//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21- On Safari 
// Story: Twilight Sparkle has a Pokemon Journey 
// by Darkmetroidz 
//------------------------------//

Route 14 was, without exception, the longest road in Equestria. Twilight and company had been hiking for nearly a full week when they finally reached the halfway mark; the Safari Zone, a massive nature preserve that covered a million square acres of southern Equestria. Inside its borders lived many incredibly rare species of pokémon, many of which couldn't be found anywhere else in the world. It was considered a must-visit for anypony travelling Route 14, partly because it was the only thing breaking up an otherwise eventless hike. 

"Well gang, we're here!" Twilight announced excitedly. Her tired friends let out an exhausted whoop, before sitting down for a rest. 

"This is going to be great!" Dash cheered. "I've been wanting to get my hooves on a Shinx for awhile now, looks like today will be my day to capture one." 

"I hope it goes well for you." Fluttershy smiled. "I'm also hoping to catch a rare pokémon." 

"What kind of pokémon would that be?" Rarity inquired. 

Fluttershy rummaged through her backpack and produced one of her drawing books. She flipped through the pages before finally finding a detailed sketch of the pokémon Chansey. "I've wanted one since I was just a filly. The only ponies who ever seem to have them are Pokémon Center nurses, but you can find them in the Safari Zone." Her ears drooped a little as she spoke. "They're just very difficult to find."

"Hey Fluttershy, if you want I can help you look." Dash offered with a smile.

"Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash. I'll try to help you find a Shinx as well."

The six mares entered the front gate of the Safari Zone, a small station built into the large cement wall that surrounded the massive facility. It had two floors, a plain bottom floor set up for admissions and a top floor which boasted an observation deck with large mounted binoculars that could see for miles into the distance. 

Rarity stepped out of line and moved toward the stairs. "You all have fun dears. I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"Ya sure?" Applejack asked, "There's a lotta real rare pokémon in here and I reckon you won't get another chance to get out here again." 

"I am aware Applejack. It's just after a five days of hiking and another five days ahead of us, spending an afternoon walking around in the wilderness isn't exactly my idea of fun."

"Suit yourself then." She shrugged. 

The remaining five walked ahead to the counter which stood in front of the door leading outside. "Good afternoon," Smiled the attendant, a young light blue pegasus, "Welcome to the Safari Zone, would you like to play the Safari Challenge?"

"Yes ma'am!" They merrily chimed. 

"Wonderful! There's just a couple rules you'll need to know before you can go inside. First off all pokémon need to be left at the gate. Don't worry, you'll get them back once you leave."

Rainbow Dash leaned over to Twilight. "Crud. I was planning to use Pidgeotto to help track pokémon. Looks like I'll have to do it the hard way." 	

"You'll each receive six Safari Balls." She continued, placing a tray of pokéballs on the table. Their lids were painted with a camo pattern, a unique design Twilight had never seen before. "Your challenge is over when you run out of Safari Balls or at nightfall, whichever comes sooner. When the bell sounds at dusk, please return to the station. Other than that, have fun and good luck!" Each of the mares paid the small fee and received their balls, which came in a souvenir pouch. They then placed their pokéballs inside individual compartments underneath the counter, each of them receiving a key to retrieve them later that afternoon. With that done, the attendant opened the door, allowing the five out into the wide open domain of the Safari Zone. 

Twilight looked around in awe. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but vast grasslands, endless forests, with only clear rivers serving to break up the great swathes of green. While her friends had grown up in a rural town like Ponyville, her urban upbringing left her in awe at the sheer openness of it. She could see for miles off into the horizon, with nothing but trees and grass between her and the sky. 

"Well what are y'all waitin' for? Applejack asked, nudging Twilight, "Them rare pokémon ain't gonna catch themselves." 

Rainbow nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Let's get moving."

"Hold on!" Twilight urged, reaching into the pouch the attendant had given her, "They gave us each a map." She held up the colorfully printed page, encouraging the others to check out their own. 

"We need to meet back here by night." She continued. "Everypony should have a look over the map to see where they want to go."

"Ooh, look at the back!" Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to a color-coded box on the rear of the page. "They show you around where you can find pokémon." 

Fluttershy studied the map extensively. "I can't see where Chansey usually live…" 

"Chansey is probably the rarest pokémon here Fluttershy." Twilight said, offering a sympathetic smile. "I wouldn't get your hopes up. A lot of trainers don't even believe they actually live here." 

"Oh." She meekly whispered, letting out a defeated sigh. 

Twilight immediately started to backpedal. "But don't let that stop you from trying!" She said, trying her hardest to sound sincere.	

"Well if ya want, I'll tag along with ya." Applejack offered. "You may be smarter 'bout wild pokémon than me, but I a thing or two about tracking." 

"Thanks AJ." She smiled. With that, the two took off to the east, away from the woods and out toward the river. 

"Well, I'll see ya around." Rainbow said with a wink, "I'm off to find me a Shinx." Without another word, Rainbow had turned tail and bolted toward the woods. 	

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed. "Ugh… I hope she figures out that Shinx lives in the highlands, not the woods." 

"Bye Twi!" Pinkie smiled. 

"Where are you going?" She asked. As far as Twilight recalled, Pinkie hadn't actually expressed what she wanted to catch.

"I dunno!" She chipperly declared. "I figure if I walk around I'll find something fun." 

Twilight shrugged. "I guess I'll go with you." She had nothing better to do, and truth be told, she didn't really want to be alone without her pokémon. "Where do you want to go?"

Pinkie whirled around, pointing her hoof vaguely off to the north. "That way!" She declared, as she and Twilight started off in that direction. 

*	*	*

"Whew, have a look around!" Applejack marveled. "I ain't never seen a sky so darn big." 

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. The Safari Zone was truly vast. They had walked past the river and onto a hill, and now they could see for miles around. They had seen a few pokémon on their way over. A small herd of Tauros stampeded past before they crossed the river, and a small group of Blitzle were drinking from the river as they passed. Still, there was no sign of a Chansey. 

"Ah, buck up girlie." Applejack smiled, "We're gonna find you that pokémon or my name's Dirt."

"Thanks again for coming with me Applejack," Fluttershy said with a slight smile. "I don't know if I'd be able to do this by myself."

"Ah shucks, what are friends for?" Applejack sat down on the grass, digging into her backpack. "Lookie here, looks like I still got a couple bottles of cider." She popped the tops off and pressed one into Fluttershy's hooves. "I figure we earned ourselves a little break. Might as well have a seat an' enjoy the view."

"Sounds good to me." Fluttershy grinned, taking a long swig of the sweet cider. She took a glance off toward the highlands to the northeast. "What's going on over there?"

Applejack looked over to see what Fluttershy was talking about. "Looks like a stampede or somethin'." 

"Is it me, or is it coming this way?" She whimpered. 

"What are you-" Applejack started, "Uh oh."

*	*	*

Rainbow Dash was usually at home outdoors. She was a natural athlete and did most of her exercise outside. Besides, nopony ever became a master Pokémon trainer without getting a little dirty. But hiking through the woods of the Safari Zone had been a serious test of her patience. She had already walked face-first into several Spinarak webs, and so far her quarry had avoided her. Supposedly Shinx was one of the easiest pokémon to find there, but so far she hadn't seen so much as a tail of one.  She was rapidly growing frustrated with her predicament, and was seriously considering abandoning the woods altogether…

Although first she would need to figure out how to get out. 

Rainbow has made the mistake of leaving the trail, thinking she would have better luck deeper in the woods, but now she had no way of navigating her way out. No longer feeling angry, she now began to feel the woods closing in on her. Only sparse light was able to penetrate the thick canopy of the massive trees, leaving her in a space where she could see barely enough to avoid the trunks of trees, but not enough to figure out where she was going. She could have been moving in circles for all she knew. I really messed up this time… She thought nervously. She had no idea how far she was from the edge, but she hoped if she kept moving, she might find an exit. 

"OUCH!" She cried. In her musings, Rainbow had walked headfirst into a tree, knocking her right on her rear. As she sat on the ground, rubbing her aching head, she felt something fall from the tree, landing square on her head. 

"Kakuuuuna…" It hissed. 

Rainbow looked down. She could just barely see the yellowish cocoon pokémon, which had landed in an upright position on the ground. Its form bristled with anger as it glared at her.  

"Hey, sorry little guy." Rainbow gave an uneasy laugh. The Kakuna's eyes seemed to glow red in the darkness. She tried to break its gaze but she couldn't help but look at those harsh red eyes. 

Then all of a sudden Kakuna was enveloped in a sheer white light. Rainbow stepped back, well aware of what was happening, stumbling over a fallen branch behind her. She was only able to get back on her hooves when Kakuna finished evolving, leaving a furious Beedrill in its place. 

"Aaaugh!" Rainbow took off galloping as the Beedrill flew after in chase. Rainbow dared not look behind her, knowing full well if she took her eyes off where she was going for even an instant chances were good she would either trip or run into a tree. She could barely see well enough to react to things just in front of her. The sound of the buzzing of wings had grown louder, suggesting that more than just the one pokémon she had angered had joined in on the chase. 

Rainbow felt a flaring pain erupt on her back and she realized with terror she'd been stung. Beedrill stings, although not individually life-threatening, were among the most agonizing experiences a pony was likely to face in their life, and if incurred in large enough numbers, could potentially be deadly. In spite of the pain she quickened her pace, but regardless of her best efforts felt a second and finally a third sting set fire to her nerves. 

Just a little further… Rainbow grit her teeth as she kept running. She could see light peeking through the edge of the woods up ahead, a couple hundred feet ahead. She redoubled her effort and took off sprinting, trying to put as much distance between herself and the Beedrill before she escaped the dense woods. 

The sunlight was blinding as Rainbow Dash burst through the line of trees marking the edge of the woods. She kept running for a bit before she realized she was no longer being followed. Once she knew she was safe and the tide of adrenaline surging through her veins calmed down, she allowed herself to sit down and passed out in the tall grass. 

*	*	*

"Pinkie do you have any idea what we're looking for?" Twilight was quickly growing frustrated with Pinkie Pie's arbitrary roaming. Every few minutes she would direct them off in a random direction, walking with surety until she fancied going another way, occasionally back the way they had came from. The process was maddening. 

"Nope!" She merrily declared. "Just looking around." 

Twilight facehoofed hard. She was regretting not striking out by herself. Sure she felt exposed without her pokémon and a lot of her gear, but still, she probably could have set up on a hilltop and go bird watching. She loved Pinkie dearly, but Twilight was starting to realize that she had grown to like setting the pace for their party. 

All of a sudden Pinkie stopped walking, holding a hoof out to her side for Twilight to walk into. "Twilight!" She said in an excited whisper. "Don’t move a muscle!" 

"What are you talking-" She started, before Pinkie put her other hoof over her mouth. 

"Shhh!" She exclaimed, "Look!" 

Twilight tried to see what had Pinkie so excited. At first she saw nothing, then after a moment of determined searching saw a rustling in the grass, and more importantly, the cause of it. "An Exeggcute?"

"Quiet Twilight, I'm gonna capture it!" She yelled. "Go, Safari Ball!" Pinkie hurled one of her balls at the pokémon, but the six eggs scattered, leaving the ball to land in the grass. Pinkie took off chasing one of the eggs. Twilight meanwhile, sat down, happy to enjoy a break and perhaps enjoy the farce unfolding before her just a little bit. 

After a few minutes and several more failed attempts at capture, Pinkie finally hit one of the eggs with a Safari Ball. But to her dismay, it bounced right off. "Aw, what the heck?" She groaned. 

Twilight dug out her pokédex. Truth be told, she didn't know what had happened either. 

	Exeggcute, the Egg Pokémon. Exeggcute is made up of six small eggs which communicate telepathically. For reasons not fully understood, an Exeggcute can only be captured if all six of the eggs are together.  

Huh, that's weird. "Pinkie, you need to get them all together!" Twilight exclaimed. 

"Doesn't matter, that was my last ball." She sighed. 

Twilight frowned. She wasn't used to seeing Pinkie so downtrodden. She must really have had her heart set on that pokémon. 

Without a word, Twilight discreetly pushed one of her own Safari Balls into Pinkie's hooves.  "Give in another shot," She smiled. 

A spark twinkled in Pinkie's eyes. "I'm gonna make it count!" The Exeggcute had gathered back together and were bouncing around as if to taunt her. Faster than Twilight thought possible, Pinkie whirled around and tossed the Safari Ball at them. The Exeggcute were caught off-guard and were caught in the ball's red aura. Pinkie stared intensely at it while it lay on the ground, wobbling. Finally, it let out a click and Pinkie scooped up her newly-caught pokémon triumphantly.

"Yes! I caught Exeggcute!" She squealed with delight.  

"Uh, Pinkie?" Twilight coughed, "Have you possibly noticed that all of your pokémon are, well, grass types?" 

"So? I don't see a problem." She smiled innocently. 

"Well, usually you want a wide coverage of types so you have a pokémon that can battle in any situation, and-"

"Twilight, I really don't care about that stuff." She said plainly. "I'm really proud of the pokémon I have. I don't need type advantage as long as me and my pokémon believe in each other."

Twilight began to open her mouth in objection but immediately decided not to. Maybe Pinkie's right. You shouldn't value a pokémon for just its strength. She thought back to some of the trainers she had met in her foalhood. Cadence's partner had been a Jigglypuff.  Shining Armor had gone through his entire journey using nothing but Steel-type pokémon, but she'd be darned if she ever found a trainer more proud of their team. Maybe I've been going about this all wrong. Twilight had once seen a quote written in the book, its original source lost to time. 

Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of ponies. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with their favorites. 

*	*	*

Rainbow was suddenly and unceremoniously awoken by a strange gooey substance being poured in her open mouth. She sputtered and sat up, ready to mount a desperate defense against whatever was attacking her. 

"Chansey! Chansey, Chansey!" The pokémon happily cried. Rainbow tasted the substance on her face. It had the flavor of an egg, but with a delicious edge that she couldn't find a comparison to. 

Huh, wish I'd asked Cadence for a pokédex myself. It certainly would have been a help in looking for pokémon, and now she was actually quite curious about what this Chansey was up to. Usually you see them with nurses in Pokémon Centers. I guess they like to help out injured ponies and Pokémon. It had certainly been quick to share its egg, if perhaps a little… forceful. Getting the yolk out of her coat was going to be a pain. 

Rainbow's eyes darted toward the sky as she let out a loud groan. It was quickly growing dark, and she still wasn’t entirely sure where she was. She looked again at the pokémon before her. While she hadn't come looking for a Chansey, it was still an extremely rare pokémon if Twilight was right. Plus she did not intend to leave empty-hoofed. Rainbow inched her hoof into her saddle bag until she had found one of the camo Safari Balls. Once Chansey wasn't looking, she tossed the ball, hitting it cleanly on the back of the head. Chansey was absorbed by the pokéballs red aura. The ball began wiggling frantically, leaving Rainbow to only grit her teeth and watch in anticipation. Chansey was a rare pokémon, and could be very flighty if it was startled. Rainbow knew is she didn't catch it now, she would never get the chance again. 

Once, twice, thrice, and click. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief as the pokémon was captured. Not was I was going for, but I'll take it. It was no Shinx, but Rainbow would rather have Chansey than nothing. With her prize in hoof, Rainbow looked to the sky, trying to use the sun for directions. If I go south until I reach the wall, I should be able to walk east and reach the station. Eventually. It was going to be a long process, but Rainbow at least knew where she was going.  Fluttershy is going to be jealous. As much as Fluttershy wanted a Chansey, Rainbow desperately needed to grow her team. 

*	*	*

Fluttershy and Applejack watched with bated breath as the massive dust cloud put up by the stampede drew closer and closer. They could see now it was a herd of Shroomish, but what was doing the chasing was still a mystery. They could hear a roaring and see some flying sparks. The Shroomish began to cross the river and moved along the base of the hill, running frantically toward the west. 

"Aw heck." Applejack grinned as she pulled out a Safari Ball. "So long as I'm here, might as well capture me a pokémon." She sprinted toward the charging hoard, settling into a steady gallop alongside the herd. Searching around, Applejack waited until she spotted a particularly large specimen- much bigger than the rest. Applejack tossed her Safari Ball and captured the pokémon handily. 

"Applejack, look out!" Fluttershy wailed. She could now see what was going on. A group of Zigzagoon were intermixed with the stampeding Shroomish and were being chased by a small pack of Shinx, led by a fierce-looking Luxio. And Applejack was standing right before the feral electric type. Without thinking, Fluttershy rushed to her side, struggling to pull a Safari Ball from her bag. 

She closed her eyes as she threw the ball. In truth, she didn't care if she caught the pokémon or not. She was more concerned in letting the poor Zigzagoon get a bit of distance between themselves and Luxio's pack. The group of Shinx stopped as their leader was engulfed by the Safari Ball's red aura, and it wiggled, once, twice and three times, letting out the reassuring click to affirm it had been a successful capture. 

"Well looks like a successful day." Applejack beamed. "Can't say I'm too upset with this little critter." She freed Shroomish from its ball, offering it a hoofful of pokémon food from her bag, which it graciously ate. 

Fluttershy was still hyperventilating. "You know, I think I'm ready to call it a day." She sighed. 

"Ya sure? We've still got us some Safari Balls left an' the afternoon's still young."

She nodded. "I'm sure. I've had enough excitement for one afternoon." 

With a shrug, Applejack turned around, leading them back to the entrance, pleased with her catch. She just hoped Fluttershy wasn't too disappointed…