Reaching Dodge Junction, Flash and his friends are asked by Cherry Jubilee to save Cherry Hill Ranch from a swarm of Instick. Simultaneously, they are joined by a mysterious individual who is more important than they initially realize.
- Cliffhanger: The final parts of the chapter reveal that not only is Sombra a Team Shadow member, but that his organization is about to find the Heart Fragment, putting them one closer to achieving their goals.
- Combat Pragmatist: The Scrapound, the true threat of the chapter, is described to be a dirty fighter who has no care for honor or respect, as showcased during its fight with the group.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being soundly beaten and shown mercy by Jubilee, the Scrapound works at the ranch by performing hard labor most ponies would find difficult to do alone.
- Innocently Insensitive: It's revealed that the Instick aren't attacking Jubilee's ranch out of malicious intent and are only there because the Scrapound forced them out of their usual territory. Once Jubilee gives them their fill of cherries, they evolve into Movine and migrate to find a new home elsewhere.
- Nominal Hero: Throughout the chapter, Sombra seems to be on the heroes' side in driving away the Instick, but his proposed solutions are deemed too extreme and brutal for the native Pokémon, with the implication that he's only helping because he wants to protect his share of profits at the ranch and to advance his own supremacist ideology. He often justifies his methods through a social Darwinist lens and putting him in a morally ambiguous light compared to the rest of Flash's group. The ending of the chapter later places him firmly as a villain by revealing that he's the leader of Team Shadow and confirming all of the prior hints that he has purely evil intentions.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Upon being told of the Instick problem, Flash points out that he can summon a fire-type Pokémon to ward them away and instantly stop the problem. Unfortunately, Jubilee points out that the dry area is very flammable and could be the start of a wildfire, dissuading Flash from starting an even larger problem.
- The Swarm: The chapter's initial antagonist is a swarm of Instick, giant stick insect Pokémon who have terrorized Cherry Hill Ranch as pests.
- Sympathy for the Devil:
- Upon learning that the Instick were only driven to Jubilee's ranch because a Scrapound took their territory, the heroes express sympathy for the pests and help drive away the Scrapound.
- When Sombra's Tyndark mercilessly beats on the Scrapound, Jubilee cries out for him to stop and kneels down to clean up the Scrapound before being sent off.
