"My roommate asked why his Rhyperior knew Surf in our group chat. This was my response."

#PokemonGO: Why does your Rhyperior know surf?Here’s a little bit of lore for ya.Now typically rock type Pokémon have tried to steer away from water for obvious reasons. With Rhydon? Not the case. Something most people aren’t aware of is that all Rhydon have a secret passion. That passion is the ocean.For years the Pokémon world was devastated by reports of Rhydon attempting to go out into the ocean and due to their inherent weakness to water and incredibly high weight, they would tragically drown. This continued on for generations and although Pokémon scientists worked to try to find a solution, none were ever successful....that is, until Gen 4.This brings us to a small town in the Sinnoh reason where we meet a small family of a single mother and her 4 year old daughter, Alice. Alice had a rough upbringing and never knew her father due to losing him in a fishing accident (Deadliest Catch style) shortly after she was born. Alice’s mother did her best but was never cut out for raising a child on her own. She never would have made it had it not been for her closest friend and partner, Rhyhorn.Rhyhorn was always so sweet to Alice and took excellent care of her while her mother was working extra shifts at one of her 3 jobs. There were a few times where Rhyhorn even saved Alice’s life from random Pokémon attacks, almost costing its own life. But Rhyhorn didn’t care. He would do anything for that little girl.After a few close calls Rhyhorn knew he couldn’t keep this up forever at his current power level and since Alice was too young to become a trainer and her family was far from having the wealth to acquire that many rare candies, he knew he had to power up somehow without battling other trainers/gym leaders. That’s when it happened.One day the family was on their way home from the grocery store when they were attacked by a couple of Team Rocket baddies. An intense battle broke out and Rhyhorn did his best to protect them but they were just too strong. Alice and her mother were knocked out by Golbat’s supersonic and Rhyhorn was down to his last bit of health. He knew the recoil from take down would be the end of him but he didn’t care. He had to protect Alice...no matter the cost. He gathered up all his remaining strength and charged the Golbat head on.Critical Hit! As the Golbat went down the Rocket Grunts ran away knowing they had failed. It was at this point that the recoil hit. Rhyhorn looked back at his family one last time, proud that he knew they would be safe. His only regret in life was not being able to say goodbye to Alice. His eyes slowly closed simultaneously as hers opened and Alice rushed to her feet and ran to him, tears in her eyes. Just as everything was about to go black, he heard Alice’s voice cry out, “Rhyhorn no! Don’t go!”That’s when he realized, “I can’t go down here! She needs me and I need her!” Then by some miracle Rhyhorn began to glow white and his body grew and changed. Rhyhorn was evolving! Alice finally made it to him just as his evolution had finished and embraced him with his new “now able to hug” arms. Holding her tight, the new Rhydon was positive that with his new strength, he could finally keep her safe.Time passed and Rhydon continued to take care of the family but couldn’t shake off this strange longing sensation for water. He knew water hurt him but for some reason became infatuated with the ocean and wasn’t sure why. This wasn’t his fault. It was the poor Rhydon generic structure that caused this obvious self harming obsession. That’s when...it happened...again.Alice’s mother finally earned a few days off and treated the family to a trip to the beach to get some well-deserved relaxation. If only she knew the internal struggle that Rhydon dealt with on a day-to-day basis. The family arrived at the beach and Alice lit up when she saw the sand! “Come on Rhydon lets go build a castle!” He looked back at Alice’s mother for approval and she smiled and nodded. “Go ahead, I’ll grab everything and meet y’all there.” They ran up ahead across the dunes and that’s when he saw it. The ocean.It was beautiful. Almost as if in a trance Rhydon began to walk forward. Alice had began setting up a foundation for their castle when Rhydon slowly walked past her. “Hey, where are you going?” She asked but Rhydon kept walking. Alice kept calling but Rhydon couldn’t stop. The sea was calling his name even louder. As his feet entered the water he winced in pain but couldn’t stop moving forward. Alice’s calls turned to cries for help as she didn’t understand what was happening. “Stop! You’ll get hurt! Please! Come back Rhydon!” Internally Rhydon was in so much more pain than he was physically. He heard Alice’s cries but couldn’t stop no matter how hard he tried.Rhydon had already made it out almost chest high by the time Alice’s mother made it across the dunes. A look of horror replaced her smile as she saw Rhydon and Alice chasing after him past the break. She called out for help and got the attention of a nearby fisherman. “Please help! My daughter can’t swim! She and Rhydon are going to drown out there!” Luckily she found the only fisherman that didn’t have a team of 6 Magikarp.Rhydon kept going walking even though Alice was now chasing after him. “No Alice!” He thought, “Its not safe! Turn back!” But he couldn’t say anything. Panicking, Alice continued forward after him almost as if she forgot she couldn’t swim but she soon remembered. “Rhydon sto-“, she cried one last time before she went under. Rhydon’s eyes widened as his partner submerged. He knew she was in danger but his feet wouldn’t stop moving. Was this the end?Suddenly, out of the ocean rose a mighty Gyarados being riden by the fisherman from the beach! They were saved! A wave of relief came over Rhydon followed shortly after by a wave of water. Now fully submerged the pain from the water became too much and Rhydon passed out.He woke up hours later in a Pokémon center next to his beloved Alice. His look of joy at her smile quickly turned to shame as he looked at her mother’s eyes and he remembered what had happened. Alice’s mother stormed off and Rhydon was left there to think about what he had done.“I’m so happy you’re ok! You really scared me you know!”, Alice said to him. “I didn’t know you like the ocean so much! You should have said something before.” He couldn’t look her in the eyes. The shame was too great. “Here. I got some of these for you so next time you’ll be ok.” Alice reached into her bag and pulled out several pairs of water wings. “Mommy said these will help me float in the water but I didn’t have time to put them on before. You’re really big so I had to get a bunch for you.”Rhydon finally looked over at her and cried. Alice cared for him so much and just hours ago she had almost died because of him. “Hurry! Try them on!” The bright orange water wings looked ridiculous but he put them on for her.Just then Alice’s mother came back into the room with a gentleman wearing a top hat and red bow tie, this time her look of anger was replaced with sadness. “Rhydon. Alice.” She said to them with the eyes towards the floor. “I’ve agreed to trade Rhydon away for this man’s Raticate.”Alice held out her arms blocking Rhydon and cried out “No! You can’t!” It was too late, there was no turning back. “I lost your father to the sea and today I almost lost my daughter. I can’t let that happen. Rhydon, I’m so sorry. I hope you understand.” At first Rhydon was hurt but he quickly understood. These new urges were too powerful and he knew it would be put Alice in danger again.As Rhydon, still covered in water wings, passed by Raticate, he looked back at his family that he could no longer protect and waved goodbye. “Take good care of Rhydon.” Alice’s mother said, tears running down her face as she held Alice who was sobbing uncontrollably. As Rhydon crossed the threshold and the trade was complete that’s when....it happened....AGAIN!Rhydon began to feel himself changing, the water wings began to take a more durable shape and were melding to his body! Everyone around was in shock. Rhydon was the final evolution in the chain! Or so they thought! The glow subsided and the Rhydon they knew was gone. The Pokémon that stood before them was new. The ultimate Protector, Rhyperior.“Mommy my water wings helped! He can go in the water now! I won’t be in danger! He can come back. Please!”, Alice cried. The gentleman, who was still in shock from the surprise evolution couldn’t help but feel bad for taking away this Pokémon that meant so much to them. He happily agreed to trade back for his Raticate. As the Pokémon passed by each other again, Rhyperior embraced his family and they all cried tears of joy, knowing everything was going to be ok. “Take good care of Rhyperior now!” Said the gentleman with a wink as he left the family with a smirk on his face.Word quickly spread about the Rhydon that evolved and gained the ability to float in water. At last a solution to the problem that scientists spent years trying to come up with! Alice, without realizing it, saved the lives of countless Rhydon that day and would be remembered as a hero. The family was recognized by many and received awards and donations for their discovery. People sent them letters telling their own stories about how happy they are that their Rhydons will be safe and how grateful they were. All the fame didn’t matter to them though. Alice’s mother was able to work less and spend more time with them and the three of them were able to live happy lives as a family.It’s been a few years now and the family now lives on the beach. Alice has grown into a beautiful young woman and, with the help of her best friend, Rhyperior, even began teaching surfing lessons in the summer to young children and their Pokémon.And THAT is why Rhyperior knows Surf. via /r/pokemongo https://ift.tt/2RizmC1