"Behind you!"
Roserade immediately reacted to Dragapult appearing behind it and caught Dragapult with both arms. Although it took damage, the impact was greatly reduced, and it endured the blow without being sent flying.
"I never thought it could react to that. What incredible reflexes!"
"That's not it! Dazzling Gleam!"
"What?!"
Light burst from Roserade's entire body as it held Dragapult fast. The Fairy-type radiance pierced Dragapult, dealing tremendous damage.
"Dazzling Gleam as your secondary weapon-I can feel how serious you are!"
The data Leon had gathered contained no record of Roserade using Dazzling Gleam. Its moveset primarily changed to suit its opponents, drawing from Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Rest, Giga Drain, and Extrasensory. He had expected it to counter Dragon Armor with Shadow Ball, never imagining it would use Dazzling Gleam instead.
There was nothing strange about Roserade learning Dazzling Gleam, of course, but bringing out an entirely new move absent from the data meant Cynthia was taking this challenge seriously.
After all, Leon had two Dragon-type Pokémon. Learning Fairy-type moves was a viable option.
"Dragapult! Fall back!"
"I won't let you escape! Sludge Bomb!"
Roserade fired a ball of poison at Dragapult as it flew backward. Sludge Bomb dealt only half damage, but Dragon Armor did not have much endurance. Since the move also matched Roserade's type, Dragon Armor could not afford to take it repeatedly. Moreover, Sludge Bomb had an additional effect that could poison its target. Deciding that circling around to pursue was a bad idea, Leon immediately attacked.
"Fire Blast!"
"Hit the Sludge Bomb, then come back!"
Roserade answered Dragapult's Fire Blast by striking it with Sludge Bomb. Naturally, it could not cancel out the attack, only reduce its power and speed. Once the flames slowed, Roserade stepped back, limiting the damage to