Heartwarming / Pokémon: Harmony and Chaos

Pokémon: Harmony and Chaos

• Celestia's Champagoon shows to be a nice girl, comforting Aquana when it is upset after Lightning Blitz insults it. Flash even says he knew that she wouldn't hurt him because she was too kind, thus giving him the courage to talk her down during her rampage.
• When Spike seems upset over Twilight getting to go on a journey with Flash, Flash speaks up and asks Professor Celestia if it would be a good idea for Spike to come with them as a learning experience for when he eventually becomes a trainer. Celestia and Twilight both think this is a good idea.
• When Flash catches his very first Pokémon, a Chickling, Springer explains to the Flying type what happened, and it is overjoyed. Shortly afterwards though, when Flash learns that it can't fly yet, he remarks "Huh. Guess I've got no choice then." The Chickling initially thinks this means Flash is going to tell it to go away, but instead Flash announces he is going to teach him how to fly. This shows perfectly what kind of trainer Flash is, helping any Pokémon he catches train to be their best, no matter how weak they seem at first. By the end of the chapter, the Chickling is flying, and Flash nicknames him Skyler.
• The Aquana that was following the group around turns out to be the one from Celestia's Lab. He had been following them because he wanted Flash to be his trainer. He becomes overjoyed when Flash agrees to it, and gives him the nickname Riptide.
• After Prongs, the Thawn, spent years as a Well-Intentioned Extremist against humans, he finally realizes they are not the monsters he thought when Flash helps save him and his friend. He decides he wants to come along as part of Flash's team. After they have a battle of course.
• After Flash defeats Doc, Doc asks to join him, Twilight, and Spike on their journey, saying that Flash was right during their battle, and that he doesn't know anything about the real world his inventions are supposed to be helping. He wants to see the world so he can learn how to help it better, and learn how to adapt like Flash can.
• When Twilight checks Riptide's nature after it loses to a Hisscor, a Fire type, she checks and sees that he has the Adamant Nature, which lowers the power of his Special Attacks. When she points out how much of a hinderance this is since most Water Types are Special Attackers, Flash refuses to give up on Riptide, and chooses to help focus on his Physical Attacks instead.
  • Hisscor secretly watches as Flash trains Riptide, and notes how different it is from the trainer he ran away from. While Hisscor's old trainer relaxed and shout orders while he made him do all the hard work, Flash is working just as hard as Riptide too, helping him in anyway he can. This actually impresses Hisscor for a moment.
• While Hisscor starts out selfish and disobedient to Flash, he quickly starts to mature by helping Flash save the poisoned Pokémon in the group, with Flash deciding to nickname him Viper after they properly bonded.
• Spike's love for dragons is given focus in the chapter "Peewee".
  • Twilight recalls how when Spike was younger his class took a trip to Professor Celestia's lab. When the other kids saw Champagoon, they all ran away screaming, but Spike walked right up to her and patted her on the head.
  • Spike forms a quick bond with a tiny Terragon he nicknames Peewee, which was abandoned by its flock. By the end of the chapter, Peewee doesn't want to leave Spike. Twilight decides to catch Peewee and hold on to him until Spike is old enough to become a trainer, so he will be his starter. Plus, Peewee will be able to help Twilight look after Spike for her when she can't.
• Professor Luna being there when Armadiload is revived with a Fossil Reanimation Machine. Helping it readjust to the new world after millions of years is in a way a Swapped Roles position for her, since she had a period of adjustment herself after being banished for a millennium in canon.
  • After Armadiload evolves into Ankyload and goes on a rampage, Luna manages to peacefully subdue and capture it, and sends it to someone she says will know exactly how to properly train it and master it’s power.
• There are several chapters back-to-back that introduce characters from canon, who become rivals and friends to the group. After all the conflict they experienced from Lightning Blitz and Big Score, Rickashay, and Boulder, it is nice to finally have some Friendly Rivalry.
  • Though Twilight and Trixie start off on the wrong foot, after their battle Trixie honors her deal to leave if she lost, and the two agree to battle some day.
  • The various chapters where the rest of the Mane characters are introduced each count. Flash develops friendly rivalries with Rainbow and Applejack, who are both aiming to enter the Equestria League like him, Rainbow and Applejack are traveling with their friends Fluttershy and Applejack respectively, showing that they always have a friend with them, Spike still develops a Precocious Crush on Rarity, and Pinkie is the same Fun Personified she always is, even stopping her battle with Doc before there was a winner because she claims since they had fun they are both winners.
• Derpy choosing to help the Pitchawk that stole the case she needed to deliver, or else she could have been fired. She assures it once she delivers the parts inside the case she will give the case back to it so that it can use it for its nest.
• Flash's Pokémon assuring him they forgive him for his recklessness getting them hurt in his Gym Battle with Thorax. Flash in return promises to be a better trainer from now on and make sure he plans ahead, all so he doesn't let them down again.
• Flash finally tells the story of how he met Springer in "Evolutionary Block".
  • Flash, who was only ten years old at the time, immediately rushed to Springer's aid when he was attacked by the Lucario that was the leader of its pack. He even stands up to the Lucario himself, telling him to back off. Doubles as an awesome moment.
  • Flash and Springer are saved from the Lucario by a blue-haired trainer and his Squiron. The trainer catches Springer to get him to a Pokémon Center easier. Also, the ball he uses is a Premier Ball, which he claims he was saving for something special but decides a Riolu that knows Aura Sphere is special enough.
  • Flash bonds with Springer as he recovers, and even comes up with his nickname "Springer" based on how how quick he is "bouncing back", asking the trainer to use that nickname for him since he seems to like it, which he agrees to.
  • After they learn that Springer absorbed energy from an Everstone, and is thus unlikely to ever evolve, Flash assures him that he can still be strong even without evolving and that it will mean even more when he becomes "the world's strongest Pokémon", even telling him if his trainer ever gives up on him then he should come find him and they will be partners instead. It turns out the trainer heard the whole conversation, and seeing how close the two had become, he left Springer and his Premier Ball behind for Flash, with the two being inseparable ever since.
• Springer and Scar the Scrapow gaining respect for each other during their battle.
• Doc's story of how he met Tockwork. Back when he was just a kid, before he got his nickname, he went to a junkyard that belonged to the old Doc and found Tockwork in a wreck. Time Turner made it his goal to repair Tockwork, and worked on him every day for several years, talking to him about all his ideas and goals as he worked on him. Right when he was ready to give up though, and apologized to Tockwork for failing, a pile of junk started to collapse due to rust and almost fell on Time Turner, only for Tockwork to suddenly spring to life and save its friend. That was the day Time Turned earned the name Doc, and once word of his accomplishment spread he was given the opportunity to work on all of his inventions. Doc himself described it best.
  Doc: Tockwork wasn't just my friend, partner or Pokémon. He was what made me into the man I am today.
• One Bloxx that belongs to Cheese Sandwich seems like a jerkass at first. Instead of enjoying parties and using its abilities to play with other Pokémon it keeps to itself and even sends one innocent Wooper flying for speaking friendly to it. But it turns out, as Pinkie realizes, it just finds enjoyment by battling rather than partying. After its battle with Pinkie's Jigglypuff, Cheese gives Bloxx to Pinkie to take care of, realizing she can take better care it than him. Bloxx shows to actually be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, when it gives its former trainer a sad hug goodbye.
• Flash's group meeting with his grandmother Cloud Clipper in "Birds of a Feather". Springer is especially excited at seeing her again, jumping right into her arms for a hug. She clearly cares about Springer just as much as Flash does.
• Flash tells Skyler how proud he is of him and how far it has come since they first met and it couldn't even fly. Which then leads to Skyler evolving into Wingust during the finals.
• "The Equestrian Champion" confirms that the blue haired trainer that caught Springer and gave him to Flash was Shining Armor. Flash never realized it was him since he never learned his name, but Shining never forgot about Flash and Springer, and says that leaving Springer with him was the right decision.
• Spark spends all of "How to Catch a Pokémon 101" trying to catch an Abearab, saying he was trying to catch it for a week. He eventually catches it to save it from falling off a cliff, but chooses to release it since he feels Abearab didn't get a choice in it. To his surprise though, Abearab touches the Pokeball again and lets itself get captured again, because it wants to stay with Spark for earning its respect.
• The Intergenerational Friendship Flash's group forms with Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur de Lis. Fancy Pants even offers to have a Pokémon battle with Flash, after he hears Flash is going to enter the Hoof Cup.
• The gang helping Trixie get her stolen Gym Badges back from a Shiny Opaline. Then she joins them on their way to the Hoof Cup.
• Riptide's absolute excitement at seeing a Spranitor, getting excited for when he becomes one himself.
• Trixie doing her best to help Cedar and see that working at the Pokémon Daycare isn't so bad and making peace with his parents. At the end of the chapter he gives her a King's Rock, meaning her Slowpoke will eventually evolve into a Slowking.
• Before the first round of the Hoof Cup, it is revealed that Sunset Shimmer is now Celestia's newest student! She seems a lot happier than she was before and says she is learning a lot under her.
• Trixie gets chewed out by her abusive dad over the phone for losing in the first round of the Hoof Cup to Applejack. Flash and Luna rush to her support and stand up to her father in her defense, and Luna even offers Trixie the chance to become her student once the tournament is over.
• Even though Pinkie and Bloxx lose their battle against Lightning and Chimplug, the crowd still cheers for the tow of them instead of the actual winners.

Pokémon the Movie: Total Eclixie of the Heart

• When the egg that Sunset has been protecting for so long finally hatches into Eclixie, it takes an immediate liking to Sunset and hugs her. Sunset also takes her role as Eclixie's guardian seriously, promising to protect it. She comes off a bit as Eclixie's mother.
• The Travel Montage as Sunset and Eclixie travel with Flash's group over a few days to the Eclipse Temple. It shows her bonding with them all, with Twilight even offering her to join them permanently once they are done.
• When it is time for Eclixie to leave, although Sunset fulfilled her role as its guardian, she admits she is going to miss it and feels like once Eclixie is gone she will lose what made her special, and will go back to being "useless" again. Eclixie, Suddenly Speaking telepathically, assures Sunset she was already special before they met.
  Eclixie: Sunset. Me coming to you didn't make you special. It was because you were special that I came to you. When I'm gone, you'll still be the special girl that was chosen to look after me. Never forget that.
• Sunset decides to go on her own at the end, but thanks all her new friends for their help.
  • Twilight suggests if she is ever in Canterlot City to go meet Celestia, saying she is sure Celestia would love to meet her.
  • Sunset tells Flash and Springer she is sure both of them will be Pokémon masters one day, and thanks Springer for saving her.
  • Before leaving, Sunset suddenly remembers one thing, quickly running back to Flash and pulling him towards her, and pressing their lips together in a surprise goodbye kiss.

Pokémon: Equestrian Adventures

• The opening chapter is a big one for Riptide. He agrees to help a Kelpool get its home back from a Piercish and group of Bladins, after it lost to Piercish and took its lake. Though he admits he wants to help them, he also admits he wants to make sure he isn't The Load to his friends, since Flash let him on his team even though there are plenty of Water-Types that are stronger and better choices, and he doesn't want Flash to regret choosing him. His desire to get stronger is rewarded when he learns Aqua Tail, evolving into Spranitor in the process, and managing to defeat Piercish.
  • After Riptide wins, the Bladins all attempt to attack him and the others, only for Piercish to prove to be a Graceful Loser by calling them all off and leaving just like it agreed to.
  • Also, Applejack ends up befriending a Lombre during the chapter, who she realizes wants to travel outside the forest but stays so it can protect its friends. After the problem with Piercish is finished, it’s friend Kelpool encourages him to go with the others and live its dream. Lombre shares a quick hug with its friend before leaving, catching up with the others, and allowing Applejack to catch it.
• Rarity shows her generosity in "A Trio of Hidden Gems". When three Diamalem are running around stealing any gemstone they can find, she eventually discovers that the three of them are looking for three Power Gems, a Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, because each one wants to evolve into a different form for a different reason, wanting to be able to touch water, become closer to nature, or breath fire. Rarity just so happens to have all three gems herself, as a family heirloom, and is willing to give each one the specific one they want, even though the items will disappear after being used, because she realizes they will benefit them more than her. Asking only for them to return what they stole first. After they return everything and evolve into their desired forms, they all happily hig Rarity for helping them live their dreams, and accept her offer when she asks them if they want to join her.
• "Hopping To The Rescue/The Mysterious Egg" has the introduction of Hopper. Flash and the others find his egg abandoned, only for him to hatch as a Hoppin shortly afterwards. Everyone protects him from a group of Pokémon Hunters for the rest of the chapter, with Flash, Springer, and Riptide taking on the leader themselves to save him. Hopper is so impressed by how strong they are, he immediately decides he wants to become as strong as them someday, and Flash offers him a spot on his team. This begins Flash and Hopper's relationship similar to that of a father and son, and Hopper's own character arc of the story.
• Seeing Celestia and Luna finally getting along and cooperating in "A Sibling's Spat", after spending the entire chapter arguing with each other.
  • Sunset and Trixie also make an appearance along with their teachers, and Sunset now officially has a Pokémon of her own, a Geckolar she named Ray.
• Upon finally arriving in Applewood City, the hometown of Applejack and Rarity, they are greeted by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Not only are the two of them happy to see their sisters again, they are also excited to meet trainers they saw competing in the Hoof Cup. Sweetie Belle especially is shown to love all their cute Pokémon, giving them a Bear Hug. The two of them, and Scootaloo, are invited to watch Flash have his Gym a battle against Granny Smith.
• The entirety of "In Pokémon We Give Thanks". It feels like one big Christmas Special, which is fitting since it was release around the Christmas season. It also has massive amounts of Ship Tease between Flash and Twilight, with their friendship now stronger than ever.
• Prongs declares he does not want to evolve until he feels he has earned it, by beating the Ferrothorn causing trouble in a forest he previously lost to. Flash is fully supportive of his decision, and working together they managed to successfully defeat Ferrothorn, with Prongs truly earning his evolution into Chitaleaf.
  • Prongs also shows compassion to Ferrothorn after beating it, giving it a Berry so it can recover. This act of kindness, showing it that there is enough food in the forest for everyone and there is no need for it to cause trouble. This ends Ferrothorn becoming the new protector of the forest, agreeing to be Tomar's partner.
• There are moments throughout the entire Camp Everfree arc:
  • Flash spends the whole night telling the Shuckle he was paired up with his adventure up to that point to gain its trust and train it the best he can. The next morning, after Flash has spent the entire chapter as a Butt-Monkey getting no respect from anyone and all his efforts seemingly wasted, Gloriosa is the only person to symphonize with him and sincerely thank him for helping Shuckle by befriending it.
  • The baby Pokémon that appear in "Twilight's Egg-celent Adventure". The next activity at camp is to take care of Pokémon eggs for the next day or two until they hatch, then they can keep the Pokémon that hatches from it. Rainbow ends up getting the Wonder her group takes care of, which is a Pokémon she says she always wanted. The Sapphire cabin's egg hatches into a Galarian Ponyta, and it takes an immediate liking to Twilight, recognizing her lullaby from when it was an egg, with it being agreed Twilight will keep it, and she nicknames it Shine. Shine also takes a quick liking to Flash too.
  • Fluttershy taking care of the injured Grizzor that protected her from a swarm of Beedrill, even after learning how it attacked her friends and is the "territorial" Pokémon Gloriosa and Timber warned them about. She stays up comforting him all night, making sure he stays safe and comfortable, giving him the nickname "Harry" in the process. Then the next morning when he has recovered enough to leave, Fluttershy begs him to stay with her, so she can get stronger and he can help her achieve her dream of creating a sanctuary for protecting wild Pokémon that can't protect themselves, wanting him to acts as it’s guardian and help her protect it. After waiting in silence for a moment, with Harry glancing between his home in the forest and his new friend, he makes his decision, walking towards Fluttershy and pressing his nose against the Pokeball she has held out, allowing himself to be caught by her.
    Fluttershy: (crying Tears of Joy) Harry... oh thank you.
  • The Clauncher that Flash gets stuck with for the activity in "The Guardian of the Lake" seems like a Lazy Bum at first, who does nothing but sleep all day and has others bring its food for it. But after seeing it in action when it curb-stomps a rampaging Gyarados, Flash realizes Clauncher wasn't being lazy, it was just saving its strength so it can solve any problem the lake has, as its guardian. The other Pokémon also give Clauncher its food for it, not because they are scared of it and want to stay on its good side, but because they respect it and as thanks for keeping them all safe. Honestly, Flash puts it best in his report on a launcher at the end.
    Flash: Clauncher. When I first met this Pokémon, I thought he was nothing more than a lazy good for nothing who let others do things for it. But as I got to know it better, I realised something: Clauncher wasn't being lazy, he was conserving his energy. He was making sure he was well rested so that if something happened, he would be able to react and fix it without issue. He's the lake's protector, the keeper of the peace. When a problem occurs, he's there to solve it in the best way possible. Sometimes it's through diplomatic means, while other times through force. Clauncher, despite his size, is the strongest Pokémon in this lake, but he doesn't use his power to do whatever he wants. No, Clauncher keeps his power to himself until the time he needs it. Other Pokémon are willing to feed him, not out of fear, but out of respect and thanks for keeping their home a safe place to live. He is the guardian of the lake.
  • Despite Flash and Twilight having a massive argument earlier, with the two of them coming close to ending their friendship altogether, Flash still risks his life to save her and Shine when they are attacked by an evil Piedoom.
    • Similarly, Lightning shows his first signs of not being a complete asshole when he helps save them and Flash from Piedoom too. Though it is downplayed with his claims he was just trying to catch Piedoom.
  • After Flash and Twilight spent nearly the entire arc at each other's throats, it is a relief when they both have a Jerkass Realization in "Camp Town Races", realizing how much they have helped each other and mean to each other, ensuring their friendship is as strong as ever. This is even shown with Twilight replacing her old ribbon that Piedoom previously destroyed with the one Flash got her during "In Pokémon We Give Thanks".
  • During the final tag battle, with Flash and Twilight facing Timber and Gloriosa, Viper at one point protects Shine by jumping in front of a Magical Leaf attack aimed at her, without even needed to be ordered to by Flash. Doc even lampshades how different this is from when they first met Viper, back when it was so selfish.
• In a minor moment, Spike gets tired of the group always seemingly taking the most dangerous path to the next town, and blames Flash. Twilight speaks in Flash's defense, saying she is the one who plans the routes and the whole group still goes along with it despite the danger. This might not seem like much at first, but remember that only a few chapters ago Twilight arrogantly told Flash he wouldn't be able to get anywhere without her planning all their routes while they were arguing. Really shows how she is being more supportive now.
• Heath Burns tries to get his Blazard under control after it stops listening to him after it evolves from Lizash. The two become friends again when Heath protects it from other trainers who start hunting it for seeing it as a threat.
• During the Shoot Race when Hopper is passes by Manectric towards the end and looks like he is going to lose, Flash talks to him through his microphone that no matter what happens he has already made him proud. This encourages Hopper to keep trying and never give up, and remembering everything he has been through with his friends so far, he evolves into Velocirush, allowing him to catch up with Manectric. The final stretch is when Hopper truly feels like Flash's Pokémon for the first time. It gets even better when the photo finish shows he just barely won.
  • Also, Track Starr starts off as a regular Jerk Jock for most of the chapter, talking down to Flash and the others and planning to make this his 50th victory in a row. But after he loses, he shows to be a Graceful Loser and acknowledge Flash and Hopper as being a Worthy Opponent to him and Manectric, even saying he wants a rematch next year.
• Spike bonding with the Stegolate, which later evolves into a Stegoliath, that the group meets in the Grand Desert, to the point he plans to ask for Twilight to catch it so they can stay together. Though it becomes a tearjerker when they realize it already belongs to some scientists from the Pokémon Fossil Research Lab, and Spike needs to say goodbye to his friend, he is at least comforted knowing that it is back with its friends and family.
• Although Twilight explained how she and Owlicious met in the previous story, a flashback in "Team Shadow Strikes Part 2" actually shows the meeting, with it being just like how they met in canon. Later in the same chapter, when Owlicious is hurt fighting a Skulerror, Twilight holds him close and promises to protect him. This encouragment causes the Psychick to evolve into Owlolar.
  • The same chapter also confirms that Shining Armor was the trainer Luna sent Ankyload to. Just like Luna thought, Ankyload is under control now and follows all of Shining Armor's orders.
• Derpy makes a return in "Special Delivery", getting a little bit of Ship Tease with Doc. She ends up temporarily joining the group since they are all heading to Appaloosa City, staying just long enough to watch Flash's next Gym Battle.
• Although most of Lightning's Pokémon have been shown to be just as big of jerks as he is, his newest Pokémon Frostoak is willing to work together with Springer when the two of them are separated from their groups without any trouble. The two of them form a small bond together.
• In "Move Maker", Flash's grandmother sends him his grandfather's old journal, which includes a section with various TMs that will help teach their Pokémon new moves.
• In "Grand Champion", Lightning Blitz's Grandfather, Grand Hoof, makes his first appearance. Unlike his rude grandson, he shows to be a Cool Old Guy, despite having lost his championship title to Shining Armor years ago, and quickly befriends Flash and the others. Flash even promises him that he is going to beat Lightning the next time they battle, to help set him on the right path when Grand asks him to.
• A flashback in "Climbing the Mountain" shows how Rainbow first met Tank. Similar to canon, he saved her life when she was caught in a rock slide. But what's different here, Rainbow was only 9 years old at the time, and there was no competition with her trying to find a pet. Tank just saw she was in danger and helped her out of the kindness of his heart. After he helps her back up the mountain, Spitfire notices how he is going to want to stay with her now, and gives her a Pokeball so she can catch him.
• Doc catches a Lairon in "Heavy Metal" to save it from a Stalorn, and although he admits it would be great to have it on his team he plans to release it after he helps it defeat Stalorn and protect its Aron friends, since he didn't catch it properly. After Stalorn is defeated after Lairon learns Flash Cannon though, right as Doc is about to release it, the Arons all evolve into Lairons themselves to learn Flash Cannon so they can take care of themselves now, and declare they want Doc to take care of their friend. Apparently, they all realized their friend wanted to stay with Doc.
• "Champions of the Mountain" has lots of moments:
  • The group encounters five friendly Dranby when they get closer to Cloudsdale City. Everyone finds them adorable, especially Spike and Fluttershy.
  • This chapter is another major bonding chapter between Flash and Hopper, with the two of them being separated from the rest of the group after being attacked by the mother Champagoon. When Flash can't return Hopper after losing his Pokeballs, he resorts to carrying him up the mountain himself. Later, when the two of them are attacked by Champagoon again and knocked off the mountain, Hopper's life flashes before his eyes and he realizes that Flash is more than just his trainer, but the closest thing he has to a father. Determined to now save him, Hopper grabs on to him as they fall, and evolves in midair into Skeidran to fly them both to safety.
  • After Hopper defeats Champagoon, knocking her off the mountain, he and Flash see the five babies crying, worried for their mother. Flash and Hopper quickly rush after her, saving her and dropping her to the side for the babies to comfort her. As she regains consciousness, she apologizes to her babies for scaring them, as well as to Flash and Hopper for wrongly attacking them, now realizing they weren't trying to harm her or her children.
  • When everyone gets to Cloudsdale City, they find Flash's grandmother Cloud Clipper waiting for them. As soon as she heard her grandson was going to be challenging her old Gym, now run by her former apprentice, she flew over on her Pidgeot as fast as she could.
  • Flash and Hopper making their Big Entrance in town when everyone else were starting to get worried about them, with a rescue team about to head out for them. Springer and all of Flash's other Pokémon jump on him and nuzzle him happily before greeting their newly evolved teammate too. Shine is especially impressed by Hopper's evolution and starts playing on him, and Hopper takes her and the other flightless Pokémon for a flight.
• Rainbow's parents come to watch her Gym Battle against Spitfire and cheer her on with everyone else. Afterwards, when Rainbow loses to Spitfire, Spitfire tells her to collect seven other Gym a badges first before challenging her again. Not as a punishment, but because she impressed her so much, she wants to be Rainbow's final challenge before entering the League, rather than just simply being her sixth badge, and see how much she can improve between now and then. A brief conversation between Spitfire and Cloud Clipper afterwards also implies that Spitfire is considering taking on Rainbow Dash as an apprentice to eventually succeed her as Gym Leader, even saying she could potentially become champion and she would be willing to wait until the end of her term.
• The Ship Tease between Rainbow and Soarin throughout "Cloudsdale Sky-Racers". From Rainbow geeking out over his Staraptor, to having Wonder and Staraptor protect each other when they end up being put in danger during The Great Cloudsdale Race, to the two of them tying in race, and both promising to have a rematch one day with Rainbow blushing heavily when Soarin leaves town.
• Before Flash and Lightning battle in the finals of the Hoffington Battle Tournament we see the battle being broadcast in various cities. Shining Armor watched in a crowd in one city, Timber Spruce watches in another city wanting Flash to beat that jerk so the two of them can have fun settling their score later, Sonata watches in yet another city, cheering for Flash, and all the Gyms visited so far also watch, with Cloud Clipper watching with Spitfire and Fleetfoot as she cheers for her grandson. Even Sombra watches the battle from his office, wanting to see how strong Flash has gotten, and even telling Chrysalis and Doom to shut up when they share how they hope Flash loses. Shows how much support Flash has from friends, rivals, and fans alike from all across the region. Unfortunately, this all turns into a massive Tearjerker instead, given how the battle ends.
• The final arc of the story has plenty:
  • Everyone is worried about Flash's depression after his loss against Lightning. Twilight is not sure what to do to help him, not wanting to accidentally make things worse like she did at Camp Everfree, showing she has truly taken her experience there to heart.
  • We finally learn about where Hopper's egg came from, learning he is actually the prince of dragons.
  • Though we are only just learning about Hopper's parents, Titan and Mercy, we see they are clearly Good Parents at the finest.
    • Kaida says they were both heartbroken when their egg was stolen, and it took the Kai everything just to convince the two of them not to lead their dragons on a rampage against the surface to find their child, and have been worried about him for months.
    • Hopper and his parents being reunited upon his arrival at the Dragon Kingdom. All of them are clearly nervous, but as Hopper and his mom, Mercy, slowly approach each other, she gives him a small sniff before tearing up and roaring in joy, hugging her son happily. Titan approaches soon after, and despite his giant size, he also happily embraces his son, the whole family sharing a group hug.
    • Titan breaks away and approaches Flash, and although Flash is nervous at first, similar to Hopper, Titan gently pushes his snout into his chest, thanking him for taking care of his son. Flash gently pats him and tells him he is welcome.
  • Drayce, the Kai of the Dragon Kingdom and Titan's trainer, shows to be nothing but a Reasonable Authority Figure. Instead of labeling Flash and his friends thieves like many others had been, he sincerely thanks them for keeping their prince safe and returning him to them, calling them all honorary draconids. He is even understanding when Flash is unsure about leaving Hopper with them, despite how important he is to the kingdom, and constantly chastises his son Ryu for his rude behavior towards their guests.
  • Hopper gets a crush on a Shiny Skeidran named Princess as soon as he sees her. For her part, she seems interested in him too.
  • Part 2 begins with Hopper exploring the kingdom with his parents, and seeing how Titan rules as a king, settling a dispute between a Kingdra and Dragalge without needing to use any violence.
  • Hopper and Princess have a late night "date" together, viewed by Flash and Twilight. Despite the awkward start, Hopper impressed her by making a drawing of her.
  • Ryu starts throwing a fit after he and his Noivern lose to Flash and Hopper, with Hopper not finishing them when he had the chance, claiming Flash turned their prince into a pushover. Drayce however says otherwise, saying Flash taught him to be merciful, which is more than anything the true measure of a king.
  • Everyone cheering for Flash and Hopper during their battle against Cadmus and his Galvern. Which includes all their friends, their Pokémon, but also Mercy, Princess, and their entire flock.
  • After Cadmus has been defeated, Princess slowly approaches Hopper, without any of her usual confidence, and performs the Skeidran bonding pose, asking to be Hopper's mate. Hopper accepts and mimics the pose, the two gently touching foreheads, now being bonded. We have slowly watched Hopper grow up the whole story, and it reaches the end right as he gets married!
  • After Flash decides to leave Hopper in the Dragon Kingdom, Titan passes on the title of King of Dragons to Hopper, since he has completed his Rite of Passage by learning Wyvern Wing. Long live King Hopper!
  • As Flash and the others begin to leave the Dragon Kingdom, Flash is given one more gift as thanks, another Pokémon egg containing a Dragon type. Though they know nothing will ever replace Hopper, they hope Flash will raise it well, just as well as Hopper was. Then, before leaving, Flash gets one final look at Hopper and his family seeing them off, the two locking eyes one last time as Flash says goodbye to his friend.

Pokémon the Movie: Voice of the Ocean

• The opening battle between Flash and Vinyl is just a simple friendly battle with no big stakes. It is just what Pokémon are meant to be; simple fun. It also has the group gaining Vinyl and Octavia as friends afterwards.
• Although Sonata Dusk is suffering through major depression over losing her sisters, she still takes time to help Springer get some water from a metal tap, despite having nothing to gain from it. When she sees how happy Springer is from it, she briefly cracks a small smile, until Flash shows up and she runs off. Turns out this one small action would have major positive effects on her life shortly afterwards.
• Flash and Springer saving Sonata when she is attacked by Black and White, and then following her around town to make sure she is alright.
• When Sirenity attacks Flash and Springer, Sonata calls her off, explaining how they helped her earlier. When she tells Flash who she is and what she is going through, he does his best to comfort her.
• Sonata has Flash and Springer ride on Sirenity, and the Legendary Pokémon takes them all on a trip underwater, protecting them all so they can breath. They all experience the beauty of the underwater environment and various Water type Pokémon, and Sirenity performs an underwater ballet with the Water types. It almost feels like a date between Flash and Sonata.
• Flash continues to encourage Sonata, even saying that even if she were to mess up and not perform an outstanding song for the festival he doubts Sirenity would destroy the entire city since she and Sonata are clearly friends. He also invites her to hang out at the festival the next day, so he can introduce her to his friends. She ends up showing up and everyone immediately introduces themselves to her.
• When Mayor Novo announces that Sirenity has been captured and Sonata has been kidnapped in an attempt to control her, she announces until they can both be rescued the festival will need to be put on hold. The town's response? Who cares about the festival!? They can outright cancel it for all they care, but they all rally together, determined to save Sonata and Sirenity.
• When Sonata uses her powers, singing to calm Sirenity, it also empowers the one she trusts the most, just like the old legend of the priestess and the warrior. That person turns out to be none other than Flash.
• It is revealed that Adagio and Aria weren't killed when their boat was sucked into a whirlpool, but were instead captured by Guile and brainwashed by him. When they are freed from his control and remember what happened to them, the first thing they ask everyone is where's Sonata. Once everything is over, the three of them all happily reunite in a giant hug. As much as they annoy each other and insult each other, they are still family.
• When Sonata apologizes to Sirenity for everything that happened, feeling it was her own fault for not being strong enough, Sirenity tells her that this whole event showed how strong Sonata really is for rising to the occasion despite how bleak things were, and how she is proud to call her the priestess.
• The Dazzlings all decide they are going to see the world together after the festival is over, with Sonata saying she will just come back to perform her duties as priestess for the Voice of the Ocean Festival each year.
• Sonata's little Love Confession to Flash before she performs with her sisters. Though it is also played for laughs since Flash was the only one in the group who didn't hear her, saying the crowd was way too loud.

Pokémon: Equestrian Champions

• After everything that happened to Flash in the tail-end of Equestrian Adventures, he doesn't start this story off in such a good place. Luckily though, a few of these moments throughout the opening chapter help bring him back to his old self.
  • Twilight's entire You Are Better Than You Think You Are speech towards him, when he finally explains his frustration over constantly losing to Lightning Blitz, as well as feeling he is even weaker now due to not having Hopper anymore. She is patient with him the whole time, tells him he has every right to be upset over Hopper, but also reminds him of everything he has accomplished up to this point and how everyone else recognizes his abilities.
    Twilight: Even if Lightning beats you a hundred times, me, Springer, the rest of your team and every other friend you've made know that you are the one worthy of being the next Equestrian champion. The only one who doesn't know that... is you.
  • All of Flash's Pokémon forgive him for pushing them too hard in a borderline abusive way for several days straight, tackling him in a group hug. They even say they still want to keep training, despite what they have been through, with Springer speaking on behalf of the group that they all still want to get strong enough to beat Lightning, doing it the right way, but they need Flash's help to do it.
  • It is finally revealed what Rarity's gift for Flash that she had Twilight hold on to at the end of the Hoffington Battle Tournament is, with Twilight leaving it for him after her pep-talk to him. They are his new clothes, like the ones he wore in the digital series. This Significant Wardrobe Shift for him is symbolized with him removing his old ruined jacket and letting it blow away in the wind, taking his depression and everything else that held him back with it.
• Flash's egg finally hatches in "Bitten Down the Hatchling", revealing a Shiny Starvern Flash nicknames Astro, and throughout the chapter there are several moments between Flash, the rest of the group, and the newborn Pokémon.
  • Flash is constantly patient with Astro, despite the trouble he causes at first, such as constantly biting everyone and wandering off to explore. One of the biggest moments though is when Astro is poisoned by an Ariados. Flash goes full Papa Wolf mode and has all five of his other Pokémon attack the Ariados at once, sending the spider flying with a giant explosion. Once Flash takes Astro back to camp and heals him, he promises to show him the wonders of the world and help protect him from the dangers in it, as long as he listens to him, finally gaining Astro's trust.
  • Shine quickly shows to adapt well to no longer being The Baby of the Bunch and becomes a Cool Big Sis to Astro almost immediately. When everyone else has trouble with him at first for biting them, she allows him to bite her on the tail since she can't feel pain there, and then swings her tail around as he holds on to take him for a ride. Later, when Flash brings Astro back after he was poisoned, Shine helps heal Astro.
• The beginning of "Flash in the Forest" shows that Flash allows Astro to travel outside of his Pokeball so he can see more wonders of the world, under the condition he behave himself... and stop trying to chomp Flash's hand. Flash shows him a view of the ocean and explains what it is to him.
• Doubling as an awesome moment, when Flash is separated from the rest of the group, with only Riptide, Prongs, and Viper with him, and all of them are under attack by an army of angry Trevenant, his three Pokémon all evolve into their final stages at the same time to protect him.
• In "The Ocean Champion":
  • When Flash and Riptide take part in the titular tournament, they end up befriending Terramar, who is also competing with his own Reptidal. After seeing how much Flash and Riptide struggled to win their first battle, recognizing Riptide's improper skills with a sword, Terramar shows good sportsmanship by offering to help Riptide train to use his sword better by copying his Reptidal's movements, despite the fact this will just make Flash and Riptide stronger opponents to face. He explains it is his responsibility to help the lesser experienced, and it will also help keep the title of Ocean Champion out of someone unworthy like Wingill's hands.
  • The Dazzlings make a surprise appearance, now having a trio of Popplio they say were given to them by the people of Vocanctus. They plan to evolve them into Primarina so they can sing with them.
  • Sonata Dusk is understandably overjoyed to see Flash again, tackling him in a surprise hug when they meet again. As she and Twilight hangout and support Flash through the tournament though, she realizes that Twilight knows more about Flash than she does, like the kind of food he likes and how she supported him after his loss against Lightning. Instead of getting jealous or trying to compete with her for Flash, Sonata shows a surprising amount of maturity, and chooses to gracefully back-off and remain friends with both of them. After the tournament, she hugs both Flash and Twilight goodbye, and whispers to Twilight that she understands and that Flash is all hers. Just shows that Sonata loves Flash so much, she wants him to be with whoever is the best for him, even if it isn't her.
  • Also doubling as an awesome moment, the simple fact that Riptide won the tournament is this. After worrying that he was simply going to hold Flash and the others back, now he has irrefutable proof of his strength that can't be taken away. This battle also helped erase the lingering doubts from his mind, due to his loss against Gorillamp in the Hoofington Battle Tournament. Now nobody, not Lightning, or Wingill, or anyone, can ever call him weak again.
• Rarity complements Astro when she and Applejack meet him, saying not only is he precious, but his shiny blue skin is "breathtaking".
• When Tidal Wave temporarily leaves Manehatten City to finish off Dreadbeard's Pokémon trafficking ring, he leaves Flash in charge of protecting the city while he is gone. He even tells Flash he reminds him of both and someone else who would most likely do something similar to what Flash did. What he didn't say was that the someone else he was referring to was Shining Armor, the current Equestrian Champion.
• When Riptide struggles during Flash's Gym Battle with Tidal Wave, Flash encourages him, reminding him that he's the Ocean Champion.
• Coco and her Feebas Fee-Fee are this all throughout "Pokémon Fashion Fad".
  • Unlike Suri Polomare, who only follows current fads and uses heavy make-up, Coco focuses on small accessories that best fit every Pokémon, while keeping their natural cuteness.
  • The story of how Coco and Fee-Fee met. Coco found her by the harbor poisoned, most likely by a Tentacool, and brought her back to her mentor Charity Kindheart, who helped heal her and helped spruce her up.
  • After Rarity admits to Coco she isn't sure what to do with her life, Coco encourages her she can try to do both Contests and be Poke-Stylist, since she shows talent in both areas.
  • When Suri tries to have her Glameow attack Coco, Fee-Fee jumps out of her water tank to knock the cat away and protect Coco.
  • When Fee-Fee gets hurt protecting Coco, and Suri continues to talk down about it, Coco says Fee-Fee is beautiful because she cares about others and is the most beautiful thing in the world to her. The crowd gathered for Coco's fashion show also call out to Fee-Fee in encouragement at this, and all this encouragement causes the Feebas to evolve into Milotic, with her outside beauty now matching her inner beauty.
    The Feebas heard this, unable to stop herself from smiling. For the first time in the fish's life, she felt truly beautiful.
• There is a small moment earlier in "Pokémon Fashion Fad", when everyone sees Suri's store and how she treats the Pokémon there. When they call her out on how the various Pokémon are all unhappy with their treatments, such as a Dodrio that was painted green, its trainer actually takes notice of this, and when Suri acts rude to a Paras calling it "ugly" without her treatment, its trainer looks upset at her for the comment. After Suri throws Flash's group out for arguing with her methods, both trainers leave shortly afterwards and clean up Dodrio and Paras, showing that the trainers aren't going to just blindly follow fads or what others claim and care for their Pokémon, foreshadowing the final outcome of the chapter.
• Twilight and Spike reuniting with Cadance in "Shine Bright Like A Crystal", and she meets the rest of their friends and Pokémon too and she ends up temporarily traveling with the group for the next several chapters.
• After Shine's fear of Piedoom is called to attention and how it is holding her back from her true potential, she ends up facing her fear to protect Twilight from a poacher's Piedoom, because at that moment she realized there was something she feared more than Piedoom: spending the rest of her life without Twilight in it. Conquering her fear also allows her to evolve into a Galarian Rapidash. When everyone else finds out they all cheer for Shine, and the chapter ends with Shine placing Twilight on her back and letting her ride on her as she gallops off.
• At the beginning of "Trapeze Trouble", Cadance tells how she and Shining traveled together on his journey, due to Celestia wanting Cadance to learn from the outside world, a lot like she did with Twilight and Flash.
• The group and Pinkie trying to help Acrobat Bliss and his lead Aipom after Aipom loses confidence and becomes upset in itself due to failing to catch Acrobat in one performance. When none of their attempts seem to work at first, during another show when Acrobat is in danger again, Aipom springs into action to save him, evolving into Ambipom just to get the extra reach needed to save him.
• In a demonstration of how much Twilight and Doc have developed, after Flash and Astro lose to Surgarcoat and her Morgrem, and Flash decides to train with Astro to beat them in a rematch, Twilight and Doc side with Flash in his decision, and against Cadance when she tries to tell him it would be pointless. Flash is actually so determined, that he ends up reminding Cadance of her husband, or at least the younger version of him that lacked experience and maturity, but nevertheless still had faith in all his Pokémon.
  • Sugarcoat gets a moment herself. Despite coming off as a jerkass with her Brutal Honesty, she still allows Flash to have a rematch with her after his day of training. She even goes out of her way to challenge him instead of the other way around, like how most other times this situation would go, even if it is only for pragmatic reasons.
  • After Flash and Astro win their rematch, Cadance says Flash certainly is one of a kind, clearly impressed. Twilight even outright says he is going to be the next Champion of Equestria, since she knows Shining can't hold on to the title forever.
• Sandbar and Sandshrew's friendship. Sandshrew is his very first Pokémon, but they have been friends for years since Sandshrew helped get his foot out of a Diglett hole, with Sandbar taking him home and his dad catching him for Sandbar until he was old enough to be a trainer. Even when Sandbar has a Moment of Weakness and trades Sandshrew to the scammer Double Cross when he tricks him into thinking he can't train Sandshrew properly, he immediately regrets his decision and tracks him down to apologize to Sandshrew. Thankfully, he is Easily Forgiven by his friend, and Sandshrew destroys his Pokeball so he no longer belongs to Double Cross so Sandbar can catch him again. Plus, as a small bonus, Sandbar ends up keeping the Weedle that Double Crossed scammed him into trading Sandshrew for, who is perfectly happy staying with them and makes quick friends with both of them.
• During the confrontation between Lightning Blitz and Cadance, Cadance tells Lightning that out of all the hotshot trainers she has met who want to defeat her husband and take his title, she feels like Flash has the best shot out of all of them at taking him on. This is very high praise coming from the wife of the champion, and shows how much Flash has impressed Cadance, and she has come to respect him in such a short time since they first met.
• The mere fact that Flash finally managed to beat Lightning. Even if he acknowledges that it wasn't a "real battle", it is still a major accomplishment for him and shows it is possible for him to beat Lightning, ending any lingering fear he has of facing him again.
• It is revealed that the Smooze was going on a rampage because it was looking for its baby, with the two hugging each other (or something close to it) when they are reunited.
• "Love, Pokémon Style" is basically just Flash and the others trying to help Tender Care get together with Purity Babbelo, the girl of his dreams. Flash only enters the tournament set up by Baron Von Babbelon to see who will marry Purity under the plan he will lose to Tender on purpose in the Finals, while also getting Astro some extra training in the process. Cadance gives Tender some love advice, telling him how she was the one that asked Shining out on their first date. Then, when Tender forfeits against Flash after realizing he was going too far during their battle, Flash holds nothing against him for it, and Flash politely declines getting engaged to Purity, which she is perfectly fine with it and ends up asking Tender to marry her anyway.
  • The end of the chapter also basically confirms that Springer ships Flash and Twilight, which is pretty adorable.
• When Flash and his friends meet Grand Hoof for the first time since The Hoofington Battle Tournament, Flash is nervous around him and ends up trying to distance himself from him due to how he failed to beat Lightning like he promised. When he finally breaks down to him and starts apologizing, Grand stops him and says that he is the one who is sorry, saying it was his own fault Flash lost because of his confrontation with Lightning before the battle, and that he never should have put so much pressure on him in the first place with their promise since they had only just met each other. Though Flash says he is still not giving up and says he is still going to beat Lightning, not just because of his promise to Grand, but to prove Lightning is wrong.
• When Heath Burns and his Blazard go through the trials to obtain the Dragonheart Orb so Blazzard can evolve. The first two trials are straightforward, but still show how well they work together. The final trial is to battle a Hydraworm, the guardian of the orb. When it becomes clear Blazzard is outmatched, Heath forfeits, not wanting his friend to get hurt fighting an impossible battle. This turns out to have been the right choice to the trial, and it earns them the orb from Hydraworm.
  • After Blazzard evolves into Blazegon, Flash asks Heath if he wants to have a battle to see how they can stack up to his Blazegon. Heath declines, saying they should save their battle for the Equestria League.
• When Twilight is constantly worried for Flash throughout "Getting Back On Track", Cadance can't help but grin at how her sister-in-law is getting worked up, understanding the true signs of her feelings for Flash even if Twilight herself doesn't yet.
• The Frostorge that was attacking the train is revealed to only be doing so to protect some Snocicle that are on migration and about to evolve, but the train is accidentally disturbing them. Once everyone understands what it is doing, they are able to work everything out with it so the train can continue without disturbing its friends.
• Sombra reveals that when his parents died in an accident when he was still a baby, he was taken in by a group of Absol and raised as one of their own. When he and the Absol were found by a group of humans when he was twelve though, his adoptive family urged him to go with them so he could be with his own kind again.
• Shining Armor takes on a role as a mentor to Flash briefly in "Shrieking A Difficult Lesson". He points out that there is a weakness Springer has, how he only knows Fighting and Normal type moves, and is thus incapable of damaging Ghost-type Pokémon. Though Flash and Springer once again lose to Shining, even after Springer learns the Ground type move Bone Rush, Shining says he will be waiting to take him on again whenever he is ready.
  • Once Flash and his friends leave The Crystal Empire, Shining and Cadance talk about Flash together, and the possibility of him being the one to take Shining's title from him.
    Shining: I can't just give my title away. It needs to be won by someone worthy. But who knows, that might just be Flash. After all, he's just as big a loser as I was at his age.
• Flash and the others witness Yona catching her first Pokémon. In her village, instead of choosing her first Pokémon, the Pokémon themselves choose her. Yona enters a pin where they keep their wild Fridglet, and they all smell her, and whichever likes her smell the most comes toward her as her first Pokémon. It is pretty adorable, especially when the Fridglet that chooses her leaps at her, allowing Yona to hug it.
• "Springer's Destiny" has plenty of moments, some of which cross with Tearjerker:
  • Springer and Flash find his old pack, and Springer ends up happily reuniting with an old friend of his. The two press their paws together and have them glow for a few seconds, like a Secret Handshake between them, before embracing in a hug. All the other Riolu quickly notice Springer and happily crowd around him, hugging him and welcoming him back. Shows that Springer still has plenty of friends in his old pack that care about him, even after what the Lucario did to him.
  • During his battle against the Lucario responsible for him being unable to evolve, Flash and his friends cheer Springer on from the sidelines, and they are joined when all of Flash's other Pokémon release themselves from their Pokeballs to join in to, even saying how Springer is their leader.
  • After Springer defeats Lucario, and Lucario is thrown out of the pack by the rest of the Riolu, it seems like Springer becomes their new leader. Seeing how happy Springer is, Flash initially tries to leave him with them, thinking it is where he will be happiest despite the pain he feels from losing him. When the others all try to tell him to rethink this, Flash says that Springer never chose to be with him before, since Lucario threw him out, Shining Armor caught him, and then left him with Flash, but now he can be with his real family again. To his surprise though, Springer does make his own choice, choosing to stay with Flash instead of returning to his pack, seeing Flash and his friends as his family now. After Springer shares one more moment with his old friend, and apparently passing leadership to him, he runs at Flash and the two best friends reunite in a tearful hug while the rest of the Riolu all chant a cheer for them.
• As Lairon is slowly being overwhelmed by Heatran, and begins to lose consciousness, he imagines how without him Doc will try to fight off Heatran with his other Pokémon, only for them all to end up getting hurt. As Doc's words to him from earlier, about him having a will of pure steel and being a shield Doc can trust when times are tough, Lairon shoots his eyes open, refusing to let Heatran hurt his friends, and evolves into Aggron to better fight against the Legendary.
• Although Heatran is technically an antagonist due to attacking the group and almost getting Aggron killed, it was ultimately a creature pulled from its home against its will, so when another portal opens in front of it leading it back home, seeing it cheer happily and jump through it back to where it belongs is nice.
• All of Flash's Pokémon are excited like he is for his final Gym Battle. When Astro makes it clear to him that he wants to battle in it, despite having the least experience on the team, Flash happily agrees to use him.
• Spike and Ember becoming friends is just as heartwarming here as it was in canon. When Spike passes the title of Gym Leader to her, Ember asks him to do her a favor. When he finally goes on his own journey, come back and challenge her to a battle.
• In a small moment, Torch's Druddigon knew that Ember was worthy of being Torch's successor much sooner than Torch himself, having watched her grow up and train various Dragon-types in the Gym. When Torch sees that Ember entered the contest despite his protests and won, all it takes is Druddigon nodding at him for him to accept it.
• Though Flash is a bit disappointed he missed out on facing strongest Gym Leader in Equestria due to Torch retiring, Ember is happy to face him as her premier battle as a Gym Leader.
• Flash's final Gym Battle with Ember is awesome, but also has plenty of heartwarming moments too:
  • We see that Ember has already taken Smolder as her apprentice, with Smolder acting as the referee for the match.
  • Although Ember became the owner of all the Pokémon Torch left in the Gym when she became the new Gym Leader, she chooses to use all of the Pokémon she trained herself against Flash for her premiere battle.
  • It is pointed out how each of Flash's Pokémon are still able to help in the battle even after they have been defeated. Such as Viper managing to poison Ember's Pokémon or Riptide lowering their defense with Aqua Break and Rock Smash.
  • When Flash is down to just one Pokémon, he still honors his promise to Astro and uses him against Champagoon, trusting that Astro can handle it.
  • When it seems like Astro is on the verge of defeat, all of Flash's Pokémon, even the ones exhausted and injured from their previous battles, come out to cheer for him, just like they did for Springer against Lucario. Hearing this, and realizing his team is also his family, gives Astro his Heroic Second Wind, and lets him evolve into a Galvern. Later, after a massive battle between him and Champagoon, when it seems like they are both about to collapse, Astro once again hears everyone cheering for him, and manages to catch himself from falling, winning the battle and the match.
  • Despite Ember losing, Torch tells her it was still an impressive match worthy of being called a Gym Battle.
• Thanks to his battle with Sombra and Team Shadow, Flash finally has the answer to the question that he has been searching for since he first lost to Thorax; a reason to be strong. He realizes from his travels that there are plenty of wonderful people with dreams that can benefit Equestria and the world. But there are also horrible people like Sombra with selfish dreams that only benefit themselves and hurt everyone else. Flash declares he will be strong to stop people like him, and make sure that only good dreams will come true.
• Cadance assures Flash that Shining believes in him when Flash is forced to take command when Shining is injured by Sombra. She also tells him how Shining once said that he was "just a big a loser as he was at your age", explaining that when Shining calls someone a "loser" it just means that they hate to lose.
• When Flash calls on all of Equestria to help defeat Sombra, there is a quick montage of several people getting ready to head out and help him. This includes many of the friends he has made on his journey, like the rest of the Mane 6, Trixie, Sonata and her sisters, and his grandmother, but even his rivals Timber Spruce and Lightning Blitz. The message even reaches the Dragon Kingdom, with Hopper staring at the image of his trainer before silently turning to Drayce, who instantly understands. Ryu even assures Hopper they are going to help Flash like he helped them.
• After Sombra has been defeated thanks to Flash and Springer, Twilight happily jumps at Flash with the two of them embracing in a hug as they fall into the snow together, before Flash's Pokémon run over and hug him as well.
• Though it is only brief, Hopper reunites with Flash and his friends during the battle against Sombra and stays a bit longer afterwards, getting to properly meet Astro and surprised to see that his best friend Shine had evolved.
• Multiple moments from "The Beginning of the End" during the buildup to the League:
  • The gang is finally back in Canterlot City, and they reunite with the friends they met on their journey, as well as many other familiar faces.
  • Thorax and Ember are revealed to have become friends after they met in the Crystal Empire.
  • Twilight's parents let Flash and Doc sleep at their house, and the group tells them all about their journey.
  • Flash and Twilight go for a walk together the night before the League begins, and reflect on their journey together and how much they have both changed thanks to each other.
• Luna tells Trixie that she is proud of how much she has grown up since they first met, and gives her some encouraging words about her upcoming battle with Flash. Even when Trixie comes up with a strategy to use, Luna says not to tell her, so not to ruin the surprise for her.
• One moment easy to miss at first is during Flash and Trixie's battle, between Astro and Hatterene. During the battle, Hatterene has Astro Bound and Gagged in her hair, and defeats him with a Draining Kiss to the head. Once Astro is knocked out and goes limp though, it is noted that Hatterene gently lowers Astro to the ground before unwrapping him. This might not seem like much, but the average Pokémon probably would have just let their defeated opponent go instantly, and let them crash into the ground. This is like a non-lethal version of Cradling Your Kill, and showing her defeated opponent respect.
• Even after Flash defeats Trixie, the crowd cheers for her just as much as him for giving an excellent performance in the battle. Trixie is so surprised by this she cries Tears of Joy.
• Cloud Clipper arrives after the second round of the League and greets Flash and his friends, saying how much more mature Flash looks now.
• When Cloud Clipper meets with Spitfire later, Spitfire confirms what she previously implied, that she is planning to make Rainbow Dash her apprentice. She also states that she still believes Rainbow has what it takes to be champion, saying if she wins the League and beats Shining Armor then she won't need her, but will be there to offer the position to her if she falls short. Cloud Clipper for her part, despite not knowing Rainbow as well as Spitfire, thinks she is a good pick, since Rainbow reminds her of herself when she was her age, which was the same thing she thought about Spitfire when she was Rainbow's age.
• When Cloud and Spitfire are talking about how much Flash has grown since his journey began, Spitfire acknowledges that if Flash wins and becomes the new champion, Equestria will be in good hands.
• Tank comforting Rainbow when she gets nervous before her battle with Lightning.
• Though Rainbow ultimately loses to Lightning we get to see everyone cheering for her and supporting her through the match, including Fluttershy being the first one in the crowd to yell her cheers, quickly followed by everyone else, and we see Rainbow's parents and Soarin cheering for her as they watch the match elsewhere.
• Cloud and Spitfire both comfort Rainbow after she loses to Lightning, saying she brought pride to all Flying-type trainers with her performance, and Rainbow happily accepts Spitfire's offer to become her apprentice.
• Following Applejack's loss to Flash, Granny Smith gives her the the Official Harvest Badge, meaning Applejack is now officially the new Leader of the Applewood City Gym. She might have lost the battle, but her journey ended in complete success.
• Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Trixie all dress like cheerleaders to cheer Flash on during his match with Lightning in the finals.
• While Flash is training with Hopper before the finals, Ryu reveals that Princess actually laid an egg a week ago, meaning Hopper is going to be a dad soon and Ryu will be its trainer when it hatches. He even says the whole village cheered when they found Hopper and Princess curled around the egg together. Flash congratulates Hopper but briefly wonders if he should even be there, worried he might miss the birth of his child. Flash is assured by Kaida that Hoppin eggs take months to hatch, and Ryu adds Princess was the one who told Hopper to go help Flash, because she knew how much he wanted to help Flash win. To top it all off, they say the entire Dragon Kingdom is planning to watch the battle and give their support.
• At the every end of Flash and Lightning's battle in the finals there is a genuine moment from Gorillamp of all people! Previously he had just been shown to be just as big of a jerkass as his trainer, constantly mocking Riptide at every turn. But once he realizes that he has lost the battle, he gives Riptide a friendly smirk and whispers "Not Bad" just loud enough for Riptide to hear before falling face first to the ground.
• The aftermath of the battle and Flash's victory:
  • Flash's friends nearly cry Tears of Joy for him when he wins, except for Twilight, who openly sobs happily.
  • Flash can hardly believe it at first when he is declared the winner, with realization slowly dawning on him that he has not only won the battle, but finally beat his rival Lightning and won the Equestria League. His reaction is a lot like Ash's when he finally defeated his very first rival Gary. but perhaps even better since it included winning the whole tournament.
    Flash: I did it... I did it... I won. And I beat... Lightning. (begins to shake with joy before jumping in the air) I WON THE EQUESTRIA LEAGUE!
  • Springer happily jumping into Flash's arms and the two hugging, before they both go onto the field and thank Riptide for his hard work and catching him as he has a Post-Victory Collapse. After Flash returns him to rest up, he thanks all of his Pokémon while they are inside their Pokeballs and tell them they are the best team he could asks for, with all the Pokeballs shaking in agreement, knowing Flash is the best trainer they could ask for.
  • Even while Lightning Blitz is completely shocked from his defeat, having his entire worldview shattered, Gorillamp slowly drags himself over to his trainer expecting to be punished, only for Lighting in his broken state to thank Gorillamp for his hard work and return him.
  • Grand silently apologizes to Flash for doubting him.
  • The award ceremony afterwards, with Flash standing on the victory podium like he always dreamed of. He and all seven of his Pokémon are given medals by Celestia, Luna, and Cadance, and Flash is given the trophy for the League by Shining Armor, with Flash letting all of his team get a good look at it.
  • Lightning meets with Grand again after his defeat. The first thing Grand says is he is proud of Lightning for making it so far in just one year of training all on his own, even if he didn't agree with his methods or his attitude. Lightning finally acknowledges that he still has a lot to learn and that maybe there is something to what Flash has been saying after all, asking if Grand would be willing to train him. Grand agrees, with the two of them heading out together; Lightning finally beginning his path to redemption like Grand hoped he would.
• "The Ties That Bind" has plenty of moments:
  • Flash camping out with his Pokémon to train for their battle with Shining Armor. He ends up reflecting on how far they have all come since he first met them, really showing their Character Development and how much they mean to him. Though Hopper is sadly absent from this due to needing to return to the Dragon Kingdom, he and Flash at least get a heartfelt goodbye together. Later when it starts to rain, Flash and his team take shelter in a nearby cave, and all his Pokémon make themselves into a makeshift bed for him, with all seven of them snuggling together.
  • Shining Armor briefly trains for the battle himself with Cadance. They both agree that even if Shining loses to Flash, Flash will be a worthy successor. When they discuss what Shining could do afterwards if he loses, Cadance suggests maybe helping her with her research or opening his own Gym in the Crystal Empire. Shining however thinks he should take a break from battling for a few years, let his Pokémon relax and enjoy themselves, and maybe raise a family with Cadance. The married couple share a kiss together after this.
  • When Flash and his team start to head back to Canterlot for the battle with Shining, they find themselves on the same path Flash and Springer took at the start of the series, and end up at the same lake they first met Pegasoar, and see him there once again, no longer obscured by the mist like he was the first time. Flash thanks Pegasoar, not just for believing in him and choosing him as his champion, but for being the whole reason his journey ended up the way it did.
    Flash: It was you. (Pegasoar tilts his head at this) If you hadn't shown yourself to me that day, I would have gotten to Professor Celestia's Lab a lot sooner. I would have been registered for the Pokémon League and left before Lightning arrived. It's thanks to you that my rivalry with Lightning started. It's thanks to you that I battled him, stayed in Canterlot overnight and helped save Champagoon. You're the reason Celestia trusted me to look after Twilight, so I could journey with her and Spike. Everything I've done since I met you, everything I've learned and done... it's all thanks to you.
    Pegasoar: Peg.
    Pegasoar spreads his wings and flies over the lake landing in front of Flash. Flash smiles and gently pets his mane.
    Flash: Thank you, for helping me become the trainer I am today. You chose me to be your champion because you saw something in me. I'm glad I was able to live up to your expectations. If I become Champion, I promise I'll do whatever it takes to keep this region safe. Heck, even if I don't, I'll still do it. Equestria is an amazing place, and no matter what, I won't let anyone or anything hurt it. I'll keep it safe.
• Seeing the montage of everyone watching the championship match across Equestria. Seeing so many characters that Flash has interacted with, even only once, watching him and cheering for him show how many people he and his friends have touched on their journey.
• During Flash's match against Shining Armor, each time one of Flash's Pokémon is struggeling against one of Shining's, Flash gives them a Rousing Speech about them and all they have accomplished that triggers a Heroic Second Wind and lets them keep going, showing how much Flash cares about his team and believes in them, and how much his encouragment means to them after everything.
• In the climax of Flash and Shining's match:
  • Flash and Springer both appear unresponsive due to the amount of damage they have both taken from their bond together. When they are only given five minutes to stand back up and continue the battle or be disqualified, the crowd begins roaring for the two of them to get back up, deafening one another. However, despite all of the noise, the one person who screams the loudest is Twilight, screaming for Flash and Springer to get back up and fulfill their dream.
  • When Flash is unconcious and floating through the darkness of his mind, a vision of Twilight appears and literally pulls him out of the darkness. As she hugs him close she tells him not to give up yet, telling him she knows how amazing he is and he isn't alone in this fight. This is followed by Flash seeing Springer, who speaks to him saying he has chosen him as his trainer and he knew they were meant to be together since the day they met.
  • In perhaps one of the biggest examples in the series, Springer's evolution. Riolu are already known for evolving once they have high friendship with their trainer, but Springer was said to never be able to evolve due to the Everstone energy he absorbed. So, Springer and Flash's bond actually became so powerful that it overcame the Everstone energy itself, and allowed Springer to evolve into Lucario despite it being seemingly impossible.
• After defeating Shining Armor, the first thing Flash and Springer do is run towards each other and embrace in a hug. Springer's new weight as a Lucario briefly overwhelms Flash and causes him to fall with Springer on top of him, but the pair keep hugging.
• Flash and his team officially being inducted into the Hall of Fame as the new official champion.
• The aftermath party celebrating Flash as the new champion.
  • The party is joined by all of Flash's friends and the Gym Leaders he faced.
  • Everyone shares different stories about Flash at the party. The Gym Leaders tell each other and his friends how Flash won their badges, and his friends share their various adventures with him and how he helped them.
  • Flash and Twilight step outside to talk together, and Flash tells her how he saw her while he was unconcious earlier. Twilight admits to him there was a moment she was praying for him to wake up, and she blacked out for a moment before he and Springer got up. They assume this means that either Twilight connected to Springer herself at one point which connected her to Flash, or more likely, the two of them just found a way to connect themselves.
  • After Flash and Twilight say of they are each other's light, they share their First Kiss together. They both agree it was nice, and before Flash can kiss her again they watch the fireworks that are set off together.
• The final chapter of the series, "Lives Full of Harmony and Chaos", has lots of these moments throughout, where we see where the characters we have followed for so long, including the supporting chaarcters and even a few minor and one-shot characters, now are three years later.
  • Twilight is now a Professor herself, and has taken over Professor Celestia's old lab, with Celestia and Luna travel and make more discoveries with Sunset and Trixie respectively. Twilight takes care of the lab with the help of her own Pokémon, and she gives three new trainers their own Starters, with all of them getting along with their new partners instantly.
  • Doc continues being the Trottingham City Gym Leader, and Derpy pays him a visit to deliver him a package he invites her to stay and talk with him for awhile.
  • Spike is now a trainer himself and is on his own journey. Twilight says he is planning to beat every Gym that Flash did, and that he calls her every time he wins a badge. Spike also has his own Stegoliath now, just like the one he befriended years ago.
  • Shining Armor and Cadance now have Flurry Heart as their daughter and are teaching her everything she needs to know about Pokémon for when she starts her own journey one day. Flash is also refered to as Flurry's "pseudo-uncle", and it is clear Flurry loves him, looking around excitedly for him during a call with Twilight, getting dissapointed when told he isn't there, and quickly becoming happy again when Twilight promises to have him call her when he gets back to Canterlot.
  • Despite having lost his championship title to Flash three years ago, Shining Armor clearly enjoys his life in the Crystal Empire with his family and watching as the Empire slowly grew. He also keeps all his Pokémon well trained, and while watching Galladin practice, he imagines that maybe in a few yeas once Flurry begins her own journey he could try starting his own Gym in the Crystal Empire.
  • Applejack is still the Gym Leader of Applewood City and is seen batteling Spike.
  • Fluttershy has successfully started Sweet Feather Sanctuary to act as a sanctuary for all wild Pokémon.
  • Rainbow has made lots of progress as Spitfire's apprentice, with Spitfire implying she may be ready to make Rainbow the new official Gym Leader soon, and Soarin arrives to take her out on a date.
  • Pinkie has opened her own bakery in Baltimare City, where she and her Pokémon provide delicious sweet treats, that also has a battlefield in the back that lets Pinkie have fun battling with anyone.
  • Rarity has become a famous Coordinator that is favored to win Equestria's first Grand Festival later that year. She has also been working in the fashion industry as Coco's partner while also doing work in the Pasio Region.
  • Hopper contiues to rule as the King of Dragons, with him and Princess now having not one, but three Hoppin offspring. Hopper is raising his firstborn to one day take his place as king, and is seen smiling at his son happily when he jumps from Princess' head onto Hopper's.
  • The Dazzlings are preparing for a tour all across Equestria after the next Voice of the Ocean Festival, and Sonata has already sent tickets with VIP passes to her friends in Canterlot for when they arrive there. Also, their Popplio have now fully evolved into Primarina, meaning they can now perform with them like they planned.
  • The CMC have begun their own journey together, each with an Evvee of their own and a different Evolution Stone.
  • The Young Six have each met each other and Sandbar and Gallus are seen having a battle with their Sandslash and Braviary.
  • Several of the friends that Flash and the others made travel to other regions to continue their journey. Vinyl and Octavia travel to Unova together, Micro Chips and Sandalwood travel to Hoenn together, and Heath Burns travels to Kanto.
  • Gloriosa and Timber continue to work at Camp Everfree, and it is shown by this new generation that Flash's old adventures are still being told.
  • Lightning Blitz continues to train his team, but even though he still seeks to defeat Flash and become champion himself someday, he now wants to do it the right way, showing he has stayed on his path to redemption and has become a better person thanks to it.
  • Finally, Flash has done just what he said he would do and has protected Equestria as its champion. He and his team once again stop Big Score and his goons and make sure they are arrested by several Officer Hard Cases, before he calls Twilight telling her he is heading back to Canterlot. The two agree that since he has been gone for a monh and a half they will go on an "extra special date" to make up for their time apart, with the two telling each other they love each other before ending the call.

Pokémon the Movie: Rival and Darkness

• It is revealed that Flash is now famous after leading the final battle against Sombra and being the one to finally beat him. He and his friends are swarmed by fans who ask him for battles or if they can take photos of him.
• Twilight tells Lightning Blitz that regardless of what he might think of Flash, or whoever ends up winning the Equestria League, she knows Flash will be remembered better than he ever will, and lists several of his achievements.
  Twilight: He's Flash Sentry, the boy chosen by Pegasoar who saved the Legendaries Eclixie and Sirenity from psychopaths that wanted to use their powers for themselves, and who led the charge against Team Shadow in the final battle. Honestly, Flash has done so much for the region that it doesn't even matter if you beat him in the Equestria League. He'll always be a real hero.
• When the group and Sunburst begin to suspect that Starlight Glimmer might be the one responsible for draining the Pokémon at the Pokémon Center of their energy, they track her down to the stadium where the tournament is being held. When they find her, she has an energy gun with her, but it turns out she is there to use it to restore the energy of the various Pokémon that were drained previously, because she felt guilty over what happened to them due to the system being hacked. She demonstrates this by healing the Lilligant that Lightning Blitz defeated in an earlier battle.
• When the gang says goodbye to Starlight and Sunburst, although the two can't go to the League with them due to their work, they still promise to cheer for Flash.

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