Under the effect of Petal Blizzard, countless petals swept across the field like a snowstorm.
Roserade moved through the swirling blizzard with practiced grace, each step flowing into the next as it performed Petal Dance. The petals already filling the air began to respond to its rhythm, drawn inward and gathering around it in tightening spirals.
The scene was genuinely beautiful — but the concentrated power building within it was anything but.
So this is the Hundred Flowers Gym's Petal Dance. It lives up to the reputation.
David watched from outside the field. He hadn't come to this challenge unprepared. The Hundred Flowers Gym was known for its Grass-type specialists — Lurantis, Bellossom, Lilligant — and Petal Dance was a cornerstone of their strategy. A top-ranked first-class Gym of the Alliance wouldn't have built its name on that move without refining it into something formidable.
Let's find out which holds up — their Petal Dance, or Lucario's Aura Sphere.
"Luca!"
Across the field, Lucario paid Roserade's dance no particular attention. The Aura Sphere building in its hands was reaching critical mass. The Aura energy radiating from Lucario's body had grown intense enough to visibly distort the air around it — any petals that drifted too close were shredded to dust before they could make contact.
"Roserade — Petal Dance, release it!"
"Lucario — Aura Sphere, full power!"
Both commands rang out at the same moment.
All the petals suspended across the field surged toward Roserade at once, answering its final steps. They coiled into a spiraling tornado and launched forward — blades of flower and wind churning toward Lucario with a beauty that carried real danger. Even from outside the field, David could feel the edge in it.
Lucario's Aura Sphere met it head-on, punching through layer after layer of petals before the two forces collided at the center of the field.
Boom—
The shockwave from the impact — Grass-type energy against concentrated Aura — sent a gust rolling across the arena. David narrowed his eyes against it, but kept his gaze fixed on the field.
A moment later, he allowed himself a quiet smile.
When the air cleared, Roserade had fallen. It lay still on the field, eyes closed, the battle over for it. Lucario remained standing — breathing hard, its body marked with dozens of cuts from the petals — but standing.
The second match belonged to David and Lucario.
"Well done." Gianna recalled Roserade with a calm click of the Poké Ball. "Your Lucario has remarkable willpower. You've raised it well."
"Thank you, but honestly, most of the credit goes to Lucario itself."
David returned a modest smile, then glanced toward Lucario with genuine appreciation.
"That said — don't relax yet." Gianna's tone was even. "There's still one match left, and Lucario is clearly running low on stamina. The type advantage can only carry so far against a Pokémon more than ten levels above it."
She was right. Even having won, Lucario hadn't come through cleanly. The final match would decide everything.
"Then let's not keep you waiting. Come out — Tsareena!"
"Tsareena!"
The Pokémon that appeared on the field cut a striking figure — tall, poised, and unmistakably regal. Tsareena, introduced in the Alola region, resembled a mangosteen in its overall design: a smooth, rounded lower body like a layered skirt, long and powerful legs, and a crown of leaf-like strands that formed a hard outer shell patterned with yellow markings.
It was a Pokémon known as a master of kicking moves — and it looked every bit the part.
David recalled that he and his companions had once ordered a drink at a restaurant made with Bounsweet's nectar juice — sweet and refreshing. Tsareena was Bounsweet's final evolution, which meant its nectar would presumably be even richer than—
…actually, best not to follow that thought any further.
Name: Tsareena
Type: Grass
Gender: ♀
Energy Level: 47 — Professional Stage One
Ability: Queenly Majesty
Aptitude: Crimson
Held Item: Miracle Seed
Moves: Trop Kick, Leech Seed, Sweet Scent, Aromatic Mist, Magical Leaf, Teeter Dance, Grassy Terrain, Attract, Aromatherapy, High Jump Kick, Charm, Petal Dance, Synthesis, Grass Whistle, Leaf Storm, Toxic, Double Slap, Play Rough, Bullet Seed, Draining Kiss, Dazzling Gleam, Stomp, Tearful Look, Power Whip, Low Kick, Solar Blade, Trailblaze, Triple Axel…
Another exceptionally powerful Grass-type. Under ordinary circumstances, a Pokémon at this level would be the ace of most professional trainers' lineups. As a Gym Leader's third pick, it was exactly what he'd expected.
The move that stood out immediately was Queenly Majesty — Tsareena's Ability. It prevented the opponent from using priority moves entirely, which effectively ruled out a number of Lucario's options.
"Good work out there, Lucario. Come back and rest."
David recalled Lucario, then raised a second Poké Ball. The flash of red faded, and a small blue figure stepped onto the field.
"Kirlia!"
Not Ninetales. Kirlia.
Gianna's expression shifted — something distant and familiar crossed her face the moment she saw it. David didn't need to guess what she was thinking.
"Aunt Gianna," he said, "Kirlia is my mother's Gardevoir's child."
Her expression warmed slightly. "Then let me see how it compares to your mother and her Gardevoir from back in the day."
"We'll do our best. Kirlia — Calm Mind."
"Tsareena — Trailblaze."
With Queenly Majesty on the field, priority moves were off the table, so David defaulted to setting up first.
A patch of grass rippled into existence beneath Tsareena's feet. She stepped out of it smoothly, accelerating as she went — Trailblaze dealing damage while boosting her Speed by one stage in a single fluid motion.
The third and final match of the three-on-three challenge had begun. The Queen of Grass against the future Queen of Psychic.