Honestly more people who can deal with Shrike's shyness are great! He CAN get talkative if it's something he knows a lot about or has strong feelings on, but a lot of the time it's just. he doesn't know what he's supposed to say/do so awkward quiet shyness it is! So as long as it's not to the point of Shrike feeling overwhelmed/intimidated (which I think Louie is socially savvy enough to avoid) that could definitely be interesting. And hey, Louie could help him with his reading/writing/math practice, too.

And FUNNY THAT YOU MENTION VARIAN because I was actually looking at your comment and thinking huh, that actually has potential for an interesting dynamic, if they can manage to hit some common ground. :|a It doesn't come up frequently ICly but, technically, counting his time in Johto Shrike's now 17 (and will be 18 in a few months) which puts him closer to Varian's age range, and like I said, Shrike can always use more friends!