He knows Pokémon better than me.

Soon, the disciple selection competition began in the open space in front of the Armor Island Station.

The rules of the competition are simple and straightforward: release a Pokémon and the battle begins immediately.

"Tibrim, use Magic Leaf!"

Marie's first opponent was a Psychic-type Pokémon whose light blue braids on either side of its head were as flexible as its hands, whipping out countless sharp flying leaves.

"Morbeko, use the Aura Wheel!"

Morpeko leaped into the air, and its normally normal electric mouse skin suddenly turned into an evil blackish-purple.

Zizzi——!
Blue lightning, shaped like a hamster wheel, condensed in mid-air and swept through the air, smashing all the magical leaves that came its way.

Finally, Tibrim was slammed into the ground, and the battle was decided on the spot.

Outstanding effect!

"Moreu!!"

Despite the initial success, Morubek still had red eyes and was jumping around agitatedly in place.

Having just witnessed Pikachu's battle against Galarian Moltres, Morpeko felt a sense of "If I train hard, I can be as awesome as Pikachu."

"It should be pretty easy, right?"

Xiao Zhi stood by, holding the back of his head, watching. These disciple candidates all had some skills, but that was all they had.

With Mary's abilities, securing the sole disciple spot shouldn't be a problem.

I simply took out my phone and sent a message of condolence to Master Ma. I hadn't informed him of my sudden trip to Kai Island.

After a round, during the short break, one of the two people in charge finally noticed Xiao Zhi.

"Huh!? Mr. Ash!! What are you doing on our Isle of Armor?!"

Clara rushed over in surprise; she was the one who had gone to Pallet New Town to deliver the watchtower property deed.

"Hey, it's been a long time, Clara."

Xiao Zhi greeted him in return, and upon getting closer, he could smell the other person's strong, pungent perfume, which smelled rather strange.

Is it permissible to wear heavy makeup and strong-smelling perfume while training at Master Ma's martial arts school?

On the other side, Saiboli also came over, and his previously arrogant expression became much less haughty.

"So you're Mr. Ash Ketchum. My name is Saibaoli, I've heard so much about you!"

When Master Ma arranged for the two men to deliver the property certificate in the Kanto region, they had both seen Xiao Zhi's information.

He's an incredibly ruthless person!

But what interests Saibaoli even more is Ash's psychic power!

According to the information, Ash, like him, also possesses superpowers.

His superpowers are limited to using telekinesis to move small stones or empty Poké Balls; they are completely useless in battle.

"By the way, Mr. Ash, do you know Sabrina, the Gym Leader of the Kanto region? Hehe, I've always admired her."

Saiboli chuckled and said that if he could be like Sabrina, he could freely use "Psychic Terrain" to assist his Pokémon in battle.

Clara would have been taught a lesson long ago for being so rude!

"Mr. Xiaozhi, don't bother with this third-rate, lousy magician. Are you here to see Master Ma? Should I take you there right now?"

Clara sidestepped and pushed Saiboli aside with her butt, eagerly moving closer to Ash.

At first, she thought Xiao Zhi was the new disciple that Master Ma was going to take on, and she was secretly glad that she was not the youngest.

No, at least I'm not the second smallest one anymore.

After seeing Ash's resume, it was obvious that she would still be ranked last alongside that third-rate magician!
Almost half a year later, Master Ma was finally recruiting new disciples, and Clara was naturally the first to volunteer. She'd get along well with her new junior brother (or sister) so they could gang up on Saiboli!

Then this idiot magician came up to her again and tried to steal her job.

Frustrated, Master Ma had no choice but to entrust this year's recruitment work to the two of them together.

"By the way, does Master Ma's martial arts school recruit so few new members each year?"

Xiao Zhi looked around at the fewer than 30 candidates and couldn't help but ask curiously.

Logically speaking, given Master Ma's abilities, if he wanted to take on apprentices, he could easily gather thousands of people in the Galar region, given the region's fervor for Pokémon battles.
"Well, that's because Master Ma is really laid-back about taking on apprentices these days."

This time it was Saiboli's turn to push Clara aside, and he explained with a smile.

It seems he specifically instructed the Galar Alliance not to promote his Isle of Armor or his martial arts school.

Don't even bother promoting or marketing him, the former Galata champion.

"So, whether you become an apprentice and join our martial arts school depends entirely on fate~"

As Saiboli spoke, he used his telekinesis to make the Poké Ball float, trying to attract Ash's interest and discuss the use of psychic powers together.

"I see."

Ash nodded. No wonder he could hardly find any news about the Isle of Armor or Mash in the various towns of the Galar region.

I wonder if something happened in the past?
As for superpowers, I'm not very interested.

Compared to Natsumi, Saiboli's level of superpowers is rather amateurish.

So Xiaozhi waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to pay special attention to him:

"I came to the audition with my friend. Let's go see Master Ma together after the audition is over~"

"Oh? Mr. Ash's friend? Which one is he?!"

"Should I give him a special favor?"

"Shh, I can help reserve it in advance!"

The two of them winked at Xiaozhi repeatedly, as if by unspoken agreement.

Xiaozhi: "."

Master Ma, what kind of disciples do you take in? Are they all trying to take advantage of you right from the start?!
He chuckled dryly and waved his hand:

"Hehe, no need. With her skills, she should be fine. You guys should continue with the selection competition."

Seeing this, the two turned away in disappointment and returned to the crowd.

What a pity, what a chance to get closer to Ash!
Ash gestured with his fingers towards Marie from a distance. Let's just treat her as a stranger for now.

"?"

Mary was impressed but didn't understand. However, since there were still several rounds to go, she simply closed her eyes and rested.

The second round of elimination matches began quickly, and in this round, Marnie faced off against a trainer using the Galar starter Pokémon.

"This Pokémon?"

Ash pulled out his Pokédex, which showed a small, half-standing lizard with a light blue body and pale green limbs. Its eyes were half-closed, and it looked rather melancholy.

"Beep beep! Transformed Lizard, Water-type, the evolved form of Sobble. Intelligent but hates trouble, it can create water bullets from the water secreted from its palms to attack its enemies, Loto~!"

Ash nodded. He had seen Sobble before, but this was the first time he had seen it in its second stage.

The evolved personality is quite different from the timid and shy Sobble.

Seeing that the opponent was a water-type, Mary continued to send out her anxious electric mouse:
"Continue the fight, Morpeko!" (End of Chapter)