It seems… not just their moves, even evolution itself can't be guaranteed. Why is that? Arthur thought to himself, eyes fixed on the monitoring screen displaying a level 10 Caterpie.
This particular Caterpie was one of the few not chosen by Rastor's villagers as a starter Pokémon. Left to grow naturally within the Rastor Safari Zone, it had reached its first milestone—level 10—just like many wild Pokémon here.
Some hadn't reached that level yet. It was clear the growth rates among these semi-wild Pokémon were inconsistent; some progressed quickly, others lagged behind. But this Caterpie was among the first to hit level 10, suggesting it had found an efficient way to increase its strength—perhaps a sign of high potential.
That growth was almost certainly tied to combat. Pokémon that fought often had a clear drive to grow stronger, and evolution was one of the fastest ways to achieve that.
So why hadn't it evolved? Did it feel secure enough inside the Safari Zone that it saw no need? Or was it the opposite—did it not feel safe enough to undergo the vulnerable cocooning process?
Arthur leaned toward the latter theory.
Although Pokémon like Caterpie undergo a rapid cocooning phase—its first evolution, Metapod, being quite literally a cocoon Pokémon—it still must leave itself exposed and defenseless during that vulnerable stage.
Even without external threats pushing them to grow stronger, what creature would refuse a guaranteed path to greater power with no apparent downside?
So, it must have been a matter of safety; the Caterpie simply didn't feel secure enough to evolve.
Unlike the Pokémon of the traditional world, Ocasia Pokémon had to cocoon themselves and undergo a gradual, internal transformation. It was a delicate, risky process. Though the cocoon was durable, it wasn't invincible. If the metamorphosis were interrupted—if something broke through the shell too soon—their bodies could become deformed… or worse.
If only I could make the evolution process work like it did in the original Pokémon world—swift, seamless, perfect... Arthur couldn't help but sigh at the thought.
He could build a secure space for them, a haven where they could evolve without fear or danger. But part of him hesitated. He'd already done so much—too much, perhaps. If he kept intervening, would they still be considered wild Pokémon at all?
So how could he help Caterpie evolve?
More importantly… should he?
After all, his assumptions were just that—assumptions. He had no idea what Caterpie was truly thinking.
There were spells that allowed communication with animals, but those were monopolized by the Astesia Church. And even then, the spells only worked on friendly, recognized animals—not on those classified as monsters.
Pokémon were generally gentle by nature, but they weren't native to this world. Arthur couldn't be certain the spells would work on them. That made asking the Church for help potentially pointless. Not to mention, dealing with the Astesia Church came with its own complications. In his experience, their thinking was even harder to follow than royalty like Princess Rosaria.
From everything he'd gathered, the Church had a great reputation. People admired them, even races outside the human kingdoms held them in high regard. Arthur had no reason to think they'd treat him badly.
But what about the Pokémon?
They were clearly outsiders here—beings not of this world. In a way, they were invaders to Ocasia.
What if the Church saw them that way? What if they branded Pokémon as evil creatures sent from another world to corrupt or conquer this one?
Then there would be nothing he could do.
And nothing he could say in their defense—aside from denying the "evil" part.
In addition to managing various Pokémon-related matters in Rastor Village and conducting his own research in the lab, Arthur had been keeping a close watch on the Astesia Church's stance.
He wasn't afraid of them—not with Virelyra lazily napping inside her Luxury Ball, ready to act at a moment's notice—but caution was always wise.
With so many merchants and adventurers flocking to Rastor for their own Pokémon-related interests, Arthur found it hard to believe the Church remained unaware of these new, otherworldly creatures.
They had to know by now.
And yet, there had been no response. No messengers, no questions—nothing at all.
Just silence.
A silence that felt increasingly unsettling.
It weighed on Arthur's mind. If anything, he would've preferred they at least sent someone to investigate. The complete lack of reaction made him even more uneasy.
Still, all would be well—as long as the Astesia Church truly lived up to its reputation.
Back to the matter at hand: he might be able to develop a translation device to understand Pokémon speech. But that was a big if. He hadn't even determined what kind of language they used—only that their vocalizations tended to stay close to their own names.
It would feel dull—and frankly, uncharacteristic—if every Pokémon just roared, barked, or meowed. With so many diverse species, each had to possess its own distinct cry, its own unique way of communicating.
After observing the level 10 Caterpie for a while—still unable to determine why it refused to evolve—Arthur shifted his focus to the others. Most of the remaining Caterpie had only recently hatched from their Eggs.
Though Caterpie and Weedle were fairly popular among the villagers of Rastor, they were, fortunately, easy to manage. With a total base stat of only 195, these Bug-types didn't take long to hatch, allowing their numbers to be quickly replenished.
The real issue now… was Growlithe.
While Arthur had been busy monitoring Zeth's adventure inside the Safari Zone, the other Bloodthorn members Rosaria brought with her had all made a beeline for the Growlithe population.
At first, it had been sheer luck that they'd received at least 30 Growlithe Eggs per batch. Now, however, it seemed the Bloodthorn had grown genuinely fond of the fiery pup Pokémon. Even though they now had the freedom to choose their preferred companions, at least 30 of them still went straight for the volcanic zones—without hesitation—to seek out Growlithe.
As a result, the Safari Zone was now completely out of them.
All twelve Growlithe were gone.
It was, without a doubt, a blunder on his part. He'd completely forgotten to account for the Bloodthorn's presence and preferences. He should have summoned more Growlithe Eggs in advance.
To correct that, this time, he decided to summon sixty new Growlithe Eggs and patiently waited for them to hatch.
Surely... that number would be enough, right?
And if it wasn't?
He honestly wasn't sure what to do.
Any more than sixty Growlithe, and he risked upsetting the delicate balance among the Pokémon population. But if he summoned too few, the Bloodthorn would likely wipe them out again.
He could simply hand out Growlithe Eggs if they asked—but that would mean granting special privileges to some.
If he gave an Egg to one, the rest would expect the same, all in the name of fairness.
And once that started, fewer people would bother trying to catch Pokémon themselves. The thrill of discovery, of forming bonds through effort, would be lost.
Arthur's gaze drifted from the cluster of gently shaking Growlithe Eggs he'd placed within the Safari Zone. He'd cloaked them using layered magic circles, carefully camouflaging them from predators or careless Rookie Trainers.
With no parents to protect them, this was the only way to keep the Eggs safe.
He could only hope the newly hatched Growlithe wouldn't be "eaten clean" again by those hungry Bloodthorn.
With that handled—for now—he turned his attention to one of the more troublesome species: Munchlax.
Originally, there had been five. Now, four remained—curled up together in a pile, fast asleep.
The fifth had already been chosen as a companion by one of the nobles from Rosaria's group. From what Arthur had gathered through the "video" footage recorded by Porygon, the man was a high-ranking courtier—possibly the royal palace's head chef. Middle-aged, well-groomed, with a curled mustache and dressed in embroidered finery… the match with Munchlax made perfect sense. A chef would naturally gravitate toward a Pokémon with such an appetite.
As for the remaining four, while they had clearly been a little disappointed not to be chosen by the human who could seemingly summon gourmet food out of thin air, they still appeared content with their lives in the Safari Zone.
And surprisingly… they weren't eating nearly as much as Arthur had feared.
Was it because of the food they'd tasted from the palace's chef? Arthur wondered. But so far, they didn't seem to reject the natural forest food. They were still eating happily. Then again, they were Munchlax—eager eaters by nature. They could probably munch on bark and still look satisfied.
After observing them a while longer, Arthur finally noticed something.
It wasn't about the food at all.
What surprised him was that the Munchlax—despite mostly staying in the same area—seemed to understand that the Safari Zone had limited space and resources.
Maybe the Flying-types had somehow passed the knowledge on? Arthur couldn't rule it out—those bird's-eye views gave them access to the bigger picture, after all.
The Safari Zone was vast, but it wasn't limitless. Food still had to grow, and resources weren't infinite.
And so, these Munchlax—famous for their bottomless appetites—had chosen to eat less, likely so that other Pokémon would have enough.
The realization warmed Arthur's heart.
But at this rate, if they kept restraining themselves like this, they'd end up starving.
Should I go in and tell them there's enough food? he wondered.
He knew just how much Pokémon like Munchlax could consume—especially when there were five of them. To prepare, he had planted fruit trees throughout the zone, each one rooted in soil reinforced with magic circles that accelerated their growth and fruit production.
It wasn't an easy task—those trees needed regular fertilization to prevent the soil from being drained of its natural essence. Fortunately, that responsibility fell to Roland, the apprentice Pokémon Ranger. Arthur simply had to ensure he had a constant supply of fertilizer.
Still… Roland couldn't handle everything alone forever.
Hopefully, Arthur could find someone soon to work alongside him soon.
As for other Pokémon, there was Magnemite.
Because Magnemite constantly hovered in the air using electromagnetic waves, they unconsciously drawned and distorted the surrounding electromagnetic field. It wasn't intentional—it was simply their nature. Unfortunately, this caused disruptions to the flight paths of Flying-type Pokémon and other airborne creatures, often throwing them off course.
This would require some fine-tuning of the Safari Zone's environmental systems, and Arthur knew he'd need to get to work on it soon.
It was manageable for now, but if more Magnemite were to hatch in the future, the problem could escalate quickly.
Other Electric-type Pokémon caused similar issues, but to a much lesser extent. Unlike Magnemite, they didn't emit electricity constantly, and Arthur had already placed a number of precautionary enchantments—"programmed" into the magic circles and overseen by Porygon—to keep their interference under control.
There were also a few Abra scattered throughout the zone, and they kept teleporting at random. As they did, they left behind bursts of Psychic energy that briefly disoriented nearby Pokémon and wild creatures, especially those vulnerable to Psychic-type attacks.
Still, Arthur considered it a minor issue. After conducting a few checkups, he found no lasting side effects. It wasn't disruptive enough to warrant intervention.
In fact, he decided to leave it be—considering it a natural way for some of the Pokémon to gradually build up their Special Defense through exposure.
Next, his eyes turned to the polluted lake—its surface murky, with a faint oily sheen. Several Water-type Pokémon were gathered near the contaminated area, trying to purify it or drive the pollution away. Leading the effort were a group of Tentacool—part Poison-type themselves, making them uniquely suited to neutralize other toxins.
Then, Arthur turned his gaze toward the polluted lake, where several Water-type Pokémon were gathered, working together to purify the contaminated area. Leading the effort were a group of Tentacool—being part Poison-type themselves, they were uniquely suited to neutralize toxins.
The source of the pollution was clear: a Grimer had wandered out of the swamp zone and into the freshwater region. In doing so, it had not only tainted the lake but had also begun to poison the surrounding soil.
Now, the Grimer was trying to help clean up the mess it had unintentionally caused—but its efforts were met with sharp cries and disapproving glares from the Water-types, as if they were saying: Go back before you make things worse!
Fortunately, the Water-types seemed to understand that Grimer hadn't meant any harm. Their scolding was more cautionary than aggressive. Still, the Grimer, clearly dejected, began to retreat—its mood sour from having caused trouble.
Arthur felt a pang of sympathy. He wanted to help.
There has to be a way to prevent this from happening again, he thought.
The simplest solution would be to give the Grimer something to contain the toxins their bodies naturally secreted. But that felt like too much direct intervention—he didn't want to make the Pokémon dependent on him.
So instead, he devised a subtler approach.
With help from Virelyra and Reden, he modified a few fruit trees, imbuing their fruit with a special property: when eaten, the fruit would create a thin, temporary barrier around the Pokémon's body—lasting for a full day, or until the Pokémon was attacked.
This barrier would act like a seal, keeping toxins from leaking out into the environment.
Rather than hand the fruit to Grimer directly, Arthur chose to let them discover the trees naturally—just another part of the ecosystem, waiting to be found.
Koffing faced a similar situation as Grimer, but thankfully, the Safari Dome's ventilation system kept their gas emissions under control—at least as long as their numbers remained manageable. If the Koffing population grew too large, Arthur knew he'd have to devise a new solution.
Then there were the Diglett, whose constant tunneling naturally tilled the soil—an activity that would be beneficial in moderation. However, left unchecked, their burrowing risked destabilizing the terrain, stripping nutrients, and collapsing root systems.
Fortunately, the Diglett seemed aware of the potential harm and mostly confined themselves to a cave protected by a reinforced magic circle. Without those enchantments, the structure would have collapsed long ago under the stress of so many active burrowers. The same precaution had been taken for the Onix as well.
Speaking of Diglett, Arthur had gotten stuck for a while during their template creation. He had absolutely no idea what their lower bodies were supposed to look like. In the end, he decided to model their lower bodies after moles—short limbs, compact bodies, and small claws perfect for digging.
That should make the most sense… he had reasoned at the time.
And as for Onix, it was almost comical that no Trainer had encountered one yet—especially considering how massive they were compared to most other Pokémon.
Aside from those causing environmental issues, there was Voltorb—but unlike the others, their trouble wasn't ecological, but social. Curious rookie Trainers often mistook them for Poké Balls, only to be met with a sudden jolt of electricity.
At least, they weren't exploding… not yet.
Unfortunately, this behavior earned Voltorb a reputation even worse than Gastly's, and Arthur was at a loss for how to improve it. He shuddered at the thought of what Pineco's reputation might be when the Gen 2 Pokémon arrived.
Each Pokémon seemed to come with its own set of quirks and problems.
Smiling, Arthur stretched and reviewed his notes on all the issues he'd observed, determined to tackle them one by one.
For now, let's focus on solving the evolution problem… Arthur thought, deciding to make it his top priority.
Life in the Rastor Safari Zone had progressed smoothly so far, but there were still many details to manage to ensure a stable and peaceful environment for all the Pokémon inside.