It wasn't long before the path they travelled opened into a clearing atop the steep hill. A few wildflowers dotted the landscape, and a gentle breeze made the trees sway in the dim light. A small smile crept across April's face as she finally felt at home for the first time in a very long time. Wordlessly she nudged Nero awake. The Cyndaquil let out a small, angry noise and flipped over, determined to sleep. Chuckling, April carefully scooped him up with her free hand and deposited him onto the ground. [break][break]

"Look at the sunset, Nero. I used to come up here all the time and just think," her voice was barely above a whisper. If Nero heard her he gave no indication, instead letting out a yawn and curling up in the grass. She laughed again. "Fine. You keep watch, I'm going to set my things up," she let the orange canvas bag that held her supplies slump to the ground. Dark eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for a place to sit. Large rocks jutted up from the earth in random places, making perfect natural seating. Finding one that suited her needs, April reached into her bag to find her sketchbook. [break][break]

Propping her sketchbook open on her lap, her hand slipped into the bag once more for the small box of colored pencils she carried with her. "You know, I'm really glad we got out of the city," April's voice wavered a bit as she spoke, "I really needed this. I've been in cities for too long," she cast her gaze toward Nero, but he wasn't where she'd left him. Instead, his back blazed with flames as he investigated something lurking in the grass. [break][break]

"What is it?" abandoning her work for now, April cautiously stood and crept closer to her pokemon. Perched atop a medium-sized boulder was a tiny zubat, the tiniest one she'd ever seen. It hissed as she drew closer, and she could see it was visibly shaking. "Awww! You poor thing. Are you all right?" April cooed, reaching a finger out to the frightened bat. With a hiss, the wild pokemon sank its teeth into her finger and then lifted into the air. "It's a fight you want, then? I mean, ok I guess," a small part of April was crushed by the fact the wild pokemon didn't want to be her friend. Something about the night seemed magical, something out of a disney musical. For once she wanted to be Ariel and make friends with all the critters, but reality was much harsher than the movies. "Nero, get ready. Use flamethrower," the command was half-hearted, and April let out a heavy sigh. [break][break]

Nero didn't share her sentiments. For once he was wide awake and ready to fight. His eyes glowed white as his body heated, and finally he let out a blast of flames from his mouth. Although Zubat was nimble, the flames proved too fast for it to avoid. Wheeling through the air, it put on a fiery show for both trainer and pokemon. The flames finally died down and when they did, Zubat was gone. April blinked a few times, scanning the horizon for their foe. [break][break]

"Where did it go?" as soon as the words escaped her lips, she saw it. Divebombing Nero from behind, the zubat struck with a surprise attack. Nero let out a yelp and rolled to the side, digging his claws into the dirt to stop his momentum. His chest heaved from both adrenaline and fatigue. "You ok?" April couldn't keep the concern out of her voice as she inched closer. Nero gave his trainer a nod and growled. "That's my boy. Can you try a swift?" [break][break]

Although he was a bit dazed from zubat's astonish, Nero nodded. His eyes glowed again, and small gold stars materialized from the chilly night air. They raced toward zubat, unavoidable even as it flew as high as it could. Exhausted, it's wings flapped frantically, higher and higher until they could take no more. All at once the poison-type plummeted back to earth and landed in front of April with a thud.
[break][break]

A few moments passed, and the trainer was unsure of what to do. Finally, it clicked. "Oh right. A pokeball! I think I have one of those..." jogging back to where she'd left her things, April fished around inside the orange bag for a pokeball. She tossed it unceremoniously at the fallen zubat and crossed her fingers it would stay inside.