After watching Rika scoop Poppy up and hurry away, Qingyu felt a little regretful, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.
Missing out on a promising talent like Poppy was a shame, but Steel types were not his specialty anyway. The suggestions he could offer were nothing more than unremarkable choices like Grass-Steel Pokémon, Skarmory, and Scizor.
Poppy certainly had some skill at only eight years old, but to Qingyu, she was still far too wholesome. There was room for improvement.
Wait... weren't there quite a few Forretress out in the wild in Paldea, too?
How did I forget that one? Come to think of it, that Pokémon has some pretty diabolical uses in battle...
Not only could Forretress set all three kinds of entry hazards, but they also had plenty of support moves. After serving their purpose, they could use Self-Destruct to exit the field and further wear down the opposing team. That could leave a serious psychological scar on an opponent encountering the strategy for the first time.
If Qingyu were teaching her, he felt Poppy would soon master these Pokémon with their "distinctive Paldean flavor."
Unfortunately, he was not allowed to teach her.
Rika had already taken her away, so Qingyu could only put his clever little ideas aside and head back to the Sunshine Gym.
Poppy's challenge had been an unexpected detour. The most important gain of the day was, of course-
Chairwoman Geeta had suddenly singled him out to temporarily fill a vacant Elite Four seat during the upcoming summer vacation, making him an acting member of Paldea's Elite Four.
As it happened, Qingyu had also been worrying that he had never really had many opportunities to give his main Pokémon some battle practice.
It had even led him to seriously misjudge Lucario's strength.