Sumi yawned. She put her hands behind her head, a bored look on her face.
They seemed to be getting nowhere. The scenery around them hadn't changed for the past couple of hours. She and Zee were still on a dirt path, the rolling hills around them seeming to extend for miles in every direction. There were trees dotting the landscape here and there, but they were scarce.
{Sumi, my legs are tired… It feels like we've been walking for ages! And we haven't even met up with a single Pokémon yet!} Zee complained.
Sumi looked around. "Maybe if we got off of the path we'd find one? Though I think it is time to stop for lunch…" she said. She walked over to a large tree. She sat down at the base of it, leaning her back against the trunk.
Zee sat next to her, stretching out in the shade of the large oak. {I can take a little nap here, right?} he asked, padding up. He used his tail like a broom, sweeping the excess leaves away from around the little spot he'd claimed before laying down, curling up.
"You want to sleep now? But I was going to go ahead and get the lunch my mom made us out." Sumi said, pulling her backpack off of her back and resting it on her lap.
Zee looked up, his ears perking. The word "Lunch" seemed to be like a magic word, immediately capturing his attention. {I guess my nap can wait until my stomach's full!} he said, his usual grin returning to his face. He got back to his feet, getting down low to stretch, very catlike.
Sumi giggled, unzipping the large pouch on the front of her pack. She pulled out a small container, one her mother had packed into her bag while she'd been eating breakfast. It contained a few sandwiches. From the smell of it, they were Combee Honey and Pecha Berry Jam! There was also a small container of large, brown, marshmallow-shaped things, food she knew her mom had made especially for Zee.
She pulled one of the sandwiches out, placing some of Zee's food in the lid of the container and setting it on the knee opposite her friend. Zee hopped up onto her lap, laying down and getting comfortable before getting to work eating the bit of food he'd been given.
Sumi slung her bag back over her shoulders, and then leaned back against the tree, watching the clouds pass as she enjoyed her sandwich. "I wonder what types of people the Gym Leaders are? I doubt they'll be easy to defeat." She said, a curious look on her face.
Zee looked up at her, his usual smirk seeming to get wider. {Tough or not, you know we'll be able to defeat them! We have to!} he said, pressing his paw comfortingly against her leg.
She nodded. "Yeah, I know. Mom's always talked about the Indigo League here in Kanto that she wasn't able to compete in after she met dad…" she said, her voice fading a bit. It had been almost three years since her father had disappeared, leaving her and her mother to have only each other to rely on. Well, them and Zee. He hadn't sent any word, nothing on his whereabouts, or what he was doing. They didn't even know if he was still alive.
{I liked your dad. He smelled really good when I saw him.} Zee said, closing his eyes with a small smile as he relaxed. {That's why I followed him onto his big boat.}
"I remember dad having a Vileplume as one of the Pokémon he brought with him. You may have been smelling some of Vileplume's Sweet Scent." Sumi explained.
{Don't care. Smelled good.} Zee said before going back to eating his food.
Sumi sighed. The little Zorua was so easy to satisfy sometimes, it was almost too cute. Zee was the perfect partner for her. She giggled slightly, going back to eating her sandwich.
Zee's ears suddenly flicked. He'd heard the attack before the attacker had gotten close.
What sounded like a loud roaring noise echoed from in front of them. Zee sprung to his feet, using his quick reflexes to get them out of trouble. He lept up, head-butting Sumi aside, managing to get her out of the way as a large, grey shape seemed to fly out of nowhere. It barreled past, straight into the tree. Splinters of wood and bark flew from the impact, the tree shuddering violently, but the roots were strong enough to avoid it toppling over.
Sumi screamed as she heard the thing pass. She couldn't see what it was at first, the creature having kicked up a cloud of loose dirt as it passed. But as the dust settled, she could see it. It seemed to be a large, grey Pokémon, standing on four legs. It looked like it was made of either a hard rock or grey plate armor, large plated ridges running along its spine. The horn positioned at the large plate running down its forehead seemed to be lodged in the tree.
"W-what is that thing?" Sumi asked, the fear evident in her voice.
{I don't know! It's dangerous though! Check that talking thing that the jerk used to check me out at the lab!} Zee said back. He took a step forward, digging his little paw into the dirt a little and growling deep in his throat at the new opponent.
"Oh, right! The Pokédex!' Sumi cried. She reached into the pouch on the side of her bag, opposite the side Professor Oak had attached the ball pouch. She pulled out the red device, aiming the small sensor on the front at the creature.
Rhyhorn. The Spikes Pokémon. Its powerful tackles can destroy anything. However, it is too slow witted to help people work.
"A Rhyhorn?" Sumi asked, looking at it with a curious look. "Why did it suddenly attack us like that?" she asked.
Zee watched it pull its horn out of the tree, but curiously enough, it didn't turn to face them. Instead, it turned its attention on the sandwich that had fallen on the ground after Zee knocked Sumi out of the way of the charge.
{A lot of Pokémon are territorial, so that could be part of it. But it looks like this one was just hungry.} he answered, tilting his head slightly, but not taking his eyes off of the Rhyhorn. It had, after all, just attacked his Master. He wasn't too thrilled about that.
"Maybe I can catch it while its distracted with the food…" Sumi said, taking one of the Pokéballs out of her ball pouch. She gripped it tightly, whispering a little prayer to herself as she pressed the button to make it grow to its full size.
{Be careful, Sumi…} Zee said cautiously.
Sumi quickly threw the ball at the Rhyhorn. "Pokéball, go!" she shouted.
It hit the creature before it knew what was happening, it only having time to glance over at her before it was called into the ball. Sumi clenched her fists, a tense look on her face as she watched it shake one time… two times… three times…
Click!
A happy expression suddenly danced across her face as she ran forward, grabbing the ball and holding it up. "Yes! I caught it! I caught a Rhyhorn!" she said with a smile.
{Great. You've managed to catch the thing that almost trampled you…} Zee muttered, padding back to the leftover food. {Good, it didn't touch my lunch…} he muttered.
"Come on, can't you just be happy for me? I caught my first Pokémon, all on my own!" Sumi whined a bit.
Zee looked over, looking a little concerned, but suddenly jumped slightly with a scared look, as if startled by something. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. {S-Sumi? We need to run!} he said loudly.
"What? Why?" Sumi asked, turning to see what Zee was so afraid of.
She gasped, her eyes widening and her expression also turning to one of fear. Where that last Rhyhorn had come from, there were at least five or six of them standing right behind her!
{Because that Pokémon you caught was part of a herd, and they usually don't take too kindly to their family getting caught!} Zee said suddenly.
One of the Rhyhorn roared loudly, the others following its lead in unison. They each took a step forward, seeming to crouch down a get. They were getting ready to charge.
{Sumi, run! Now!} Zee shouted, bounding quickly to get in between her and the Rhyhorn.
Sumi nodded, turning on her heel and running as fast as her legs could take her. She knew she could never outrun a Pokémon like that for long, but she had to at least try. She couldn't help but scream along the way, terrified out of her wits.
Zee ran up next to her, keeping pace with her but being careful not to run in front of her. He didn't want to leave her behind. He had to protect her after all.
"Somebody help!" Sumi shouted, tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want to end up dying on her first day away from home! That would make her the worst trainer in existence, not the best like she wanted to be!
