Safari Zone Adventures

**"Safari Zone Adventures"** is the twenty-sixth (twenty-seventh in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* After winning the tournament, Ash and Red gain access to the Safari Zone for an entire day. While Ash does his best to find and retrieve his Tauros, he catches a few more Pokémon on the way out, and so do his female companions. Meanwhile, Red is approached by a mysterious girl who offers him something to improve the training of his own Pokémon, albeit in exchange for his cooperation.

## Plot

Already in the Safari Zone, Misty stares at a Slowbro she wants to catch, and throws a Safari Ball at it. A Poké Ball burst opening startles her, though it's quickly revealed to be Psyduck, who reminds him to not to jinx it. The voice of Ash's Pokédex chimes in to remind her that Jynx are not found in their current Safari Zone area, but Misty refuses as she's not interested. As it turns out, before entering the Zone they found a couple of old model Pokégears in the trash, and after Anabel picked them out of curiosity, the Pokédex could use them as secondary bodies to keep everyone in touch as well as expand the data collection while Ash is keeping the main one with himself, since Misty would be off searching for water bodies to catch Water-types for herself. As the capture is registered, Misty pulls out her fishing rod and apologizes to Anabel, who is nearby, since this might take a while and she's not guaranteed to find what she's looking for. They had already discussed their plans during breakfast: rumors said that several regions had rented the Safari Zone for breeding of Pokémon species, which was confirmed by Professor Oak, but after forty years it'd be tricky to find anything. Thus, they'd send Iris to survey the area with the other secondary Pokédex and if she found something worthwhile, either a Water Pokémon for Misty or something Ash might be interested in catching, they'll be able to relay it to Anabel, who'd teleport them to the location immediately (or to Ash's in case they needed Safari Balls). Misty for her part is unsure what Ash would be searching specifically.

Meanwhile, Ash has already begun his hunt for his thirty Tauros. From behind some bushes, he spots five Tauros drinking by a watering hole with their backs turned at him. He recognizes the leftmost Tauros by a notch in a horn as his fourth strongest Tauros, and with Pikachu's sense of smell he confirms that the two rightmost Tauros are also his, but the two others are not. He wonders whether he should catch them all or leave the unknown ones, but he Pokédex reminds him that Professor Oak seeks to study Tauros behavior from up close and multiple specimens would be useful. Remembering that he has infinite Safari Balls, he decides to take them all, using the Poké Ball cloning glitch to get five Safari Balls, and promptly throw them. Four of the Tauros are caught, but a passing Spearow gets in the way of the fifth, one of Ash's old Tauros, who after getting startled tries to bail out. Ash is determined to not to lose any of his old Pokémon again and quickly throws another ball, managing to catch the Tauros before he can flee, much to his relief. Pikachu calls it just bad luck.

Elsewhere, Red and Yellow explore in search for more Pokémon. Yellow lists in a notepad the Pokémon that Red has caught so far, checking a Scyther among the specific ones he's seeking out, Doduo, Nidorino, Sandshrew, Ekans, and a Psyduck they happened to pass by. Red sighs in frustration at the shiny Chansey that got away from him. Yellow then reminds him that he's also looking for either a Rhyhorn or Rhydon, and Ponyta and a Kangaskhan, though wondering why Red's interested in the last one. As they approach a lake, a raging Gyarados emerges from it, which Red recalls that, like Kangaskhan, is a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution, and he wants to increase his chances finding as many of those as possible in the chance he finds an usable Mega Stone. After catching the Gyarados, Red recalls he didn't put it on the list because he intends to go to Johto one day, and people tended to get offended by people other than the Blackthorn City Gym Leader using Gyarados, due to Twenty Gyarados Bill's rampage.

In a mountain range far from the Safari Zone, Otoshi runs into a scraggly brown-haired boy, who offered him and Marowak some apples after his food bag was snatched by a Fearow two days ago. Wanting to honor his debts, he followed the boy to this place: atop the mountains where there's a lot of dark stormy clouds stirring around and strong winds blowing. The boy explains to him how these mountains house rare minerals which the frequent lightning storms react to, creating electromagnetic reactions that are addictive and induce aggressive behavior on Electric-type Pokémon. Otoshi still doesn't understand what that has to do with him, nor why is his Marowak standing there with their Key Stone in a bowtie. The boy explains that his grandmother is a Mega Evolution master who won the Lumiose Conference once, and knows more about it than anybody else alive. As he proceeds to explain how Mega Evolution works, and its similarities to other methods such as Z-Moves in Alola, he explains there are other methods to power up Pokémon that don't require a special item like Mega Stones or Z-Crystals, although harder to achieve. He explains that since Marowak is unable to Mega Evolve, he's trying to show him one of said methods here, using the Key Stone as a conduit to harness light particles in the vicinity for the time being, until Marowak is able to do it on his own. When Marowak starts to flash in a blinding light, Otoshi is forced to cover his eyes. Once he can look again, he sees that Marowak's arm has been coated in a golden layer of pure energy. The boy calls this Break Evolution, a power capable of rivaling Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and even Bond Phenomenon. Marowak moves his arm cautiously, and upon touching a stone, it quickly shatters into pieces, giving them a taste of its power, and making him realize that if they master it, they could probably win the Pokémon League. Otoshi however quickly asks if it can be turned off, not wanting to have Marowak in golden state forever.

Back in the Safari Zone, Ash peeks behind a rock and finds another group of five Tauros, the lead of which has a cowlick that gives him away as the fastest of his herd, who'd use to compete against Ash's Flying-types in races. The other four are also his as confirmed by Pikachu, but as he prepares to catch them, the Tauros suddenly seem about to get into a fight with a nearby group of Exegguttor. The Pokédex points out that normally these two species live apart from each other and don't conflict. One of the Exegguttor tries to use Confusion to bring a plant near the Tauros' feet, but in response one of them shoots a Water Pulse sphere. The Pokédex explains that the plant the Exegguttor tried to take is not usually part of their diet in the wild, but it is part of wild Tauros' diet, adding that it's usually given to captive Exegguttor to prevent fungal growth in them. At these observations, Ash notices that the Exegguttor look rather thin, and the Pokédex scans them to reveal they were released recently, and not normally but with their Poké Balls destroyed, which immediately rules Paul out as a possibility of who'd have done it. The Pokédex suggests that Ash catches them since they might not be able to survive long in the wild, and Ash decides to comply and catch them in addition to his five Tauros.

Meanwhile, Misty and Anabel are still in the pond, and after drinking some water and failure to find new Pokémon (only finding several Magikarp, a Goldeen and a female Psyduck that said some things to Misty's Psyduck that she wished to forget), Misty suggests they might change locations, hearing from Iris there's another pond with more shade. Anabel recalls that Ash was also there recently and seemed happy about it, making the girls wonder if he found something like a Shiny Chansey or an Eevee. The line on Misty's pole tugs and she pulls it out, to reveal a Dragonair. The Pokédex's side body frantically demands that she captures it, but she refuses since Dragonair isn't a Water-type. The Pokédex makes a comment that offends the Dragonair, who slaps the device with its tail before diving back into the water.

Ash and Pikachu are climbing over a rocky hill, and Pikachu stops Ash before he steps on a Geodude, who throws a stone at him, forcing to dodge to avoid getting hit in the head. As the Pokédex makes some comments about Geodude, he catches Ash's interest upon mentioning that Geodude has an Alolan form that is Rock/Electric-type, which Ash feels like catching due to its unusual eyebrows, much to Pikachu's shock. Suddenly, they overhear a Tauros braying nearby, and immediately run off in that direction. As they arrive, he finds four Tauros lying defeated on the ground and a fifth one still standing but badly wounded, which Ash recognizes from a scar on the flank that it's one of his, one that used to get into fights often to get stronger and hoped to challenge the leader of the herd to take over his position. Pikachu recognizes that three of the defeated Tauros are also theirs. The last Tauros collapses from his wounds and then it's revealed that the one responsible is a Farfetch'd who, for some reason, holds a leak on each wing and one in its beak, and seems rather satisfied with himself. The Farfetch'd spots Ash and begins talking, and when Pikachu translates, it turns out that he seems surprised to see another human that is not the warden, and maybe could serve his purpose. When Ash asks about said purpose, the Farfetch'd continues to talk, and Pikachu translates that he considers himself the greatest "leeksmon" of the region, having already defeated everything this region has to offer, but wants to challenge other weapon-bearing Pokémon in other regions with his three-leek style. However, since he cannot fly without losing his leeks, he needs a trainer who can take him around the world, and wants to see if Ash is worthy of him. Unsure as to what he means, Ash tries to show him his gym badges, explaining that they're proof of him defeating the strongest trainers of specific types of the region (and the Cerulean Sisters). Farfetch'd seems contemplative, so Ash asks the Pokédex to show him the Pokémon he has. Farfetch'd says he looks better now, but still isn't fully convinced. Ash then tries lifting his shirt to show him his muscles, but when that doesn't work, he tries charging a Power-Up Punch for him to see. That seems to be the incentive that Farfetch'd seeks, so Ash extends a Safari Ball to him. Farfetch'd taps it with his beak leek and lets himself be caught, which the Pokédex mentions it was an unusual capture.

Later in a quieter zone, the Pokédex mentions to Ash some random trivia about Tauros, including how they're use for transportation in Alola. The Pokédex asks why Ash seems so interested in catching so many Tauros, having already a dozen of them, to which Ash replies "because they live in herds", which the device finds unable to rebuke. As they continue to walk, Ash barely manages to avoid stepping into a pond of hot water, but Pikachu does tumble into it. Ash spots four Tauros in it, along with several other Pokémon, with an elderly-looking Arcanine in the back of the pool being the one who's warming up the pond with its muzzle. However, when Pikachu tells him that none of these Tauros are theirs, they move on, much to the Pokédex's confusion.

Meanwhile, Iris calls Misty and Anabel and they quickly teleport to her location. She found a pond with a notice **"Emergency Lunch Pool/Study Site 'Ponyboy'. Do not tell Kaiser. Dangerous. Research Curtis"** which other Pokémon seem to avoid to drink water**.** Iris, despite looking rather uneasy, reminds Misty about her goal to catch all Water Pokémon in the world, and clearly she found a foreign Water-type that she's not a fan of. The secondary Pokédex scans the pond and reveals it's full of Basculin, rather hostile fish Pokémon. Iris reveals that she got some scars around her ankle due to some of them in the past, and it took quite a while for her to fully heal. Misty drops a Safari Ball and a red-stripe Basculin jumps out, getting caught. However, after some pondering, she wonders if she'd be better of taking them all, since they live in schools and it's unlikely somebody else would want to catch them anyway. Thus, they start dropping the Safari Balls until they're all captured.

Back with Ash, he spots a Kangaskhan and its offspring eating some fruit, when two Tauros approach to charge, startling them. Wanting to avoid more accidental captures, Ash tells Pikachu to hold on to him, and uses Quick Attack to dash between them and catch the Tauros. He succeeds, but then notices that his shirt seems to have been accidentally ripped on the shoulder when he moved, which Pikachu apologizes for.

In another area, Red and Yellow come across a wounded Ponyta, whom Yellow heals with her Bloodliner powers to get its trust. Suddenly, an Arbok appears to try and attack them while Yellow is busy healing Ponyta's leg, but Red uses his fire breath to drive the snake away, until Yellow finishes her job. The Ponyta then lets itself be caught.

Ash comes across another of his Tauros, in a rocky expanse full of holes. Said Tauros seems to have broken a leg, and Ash decides to catch it without checking whether it's one of theirs, but Pikachu confirms that it was after he does. Checking around the holes, Ash wonders about them, and while a Diglett pops up, Ash realizes the holes look rather off for Diglett or Dugtrio. Suddenly, a Gible comes out. The Pokédex frantically demands that Ash catches it, but when Pikachu tells him it's not their Gible, Ash passes on it and the Pokémon digs back underground. Then a Dwebble pops out and the Pokédex once more demands that Ash captures, and he refuses since it's not Cilan's, much to the device's dismay. Then a Roggenrola pops out, and the Pokédex is uninterested, until Pikachu confirms that it's their Roggenrola (who is apparently female, much to Ash's shock) and after ignoring the Pokédex's shock, he catches her and then teleports her back to restore her memories and put her up to speed with everything, while she herself is confused at being unevolved once more.

Misty and Anabel come across a canal, which the secondary Pokédex reveals it's made by Gyarados, as per the research of Jared Kowalski. Noticing some bubbles in the canal, Anabel uses her powers to part the waters, and they find a Krabby pinching a Shellder, Misty promptly catches them both, making her recount all the Pokémon she's caught so far and how much progress she's made to her goal since she met her friends, which makes her feel happy.

Back with Ash, once he's done telling Roggenrola everything, she understands that the world's fate is at stake, although she's also worried about her friends and that Team Rocket could be plotting to turn them into a laser cannon again. Ash however assures her that, even after defeating Cyrus, he'll still have a life ahead of him and he wants to find all his friends, and doesn't want to leave anyone behind. Roggenrola then senses that there's a Tauros nearby. They enter a hidden grotto and find the Tauros, which Ash recognizes as the tamest of his herd that he once took for a lecture with Professor Oak in front of a large group of children in The Old Timeline shortly after the Lily of the Valley Conference. The Tauros is accompanied by a Vulpix, which the Pokédex suggests might be his offspring, and noticing that it seems sick from poison, Ash approaches to heal it with an antidote. He then catches them both, and recalls that this never happened before, wondering if the Tauros ever had offspring in the old timeline, with Pikachu mentioning that he might have fathered Misty's Azurill back then. Pikachu however replies that Professor Oak took measures to prevent the Pokémon from breeding without their trainers' consent, but now it doesn't seem the case and that's why he has that large room of eggs at the lab. Roggenrola informs them that she's picking up a Tauros stampede and beckons them to follow her.

Elsewhere, Red finds himself at a conundrum. He found a Snorlax, which could be a valuable asset for his team, but it's a high-maintenance one due to the large amounts of food it requires, so he's hesitant to catch it. When Yellow asks if it's possible to keep Snorlax inside the ball for long periods of time, Red points out that doing so risks of them getting hungry and possibly eating their own trainers once they're brought out. The suggestion of letting them out to eat forage is also discarded since they can't do that in urban areas without causing a huge heap of trouble. He then recalls that Ash mentioned how the rest of his Pokémon stay at Oak's lab, making Red resent him even more for having that advantage that he himself lacks. Yellow realizes what he's thinking and tells him to forget about Ash, especially since that means Ash is using what he has available and "behaving correctly" as Red puts it, so he can't blame him for it. Suddenly, a new voice speaks up, and they turn around to look. They find a girl with short green hair and mismatched eyes sitting on top of the Snorlax, with a Safari Ball in her hand. The girl explains that she can see the past and future of people through her eyes, and calls herself Naty. She explains that Red and Ash have caught the interest of their group, and she's ready to make an offer to Red to level up the playing field on that advantage Ash has. For some reason, she has trouble seeing into Ash's past, and doesn't like much what she sees in his future, but she sees potential in Red, to be something greater than just a league winner or a Champion, and she wants to help him get there. She then tosses him a Rainbow Pass, explaining that it'll allow him to travel freely between the Sevii Islands, her home, and that she and her friends have a little place where he can leave the rest of his Pokémon while they're not in his team, where they'll be able to exercise much like Ash's do at Oak's. She also shows him a Mega Stone, specifically a Kangaskhanite, and encourages him to find a Kangaskhan to use it, promising to take care of Snorlax until he goes there to find them. She uses the Safari Ball to catch Snorlax and then teleports away. Yellow is suspicious of Naty, thinking that she must be up to something. Red however finds the offer too tempting, and thinks about going to Vermilion City while taking on several gyms on the way, heading for the Sevii Islands, and then be back in time for one last badge before the League. Despite Yellow's warnings, he insists that, whatever they're up to, his future is only his to decide and he can refuse if it's something he doesn't want to do.

Ash continues to follow Roggenrola across many expanses, and at one point he needs Charizard's help to clear some brambles that block his way. Charizard isn't happy about it, but Ash promises to use him in the Fuchsia Gym battle to make up for it. In the meantime he continues to think about what kind of Pokémon they could be facing in the gym, and which members should make up his team to counter them. The Pokédex interrupts his thoughts with a report from John Archer's Pokémon, who found a girl named Meliae, who shares some similarities with him and the others, like the Z-shaped marks and height, but has different hair color. The girl displays the ability to heal herself in the sunlight, confirming that she's a Bloodliner. Ash then inquires about whether she has a criminal record or not, which the Pokédex denies, and then asks if she has multiple boyfriends or girlfriends like Belladonna or Cleff. The Pokédex states that she does not have any serious relationships, but does engage in casual one-night flings and sex encounters rather often. Having seen too much already with his other possible siblings, Ash decides that is perfectly fine with him, while accidentally tossing the Pokédex into the bush.

At another zone, Iris has once more separated from Anabel and Misty, and decides to take a break to eat some apples from a tree with Axew. While she's enjoyed her tour, she feels a tad disappointed because she hasn't been able to fight or train to become stronger. On the other hand, she does appreciate the chance to relax and rest, and she's been able to feel at home like she hasn't in a long time, recalling her time with her family and how much she misses them, making her even more determined to rescue them. Suddenly, the Gible whom Ash found before pops out of underground and begins chomping on Axew, forcing her to step in. The Gible introduces himself and asks Iris if she's friends with that other human he saw before, which the side Pokédex confirms was Ash and this Gible is a rare Dragon-type from Sinnoh. Gible explains to Iris that one day humans came to the cave he lived in and grabbed a few of them to bring them here and do something about the soil, while placing bad-tasting sticks on the ground. Iris quickly learns that he misses his own family too and wishes to see more of the world, so Iris decides to take him along, asking Anabel to bring Ash and a Safari Ball for her, much to Axew's dismay.

Meanwhile, Misty catches a Seaking with her fishing pole and promptly catches it. Anabel approaches to let her know that Iris found something, so she teleports them to her location. They see find her and Axew eating the nearby apples with Gible, which the side Pokédex explains is a Sinnoh Pokémon that was brought to the Safari Zone for a soil experiment. Misty gives Iris a Safari Ball synched to her for the capture, and Gible is immediately caught. Suddenly, an Eevee appears, and both the secondary Pokédexes demand that they capture it. Both Misty and Anabel want it, but Anabel offers it an apple first so it goes to her, much to Misty's dismay, but she lets Anabel have it.

At this point, Ash has found sixteen of his Tauros plus a few additional ones, and they come across a large group of them. Pikachu confirms that the remaining ones (including the herd's leader) are there among many others that aren't for a total of twenty-five in the group. Catching all of them would mean that he would find himself with forty-four of them this time around, and after asking the Pokédex if Professor Oak will be able to handle them, the device suggests that he can charge any potential damages to his account, plus buying him some good quality cheddar cheese as a compensation gift wouldn't hurt, since he can easily afford it with his tournament earnings. A few minutes of ball throwing later, Ash has caught all of his Tauros and with them, all of his Kanto Pokémon are safely back with him (barring Primeape). He finds himself with one last Safari Ball in hand, and then Yellow shows up after hearing the ball throwing noises. After some chatter more about their catches, Red shows up behind Yellow. Roggenrola makes a remark about his physical resemblance to Ash, which Pikachu replies they might be half-brothers. This catches the attention of Red's Pikachu, who inquires about it. Seeing Yellow's confusion at the reaction, Ash wonders whether he should tell Red about their possible relationship, still not feeling like he can get along with him but also thinking he does deserve to know. Meanwhile, Ash's Pikachu explains to Red's what they learned from Belladonna and finding other lookalikes of their trainers, suspecting that they all might share the same father, but Red's Pikachu doesn't understand why a human would father so many children, also lamenting that he can't communicate with Red the same way they do with Ash to tell them, and Red won't know unless Ash decides to tell him.

As they prepare to exit the Safari Zone, Ash meets up with his companions, still with the Safari Ball in hand. After getting into an argument with his Pokédex, he gets distracted and accidentally trips, dropping both the Pokédex and the ball. The latter rolls into a nearby bush, out of which comes a shiny Chansey whose foot the ball taps and then gets caught, much to the Pokédex's delight. Ash however is both surprised at the catch and wondering how he can work out with a Chansey, let alone a shiny one, of all things.

After returning to the Pokémon Center, Ash and his companions talk to Professor Oak via video call. The scientist is using the Spearow Ash caught to keep away some bad smells from an intern's experiments. Oak then informs him that he and a close friend finished patenting a recent invention of his. It's called the Item Capsule, storage devices to put any kind of objects just like Poké Balls store Pokémon. They'll be released for marketing soon, but Ash and his friends can have a prototype set for their use, while two other sets will be given to Gary and the twins Elwood and Aideen, so they should be shipped for them very soon. As if on cue, Nurse Joy announces that there's a package for Ash Ketchum, and when Misty assumes that it's from Oak, he says that it's too soon for that, accidentally knocking Spearow off his head, and the angry bird then attacks him in retaliation.

Ash goes to check the package and brings it back to the hotel before opening it. The sender is labeled as "Kahuna and Guardian Deity" from Melemele Island in Alola. He finally opens it and finds to his surprise that it's a Z-Ring, very similar to the one used by Lilo during the Fuchsia Tag Tournament, albeit one that has no crystal in it. Upon touching it, however, Ash begins experiencing visions of several important battles of his old timeline, albeit changed while using Z-Moves:

*In the Vermilion City Gym, Pikachu uses Breakneck Blitz to defeat Lt. Surge's Raichu.*

*In the Indigo League, Kingler uses Hydro Vortex to defeat Mandi's Seadra.*

*In the Azalea Town Gym, Cyndaquil uses Inferno Overdrive to defeat Bugsy's Scyther.*

*In the Ecruteak City Gym, Noctowl uses Shattered Psyche to defeat Morty's Gengar.*

*In the Petalburg City Gym, Grovyle uses Bloom Doom to defeat Norman's Slaking.*

*In the Battle Arena, Snorlax uses Pulverizing Pancake to defeat Greta's Medicham.*

*In the Eterna City Gym, Aipom uses All-Out Pummeling to defeat Gardenia's Roserade.*

*Finally, in the Lily of the Valley Conference, Pikachu uses Gigavolt Havoc to defeat Tobias' Latios without ending in a tie, but the vision is interrupted before Ash can see Tobias' third Pokémon.*

He's snapped out of the visions by Anabel pinching him in the neck. He then asks if any crystals were sent along, but Misty confirms that no, no crystals in the package for him, so he's left having to figure out how to use it himself. He decides to leave it for after the upcoming gym battle, and asks the girls to help him train in the meantime, which they gladly agree to. He then puts on the Z-Ring on his wrist, if only to make sure he doesn't lose it.

## Continuity

* First appearance of Naty.
* Ash catches his 30 Tauros from the Old Timeline, along with 14 additional ones, and Roggenrola. He also catches Farfetch'd, Vulpix, Spearow, Melvin's 10 Exegguttor, and a Shiny Chansey.
* Misty catches Slowbro, Krabby, Shellder, Seaking, and a school of Basculin. Her catch of Tentacool back during the Poison War arc is also confirmed.
* Iris catches Gible, while Anabel catches Eevee.
* Ash receives his Z-Ring from Hala, although he doesn't have any Z-Crystals to properly use it yet.
* Red catches the following Pokémon: Scyther, Doduo, Nidorino, Sandslash, Ekans, Psyduck, Ponyta, Parasect, Gyarados, Rhyhorn, and Kangaskhan. Snorlax is officially caught in his name but is taken by Naty to the Sevii Islands for the time being.