The New Adventures of Raptor Trainer

Quite the Grand Trial

{How long's it been since we got here, Rotom?}

"Pushing twenty minutezzz. If they still haven't found us, I don't think those guyzzz are gonna be coming back anytime soon!"

I hoped he was right. It only took a few moments to heal our Pokémon at the front counter, and now we were all sitting at the café, waiting for the grunts to storm in. But they never came; perhaps the place we chose to hide was so obvious to them that they'd assumed we hadn't chosen such an obvious spot, and had gone to look elsewhere. But thinking about it that way, the irony of the situation was what made it so genius.

"In that case, It's probably safe to leave at this point and make our way back to Iki Town," Ilima commented, casually taking a sip of the lemonade he'd ordered from the café. "I'm sure the Kahuna will be pleased to hear about your victory."

{I'll have Dartrix take a peek outside and give us the signal; just in case.}

I called my starter out of his Poké Ball and gave him the order.

"Krrrroo," he responded, coolly and compliantly. He'd seemed to have calmed down a bit ever since he'd evolved...Maybe he'd been storing all of the energy I'd seen accumulate within him as a Rowlet so he could use it to obtain his new, stronger form.

Dartrix went through the automatic doors, then returned less than a minute later and gave us a nod and a smile.

"Guess it's safe! Let'zzz head out now before those thugs change their minds!" Rotom buzzed.

I didn't bother returning my starter to his spherical confines; he seemed pleased to simply fly above us as we made our way back down the road towards the outskirts. It wasn't long before we were entering through the Iki Town gates once again, and I let out a bark to announce my presence to the villagers.

"Hey, bud! Over here!"

Hau waved me down and ran over, an excited smile on his face.

"Wow...Almost didn't recognize you at first, with that new getup. Ya don't look half bad in pink, y'know?"

{Well, you know...It just sorta found its way onto me,} I shrugged.

"But anyway, you wanna see somethin' awesome?"

I nodded, and he held a Poké Ball in his hand...When he raised his arm, I noticed the cloth bandages wrapped around it; they looked eerily similar to the ones I had wrapped around me before.

"Hey, hey, Echo, it's okay...Trust me, it's not as bad as it looked," he reassured me. "I promise. Besides, that ain't what I wanted to show you. Wanna see what I got?"

I nodded lightly, deciding he was right, and Hau tossed his Poké Ball to release what was inside. What came out wasn't his Popplio, rather a Pichu; I recognized the species from when I battled against it earlier.

"...Chu?" it squeaked, rubbing its tired eyes. When it opened them and looked up at me, though, they shot right open. The Pichu squealed in terror, then hid behind Hau.

"Found this little guy just outside the gate. He looked pretty beat up, so I took him in to heal him and he stuck to me like glue. Figured I might as well make him the latest addition to the team, you know? Plus, Popplio has a new playmate!"

The Pichu peeked out from behind his trainer, its horrified gaze flashing recollection.

{Rotom, you don't think that's the same Pichu we fought earlier, is it?}

"Zzt! It just might be! It does look sort of familiar!"

"What, have you seen this one before?"