The New Adventures of Raptor Trainer

Setbacks

{One more time! Hit 'em with Aerial Ace!}

It turned out there were a couple of Trainers past the graveyard, and I found myself battling one that'd spotted me in the field, and he sent out a sturdy Hariyama as his fighter. Little did he know that I had two Flying-Types to use against him, and the next thing we each knew, Red had struck once, then twice, and the enemy fell to the ground in defeat. The opposing Trainer returned his Pokémon, then congratulated my win.

"Ha! You played that battle well! GG for short!" he told me. "Though if you're on your way to battle the Island Kahuna, I advise that you be careful when using Flying-Types against her. You can hit her Rock-Types with super-effective moves, but they can do the same right back! And they're pretty burly to boot!"

{I have that kept in mind,} I assured him. {I do have an Eevee and a Tyrunt on the team too, so they should balance things out well enough.}

"Tyrunt, you say? Well, well...Fighting Rock with Rock. Sounds like a battle! Good luck to you!"

I nodded, then weaved back through the beaten path among the grass to where Hau had battled someone else. Judging by the huge grin on his face, I guessed that it'd gone pretty well for him, too.

{Did you win?}

"Heck yeah, I did! That guy had a pretty scary-lookin' Gyarados, but all Raichu had to give 'em was one Thunderbolt and it was down! And his Staryu was no problem...We weren't even scratched!"

{Raichu...?}

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Didn't tell you 'bout that, yet," he remembered, extracting a Poké Ball. "Well, I'm about to! Come on back out, Raichu!"

His Pokémon materialized before him, and it turned out to be, quite obviously, the evolved form of his Pikachu. It hovered in midair, sitting on the flat end of its tail and staring up at me with its round, blue eyes. It'd come a long way from the little Pichu I'd first encountered it as.

"Chu..." it squeaked, clenching its tiny fists in attempt to impress me.

{Yeah, you remember me, don't you?} I snickered. {But you're not so scared of me anymore, huh?}

"N'aw, he ain't," Hau nodded. "Hey, check this out?"

I nodded, and Hau bent down to face the Electric-Type Pokémon, reached his hand out and gently rubbed one of its bright yellow cheeks.

Instantly, I detected a scent coming from that spot. I stepped closer to better analyze the aroma, and it turned out to smell something like...

{...How many Malasadas have you been feeding your Pokémon, Hau?}

He snorted, then chuckled.

"That's not malasada you're smellin', pal," he corrected lightly, still overcome with giggles. "That's a pile of maple syrup-drenched buttermilk batter that's been pan-fried to perfection and stacked as high as Mount Lanakila, is what it is. Wafting out right from Raichu's cheeks."

{...A what?}

"You don't know what pancakes are!? Aw man, you really missed out back at your old place, didn't you...? Why don't we all go out for breakfast one of these days and I'll show ya? They're not exactly malasadas, but they come in a close second for me!"

{Sounds delicious...} I nodded, intrigued by the idea. {Tomorrow, maybe?}

"Sure thing! I got time!"