Hobbies And Interests
Safari Zone Basics
To open the Safari Zone, you must first progress through the game until you exit the lighthouse in Olivine City. After you leave the lighthouse, you get a call announcing that the Safari Zone is open. To get there, go to Cianwood City, west of the Whirl Islands. In the City, go north and make your way through the cave. Once outside of the cave, keep going north to find the Safari Zone. Pay 500 gold for entrance into the park, and you will receive 30 Safari Balls to use.
Getting Started
The Safari Zone is not completely accessible until you complete two tasks given to you by Warden Baoba. First, he wants you to catch a Geodude in the park. Simply enter the first area of the park, walk into the grass and throw a Safari Ball when a Geodude appears. After this, return to Baoba. Wait for three in-game hours for the next task to become available.
For the second task, you must catch a Sandshrew in the park. Access the park computer to see 12 panels, each representing an area of the park. Slide the plains panel over the desert panel to swap their positions. Enter the park to go straight to the desert area, where you can catch a Sandshrew. You are now able to customize the park with objects, used for capturing the rarest Pokemon.
Customizing the Park
After completing Baoba's tasks, you are free to use the Safari Zone computer at any time. This lets you change the layout of the park, so you don't have to walk as far to reach the area you want. Once you have beaten the game and gotten the National Dex, you can use Blocks. As you use the Safari Zone more, you receive even more Blocks. Blocks are items like a mossy rock, flowers, statue or bench that attract Pokemon, if placed in the correct area.
Finding the Pokemon
To find many Pokemon, you only need to go to the area where they would normally live in the wild. For instance, grass-loving Pokemon like Stantler and Ponyta live in the plains area, while swimmers like Poliwag and Marill live in the water area. The rarest Pokemon, though, won't appear unless you use Blocks. After a block has been in an area for a certain number of days, your chance of catching a rare Pokemon increases. The rarest Pokemon, like Riolu, can only be caught 70 days after placing a Block. Gible, which can eventually evolve into the fearsome Garchomp, is found 100 days after placing Blocks.
Catching the Pokemon
Once a Pokemon appears, it won't fight you. The Pokemon in the Safari Zone are skittish and will flee often. You are given some bait and rocks. The bait can be thrown to distract the Pokemon, and throwing rocks at it distracts it by making it angry. Throwing rocks usually backfires. When the Pokemon is distracted, throw your Safari Ball. Keep trying until you get the Pokemon or it runs away. Once all 30 Safari Balls have been used, your time in the Safari Zone ends, and you'll need to pay to get in again. Your game also ends after you take a certain number of steps.