Aya had told Ash that the Safari Zone was the place to go if Ash wanted to add some rare Pokemon to his team. Remembering what Professor Oak had advised him, Ash decided the Safari Zone was the place he'd visit next.
A little excited at the prospect of a rare Pokemon, Ash began to hum a tune under his breath, Pikachu joining him in humming when the two got close to the place. Until a man with a gun stopped them and invited them to his office. His name was Kaiser, the Safari Zone Warden.
"The rules are simple" Kaiser explained, "you are permitted only to use these Safari Balls, the pokefeed and the rod" The man motioned to the basket of balls and the fishing rod with a hand, the other one pointing a gun at Ash. Ash nodded eagerly, grabbing the things and rushing into the Safari Zone. The fresh air of the preserve filled Ash with a different kind of thrill than he felt when he set out for his journey.
Almost immediately Ash comes across a Pokemon he'd not seen before.
Tauros, the Wild Bull Pokemon. This Pokémon is not satisfied unless it is rampaging at all times. If there is no opponent for Tauros to battle, it will charge at thick trees and knock them down to calm itself."
So these were Pokemon that Ash should definitely not mess with… He was going to capture one!
Ash threw Pokefeed to the side to draw the attention of one from the herd. Ash only needed one, and it was the safest and easiest to break one away from the herd to do so.
Instead, Ash ended up drawing the attention of the entire herd towards him, and to Ash's surprise, they were all calm and nice. Ash fed them all and bid them farewell, except for one that was lingering back. It was smaller than the rest, and its horns were not as large or sharp. Must be a young bull this one. Ash fed it some more and then caught it when it consented to join Ash on his journey.
Ash resumed his hunt for more Pokemon failing to capture a Rhyhorn that gave Ash chase, a Venonat that ran away and a Doduo that bolted at the sight of him.
And then Ash ran into someone that he'd never thought he'd run into here of all places.
"Samurai!" the boy called.
Samurai, hidden in the bushes and observing a double-scythed Pokemon jumped. Ash's voice also scared the Pokemon away. Samurai turned in anger, only to melt into a grin seeing his old friend.
The two friends embraced and began to discuss about what they were doing there. Ash told Samurai about his Gym challenges and how he'd come here to catch some rare Pokemon for himself. Samurai explained how he'd been inspired by Ash's battle against Brock and decided that he'd become the best bug-type Pokemon Trainer in the world. That was why he was at the Safari Zone, to catch some rarer bug types.
Before the two could continue their talk, a loud explosion rocked the ground they stood on. They both looked up to see smoke rising in the distance. Without hesitation, they both rushed over to the place.
"Drop another one! The thing can't stay hidden for long!" Damien shouted at his henchmen.
Team Rocket was preparing some kind of device by the lake when Ash and Samurai got there. Without a word both trainers made themselves known and Damien's attention was on them immediately.
"Ash Ketchum" Damien greeted with a grin. "Fate must really want me to take your Pokemon from you."
"You will get nothing, Damien" Ash snapped. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh? You don't know? Not surprising considering the kind of trainer you are" Damien sneered, "I'll do you one kindness before I take your Pokemon and tell you. Dratini can be found in these waters, and we intend to capture them."
Ash's gaze hardened.
"You will do no such thing!"
"Why not? They are wild Pokemon are they not? If you can catch them why can't we?"
"Because you're evil and intend to use the Pokemon for evil!"
Damien laughed.
"Bots, continue finding Dratini. I'll take care of these two."
Damien brought out three Pokeballs and let out his Pokemon, Rhydon, Primeape and Charmander.
"Rhydon, the Drill Pokemon, evolved form of Rhyhorn. Rhydon's horn can crush even uncut diamonds. One sweeping blow of its tail can topple a building. This Pokémon's hide is extremely tough. Even direct cannon hits don't leave a scratch."
So Damien had evolved his Rhyhorn. Ash could only imagine the kind of torture he'd done on that poor Pokemon.
"Samurai, you take on the other Team Rocket members. Leave Damien to me" Ash muttered. The Bug Catcher nodded before breaking away from Ash.
Damien smirked.
"You shouldn't have done that."
Ash remained silent, calling out Wartortle, Gengar and Primeape.
"Rhydon, Horn Attack! Charmander, Flamethrower! Primape, Thrash!"
"Primeape, Karate Chop. Wartortle, Hydro Pump! Gengar Psychic!"
Attacks closed, horn attack versus karate chop, flamethrower versus hydro pump and Thrash versus Psychic.
Rhydon and Primeape were evenly matched, while Wartortle knocked Charmander out with that single move and Gengar stopped Primeape's thrashing with Psychic and threw it at Rhydon.
Damien spat in disgust.
"It was a mistake trading my Ponyta away for this trash" the Team Rocket member sneered. "Rhydon, Primeape, attack!"
The two Pokemon charged again. Wartortle used a Hydro Pump to slow Rhydon, while Primeape got close with a super effective Karate Chop. Gengar once more stopped Primeape's attack with Psychic, getting in close this time and putting it to sleep with Hypnosis.
Another explosion rocked the ground and a pained cry drew Ash's attention away from the battle. A few blue snake-like Pokemon had been drawn out of the water and Team Rocket were reeling them all in with nets and other capture devices.
Samurai was surrounded by the other Rocket Thugs, all five of his Pokemon out and battling. Ash recognized the trainer's old Pinsir and Butterfree but also saw that he'd captured a Beedrill, a Venonat and a weird giant mushroom Pokemon.
"Well, there they are" Damien grinned, "now We'll just take them all."
"Not so fast" Ash called out his Charmander and at his order, the fire lizard burned the net that the Dratini were held in. Pikachu joined in as well, overpowering and destroying the electronic device that also held a few of the Dratini.
Damien's eyes though fell on Charmander.
Charmander's did as well.
Damien smirked.
Charmander hissed.
"You've gotten stronger, Charmander. Now come to me, you've played along long enough. You're mine after all."
"In your dreams" Ash snapped. "Charmander, flamethrower!"
Charmander opened his mouth and blasted a stream of fire at Damien. The Team Rocket member grunted, jumping back.
"You insolent twerp!"
Damien was about to do something when the sound of police sirens was heard. With a disgusted look, Damien ordered Team Rocket to retreat. The grunts got into a helicopter and took to the skies just as Officer Jenny and a few policemen and women arrived with Kaiser.
"Until we meet again Ash! And remember, I will get my Charmander back!" Damien screamed as the helicopter zoomed away.
Kaiser immediately demanded to know what happened.
Samurai and Ash explained the events and Kaiser rushed to the lake to check in on the Dratini.
"Hey kid, is this one yours?" Officer Jenny asked, pointing to a Charmander that seemed hurt, lost and confused.
Ash's Charmander was with him, so it could only mean one thing…
Ash approached the fire lizard Pokemon, but it hissed at Ash. So Ash's Charmander stepped forward and the two Pokemon began to talk amongst themselves. Then Ash's Charmander turned to his trainer and motioned him forward. Ash stepped forward, receiving no hisses this time, and knelt before the abandoned Pokemon.
"Damien wasn't kind to you was he?" Ash murmured. Charmander said nothing, but the silence was a loud enough answer for Ash. He reached out back and held out a Pokeball. "I know someone who can help you. Would you like to go and meet him?" Ash asked kindly.
Charmander nodded, bumping its head against the Pokeball and being sucked in. Three shakes later Ash had successfully caught it and it was immediately sent to Professor Oak.
"Boys" Kaiser rushed over and Ash stood, turning to meet the Warden. "I want to thank you both for helping the Dratini today," the man said with a smile, no gun in hand.
"Don't worry about it" Samurai grinned.
"I'm not, but I am in both your debts, as is my friend."
Kaiser motioned to Pokemon behind him and Ash blinked in surprise. He hadn't seen such an elegant Pokemon before. He pulled his Pokedex out.
"Dragonair, the Dragon Pokemon, evolved form of Dratini. Dragonair stores an enormous amount of energy inside its body. It is said to alter weather conditions in its vicinity by discharging energy from the crystals on its neck and tail."
Dragonair stared at Ash before bowing its head, before doing the same to Samurai. Then it went back to the lake, the Dratini all following it.
With all that settled and Kaiser and the Police gone, Ash and Samurai decided to go their own paths. Samurai was still in search of that scyth Pokemon that Ash had scared off. Ash meanwhile decided to leave for his next Gym.