This time around he made him way through a swampier, less wooded area of the park. Little did Barnaby know, however, that the KECLEON mob was after him... they remembered those that he'd stolen away.

And they wanted revenge.

Sentries had hidden themselves near the gates of the Safari Zone, lying in wait for the man who'd taken their brethren. They spotted Barnaby as he entered the park, but didn't immediately act. Instead, they tailed him to a more secluded area. Only then did they reveal themselves - a squad of four materializing around him and his AMPHAROS, tongues flicking angrily.

"Arceus, again? Would you lot shove off?" He exclaimed, exasperated, while removing a second Poké Ball from his coat. Moments later a SNEASLER appeared in front of him and beside Isobel. "Both of you - take care of it."

The pair of Pokémon immediately turned to the gathered KECLEON. It was four against two - not great odds, but AMPHAROS and SNEASLER together made a formidable team. The SNEASLER, in particular, excelled at CLOSE COMBAT - something the KECLEON soon found out as she sped forward and clocked one square in the jaw, knocking it out cold.

catching KECLEON
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The mob of KECLEON was cleared without too much difficulty. Barnaby decided to catch the ringleader of the group - mostly out of spite at this point. He'd trade it away for something better later on. The rest were left to lick their wounds in the dirt.

He continued on until the swamp gave way to a more cathedral-like pine forest. This wood was older and more open than the one he'd traveled through in previous expeditions.

But not without familiar characters.

From on high came the whooping call of yet another MANKEY, annoyed at Barnaby's presence within his realm. Sighing, the ROCKET executive waved a limp hand vaguely in the monkey's direction, signaling for his SNEASLER to take care of the annoyance.

Her elongated claws were perfect for this scenario. Before the MANKEY could even truly process what was happening, she'd already scampered up half the tree it was perching on.

catching MANKEY
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The MANKEY was soon grasped and then efficiently yeeted off the top of the tree by Barnaby's SNEASLER. It tumbled downward and hit the earth with a distinctive crack, signaling that perhaps a few bones had been snapped upon the conclusion of it's descent. Oops.

A Safari Ball captured the thing as it groaned in pain. Barnaby would be sure to seek medical attention for it.

Once he had found his sought-after KLINK, of course.

Luckily he wasn't searching for very long. They'd taken a longer route, but the pine forest gave way to the rocky plains that had now become so familiar. Barnaby found his desired Gear Pokémon a little ways down the main trail. Again he nodded for his SNEASLER to take care of it, knowing that she would have no trouble considering her aptitude for Fighting-type moves.

catching KLINK
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The KLINK was deftly knocked out and ripe for the taking. A Poké Ball was lobbed its way and, moments later, the catch was confirmed to be successful.

This marked Barnaby's third and final capture of the species - just enough to be useful in the creation of his future GENESECT. Technically, he could leave the park now and have met his goal.

But he still felt spry enough to continue a little bit longer. Who knows, maybe something good would spring up in front of him?

SKIPPING
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As he strolled through the plains, Barnaby saw a cluster of trees in the near distance surrounding a small pond. Curious about potential Pokemon that might gather at the watering hole, he approached, both his AMPHAROS and SNEASLER at his side.

When he arrived he found the pond to be rather desolate. Which made sense because upon closer inspection the body of water was barely large enough to hold an adult LAPRAS. Had the spring dried up recently?

SKIPPING
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While surveying the surrounding vegetation for any signs of life, Barnaby found the usual suspects one would expect to find: small WOOPER wallowing in the mud, DEERLING grazing by the shoreline. Nothing spectacular that caught his interest.

That was, until, his eye caught something jarringly pink and yellow in some bushes across the pond. It didn't move, almost as if it were hibernating, but it was too dramatic a color to be anything but a shiny Pokemon! Barnaby mentally noted his options considering the hue of this mystery Pokémon. Could it be a VAPOREON? MUDKIP, perhaps? A DRAGONAIR, even??

He nodded for both his Pokémon to go subdue and ascertain whatever it was. The two sidled up slowly until they were within range... than jumped into the brush! Isobel's STATIC effectively paralyzed the unknown shiny, while Barnaby's SNEASLER plucked it from it's hiding place. Time for the big reveal!!

Held in the air like some bastardized Simba was a........ fucking DUNSPARCE.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

With a sigh Barnaby turned on his heel, throwing a Safari Ball over his shoulder as he did so. He didn't really care if the ball landed or not. At this point, he was done with the Safari Zone.

catching DUNSPARCE
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