Cianwood City's Safari Zone is divided into six areas, but within each area there are many more biomes and modules.
Grasslands, rocky fields, wetlands, forests, wastelands, swamps, lakes, even deserts and mountains—who knows how they managed to cram so many environments into one place.
Lucas's main goal was to search the grasslands, wetlands, and forests for signs of Shuckle. Considering Shuckle's Rock typing, he also put the desert and mountain areas on his backup list.
Even though Cianwood City's Safari Zone had only just opened, business was booming. If Lucas hadn't arrived early—judging by how packed it was when he entered—he would've had to wait in line.
In the vast grasslands, he could faintly make out many trainers' silhouettes.
There were quite a lot of Pokémon around here. Aside from the Shinx Lucas had just seen, there were Raticate, Stantler, Zigzagoon, Manectric, Zangoose, Nidoran♀, and Nidoran♂.
"Vii~!"
Victini suddenly pointed at a lone tree in the grassland. Under its canopy, a small fox-like yellow Pokémon with its eyes closed was quietly resting there.
"An Abra too?"
Lucas looked surprised. It seemed this Safari Zone really had something special.
Psychic-type Pokémon are famously versatile and rare—just like the Girafarig not far away that was surrounded by a bunch of kids trying to win it over with treats, which it completely ignored.
You could tell the Girafarig had gotten sick of ordinary Pokémon food and was coldly indifferent to the kids' attempts.
This helped Lucas realize something: since you can't battle to capture here, the Safari Zone Pokémon have probably long grown tired of human-offered food. Without novelty or standout flavor, you'll likely leave empty-handed.
Fortunately, this was exactly his strong suit.
With a slight smile, Lucas turned to leave the increasingly crowded grassland.
He wasn't that interested in Abra. These days, he followed three principles when capturing Pokémon.
Pokémon suitable for farm development.
Leave it to fate.
Ones he personally liked.
Soon after Lucas left, a pair of trainer lovebirds found the Abra under the canopy. Flipping through their Pokédex guide, they saw that Abra evolves into the powerful Psychic-type Alakazam. They looked thrilled to have struck gold and planned to quietly approach and tempt it with food.
But just as they tried to get close, psychic ripples silently warped the space around Abra, and its small body vanished in the blink of an eye.
As the couple stood there regretful, above them a Hoothoot flapped its wings—wings smaller than its round body—flew past, shot them a mischievous "gotcha" grin, and then headed toward the forest.
…
Shuckle likes quiet places. In forest tree hollows, under rocks, and in mountain caves, they sit safely and calmly, slowly fermenting the berries or herbs stored in their shell-like urns.
So Lucas's first stop was naturally the forest area.
There were plenty of Pokémon in the forest. Upon seeing Lucas, the outsider, timid Pokémon ducked back into their nests, while others cast wary looks, ready to pounce if he got closer.
Ignoring their stares, Lucas called upward, "Victini, quit playing. Time to go."
"Vii~"
Victini suddenly poked its head out from the canopy above. It didn't startle Lucas, but it did frighten the Vulpix in his arms.
Reluctantly bidding farewell to a brown little bird perched on a branch—Pidgey—Victini hurried to catch up to Lucas, who had already walked ahead.
Seeing Victini happily loop-the-looping in front of him and ignoring Vulpix's cute-but-fierce grimacing glare, Lucas smiled and asked, "Had fun with your new friend?"
"Vi Vi!"
Victini nodded vigorously, answering Lucas's question.
Just remembering flying around and playing for a while with the new friend Pidgey in the sky made Victini very happy.
After leaving Eindoak, it learned just how big the world is, how many lives there are, how beautiful the scenery is, and how many friends it could meet.
Of course, for every Pokémon that showed kindness to Victini and Lucas, there were others lying in wait to attack.
One reason Mr. Baoba allows trainers to bring their Pokémon into the Safari Zone is that not all Pokémon here are pure-hearted and friendly to humans and Pokémon alike.
There are also wild Pokémon who were hurt or abandoned by humans, or captured by poachers and forced apart from their families, harboring deep hostility toward humans.
Half an hour into the forest, Lucas, Victini, and Vulpix encountered their first openly hostile wild Pokémon that initiated an attack.
"Hissss—"
A purple serpent, like a massive cobra, with abdomen markings scary enough to stop kids crying at night.
The perennial villain—known as Jessie's partner—the Poison-type cobra Pokémon, Arbok.
Arbok flicked its split tongue and hissed coldly. The pattern on its belly writhed with its movements, looking almost alive.
Lucas wasn't scared. Victini wasn't scared. Vulpix, the pampered little princess, had never seen this kind of scene and buried her head in Lucas's chest, and if she didn't still need his protection she might've dug a hole in there.
Arbok's eyes were full of hatred toward Lucas—as if humans had once hurt or betrayed it. Lucas could understand its pain, but that didn't mean he'd be saintly enough to surrender and let Arbok vent on him.
He glanced at Victini above his head. Since they were in a forest, it'd be best if Victini didn't battle lest they accidentally start a fire.
As for Victini's Psychic abilities—honestly, its use of them was crude. Lucas preferred it as support.
Which made it clear who would fight the itching-to-strike Arbok.
He bent down and set the clinging Vulpix on the ground. Seeing her confusion, Lucas smiled. "Vulpix, go defeat Arbok."
"Myau!?"
The small Vulpix trembled, glanced at the nearly four-meter Arbok, then at Lucas.
You want Vulpix to fight that thing!?
Under Arbok's cold, hostile stare, Vulpix felt like she wouldn't make it through today.
Lucas wasn't going to throw Vulpix under the bus. He had no interest in abusing his Pokémon.
But in a forest, better to freeze than burn. It was a blazing summer—maybe some chill would even cool the woods down.
That Arbok was probably a local alpha-tier even in the wild. Vulpix alone couldn't beat it. But… this is the wild; no rule says you can't bring support, right?
Though afraid, Vulpix knew Lucas was serious. She recalled her mother's sacred, stern, powerful figure on the snowy mountain, and how she herself had previously one-shot the Shadow Triad and their even more vicious Pokémon.
Her racing little heart gradually steadied. Determination, fighting spirit, and defiance rose in her almond-shaped gradient eyes.
Lucas's lips curled. He winked at Victini. Victini happily floated behind Vulpix. As a golden aura rose, Vulpix felt power filling her body—greater even than back in Eindoak.
Nothing to be afraid of now!
Arbok glared coldly, furious that Lucas threw a cute little thing in front to take the hit. It decided to let this human taste its poison. As for the two little ones—one Big Snake Tail or Big Snake Wrap would crush them.
Arbok opened wide. A stinking, purple glob of venom shot out like an arrow toward Lucas at high speed.
Judging by its speed, Lucas didn't doubt it could punch a hole in him if it hit.
Poison-types are a top cause of accidents for rookie trainers. Inexperienced newbies often fall to Poison-types.
Thoughts flashed through Lucas's mind in an instant, but he still called out, "Extrasensory!"
"Myau—"
Vulpix let out a cute, low cry. A mysterious pink-violet light flashed in her gradient blue almond eyes. An invisible force, bolstered by Victini, spread out and halted the arrow-like venom midair.
Arbok's smooth, confident motion faltered. Surprise flickered over its cold visage.
Its Venoshock was stopped… by that seemingly frail little thing?
Having blocked the attack, the "frail little thing," Vulpix, brightened in delight and grew more confident.
Victini's golden aura swelled again. Ice-blue energy gathered in Vulpix's mouth—
"Powder Snow!"
As Lucas's voice fell, Vulpix exhaled the energy in one breath.
In the next moment—
Though it was midsummer, Arbok felt bone-deep cold. A bitter wind laced with intact snowflakes howled, as if the gale were a warhorn and the snow its iron hooves. With unstoppable might, it swallowed Arbok's massive body in an instant.
Before the extreme chill froze it solid, Arbok's brain—slowed by the cold—had only one thought.
You call that "Powder Snow"?
The entire forest was ravaged by a frost wind blowing in from the north. Some trainers stared in disbelief and exclaimed, "But it's summer!"
Soon, word spread throughout the Safari Zone.
A very powerful Ice-type had appeared in this forest. Its frost wind could sweep the whole woods. If you captured it, forget the Silver Conference—you might even beat Johto's Flying-type champion, Lance!
Crowds swarmed in, clogging the forest.
…
Deep in the woods, a noble, elegant, and unique Pokémon lifted its head.
Its form resembled the qilin in the myth. Mostly azure, with white, blocky patterns, a crystal-blue crest gleaming atop its head, and ribbon-like tails drifting in the frost wind.
Suicune's ruby eyes gleamed with surprise. What was this power—
The frost wind's Ice-type energy wasn't unusual, but it was overlaid with a strange golden energy. Perhaps the source was…
Recalling the Pokémon it met in the mountains not long ago, Suicune lowered its head in thought, then, without hesitation, followed the aura to track it down.
…
"Vi Vi?"
Perched on Lucas's head, Victini swung its little feet and asked its mount, Lucas, a curious question.
Lucas knew what it was asking. He thought of the Arbok frozen into an ice sculpture and shook his head. "Leave it there. It's basically the boss of this forest. Even weakened by the ice, nothing will threaten it."
"Besides, it showed hostility to us—correction, to me—and attacked first. I'm not so kind or idle as to heal it and throw myself at changing its view of humans."
"Let someone with more power handle that."
Anyway, he had Victini melt some of the ice with a Fire move, and after feeling the texture of Arbok's scales with his hand, Lucas now spoke quite boldly.
After explaining to Victini, Lucas looked at the Vulpix in his arms and praised, "Our Vulpix did great today. Really brave. You must be rewarded. For dinner tonight, order whatever you like~"
Vulpix, tilting her head and listening closely, first lifted her chin proudly under his praise, then heard the free-choice dinner.
"Myau!"
Her eyes lit up like stars. Just for a support-boosted one-shot battle, she could get perks like this!?
She had already started pondering which lavish feast to demand tonight.
To be honest, besides her mother's encouragement, what really lured Vulpix away with Lucas was the food he provided—
Watching her excitement, Lucas smiled helplessly. These little ones were all gluttons. Good thing he could make money, or they'd eat him into bankruptcy.
He'd let Vulpix battle mainly to build her confidence, fighting spirit, and courage. In fact, when he sent her out, he already had Serperior's Poké Ball in hand—not to mention Victini's support.
Once Vulpix took the first step, the second and third would be easier.
On that basis, give positive feedback—"order anything for dinner"—to boost her motivation.
Pokémon are like children to trainers. Parenting wisdom really works!
Smiling, Lucas left the forest—where there were no signs of Shuckle—and headed for other areas.
This time, even he didn't notice that he was being tailed by a light-bodied, noble Pokémon.
A short while later—
At 5 p.m., after searching the grasslands, wetlands, forest, and desert all day, Lucas still hadn't found any trace of Shuckle.
With only three hours left before the Safari Zone closed, he had to switch to his final backup option—the mountain area.
The mountain area lay at the northernmost edge of the Zone, full of towering peaks and highlands. If you don't climb, you'd need to ride a Flying-type to get up in one go.
With faint hope, Lucas arrived at the mountains. Seeing the lowest plateau still around twenty meters high, he knew climbing would waste time. He needed Dragonite's help.
Just as he pulled out Dragonite's ball, the Pokémon that had tailed him all day—watching him share food with hungry wild Pokémon, save a poisoned one that ate toxic mushrooms, and help a bullied one escape its oppressive group—Suicune, made a decision.
A cool breeze blew from behind Lucas. A blue figure vaulted over his head. With a few light bounds, wrapped in the north wind, Suicune appeared on the high ground. Its ruby eyes calmly watched Lucas.
Lucas, stunned: !?
What just leapt out?
Victini on his head and Vulpix in his arms stared dumbstruck at Suicune, whose flowing purple mane waved in the north wind, its whole body radiating elegance, nobility, and purity.
Only one thought remained—
So cool. What an entrance.
Lucas hadn't expected Suicune to suddenly appear before him. Had he done anything to attract Suicune's attention?
After a beat, as if remembering something, Lucas reached to his chest, revealing a silver-feather pendant he wore as a necklace—glinting in the light—alongside his Key Stone. It caught the eye of Suicune, who was busy striking a pose.
Lucas wondered if Suicune sensed the Lugia aura from the Silver Wing and came for that.
What he didn't see was Suicune almost losing its dignified posture the moment the Silver Wing appeared, its heart tossing like a stormy sea.
The Sea Guardian, Lord of Ocean Currents and Monsoon—Lugia's feather, on this human!?
Could it be… he's the human chosen by Lugia?
Suicune had intended to remain noble and distant, guiding Lucas to rescue a certain Pokémon. But now, even though it was the north wind it had summoned, Suicune felt itself completely blown off balance.