After their adventure in the Dragon Kingdom, the gang continues their journey to Manehatten City. However, Flash's depression over recent events has only gotten worse due to Hopper's departure. After everyone learns their Pokémon have been infected with Pokérus, a special "disease" that temporarily boosts the experience they gain in large increments for a few days, Flash dives further into training then ever, pushing his Pokémon and himself more than he ever has before to an unhealthy degree. Can his friends help him overcome his depression and get back to his old self before he ends up damaging himself or his team permanently?
- Accidental Hero: When Flash spends several days and nights straight training, he unknowingly delays Big Score's plans for several days, since he doesn't want to reveal himself until he is sure nobody will interrupt him.
- Detrimental Determination: Flash, still hurting from his humiliating loss against Lightning, dives headfirst into training his Pokémon once he learns he has the opportunity to greatly increase their power for the next few days thanks to the Pokérus. The problem is, he becomes so determined to make the most of the time he has that he trains nearly non-stop with his team, barley stopping to let any of them or himself eat or sleep, all in the determination to catch up with and beat Lightning. But, his friends try to point out that he is pushing his team and himself way too hard, to borderline abusive levels, and if he doesn't ease up he could end up permanently injuring them, maybe even fatally. Flash however is too deep into his mindset to listen to them, on top of now suffering from sleep-deprivation, and lashes out at them in anger and suggests he would be better off without them. This eventually results in him and his entire team finally collapsing from exhaustion in the middle of the night.
- Downer Beginning: This chapter is the beginning of Equestrian Champions, and deals with Flash dealing with his depression from his major loss against Lightning Blitz, which was worsened from Hopper leaving his team. Flash spends most of the chapter not acting like himself at all, pushing himself and his Pokémon for several days straight with little food or sleep, lashing out at his friends in anger when they try to step in, and breaks down to Twilight over his failure and feelings of helplessness. Thankfully, by the end of the chapter he is back to his old self and better than ever.
- Easily Forgiven: All of Flash's Pokémon forgive him for pushing them so hard and assure him they want to keep training with him and get stronger the right way. His friends also forgive him for lashing out at them and saying he would be better off without them.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: Flash has his hair accidentally burned by Viper while training. After overcoming his Heroic BSoD, he cuts off the burnt parts off-screen and gives himself a new hairstyle. Similar to his Significant Wardrobe Shift, it is meant to make him look more mature.
- Five Stages of Grief: Flash goes through these over the course of the chapter.
- Denial: Just like after the Hoofington Battle Tournament, Flash continues to insist he is fine, ignoring his depression over his loss to Lightning and Hopper's departure from his team.
- Anger: Flash becomes a lot more aggressive with training his Pokémon, hardly letting them rest or eat and pushing them harder then ever. He later turns this towards his friends when they try to get him to stop it, shouting he is sick of them always acting like know-it-alls and trying to boss him around, and saying maybe he keeps losing to Lightning because they are holding him back.
- Bargaining: Flash uses the Pokérus as an opportunity to get as strong as possible so he can catch up to and surpass Lightning, changing his training methods in an attempt to "break his limits".
- Depression: After passing out from exhaustion he suffers a nightmare where he loses to Lightning in the Equestria League and all his Pokémon abandon him for being weak. After Twilight helps nurse him back to health, Flash finally breaks down to her over his loss against Lightning, how he not only lost and failed to keep his promise to Grand, but he constantly fails to prove Lightning wrong about his views on Pokémon or training methods and allowed Lightning to humiliate him and his team in front of all of Equestria. Plus he feels he is even weaker now since he doesn't have Hopper anymore. Twilight does her best to comfort him and assure him that he can surpass Lightning, but not by acting like him.
- Acceptance: After everything, Flash apologizes to his team and his friends for letting Lightning get in his head, and starts to let go of his troubles and concerns that held him back and move forward.
- From Bad to Worse: Flash's Heroic BSoD has gotten even worse due to Hopper leaving his team. The discovery of his team being infected with Pokérus pushes it even harder, with him subjecting them and himself to much harsher training then ever before and pushing away everyone close to him.
- Heroic BSoD: Flash's depression from how the Battle Tournament ended reaches its apex here, except now it is even worse due to having lost Hopper. He feels he not only failed to keep his promise to Grand, he has failed himself by constantly failing to prove Lightning wrong. He ends up pushing himself and his team harder than ever, pushing his friends away in the process. Thankfully, after a heart to heart with Twilight, who reminds him of everything he has accomplished and how much they all care about him, he pulls himself out of it.
- Heroic RRoD: Flash goes through one, ironically while in the middle of his Heroic BSoD. When his Pokémon are infected with Pokérus, he pushes them and himself harder than ever before, to borderline abusive level. They train day and night, barely stopping to eat or sleep, all in a desperate attempt to get as strong as possible before the Pokérus goes away. Unfortunately, this leads him to a sleep-deprived state, which combined with his previous depression, causes him to lash out at his friends when they try to stop him. Flash and his team eventually collapse from exhaustion in the middle of the night, but thankfully Twilight was there to nurse him back to health quickly.
- He's Back!: By the end of the chapter, Flash finally overcomes his Heroic BSoD, and he and his team are stronger than ever, which they demonstrate by subjecting Big Score and his goons to a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Flash is so desperate to surpass Lightning he pushes himself and his team harder than ever before, to the point he starts acting like Lightning himself. Twilight later tells him "If you let yourself become like Lightning just to beat him, then he'll have truly won".
- Locked Out of the Loop: Swift Knuckles watched Flash compete in both the Hoof Cup and Hoofington Battle Tournament, and admired him for not just his strength but how well he treated his Pokémon. So he is shocked to see Flash no longer acting like the boy he admired, unaware of why his loss to Lightning has affected him so much due to not knowing how personal it was.
- The Reveal: Rarity's intended gift for Flash that she gave to Twilight to hold on to until he felt better is revealed to be a new set of clothes, styled after his updated look in the digital series.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Twilight gives Flash the gift that Rarity wanted him to have after the Battle Tournament. They turn out to be his new updated clothes from the digital series, and the climax of the chapter has him now wearing them as a replacement for his old ruined clothes. This change serves as both Flash letting go of his problems that were previously holding him back, and also him trying to act more mature.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Big Score, Rickashay, and Boulder all show they evolved their Pokémon off-screen, with Jesterror, Stompice, and Spikorn now being a Piedoom, Frostorge, and Stalorn respectively.
- All of Flash's Pokémon have done this by the end of the chapter thanks to a combination of the Pokérus and Flash's proper training, to the point it even impresses Swift Knuckles. Skyler also shows he has learned Giga Impact, which sends the criminals blasting off.
- The Worf Effect: Big Score, Rickashay, and Boulder are on both the giving and receiving end. After having been reduced to little more than an annoyance in previous appearances, they have shown to have evolved their Pokémon off-screen, and easily defeat Flitanium, Shine, and Peewee. But then they all end up curb-stomped by Flash and his team to demonstrate how much stronger they have become thanks to their training.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Shine freezes in fear when she faces off against Big Score's Piedoom.
