My Pokémon Anime Journey | BOOK ONE: KANTO

The Legend of Dratini

Fuchsia City was home to Kanto's Safari Zone, a conservation area for rare species of Pokémon. Sometimes, Trainers were permitted to Catch these Pokémon, letting them see the world and perhaps gradually increase their numbers. It was a prospect that filled Ari, Misty, and Brock with mutual excitement.

Warden Baoba sighed as he placed his collection of newspapers back into the drawer. The newspapers were starting to show their age, their paper crinkling, their stories fading. Quite like Baoba himself. His mind certainly wasn't what it had once been. An dry smile tugged at the Warden's lips. He supposed it was fitting that the newspapers would come to mirror his own deterioration: after all, he had given them a story, and they had, in turn, given him everything he needed.
Except the one thing he'd wanted.
The media attention had given him the courage to ask out his crush, who became his girlfriend, and, later, his wife. She was in the ground now, but his son and granddaughter walked where she had tread. It was because of his local fame that he'd been able to buy the Safari Zone.
All because he'd caught a glimpse of the Safari Zone's rarest treasure. Despite everything that had come from his moment of fortune, Baoba still felt that time had betrayed him. He strained to remember, but he just couldn't picture his treasure's texture, or its size. The mesmerising flashes of its eyes had abandoned his recollections a decade ago. The curse of age!
Everyday, he dwelled on his fifteen minutes of fame, re-read the articles, peered at that amateur photo he'd snapped as a boy with his primitive camera, all to try and coax his mind into showing him every detail of that memory. It had to be there somewhere, buried under all the clutter. Baoba almost found it funny, because, for whatever reason, his most distinct childhood memory was of telling his grandparents that he'd never be like them, stuck in a rut, fixated on the past.
The office door creaked open and Trina walked in. Baoba felt the girl was lucky, as she bore little resemblance to him. She had her grandmother's blue eyes and her mother's face, down to the freckles sprinkled on her cheeks.
"Grandad!" Trina cried, wrapping one arm around her. The other gripped her Pikachu plush, which never left her hand.
"Trina!" Baoba laughed, returning her affections. Unlike his son, Trina had always begged him to tell his story. If she hadn't, he might never have realised the memory was fading. Trina loved watching the Pokémon in the Safari Zone. Baoba let her play with the gentler ones. He didn't have the heart to tell her about his current financial hardship.
A bell rang. Customers.
Baoba led Trina back towards the door, crossing his fingers that there was a large party waiting for him to profit from.

Almost immediately after Brock rang the bell, the Safrai Zone Warden emerged from a door behind the counter. Attached to the man's arm was a young girl Brock reasoned was his granddaughter. Although the little girl had cherry red hair and a glowing demeanor, in contrast the colourless old man, but Brock noticed their identical smile and obvious closeness.
Upon reaching the counter, the man straightened, and inspected the trio of Brock, Misty, and Ari.
"Party of three, is it?" He asked.
"Yes, sir," said Brock.
The young girl's face lit up. "Your Pokémon are so cute!" She petted Vulpix, hugged Psyduck, and eagerly stroked Eevee. Ari's Clefairy even emerged from her Poké Ball to join in. "Can I please show them around, Grandad Baoba?"
The Warden, Baoba, said tiredly, "Of course you can, dearest. But only if you let me watch you."
Baoba got an employee to watch the counter, took Brock's money, and escorted the group into the Safari Zone.

Ari was reminded of tropical jungles her mother had described visiting for assignments. Like an Interpol Agent, she felt a need to be quiet, because the sounds of nature were all around her. She didn't want to disturb the wild Pokémon. She observed Venomoth flying overhead, Tauros charging, even two Rhydon locking horns. Doduo chirped and Goldeen raced down streams. The splashing water and melodious Pokémon cries were music to Ari's ears.
Ari's heart warmed to see that little girl, Trina, giggle at the sight of Mankey swinging from the branches. She was reminded of herself a few years ago, wandering the forests near Pallet Town, observing the Pokémon. Sometimes, she'd imagine she was a spy, trying to learn everything about her enemy. It hadn't took long for her to know those woods - and the Pokémon that lived their- like the back of her hand.
Ari watched Clefairy trail behind Trina, stopping to admire everything the little girl pointed our. It was impossible to determine whether Trina or Clefairy had the wider smile. It was sweet, how quickly those two had warmed to each other.
"This place is wonderful," Misty said.
"I should show you all the lake!" Trina announced.
"You always want to show people the lake," Baoba said.
Trina laughed. "It's your favourite part, too, Grandad!" She sprinted off, laughing, leaving the others to catch up.