After winning his third Gym Badge, Flash and his friends decide to compete in a Flying-Type battle tournament, after hearing about it from Igneous Pie. While there, they run into Cloud Clipper, the defending champion of the tournament, and Flash's long-mentioned grandmother.
- Death by Origin Story: Flash's parents both died in an accident when he was four-years old. His grandmother, Cloud Clipper, became his guardian due to being his only living relative and decided to retire as Gym Leader and move to her son's home to raise Flash.
- Giant Flyer: Cloud Clipper's Pidgeot is noted to be almost twice the size of a normal one. Considering that a normal Pidgeot is just short of 5 feet tall, that would put hers at being just short of 10 feet!
- I Regret Nothing: Cloud says she doesn't regret her decision to retire as Gym Leader to focus on raising Flash.
- Kidnapping Bird of Prey: Cloud Clipper's Pidgeot swoops down on the group and grabs Flash by the waist, carrying him up the mountain to Cloud.
- Ring Out: One of the rules of the tournament is if a Pokémon hits the ground at any point during the match they lose.
- Took a Level in Badass: Skyler evolves into a Wingust and learns Air Cutter. Flash even lampshades this before the final match with his grandma, when he tells Skyler how far he has come since they first met, going from being unable to fly to making it to the finals of a tournament designed for Flying-Types.
- Tournament Arc: Flash, Doc, and Cloud all compete in the Sky Battle Tournament, a five round tournament designed specifically for Flying-Types, with Flash and Skyler emerging as the victors.
- Unseen No More: Flash has mentioned his grandmother and some of her advice throughout the series, and she finally makes her debut here, excluding her brief appearance in a flashback during "Evolutionary Block".
- What the Hell, Hero?: Cloud is upset at Flash for not keeping his promise to her that he would call her every now and then while he was on his journey, having not received a single call since he left. Twilight is similarly annoyed upon hearing this.
- Wham Episode: Skyler evolves from a Chickling to a Wingust, being the first of Flash's Pokémon to evolve, and Flash wins his first official tournament.
- The Worf Effect: Cloud Clipper is stated to be the former Cloudsdale City Gym Leader and defending champion of the Sky Battle tournament. She makes it all the way to the finals here, even defeating Doc, a Gym Leader himself, in the semi-finals.
