You must remember that back in Sinnoh, Dawn used to get eliminated repeatedly because her performances were overly flashy and overshadowed the natural charm of her Pokémon!
It was only much later that she gradually came to her senses.
Judging by that kid's performance, Chén Nuò knew it was merely on par with Dawn's level before she took her blows, worlds apart from the first contestant, Yè Yǐng.
Chapter 106