Rhydon, the drill Pokémon. The evolved form of Rhyhorn. Rhydon's horn can crush even uncut diamonds. One sweeping blow of its tail can topple a building. This Pokémon's hide is extremely tough. Even direct cannon hits don't leave a scratch – Nurse Evergreen.
On their second day in the Safari Zone, Nurse Isabelle and Dominic Whitewater had an early breakfast before entering the park again. This time, they intended on doing some work, rather than naps and picnics like they had the previous day.
With a thermos of coffee, Dominic sat down in the grass, watching Izzy take her shoes off and wade into the water of a small lake where Dewgong laid waiting. He took a bit longer to get going in the morning than his girlfriend. Since she was wearing shorts, she did not need to worry about getting her trousers wet.
Riding Dewgong side-saddle, Izzy checked on the many water types that this lake held. Poliwag galore, Psyduck floating on their backs, Slowpoke napping on the banks. Some other Pokémon swam under the surface, too shy to come out. That was fine with Izzy; for if they were sick or injured, they would have floated to the surface. Water types were convenient that way.
As Isabelle worked, she and Dom talked about their dreams for the future. Izzy expressed her happiness at being able to do this, to help Pokémon in need instead of fixing up the abused Pokémon of over-eager trainers. Dom read her a letter out loud, which she could not read from the distance. He summarised that his younger brother, Hamilton, or Hal for short, finally got approved to start his journey of beating all the gyms and taking on the Johto League. He would start when the summer was over, he had written. No mention of his starter, though.
Suddenly, Dom tensed and paused his reading. He looked strongly to his right, from where some shouting and roaring came. Asking Dewgong to make a turn, Isabelle saw what was going on.
Determined to capture a powerful Pokémon, a group of kids were throwing rocks at a Rhydon, which stood nearly twice as tall as the kids. Rhydon's hide was too tough to be bothered by the rocks, but the kids were crowding him and pushing him towards the edge of the water. Their intention wasn't hard to guess, as Rhydon were very vulnerable to water. There was no way this would end well.
Dom leapt up and dashed towards the kids, stopping one mid-throw. Never before had she seen her boyfriend this mad. All traces of smile were gone. His eyes were narrowed and his mouth was curled into a snarl, although it wasn't as visible underneath his beard.
"Stop that at once!" He growled at the kids, who flinched and stepped away, rightfully so. Isabelle rushed Dewgong over the water to where the Rhydon was, hushing the agitated Pokémon with her bare feet on the shore.
"Are you all out of your minds? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? Not only is bullying a Pokémon absolutely despicable, but this Rhydon could have snapped and attacked you! This Pokémon is about as strong as a Machoke! I do not want to be responsible for taking your broken bodies back to your mothers. Leave. Now!" The kids ran away, nearly peeing their pants. One even bawled his eyes out as he ran
After glancing at Rhydon whether his mood was fine, Dominic knelt in the soggy ground to check on Izzy's feet, worried she stood with no shoes on. In a slightly overbearing manner, he told her to sit down on the ground as he went to get her shoes and their backpacks. From his own, he took a little towel, dried her feet and even tried to put on her shoes, from which Isabelle pulled her feet away.
"Yes, thank you. I can manage," she snapped slightly. It wasn't that she was ungrateful, but it was very odd to be cared for in this manner, especially since she wasn't used to it. Besides, he had more important things to worry about, such as an agitated Rhydon with more patience than Izzy had suspected it to have.
As Isabelle put on her own shoes, Dom laid his hand on Rhydon's shoulder. "That was a close one, big buddy. You're good to go now." However, when Dominic turned away, Rhydon took a step closer to Dom. Like this, he followed them for a small while before Dominic finally acknowledged him. "What is it? Do you want to stay with me?" Rhydon nodded. With a smile, Dominic tossed a Park Ball at the drill Pokémon, though Izzy wasn't entirely sure where he had conjured that ball from. Without a single wiggle, Rhydon was caught.
"Just like that? What will you even do with a Rhydon?" Isabelle asked, standing from the ground and wiping her shorts off.
"Dunno, really. But I have room in my team for him and figured I'd make it work." Dom shrugged.