The Safari Zone, being the most ecologically diverse piece of land in Hoenn, experienced migratory route changes quite a bit. Unfortunately, Josh was on the wrong end of one; his strategy of taking his previous route had backfired. It seemed the Eevee had migrated to the opposite side of the park.

Josh did have a decision to make, though. In addition to the Eevee, did he want to catch a Mudkip? A Swampert would make a valuable ride Pokémon for the marshes of southeastern Hoenn, by the Mount Pyre area. They weren't particularly fast, but they were good swimmers for that type of terrain. He would have a bit of time to make that decision later, Kamuy bounding past the Treecko.

Kamuy was getting increasingly more camouflaged the lower the sun got in the sky. It had to be eerie to see from a distance, giving the illusion of him floating on what was the Umbreon's back. The bright feathers of a Torchic caught Josh's eye, but it simply wasn't a Pokémon the young man was interested in.

The Mauville Leader reined Kamuy along the trail's gentle turns, the Safari Zone's dry, field road turning to a muddy wetland. This was where he had to make his decision: did he want a Swampert? It certainly wouldn't be a racing Pokémon, but one would be a valuable companion for wetland rescues.

The sun was starting to touch the western horizon, Kamuy having to turn his brights on for his rider to be able to see in the waning twilight. Mud splashed onto one of the light rings as the Umbreon cantered across the muddy road crossing the wetlands. A particularly large splash came from a wild Mudkip, and one of substantial size at that.

It was decision time.

The Mudkip didn't give him too much of a choice, the aggressive water-type crashing into Kamuy's front legs with a ROCK SMASH that left the Umbreon howling. Not wanting to be further involved in the scuffle, Josh slipped off his Pokémon's back as the two slugged ROCK SMASHes back and forth, thanks to him being such a good COPYCAT. The battle not looking like it would end in his favor, the Ranger sidearm threw a Safari Ball to terminate the confrontation early.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD BAGON APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] SHEER FORCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HEADBUTT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]FLAMETHROWER
[attr="class","wildtabox"]ZEN HEADBUTT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SCARY FACE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TWISTER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] 3/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING!

YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL!

Josh was still unsure his Mudkip catch was right. Even as a Swampert, how much would he use the Ground-type outside of marshland rescues was questionable. He loved every single one of his Pokémon, but it was getting increasingly difficult to give them all the attention he deserved. It was part of being a Gym Leader, though; by their very nature, they had to be able to raise a wide variety of Pokémon within their niche.

Shaking his head, he hopped back on Kamuy as the sun at last dropped beneath the horizon. Thankfully, the waxing moon made it easy enough to see the Bagon in front of him. He let Pinky out of her Poké Ball to soften it up for a catch. The young dragon panicked, slamming the fairy-type with a SHEER FORCE-powered HEADBUTT that would have left her defenseless if she didn't already loose a MOONBLAST from her feelers. Both the Pokémon looking like they couldn't take another blow like that, the Leader attempted to end things with one of his remaining Safari Balls.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD EEVEE APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ANTICIPATION
[attr="class","wildtabox"]TAKE DOWN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SWIFT
[attr="class","wildtabox"]BABY-DOLL EYES	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HELPING HAND
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DOUBLE KICK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Josh Devlin

[attr="class","wildnote"] 2/4 SAFARI BALLS REMAINING!

YOUR CAPTURE ATTEMPT WAS SUCCESSFUL!

At last, what Josh was looking for: the large pack of Eevee from the last time he had taken this trail was here. They had simply migrated to another part of the preserve. Having only moonlight to go by made things a bit more difficult; he had to go by the heights of the glowing eyes of the Eevee to see how tall they were. There was one that stood above the rest, and that was the one that caught his attention.

That was the one that was going into his Safari Ball.

The Mauville Leader palmed Inky's Poké Ball, a cold wind blowing from behind the Glaceon the moment he emerged. "Inky, FREEZE-DRY!" The rest of the horde scattered upon seeing their de-facto leader be struck unprovoked. The Eevee wasn't going to have it. She courageously charged Inky, leaping toward his face and thrusting her legs in a perfectly placed DOUBLE KICK that left him reeling in a single attack. Not wanting to risk Kamuy against a Pokémon with fighting-type attacks, Josh tossed a Safari Ball the Eevee's way, crossing his fingers and thinking, "Welcome to the team, Janus."