The New Adventures of Raptor Trainer

Strengthening Bonds

Considering that it was the Malasada Shop, I should have expected to see Hau sitting at one of the tables.

"Hey, yo, Echo! How'd the trial turn out!?"

{It went well; I brought Sassafras here for a victory Malasada.}

I'd let her outside her Poké Ball before we went in, and she stood here beside me, silent, and not making any eye contact with anyone.

"Ooh neat, a Salandit! 'Sassafras,' huh? Cool nickname!"

{I thought it reflected her personality pretty well...At the time at least. She's acting a little strange now.}

I thought that she was so quiet and reserved all of a sudden because she was tired from the battles we had earlier, but when I bent down and looked just a little closer, I saw a bit more than just fatigue. She seemed...bothered by something.

{What's on your mind?}

"Crrr..."

She refrained from looking me in the eye, and suddenly found the floor very interesting.

{Come on, Sassafras. A malasada will do you some good.}

I placed an order for three Malasadas; two dry and one sour, and I sat at Hau's table, closer to the entrance. My Salandit was still outside of her ball, and curled up in the seat beside me, a thoughtful look in her normally peering, mischievous eyes.

{What'd you do while we were in the volcano park?}

"I tried out the Battle Royal Dome, and OH, BOY, is it intense! Brionne and I just BARELY won after THREE fights! That Gladion guy showed up there again to train his weird Null Pokémon, or whatever it is...I swear, it's like someone just took a bunch o' different Pokémon pieces and stuck 'em all together to make that thing. It ain't natural, I swear. At least he had the mind to come congratulate us when everything was said and done. He said somethin' like, 'So, finally taking this stuff seriously, huh? Keep it up and maybe you'll finally win some more.' Or...something like that...So, the trial went well, you said?"

{Kiawe's team of Marowak can really bust a move. So can the Totem Salazzle, apparently. But Grace and Sassafras showed everyone who was boss by the end of it all. She might be sly but she's got the skills, right girl?}

"Srrr, lan..."

She looked up and nodded, still seeming a bit reclusive.

{What's the matter, Sassafras?} I asked her again. I was starting to get concerned. {Do you feel okay?}

She nodded, then sat up, but still refused to say anything else. I tapped a claw against my chin. What to do about this...

I would have kept thinking if the waiter hadn't arrived with my order just seconds later.

"Three Malasadas! Two dry and one sour!"

{Thanks for that.} I chittered with a grateful nod.

I released the rest of my Pokémon, then divided the three Malasadas among me and the pack. I held up the two remaining pieces to Sassafras once the rest had been divvied up.

{Which flavor do you want? Dry or sour?}

She answered by taking hold of the dry piece in her jaws...surprisingly gently, and she held it in her slippery hands as she ate it. Grace munched on a piece of dry Malasada, and my two avian Pokémon worked on two of the sour pieces. Once he was finished, Red gave a bit of critique.