of course, nero didn't listen to her. from the shadows, a taller form lumbered over the baby dragon, its snout creasing into a fine snarl, embers drooling from its teeth. 

oh. this wasn't good.

before nero could make things worse, the pinkette quickly tottered over, grasping his heavy body by his front legs, if just to drag him backwards. "uh, sorry for bothering you! do you happen to know kyle lopez , by the way?" 

the dog just continued to glower at her.

"Right, right - uh...sorry? go back to doing your dog things then, i'll send kyle your regards!" of course, she truly believed that kyle knew about every dog within this region. he did have a whole horde of them, after all.

nero continued to snarl at the houndoom, his voice, and insults, muffled by his trainer covering his trembling lips as she dragged him away with little effort.

"behave." the pinkette scolded after they were far away enough from the foul tempered dog. the deino only huffed, idly kicking at a rock on the ground. "challenging everything that moves to a fight isn't the only way to grow big and strong, you know? one day, you'll be as strong as mateo's dragonite - i know you will! we just have to take it one step at a time, okay? and you have to let me help you-" before she could continue, the deino had scoffed and stomped off.

noelle only sighed.

"kids." 

skipped over the houndoom, on to the next

Nearly out of the fiery, smoldering cavern, the trip was made even longer by her deino becoming utterly heat exhausted, yet, still insisted staying out of his pokeball like a little kid. And so, in a rather impressive feat of strength as well, the pinkette hauled his heavy butt upwards, cradling him like a child, much to his embarrassment. Nero didn't object though, especially when she managed to convince him that he was 'watching her flank'. And so, this was how the two traveled.

Within ten minutes, the usually rough dragon was fast asleep, nestled into her shoulder. It was a cute sight, honestly. If anything, it made her even more determined to forge a genuine bond with the troublemaker.

Not paying attention to where she was heading within the dark tunnel, a sharp hiss soon hit her ears as she stepped upon the tail of something. "O-oh, uh, sorry!" She was quick to apologize as she was met with a sharp glower. In her arms, the deino roused, looking over his shoulder to glower at the fuming feline. Fire dripped from the cat's teeth as a warning, a possible fire fang within the making. having none of it, nero jumped from her arms, his short temper already snapped, and a possible protective side showing as his teeth latched onto the feline's face in a relentless bite. The feline roared, shaking its head and trying to get the dragon to let go.

not one for battling, noelle was...at a lost for what to do. thankfully, nero seemed to have it under control. letting go and dropping to all fours, a swell of mystical energy cloaked his body as he dashed forward. the dragon rush hit the feline in the throat with enough force to send it sprawling backwards. realizing the strength the baby dragon possessed, it, surprisingly, backed off, retreating into the depths of the cavern.

"did you just protect me?" noelle commented with a smug smile. nero only scoffed, head tilted upwards in a cocky gesture as he ignored her question and trotted on ahead.

Light began to trickle into the scorching cavern, promising the nearness of an exit. Nero, still a bit grumpy but awake, trotted near her side. Funnily enough, the deino occasionally paused every so often, if just to look back at her to make sure she was both still there and okay. Despite his extremely rough outside, the pokemon really was sweethearted. She felt his emotions more genuine than he did himself - if only she could make him realize this.

as they neared the opening, a beast stood tall, as though guarding the exit. a nidoqueen, who looked a bit more aggravated than usual. the typically mellow-natured pokemon stalked back and forth, its head whipping around to stare down the trainer. it was clear what that aggressive gaze said; find another exit.

unfortunately, even noelle could agree, that wasn't a possibility. there was no way she was going to turn around and walk back to the entrance. "nero?" she called out to her dragon. he looked up at her with a soft growl. a feeling of understanding and a desire to protect and please; he was, for once, listening to her with the sync that a dragon and its tamer should have.

always a bit wary with battling due to her own lack of 'proper' skill with it, an image of mateo and what he would do popped up in her mind. "okay...okay, yeah! let's do this!" pumping herself up, she pointed a finger forward, "dragon rush!" bathed in a mystical blue energy, the dragon charged forward. in a considerable feat of strength, he managed to push back the larger, heavier pokemon, but, was soon grabbed. unable to escape the nidoqueen's clutches, noelle's heart sank slightly. she messed up.

a superpower was used on the dark dragon that grinds his body into the ground beneath, a hand held to his throat to prevent him from getting up. 'think, think...ah, got it!' "hyper voice!" a screech erupted from nero's throat, loud enough at such a close range that it made the nidoqueen recoil, holding its ears with an estranged cry. "body slam it to the wall," if he was too small to do any real damage, they had to be a bit creative. and so, with enormous effort, the dragon chucked himself at the poison/ground type. the wild pokemon was slammed into the wall with enough force that the cavern rattled, its back denting and cracking the wall. the force was enough to knock it out.

"we...did it!" the happy cheer left her lips with a victorious shout. nero huffed, lifting his head upwards in a soft of 'cool' pose. until it was promptly ruined by noelle picking him up and spinning him around. "my little baby is getting stronger!" she cooed, and was rewarded with a bite to the face. not that it stopped her from coddling him any. he had no choice but to accept them.