Ch 29: The Safari Zone
Two days had passes since Ash saw the last of Sir Aaron's memories and the group was near the end of route 15.
"Alright we should be very close to Fuchsia city now." Brock said looking at the map.
"If we can reach Fuchsia city today did you want to head right to the gym after heading to the pokemon center?" Serena asked.
"Actually I was thinking we could head to the Safari zone first." Ash said.
"Yeah I'd love to catch some pokemon there." Brock said.
"I was looking forward to the Safari zone too." Serena said.
"Alright then, a quick stop at the pokemon center then we go to the Safari zone." Lucy said.
It took the group another hour and twenty minutes before they reached the edge of the city.
"Here we are, Fuchsia city." Brock said. The city itself was relatively large with many of the buildings built around in a u shaped manner around the main streets. In between many of the buildings were patches of grass and trees.
The group saw the city was very lively, with dozens of people out with their pokemon.
"I haven't been here in a while. I remember once my mom took Red and I here to see some rare pokemon in enclosures." Ash said.
"I remember doing some aura guardian training here when I was 16." Lucy said.
"This is a lively city, a lot of pokemon too." Serena said looking around.
The group made their way to the pokemon center.
Inside the pokemon center they saw several trainers wearing satchels, sunglasses, cargo shorts, and hiking shoes.
"They're all wearing hiking gear." Brock said.
"They must be heading over the Safari zone too, we should probably change too." Serena said.
The group sat down at a table after giving their pokemon to Nurse Joy.
"So do we know what kind of pokemon are going to be there?" Serena asked.
"Well from what I've heard they have a broad range. But what I really want to catch a Chansey." Brock said.
"A Chansey?" Ash asked.
"Yes, they're care taking pokemon and I'd love to have one to help me with Breeding" Brock said.
"What about you Ash, is there any pokemon you want to catch?" Serena asked.
"Well I heard that there are a lot of Tauros in the Safari zone. I've wanted one for a long time. What about you Serena?" Ash said.
"Well I'm not exactly sure what pokemon are there so I'll need to ask whoever runs it about the pokemon there." Serena said.
"What about you Lucy?" Ash asked.
"Eh I'm not looking for anything in particular. Just going to see what's there." she said.
A few moments later Ash overheard a pair of familiar voices.
"I still don't see why we have to wait for all these people."
"Come on Leaf, half the fun of the Safari zone is knowing you caught the most pokemon. If we wait for all these people to go, I can prove I'm better than all of them."
"Is that?" Serena asked. Ash grit his teeth as he slowly turned to see none other than Gary and Leaf sitting two tables down.
"Leaf,Gary?" Serena said. Upon hearing Serena's voice the two turned and saw the group.
"Well look who's here, Ashy boy and his little gang." Gary said with his usually cocky expression that Ash loathed to no end.
"Leaf…Gary, so good to see you guys again." Ash said
The two walked over to their table.
"So what bring you guys here?" Leaf asked.
"My guess is that Ashy boy here is still after a Soul badge. Too bad for him I already have one." Gary said as took out a Soul badge.
"You do." Ash said slightly nervously.
"That's right and it's my sixth badge. How many do you have?" Gary asked.
"Four." Ash said.
"Four, geez Ashy boy you're as slow as a Torkoal." Gary said.
"Gary be nice, Ash is our friend." Leaf said.
"He's my rival, it's my job to give him a rough time." Gary said in a humorous tone.
"Oh corse it is." Serena said sweat dropping.
"So Leaf what brings you to Fuchsia city?" Ash asked.
"I'm here to see the pokemon in the Safari zone and gather some information for the professor." Leaf said.
"So are you guys going to the Safari zone too?" Gary asked.
"Yeah, we were going to head over there after Nurse Joy gave back our pokemon." Brock said.
"Well good, that means I can beat Ash too." Gary said.
"What are you talking about?" Lucy said.
"Duh, the point of the Safari zone is to see who can catch the most pokemon with limited pokeballs and limited time. I'm going to be the one who catches the most pokemon." Gary said.
"Gary we're just here to catch some rare pokemon, we're not interested in some contest to see who can catch the most." Ash said.
"That's lame, just coming to the Safari zone to catch only a few pokemon." Gary said.
Ash and the others sweat dropped.
"Despite this, I hope you guys still consider going with us." Leaf said.
"Of course Leaf." Serena said.
"Excuse me , your pokemon are ready." Nurse Joy said. Ash and the others went over to pick up their pokemon as Pikachu leapt up onto Ash's shoulder.
"Alright we should change into some hiking gear. Ash was wearing a grey and white T shirt with tan cargo shorts with hiking shoes on, he was also not wearing his hat.
Brock was wearing a sleeveless blue t shirt with grey cargo shorts , a brown satchel and some brown hiking shoes.
Lucy was wearing a black top with her hair done up and red short shorts.
Serena wore a red hiking top and grey short shorts with a tan satchel, her hair done up in a ponytail and sunglasses on top of her head but not her eyes.
"Alright we're ready." Serena said.
"Alright let's head over there." Leaf said.
The group made their way across the city as they came to an area clear of any kind of human civilization except a large wooden gate and a small wooden building in the center of it. Beyond the gate they could see several trees of different style then the trees of Kanto.
"This must be the registration building." Lucy said. They saw there was a line of trainers from the pokemon center in front of the building.
"Looks like we have to wait in line." Brock said as the group sweat dropped.
"So Serena I haven't seen you guise since you left Pallet town. How's Charla doing?" Leaf asked.
"You want to see her." Serena said as she took out Charla's pokeball.
"Sure.".
Serena let Charla out and Leaf's eyes widened as she saw she was a Charizard.
"Charla, you're a Charizard!" Leaf said in disbelief.
"Grauu." Charla said sounding happy to see Leaf again.
Gary noticed Ash and Lucy both still had the brown leather forearm band bracers on that they had back at the camp.
"Hey, why are you guys still wearing those bracers, and why do you have them when these too don't?" Gary asked.
"Well." Ash said sweat dropping.
"We just do. We don't ask everything about you." Lucy said.
"Alright geez, I didn't mean to offend you." Gary said.
The group waited in line until they were inside the small building. The interior like the exterior was mostly wood with a pair of benches and a large wooden counter.
When the group stepped up to the counter they saw a tall and broad shouldered man standing there.
He looked like was was in his early 30s with tanned skin, green eyes, and short light brown hair with a goatee. He hat two scars across his face and a piece of wheat stalk handing out of his mouth.
He wore a padded rancher like leather jacket with short sleeves and a tan undershirt and hat with jeans and leggings. They could see the man's teeth with the wheat in between them and noticed two of his teeth were golden.
"Y'all here to enter the Safari zone?" He asked.
"That's right and I'm gonna catch more pokemon than any of these guys." Gary said.
The man behind the counter raised an eye brow before giving a slight smile.
"Well maybe ya wanna hear the rules first boy." The man said.
"What are the rules?" Serena asked.
"I'll explain it to all y'all kids who are entering today. 200 dollars per person" He said.
"Woah, 200 dollars." Brock said.
"That's actually a really good deal if you think about it." Ash said.
"I suppose." Brock said as he reached into his backpack.
"Will you take a check?" He asked.
"Sure." The man said. As each of them paid the 200 dollars , the man noticed Ash and Lucy's hidden blade holders and raised his eyebrow again.
Ash and Lucy both felt something different about the man's aura, striking their curiosity.
After each paid , the man handed them each a basket filled with 30 green and brown pokeballs.
"Alright we should probably wait with the others." Brock said.
After everyone was registered the man took them into the Safari zone.
The group was amazed at the Safari zone. It was a massive grassy savanna environment with small mountain like hills in the back and more strange trees.
"Wow it looks just like a Savanna from the Zahara region." Ash said.
As the man stepped out in front of them they heard something above them. The large group of trainers looked up to see a large Charizard land behind the man.
"Alright listen up y'all , the names Clark. I'm in charge of the Safari zone. Each of y'all get two hours in there . Y'all get thirty Safari pokeball, ya ain't allowed to use any other kind ah pokeballs in there. Ya also ain't allowed to battle any ah the pokemon here with pokemon ya already have. All yer allowed to use is bait and mud. Now Charizard and I will be flying overhead to make sure y'all are following the rules." Clark said as his Charizard gave a short roar.
"Y'all can head in now, just remember to follow the rules." Clark said as he brought his hat down over his face slightly.
"See you guys later, I got pokemon to catch!" Gary shouted as he ran off with the mass of trainers
"Oh Gary." Leaf said sweat dropping.
As the group walked past Clark , he stopped Ash and Lucy.
"Good luck to y'all." he said with a smile. It was then Ash and Lucy noticed Clark raise his forearms again revealing a pair of hidden blade holders.
They also noticed a ring on his Charizard left pointer finger with a piece of Charizite Y inside.
"You're." Ash said.
"The guardian of the Safari zone, don't get too many fella guardians coming by here often." He said.
"Well we." Ash started.
"Don't think I don't want y'all here. I was actually wondeting if I could ask y'all a favor." Clark said.
"Sure what is it?" Lucy asked.
"Charizard and I have noticed a lot of pokemon here have gone missing lately. I think there might be thieves hidden in here. Whoever, they are, they ain't idiots like them rocket fools. They've hidden themselves well from us." Clark said.
"We'll keep our eyes open for them." Ash said.
"Thanks, and good luck." Clark said.
Ash and Lucy rejoined the group.
"What was then about?" Leaf asked.
"We'll tell you later." Lucy said.
The group quickly made their way across the savanna, taking in the amazing scenery.
"Wow, it's so beautiful. It makes me want to visit the Zahara region." Serena said.
"Look." Brock said. They group saw a Rhyhorn eating from a Pecha berry bush.
"A Rhyhorn." Ash said.
"We're seeing him in his natural environment. This is a rare and beautiful moment that we should truly treasure." Leaf started before a clod of mud hit the Rhyhorn's face.
"Huh?" The group said before they saw Gary standing a few yards away from the Rhyhorn.
"Over here." Gary said as the Rhyhorn gave him an irritated expression.
He hurled another clod of dirt at the Rhyhorn causing it to get even angrier and charge at him.
"Gary look out!" Leaf shouted.
"No sweat." Gary said as he took out a Safari ball and hurled it at the Rhyhorn. The pokeball hit and sent the Rhyhorn inside. The Safari ball shook and rattled for several moments before sparkling revealing the Rhyhorn was caught.
"Alright I got him!" Gary shouted as the Safari ball was transported away.
Ash and the others sweat dropped.
"That's one Rhyhorn for one Safari ball, which means I can catch up to 29 more." Gary said.
"Gary I was trying to observe that Rhyhorn." Leaf said sounding irritated.
"Come on Leaf, you're suppose to catch pokemon here." Gary said.
Leaf sighed and sweat dropped.
"Maybe we should split up and cover more ground." Brock said.
"Sounds good, Serena and I can go east of here." Ash said.
"Brock and I can head north." Lucy said.
"I'm going west. You can come too if you want Leaf" Gary said.
"Are you just going to catch every pokemon you see?" Leaf asked.
"Most likely." Gary said.
"I think I'll just stick with Lucy and Brock. I'd like to get to know them more anyway." Leaf said.
"Eh suit yourself." Gary said as he walked off.
"Alright we'll meet you guys back here." Brock said.
Elsewhere in the main waterhole in the Safari zone, a submarine was sitting near the bottom. The Submarine was shaped like a massive Magikarp. Inside the Magikarp were Cassidy and Butch with a dozen grunts.
"I'm sick of just sitting here. There are so many rare pokemon out there just waiting for us to take them." Cassidy said.
"Yeah, I don't see why Seir is the only one who get's to go out and capture them." Butch said.
"We were told to stay here and I'd rather not upset him." one of the grunts said.
"He didn't even tell us to, I've never heard that man speak a word since I've met him." Cassidy said.
"Well since he never exactly told us to stay here, who's to say that we can't go out and collect some extra pokemon." Butch said.
"But sir, Ma'am." Another grunt said.
"Seir isn't here and what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Cassidy said as she went to the helm of the sub.
Elsewhere in the Safari zone Ash and Serena were in the eastern area of the Safari zone. The area had several rock formations around it and a small watering hole.
They passed a few of the other trainers and some pokemon.
The two were now sitting up on one of the rock ridges as they saw several pokemon by the watering hole below.
They saw a Doduo, a Kangaskhan, a Psyduck, and a Rhyhorn all drinking from the water.
"So what about any of them Serena?" Ash asked.
"Well maybe that Psyduck or Kangaskhan. I don't think my mom would ever let me live it down if I caught a Rhyhorn." Serena said.
"Well if you want to catch one of them we should head down there." Ash said.
"Alright." Serena said.
The two went down and closer to the pokemon. As they did, Serena noticed the Psyduck come up with a rather dazed and clueless expression on his face.
"Psy." he said holding his head.
"Pika?" Pikachu said sweat dropping.
"That Psyduck looks a little confused." Ash said.
"Maybe, but he's cute. I think i'll catch him." Serena said.
She took out some bait and tossed it in front of the Psyduck.
"Psy." Psyduck said as he sniffed it then lowered his bill to it and started nibbling it.
"Alright I'm going to catch him." Serena said as he took out a Safari ball and hurled it at the Psyduck.
Just then another pokemon came flying out of the bushes. The Pokemon stood upright like a human with green skin, large wings, and large blade scythe arms. When the Psyduck saw this pokemon he ran off as the pokemon began eating the bait.
The Safari ball that Serena threw hit this new pokemon and sent him inside.
"Huh!?" Serena said as she sweat dropped.
The pokeball stopped shaking revealing she caught the pokemon.
"Ash, what did I just catch?" Serena asked.
"I think it was a Scyther." Ash said.
"Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its claws are sharp as swords, and it is a powerful flyer. This Pokémon is rarely seen by humans and almost never captured."
"Certainly not a cute little Psyduck." Ash said.
"I know." Serena said sweat dropping.
Elsewhere in the north area there was a large lake surrounded by mostly open area with a few Zahara trees.
Brock and Leaf were both observing a Chansey as she slowly walked up to a tree.
"Finally a Chansey, this is so exciting." Brock said.
"Chansey are amazing pokemon. I can't believe I get to see a wild one this close." Leaf said as they tried to move a little closer.
"Do you mind if we observe her a little longer before you try and catch her?" Leaf asked.
"Sure." Brock said.
"So Brock you want to be a breeder." Leaf asked.
"Yeah, I just love taking care of pokemon." Brock said.
"So that's why you didn't want to become the Pewter city gym leader."
"Yeah , as much as my dad wanted me too, it's just not really my passion." Leaf said.
"I know what you mean. Gary constantly asks me why I don't love battling like him. I'm more into studying pokemon than battling with them." Leaf asked.
The two watched Chansey for another 3 minutes before Brock slowly stepped forward and took out some bait. He then hurled it in front of Chansey.
The Chansey smelled the bait and slowly walked over before trying to eat it.
"Alright here I go." Brock said as he took out a Safari ball and hurled it forward. The Safari ball hit Chansey and sent her inside .
"Come on." Brock said. A few moments later the pokeball stopped showing Chansey was caught.
"Yes I finally did it!" Brock shouted.
"Catch her Brock?" Lucy asked as she walked over.
"I did." Brock said.
"Well I was going to ride Milotic into the water to see if I could catch anything. Want to join me?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah." Leaf said.
Lucy let out her Milotic into the water before she climbed onto his back with Brock and Lucy.
Milotic slowly moved across the water.
"So how are you going to catch one? Use a fishing pole?" Leaf asked.
"That would only bring up one at a time, I have a better idea." Lucy said as she took out some bait and threw it into the water. As the water broke up the bait, several pokemon come up.
A Slowpoke, Goldeen, a Poliwag, and a Krabby came up and started eating the bait.
"Wow look at them." Leaf said.
"Which one are you going to catch?" Brock asked.
"None of these pokemon. I'm after a much rarer prize." Lucy said. She tossed out another piece pf bait only to have more of the same pokemon come up.
"Nope." Lucy said frustrated.
She took a deep breath and used her aura vision to look at the aura's of the pokemon under the water.
She smiled and took out another piece of bait and missed it into a specific area of the water.
She watched closely as the water began to ripple.
Moments later a pokemon came up and out of the water. The pokemon was a small blue serpent with a white stomach , a white nose, and white fins on the side of his head.
"Woah, is that." Leaf started.
"A Dratini. One of the rarest pokemon in Kanto." Lucy said.
"This is amazing, I've never seen one up close." Brock said.
Leaf's eyes lit up upon seeing the Dratini.
"This is just so amazing. I can't believe I'm actually." Leaf started before she saw Lucy take out a Safari ball.
"Lucy wait, let me observe him a little longer." Leaf said.
"Leaf I've been trying to catch a Dratini for 2 years, I'm not letting this one go." Lucy said.
"But I may never get this chance to see one in the wild again." Leaf said.
"Uhhhg, alright fine." Lucy said.
Leaf and the others continued to observe the Dratini for another few minutes before he finished the bait and went back underwater.
"Oh no." Leaf said.
"No you don't." Lucy shouted as she hurled more bait.
The Dratini slowly came back up and started eating it. Lucy hurled a Safari ball and sent the Dratini inside. The pokeball shook on top of the water for a minute before the Dratini shot back out.
"He got out." Brock said.
Lucy took out some mud and hurled it at the Dratini. After being hit, the Dratini tried to swim back underwater when Lucy quickly hurled another Safari ball and hit the end of Dratini's tail and sent him inside.
"Come on." Lucy said. After a minute the pokeball stopped shaking, revealing Dratini was caught.
"Alright! I caught him! I caught a Dratini!" Lucy shouted.
"Congratulations Lucy, that's quite a catch." Brock said.
"I know, this is awesome! Wait until Ash and Serena find out." Lucy said.
"I bet Gary will be upset he wasn't able to catch one." Leaf said sweat dropping.
Elsewhere in the sky above the Safari Zone, Clark was riding the back of his Charizard as he used his aura vision to look across the Safari zone for members of team rocket.
"Nothing so far Charizard. How the hell they been avoiding us?" Clark started before he and Charizard both noticed something below them.
"Hold on, we got something down there." Clark said.
On the ground Cassidy and Butch were with their grunts as they tied up 3 of the trainers that had entered the challenge.
"Wow these twerps were good, look at how many safari pokemon they caught." Butch said as he held 10 safari balls in his arms.
"I know, and this is just the start. We'll have the army rebuilt in no time." Cassidy said with 7 in her arms.
"Uh sir, ma'am." One of the grunts said nervously.
"Not now grunt we're in the middle of a conversat" Cassidy started before a massive Charizard slammed into the ground on top of two of the grunts, knocking them out.
Before the other grunts could react , Clark leapt down from Charizard's back and slammed his palms into two of the Grunts' throats, knocking them out as he brought them to the ground.
Cassidy and Butch sweat dropped as they saw Clark tilt his hat.
"So you varments finely reveal yerselves." He said smiling.
"Back off cowboy!" Cassidy said as she and Butch drew pistols.
"Bad idea." Clark said before he took a deep breath and thrusted his palm forward. A burst of aura few across the air and knocked the guns out of Cassidy and Butch's hands as it hurled them to the ground too.
4 grunts came from behind only to be hurled back by another burst of aura. It was then Clark saw 4 grunts in front of him with their electric batons raised. Clark let out his hidden blades and cut the batons to pieces before smashing his foot into one of the grunt's calf before smashing his elbow across his face.
As this happened, another grunt tried to punch him , only to have Clark block his punch with his forearm before slamming his other fist into the man's face before smashing his knee into his gut.
As the last two grunts came at him Clark grabbed one by his arm and locked him in an arm bar while holding him in front of the last one. He hurled the man into the last grunt before slamming his shoulder into his back, forcing them into the ground.
As this all happened, Clark's Charizard unleashed a massive Flamethrower on the grunts' Nidorinos. He also quickly flew across the air and used Air slash on each of their Golbats, knocking them all out.
When Cassidy and Butch got up they saw Clark standing over their defeated grunts.
"Run!" Cassidy shouted before they sprinted off.
Clark considered pursuing them, but knew he had to help the beat up trainers. He walked over to them and cut them loose.
"Y'all get back to the entrance of the Safari zone and don't come back until I clear this place up." Clark said.
The trainers gathered their Safari balls that Cassidy and Butch dropped, then quickly made their way to the exit.
"Alright Charizard, we got to get these trainers out of here before any more get hurt." Clark said as his Charizard nodded.
Elsewhere , Ash and Serena were still looking around for any sign of Tauros. However, despite searching through 3 areas they had not found a single one.
"I just don't get it, where are all the Tauros?" Ash asked.
"I don't know, you'd think we'd have come across at least one by now?" Serena said. As they continued to cross the Savanna environment they saw Brock, Lucy, and Leaf approaching them.
"There you guys are." Ash said.
"Ash, Serena have any luck?" Lucy asked.
"Sort of." Serena said sweat dropping.
"What do you mean?" Brock asked.
"Well I caught a Scyther, but I was trying to catch a Psyduck." Serena said.
"How?" Leaf asked.
"Well." Serena said before she explained what happened.
"Wow." Lucy said.
"What about you Ash, catch a Tauros like you wanted?" Leaf asked.
"No, for some reason we haven't been able to find any." Ash said.
"Now that you mention if, we haven't seen any Tauros either." Lucy said.
"So have you guys caught any pokemon?" Serena asked.
"I haven't but I'm not here to catch the pokemon, just observe them." Leaf said.
"Well I caught a Chansey, here take a look." Brock said as he let out his new Chansey.
"Chansey." She said as she came out.
"Wow you really got one." Serena said.
"Chansey." She said to Pikachu.
"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu said back.
"Check out who I caught." Lucy said as she took out her Safari ball and let out the pokemon.
Ash and Serena's eyes widened as they saw a Dratini in front of them.
"Woah is that a Dratini!?" Serena almost shouted.
"Yup, I caught a Dratini." Lucy said sounding proud.
"Amazing , those are some of the rarest pokemon in Kanto." Ash said.
"I know, I had heard legends of Dratini being here." Lucy said.
"I guess those legends are true." Brock said.
"Hey Ashy boy catch any pokemon yet?!" Ash heard from behind him. He cringed before turning to see Gary standing there.
"Gary." Ash said.
"So how many have you caught?" Gary asked with a cocky expression.
"Well, done yet, but." Ash started.
"None! Are you serious!? I've caught twenty five pokemon and I still have five Safari balls left." Gary said.
"I told you I'm not here to catch a bunch of Pokemon. I'm just trying to catch a Tauros" Ash said.
"Geez Ash you really need to." Gary started before he saw Lucy's Dratini and his eyes lit up.
"Is, is that? It is! A Dratini!" Gary shouted as he ran over to the small dragon.
"You actually caught a Dratini!" Gary shouted as the Dratini sweat dropped upon seeing how anxious Gary looked.
"I did." Lucy said.
"Where! I need to get there and catch one! I still have five more Safari balls!" Gary shouted.
"Gary I think you have enough pokemon. Seriously 25 pokemon." Leaf said.
"Hey Gary, did you happen to see any Tauros?" Ash said.
"Actually no, I haven't." Gary said.
"That's weird, there are suppose to be a lot of Tauros here. Why would none of us have seen any?" Ash asked.
"We still have a while before our time is up. I think we should try to find the Tauros together." Serena said.
"Yeah, we can do that." Brock said.
"Thanks guys." Ash said.
"Not me , I need to find and catch a Dratini." Gary said before Leaf grabbed him.
"Oh no, you have enough pokemon. We're helping Ash find a Tauros." Leaf said.
"Awwe." Gary said. The group continued looking around the Safari zone but couldn't find a single Tauros.
Eventually they stopped below the base of a rock ridge.
"Alright we've searched everywhere and still no Tauros." Brock said.
"I just don't get it." Ash said.
That is when Pikachu heard something with his advanced sense of hearing.
Ash and Lucy heard it too moments later. They turned to see none other than Cassidy and Butch both slowly walking over with hunched over postures looking exhausted.
"Did….Did we out run him?" Butch said panting.
"I…..Think so" Cassidy said before they saw the group.
"Oh great." She said.
"Are those rocket grunts?" Gary asked.
"Hey we're not grunts we're officers!" Cassidy shouted.
"It's Cassidy and Bill." Lucy said.
"It's Butch!".
"What are you doing here?" Ash said sounding less than interested.
"Hey why aren't you freaking out? We're rocket officers!" Cassidy shouted.
"Are there any real officers here?"Lucy asked.
"We're real officers!" Butch shouted.
That was when Ash and Lucy felt another aura near them. An all to familiar aura.
They slowly looked up at the top of the ridge and felt fear fill their bodies as they saw none other than Seir standing there.
"Oh no." Ash said nervously.
"What is it?" Serena asked before she and Brock saw Seir.
"Oh no." Brock said nervously.
"Who is that?" Gary asked.
"Oh shit." Cassidy said as she and Butch turned white.
Seir slowly turned his eyes to them.
"Right, sir. The reason we're not in the submarine is" Cassidy started before she and Butch ran off as fast as they could.
"Ash, who is this guy?" Leaf asked.
"He's a very dangerous man." Ash said nervously as Pikachu growled and sparked his cheeks.
Seir took a deep breath as his eyes began to glow blue. Moments later the group saw something else. 9 Tauros stepped up to the edge of the ridge each with glowing blue eyes.
"The Tauros!" Brock said.
"What's wrong with them?" Gary asked.
"Something horrible." Lucy said.
Ash noticed that one of the Tauros was noticeably larger than the others. Also this Tauros's fur was a silvery grey and his main was a darker grey.
"Is that a shiny Tauros?" Ash asked.
Seir pointed his finger at the group and the 9 Tauros sprinted down at them.
Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder and quickly unleashed a large Thunder.
Two of the Tauros were hit and brought to the ground.
Lucy quickly let out Her Seviper.
"Flamethrower!" She shouted. Seviper opened his mouth and unleashed a massive jet of fire. One of the Tauros was hit and brought to the ground by the fire.
As another Tauros lowered his horn and tried to ram him in the back. Seviper quickly brought up his poison tail and blocked the Tauros's horns. After holding the Tauros in place for a minute , Seviper forced him back and smashed his face across the face.
Upon seeing this the Shiny Tauros huffed and sprinted down the ridge.
"Alright Charla." Serena started before her new Scyther came out of his pokeball.
"Scy!" The Scyther shouted.
"Scyther what are you doing out?" Serena asked. Without warning her Scyther flew right at the Shiny Tauros.
"Scyther no stop!" Serena shouted. He raised his arm blades as he got close.
The Shiny Tauros lowered his head and hit Scyther in his chest with his horns.
"Scy!" Scyther grunted.
The Tauros groaned as he used take down to plow Scyther into the ground before lifting him up with his horns and hurled Scyther across the ground.
When Scyther hit the ground he was unconscious.
"Scyther!" Serena shouted. Instead of hitting Scyther again, the Tauros turned to Ash and Pikachu.
Seir focused in on them and pointed at Ash.
The Tauros made a dead sprint at Ash onto to have Pikachu unleash a Thunderbolt at him. Tauruos was hit, but despite his pain he continued charging at Ash.
"Look out!" Serena shouted.
Ash covered his hands in some aura and caught the Tauros by his horns. He had been slowed down enough by Pikachu so that Ash could grab and push back without being overwhelmed.
Ash was still moved back but slowed the Tauros down until he stopped.
Ash placed his hand on the Tauros's face and tried to connect to the Tauros's aura to free him of Seir's control. Pikachu ended his Thunderbolt and the Tauros's eyes turned from blue back to his normal eyes.
He looked dizzy as his head spun and his legs wobbled.
Before anything else could happen a massive jet of fire flew down from the sky , engulfing two of the Tauros.
Before the other 2 could react they saw Clark on his Charizard as they swopped down and smashed the last two Tauros with Steel wing.
Seir saw Clark on Charizard's back he sprinted off.
"So the traiter's here" Clark said.
His Charizard landed in front of the group as he dismounted.
"I was wondering where y'all were." Clark said.
"Seriously what's going on here?" Leaf asked.
"Y'all need to get, so we." Clark said looking at Ash and Lucy.
"Can take care this." Clark said.
"Sounds good, I don't know what's going on here, but I want no part of it." Gary said.
"We probably should leave." Leaf said.
"Brock, Serena you guys should leave too. " Ash said.
"What!?" They said.
"Ash is right." Lucy said.
"Ash we've had this discussion before." Serena said in a stern tone.
"This is different Serena, it's Seir. He's probably more dangerous than anyone we've ever met before." Ash said.
"He's right Serena, Seir is a former Aura guardian. He's too dangerous" Lucy said.
"But we can't just leave you to face him alone." Brock said.
"Look y'all ain't ready for dis varment we're ah going after. Listen ta yer friends and sit it out." Clark said.
Ash put his hands on Serena's shoulders.
"Serena, please do this for me." Ash said.
Serena sighed.
"Alright , fine. But you better come back alright, or you're in big trouble." Serena said.
She and Brock walked away with Leaf and Gary. Serena had a very concerned look on her face.
"I hope they don't get hurt." Serena said.
"Me too." Brock said.
"Guys, what were you all talking about back there?" Gary asked.
"Well." Serena said sweat dropping.
After they left , the Shiny Tauros walked over to Ash.
"Moaa." he groaned .
"Huh?" Ash said.
"Moaaa" The Tauros groaned.
"Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu said.
He explained to Ash that this Tauros was the heard leader of the Tauros herd. He wanted to know how he freed him from the other man's control.
"I just forced his presence out of your head." Ash said.
"Moaa!" Tauros shouted.
"Pika." Pikachu said explaining that the Tauros wanted their help freeing the rest of his herd.
"We'll help you stop him." Ash said.
"Speakin ah which, we better get to that varment." Clark said.
They made their way across the Safari zone before they reached the largest watering hole.
Standing at the edge of the water was Seir with his Garchomp beside him.
"Traitor! We gotcha now!" Clark shouted. Seir and his Garchomp turned around and saw them.
Seir's eyes began to glow blue as 16 more Tauros with glowing eyes.
"Looks like the rest of the herd." Ash said.
Seir stepped forward and let his hidden blades out before touching his Mega Evolution stone. His Garchomp mega evolved then roared at the group.
Ash let out his Charizard as Lucy let out her Seviper. They then Mega evolved them as Clark did the same with his Charizard. Ash and Lucy noticed Clark's Charizard transformed into a Mega Charizard Y.
Seir aimed his finger at them as the herd of Tauros all charged at the group.
"Moaa!" The shiny Tauros shouted trying to tell his Tauros to stop, but to no avail.
Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder and stood beside Tauros as Lucy let out Milotic and she did the same.
As Garchomp took off into the air, the two Charizard Ys took off after him as Mega Seviper stayed close behind.
Meanwhile on the ground, Ash , Lucy, and Clark tried to make their way through the stampede of Tauros he controlled. Even with their improved speed and agility, they found it very hard to move through the Tauros without being hit.
Eventually Ash and Lucy got close only to be hurled back by burst of aura. As Lucy landed a few feet away, a Tauros came at her and tried to stab her with his horns. She quickly grabbed them and tried to force him back.
Ash noticed Seir charge at him with his hidden blades out. He leapt down to try and Assassinate Ash , but Ash quickly lurched to the side ,narrowly missing him.
Ash tried to blast Seir with some Aura, but Seir absorbed the blast with his own aura before coming back at Ash.
That was when Seir was hit in the chest by Clark's shoulders as he rammed into the dark guardian.
Seir was hurled back a few feet , but then did an agile backflip before landing on his feet.
He saw Clark draw his hidden blades before charging at him. The two were locked in a fierce melee as their pokemon battled overhead.
Ash's Charizard Y unleashed a powerful Dragon pulse right at Mega Garchomp , only to have the dragon shark dive down right into Clark's Charizard Y and slash him across the face with Dragon claw as he tried to come up underneath Garchomp and use Air slash.
At the same time Mega Seviper unleashed a colossal flame thrower up at Garchomp only to have him unleash a sand tomb around himself, absorbing the fire.
On the ground Pikachu used his speed and agility to avoid several incoming Tauros before smashing one across the head with Iron tail, then another using his momentum.
Milotic forced 3 back at once with a large Surf, that swept them up.
The Shiny Tauros was locked in a horn struggle with one of the Tauros. He moved his head lower and gained leverage before hurled the other Tauros back.
At the same time Seir and Clark were still locked in a fierce melee. Ash and Lucy tried to help him, but the Tauros Seir controlled kept getting in between them. Eventually Seir got his forearm inside Clark's and knocked his arm to the side before smashing his elbow across Clark's face.
As Clark recoiled, Seir leapt up and slammed his knee into Clark's face. As Clark stumbled backwards, Seir grabbed him and hurled him up. Making Clark flip before slamming hard into the ground.
"Clark!" Ash shouted as he used a small aura sphere to force a Tauros back. He then sprinted at Seir and tried to stop him from assassinating Clark.
Seir turned just in time to stop Ash's hidden blades with his own. Seir looked deeply into Ash's eyes with much intensity as he put more pressure on Ash. Despite this, Ash kept his hidden blades locked with Seir's.
Seir tried to make a move, but Ash kept them locked together.
Seir took a deep breath before putting aura behind his fists. The force was now too much and he broke Ash's stance. He thrusted forward , hurling Ash back. As Ash recoiled, Seir leapt up with more aura backing his attack.
Ash brought up his hidden blades to block Seir's , but as Seir made contact, he came with so much force, that Ash's hidden blades were broken out of their holders. As this happened, his holders were also torn apart and his mega evolution stone shattered.
Ash slammed into the ground hard as Seir stood over him.
Pikachu could feel Ash was in danger and tried to rush over to him.
that was when a wall of Tauros got in his way.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted. The Shiny Tauros turned and saw Ash under Seir.
He remembered it was Ash who freed him from Seir and now risked his life to save his heard.
"Moa!" the Tauros shouted before he charged forward as fast as he could. Ash slowed turned his head and saw as Seir was about to plunge his hidden blades into his chest.
Ash braced himself , but just before Seir could he was hit in the side by the Shiny Tauros .
"Huh?" Ash said. Seir grabbed hold of the Tauros's horns and used aura to try and force him to the ground. Despite all his energy and force, Tauros couldn't keep up against Seir's force and was forced to the ground by his own horns.
Ash saw this and to his surprise, Seir didn't try to kill Tauros. Instead he simply got up and turned back to him.
Before Seir could do anything else he was hit from behind by Lucy.
Seir recoiled as Lucy tried to thrust her hidden blades into his back. Seir quickly turned around and blocked her strikes when he saw Clark come back up and charge at him.
He brought up his other hidden blade and blocked Clark's strikes, but could not keep up with both aura guardians.
In the air, Mega Garchomp hurled Mega Seviper back with Dragon rush and continued on to hit Clark's Charizard Y.
Ash's Charizard Y knew they were loosing the battle and had to do something. Maybe something Garchomp wouldn't expect or be prepared for. Like an explosion.
He increased the size of his already massive tail flame, nervous as he knew he still hadn't gotten the move down. Still he opened his mouth and unleashed a massive fire blast with all its energy focused in the center.
As Garchomp soared back up he turned just in time to see the blast of fire hit him in his back. At first he didn't think much of it, until the energy in the center came out all at once in an explosive manner, hurling Garchomp into the ground.
Ash got up and joined Lucy and Clark in the fight against Seir. With his focus on the other two, he didn't see or feel Ash in time to stop him from jumping up and doing an acrobatic flip kick that hit Seir across his face and hurled him back.
When Seir got up he saw his Garchomp on the ground. He looked back at the 3 aura guardians now all focused on him. He glared at Ash once more before returning his Garchomp then sprinting off.
"After him!" Lucy shouted. Ash saw his Charizard looking like he was now in pain.
"Charizard? Ash said. He then remembered his mega evolution stone had been broken by Seir while Charizard was still in mega form.
"Charizard!" Ash shouted. He sprinted over as Charizard slammed into the ground and continued to cry out in pain. He was soon joined by Lucy, Clark, and the other pokemon.
"What da hell happened to him?" Clark shouted.
"My Mega evolution stone was broken." Ash said.
"That's not good." Lucy said.
Ash tried to remember what Felix taught him about this situation. He then remembered exactly what Felix said.
"If one bond is broken, open another."
Ash connected to Charizard through their aura connection and allowed the berzerking energy to flow out of him. Charizard reverted back to his normal form and slowly looked up at Ash.
"Thank Reduka." Ash said.
Clark looked over and saw Seir had gotten away.
"Dam." He said. They then noticed all of the Tauros were free of Seir's control.
"Moaa." They groaned sounding dizzy.
"He got away, but at least we're all safe." Ash said.
"Moaaa!" The Shiny Tauros shouted sounding happy as he came over and licked Ash's face.
"I think he appreciates what ya did." Clark said.
"Your welcome, thank you for saving me from Seir." Ash said.
"Moaa!" The Tauros said as Pikachu turned to Ash.
"Pika, Pikachu." Pikachu told Ash that the Tauros admired Ash for his courage and determination. He wanted to come with him.
"Really?" Ash asked.
"Moaa!" Tauros said smiling and nodding.
"Alright." Ash said as he took out a Safari ball and touched it to Tauros's head. Tauros wen inside and stayed there until the pokeball stopped shaking.
"Alright I finally caught a Tauros!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!".
The Safari ball was transported away as Charizard slowly got back up.
Lucy looked over at was was left of Ash's hidden blades.
"Yeah I'm afraid those are beyond repair Ash, you're going to need new ones." Lucy said.
"Well after my gym battle we can stop by the local guild. I'm sure they can help me make new ones and get a new mega evolution stone." Ash said.
"Thank y'all for helping me save the Safari zone from the traiter. He won't be comin back any time soon." Clark said.
"Hopefully." Ash said.
Later that night, they met at the pokemon center with the others.
"So that Clark guy kicked him out." Leaf said.
"Yup that's exactly what happened." Lucy said as Serena and Brock both silently nodded.
"So you finally caught yourself a Tauros Ash." Gary said.
"Yes a Shiny one." Ash said.
"Awww man, I got nothing." Gary said.
"You caught twenty five pokemon." Leaf said.
"Normal ones, no shiny or Dratini." Gary said as the others sweat dropped.
"How's Scyther doing ?" Ash asked.
"Better. But I'm still concerned by the fact that he just came out like he did and attacked." Serena said.
"Give him time." Lucy said.
"Well I better get going, I got more badges to collect." Gary said.
"Oh no." Leaf said as she grabbed Gary.
"What now?" He said.
"We're staying to watch Ash's gym battle." Leaf said.
"What!?" Gary shouted.
"He's our friend and we're going to support him." Leaf said.
"Thanks guys, my battle is tomorrow at noon." Ash said.
"We'll be there." Leaf said as Gary sweat dropped.
Later Ash and Serena were in their room at the pokemon center. Pikachu was laying on Ash's pillow. He was a bit shaken up from watching Ash come so close to death. A bit frustrated with his trained for being so reckless when he faced Seir.
Serena let down her hair before taking off her shirt and pulling down her shorts. Now in just her small red panties and bra she climbed into bed next to Ash.
It was then she noticed something very interesting. Ash's hidden blades weren't on the nightstand beside the bed where Ash normally set them.
"Hey, Ash where are your hidden blades?" Serena asked.
"Well." Ash said nervously. Serena could feel a level of fear inside Ash from their connection and knew something had happened.
"What happened out there with Seir." Serena said looking serious.
"Serena I." Ash started.
"Tell me!" She said sounding stern.
"Alright, I got a little too aggressive in the fight against Seir and went ahead without help from Clark or Lucy. When I faced Seir alone he got a bit close and broke my hidden blades." Ash said.
"He what!" Serena nearly screamed as a look of fear came to her face.
"Serena it was just a mistake It's not as bad as you think." Ash said.
"Not as bad! Ash if he was able to do that he must have come close to killing you!" Serena shouted.
"Pika , Pikachu!" Pikachu said nodding.
"Guys, I made a mistake. I won't let it happen again." Ash said.
"Making a mistake is one thing Ash, but when your life is on the line. All this after you told me everything was going to be alright." Serena said.
"Serena I'm here aren't I, I survived." Ash said as he put his hands on her shoulders.
Serena looked back at him looking more frustrated.
"Ash that's not the point. What happens next time when you're not so lucky! I can't stand even the thought of you being killed, especially when I'm miles away!".
Ash was starting to realize Serena and Pikachu were right. He had gotten too reckless during the fight. Trying to go at Seir alone when he had already being bested by him before. He was lucky that he survived, if it weren't for Tauros, Seir might have been able to kill him.
"Serena,Pikachu. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I was so reckless out there. I guess sometimes with my abilities I forget that I can make mistakes like that. But I can't stop my work as a guardian, not even for that." Ash said.
Serena sighed before turning back to Ash.
"Just promise me you won't let this happen again." Serena said.
"I promise." Ash said.
"Alright ,but I'm going to need to keep a close eye on you until I can trust you to be more careful again." Serena said as she wrapped her arms around his and pushed him down. Once she was over him she lowered her face in and kissed him.
Author's note
So yeah I know a lot of you might have wanted Ash to catch Dratani, but Lucy hasn't caught a pokemon in a while, so yeah just one tauros, I personally voted for 30 , but the vote poll showed you guys clearly wanted just one.
That being said we also saw Ash's hidden blades and his mega evolution stone get broken, don't worry he will get new ones eventually, but not in the way you might think.
Also I fooled you into thinking Serena was going to catch Psyduck, didn't I :)
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask(via PM)