While traveling through the White Tail Woods, Twilight attempts to practice her batteling by trying to catch a Pipple, only to be foiled by a wild Thawn named Prongs. The group learns that Prongs, known as "The Prince of the Forest", has taken it upon himself to protect all the Pokémon in the forest after a bad experience where he watched one of his friends get caught by a trainer years ago.
- Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors: Since Flash is still a new trainer he asks Twilight what are Grass-Types weaknesses, and he decides to use Skyler against Prongs instead of Springer since Skyler has the better advantage.
- Freudian Excuse: Prongs sees all trainers as thieves and kidnappers because of a bad memory where he watched one trainer battle one of his friends, an Oakid, and capture it. Seeing his friend get taken away from him like that traumatized Prongs,and he set out to ensure no trainer would capture a Pokémon in the forest again.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Prongs feels that humans, or at least trainers specifically, are kidnappers and thieves that treat Pokémon like slaves, since one of them took his friend away from him. He realizes he was wrong when Flash helps save him and his friends during an intense storm, and he decides he wants Flash to be his trainer and join him.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Prongs made it a self-goal of his to protect all the Pokémon in the White Tail Woods from being captured by any trainers, beleiving he is protecting them from kidnappers and thieves. He doesn't realize how narrow this view actually is, since the forest will become overcrowed if trainers can't catch any Pokémon, and that Pokémon who are captured by trainer typically benefit from it by growing stronger faster.
