Nini is a recurring character in the Pokémon anime and one of Serena's main rivals in the Pokémon Performer circuit.
Nini first met Ash and his friends in Pathways to Performance Partnering! when Chespin and Pancham accidentally wandered into her practice area mid-fight. After clearing up the misunderstanding, she revealed her plans to enter Pokémon Showcases—the same goal Serena had just announced. The two ended up watching each other's performance routines and offering feedback. Nini was particularly interested in how Serena's Pancham moved, finding it compatible with her own Smoochum. She even asked Serena to trade Pancham for one of her Pokémon, but Serena turned her down.
Things took a chaotic turn when Team Rocket showed up disguised as a choreography instructor and tricked both Nini and Serena into a phony dance class. After the trap was sprung and Team Rocket made off with their Pokémon, Nini's team was eventually rescued when Pancham and Chespin settled their differences and fought off the villains together. Before parting ways, Nini shook hands with Serena and encouraged her to prepare for the next Showcase.
Nini has competed against Serena multiple times since then. In A Performance Pop Quiz!, she faced off at the Anistar City Showcase but lost when Serena correctly answered a quiz question that Nini had gotten wrong. She also competed in the Couriway Showcase, advancing to the Freestyle Performance with her Heartbreak routine, though she ultimately lost to Jessilee. Her most notable loss came during the Master Class tournament in Gloire City, where Jessilee's Gourgeist overshadowed Nini's Smoochum performance with a well-timed Shadow Ball. The elimination left her visibly upset, though she later spoke with Serena backstage.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
