lizard's arm, stealing as much energy from Charmeleon as it could. Although if you asked Red, the choice to use Leech Life was such a poor one from Janine for who would use a Bug-type move against a Fire-type?

A better attack in the form of Swift was next up, riddling Charmeleon with bullet-fast stars before following up with the blades of wind of an Air Cutter.

Yet, whilst he did take damage, Charmeleon kept standing, as though Golbat's attacks were easy enough to simply shrug off. Golbat looked to its Trainer, screeching at her for the next part of their battle plan. But Janine seemed to be in two places at once, trying her utmost to both focus on the battle and repeatedly stare at her father, who watched the match impassively.

"Charmeleon!" Red shouted, the huge grin he had on his face at the start of the battle close to forming a frown. "Fire Spin!"

Poor Golbat screeched and flapped its wings desperately as it tried to escape the blazing vortex, scorching itself each time it fluttered too close to its fiery confines.

Janine winced, calling out for an Air Cutter, shouting it out until she almost strained her voice.

However, there was no Air Cutter.

A paralysis from Dragon Breath was not helpful in that regard.

A single Flame Charge was more than enough to hand Golbat the loss.

Janine's jaw twitched as she recalled Golbat to its Poké Ball, hating herself. She looked to Red, who was praising Charmeleon, to Pikachu, who was being taught Sea Skim by Mche, and then her father, who bore no change to his expression, only saying, "Bring out your next Pokémon, Janine."

She did as she was told, sending out a green, bipedal, insectoid Pokémon. Its abdomen was quite large, suggesting it was female, its head could best be described as reptilian, four, cream-coloured wings protruded from her back, and, most amazingly and scary of all, its forearms were two large blades.

Scyther, a dual Bug and Flying-type Pokémon. It leaps out of tall grass and slices prey with its scythes. Its movement looks like that of a ninja.

Janine took a deep breath. She could pull this back, couldn't she? Scyther could defeat a weakened Charmeleon and hopefully win against whatever Pokémon Red would use as his second. She glanced at her father once more and her stomach squirmed. She could do this. She could win this in front of him.

However, to her surprise, Red called back Charmeleon and sent out Beedrill. What surprised her more though was the scowl on Red's face.

"The battle will now recommence," Koga said.

And recommence it did, and Scyther was immediately bombarded with a flurry of strikes from Beedrill's stingers, being pushed back, only able to mitigate the attacks by crossing her blades in front of herself.

"Scyther," Janine croaked, eyes darting between the battle and her father. "Scyther, use Wing Attack."

Scyther extended her wings and flashed forward, yet Beedrill soared over her, almost daintily and, at Red's command, shut her eyes and focused. Upon opening them again, all Scyther's weak spots became known to her, one of which was her thorax, striking her there solidly with a Poison Jab.

"Scyther!" Janine shouted. "Scyther, come on, you can get back up!"

The giant mantis did so, and it glared at Beedrill, who stared back serenely.

Koga watched on, blinking infrequently, his eyes fixed to the Pokémon and nothing more.

But Janine could hardly now take her own off her father. How was she failing so hard against Red? Why was she embarrassing herself in front of her father? It was not meant to be like this. Oh, why on earth did he insist on making her battle Red right here, right now? If she was better prepared, she would have given Red much more of a challenge, that much she was certain of, show Koga how far she had come already.

She struggled to swallow as one thought consumed her: she was disappointing her father. Koga, the Fuchsia Gym Leader, the Poison Master, she was not living up to his name. Was this entire League endeavour an effort in futility, then? Should she just –

"Hey, Janine!" an angry voice suddenly cried out.

Janine jumped; Koga raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Red said, flaring his nostrils. "Why aren't you battling like you mean it?"

"I… I… am…"

"You're not," Red said. He softened his voice and said, kindly, "You're nervous because you're battling in front of your dad, aren't you?"

Janine stuck out her chin. "I'm not," she lied.

"I don't believe you," Red said. "But you have to remember battling is between the Pokémon and the Trainers, no one else. Right now, it's just you, me, Beedrill, and Scyther. That's how it's meant to be. You can worry about all sorts of stuff before and after, but not during. I mean, if we get distracted and don't give our all, then it's our Pokémon that are going to take the damage." Red grinned. "So, what do you say? Let's ignore everything and go right for it. Let's have a heck of a battle, no holding back, okay?"

Janine almost took a step back, bowled over by Red's passionate words. She instinctively tried to peek at her father again yet caught herself and nodded determinedly. Red was right, wasn't he? Maybe it was not true for every aspect of life, but for Pokémon it was. Yes, her father was watching, but she and Scyther were the ones battling, and that was all they needed to focus on. It would not be an instant fix – nothing ever was – but it was something. She inhaled and cracked her neck.

"Thanks, Red," she said. "I needed that."

"Hey, we all feel out of sorts at one time or another," Red said. He grimaced. "Believe me."

The fight then raged on, neither Bug-type giving an inch, blades and stingers clashing. Cut was blocked by Twineedle and Poison Jab was soaked up by Cross Poison, but despite Janine and Scyther's renewed efforts, despite pushing Beedrill to the point of nearly fainting, the bee swivelled around the mantis and jabbed her in the back with a poisonous stinger.

Koga made the call: "Scyther is unable to battle, Beedrill wins. Red, you are the ultimate victor today."

Janine bowed to her father, as did Red, a little haphazardly but with respectful intentions all the same.

Koga bowed back but said nothing. He merely stared at the children, as though taking a photograph of them with his eyes. Then, still without saying anything, he walked away.

"Just… like that?" Red said once Koga was out of earshot. "A little abrupt, don't you think?"

"It's just how he is," Janine said, holding up her wounded Scyther.

"If you say so," Red said, folding his arms. "Seemed a little cold though."

"Well, it doesn't matter," Janine said, giving Scyther a nice, long rest within her Poké Ball. She held out her hand to Red. "Honestly, thank you. I got so nervous. I've never battled in front of my father before. If you didn't say what you did… I mean, most Trainers would've pressed their advantage and demolished me, and it would've pretty much broken me with the whole being humiliated in front of my dad thing."

Red took her hand. "Any time. We're friends now, and friends always look out for each other. Besides," he gave her a cheeky smile, "I want all my rivals to be on top form."

"You can count on that," Janine giggled. Looking past Red's shoulder, she added, "Good luck with the timing, I guess. Seems that Mche is finished with Pikachu."

"Seems so," Red said as Pikachu and Mche ran over. "I just hope Sea Skim will be useful."

"I'm sure it will be," Janine said. "They wouldn't give out a useless prize, would they?"

"I suppose not," Red said. "Hmm, maybe Pikachu could show it to Leaf's Eevee? Speaking of which, maybe we should go and wait for her at the front gate. She'll probably want to talk about all the Pokémon she caught."

o~o~o~o~o

Leaf did want to talk about the Pokémon she caught at the Safari Zone, jabbering at length at how much fuller her Pokédex was. However, that came later. What happened first was that Red and Janine were told Leaf had gone to the Safari Warden's house to deliver what were indeed his dentures, and they hurried there as quickly as their feet would take them.

Do you remember that Pikachu now knew something called Sea Skim? I would hope so since it was just mentioned above. But do you remember that it was also something called a Secret Technique? How many of those do you think exists? Do you think there's one for moving heavy objects out the way? If you said yes, then you would be right. And when Red and Janine reached the warden's house, there they witnessed Eevee pushing a massive boulder (why was there a boulder in the old man's house?) out the way with as much ease as if it was a large pillow.

After reuniting with Evan and Leaf with Janine, Red was enlightened as to what exactly Eevee had learned how to do: the Secret Technique, Strong Push, taught in gratitude by Baoba, who, now that he had teeth, talked and talked and talked, and then talked some more, and had a few more titbits to share after that, by which time dusk had begun to fall.

"Well, that was in interesting day," Red said upon leaving Baoba's house and walking down the eerily quiet Fuchsia street. "Battling you, Janine, meeting Koga, and Pikachu learning Sea Skim."

"It was," Janine said. "Man, this whole day felt like it was longer than it had any right to be."

"But the most important thing is that you enjoyed today, and it was fulfilling too," Evan said. "And Leaf, you did so well. You're a catching maniac."

"Well, somebody has to do it," Leaf said, poking Red in the ribs.

"Hey!" Red protested. "How would you like it?" He jabbed her back.

"Hey! Okay, take this!"

"No, you take this!"

And for the rest of the way back to the Pokémon Centre, Red and Leaf continued to poke each other in the ribs, while Janine laughed her head off and Evan sighed good-naturedly. Well, Janine was laughing until Red and Leaf decided to get her instead.

At which point she showed how quick and strong a ninja could be.

Red and Leaf had to put cream on their bruises the next morning before commencing training with Evan.

o~o~o~o~o

A strange sense of foreboding.

I don't like it.

It makes my insides squirm.

Should I leave, find somewhere else? I want to. For so long, I have.

But will I be safe out there?

How much longer can I stay here?

I am so lost.

Help me.