A Third-Year Class student, Taichi, Koji, and Shen Qi. That lineup really was a little sad.
Xiao Chun could compete too. They could indeed scrape together three Dining Friends whose strength was on par with his, but... the lineup was still too pathetic.
"Oh, and there's Little Reporter, a First-Year Class student about to move up to Second-Year Class. She's a Pokémon Trainer with a pretty solid foundation too. At least, she's a lot stronger than me."
Little Reporter...
Shen Qi had almost forgotten about her.
In terms of experience, Little Reporter had an impressive résumé. She had worked as an artist at the shrine in Qibo Bay on Island 2. Later, with the shrine's recommendation, she had worked in something like the Publicity Department at the Saffron Gym during middle school, receiving some training there as well.
Those two experiences alone would count as a very good foundation even on the Kanto mainland. Hers was the sort of résumé that would catch people's eyes, and she was only a high school student.
But Little Reporter's problem... was that "there was something wrong with her head."
Shen Qi knew Little Reporter had more Pokémon than just an Emolga. She had mentioned other partners who were still helping out at Qibo Shrine. There weren't many, and he hadn't heard that they were particularly strong.
"But she opened Energy Chakras for a dozen or so types in First-Year Class."
The Saffron Gym had a strict requirement: students at the middle school stage had to open Chakras for every type and proficiently master Energy Coordination for more than five types before they could stay on.
Little Reporter had been nowhere near meeting the Saffron Gym's requirements. After returning to Island 6, she had brought her Type Energy Perception up to fourteen types. Combined