Jade and Ochre were both sitting down for lunch together in the Gym Lounge after their victory against Élodie and Vivian. Various trainers would appear, some seemingly just getting up and others coated in sweat so common seen at the gym at this point. Jade continued to recount the short battle and discuss with Ochre how she couldn't understand how they didn't beat them the first time.

"It was like they weren't even trying!" Jade exclaimed, in between a bite of her sandwich. "I think either they aren't as good as Erika made them out to be or…," Jade paused mid-sentence.

Ochre looked up, in order to see what had caused her to stop speaking. "Or?" He asked

"Or we're just an amazing team! Though, it certainly helps to have amazing pokémon." She affirmed, looking at Charity and Tangela, who were also sharing some of the formulated grass-pokémon Pokémon Food who overheard her, nodding with glee in agreement.

Suddenly, one of the trainer residents burst into the lounge, screaming, "Erika is accepting a challenge! They is going to be a gym battle in 15 minutes!" The girl bolted out of the door as soon as she entered, followed by a herd of other trainers. Ochre and Jade looked at each other, and immediately joined the crowd in heading to the observation area. The battlefield only had the challenger, a young man presumably a few years older than Ochre.

Jade and Ochre both sat themselves down, when Jade leaned over, "It's always great to be able to witness a gym battle, especially when you're here to challenge her yourself." The battlefield quieted as Élodie stepped out on the side of the battlefield, holding her hand up to signal the beginning of a match.

Erika stepped out from the opposite side of the arena, dressed in a dazzling light green kimono. She didn't look at all like she did earlier that day, taking special care to make herself look as gorgeous as possible for her match. Ochre's mouth turned into a smile as he looked on to Erika, admiring her looks as well as the confidence she held proudly displayed on her face. He only wished that he could display the kind of command she held on the battlefield.

"This match will be against Erika, the Gym Leader and the Challenger, Jasper." Élodie began to explain, her Kalosian accent could be heard clearly. "Upon the Challenger's request, only two Pokémon will be used by each trainer. The first trainer to render both of the opponent's pokémon unable to battle will be declared the winner. Let the battle begin!"

A smirk ran across Jasper's face as he threw his first pokéball and yelled, "Go, Jazzy!" Following by a Charmeleon appearing in a bright flash of light. Erika more calmly took a pokéball, kissed it, and then threw it, a Exeggutor appeared, stomping its feet a couple of times before crouching down.

"Use Flamethrower!" The Charmeleon reared its head back before unleashing a barrage of embers toward the Exeggutor, hitting it directly and causing a large explosion of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, all that was left was a small doll version of Exeggutor, with the actual pokémon nowhere in sight

"It used Substitute!" Jasper exclaimed as the Exeggutor appeared from seemingly thin air. It seemed as if nothing was going to happen on the battlefield until Erika's face grew fierce and her eyebrows narrowed, "Egg Bomb." She said somewhat softly, as the Exeggutor leaned backward, and quickly forward, hurling a large egg toward the Charmeleon which exploded on contact, knocking the Charmelon out."

"Charmeleon is unable to battle!" Élodie proclaimed, "Exeggutor is the winner of this round!"

Jasper held out his pokéball and withdrew Charmeleon, looking at the pokéball for what seemed an eternity before picking another one and throwing it out. A Spearow appeared this time, flapping its wings above the battlefield. "Use Razor Wind!" The Spearow flapped its wings harder and harder. "Confusion." Erika commanded, as the Exeggutor stomped its feet on the ground, almost dancing while staring the Spearow down. The Spearow let out one final flap to use Razor Wind, only in the opposite than intended direction.

"Maron! What are you doing?!" Jasper yelled. "Use Quick Attack!" The Spearow swooped down toward Exeggutor, missing again. Erika moved her hand out in front of her as if to signal a final command, as she exclaimed, "Leaf Storm!" Leaves flew out of Exeggutor as surrounding the Spearow in a whirlwind of leaves, causing her to fall out of the sky.

Jasper promptly withdrew his Spearow as Élodie announced, "Spearow is unable to battle! Gym Leader Erika is the winner!" Followed by a roaring applause from the spectators.

Jade and Ochre couldn't help but stare at each other and then back to Erika as she bowed to Jasper and proceeded back out of the door she came from. Jade snatched Ochre hand as she pulled him through Erika's door and into a small room with a single vase of flowers on a table, Erika kneeling before it.

"Erika!" Jade yelled, "That was amazing!"

Erika held her hand up as if to tell Jade to stop praising her. "I do appreciate it." She continued to go back to moving her flowers, making sure the branches and stems were stretched up toward the sky.

Ochre coughed once before finally opening his mouth. "How can you be so… calm?" He asked. "And so confident?"

Erika giggled a little, turning her head behind her to face him. "So you know my secret?" She asked, almost as if it were a rhetorical question.

Jade looked at Ochre and then back to Erika.

"I was like you once upon a time, Ochre. I lacked any kind of confidence." She stood up from her floral arrangement, walking toward them. "I became a gym leader very young, and while I had skill and talent, I lacked the motivation and the security of knowing that I could handle a situation. That led to my losing many of my first battles as Celadon's Gym Leader."

Jade gained a puzzled look on her face, "So, what happened?"

"That was when I met Ochre's mother, Isabel." She explained, "She was still very new to Celadon, and was kind enough to slap me back into reality. She told me that the most important thing a person can do is to be confident in themselves, even if they had their own doubts. She even came to one of my matches after that, screaming louder for me than anyone else. I faked it." She giggled, "And I won."

"You faked it?" Ochre asked.

"My certainty in victory." She giggled once more, turning her head, pointing toward the floral arrangement. "Battling is like floral arrangement. Many times, the arrangement isn't natural, nor is it completely stable. The important thing is to make it look as if it's natural and secured, even if it isn't in reality. That's the way to achieve true beauty."

She looked to the two of them again, bowing. "I chose you two to accompany each other because you both have amazing skill, but I feel as if you beautifully complement each other." Ochre and Jade both started to blush. She giggled once more, kneeling back down in front of her floral arrangement.

"I will have a double battle with you two tomorrow morning as soon as the sun rises. I hope to see your confidence soaring through the roof." Erika said, waving them away. The two trainers shuffled quickly out of the room, trying hard to contain their excitement.