One thing I've managed to figure out over the years is that, if you're a normal person, you never stop learning throughout your entire life. And if you're not a normal person and you do stop learning, you generally aren't really living. Life is all about the experience, and each new experience is what adds to life. That's not to say that it's always easy, learning new things; you learn a lot of things you wish you didn't know, and sometimes it's a hard path to learn something you want or need to know. Don't I know that all too well.
It's that kind of mindset that drove me to leave home in the first place, to get out and experience the rest of the world instead of staying cooped up in my little hole. I grew up in a conclave of pretty much all Rhyhorns, Rhydons, and Rhyperiors, rarely exposed to the outside world and only learning a little about the other types of Pokémon there were in the world out there. Sure, we'd get a visitor every now and then, and on occasion we'd have to deal with some adventurous trainer hoping they could find something of value in our little corner of the world, but for the most part we stuck to ourselves and that's the way we liked it.
Of course, that's not to say none of us ever left. On the contrary, we had a few here and there who decided they wanted to see more, or who wanted to experience life under a trainer. And they'd be back every now and then to regale fascinating, entertaining, or horrifying stories of life on the outside. For most, it didn't incite anything except a desire to stay in where the craziness wasn't, but I always found them kind of appealing. So there came a time where I decided to set out on my own.
I guess I'm what you'd call a free spirit - I got tired of seeing the same things over and over again, and I had no desire to be cooped up by some trainer who'd probably be just doing the same thing with me over and over again, having me battle some hapless Pokémon with types that weren't any good against me. I didn't really want to do much battling in the first place. So when I set out on my own, I intended to stay my own Rhydon. That said, I was very eager to make friends, especially with Pokémon that weren't my own kind.
I wasn't too terribly scared to be leaving home for the first time. Our kind are...well, I don't know if I'd go as far as to say "fearless," but we're pretty chill about most things. Part of that is due to our physiology. Our bodies are very tough, especially our hides. We put them through a lot of abuse and take it in stride. And while I've heard a lot of human information about Pokémon is mythical or exaggerated, they got one thing about us right: we can't feel a bloomin' thing on our hides.
Now, of course, we don't not feel anything ever. But if a blow causes pain - usually, something like grass or water or ice that we have a natural sensitivity to - the pain is deep, far below our hides to the parts of our bodies where we actually have nerves. That we can feel, and yeah, it's as unpleasant as you might think. But even with that, we have a lot less to endure than other Pokémon. And yeah, we can take the heat really well. What you call a magma pool, we call a hot tub. Actually, probably a better hot tub than what you would call a hot tub - again, the whole water thing.
As you might expect, when you're not likely to have to endure any kind of serious pain, you get kinda careless about what you put your body through. Our friends and family tend to be pretty rough with each other. Heck, usually when I was hanging out with my friends, we'd get up and wrestle and fight with each other, just for the hell of it. I've personally been sent through weakened rock walls and buried under minor avalanches, by the guys I consider my closest buddies. It's all in good fun - it's not like we're worried about it hurting us.
The ones who have left the fold and come back for visits generally give the impression that the outside world is far less rough in general than we are with each other. The obvious exception being if they go with a trainer and start battling, but if they're going out there for that reason they basically already want it. Since I wasn't planning on doing any battling, I was even less concerned than most about what might happen out there. So I greeted the world pretty much head on and horn forward.
