At Arthur's Research Lab
It was finally time to complete the Safari Zone project and release the first batch of Pokémon into the wild. But before that could happen, Arthur still had one crucial task to finish: calculating how many Eggs of each Pokémon species would be planted throughout the zone.
He had no intention of using a Memora Potion for this.
On one hand, all he needed to do was study the Rastor Safari Zone map carefully and do his best to run the numbers. On the other hand, Virelyra was watching his every move, ready to snatch away any Memora Potion the moment it appeared in his hands.
Aside from occasionally challenging him—or his family—to a Pokémon Battle, she spent most of her time sleeping lazily inside her Luxury Ball. According to her, it was too comfortable to leave; she had practically declared it her permanent bed.
Even while seemingly asleep, her senses remained razor-sharp. The moment Arthur so much as touched a Memora Potion, she would instantly obliterate it with whatever absurdly creative method she had at her disposal.
He used to tease her by repeatedly pulling out Memora Potions just to provoke a reaction. But eventually, he gave up—Virelyra kept sleeping through it all, completely unaware he was even trying to tease her.
I thought you could only learn Dragon- and Flying-type moves. When did you pick up Sleep Talk? Arthur grumbled inwardly.
Still, choosing not to use the Memora Potion might have its advantages.
Too many memories could cloud his judgment. The potion would dredge up both relevant and irrelevant knowledge, and he didn't want to relive the disaster from before—when his truth and ideal clashed violently in his mind, leaving him unconscious for nearly half a week.
Also, with too many variables swirling in his mind, he might freeze up and be unable to commit to placing even a single Pokémon in the Safari Zone—paralyzed by endless what-ifs.
The project had already faced enough delays. Rather than waste more time striving for perfection, it was better to act now and fine-tune the details later.
As Arthur looked over the long list of Pokémon on the paper, a wave of dizziness washed over him. He shook it off quickly and refocused.
For now, aside from a few exceptions, he had decided to limit the Safari Zone's initial population to Generation I Pokémon.
The exceptions were Ditto, Porygon, and the Legendary Pokémon.
Porygon's existence still needed to be kept secret, and its specialized habitat wasn't suited for open wilderness. The Legendary Pokémon, of course, were out of the question for obvious reasons. As for Ditto—he had yet to perfect its Transform ability. Until that worked flawlessly, Ditto would have to wait.
Arthur raised his hand and activated a magic circle, projecting a 3D holographic map of the Rastor's Safari Zone. It was a system he had designed specifically for this project. The map's data came directly from Porygon, which had scanned the entire area using the Safari Dome. Despite its name, the "dome" structure extended underground, fully enclosing the zone like a globe. It captured both the surface terrain and the subterranean caves in remarkable detail.
Now came the real work: distributing 1,000 Pokémon Eggs across the different habitats within the zone.
Before he could decide how many eggs of each species to place, he first had to ensure the Pokémon could survive and thrive in their assigned areas. Even though he planned to supply food and Moomoo Milk for the first wave, the goal was for them to eventually fend for themselves in the wild. Proper habitat placement was critical.
His gaze shifted to the 3D map, and he focused on the grasslands first.
Just as he was about to begin, something unusual caught his eye—a small black sphere was floating around the 3D map.
"Huh?"
"Arthuros, what are you doing?" came Virelyra's smooth, pleasant voice.
He blinked. Of course. The floating object was none other than her Luxury Ball.
The lazy dragoness was awake—and clearly curious.
This wasn't the first time she had turned her Luxury Ball into a floating 'nest', so Arthur wasn't particularly surprised.
"You're usually asleep... When did you wake up?" Arthur asked.
"This mighty Sky Sovereign never sleeps!" came Virelyra's proud reply.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "The sky has clouds. Seems pretty clear you love sleeping in them."
"How did you kno—Ahem! What kind of logic is that? Just because the sky has clouds doesn't mean a Sky Sovereign like me naps in fluffy ones!" she huffed, her voice wounded as if she'd been deeply wronged.
Ignoring her dramatics, Arthur replied, "I promise I won't touch a single Memora Potion. So just watch quietly—I need to focus."
"Fine..." she grumbled. Even though she was still inside her Luxury Ball, Arthur could easily picture her pouty face as she said it.
Smiling slightly, he turned his attention back to the 3D map.
He tapped on the image of Bulbasaur and moved it onto the grassland sector—but then paused, frowning. He tried placing it in the forest instead, only to hesitate again. After a moment of thought, he placed Bulbasaur back on the grassland, just near the edge of the forest.
I knew this would be hard... but it's even more complicated than I expected... Arthur exhaled slowly, calming himself. He couldn't afford to lose focus—not on the very first Pokémon.
Some species, like Bulbasaur, weren't limited to a single environment. They could adapt to multiple habitats, which he considered a good thing. There was no need to concentrate a species in only one zone—it was better to spread them out sensibly, assigning them both primary and secondary habitats.
With that in mind, he pushed his brain into full gear and began carefully selecting the Pokémon best suited for the grassland.
Time passed in a blur. With encouragement and cheerful banter from Virelyra—who understood what he was doing but couldn't exactly help, since her knowledge of Pokémon stopped at Swablu and Dratini—Arthur finally completed the first habitat.
Bulbasaur, Nidoran, Rattata, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Farfetch'd, Ponyta, Doduo, Tauros, Miltank, Meowth, Lickitung, and Happiny were now assigned to the grassland.
Miltank was technically from Generation II, but it was a special case—he needed it to pair with the Tauros.
Within the Safari Zone, there were multiple grasslands—and other habitat types—so Arthur had to assign certain Pokémon to the specific grasslands that best suited them, such as Bulbasaur near the forest and Ponyta close to the hot or volcanic area.
Though it's called the volcanic area, there wasn't actually a volcano—only flowing lava.
Thanks to Virelyra's help, they had created this artificial lava with ease. She also ensured safety: whenever any Pokémon or humans showed signs of distress, her breath, left lingering in the area, would trigger a hidden magic circle that instantly teleported them away to safety.
Arthur couldn't help but ask, "What if someone actually fell into the lava? Could the magic circle react fast enough to save them?"
Virelyra looked at him as if he'd lost his mind and patiently explained that only the strong dared approach the scorching lava in the first place, confident enough to survive brief contact. The weaker ones would sense the heat from a safe distance and avoid it altogether.
Arthur was about to retort with "Curiosity killed the cat," but then realized that in this world, where strength was deeply respected, his own common sense didn't quite apply. Who would be foolish enough to risk their life out of curiosity without the strength to back it up? He decided to drop the argument. Besides, the magic circle was already in place for emergencies, so it should be fine.
With the primary Pokémon for the grassland determined, Arthur slowly moved on to the other habitats, carefully deciding which Pokémon would predominantly inhabit each area. The task was so challenging it threatened to give him a headache, but Virelyra was kind enough to ease his stress and fatigue with her healing magic.
After a while, Arthur glanced down at the list of Pokémon assigned to each area and felt dizzy. It seemed like some species might have been duplicated, while others were missing. He'd check everything again later. For now, it was time to focus on the secondary Pokémon.
For example, Pidgey would normally live in the forest but could also appear in the grasslands. Therefore, it was placed in the grassland's secondary Pokémon group—meaning it was rare there but could still occasionally be spotted.
Arthur carefully listed each habitat, both primary and secondary, one by one: grassland, forest, mountain/rocky, cave, wetland/swamp, water bodies, hot/volcanic, cold/snowy, and metallic.
The metallic area felt quite unnatural compared to the others, but it had to be included. It gave off a similar vibe to Zapdos' Kanto abandoned power plant, except it was open air. To be honest, it was a bit jarring to place this alongside the natural environments, but it was necessary for Steel-type Pokémon like Magnemite.
There were also other special sub-areas not listed directly—like ice caves, lava caves, deep water zones, deserts and more.
Some areas were still on hold, such as the misty, eerie forest intended for Ghost-type Pokémon. Since only Gastly was accounted for at the moment, it would be too lonely for it there; not many Pokémon were suited to such a mysterious environment yet.
After spending quite some time scrutinizing the list repeatedly without spotting any mistakes, Arthur finally sighed and smiled.
"Done?" Virelyra asked.
Arthur glanced over at the Luxury Ball floating on his shoulder. "You're still watching?"
An excited voice came from the ball. "Of course! Even if it's not explicitly stated, you can guess Pokémon types based on their habitats. Such valuable information—there's no way I'd be sleeping through this."
Raising an eyebrow, Arthur teased, "Have you lost so many Pokémon Battles that you've finally realized how important information is?"
"Who lost so much?! Even without information, I'm always the one who has the last laugh!" she replied proudly. Then added, "Besides, I'm not studying to memorize typings—I'm just scouting for any potential Dragon and Flying types!"
So you're just looking for a new victim... Arthur chuckled silently.
"Anyway, I couldn't help but notice there's no habitat listed specifically for Dragons. Surely that's an oversight? You're not seriously suggesting all Dragons should be lumped into the water bodies like Dratini, are you?" she asked, disapprovingly.
"Where do you think a dragon should live?" Arthur asked back.
There was a thoughtful pause before her voice floated back, full of grandiosity. "Everyone knows true Dragons reside at the peak of a mountain that kisses the clouds, ruling from a mighty throne encrusted with gems and ancient treasures. Give us the grandeur we deserve!"
Arthur chose to ignore her and turned his attention back to the list. This was what he had come up with.
---
Grassland(Primary): Bulbasaur, Nidoran, Rattata, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Farfetch'd, Ponyta, Doduo, Tauros, Miltank, Meowth, Lickitung, Happiny
Grassland(Secondary): Pidgey, Spearow, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Meowth, Cubone, Growlithe, Ponyta, Eevee, Kangaskhan, Scyther, Pinsir
Forest(Primary): Oddish, Bellsprout, Mankey, Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, Spearow, Paras, Venonat, Pichu, Eevee, Scyther, Tangela, Pinsir, Munchlax
Forest(Secondary): Bulbasaur, Rattata, Spearow, Ekans, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Zubat, Vulpix, Psyduck, Meowth, Abra, Mime Jr., Elekid, Happiny
Mountain/Rocky(Primary): Geodude, Machop, Tyrogue, Cubone, Rhyhorn, Kangaskhan, Aerodactyl
Mountain/Rocky(Secondary): Charmander, Sandshrew, Mankey, Ponyta, Magby, Tauros, Scyther, Doduo, Cleffa, Abra
Cave(Primary): Onix, Zubat, Diglett, Gastly, Drowzee, Abra, Koffing
Cave(Secondary): Geodude, Paras, Grimer, Cleffa, Cubone, Kabuto, Omanyte, Mime Jr., Aerodactyl
Wetland/Swamp(Primary): Squirtle, Grimer, Exeggcute, Psyduck, Slowpoke, Tentacool, Ekans
Wetland/Swamp(Secondary): Poliwag, Bellsprout, Oddish, Goldeen, Magikarp, Zubat, Horsea, Koffing, Tangela
Water Bodies(Primary): Magikarp, Horsea, Goldeen, Staryu, Seel, Shellder, Poliwag, Lapras, Omanyte, Kabuto, Dratini
Water Bodies(Secondary): Squirtle, Tentacool, Psyduck, Slowpoke, Krabby
Hot/Volcanic(Primary): Charmander, Vulpix, Magby, Growlithe
Hot/Volcanic(Secondary): Geodude, Sandshrew, Onix, Rhyhorn, Koffing, Ponyta, Aerodactyl
Cold/Snowy(Primary): Smoochum
Cold/Snowy(Secondary): Shellder, Poliwag, Staryu, Kabuto, Omanyte, Mime Jr., Cubone, Gastly, Lapras.
Metallic(Primary): Magnemite, Voltorb, Elekid
Metallic(Secondary): Lickitung, Pichu, Abra, Drowzee, Tyrogue, Gastly
---
It wasn't perfect—Arthur knew that. But he didn't want to overthink it and confuse himself later. There were probably a lot of mistakes, and maybe even some missing Pokémon, but that was fine. Rather than force a Memora Potion on himself and spiral into endless internal debates over trivial details, it was better to treat this as a prototype and move forward.
If anything needed fixing, he could patch it later—just like updating a game.
Now came the next step: determining how many Eggs were needed for each Pokémon species.
His thoughts drifted to Munchlax again. That little glutton could strip a forest bare—should he only place two eggs, one of each gender, just enough for reproduction? Even if they didn't pair with each other, as long as they were in the same egg group, breeding with other compatible Pokémon was still possible.
Then he froze, facepalming hard enough to draw a confused noise from Virelyra.
He had completely forgotten—these Pokémon would eventually be chosen as partners by Rosaria's group and by other villagers.
What if both Munchlax got picked?
Sure, he could always add more Munchlax Eggs later—but anyone serious about finding a compatible Pokémon partner would quickly notice how rare they were with only two available. And once word spread, the next batch of Munchlax would likely be snatched up almost immediately.
So, having just two Munchlax was out of the question.
Still, he had to consider the risk of them balding an entire forest...
In the end, Arthur sighed and accepted the cost: he'd just have to buy more food later and raise several Munchlax.
And what if no one chose a Munchlax?
Well… that was a problem for future Arthur.
Right now, he needed to focus on the numbers.
After some thought, he decided to divide the Pokémon Eggs into three tiers: common, uncommon, and rare.
For the rare group, there would be 5 Eggs per Pokémon. The uncommon group would receive 12 Eggs each, while the common group would have 30 or more Eggs per species.
In the rare group were the three starters—Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander—along with Cleffa, Igglybuff, Tyrogue, Happiny, Scyther, Pinsir, Tauros, Mime Jr., Farfetch'd, Munchlax, Lapras, Eevee, Dratini, Lickitung, Elekid, Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, and Abra.
The uncommon group included Growlithe, Cubone, Ponyta, Slowpoke, Poliwag, Tentacool, Machop, Geodude, Exeggcute, Bellsprout, Drowzee, Seel, Gastly, and Vulpix.
Everything else could be placed in the common group.
Maybe the egg numbers and placements weren't perfect—but neither was he.
He'd thought it before: no need to overanalyze. It was fine. If something went awry, he could adjust later.
After all, aspiring Trainers would soon flood the Safari Zone, taking Pokémon away as their partners, and Arthur would have to fill those gaps again eventually.
No matter how carefully he tried to balance things now, there would always be holes later—so there was no point in stressing over it.
"Phew... finally done." Arthur stretched, leaning back in his chair, mentally exhausted but smiling with satisfaction.
"Arthuros, where's the dragon's den atop the mountain's peak?!" came Virelyra's pleasant, yet pointed, voice from beside him.
He ignored her.
Instead, he shifted the topic. "Come on, I'm cooking Slowpoke's tail for you," he said, already heading out of his research lab toward the kitchen downstairs. Virelyra's voice trailed after him, persistently nagging about the dragon's den.
As he walked, he called out for the rest of his family to join him for dinner.
All that remained now was to distribute the thousand pre-incubated Eggs into Rastor's Safari Zone and wait for them to hatch—a task he'd planned for the afternoon but had taken much time than expected. Now, with dinner time upon him, it might have to be postponed until tomorrow.
In just one more week, his friendly villagers would finally receive their first Pokémon!
But at the moment?
His mind felt fried, and his stomach was staging a full-blown protest.
When you're running on empty, nothing beats a good, hearty meal!