YMMV / Pokémon: Harmony and Chaos

• Base-Breaking Character: Doc is seen as either a fun member of the group due to his quirks and subtle Doctor Who references, or the most boring member of the group who has done more to interfere on Flash's journey than help him.
• Broken Aesop: The chapter "The Summer of Adventure" has the usual message of "don't judge a book by its cover". Flash is paired with a Shuckle for the first activity, and is told how Shuckle is the worst Pokémon in the activity by Timber Spruce. Flash works hard to earn Shuckle's trust by bonding with it and show that there is more to him than just what his Pokédex entry might say. However, this message is ruined since, despite all their efforts, Flash and Shuckle still end up losing to Timber and Politoed, and Celestia punishes Flash for staying up all night training Shuckle without permission, which not only makes his efforts All for Nothing, but counterproductive and turns his friends against him for setting them back. The only person who shows Flash any respect for his efforts and thanks him for what he did for Shuckle is Gloriosa, but even then she doesn't do anything to reward him or argue in his favor against Celestia. So apparently the real moral to take from this is "don't bother trying to prove a jerk wrong because you will just fail and be punished for your efforts".
• Catharsis Factor: Given how much of an unbearable Jerkass he is, it is extremely satisfying when Lightning Blitz gets hit with Laser-Guided Karma.
  • His first on-screen defeat in the series is when he loses to Doc in the Semi-Finals of the Grand Hoof Cup. After trash talking all his opponents, his arrogance costs him the battle when his Guardroid loses to its pre-evolved form Higear. Lightning angrily storms out of the stadium, not even bothering to stay for the rest of the tournament.
  • He goes through a Humiliation Conga for almost the entire Camp Everfree arc. He is forced to attend camp by his grandfather, despite him making it clear he doesn't want to be there at all. He misses out on every opportunity he tries to catch a powerful Pokémon, and is constantly being told off by everyone else and actually punished for his bad attitude, at one point even getting blasted by a Gyarados he bullied as a Magikarp.
  • When he challenges his grandfather, the previous Equestrian Champion Grand Hoof, to a full six-on-six battle to test his skills, he is subjected to a Curb-Stomp Battle. Even when his goal is just to knock out a single one of Grand's Pokémon, he still fails to reach that goal.
  • He loses in the finals to the Balance Battle Tournament to Flash. This is especially satisfying since not only is it the first time they face off since their battle at the Hoofington Battle Tournament, it is the first time Flash has beaten Lightning at something and shows that his Pokémon have way better teamwork than Lightning's.
  • Finally, perhaps the biggest moment yet, during the finals of the Equestria League between him and Flash, Flash finally tells him to shut up after hearing him badmouth his Pokémon one too many times, Lightning ends up having a Villainous Breakdown when Flash won't lose already and the entire stadium starts cheering him on, Flash proceeds to mockingly taunt Lightning by calling him boring for using the same Breaking Speech over and over, and finally Lightning ends up losing the battle and having his entire worldview shattered.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: The main antagonists of the series are Team Shadow, led by Sombra. While they are unquestionably a bad force opposing the heroes and a threat to the Equestria Region, fans enjoy them whenever they make an appearance, and are excited to learn their big plan. However, Lightning Blitz, Flash's main rival in the series, just comes off as a bully in comparison, who barely shows a single redeeming quality within the first two stories, seems to get a worse attitude with every appearance, and often seems like a Karma Houdini, especially when he defeated Flash and won the Hoofington Battle Tournament, seemingly justifying his views of Might Makes Right.
• Unexpected Character: Nobody was expecting for Doc to suddenly catch a Lairon, a canon Pokémon, as part of his team in what seemed like an ordinary chapter at first.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: The first chapter of Pokémon: Equestrian Champions has Flash have an angry outburst at his friends when Twilight pushes his buttons trying to get him to take a break and stop pushing his Pokémon too hard, saying he is sick of them always bossing him around and holding him back. This scene is meant to depict Flash as in the wrong, and that he is not himself due to his Heroic BSoD and sleep-deprived state. However, some may find it a bit satisfying to see, since the group has at times talked down to Flash and gotten in his way once or twice. So while Flash is meant to be wrong here, others find satisfaction in him finally letting out his frustrations on someone and standing up for himself.

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