"What's strange about that? Didn't you eat the food I cooked for you in the village yesterday? You looked like you enjoyed it," Zinnia said, puzzled.
"You don't understand," Gary replied patiently. "The outside world changes every day. Humans have created special food for Pokémon—like energy cubes—that help them grow faster. You can only get those in a city."
"Really?" Zinnia eyed him skeptically.
"Ask Eevee if you don't believe me."
"Vee-vee!" Eevee chirped, nodding.
"All right, I'll trust you." In truth, Zinnia was eager to see a human settlement herself.
"By the way," Gary asked, "do you have a Pokémon you can ride?"
Zinnia shook her head. "No. I only have Shelgon and Whismur. Once Shelgon evolves into Salamence, we'll be able to fly—but for now, we're on foot."
Gary frowned. The Zinnia he remembered from the games and manga always traveled by Salamence, yet this Zinnia was very much a novice.
He thought back to her different origin stories: in the Delta Episode, Aster—the true successor chosen by Rayquaza—died protecting it from people who tried to capture the Sky High Pokémon. Zinnia had named her Whismur "Aster" in her honor. A similar event occurred in the manga. Moreover, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea had shown Rayquaza captured by humans during Ash's Hoenn journey. If that incident was looming, Zinnia would probably be involved—and Gary needed to be prepared.
A flash of blue above the trail caught Zinnia's eye.
"Wow, what kind of Pokémon is that?" she exclaimed, pointing to a small bird perched in a nearby tree.
"Whiiis…" Whismur stared up as well.
Gary recognized it immediately—a Swablu. Apparently, Zinnia really was sensitive to draconic auras, Swablu might be Normal/Flying now, but its evolution, Altaria, would gain the Dragon type.
"That's a Swablu," he explained. "It evolves into Altaria, which becomes part Dragon-type."
"Altaria? Then I have to catch it!" Before Gary could reply, Zinnia hurled a Poké Ball.
"Shelgon—battle time!"
"Gon!" Shelgon burst out, eager for action. Swablu, realizing it was being targeted, took off and fluttered high into the sky.
"Hey, get back here! Where's your Dragon pride?" Zinnia shouted.
"Gon!" Shelgon roared in agreement—as soon as I get wings, I'm coming for you!
Gary sighed. "Wild Pokémon usually run from a strong opponent. If you want to catch one, you have to stop it from escaping first."
Zinnia frowned. "But birds can fly. How am I supposed to stop that?"
"There are plenty of ways," Gary said. "You can provoke it so it attacks you, or use a move like Mean Look or Block."
"There are moves that stop a Pokémon from fleeing?" Zinnia's eyes widened.
Gary handed her his Pokédex. "Here. If you have questions about Pokémon, just ask this."
The palm-sized device confused her at first.
"You can speak to it, or just point it at a Pokémon," Gary explained.
Zinnia aimed it at the distant Swablu. "What kind of Pokémon is Swablu?"
Dex: "Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokémon. A Normal- and Flying-type. It constantly preens its cotton-like wings and will use them to wipe anything dirty…"
"It talks!" Zinnia gasped, immediately scanning her own partners.
Dex: "Shelgon, the Endurance Pokémon. Its body is covered by a shell as hard as bone that repels enemy attacks. It shelters in caves while awaiting evolution."
Dex: "Whismur, the Whisper Pokémon. When it cries loudly, it is frightened by the sound of its own voice and cries even harder. Afterwards, it falls asleep from exhaustion."
Like a curious child, Zinnia spent the next stretch of the walk scanning every wild Pokémon they passed, enthralled by the explanations. At least her eagerness to learn was better than Ash's back in his rookie days, Gary thought.
Because she had no rideable Pokémon, they traveled on foot. Fortunately, the route from Meteor Falls to Rustboro City was mostly downhill, and by noon they reached the outskirts.
"Is this where outsiders live? It's huge!" Zinnia breathed, staring at the towering buildings. She had never imagined houses could reach such heights.