Continuing their journey to Applewood City after leaving the Everfree Forest, the group discovers a Pokémon Egg hidden in a bush, that quickly hatches into a Hoppin. When a group of Pokémon Hunters tries to capture the newborn Hoppin, Flash and the others step in to stop them and rescue it.
- Distinguishing Mark: Hopper is born with a strange birthmark on his head in the shape of a dragon, which Flash notes isn't seen on the Hoppin in his Pokedex entry.
- Foreshadowing: Hopper doesn't like Normal-Type Pokémon food, even though he's a Normal-Type himself. The only type of food he is shown enjoying is Dragon-Type, hinting at his connection to dragons.
- Jump Physics: A Hoppin's legs are so small and stubby they can't be used to properly walk, forcing it to hop to get around.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Fitting for a newly hatched baby Pokémon, Hopper knows Screech attack. He ends up using it to help in the battle against the leader's Rhydon so that Rhydon can't hear any order its trainer gives it.
- Too Dumb to Live: None of the Pokémon Hunters are shown to be very intellegent. They end up causing their own problems in the first place by trying to hide the egg they snatched away, and all of them, including their leader, don't do a good job with type matchups. Flash outright says they probably went to a life of crime because they were too stupid to get a real job.
- Wham Episode: Not only does Springer learn another move that should be impossible for Riolu to learn, Flash catches a Hoppin he nicknames "Hopper" as his sixth Pokémon. The ending scene also shows that there are more people looking for this Pokémon for unknown reasons.
