Jaden headed back around and asked if he could talk to a ranger about the safari. One came down with a pair of mightyenas. Both of them were very happy to greet the small team. Oliver was jovial and happy about poking his nose in about the mightyenas and gently pawing back at them. Sam was more withdrawn about the mightyenas, especially since he had recently battled a poochyena and lost. The fact Jaden had assured him it hadn't been his fault helped, but he was still a prideful little beast.
If he did reach out to investigate the mightyenas, bright and curious, it was clearly a trick of the mind. He was definitely not trying to sink into their fur.
"Hey, I'm Terry. Great to meet you," the ranger greeted happily. "This is Rax and Jak."
Jaden grinned widely back at her. "Hi! The safari's really cool! I'm super excited to explore it! But why do you let people catch pokemon here? Isn't that against what you do to preserve them?"
"You would think that," Terry agreed. "But letting the pokemon here spread out when they reach high enough numbers helps our efforts. And that's not excluding the fact that pokemon are intelligent. Some of them want to go with a trainer. Trying to stop them from leaving would only make them unhappy, and that would go against what we're doing here. We do have all the pokemon here in the Safari registered in our database however, so we can lock out certain species from being captured by the safari balls, and lets us track who's taken so we can keep track of the information on the species. If we're lucky, the trainers who do capture a pokemon here will breed them, and help bring their numbers even farther up."
"Are there pokemon that aren't being preserved that come here on vacation?"
"Good question!" Terry looked at the pokemon playing around their feet. "That's a little more tricky. We have an invisible fence set up around the Safari that alerts us when pokemon and humans pass in and out of the safari. Pokemon that aren't being preserved can come here, and we have had pokemon come here for aid in the past, or to hide. But we have to keep a close eye on what's coming in, as we need to protect the pokemon here from predation. Which is where my team comes in: when we get a call that a pokemon that's not supposed to be here has crossed over, we go round it up and send it back out."
"How come relicanth are rock and water? That sounds like it shouldn't exist!"
Terry actually laughed at that question. "Why does any pokemon have the types that it has? Scientists think it's because relicanth are partial to sea caves, but we don't know for sure."
"I'd like to catch an abra. Do you have any advice?"
Terry paused to really consider that one. "Abras tend to be drawn to certain types of mindsets. Calm, safe, not actively hunting them. They're more of a pokemon you invite to you, than one you chase down. My best advice would be to head out to the psychic area and then set up to wait. If there's an abra there that likes how you feel mentally, it'll come to see you."
Jaden nodded. He guessed that kind of made sense. He certainly didn't like a lot of noise. If someone was basically yelling at full volume in their head at him he'd avoid them too.
Finding the psychic area of the safari is strange. It's like a building hum of warmth. He can feel it reaching out, softening the world somehow while also welcoming him in. Sam perks up, able to feel the change through his bond with Jaden as they enter a rather beautifully decorated area of hills and trees with a central area containing rocks that Jaden can tell are charged with psychic energy. They pass a small cluster of girafarig that are grazing nearby peacefully. Jaden almost feels dizzy walking through here. It's like when he first connected with Sam all over again. He can even connect with Oliver easier here! The zigzagoon is clearly confused by the connection with Jaden he hadn't even been aware of, poking at it curiously and trying to understand what's changed.
Jaden can sense all the psychic minds here, connecting and creating a safety net over the area that keeps it from being too loud while also networking together to inform each other of everything inside it. He hasn't entered it, though he knows he could. Just the feel of the place is alone to make him want to spend hours lounging. But if he reached out, how much more could he see?
[ ]Stick to the plan, relax and wait to see if an abra appears
[ ]Reach out to the psychic net
[ ]Write-in
