That day, Liu Qing finally reached the Safari Zone.
"From what I saw on TV, there should be a Dragonair and its child here. I wonder if I'll get a chance to catch one?" After collecting thirty Poké Balls from Kaiser, Liu Qing entered the Wild Area's grasslands. Herds of Tauros ran past from time to time, but he had little interest in catching them. Instead, he had his sights set on the Dragonair at the center. He just didn't know whether Kaiser had moved them since Dragonair had been discovered.
Beyond the grasslands lay a dense forest. By then, Liu Qing had realized that what appeared on television was only the tip of the Safari Zone's iceberg. Along the stretch he had just traveled, he had already seen over seventy species of Pokémon native to the Kanto Region, but none had made him want to catch them. His targets were naturally Pokémon with both talent and a willingness to work hard.
"Huh? Is that an Eevee's voice?" Suddenly, a cry of "Vee~ eevee~~" reached Liu Qing's ears. He immediately focused and headed toward the sound.
"It really is an Eevee! Huh, it's surrounded!" After rounding a few bends, Liu Qing saw an Eevee with a piece of fruit in its mouth, surrounded by three Pinsir eyeing it menacingly.
"Nice fur—silky and glossy. Well, look at you, even playing pitiful." Seeing the flashes of cunning in Eevee's pleading eyes, Liu Qing felt a pleasant surprise. Then Eevee's ears twitched, and it looked in his direction.
"Sharp senses, too. It's already spotted me." By now, Liu Qing was thoroughly impressed with this Eevee and immediately wanted to catch it.
"Vee~~" Eevee gave another pitiful cry, almost melting Liu Qing's heart. The three Pinsir, however, remained unmoved. They stood motionless around Eevee, the pincers on their heads snapping constantly.
"Vee~" Just then, Eevee suddenly cried out. White spheres resembling droplets of water appeared around its body and swiftly struck the three Pinsir. The blasts opened a gap in their encirclement, and Eevee immediately leaped through it. After glancing toward Liu Qing, it sprinted away.
"Haunter, follow it!" After giving the order, Liu Qing took a closer look at the three injured Pinsir and thought, I didn't expect this Eevee to use Ice-type Hidden Power. Looks like its hidden attribute is Ice-type.
"Liu Qing, I found it." Just then, Haunter suddenly appeared before Liu Qing and spoke in an eerie voice. Seeing no sign that Liu Qing had been frightened, Haunter asked in disappointment, "Why are you never scared?"
"Obviously, when the air around me turns cold, I know you're coming. What's there to be scared of?" Liu Qing replied irritably. "Come on, take me there."
"It's just ahead." Haunter floated ahead to lead the way and asked, "You want to catch that Eevee, right?"
"Of course. I finally found a Pokémon that meets my standards. Why would I let it get away?"
"Honestly, even after living all these years, I've never seen a rookie trainer like you. You think things through, I've never seen you make a mistake, and you have a sharp eye. You really know how to train Pokémon, too." Haunter paused before continuing, "I have a feeling that someday, you'll rank among the strongest in the entire Pokémon world."
"Heh, thanks for the vote of confidence." Liu Qing smiled and thought, Of course. In my previous life, including the Unova Region episodes I never finished, I followed five regions and seven major tournaments. If all that theory still couldn't make something of me, I might as well smash my head into a block of tofu and die.
"We're here. It's in this cave!" Suddenly, Haunter stopped ahead and indicated the enormous cavern in front of them.
"Eevee isn't the only Pokémon living in that cave, is it?" Liu Qing asked, looking into its pitch-black entrance.
"Heh, that's right. Mostly Zubat, but there are also Arbok, Koffing, and other Pokémon," Haunter said.
"What a hassle." Liu Qing frowned. Getting into this cavern would be difficult.
"Haunter, go in and bring Eevee out for me."
"All right, got it."
Haunter floated into the cavern and emerged a short while later, both hands glowing with multicolored light as they held the Eevee Liu Qing had chosen firmly in place.
"Nice work. Go, Poké Ball!" Liu Qing immediately threw a ball supplied by the Wild Area, wanting to see whether he could catch Eevee outright. The ball struck Eevee and drew it inside, then began shaking violently. Before long, it burst apart. Once free, Eevee glared angrily at Liu Qing and took an attacking stance.
"Fine. If you want a battle, you'll get one. Haunter, you take it on." Liu Qing gestured for Haunter to step forward as Eevee's opponent.
"Vee~" Eevee cried out and attacked first, firing a black Shadow Ball at Haunter.
"Clever little thing. You even know to use a Ghost-type move against me," Haunter said eerily, without pausing the attack. A black Dark Pulse surged forth.
Boom! "Vee~~" Haunter's Dark Pulse instantly engulfed the Shadow Ball and hurtled toward Eevee along with it. Realizing the danger, Eevee used Quick Attack to escape, but the blast's shock wave still caught it, drawing a cry of pain.
"Haunter, catch it with Confusion!" Liu Qing shouted.
"Got it." As Haunter spoke, a streak of multicolored light quickly spread toward Eevee.
"Vee~" Seeing Confusion approaching, Eevee cleverly flipped over and used Dig to hide underground.
"Heh, think you can get away?" Haunter laughed eerily. Both hands detached and shot into the hole. Eevee's terrified cries soon rang out, and it was quickly dragged aboveground.
"Hypnosis!" Liu Qing knew this battle was little more than child's play. Although Eevee was smart, intelligence alone couldn't bridge the gap in experience and level between it and Haunter. Haunter soon hypnotized it, sending it into a deep sleep.
"Go, Poké Ball." This time, Liu Qing threw one of his own Poké Balls, and everything went smoothly. The ball rocked slightly twice, then went still. Under Liu Qing's gaze, it slowly vanished, transported back to his home.
Inside the Pokémon Day Care north of the Uzumaki estate in Saffron City, Mili stopped working when she saw a Poké Ball suddenly appear. She picked it up from the transporter. "He must have reached the Safari Zone. That boy is very particular about the Pokémon he catches. So far, he's only sent back a Porygon. I wonder what it is this time. Oh, it's an Eevee! How adorable."
Looking at the still-sleeping Eevee, Mili also showed a delighted expression. Eevee was native to the Kanto Region, but sightings were extremely rare. Its adorable appearance made it a favorite of ninety percent of trainers.
After walking for several hours, Liu Qing finally emerged from the dense forest, and an enormous lake came into view.
"What a beautiful sight!" The sun was already setting, and its light shimmered across the lake. Liu Qing couldn't help praising the view. "Everyone, come on out!"
Now that he had found this place, Liu Qing was in no hurry. He released all seven of his Pokémon so they could enjoy the beautiful scenery together.
"Chansey, start preparing dinner. Scyther, go pick some fruit in the woods." After giving his instructions, Liu Qing changed into swimming trunks and jumped into the lake, swimming happily alongside Gyarados.
By the time the sky began to darken, Chansey had finished preparing the food. Smelling its aroma, a ravenous Liu Qing quickly climbed ashore. After drying himself off, he sat cross-legged on the ground and enjoyed the meal with his seven Pokémon.
"Gyarados, go search the lake and see if you can find any other Dratini or Dragonair." After dinner, Liu Qing gave Gyarados the request, feeling a little nervous.
"Roar!" Gyarados nodded and immediately dove into the lake.
"Roar!" Before long, Gyarados resurfaced and began roaring at Liu Qing.
"Gyarados says the other Pokémon in the lake said a Dragonair and a Dratini used to live here, but someone took them away not long ago," Haunter translated.
Forget it. If I get one, I'm lucky; if I don't, that's fate. I already have a Shelgon that can evolve into Salamence. I should be satisfied, Liu Qing thought with an inward sigh.
After resting for the night, Liu Qing caught an excellent Rhyhorn on his way back the next day, which somewhat made up for his disappointment.
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