If I had to sum up the entire Alex rematch in one image, it would be this:

If I had to sum it up in two images, this would be the second:

And the third, taken AFTER said Growth Budew tried to attack HA:

Two Budew, one level apart. Both know Growth, both know Absorb, and one of them knows Water Sport. Both of them have a double resistance to Absorb, which is a weak and shoddy attack to begin with, but has the bonus of restoring half the health it takes.

Unless it takes one HP of damage, which it does in this case. In that case, it restores one HP of damage.

Retreat is not an option. Switching? It’d just waste the Growth. These two Budews have to battle each other.

Spoiler: that’s a recipe for disaster.

About fifteen minutes into the fight (yes, fifteen minutes for a level 6 and level 7 fight), HA isn’t looking very healthy. Flowey Bud continues to smugface.

We tried to shift. But nobody came.

Okay, now Flowey Bud’s actively taunting us.

Just short of twenty minutes in, this happened:

Yep, HA’s hidden ability is to summon its inner Chara and slap Flowey Bud silly like a little slapdragon. (Get it? Snapdragon? Slapdragon? Okay… I’ll see myself out now.)

The best part? It only gives 1 HP of recoil damage. And with Flowey Bud presumably out of Absorb and wasting its talents on sporting water around and trying to make itself bigger, that’s more damage than Big Bad Buddy can do to it.

HA! And HA! again!

Honey still tries to switch HA out. It doesn’t work. HA is out for bud.

The Struggle ends with HA having one point of HP left and Flowey Bud… pushing up daisies. (Heh. That’s apt, given the character.)

HA even learns its rival’s other move!

While we would rematch Trainer Alex again, this was, by far, the definitive cancer match against Alex, the Budew versus Budew battle alone clocking at twenty minutes long.

Next: We talk about something that isn’t Alex.