Arriving at the Hoofington Battle Tournament, the group meets many familiar faces who are also participating, and learn the rules and format of the tournament. The first battle of the tournament is a Battle Royal between Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Sunset Shimmer.
- Beam-O-War: In the climax of the battle, Sunset has Ray launch a Solar Beam at Shine, and Twilight counters by having Shine use Mystical Fire. The two attacks collide, and although Mystical Fire can't overpower Solar Beam, it manages to cut through it since Fire-type moves are super effective against Grass-type moves, and curve the attack so it doesn't hit Shine before striking Ray.
- Berserk Button: Lightning gets mad when Fluttershy calls out Harry for the battle, still upset that he didn't catch the Grizzor.
- The Bus Came Back: Not only do a few recurring characters return for the tournament, but also a few characters that have only made a single appearance previously; Cedar, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and Spark Plug.
- Enemy Mine: It is discussed how during a Battle Royal, it is possible for two or more people to make a temporary alliance to go after someone else, so the strongest competitor isn't always the winner. After Applejack is eliminated, Twilight and Sunset focus their efforts on eliminating Harry.
- Foreshadowing: Lightning remarks that the tournament will be broadcast all over the region, which becomes an important point that leads into the final arc of the story.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Twilight once again gets jealous when Sunset flirts with Flash. Before the battle begins, Sunset tells Flash to wish her luck and winks at him, with Twilight rolling her eyes.
- Mêlée à Trois: The first round of the Hoofington Battle Tournament is always a four way Battle Royal match with each trainer using only one Pokémon each, with the last one standing moving on to the next round. The first battle of the torunament ends in Twilight's victory against Applejack, Fluttershy, and Sunset.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Applejack and Rarity show up at the tournament, with Applejack saying she finally managed to defeat Granny Smith and get the Harvest Badge.
- Taking the Bullet: Sunset has Ray jump in front of Shine's Mystical Fire that was aimed at Bloomberg. Though rather than to protect Bloomberg, it was actually to activate Ray's Flash Fire ability, which increases his Attack and Special Attack when he's hit by a Fire-type move.
- That's Gotta Hurt: Present Mic says this twice. First when Ray hits both Bloomberg and Harry with a Flame Burst attack, and then when Shine is hit by Ray's Dragon Pulse and slides across the field for a moment.
