Ricard Nouveau is the other A-class Pokémon Sommelier other than
Cilan that
Mr. Hatterly invited to be brought to his house so that they could determine which Pokémon would be best for
Marigold first Pokémon.
Ricard Nouveau described himself as having outstanding intelligence, stamina, observing eyes and expressiveness. He already had heard about
Cilan and how he was an excellent Pokémon Sommelier despite his young age.
Ricard Nouveau appears to be middle aged and has had a lot of experience as being a Pokémon Sommelier.
During his tasting time,
Ricard Nouveau determined that what is important for a first Pokémon is the coordination with its Trainer and that a marriage in which each makes the other look cuter and more beautiful would be ideal. He believed that Tuline was the most suitable candidate for
Marigold as the prettiness unique to Grass types, the cute appearance and the possibility of a gorgeous evolution were all perfectly suited for her.
Cilan didn't completely disagree with
Ricard Nouveau's choice though but he sensed that it wasn't a perfect selection.
Pokémon battle vs Cilan
Despite their disagreement,
Mr. Hatterly suggested the two have a Pokémon battle to determine which A-class Pokémon Sommelier would get to choose the Pokémon for
Marigold. The battle was a 1-on-1 affair and
Ricard Nouveau's Purrloin was sent out to face
Cilan's Crustle.
Ricard Nouveau said his Choroneko's speed and power even surpasses its evolved form Lepardas. During the battle,
Ricard Nouveau noted that
Cilan's Crustle was a good choice for
Cilan in that it's faithful to the basics but that alone was nothing but an ordinary and boring tasting. He expanded by saying that selecting Iwapalace, who is both a Rock and a Bug type, against Choroneko, a Dark type, is a standard reaction. He suggested to
Cilan that an A-class Sommelier needed to have more unpredictability which
Cilan's Crustle showed by coming out of its shell and using
Rock Wrecker to defeat
Ricard Nouveau's Purrloin.
Ricard Nouveau admitted that
Cilan's Crustle hid an unexpected flavor.
When
Cilan chose Tamagetake as
Marigold partner, he initially thought that fashion-wise, they weren't really a match but after he saw the bond between the two he admitted that he lost the tasting compatibility to
Cilan but vowed to beat him the next time they met.