Flash's band are still on their trek through the Grand Desert, in which Spike befriends a seemingly wild Pokémon, Stegolate.
- Bittersweet Ending: The heroes protect the Stegolate, later Stegoliath, from being captured by Big Score, Rickashay, and Boulder, but it's revealed that the Stegoliath actually comes from the Pokémon Fossil Research Lab and thus can't be captured by Flash's team. This particularly saddens Spike, who developed a close bond with it and doesn't want to leave it, but he's eventually convinced to part ways with it, as the Stegoliath is reunited with its own family.
- A Day in the Limelight: As the name implies, the focus protagonist of the chapter is Spike, who forms a heartwarming bond with the Stegolate before they ultimately have to part ways.
- Evil Poacher: In this chapter, Big Score, Rickashay, and Boulder attempt to poach a Stegolate, but they end up losing it during their transport and try to get it back. This inevitably leads to conflict with Flash's group when they find it first.
- Fossil Revival: Stegolate are prehistoric Pokémon that have been extinct for millions of years, so the appearance of a supposed wild one is treated by Twilight and Doc as a mystery of nature. It's eventually revealed that it was actually revived by researchers who specialize with fossil Pokémon and the Stegolate was just lost in the wild.
- Interspecies Friendship: Spike develops a rapid friendship with the Stegolate, feeding it a treat and playing games with it.
- Mythology Gag: This chapter is heavily based on the episode "The Tiny Caretaker", almost to the point of being a Whole-Plot Reference. In both, the Tag Along Kid of the group meets and befreinds a seemingly wild Fossil Pokémon and protect it from a Terrible Trio, with it evolving in the process, only to discover it already belongs to someone and leading to a tearful goodbye.
- Shoo the Dog: When returning Stegoliath to its family at the Pokémon Fossil Research Lab, Stegoliath initially tries to follow Spike again after he says his goodbye, only for Spike to tearfully tell Stegoliath it needs to stay.
- Took a Level in Badass: The Stegolate ends up fighting back against the three criminals, evolving in the process into Stegoliath.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Spike and Peewee spend the whole chapter bonding with Stegolate, to the point that Spike wants to ask Twilight to catch him for him like she did with Peewee so they can stay together. After Stegolate evolves into Stegoliath, Twilight agrees to catch it, under the condition Spike take care of it, only for them to discover that Stegoliath is not a wild Pokémon like they thought and already has an owner. Thus, Spike is forced to tearfully say goodbye to his new friend.
