Austin and the others were heading back when they saw an open field where a large, hippo-like Pokémon with bluish-gray skin and a dark gray back and muzzle with several small and large holes in them. It had red eyes, a large rounded snout, and a massive mouth that is over 7 feet (2 meters) wide when open.

Hippowdon was wrestling against a crocodilian Pokémon that had a thick maroon-colored body, black back, and white stomach. It had five triangular spikes on its back: four around the middle of its back and one large one at the beginning of its tail.

" Hippowdon!"

" Krookadile !"

Both pokemon wrestled each other for dominance while Austin and the others could see one of the staff members alongside a scientist observing them.

" Looks like we have to go through another way," Yellow whispered with everyone agreeing as they began to walk another way.

.....

The sun was shining brightly as Austin and the others strolled alongside the small lake with Pikachu and Chu-Chu dipping their tiny paws in the sparkling water that was rippling in the light. The grass was a lush green and the trees were starting to turn golden, the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. There was a small spot on it that seemed to harbor a strange glow to it. It was out of the ordinary.

"What do you suppose that is?" Yellow asked as she went to get a closer look.

The small ripples in the lake continued for a few more seconds until they suddenly stopped. The group gave an inquisitive glance at the lake for a few more moments. They thought nothing was going to happen until a figure popped its head out of the water. It was light blue with a white underbelly. It looked like a long snake with fin-like ears and a circular snout. It was a Dratini, and it was looking straight at the group.

"Is that what I think it is?" Austin gasped not expecting to accidentally meet Dratini as Yellow pulled out her Pokedex.

" Dratini, the dragon Pokemon. This Pokemon is full of life energy. It continually sheds its skin to gradually grow larger," said the Pokedex.

As the group took a closer look at the dragon Pokemon, it didn't look timid. If anything, if Pokemon could be considered bad, that is exactly how they would classify this Dratini judging by its expression.

"This little one looks a little rough compared to the ones I've seen," Lucario said.

"I think I might be able to lure it closer with some bait," Yellow stated as she pulled some out that was given to her by the Safari Zone staff. She then held it out in her hand and asked, "Would you like some food Dratini?"

The Dratini gave a quick sniff before it began to swim closer to the shoreline, still not letting up on its unfriendly disposition. To the group's great surprise, another Dratini poked its head out of the water, as well. Unlike the one that was swimming towards Yellow, this Dratini had a very nervous and scared look about it.

" Would you like some bait, too?" Austin curiously asked the newcomer Dratini while he wondered if a Dragonair lived in the Safari Zone like in the anime.

If that was the case, then he would try to catch it.

Upon hearing Austin's voice, the other Dratini immediately looked alarmed and swam back several feet with scared expressions on their face. The Dratini that came out first saw what took place and glared at the other Dratini before continuing to swim to Austin. Once it came out of the water. It slid a little closer to Austin and stared at the food in his hand for a little bit.

" Go on. Have some," Austin encouraged invitingly despite Dratini's angry look.

Dratini stared at the bait for a moment before slapping Austin's hand quite hard with its long tail.

"Ouch!" Ash yelped as he threw the food a short distance away. The Dratini chased the food over and began to munch greedily on it and gave an arrogant smirk at Austin, who was massaging his stinging hand.

" Pika !" Pikachu's cheeks sparked in anger.

"Hey, that's mean," Yellow said.

"That was uncalled for."

The Dratini gave an uncaring look at Yellow before continuing its meal.

The group then cast a look at the Dratini that was still in the water. It barely had its head poked out of the water and was watching the group with a fearful expression. It was acting how the group would expect with a Dratini. They are said to be very cautious of humans. The group thought they were having incredible luck by seeing two wild ones on the same day. They figured that this particular lake must have a few living underwaters.

"Maybe I can get this one to come out of the water, as well," Austin figured as he took some more bait out of his backpack to coax it to him. He then gave it a warm smile. "Come get some food, Dratini."

The timid Dratini poked its head out of the water a little higher and cast a wary glance at the group. Then, ever so slowly, it began to make its way to Austin

"That's it. Come on," Austin said gently as it came a little closer.

"It's so cute," Yellow commented as she watched it come forward.

The Dratini slid onto shore and slowly made its way to Austin's hand. It sniffed the food and gave a questioning look at Austin as if to ask if it was okay to take.

"Go on. I promise I won't hurt you," Austin smiled.

"Pika Pika," Pikachu encouraged.

Dratini then leaned over to begin to eat the food, but it was suddenly knocked out of the way by the other Dratini. It was knocked several feet away before getting up with watery eyes. It almost looked ready to cry.

"Hey! What did you do that for?!" Yellow asked the aggressive Dratini.

The Dratini said nothing before slapping Austin's hand once more and snatching the food away.

"Pika Pika Pikachu!" the yellow rodent yelled at the Dratini.

The Dratini gave an angry look at Pikachu before tackling it to the ground. Pikachu got up and was preparing to Thunderbolt it, but Lucario stopped him by head-chopping it.

" Did you forget rat, battles aren't allowed in this place or you could get everyone n a lot of trouble!" Lucario warned but he smirked with satisfaction when he saw Pikachu realize what he had been called by Lucario.

" Pika, Pi." Pikachu glared at Lucario for calling him a rat.

Yellow frowned when she saw dratini smirking in triumph before eating the food it had just snatched from Austin's hands.

"That just stinks! It's not even ashamed of itself. It's the complete opposite of how I would expect a Dratini to act. I thought they were supposed to be gentle Pokemon," Yellow said.

Austin glared at the mean-spirited Dratini before going over to the other Dratini.

Upon seeing Austin coming towards it, its eyes grew wide, and it darted behind a rock. The rogue Dratini got a dark glint in its eye and chased the timid Dratini behind the rock and stood over it in a dominating fashion. The other Dratini cowered in fear as it was loomed over by the other one.

To everyone's surprise, a Safari Ball flew from seemingly nowhere and struck the rogue Dratini right in the center. The Pokemon turned in surprise for just a split second before it was sucked inside the Safari Ball. It then began shaking a few times before it 'dinged' to show it had been caught.

The group turned to see the other person who had just caught the rogue Dratini and discovered it was none other than Paul.

Paul said nothing in reply as he walked up to the Safari Ball containing the rogue Dratini and picked it up, but not before giving a scornful look at the cowering Dratini that was still on the ground. Paul then pulled out his Pokedex and ran it over the Safari Ball to check Dratini's stats. He appeared to be deep in thought as he looked over the Safari Ball.

Everyone continued to watch with a frown as Paul scanned the Safari Ball with an unreadable expression. After about ten seconds, he finally put it away and nodded his head.

"Okay. This one seems to have good stats," he decided.

Paul paused when saw Lucario by Austin's side.

Paul gave a rough smile before turning around. "Well, looks like your luck turned around. But maybe not that much, why don't you catch that pathetic pokemon, I got what I came for so I'm out of here," he muttered as he walked off.

" Pika Pikachu," Pikachu said angrily but Austin remained unfazed.

After all the shit that had happened to him, it would a miracle for him to be emotional over some taunt.

"Leave it, he isn't worth it," Austin said before turning back to the remaining Dratini.

The dragon Pokemon still had a fearful look on its face as it was trembling before Austin. Its large black eyes show such shyness yet a strange gentleness, also. Austin believed that this Dratini didn't have a single mean bone in its body.

He knelt to be more eye-level with the Dratini and smiled at it. "Don't listen to what Paul said Dratini. You aren't pathetic at all. There is no shame in refusing to attack something for no reason. You are the better Dratini. Remember that."

Dratini made a soft cooing noise as it looked up at Austin curiously.

" Hey, Yellow. Do you have any extra bait? That other Dratini took all of mine," Austin said to her.

"Of course," Yellow smiled as she reached into her backpack and brought it over to Austin.

"Thank you," Austin replied as he took the bait. He then held it out in front of the Dratini and gave it an inviting smile. "Go on. Help yourself."

The Dratini gave an extremely wary glance at the bait. It looked as if it were trying to decide if it was safe to do so this time. Austin couldn't exactly blame since it was either stolen from or attacked the previous times.

"I promise I won't hurt you. Nothing bad will happen this time," Austin reassured it.