AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! It's been a suspenseful two weeks, but I have chapter 27 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue through Kanto. Kaiser, the Safari Zone Warden make his appearance in this chapter. In case you didn't notice, his firearm was the reason for why his original appearance was cut from the English dub of Pokémon. I toned it down to make sure that no firearms appear. I also combined the anime and game characteristics of Kaiser in this chapter. Butch and Cassidy of Team Rocket make appearances in this chapter. Ash Ketchum is mentioned also. Shinji Miyazaki's music cues and episode appearances appear in this chapter, too. As always, please feel free to read and review. Feedback of any kind is always welcome.
TEASER: Tristan and Hillary have reached the Safari Zone, and learn about the incredibly rare Pokémon, Dratini. They also go on a search for the Safari Zone warden's missing false teeth. But when Butch and Cassidy try to steal it and the other Pokémon inhabiting the Safari Zone, it's up to Tristan to save the day!
Chapter 27: THE SKIN OF HIS TEETH
(Music Cue: Route 1 The Road to Viridian City (M18A))
Tristan and his friends have now entered the Safari Zone, which is home to many rare Pokémon. Little do they know, however, that someone is in need of their help.
"I wonder what kind of Pokémon we'll see here?" said Tristan excitedly.
"I don't know, Tristan," replied Hillary. "This is my first time in the Safari Zone, too. It's hard to say for sure."
Presently, they saw a notice ahead.
NOTICE!
USE OF POKÉBALLS TO CATCH POKÉMON IN THE SAFARI ZONE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED!
SEE THE SAFARI ZONE WARDEN IF YOU WANT TO CATCH POKÉMON!
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu's faces all fell after seeing the notice.
"I guess we can't catch any Pokémon here," said Tristan sadly.
"But there has to be a reason why," said Hillary. "Maybe he wants to protect the Pokémon that live here. Let's go see the Safari Zone Warden."
"Okay," replied Tristan as he and Hillary continued walking, hoping to find the Warden's house.
The kids went deeper into the Safari Zone until they stopped at a house.
"I guess this is the home of the Warden," said Tristan. "Let's go in."
"Shouldn't we knock first?" asked Hillary.
"The only thing I'd be knocking on is wood," retorted Tristan. He knocked on the door.
"Oh ay!" shouted a voice.
Tristan was confused. "Excuse me, but I couldn't understand what you said," he called. "Could you please repeat what you just said?"
"I ed oh ay!" repeated the voice. "I I ee!"
"What did he say?" asked Hillary.
"I think he said 'Oh ay,'" replied Tristan. "But I can't understand what he's saying."
"Maybe we should see if Professor Oak knows the Safari Zone Warden," suggested Hillary.
Tristan agreed with the idea as he, Hillary and Pikachu proceeded to the nearest rest house to call Professor Oak.
"That's quite interesting," said Professor Oak on the video phone. "You couldn't understand what the Warden was saying to you?"
"Not a word," answered Hillary.
"We were also wondering if you knew the Warden, Professor," added Tristan.
"Of course I do," replied Professor Oak. "His name is Kaiser. In fact, I've known him well for a long time."
"You have?" asked Tristan and Hillary together.
Professor Oak nodded. "I first met the warden thirty years ago in the Safari Zone..." He began his story.
"I was taking a trip to Fuschia City one day when I figured I should stop by. There were rumors that a Dratini lived there, and I wanted to see one."
"What's a Dratini?" asked Tristan.
"Dratini is a rare Pokémon that few people have seen," answered Professor Oak. "Even though it is considered to be a myth, it can be found living in colonies underwater."
Tristan and Hillary were awestruck at Professor Oak's revelation.
"Anyway," continued Professor Oak, "many trainers flocked there to try and catch Dratini. And even though trainers caught many Pokémon in the Safari Zone, the Dratini was never found.
"As a result of the many Pokémon that were caught in Pokéballs, most of the Safari Zone was destroyed, causing the warden to develop a serious and nasty attitude," said Professor Oak. "Some folks even refer to him as 'Rude Kaiser.'"
"I feel sorry for him," said Tristan.
"Yeah, me, too," added Hillary.
"Today, 30 Safari Balls are used in the Safari Zone at a time for trainers to use not only to catch Pokémon, but to preserve the nature of the Safari Zone," explained Professor Oak.
"But what about the warden?" asked Tristan. "We couldn't understand him at all."
"Oh, silly me," chuckled Professor Oak. "I didn't mean to get off topic. Now, I spoke with Kaiser the other day, and I couldn't understand him either. I asked him to open his mouth, and when he did, I saw that his false teeth were missing."
"That explains why we couldn't understand him before," said Hillary.
"Do you know why he lost his teeth?" asked Tristan.
"It's hard to say for sure, but I can understand some sign language," answered Professor Oak. "But it seems that just the other day, he was making his usual rounds in the Safari Zone. He was stopping by the Dragon Valley area when he tripped and fell on the ground. As he did, his teeth fell out of his mouth and fell in the lake where he first saw Dratini."
"That's awful!" gasped Hillary. "If the warden is acting that nasty, who knows how nasty he really is without his teeth?"
"Then it's up to us to find them," added Tristan.
Pikachu agreed with them.
"Well, it sounds like you two know your next assignment," said Professor Oak. "Good luck and be careful out there."
"Thanks, Professor Oak," replied Tristan and Hillary as the video screen turned off. As soon as it did, they started running even deeper into the Safari Zone.
A few minutes later, they reached the Dragon Valley, which was the place Professor Oak described.
"Professor Oak said that those teeth were missing somewhere in this lake," said Hillary. "But how are we supposed to get them?"
"Don't forget, sis, that I have a one-Pokémon search party," smiled Tristan as he took out a Pokéball and tossed it over the lake.
(Music Cue: Pikachu Appears!)
A white light shot out from the ball and Wartortle materialized from it.
"Wartortle, see if you can find a set of false teeth underwater," instructed Tristan.
Wartortle happily nodded and dove below the surface.
"That's a great idea, Tristan," smiled Hillary. "Wartortle can get wet so we don't have to."
"That's true," replied Tristan. Then he thought to himself, "I just hope Wartortle can stay underwater long enough to find those missing teeth."
Presently, they saw a little blue serpentine Pokémon emerge from underwater. It had a tiny pair of white fins on the sides of its head and a teeny-weeny bump on top.
Tristan thought it was Wartortle. "That was easy. "Great job, Wartor-"
"Tristan, wait!" gasped Hillary. "Look there!"
Tristan was so shocked he could barely speak. "That's not Wartortle. What is that?"
Tristan and Hillary were awestruck at this creature and remained perfectly still.
"Is that a Dratini, like the one Professor Oak just told us about?" asked Hillary.
"It probably is," answered Tristan. "Let's see what Dexter knows." He took out his Pokédex.
"Dratini: The Dragon Pokémon," identified Dexter. "The existence of this mythical Pokémon was only recently confirmed by a fisherman who caught one."
"I wonder what a Dratini would be doing here of all places?" asked Hillary.
"It's hard to say for sure," replied Tristan. "Maybe it lives here."
Just then, Dratini saw Tristan and Hillary and quickly dove back underwater.
"Wait, Dratini, please come back!" called Tristan.
"We won't hurt you!" added Hillary.
But it was no use. Dratini was gone, and it wouldn't come back up.
"I wonder if it's afraid of humans?" said Tristan.
"Maybe it's just shy," replied Hillary.
"Anyway, let's focus on finding the missing teeth, and once we do, we'll see if Kaiser knows anything about the Dratini we just saw," suggested Tristan.
"Good idea," replied Hillary.
Presently, Wartortle emerged from underwater. It had a set of false teeth in its hands.
"Those must be Kaiser's false teeth!" said Hillary. "Wartortle must've found them!"
"Great job, Wartortle!" commended Tristan.
Wartortle replied happily.
Wasting no time, Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu raced out of the Dragon Valley back to the Warden's home.
"I just hope the warden will listen to us this time," panted Hillary.
"We'll see when we get there," said Tristan.
They got to the Warden's house and knocked on the door.
"Oh ay!" shouted the Warden.
"We found your false teeth!" called Tristan.
The door opened at that instant and a hand snatched the false teeth. He then slammed the door.
Tristan and Hillary were confused.
"Did we do something wrong?" asked Tristan.
"I hope not," replied Hillary.
Just then, the door opened and sure enough, the warden stepped out and he had a grateful smile on his face. "Thank you so much!" he said. "I can talk again!"
Tristan and Hillary were surprised at the sudden change in the Warden's mood.
"But I thought you wanted us to..." Tristan began.
"I'm terribly sorry for how I treated you before," interrupted the warden. "My name is Kaiser. And, as you've noticed, I'm the warden of the Safari Zone."
"Hi, there. My name's Hillary, and this is Tristan and Pikachu," said Hillary.
"Pikachu!" added Pikachu.
"Please come in," said Kaiser as he led everyone inside.
"I lost my real teeth a few years ago. Nobody knew what I was saying, and earlier this week, I lost my false teeth in the Dragon Valley," explained Kaiser as he told his story. "Because of that, I wouldn't allow anybody near me or my toothless mouth. As a result, I became nasty and fiercely protective."
"That explains a lot," said Hillary.
"Anyway, Koga and Professor Oak say that they know you, Kaiser," said Tristan.
"Ah, two good friends of mine," said Kaiser. "How are they doing?"
"They're doing fine," replied Hillary. "We just spoke with Professor Oak a little bit ago."
"And I battled Koga just the other day and won a Soul Badge," added Tristan as he showed Kaiser the badge.
"Good for you," replied Kaiser.
"While we were looking for your teeth, Kaiser, Tristan and I saw a Dratini," said Hillary. "It ran away from us because it was shy."
"That's interesting," replied Kaiser. "Could you tell if there were any specific markings on it?"
"We couldn't tell for sure because we were too busy looking for your false teeth," said Tristan. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," smiled Kaiser. "What matters is that Dratini is safe and I have my teeth back."
"Professor Oak also told us about Dratini and why you only allow Safari Balls," said Hillary.
"We saw the signs, too," added Tristan.
"Yes, I'm fiercely protective of the Safari Zone and the Pokémon who live here, especially that Dratini," replied Kaiser. "Thanks to those Trainers from 30 years ago, I had no choice but to only permit Safari Balls. So far, it's worked out quite well."
"I bet Ash would've done anything to keep the Pokémon safe," said Tristan.
"Actually, I've met him some time ago," smiled Kaiser. "I thought he and his friends were bad people just like the Trainers from 30 years ago, but if it hadn't been for his heroic actions, the Pokémon, including that Dratini you saw, would have fallen into the clutches of that awful Team Rocket, and I never would have been reunited with my dear friend, Dragonair."
"Dragonair?" repeated Hillary.
"The evolved form of Dratini," replied Kaiser. "I met this Dragonair 30 years ago when it was a Dratini, and it saved Ash when he was brave enough to go underwater and prevent Team Rocket's plot from succeeding."
"It sounds like Ash goes the extra mile wherever he goes," said Tristan.
Kaiser nodded. "I owe him my gratitude."
Just then, the sound of an explosion could be heard from the Dragon Valley.
(Music Cue: The Rockets Unveiled)
Everyone in Kaiser's home felt the rumble from it.
"What's going on?" asked Hillary.
"No! Dratini!" exclaimed Kaiser as he dashed out of the house without another word.
"Come on, let's go help!" said Tristan as he, Hillary, and Pikachu raced after Kaiser to help him.
At the Dragon Valley, the smoke from the explosion stood for a few more seconds, and then cleared up. Two people in black uniforms, one man and one woman, stood proudly before the lake.
"Our smoke bomb really smoked the Pokémon out," said the woman.
"We heard that there was a Dratini here," added the man. "Just wait until we deliver it to the Boss."
"Let's make sure that this capture ends with a bang," smiled the woman as she took out another bomb and threw it next to the lake.
The bomb exploded, causing many of the lake's Water Pokémon to rise to the surface.
"All right, they took the bait!" said the man as he launched a capture net, trapping the Pokémon inside.
The Pokémon squirmed and groaned as they struggled in vain to escape.
"That was easy," smiled the man.
"Yes, but we still don't have that Dratini," replied the woman.
"Stop right there!" yelled a voice.
The man and woman turned around to see Kaiser confronting them, though they didn't seem at all unhappy.
"Well, well," smiled the woman. "Looks like we've got company."
"This should be fun," added the man.
"Just who are you and what are you doing here?!" demanded Kaiser.
(Music Cue: Team Rocket's Motto 1997-1998 (M20B (as heard in "The Fortune Hunters")))
"That's an excellent question coming from someone like you," smiled the woman.
"Prepare for trouble and make it double," added the man as he and the woman recited a motto.
"To infect the world with devastation."
"To blight all peoples in every nation."
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."
"To extend our wrath to the stars above."
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch!"
"Team Rocket circling earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"
"Raticate!" chimed Raticate it stood between Butch and Cassidy.
Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu arrived on the scene just as the motto ended.
"It's Team Rocket!" exclaimed Tristan.
"I should have known it was them," added Hillary.
"Listen up!" shouted Kaiser. "I will not allow you to capture these Pokémon! Do you understand me, Cassidy and Bucko!"
Butch was clearly annoyed. "The name is Butch, not Bucko!"
"But I think that name suits you perfectly, Bucko!" laughed Cassidy hysterically.
Butch sighed as Cassidy continued to laugh. "Not you, too, Cassidy," he said.
Presently, Dratini emerged from underwater.
"Oh, it's so cute! I mean there's our target!" stuttered Cassidy. "Hurry, Butch!"
Butch quickly regained his focus and launched another capture net.
(Music Cue: Let's Run!)
"Hey, that's enough!" shouted Tristan as he took out a Pokéball. "Ivysaur, Razor Leaf attack!"
Ivysaur emerged from the white light that shot out of the ball and shot a flurry of razor sharp leaves at the net, cutting it into pieces.
Cassidy growled angrily. "Hey, that net was expensive!"
"We won't let you hurt these Pokémon, including that Dratini!" countered Tristan.
"Tristan's right, leave them alone!" added Hillary.
Kaiser was amazed at Tristan and Hillary's bravery. These kids are great, he thought.
"All right, if that's what you want it..." said Cassidy. "Go get 'em, Raticate!"
Raticate charged toward Ivysaur and rammed into it, but Ivysaur stood its ground and easily pushed Raticate back.
"That's the way, Ivysaur," said Tristan.
"Not so fast!" shouted Butch as he took out a Pokéball and threw it.
A big monkey-like Pokémon with a pig's snout materialized from the white light that shot out of the ball. It looked very much like Butch's Mankey, but it had steel shackles around its wrists and ankles, and it had no tail.
"Is that Mankey?" asked Hillary. "What happened to its tail and why is it so mad?"
"Let's see," replied Tristan as he scanned Butch's Pokémon with his Pokédex.
"Primeape: The Pig Monkey Pokémon: The evolved form of Mankey," identified Dexter. "Always furious and tenacious to boot, this Pokémon will endlessly chase its quarry until it is caught."
"That Mankey must have evolved," gasped Hillary. "We'd better be careful."
"Go, Primeape, Mega Punch now!" commanded Butch.
Primeape charged forward as its fist rammed into Ivysaur, knocking it down.
"Hang in there, Ivysaur!" encouraged Tristan.
"Raticate, Super Fang attack!" ordered Cassidy.
Raticate charged toward Ivysaur and used its oversized teeth to bite Ivysaur.
"Ivysaur's in trouble!" exclaimed Hillary.
"Ha! Ivysaur's not the only one," smiled Cassidy as she nonchalantly tossed a time bomb into the lake.
(Music Cue: Desperate Situation (Kanto (as heard in "Volcanic Panic")))
"No! You must not do that!" yelled Kaiser. "If you do, all the Pokémon in this lake will be badly hurt!"
"It's too late for that, old man," replied Butch. "In just a few short moments, the time bomb will explode, and all the Pokémon will be ours."
"All right, then I'll just have to get it out of the lake myself!" said Tristan.
"No way, Tristan!" replied Hillary. "There's no way you'll be able to survive underwater...not with that time bomb set to go off!"
"I have no choice! I have to try!" insisted Tristan. "Those Pokémon are in big trouble, and someone's gotta save them!"
"No, don't do it!" yelled Kaiser.
But it was too late. Tristan had already dove into the lake in hopes of retrieving the time bomb in time.
Cassidy snickered. "Looks like that kid is finished." She turned to Butch. "Get that Dratini!"
"This should be electrifying," said Butch as he launched another net, but this time, electricity sizzled through it.
In no time, Dratini was snared inside the net, much to Kaiser's horror.
"Dratini!" exclaimed Kaiser.
"Oh, no, they got it!" cried Hillary.
Pikachu and Ivysaur watched helplessly as Dratini got zapped inside the net.
Butch and Cassidy laughed maniacally.
"Now that Ivysaur is down, we'll keep that Dratini!" said Cassidy.
"And every Pokémon in the Safari Zone," added Butch. "It won't be long before our mission ends with a bang."
Pikachu rushed toward Cassidy and Butch and was about to unleash an electric attack on them when Cassidy held Dratini's net close to Pikachu, causing it to skid to a halt.
"Don't try it, Pikachu," she warned. "One jolt from you and Dratini gets it, too."
Butch and Cassidy laughed evilly as they looked on at their apparent victory.
Kaiser looked toward the lake and thought to himself, Please, kid, please be okay...
In the lake's depths, Tristan held his breath as he inched closer and closer to the time bomb.
I've got to get to it, he thought. If I don't, who knows what could happen!"
It wasn't long before he eventually got it, but just as he was about to reach the surface, he began to run out of air. And as he did, he began to sink to the bottom of the lake again with the time bomb still in hand.
But suddenly, a long, thin shadowy silhouette appeared below Tristan and immediately sped him toward the surface.
To everyone else's surprise on the surface, a whirlpool began to form on the lake.
"What's that?" asked Kaiser as he looked on.
Presently, the long, thin blue serpentine Pokémon emerged from the whirlpool with Tristan sitting on its back. It looked like Dratini, but it had two stylized wings on the sides of its head. It had three blue crystal orbs, two on its tail, and one on its neck.
"It's Tristan, and he's okay!" cried Hillary.
"Impossible!" exclaimed Butch.
It was true. Tristan was safe and sound as he sat proudly on the Pokémon's back with the time bomb still in hand.
"Thank you, Dragonair, my old friend," whispered Kaiser as he saw the X on Dragonair's horn; he could tell that it was his friend from 30 years ago.
"Quick, Tristan, throw the time bomb away!" shouted Hillary.
"Here goes!" said Tristan as he quickly tossed the time bomb into the sky. Just as it reached the maximum altitude, the time bomb reached zero, and it instantly exploded. The explosion didn't affect anyone on the ground.
"That was a close one," said Kaiser. "That kid saved the Pokémon in the lake."
"That's my big brother," replied Hillary. "He'd do anything for anybody."
Cassidy growled. "You're going to pay for that!" she said. "Raticate, go get those fools!"
Raticate charged toward Hillary and Kaiser as it used a Tackle attack.
"Leave them alone!" exclaimed Tristan.
(Music Cue: Gym (version 2) as heard in "Why? Wynaut!")
Dragonair's horn sizzled with blue electricity and shot a powerful stream at Raticate, giving it paralysis on the spot.
"Raticate!" exclaimed Cassidy.
"Ah, that was Dragonair's Thunder Wave! Not too shabby!" remarked Kaiser.
Next, Dragonair, charged toward Cassidy and Butch and used its tail to slam into them, causing them to drop Dratini's net. The little Dratini was free.
Dratini and Dragonair embraced each other in reunion as Hillary and Kaiser looked on.
"Wait, so is that Dratini..." asked Hillary.
Kaiser nodded. "It's that Dragonair's child. I've known that Dragonair ever since I was a boy, but I never knew it was that strong over the years."
"Enough of this!" shouted Butch. "Primeape, go teach those Pokémon a lesson!"
Primeape charged toward Dratini and Dragonair with its clenched fists.
"Not so fast!" shouted Tristan as he jumped off of Dragonair. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu shot a stream of electricity at Primeape, scoring a direct hit on it.
Primeape was knocked out instantly.
"Uh-oh!" cringed Butch.
"Not good!" added Cassidy.
Ivysaur stood back up on its feet, stronger than ever. It signaled to Tristan that it was ready for the next direction.
"Now, let's get rid of them, Ivysaur," said Tristan. "Use your Vine Whip attack on them!"
Ivysaur shot two green vines from the bud on its back. The vines struck Butch, Cassidy, and their Pokémon, sending them skyward.
"No fair!" yelled Butch and Cassidy together, as they and their Pokémon flew high into the sky and disappeared with a twinkle to mark their flight.
DING!
(Music Cue: A Future Hope)
Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Kaiser watched happily as Dratini and Dragonair continued to embrace one another.
"Those two sure look happy, don't they," said Tristan.
"They do," replied Kaiser. "And it's all thanks to you."
"He's right," added Hillary. "You saved Dratini and all the other Pokémon in the lake."
"Well, I couldn't have done it without that big Pokémon," said Tristan.
"That was a Dragonair," replied Kaiser. "This is the Pokémon I first met when it was a Dratini 30 years ago."
"It's so beautiful," added Hillary as Tristan scanned Dragonair with his Pokédex.
"Dragonair: The Dragon Pokémon: The evolved form of Dratini," identified Dexter. "This mysterious Pokémon exudes a gentle aura. It has the ability to change weather conditions."
"That's so cool," said Tristan as he continued to look on at the two happy Dragon Pokémon.
"So where are you headed now, kids?" asked Kaiser as the sun began to set.
"We aren't sure exactly," replied Hillary.
"Then I highly suggest you go to Saffron City," replied Kaiser.
"How do we get there?" asked Tristan.
"First, go over to Sunnytown; the Cycling Road will be at the edge of it," explained Kaiser. "Gringey City will be your stop close to the end of Cycling Road. Soon after, you will reach Celadon City. Saffron City is just east of Celadon City. It's a day's walk, but if you keep going at a fast pace, you'll get there even sooner than that. I've been getting this strange feeling that it will need your help in the not-too-distant future."
"Thanks a lot, Kaiser," replied Tristan. "You've been a big help."
"I should be thanking you, kid," said Kaiser. "You helped us out big time today."
With the Safari Zone's Pokémon safe from Team Rocket's clutches, Tristan and Hillary make their way toward Saffron City, thinking about the many adventures that lie ahead.
► TO BE CONTINUED
