Safari Zone

A Safari Zone (Japanese: サファリゾーン Safari Zone) is a special Pokémon preserve where Trainers can enter and participate in the Safari Game (Japanese: サファリゲーム Safari Game) to catch rare wild Pokémon.

Safari Zones can be found in the following regions:

• The Safari Zone in Kanto, located north of Fuchsia City.
• The Safari Zone in Johto, located north of Route 48 beyond the Safari Zone Gate in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• The Safari Zone in Hoenn, located north of Route 121.
• The Great Marsh in Sinnoh, located north of Pastoria City.

In the games

The mechanics of the Safari Zones are similar to each other. Most have a $500 entry fee, a step limit, a series of distinct areas with different wild Pokémon in each, and 30 Safari Balls, with which players may catch the Pokémon they come upon. The most important of their specific mechanics, however, is that Trainers do not initiate Pokémon battles with the wild Pokémon, but instead must catch them without battling them. The wild Pokémon within Safari Zones are capable of fleeing at any given time.

Differences between games

• The Johto Safari Zone has no step limit.
• In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Hoenn Safari Zone does not use typical Safari Zone mechanics, instead functioning like normal routes.
• Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! effectively do not have a Safari Zone; the area that used to be the Safari Zone is replaced with GO Park, while the zoo area in front is referred to as the "Safari Zone" instead.

Similar examples

• Johto's National Park is somewhat similar to a Safari Zone, being a nature preserve for Pokémon and having a thrice-weekly Bug-Catching Contest which shares several aspects with a Safari Game.
• Kalos's Friend Safari area, located in Kiloude City, also bears some similarities with Safari Zones, differing in the available wild Pokémon (which are dependent on the Nintendo 3DS Friend Codes of other players) as well as allowing Poké Balls of any variety as opposed to solely Safari Balls.
• The Pal Park in all Generation IV games bears some superficial similarities to a Safari Zone, being a special area where only a specific type of Poké Ball can be used, featuring possible Pokémon species that otherwise cannot be found, and where the player cannot battle the Pokémon found there. Additionally, in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Pal Park is placed in Fuchsia City, where it replaces the Kanto Safari Zone.
• In Hisui, the Safari Zone was not yet established, but the main gameplay of Pokémon Legends: Arceus is similar to the Safari Zone.
• In Lumiose City in Pokémon Legends: Z-A, wild zones are fenced-off areas constructed as natural habitats for wild Pokémon to roam free.

Unova, Alola, Galar, Paldea, and Kitakami have neither a Safari Zone nor anything similar to or resembling a Safari Zone.

In animation

Pokémon the Series

Pokémon the Series: The Beginning

The Kanto Safari Zone appeared in the banned episode EP035 as the location where Ash caught his 30 Tauros.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

The Great Marsh appeared in Cream of the Croagunk Crop! as the site of the Pastoria Croagunk Festival, hosted by Crasher Wake. It is also where James first met his Carnivine as a child.

POKÉTOON

A Safari Zone was an important location in PT14, where the episode's protagonist, Meg, interacted with several wild Pokémon while spending time with her uncle, who had taken over the role of warden after his father.

Trivia

• In the Generation II games, there is some data for a beta Safari Zone in Fuchsia City, but it was ultimately unused.

In other languages

Safari Game

Related articles

This article is part of Project Locations, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every location in the Pokémon world.