Chapter 765: Route 06
Petals scattered through the air as tropical drumbeats and music drifted about.
In the Alola Region, the year's final Island Challenge was about to begin.
Compared with the T3 Races held four times a year, the thrice-yearly Island Challenge drew more attention in the Alola Region.
It wasn't simply because fewer events made it more of a rarity.
People watched T3 Races for fun, to see which rookie Pokémon Trainers would make their mark that year.
The Island Challenge was different. It determined the candidates for each island's captains.
Only those who passed all the island Battle Assessments, then passed the Island Kahunas' random assessments and earned the Island Challenge Proof, qualified to become captains.
Unlike the honor and wealth sought by Professional Pokémon Trainers, entering the Island Challenge with the goal of becoming a captain showed that these boys and girls had a sense of responsibility and commitment, that they wanted to contribute to the Alola Region's peace and Pokémon ecology.
There was no age restriction for entering the Island Challenge, but only boys and girls under twenty could serve as captains, so eighty percent of the trial-goers were between ten and twenty.
"There aren't actually going to be ten-year-olds here, are there?"
In the Trial-takers' preparation room, Shen Qi looked around.
The protagonists in anime and games who fought their way to League Champion were only ten or a little older. Geniuses like that were extremely rare in reality.
After looking around, Shen Qi estimated that even the youngest here was probably fourteen or fifteen.
Since he had registered in Hau'oli City, Shen Qi's Island Challenge began at Verdant Cavern on Melemele Island.
There were 139 Trial-takers starting on Melemele Island, already a fairly large number among the four islands.
Poni Island had a