The Johto Safari Zone is CRAZY!

[@Lyra]

Evolve your web-browsing experience! Get Opera GX here: operagx.gg/Lyra At last, we get to the end of the Safari Zone! Hope you have enjoyed the trip, and my apologies if my voice sounds weird at times. This winter has not been kind to me at all! Also, I apparently pronounced Marsh wrong this ENTIRE time... Sorry!

[@ZingoBananaa]

yay chinese spyware, just what i was looking for

[@duarteribeiro1520]

Opera sucks

[@JahznCentral]

im sure like 99% of people reading this already know but opera uses chromium and steals your data and sells it. everyone should just use firefox. it doesnt do any of that spyware shit and adblock actually works on it for youtube

[@starleaf-luna]

ah yes, I love chinese spyware that has an unfunny twittex account:p

[@Sonikku_Za_Hejjihoggu_1991]

Why is your name "Lyra made a website"? Why not just Lyra?

[@bvd_vlvd]

GF: "No, Arceus event is too complicated for children to complete" Also GF: "Hey how about we make Bagons love 18 rocks and 12 trees four months later for whatever reason?"

[@NathanOdiorne]

The reason I think they are lying when they say they thought it was too complicated is because they literally made you learn braille to catch the Regis

[@nicocchi]

Pokémon executives and lying through their teeth, name a more iconic duo

[@tabbender1232]

To be fair while this is ridiculously impossible to know, Bagon is a pseudo legendary so it should be hard to find

[@eightcoins4401]

The manual had a translation for the Braille

[@My1xT]

​@@NathanOdiorne at least braille was in the manual

[@wulfywulfynrir1296]

Damn, Opera sponsored a video about Safari???

[@Qbe_Root]

I mean a video that explains why Safari is bad seems like a good thing for Opera

[@ThiagoGlady]

This is the best commentary ever

[@Seriph7]

​@@Qbe_Root honestly it only makes sense

[@FigbyTheWolf]

This comment just made my day xD

[@dawnclark9921]

I see what you did there

[@jenshast1488]

The Safari Zone was so frustrating even Team Galactic wanted to blow it up with one of their galactic bombs lmao

[@johnhogan8224]

Yeah true, why exactly did we try to stop them 😂

[@mathewricafrente5984]

For being the last new iteration of the Safari Zone in the series, HGSS was a bit insane with how you had to wait days, sometimes months for certain Pokémon that you aren't guaranteed to catch like Beldum.

[@PokemonTrainerJames]

the frustrating thing for me is that waiting 1 day for everything would be awesome imo, it'd be a great way to keep coming back, filling out your dex slowly, but at a consistent pace. plus the mechanics could be reasonably explained to the player if thats how it worked!

[@mertensiam3384]

I think that it shoulve been waiting a week for the max results AT MOST. And it shodulve included some sort of "environment book" key item to check which Pokemon you can attract and to keep track of which ones you're currently attracting

[@BobbieTheFish]

It's not so bad that you're not guaranteed to capture because there is no step limit, so once the Pokémon is unlocked, you can hunt for it. Also, you could influence the encounter rates using your blocks to get more attempts. The issues I found were (1) the block leveling mechanic was only for the active biomes. If you wanted to catch all Pokémon, you'd (probably) have to wait the 210 days, reset your 6 biomes, then wait 210 days again. If it were just based on when the safari was unlocked, you could come back to the game a year later and just grind everything out. (2) The requirements are so obscure, so the trial and error to find all Pokémon would be ridiculous. Like at least have a character that tells you a new combination everyday. Even if it's slightly cryptic like "There's rumors that Beldum visit the forest. They REALLY like Peaks" (3) 10 days to upgrade is way too long. 1 day per upgrade would make it so much more manageable and feel like a reason to play the game everyday, instead of a reason to put it down for a while.

[@gengarzilla1685]

You'd probably be better off waiting for a Beldum swarm in DP and Platinum. Dealing with Beldum under Safari mechanics sounds so miserable.

[@toumabyakuya]

@@gengarzilla1685 Honestly, all they needed to do was simply remove a 0 from the days you have to wait for maximum score.

[@JackieJKENVtuber]

2:47 "The main attraction of Pastoria City is the Great March. Don't let the name fool you - this area is yet another February "

[@David-ud9ju]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he said "Great March" every single time. Couldn't unhear it.

[@Lyra]

Most of the time, people don't notice I'm not a native English speaker, and then I make the hugest most obvious mistake and don't realize it! Hopefully, it's at least funny to hear 😅

[@JackieJKENVtuber]

@@Lyra Aye, no, you're alright dude! I just joked about it because I'd probably have made the same mistake a couple of years ago lol

[@alessiob.5343]

The 0.4% escape rate of Whiscash explains how I was able to catch a shiny one in the Great Marsh back in the days. I've been wondering for years how lucky I was that it didn't escape, now the magic is ruined...

[@nidohime6233]

You are still lucky to catch a shiny Whiscash.

[@renownerd.276]

But what if it HAD escaped! That's still basically the chance of the 1/252 miss in gen 1. Not THAT uncommon!

[@LordPhilipJFry]

I actually found a shiny Wooper in the Great Marsh once. Luckily it stayed in the first ball I threw. I was having a full blown panic attack.

[@ArmundJay]

my first shiny encounter was a pidgey in the safari zone - it fled, and i'm still sour about it to this day.

[@scragar]

@renownerd 1/256 not 252. Down to the games random numbers being a number between 0 and 255 since it's a single byte.

[@IndigoEuphonium]

The HG SS Safari was the last straw when I learned you needed to wait 3 months to find Gible. I don't think people actually enjoy playing Safari Zones; they just like them because they tend to hold rare Pokemon monopolies

[@pn2294]

I enjoyed the Safari Zones. I hated what they did in ORAS😢

[@mjc0961]

I never _liked_ the Safari Zones. I only went there anyway because of rare Pokemon. No matter what changes they did to the Safari Zone, it was just an incredibly obnoxious RNG mess. At least I have some control over a lot of things when catching in regular battles (although screw legendaries with low catch rates, just a boring RNG mess again). But in the Safari Zone, all I can do is pray to RNJesus and watch as he spits in my face again and has the Pokemon I wanted flee. The bug catching contest was always a much better idea. Scoring was stupid but at least I can lower HP and inflict statuses.

[@hauntedsunsets]

I always liked the IDEA of safari zones. The first time I ever encountered one in diamond, I was so excited to explore this kind of wildlife park where I can take home pokemon if I'm lucky. It sounded like it was going to be so cool! But as soon as you're there you realize it's just kind of... nothing. it's an RNG fest in order to try and get a rare pokemon before it runs away anyways. and then I never went back, and never really engaged with them in any other games, because it just DOESN'T work. it lacks any of the charm you might expect it to have. I'd much rather a purely aesthetic location where you get to walk around and encounter rare pokemon, but be unable to catch them because it's some kind of nature reserve for endangered pokemon - hence them being so rare. it'd fill out the world with something fun without forcing you to engage with a confusing system just to try and get anything done. tho it'd make for the most tragic shinies ever if they didn't have a way to shiny lock it. whether that's a pro or a con depends on whether or not you think that's funny, I guess

[@SeisoYabai]

I kinda liked the tension of trying to explore as much as you could before you ran out of time. Maybe that's what they should've leaned into, just exploring and tucking away prizes. Throw some puzzles in that week eat steps/minutes.. There's something there I think

[@charnalk5572]

​@@SeisoYabaiThat was the point in gen 1, find a specific spot in a limited number of steps. No game after ever tries tho, and by HGSS, the step system is completely gone.

[@ocarina0001]

When I was younger I really enjoyed decorating the safari, it might've actually been one of my favorite things to do, and this is the first time I've ever heard that you need to wait ACTUAL MONTHS to get a single Pokemon, which is absolutely insane and I am so so so so happy I was too stupid to actually care about catching them all, I just liked Pokemon :)

[@DeltaFluxx]

Honestly, I really liked the concept of the HGSS safari zone. I liked the idea that it was customizable, and that you would be rewarded with rare Pokémon if you customized it in specific ways. I think that if they removed the whole waiting makes the blocks worth more thing (because that was incredibly stupid) and instead had some blocks that were worth more points that were available as rewards for either completing quests or finding them throughout the region, it would be a fantastic feature (maybe if they also just dropped the bait and mud stuff too).

[@FigbyTheWolf]

Poor Lyra always having to mention ✨the oversight✨ Safari Zone moment

[@Lyra]

There's always one! It makes my job easy at least

[@Mr_SU]

Good video! There's one aspect you missed out on mentioning. Areas don't upgrade until Baoba calls you to tell you they upgraded, they days you have to wait are only a minimum amount. His calls for this are random and I'm still waiting for him to call me for an area to upgrade to have Solrock when I've been waiting for months

[@Jlaps941]

I had the same problem with Seviper and it drove me mad

[@ronjaengarde]

This is news to me, I've done a catch-em-all challenge in Soul Silver and didn't stumble upon this problem. Are you sure you're checking in every day? From what I remember you actually have to play the game (or at least idle) for 2-3 minutes and then save for the day to count, it's not like other daily events in that way

[@eddiec9756]

Oh dear god. I remember looking at the prima game guide for HGSS but I never knew it was this insane! My best memory in almost all of Pokemon took place in the Johto Safari Zone. I remember it was before black and white came out. I found a shiny onix in one of the zones and then it ran away from me. Dumb me at the time just thought if I waited in the same block without moving it would eventually come back. Well, 2 hours of waiting in the same block just shifting my character's cardinal direction paid off because another shiny onix appeared and I caught him. I still have him all these years later.

[@TheFreddie306]

thats awesome lmao. i can't believe you actually found another onix, those odds must have been insane

[@Cat-lyn]

I always loved the bug catching contest in GSC, especially as a kid

[@PelemusMcSoy]

It was definitely a fun time! It also was a great way to catch good bug Pokemon relatively early in the game, too. It just dawned on me that the contest music is a remix of the bike theme from RBY.

[@FernieAriel]

@@PelemusMcSoyand the bike theme is a sped up version of Goldenrod City, the city where you get the bike.

[@KatieBryce14]

Legendary Tuesdays and Thursdays

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

Fun fact about Gold and Silver: Apparently, the reason certain species of Pokemon have a chance to flee from battle was Game Freak's attempt to compensate for the lack of a Safari Zone. Yes, because spending an hour trying to shake a Heracross out of a tree only to have it RUN AWAY is something fans would have missed if the mechanic wasn't there.

[@obambagaming1467]

They could have easily saved the Safari zone in HGSS if the pokemon appeared immediately, or atleast the next day, if a required amount of blocks is placed. It would already be complicated enough, since you still would have to look up what types of decoration a pokemon needs. But if they atleast appear immediately, it would have been much better than waiting for months

[@adrianblake8876]

The problem is that they do appear immediately when you fulfill the requirements, it's just that it takes time to fulfill those requirements...

[@obambagaming1467]

@@adrianblake8876 I mean that you only have a block requirement that can be easily done immediately. No waiting whatsoever. and even that could still be annoying sinceyou have to look up every single requirement

[@mertensiam3384]

​@@obambagaming1467 then add an "environment book" key item to check which Pokemon you can get and how But this gamefreak we're talking about, they NEVER want to make things accessible...

[@Ender41948]

Personally, I think the best idea would just be to put those Pokemon is as rare 5% encounters. The variety of Pokemon and lack of a time limit could've made it the best Safari Zone in the series imo. Just remove the blocks as a gameplay mechanic, and keep it as just a "fuck around for fun" tool.

[@charnalk5572]

​@@Ender41948Making them a "rare" 5% completely invalidates the point tho if you don't have a limited amount of steps. Granted, the older games still had that oversight with steps, but at that point just the rid of the Safari entirely since you generally have a much better way of getting the mon anyway.

[@kanlalonde1356]

Shininess doesn't affect the score of the bug catching contest in gen 4. My first shiny was a shiny Venonat I caught in this contest... and yes, it lost to a Pinsir...

[@adamk-paxlogan7330Sucks]

wow,that's so stupid

[@pablomadrid6962]

To be fair, it DID have influence in Gen 2, due to the score calculation factoring DVs in such a way that shinies have an advantage (since shinies are determined by DVs in GSC)

[@kanlalonde1356]

@@pablomadrid6962 in gen 2, if a pokemon caught in the contest is shiny, the game treats it as though it has maximum DVs even if it doesn’t(according to bulbapedia anyway). Shininess itself doesn’t give any bonus points, it just makes the game treat the pokemon like a max stat pokemon.

[@hauntedsunsets]

@@kanlalonde1356 that's clearly intended as "bonus points for being shiny" it's just that that the reason they decided to code it in, maybe there's even a reason for that. it's like how original explosion was 250 base power but halved the opponents defense for an effective base power of 500, because they couldn't use 500 directly. 255 being the highest number possible to display and whatnot. whether it was because of actual limitations or for some personal choice, I think it's misleading to say that "shininess doesn't give any bonus points" because if being shiny is what triggers this, then being shiny gives those bonus points

[@kanlalonde1356]

​@@hauntedsunsets I understand your logic, but if you were to catch a pokemon with max stats anyway, it would be functionally identical to catching a shiny. Also, the reason for any coding decision is something that's difficult to speculate about.

[@myggmastaren3365]

Another insane wait is Gible

[@Daehpo]

Another Safari adjacent thing was the Pokéwalker. I think it actually undermined the Johto safari by being a lot simpler to understand and giving players agency over how much progress was made. The Pokéwalker gave early access to Pokémon and often included ones that where available in the Safari Zone. It even offered the chance to find rare items.

[@alliinase9076]

I don't really agree that they undermine each other. They do have a lot of overlap pre-natdex, but that's before the block system comes into play, so the Safari Zone's main complication (blocks) isn't in play at that point. So you can opt for whichever method you prefer. I'd honestly argue that, pre-natdex, the Safari Zone is far simpler, but the Pokéwalker does have the benefit of being accessible much earlier on in a playthrough. (It's actually quite cool for something like a monotype challenge run, since the Pokéwalker resolves the lack of available dark/ice/dragon/steel/fighting types, letting you replace your starter and begin the challenge rules before the first gym). Having two methods to choose from when aiming for these Post-natdex, the overlap is much smaller. Of the 67 Hoenn & Sinnoh Pokémon found in the Safari Zone, and the 53 Hoenn & Sinnoh Pokémon found via Pokéwalker, only 16 are overlap. Even factoring in all the other methods in HGSS (radio, special headbutt trees, the bug catching contest, incense, gift Pokémon, etc) there are still 44 Pokémon (22 evolutionary families) that are exclusive to the Safari Zone, and 21 Pokémon (12 evolutionary families) are exclusive to the Pokéwalker. All of the Pokemon from both are obtainable by trading/transferring from another game, so for any collectors who happen to hate one (or both) of these methods, they have alternatives.

[@Daehpo]

@@alliinase9076 To clarify, I meant the Pokéwalker undermines the Safari Zone from a casual perspective. However, it would probably be better to say that it is easier for a casual player to get everything out of the Pokéwalker than the Safari Zone. In order to get everything out of the Pokéwalker, all a player needs to understand is that "more steps unlock more things". Get more steps to unlock more items & Pokémon on the stroll, and unlock new paths (which have different Pokémon & items) after the stroll. That’s mostly it. Want to unlock more stuff? Get more steps! All the in-game information on the Safari Zone from Baoba basically amounts to “Swap out Areas & Blocks to get different Pokémon”. Nothing about how many blocks, just that some blocks are liked by certain Pokémon. I can’t recall if it’s mentioned in game that letting areas sit for days unlocks new Pokémon, but I know Baoba doesn’t mention it. Even if it is mentioned in game, I doubt it is ever stated that the players may need to wait several real world months to unlock all the Pokémon in an area. So a causal player will probably just swap out areas, place an assortment of items, then look for Pokémon until they don’t find anything new and repeat until they’ve gone thru all the areas. I know that’s what I did.

[@Daehpo]

@@alliinase9076 To clarify, I meant the Pokéwalker undermines the Safari Zone from a casual perspective. However, it would probably be better to say: it is easier for a casual player to get everything out of the Pokéwalker than the Safari Zone. In order to get everything out of the Pokéwalker, all a player needs to understand is that "more steps unlock more things". Get more steps to unlock more items & Pokémon on the stroll, and unlock new paths (which have different Pokémon & items) after the stroll. That’s mostly it. Want to unlock more stuff? Get more steps! All the in-game information on the Safari Zone from Baoba basically amounts to “Swap out Areas & Blocks to get different Pokémon”. Nothing about how many blocks, just that some blocks are liked by certain Pokémon. I can’t recall if it’s mentioned in game that letting areas sit for days unlocks new Pokémon, but I know Baoba doesn’t mention it. Even if it is mentioned in game, I doubt it is ever stated that the players may need to wait several real world months to unlock all the Pokémon in an area. So a causal player will probably just swap out areas, place an assortment of items, then look for Pokémon until they don’t find anything new and repeat until they’ve gone thru all the areas. I know that’s what I did.

[@Lyra]

I agree, the Pokéwalker is absolutely awesome and much easier to understand! Even when it requires time to unlock features, the way it works is straightforward: just walk and stuff will happen.

[@fictionalmediabully9830]

"...Pokemon Platinum, the finished version of Diamond and Pearl." That's an understatement. XD

[@tabbender1232]

Third versions are more like improved versions, imo calling them finished versions is insulting to the base games

[@fictionalmediabully9830]

@@tabbender1232 No disrespect to Diamond and Pearl, but they pretty much became obsolete after Platinum released. I don't think I can put up with the delays in the already slow battles upon a revisit.

[@tabbender1232]

@@fictionalmediabully9830 Yeah that's all base games compared to their improved versions, the improved version is a better game but also wouldn't be able to exist without the originals, technically more work went into GS, RS or DP than Crystal, Emerald or Platinum respectively because they had to do them all from scratch Also honestly DP isn't that slow. That's a widely overexaggerated point. At least it has running shoes that work indoors and fast and dynamic battle intros

[@mjc0961]

@@tabbender1232 DP is absolutely that slow. Especially "Saving a LOT of data..." OP is right, DP are absolutely obsolete in the face of Platinum. I'll add my own two cents that Ruby and Sapphire are obsolete in the face of Emerald. It's a huge shame that the remakes of these generations were based on the original versions and not the improved & polished 3rd versions.

[@tabbender1232]

@@mjc0961 Saving being slow doesn't means the whole game is lol. Who even cares about saving speed. The fact that people complain about that of all things proves that DP is a good game kek And yeah as i explained upper versions are better than the base one, but that doesn't means the base ones aren't good. Base versions tend to be underrated

[@wygolvillage2637]

I'd like the Safari Zone to make a comeback in a main series game where they let you go wild with Legends Arceus's catching mechanics tbh

[@pn2294]

That would be horrible

[@piranhalettuce]

I'd like the Safari Zone to never make a comeback, let it rest.

[@appleonion5830]

I was looking for this comment. I've always liked the safari zone, warts and all, and have always wanted one that involved at least as much skill as RNG. Something like how Gold goes about it in the manga.

[@pn2294]

@@piranhalettuce at least if it does, it comes back to the way it was before Gen VI

[@nbproductions194]

Love these deep dives into the mechanics it explains so many frustrations in my youth. I hope my gameboy forgives me for swearing so much.

[@walaceandrade4046]

A revamp Safari zone could work so well nowadays, specially BECAUSE we got SO many mons already. Imagine a new region where you can catch some mons from almost every other region through the game, EXCEPT for a specific region or two. Then at some point you come to find the Safari Zone and there they are, a bunch of mons from those regions, regarded as super rare and exotic mons in that new region.

[@nidohime6233]

That's what I was thinking. Adding a Safari Zone allowes to add Pokémon without clashing with the theme of the region, like adding a desert in a place based on a rainy country like the UK just because you still need to add Ground type Pokémon, but with a Safari Zone that's not an issue.

[@15Seili]

So basically what GF did with DLC the last two gens? I really dont think they will ever reintroduce the safari zone unless its a whole DLC they can profit of.

[@walaceandrade4046]

@@15Seili i could see them doing it if it was something in a smaller scale. Just a minor side activity. But yeh, the momemt a feature like that start getting too big, its going into a DLC for sure.

[@pokedude720]

And they could reuse the Legends gameplay system while inside

[@walaceandrade4046]

@@pokedude720 that would be so dope

[@ronjaengarde]

The Johto Safari Zone has a very special place in my heart, the fact that the mechanics are so intricate is actually a bonus in my eyes. I mean, a fully customizable safari experience? Count me in! There's a reason why it's my go-to place to hunt for shinies during Safari Week, considering how many targets are available you could go years, even decades, without risking running into duplicates!

[@InsomniacMatt]

'Please choose a Starter between Grass, Fire, and Water' *Me choosing the Water Starter in every game* Wait, choose?

[@Dw7freak]

Another big plus for the Johto Safari Zone is that it allows you to catch "most" of the post-game and obscure Johto mons well before their original routes. You can find things like Larvitar, Misdreavus, and Murkrow, which were notorious for being in or after Kanto. The big problem with this? "Most" of the Johto mons. Both Slugma and Houndour are still stuck in Kanto routes. While no one wants Slugma on their team, the fact that the best Johto fire-type and one of the few dark-types in Houndour/Houndoom is stuck to post-game is a sin, especially since there are plenty of npcs that use Houndour and Houndoom. As for the catch-up mons, this is mainly a way for people who don't have any of the Gen 3 or other Gen 4 games to get some of those mons in case they were looking to make teams with them or attempt to complete the national dex with as few games as possible. In the time it takes to unlock Metang, you can complete Emerald many times over and have a hoard of Metagross. And since you can't even unlock it until you have the national dex, which is post-game, it's just a little bonus that you work towards.

[@emrald2000]

It's a bit hidden but you can get Slugma in Violet City from the phrase man in the pokecentre

[@enoyna1001]

Johto, not Jhoto.

[@LupisLight]

I've noticed that pretty much all the dark types in Gold/Silver are locked to the post game due to being found only in Kanto.

[@mr.sniffly5297]

I caught a Houndoom in the Safari Zone

[@recino2]

Frankly, until platinum and X, I'm pretty sure Game Freak had some vendetta against people having Houndour (the best boy, btw) in their story teams

[@pagannova3621]

A reminder that the Azure Flute was too complicated for players to figure out... and stuff like this almost needs to be data mined to be known.

[@ArmundJay]

my personal vandetta against the Johto Safari Zone is that it's where I, as a young child, encountered my first shiny. it was a pidgey. it fled. i cried. i'm still upset about it.

[@ArmundJay]

took until Black 2 for me to find another shiny - and you bet your ass that Sneasel came home with me.

[@justsomejojo]

The HGSS safari zone was SUCH a strange beast. Just listening to this brings me back to the planning anxiety I felt while scrolling Serebii back in the day to organize my safari blocks. Or maybe it's just a caffeine overdose. In any case, that thing was so needlessly drawn-out, I pretty much ignored it after my first playthrough, since every mon available was easier to get elsewhere (for my then first-ever living dex). In general, my excitement for the safari zone started to drop in Gen4. I vividly remember the Great Marsh being the main cause, since getting stuck in mud was not fun, and more importantly, most of the mons in there were already available right outside, making the whole thing kind of boring. The excitement of finding a Kangaskhan, Tauros or Chansey I still feel today in Gen1's safari just isn't there when the rarest thing you can find is probably a Skorupi and the rest you already have. The bug catching contest really is the ideal way of doing catching minigames imo. It's not annoyingly luck-based (no bait/rocks/fleeing), it still provides unique encounters and it encourages building a catcher because of the 1-mon-rule.

[@theosouris7063]

I've always thought that Pokemon GO was the real successor to the Safari Zone.The catching mechanics are similar in concept, but far more engaging in execution, and the encounter table changes based on both player interaction and scheduled events. Now that we can transfer Pokemon from GO into the main games, we don't need a Safari Zone because we live in the Safari Zone.

[@velo_GG]

spaghetti code is pokemon tradition❤

[@bezoticallyyours83]

What's spaghetti code?

[@xravenx24fe]

​@@bezoticallyyours83 Computer code that's so messy and whose parts are so intertwined and overlapping that when someone goes to read it and try to understand the control flow it's like looking at spaghetti. It's honestly irrelevant here, it's a term CS students use to sound cool in front of their peers because they're lame lol

[@bezoticallyyours83]

@@xravenx24fe oh

[@OmegaCKL]

"you know what feels like a safari but shouldn't?" i was so ready for the Manscaped sponsor

[@MelodyBarrens]

The concept of the Safari Zone isn't bad. Gamefreak is just incompetent at all except the basic game design tasks. Great at visual character/creature design and lore though.

[@nabe-sensei]

The best part about HGSS safari zone is I can catch a Larvitar early which is how all psuedo-legendaries that take really long to evolve should be handed out in the games.

[@corralzin4909]

Why can only you catch him then? Maybe other folks want to enjoy that creature

[@RayoMcQueen95990]

@@corralzin4909having Larvitar this early is great, as in the original games you could only catch him in mt. Silver But you can also get Dratini here before the post game, which is another great early access Pokémon

[@AzureTD_]

i genuinely think that the friend safari from gen 6 is one of the best safaris theyve ever done, on top of being on of the best things in x and y as a whole a simple catching area where the pokemon inside change based on the friends you have, with increased shiny odds to boot. the only thing i think i would change would be the make the area change to match the type, or let players select the type they want their own friend safari to be

[@wulfywulfynrir1296]

Woo! Excited to hear you decided to give XD a chance! I actually played colosseum in the time since I saw your video on it and....yeah, charitably its a lot of interesting ideas that make a rough draft of what XD turned out to be. But I'm filing it with the original gen 1&2 under "games im almost certainly never playing again because theres just a better option now"

[@Infindox]

Colo still has reasons to be played, especially for shiny hunters. Because of how the code is, its possible to get a lot of the shadow Pokemon shiny, something that cant be done in XD afair, and having a shiny Pokemon with the ribbon you get from Purifying is a big bonus for Ribbon Masters

[@MrCheeze]

Damn, you're not wrong. The bug-catching contest really is the only successful spin on the Safari Zone concept... and it's not even a Safari Zone.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

It is pretty good

[@Jeremo-FD]

I'm surprised they didn't implement a fishing contest I'm Gens 3 or 4.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

@@Jeremo-FD I'm kinda glad they didn't.

[@tyler2moons]

your hard work is paying off. youtube is recommending me this channel now. i will continue to watch your videos. keep up the good work

[@fatcatfroggie]

"Great March" lol

[@garchompelago]

All these years and I didnt know about Bug Catcher Nick until now. He is probably the reason why I lost despite having a strong Scyther.

[@iamredjustice5984]

It's always a good day when Lyra uploads! I love these deep dives into hidden mechanics that really make you question what the developers were thinking!! For that reason, I do have love for the various iterations of the safari zones, and will be sad to see them likely never return.

[@SharlaBlades]

Small tip for anyone trying to get through the Johto safari zone. If you want the 250 days to go by faster, here's how. Set your clock to 23:59. (DS uses what I've grown up knowing as military time.) Then let the clock tick over to 00:01. Or just a minute past midnight. That will count as a day passing for the blocks. Meaning you can turn 250 days into just under three hours.

[@mjc0961]

That works, but resetting my DS to adjust the clock for 3 hours sounds worse than watching paint dry.

[@alphasierrazulu]

I genuinely look forward to your next video the moment I finish the one I'm watching. Please keep going!

[@andreim.g.9299]

Heh. I remember playing through the HGSS Safari Zone and Pokéwalker quests to get a Shroomish and a Snorunt - the two last Pokémon I needed to complete my BW2 NatDex. As patience (and step) requiring as they were, it certainly felt like the adventure Pokémon proposes itself to be, and there was a great sense of reward. Fond memories.

[@corralzin4909]

Your pfp made me pull my legs up my bed and I shitted myself 😶😶😶😶

[@MercenaryGreil]

I have really missed your videos! Great to have you back!

[@MaxArceus]

A great march in the Great Marsh throwing lots of Pookeballs.

[@MakotoTheKnight]

Intrusive thought: what if Blueberry Academy was just another Safari Zone but with the base mechanics you're accustomed to? You have to earn BP to upgrade it (and that's not trivial by yourself) but in doing so you can then get the starters. Love the videos btw, lots of good information in all of these!

[@KBroly]

The Marsh is why I stopped caring about the Safari Zone. I had no idea how crazy the HG/SS one was.

[@sushantmanandhar1387]

Ah yes, my favourite area in Pastoria, the Great March

[@AzureFlute]

Might be a hot take: I love the Johto Safari Zone. It is flawed, for sure, but I still really enjoy the opportunity to customize the Zone the way I want depending on the Pokémon I want to catch. It's a really cool feature. I wish they would bring it back, they could provide the information to the player of what Pokémon appear similar to the Sandwich powers from Scarlet and Violet, maybe?

[@Lyra]

It is all about information, indeed. Just explain stuff to the player properly, and all of a sudden, the Johto Safari Zone is a blast to interact with.

[@Gatchu137]

This is one of the videos that first motivated me to start collecting as many safari (and bug contest) pokemon as I could. After borrowing some games from friends, I've now gotten every safari encounter across the series, except for the HGSS block encounters that require waiting. I even went for the 1% Dragonair in FRLG, and got it at level 29 to prove it wasn't evolved from a Dratini. I definitely wouldn't call the experience "fun," but it's a very satisfying collection to have.

[@KaySutcliff-Michaelis]

Just yesterday I was thinking I hadn't seen an upload from you for a while! Time to enjoy a new Lyra video 😍

[@SSBBPOKEFAN]

Technically, the Johto Safari Zone's areas are chosen out of a pool of 9 random zones. The peaks are is always present (to allow for Geodude to be caught), and the Desert and Rocky Beach areas are always excluded, being only accessible using the area customizer.

[@chrisjohnsen8448]

I feel like they could easily and justifiably bring it back as a location to obtain regional forms from past games or the original forms of Pokemon with regionals in the given game it is in. Blueberry Academy is fine at this, but it's post-game and also behind DLC so a player can't really use an Alolan Exeggutor throughout their journey.

[@nunyabiness181]

“Joke” about opera sponsor and “safari” Hardy har har

[@matthewwhiting2645]

It's great marsh not march

[@sunny74763]

English not his first language 🤓

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

23:53 Ye... when finding the mon you want on BULBAPEDIA is a struggle sometimes, why make it so hard to catch one you get in-game? Honestly, imagine Gamefreak just straight up released a battle sim. game. No elite 4, no encounters, no region, just a dex to pull Pokèmon from, EV/IV editing, moveset setting, item equipping, PVP battles, maybe an option to turn a saved team into an A. I. controlled team to battle when you don't wanna deal with PVP. Honestly part of me wonders if that might become inevitable someday.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

10:48 Also, i should probably mention this, You can use sweet scent compound eyes and other encounter based abilities as a form of laziness to make things easier. In actuality it mades things more infuriating cause it can cause glitches tied to the NATIONAL DEX ENCOUNTERS

[@pkmnbrawler12345]

Babe wake up, new Lyra video dropped

[@Kronos327]

Also important to note regarding the wait time of the safari zone: You can’t skip it via any conventional means (there’s one hackless solution called the cornn berry skip but it also only works on DS or ds lite, not dsi or newer) and if you do change the date/time or even just play the game on another console and save all progress in terms of the game counting passed days since the last saved upgrade is gone

[@Jlaps941]

This is wrong because you can just set the console to 11:59pm and wait for the time to roll over over to 12:00am. Thats what I did and it worked for several zones

[@Kronos327]

@@Jlaps941 no you can’t. Maybe you play on emulator but on DS console it does not work

[@ronjaengarde]

@@Kronos327 It does, but you have to widen the times a little, just setting it to 11:59 won't work, but I believe 11:58 will

[@Kronos327]

@@ronjaengarde no it doesn’t I’ve done extensive tests on this. Please do try it yourself. You ofc have to confirm at the start of the test that whatever Pokémon you seek aren’t unlocked yet at best via repel trick or something like that. There’s no way to skip the time in the safari zone outside of hacking or the epic cornn berry trick if you play on actual ds

[@ronjaengarde]

@@Kronos327 Strange, I have it on good authority that it does, I guess I'll have to start preparing early for Safari Week then if I can't skip (which was my backup plan)

[@ChuckFinley-m5e]

The best part about the Bug-Catching Contest was just how easily you can get an early-game Scyther, which I rank consistently as one of my favorite Bug-types of all time, especially if you can get it to evolve into a Scizor with a friend’s (read: a second GBC or DS’s) help.

[@joemck85]

I can see what they were going for, sort of an "every copy is personalized" sort of thing. Players decorate their Safari Zone and leave it, then come back later to see it filled with wacky new Pokemon they never saw there before. But what they ended up with was more like "I heard there were Larvitars and Bagons here, how do I make them appear today so I can add them to my team?"

[@MagentaNimbat]

Johto's Safari Zone was the turning point of why I absolute HATE every iteration of the Safari Zone. The fact that I have to wait over 100 days for a Riolu? It would be Way faster to reset a gen 4 game, get the egg for a Riolu and hatch it and trade it over than what ever the hell Johto tried to do

[@tabbender1232]

Riolu being available in the wild in general is so weird

[@MagentaNimbat]

@@tabbender1232that and same with Zorua to me too

[@tabbender1232]

@@MagentaNimbat Yeah. These are rare mons that should never have been available in the wild

[@dustinpahel5950]

You never mentioned that if you’re playing one of the Pokémon games where the Safari Zone counts your steps, if you’re standing in the grass, you can change the direction your character is facing without the safari zone counting it as a step while the game re-rolls the numbers for the chance of a random encounter. I.e. if you know the location of the Pokémon your looking for, you can just rotate in place, so your steps aren’t counted. If the Pokémon that appears isn’t the one you want, you just select the “run” option. This lengthens your time in the safari zone to only being counted for when you run out of safari balls.

[@magnexion6888]

i've been waiting for a new video, thank you

[@BioniclesaurKing4t2]

I loved the Johto Safari Zone…because I was living off of Bulbapedia already having all the important answers and was already planning on spending weeks and months catching and evolving every Pokémon available in the game by grinding its own (usually level up) move set against wild Pokémon.

[@mopfrenzy1250]

Finally ive been waiting for this break down from you

[@imaginaryidiot]

How very convenient, I'd just finished watching your other Safari Zone breakdowns!

[@azazel166]

Finding that eggsecute in the Great Marsh was a nightmare that I don't want to relive.

[@SalcranVGC]

This takes me back; a few years ago I tried to collect as many different Pokemon species as I could in Safari Balls. Things went well, until HGSS. The worst part of the whole block mechanic was that I couldn't time skip to attain the points needed for things like Gible and Bagon - the timer simply resets whenever you try. And because this also applies when playing the game on a different DS, it was something of a nightmare. I eventually gave up on that effort, only to be able to get Safari Balls in SwSh not long after, even with an astronomically low chance to get one.

[@EndersProxy]

I’m glad somebody made a video about the HGSS safari zone. Maybe it was annoying at the time but I just feel nostalgic looking back on it now. Over the course of 10th grade I caught every single Pokémon you could in the safari zone (probably because I wasn’t able to trade). I’d consult serebii and calc the days and then mark the dates of fruition on this paper calendar I had. It was the first time I really nerded out on a game and when I finally caught them in the end it was rewarding to say the least.

[@jadethenidoran]

The correct web browser is Firefox I'd love for there to be a browser that's actually lightweight RAM wise, but Opera is not.

[@ladala99]

I'd argue that the Gen V Safari Zone replacement was actually the Dream World. A time-limited (once a day, for an hour max) experience that lets you play minigames to befriend Pokemon from past generations to take with you to the actual game. Much like the Bug-Catching Contest, you can only take home one a day, so choose wisely! HGSS's Safari Zone also served the niche of being the customizable place in HGSS. That was another series staple at the time (that again got shoved in the Dream World before being removed from later games).

[@DetectiveBarricade]

Probably the worst aspect of the Johto Safari Zone is that your progress will be wiped if the DS clock is adjusted. Or you play the game on a different DS family system than the one you started your save file on.

[@Urthdigger]

When you were going into that ad I was legit thinking "Wait, is Safari making a comeback?"

[@VampVampChamp]

YES!! Ive been waiting for this follow up video and now its finally here lol

[@Jlaps941]

I HATED the Johto Safari Zone when I was completing my Gen 4 National Pokédex because it was the only way I could get a Seviper since I didn’t own Sapphire. Having to deal with upgrading blocks, waiting however many days, having no way of knowing if they were upgraded, having to find Seviper and still having to play the Safari Game was a nightmare and made me not wanna touch the Safari Zone with a 10 foot pole.

[@buzinessdog]

in the nicest way possible i love falling asleep to your videos

[@SweetTaleTeller]

I have a Shiny Bagon and Riolu bred from Pokémon from that Safari Zone

[@houraisheperd9721]

Getting Kanga in Platinum was downright horrible because of the Marsh’s mechanics. Before going in, I was convinced it would be less painful than doing trade shenanigans. How wrong I was.

[@SupposedlyShiny]

Finally my favorite niche pokemon channel made a video I’ll watch 4 times

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

Bonus Video Idea: If the Safari Zone were to return, how could it be done least badly? (Setting ground rules for what the requirements *for* a Safari Zone is would be wise here, such as "cannot use party Pokèmon", "must have at least one way to up catch rate and flee rate", "must have at least one way to drop catch rate and flee rate", "must have at least one special kind of ball exclusive to the Zone", and similar)

[@viktorkada6947]

I think it would work like in Legends Arceus.

[@Igorcastrochucre]

In a sense, the Safari Zone already returned in Pokémon Let's go. And the bait and rock thing got expanded in Legends Arceus

[@CaptainObliviousV]

We’ve already seen what that can be thanks to Let’s Go and PLA

[@Che1ito]

I liked the concept of the Safari Zone in HGSS, but the way it was handled was terrible. Being able to customize your area is one of the best things in a game.

I feel something like the Blueberry Academy Biome updates would've been a much easier way to update the Safari Zone in HGSS: Just pay to update each Area / Biome 2 or 3 times to unlock every Pokemon, and have the blocks / customization be completely optional and cosmetic. No hidden features, no annoying waiting times, just grind some money and enjoy being able to find some rare or even exclusive Pokemon.

[@rjd1922]

Fun fact about Cooltrainer Nick: his original sprite and Japanese name (Ken) are the same as the player's older brother from the Space World '97 demo.

[@MachuThePichu]

pokemon seems to have some serious problems with intuitive or well explained game design, just look at IVs and EVs, how are you supposed to know how any of that stuff works without reading it online. they dont even have ev yields in the pokedex or something

[@Rin_husband]

All the things added into HGSS like the safari zone, side quests, etc. could be easily into a DLC. No wonder these game are the favorites of many players

[@SamFromSolitude]

I think a fantastic way to reintroduce the Safari Zone would be to make it play just like Pokemon Legends Arceus, where you can throw balls and sticky globs at Pokemon just wandering around. When I played PLA for the first time it made me think of the Safari Zone a lot.

[@smylle123]

I gotta be honest, as needlessly complicated as the safari zone is on a technical level as a kid it was amazingly fun to just run in there with 30 balls that cost the same as one and catch a bunch of random stuff. Since all these mechanics aren't explained it doesn't really affect the mystique as a kid who doesn't care about min maxing the safar zone

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

21:35 Imagine they made what mons want what scores random...

[@JacktheLightningRipper]

Honestly the Wild Areas in Sword/Shield and every overworld in Legends Arceus and Scarlet and Violet basically carry on the essence of the Safari Zone. It was a novel concept in earlier gens but it wouldn’t make sense to be around today unless the game is built to properly make it work like BD/SP was.

[@KeTa-Gang]

I absolutely LOVE the Safari Zone in HGSS, it was the first pkmn Game ive played so far and i remember having the official Guide from Nintendo (the Second one, which covers the Game after you entered the hall of Fame the first time) and i wasted hours designing new Maps and Just Walking around with my buddy Feraligatr... Allthough ich could never Catch a bagon while having the Guide besides me (its still haunting me to this day) Thank you for bringing up these wonderful memories in this greatly produces Video (i'll still have the Game and i think i will finally geht u bagon...)

[@beegyoshi800]

The HGSS safari zone could have been so cool and then you have to wait literal months to get anything cool

[@LuigiTheMetal64]

If the Safari Zone, overworld Pokémon, and overworld Ability effects are featured, it would be easy to get the Pokémon you want like you are hunting with their Pokémon.

[@1Pidds]

Lyra, I regret to inform you, but the section about the Bug Catching Contest is actually incomplete It doesnt actually sum up stats. It gives you a bonus based off them, sure, but it's not the actual stat number. Each stat has its own multiplier, and it only gives it to you if its respective DV is an odd number value You also get a point bonus if your catch is holding an item but honestly that means nothing since Scyther cant hold one Nowhere in-game is this explained so I dont blame you at all for missing this

[@michaelzaccardo1010]

I've been replaying Soul Silver recently for ribbons, and I just got all the blocks unlocked yesterday. Do I simply need to WAIT x amount of time for certain pokemon, or can I just pick my DS back up like ~3 months and have all the benefits?

[@IsuKen]

At last, I’ve been waiting for this one. Proof not all trilogies are bad.

[@cyber_baudelaire9962]

Super vidéo ! j'adore ton contenu c'est très travaillé et ton accent est parfait; d'ailleurs, tu n'avais pas une chaîne en français ?

[@kirbydedede2494]

The amount of pokedollars spent, all the time spent, the emotional experience watching the safari ball burst open in failure to find one Beldum or Riolu to catch. What a ride. Sucks HGSS was the last safari zone to grace us. Gracious of them to remove the 500-step limit. What also helped is that it did re-balanced the availability of certain mons, from Kangaskhan, Murkrow, Misdreavus, to Larvitar(!!) (but not Houndour for some reason).

[@416610971]

I remember playing HG and looking up the safari zone mechanics, seeing it would take far too long, and giving up on it altogether. I purchased an action replay to make filling out the pokedex manageable.