The steady sound of water splashing against the ground was calming. It lulled the tired man into an almost sleep, blue eyes closing as his mind focused on the sound of water running around him. This place was peaceful despite the raging waterfall nearby. Even though his original goal had been dashed the second he arrived Eric didn't feel as if they trip was totally wasted. If he could catch a moment of serenity now it would make up for the horribly hot bike ride here.

Just as the thoughts of peace and calm floated through his mind the sound of a shrill cry from his Starly nearby had him sit upright in alarm. "What is it Starly?" Eric asked, concern mixing with irritation.

Standing nearby was a Surskit, standing in an obviously offensive pose. Eric sighed and ran a hand through his hair before standing up. He was in a cave and wild pokemon were everywhere so it wasn't amiss to think a battle would happen. But did it have to be when he was enjoying a moment of quiet?

Looking between his two pokemon Eric would call upon the type advantage knowledge he had managed to remember back in trainer school. If he remembered correctly Surskit was part bug type, meaning both of his pokemon had some sort of advantage but Cyn would not be the best due to his opponent's water affinity. Still, he wanted the battle over as soon as possible so he could reclaim that moment he had lost.

"Alright Cyn, use ember." Eric said, watching as his fire type walked towards the opposing Surskit. With a mighty albeit tiny roar Cyn sent out a trail of embers from his throat that burned his opponent. 

Surskit shuddered from the attack but returned with her own, using bubble. The bubbles would seem to float gently through the air before popping on Cyn's skin, causing quite a bit of damage as evident by the way his pokemon screamed in pain. "Another ember, Cyn, we aren't out yet." Eric commanded.

As his called attack his the Surskit again it became clear the battle was close to over. Eric gritted his teeth, awaiting another bubble attack to severely damage his pokemon. When Surskit seemed to become a blur as he used quick attack it took both him and Cyn by surprise.

Knocked back the fire type quickly righted himself, brushing off his face of the dirt he had accumulated from his fall. "Another ember, finish it." Eric said with a curt nod towards his pokemon, ready for the battle to be over. 

And with that attack the battle was over. The fire attack quickly fainted his opponent, once again leaving the team in the relative silence of the cave.

---

@tagname wc: 460

Eric has sank back down to his spot on the cool cave floor once the battle was over, enjoying the chilling feeling of the ground floor seeping through his jeans. He had been in the cool area for awhile but the heat of the day still bothered him, his skin turning a faint shade of red as a burn really began to set into the exposed skin that had toasted under the sun on the long bike ride here. Running his hands over the inflamed skin made Eric frown and already dread getting home.

The option of an uber was always on the table but the ability to juggle money to pay for said ride was iffy. For now Eric was content to ignore the difficult choice he had on returning home. It was then that a Heracross scuttled towards them from a rock outcrop nearby.

The odd bug like pokemon simply walked past the group and dipped his face into the pooling water beneath the falls, lapping at the cold water. Eric couldn't help but smile at the pokemon who seemed so out of place in the cave. Had he just come from the outside and was hoping for some relief in the cool water?

Eric caught the eye of his two pokemon, both looking at him and the pokemon with curios expressions. Eric found himself shrugging, "What'cha gonna do? Poor thing is thirsty, let's leave him be." Eric said finally, laying back down on the floor of the cave and closing his eyes. The slick rocks were calming on his inflamed skin and for a moment he considered spending the night here, despite the lack of supplies.

---

@tagname wc: 279