After the screaming stopped, April turned her attention back to her lunch. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. April wouldn't let the day be ruined by one random freak and her hellspawn. With a little smile, she slid a piece of fish to Nero and handed Meta another rice ball. "Tasty? Eat up guys, there's lots more!" she said in a sing-song voice, sliding the complimentary pair of chopsticks out of their wrapper and snagging a piece of salmon for herself. It wasn't bad for ready-made department store fare. A smile showed on her face as the trio ate in silence, watching the fountain spew water and the trees sway in the afternoon breeze. More people had started to congregate now that the sun had risen higher in the sky. April scooted over to make room for a girl and her younger brother, smiling at the two kids as she chewed on a piece of sushi. [break][break]

She was lost in her thoughts, gazing at the fountain pensively. The water splish-splashed on the smooth stones below, and it was all April could focus on. Her hand hovered in front of her face, chopsticks still grasping a small rice ball. Darting forward, Meta snatched the rice ball and flew to her perch on the back of the stone bench. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Nero and the Cyndaquil shot her a menacing glare. How dare the newcomer get more food than him! With a growl, he tackled the Zubat with all his might, sending her tumbling backwards off the bench. The rice ball rolled a few yards out, and both pokemon gave each other a hard stare before they both dashed after it. [break][break]

"Huh?" as the empty chopsticks collided with April's waiting lips, her eyes narrowed in anger. "You two brats! Come back with my lunch!" abandoning the rest of the perfectly good food, the trainer set off to find her pair of thieving pokemon. When she finally found them, they were along one of the stone paths, between two hedges full of beautiful flowers in full bloom. The rice ball lay on the ground, at the feet of a hulking blue pokemon. The female Nidoran smirked at Nero and Meta and made sure to lock eyes with the former as she gobbled up the stray rice ball. It was the last straw. Without waiting for April to issue an order, Meta flew forward at a rapid pace. She was buffeted a bit by the breeze, but her aim was dead-on as she divebombed the Nidoran. [break][break]

Nidoran didn't have time to dodge. She was still chewing her food as Meta struck, astonishing her and making her flinch. She wasn't one to back down from a fight, and if this puny zubat wanted to go then so be it. ...but first she had to swallow. [break][break]

"What are you...?" it always took April a few moments to realize there was a battle happening. The wheels turned in her head as she watched her Zubat emit a piercing cry, supersonic waves radiating from her toward Nidoran. The air around Nidoran distorted slightly, and the ringing in her ears made it hard to focus on the fight. She was finally done eating her prize, and she squinted to try to center her thoughts. A few Zubats hovered in the air idly in front of her. Deciding it didn't matter, she picked one at random. Needles on her back began to bristle and fill with poison. She fired a few at the copy she picked, and fortunately for her she'd guessed correct. Meta's wings flapped as she lifted herself higher into the air, wheeling around and trying to dodge the onslaught of poison sting. It was to no avail and the needles found a home embedded in her soft flesh. [break][break]

"We're fighting, aren't we?" there it was. The lightbulb had finally gone off. A glazed-over look adorned April's face as she replayed the battle in her mind. "Right. Um, use astonish! Sneak up from behind!" the mere mention of a tactic completely invalidated it. If Meta could facepalm she would. Shaking off her trainer's stupid gameplan, she circled Nidoran slowly, trying to find the right time to strike. Nero, bored of the battle, lumbered toward April to beg for more food. This was it! Nidoran's attention shifted from Meta to Nero, and in a split-second Meta attacked. Letting out a piercing shriek, she divebombed the poison-type. [break][break]

With quick reflexes, Nidoran's back leg jutted out as she tumbled backwards, striking Meta in return. The bat screeched in pain as she was nailed twice in the stomach and recoiled away from her attacker. But she wasn't done, no. Again she didn't wait for an order from April, and lifted higher into the air. Then she folded her wings in and divebombed once more, sinking her fangs into Nidoran's flank. She absorbed energy from her foe, feeling health return in waves. It felt so damn nice she didn't ever want to stop. [break][break]

Exhausted, confused and with a full belly, the Nidoran could fight no more. She knew Meta was attached to her somewhere, but in her confused state couldn't quite make her out. She tried to strike with another double kick but ended up hitting the ground instead. Finally expended of energy, she collapsed. Chest heaving, Meta finally released her foe and flew to April, gazing back at her handiwork. Not bad for her first battle. [break][break]

"Right," April said blandly, unsure of what to do next. Her stomach answered for her. It rumbled as she opened her mouth to speak, and her words turned into a fit of laughter. Hand clamped over her mouth, she continued to giggle as she walked back to her lunch.

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With lunch out of the way, April pillowed her arms behind her head and relaxed on the bench. "Aahhh, that was tasty! Right guys?" even her voice felt fat. Gaze shifted to Nero and Meta, and she let out a chuckle as the two squared off for the last piece of fish. "It's not like either of you are starving to death!" she laughed, letting her eyes flutter shut. Before returning to her lunch, she'd been sure to tend to Meta's wounds with one of the potions she carried. The antiseptic spray had revitalized the Zubat, returning the metaphorical bounce to her step. [break][break]

April's face relaxed into a smile, one eye opening slightly to peep at her pokemon. Nero had won the battle of the fish and had inhaled it as quick as he could. Sticking his tongue out at Meta, he lumbered closer to April and curled up on her lap with a heavy, contented sigh. Zubat hesitated. Part of her wanted to join the girl and Cyndaquil, but she resisted. Fluttering up to her perch on the back of the bench, Meta allowed her eyes to close as she wrapped her wings tightly around her body. The sunlight was a little too bright for her tastes, but she'd endure. [break][break]

Time seemed to stand still as the trio dozed, lulled to sleep by the sun's warming rays. A gentle breeze swept through the park, playing melodies in the treetops as the leaves rustled a tune. A small trail of drool oozed out of April's slightly open mouth. She was fast asleep with Nero snoring slightly in her lap. The little Cyndaquil was on his back now, legs splayed to the sides as his chest rose and fell rhythmically. Despite her best efforts, Meta couldn't sleep. The Zubat let out a yawn, regarding her trainer and the Cyndaquil with a look of curiosity. The two weren't so bad, she decided. [break][break]

A small strangled noise shattered the peaceful afternoon silence. Meta's ears swiveled in the direction of the sound, and she lifted into the air to investigate. The fluttering of her wings roused Nero from his slumber, and in turn the Cyndaquil's sleepy movements woke April. The girl yawned, stretching her arms into the air until her elbows cracked. "Gosh, I must have dozed off," she said with another yawn. Nero ignored her, landing on the ground gracefully and trailing behind Meta. April blinked a few times, chasing the sleep from her eyes, and gazed after the pair. "Where are you off to now?" one final yawn escaped her as she followed them through the lush grass. [break][break]

Finally, she caught up to them. She let out a huff, stopping to catch her breath after expending so much energy so soon after waking. Her eyes came to rest on a Kakuna suspended from a branch. It was making the most god-awful noise, and Meta was flying circles around it curiously. "What do you think it wants?" April asked, unable to keep the bite out of her tone. Meta didn't answer, swooping closer to the wild pokemon and letting out an experimental supersonic. [break][break]

That seemed to piss it off. Its mouth opened and it spun more of the sticky web it was suspended from. Thousands of glittering strings surged through the air at Meta, attaching to her wings. It was harder for her to fly with this gunk constricting her movements, and she let out a cry of rage. April bit her lip and tried not to laugh at the sight of her poor Zubat covered by silver threads. "I'm sorry, Meta. Use Astonish on it, let's see if we can take it out quickly before we leave," the trainer didn't really want to battle again, but she knew Meta well enough by now to know the bat would want revenge. Without missing a beat, Meta's wings flapped as best they could, lifting her into the sky. She divebombed the Kakuna fiercely, sinking her fangs into its tough outer shell. [break][break]

Kakuna was a relatively immobile pokemon with little hope of dodging. Although it could sway from side to side, it was suspended from the tree by a strong string shot. On instinct, its body stiffened in hopes of mitigating some of Zubat's damage. This time, Meta didn't wait for April to give her an order. Reckless Zubat let out another wave of supersonic energy, attempting to fight one obnoxious noise with another. This seemed to work as Kakuna's gentle swaying became erratic. It spun in circles from its tether, helplessly confused. [break][break]

"You could've waited," April mumbled, one hand on her hip. Dark eyes watched as Kakuna rammed itself into the tree trunk in its confusion. Alarmed, its body stiffened once more. Small noxious needles rose from under its shell, firing in all directions. The spray and pray method was all it had left in its arsenal, and Meta uttered a noise of annoyance as several toxic pins struck her. Still constricted by sticky silver threads, she was having trouble maneuvering around the poison sting attack. April bit her lip again. She knew Meta was a poison-type and would be able to brush the attack off easily, but the thought of being stabbed by a bunch of needles still sent a shiver down her spine. "Let's finish this! Astonish again!" [break][break]

Meta's ears wiggled as she acknowledged April's command. She'd managed to shed most of the strings tangled around her wings, and deftly she zipped around above Kakuna. She enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and loved seeing the look on her foe's face right before she delivered the final blow. After circling a few times, her wings folded against her sides and she dived, striking Kakuna hard and pinning it against the tree's thick trunk. It was too much for the lower-leveled pokemon to handle. Its tether snapped and it dropped to the ground, defeated. [break][break]

April beamed, wading through the knee-high grass toward the victorious bat. "Hey, you did a great job," she held her arm out experimentally to Meta, who hesitated before landing on her trainer. Nero padded over to the pair, bored and hungry again. His eyes narrowed jealously as his trainer lavished Meta with praise. The Cyndaquil wrapped around her legs, rubbing his scent into her boots. "What do you say we find some ice cream?" the girl said to them both, glancing in the direction of the park's entrance. "I know a little stall I'd like to visit..."

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April decided on one ice cream cone and a small dish of vanilla for Nero and Meta to share. The day was winding down and people were starting to leave as the sun sank lower in the sky. It was still a nice day, and if she was perfectly honest April preferred the evening. She loved the cooler temperatures and the colors the lit up the sky. The trio retreated to the northeastern exit, hanging around the hedge maze as April quickly sketched a few things. [break][break]

Nero was atop her shoulder as she worked, the Cyndaquil dozing lazily and constricting her movements slightly. April didn't seem to mind though and smiled gently at her beloved Cyndaquil. The bush she was drawing was an impressive topiary in the shape of a persian-- the trio had stopped to admire it on the way out of the park and April was compelled to immortalize it in her sketchbook. It had been awhile since she'd had the time to draw anyway. [break][break]

Meta buzzed around the bush, excited for the upcoming dusk. Daytime always sapped her energy a bit, but nighttime was where she really shined. She let the cool breeze lift her higher into the air, soaring around the persian-shaped topiary and into the hedge maze. There were a few others like the persian, but that one seemed to be the crown jewel of the park. Her large purple ears suddenly rotated toward the leafy feline, hearing a noise from within. Flying back to April's side, she nimbly darted in the bush to see what was up. [break][break]

"Hey! Meta! Don't destroy it!" April scolded, setting down her sketchbook and bounding after her Zubat. As she did so, she came face to face with two large red eyes. They flashed white at her, and April nearly fell backwards onto her ass she was so startled. "Oof! What the hell?!" [break][break]

Venonat and Meta emerged from the belly of the persian bush, squaring off in what was about to be the third battle of the day. Meta had rested and felt much better with a stomach full of delicious ice cream, and the fall of dusk made her frisky. She let out an experimental supersonic, attempting to confuse venonat. The gnat seemed unphased, hopping from one foot to the other before lunging for Meta with a flying tackle. A quick reaction from the speedy Zubat managed to mostly avoid the attack, but it clipped her left wing and sent her into a backwards spiral through the air. [break][break]

"Stop fooling around, Meta!" April let out a sigh. Annoyed that her drawing time was interrupted, she wanted the battle over quickly. The Venonat didn't seem like too big of a threat, but she'd been wrong before. "Use astonish!" [break][break]

Attempting to right herself in the air, Zubat wheeled higher and swerved up and down, picking the right moment to divebomb. She saw an opening when Venonat turned slightly, speeding towards her foe and striking it in the side. Eyes glowed white, and suddenly Meta felt her head swirl with strange colors and thoughts. She let out a screech of pain, landing on the ground momentarily. [break][break]

"What the hell?" April called to her Zubat, rousing Nero from his slumber. The Cyndaquil hopped off her shoulder and padded over to Meta. With a look of concern, he nuzzled the Zubat, making sure she was ok. She attempted to shake it off, lifting back into the air. Her flight was wobbly, and she struggled to steady herself. April shook her head. "Meta that's enough! Let Nero finish this, ok? You've had a long day. Please come back," the trainer offered an extended arm to the Zubat. Meta scoffed. With a glance at the Venonat, she let out a hiss and flew instead to the persian topiary for a rest. April sighed. It was going to be tough to win over the poisonous bat, but she'd befriend her even if it took a million years. "Nero, use flamethrower. I want to get going," it was hard to keep the sadness out of her voice as she stole a glance at Meta. [break][break]

Nero nodded. The flames on his back roared to life and he spewed a torrent of fire at Venonat. He was careful not to scorch the beautiful persian-shaped bush, knowing it would earn him a scolding from his trainer. The flames circled Venonat for several moments, super-effective. When the flames finally dissipated it was all over. Venonat lay on the ground motionless, still slightly ablaze. Victorious Cyndaquil let out a small puff of smoke and retreated to April's shadow. [break][break]

Dipping her hand into her bag for Meta's purple-stickered pokeball, she recalled the Zubat to the safety within with a promise to heal her at a pokecenter soon. She picked up her art supplies and made her way wordlessly to the park's exit, Nero bounding close behind.

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