Chapter Forty-Five: A Successful Safari
"We'll probably get to the Safari Zone quite soon," Ash said as he and Serena walked along the forest trail. "It's just outside of the city itself, so it'll probably be fun to visit it before we move on. And maybe it'll give you some inspiration for your Exposition as well."
Serena smiled at him. "It sounds like fun," she said. "Have you been there before?"
("We have, and with a bit of luck it'll have a different warden now. The guy pulled a gun on us like five times,") Pikachu said with a shake of his head.
"What?! Why?!" Serena asked in shock.
"He was trying to protect a Dratini who lived there," Ash said. "Apparently a lot of people had shown up to try and catch it when they heard of its existence, and their attempts ended up damaging a lot of the land and being harmful to the other Pokémon who lived there."
("And because of that you're only allowed to use special Safari Balls while you're there, and battling any Pokémon at all is forbidden,") Pikachu said.
"But the area is really beautiful, and there are a lot of Pokémon there you don't really see much anywhere else in Kanto," Ash said. "All the Tauros I have at Professor Oak's ranch come from there."
"Well, you've definitely got me curious…and a little worried about getting shot," Serena said.
"It'll be fine," Ash said with a wave of his hand. "Probably."
Despite the mild apprehension of there being a possibility that someone would pull a gun on her, Serena really was curious to see the Safari Zone. If nothing else, seeing rare Pokémon was always interesting, and just like Ash had said, she might get some inspiration for the next Exposition.
Over the past few days, she'd mostly just spent a lot of time close to Ash, and while both of them still trained with their Pokémon after lunch and dinner, the training sessions were noticeably shorter than before so they could spend more time with each other.
As much as Serena loved that she and Ash could be so openly affectionate with each other now, she had to make sure she was ready for the next Exposition. Even though she was in the lead in the competition and had already qualified for the Grand Expo, she didn't want to give a lukewarm performance just because she was spending too much time with her boyfriend.
And aside from that, Ash had his Gym battle to prepare for as well, and Serena didn't want to be the reason he didn't train enough for it.
Still, she was happier than she'd been at any point on her journey thus far. She still hadn't told Mom about anything yet — she really wanted to wait until Fuchsia City proper to do that — but it had already begun to feel comfortable to refer to Ash as her boyfriend, and Ash seemed to be getting more and more used to Serena being his girlfriend too. He'd even tried to help her with dinner the day before, though after nearly setting fire to the table, the tent, and the surrounding trees, Serena had gently asked him to just stick to setting the table and doing the dishes, and Ash had readily agreed.
The trees began to thin out, and soon Serena and Ash were walking down an open dirt road surrounded on both sides by grassy fields. After some time, the land to their left became fenced off from the rest of the land by a wooden wall.
"We're almost there," Ash said. "The land behind that wall is part of the Safari Zone. It extends pretty far north, actually, all the way to the sea."
Serena nodded. "I think I read something about that in my guidebook," she said. "It also said there's a beautiful park between the Safari Zone and Fuchsia City itself."
Ash nodded. "Yeah. The road south leads to the park and the city. There are a few smaller Pokémon enclosures there as well, though obviously you're not allowed to catch those."
At that moment, they reached a large building that had a sign reading 'Safari Zone' on its roof. On the door was a list of rules and warnings, but Serena didn't get the time to read them all, as Ash had already entered the building, and Serena quickly followed him.
The right side of the room they found themselves in had many shelves filled with informational books on the many Pokémon that could be found in the Safari Zone, as well as a section dedicated to merchandise, while on the left there was a counter, behind which sat two employees dressed in green safari clothes. To Serena's unending relief, there were no guns anywhere in sight.
She and Ash walked over to counter.
"Good afternoon," one of the young men behind it said. "Would you like to enter the Safari Zone?"
Ash nodded. "Yes, please."
The young man nodded and looked at Pikachu. "It's fine to keep your Pokémon on your shoulder, but please be aware that no battling of any kind is permitted in the Safari Zone itself," he said. "This means you will need to exercise caution, as these Pokémon are wild, and while many are somewhat used to people, some might be aggressive."
Ash nodded. "We know. We'll be careful," he said.
"Alright then, please sign these forms, and my colleague will supply you with Safari Balls. You may take as much time as you want, but once your Safari Balls run out, you'll need to pay again to get more," the employee said.
Ash thanked him, and not much later both he and Serena had been given thirty Safari Balls, which seemed to be regular Poké Balls with a slightly different paint job. It didn't really matter much to Serena, since she didn't really intend to catch anything anyway, but she wondered how many people actually succeeded in catching the more powerful Pokémon in the Safari Zone without battling, if all they were allowed to use were the most basic balls available. Then again, that was probably the point. The Safari Zone was a nature reserve as much as anything, after all.
They exited the building through the double doors in the back, and immediately found themselves in a wide expanse of grassland. There were no actual paths, though Serena could see that guiding markers had been placed in several locations, all tipped with different colors so it was possible to keep some kind of bearing. Even this close to the building, Serena could already see a small herd of Tauros grazing up ahead.
"Let's go that way," Ash said, pointing in a direction away from the Tauros herd. He grinned sheepishly. "I already have thirty Tauros. I really don't need any more than that. I feel guilty enough for not using them much as it is, though they're happy enough at Professor Oak's ranch."
Serena grinned back. "Yeah, that makes sense. Let's go and explore a bit."
They set off, following the markers further northwest for some time. It became clear fairly quickly that the Safari Zone was indeed home to many kinds of Pokémon. Some, like Doduo and Kangaskhan, Serena had already seen on her journey, but others, like Chansey, Tangela, and Ponyta and Rapidash she'd only ever seen used by Trainers, never in the wild. While none of the Pokémon seemed to be afraid of Serena and Ash, they clearly didn't really feel like getting close either, and they kept their distance for the most part, keeping a wary on the humans in case they made any sudden moves. Like Serena, though, Ash didn't seem to be looking for any new Pokémon to catch at the moment, and he was just enjoying the stroll.
At one point, they reached something that could be called a crossroads, even though there wasn't an actual path. One trail of markers, with a green tip, extended further west. The other, with a yellow tip, went eastwards.
Ash looked at the small leaflet the employee had given him before they'd entered and said, "These paths converge again behind that small lake there to the north. Which way do you want to go first?"
Serena considered for a moment and said, "Why don't we each take one of the paths and meet up there? I always find it easier to come up with an appeal when I'm just walking around on my own and this seems like a good place for inspiration."
Ash nodded immediately. "Yeah, that sounds good. Okay, then Pikachu and I will take the path east, and you and your Pokémon go west?" he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan! See you in a bit, then," Serena said. She quickly leaned in and kissed him, then smiled and set off west.
She thought about calling out her Pokémon, but even though it would probably be allowed, she decided to just stay on her own for a bit first and really take in her surroundings. Even though much of the landscape in Kanto consisted of the same kinds of grasslands and forests as she was in right now, it still somehow felt different, probably because usually she and Ash were walking down actual paths. Here, you could go wherever you wanted to go. You could follow the markers, but nothing forced you to do it, and since there wasn't even a dirt trail here, it truly felt like she was free. It was really just the idea that was different from usual, but somehow that seemed to make all the difference in this case.
Serena loosely followed the trail of markers, sometimes straying off in a random direction for a bit to explore a bit further, but there were more than enough posts around to not get lost. She walked through a small copse, and just when she was about to exit it again, something rustled in the shrubs to her left.
Her hand automatically shot to Delphox's Poké Ball, but a voice said, ("Stay your hand.")
It wasn't telepathy like some of the Pokémon she'd met used, nor was it the speech of a Pokémon she knew…and yet she could understand it perfectly. How?
A white Pokémon with red eyes emerged from the shrubs, with a wicked-looking blade protruding from its head.
("I need to talk to you,") Absol said.
"About what?" Serena asked warily, remaining intrigued at her ability to understand Absol despite only ever meeting one once before.
("A disaster is coming,") Absol said. ("Natural, yet…not.") He shook his head. ("It is hard to explain, but I know that you are central in overcoming the difficulties ahead, though I do not yet know in what manner.")
"Me?" Serena repeated, still confused but for a different reason now. "Are you sure you don't mean Ash? He's usually the one getting caught up in stuff like this…"
("He has someone else looking out for him, who will most likely make his presence known soon,") Absol said. ("But his role in the events to come is different. You…you are central in a more direct way. I am unsure how, but I know that you are.")
"I thought you could only…sense earthquakes and tidal waves and that sort of thing. How could I possibly be central in avoiding that?" Serena asked.
("It is confusing to me as well,") Absol said. ("This disaster…I cannot sense when, precisely, it will occur. I know that events are in motion. Others, more powerful than I, have taken notice as well. Yet I cannot simply sit idly by. I know you are important in these events, and so I have come to warn you, and aid you if I can.")
"Aid me?" Serena repeated. "You mean you want to join me?"
Absol nodded slowly. ("Yes. Though I dislike fighting unless there is no other choice. And I fear that in this case, there might not be.")
"None of my Pokémon really like to fight," Serena said with a small smile. "We're performers. We want to make people smile."
("Humans are generally…not very welcoming to my kind,") Absol said guardedly.
"I've met an Absol who performs with someone, and people like him," Serena said, thinking of her battle with Drew. "I also have a Misdreavus with me who had a similar problem with her reputation. But she's really friendly, and thanks to her I'm trying to see things…differently than I did before."
She shook her head. "But I guess none of that is important right now. You don't have to be my Pokémon if you don't want to be, and even if you do, you don't have to perform or fight if you don't want to. All of my teammates are free to do what they want to do. I just want to help them do it, if I can. And if I can help avert some disaster, and you can help me do that…then I'd love to have you along."
Absol studied Serena for a long while. His red eyes were intense, but Serena didn't feel any hostility from them, just curiosity. Absol seemed to be just as intrigued by her as she was by him and her ability to understand him despite never having met him.
("I believe I can help you best if I become your Pokémon. It will also hide me from prying eyes, yet enable me to act if I feel the need to,") Absol said eventually.
He hesitated for a moment. ("I…do not mean to be rude, but I would rather not draw attention to myself too much, and will refrain from performing or battling for the time being,") he said.
"That's okay," Serena said. "Though I'd like you to at least meet my other Pokémon, and Ash and his Pokémon. If we're traveling together that would only be right, I think. I bet they'd also like to get to know you, but it's okay if you prefer to be on your own. Misdreavus is often out alone too at night."
("I would like to meet them, too,") Absol said. ("I am nearly certain they, too, will have a large role to play in the events to come, and they need to be warned as well.")
Serena smiled and pulled out a Safari Ball. "Sorry," she said when she saw Absol looking at the camouflage pattern on the ball. "These are the only Poké Balls we're allowed to use here. I know the paint job is a bit tacky. I'll see about getting it changed to a regular one later, if you'd prefer that."
Absol shook his head. ("No, I am merely…hesitant to allow myself to be captured at all. It seems contradictory to my nature. And yet, I sense no harm in my doing this.")
He thought for a moment longer and then said, ("Very well, then. You may capture me, and I promise I will do everything in my power to assist you in identifying and overcoming the disaster ahead.")
He bowed his head, and Serena took that as her cue to gently tap the black gem on his forehead with her Safari Ball. Absol was drawn into it, and after a few wiggles, the ball lay still in Serena's hand.
She immediately called Absol out again, who shook himself down and inspected his body. ("I feel no different,") he said with obvious relief in his voice.
"There really isn't any, other than that other people can't capture you anymore," Serena said. "You're still free to do whatever you want, whenever you want." She smiled. "So, what do you think? Is it okay for now?"
Absol nodded slowly. ("Yes. I sense that I made the right decision. Let us go, then, so that I may meet the other key player in these events…")
"Ash will be happy to meet you, I'm sure," Serena said. "And Pancham will probably think your way of talking is cool…" she added with a grin.
("I speak as I have always spoken,") Absol said in a confused tone.
"I know, but it sounds very…heavy and serious, and Pancham likes that sort of thing," Serena said.
Absol said nothing, and Serena giggled at his obvious bewilderment. Oh well, he'd probably fit in soon enough…and whatever disaster might be ahead, somehow Serena felt she, Ash, and their Pokémon would be able to deal with it together.
So, Serena finally gets an Absol. I intended to give her one when I began writing the fic, but it took me until now to get to it. And Ash is getting an encounter soon as well…
Anyway, things are getting busy again, so I don't know exactly when the next chapter will be up. It should be on Friday, but we'll see. In any case, see you then!