"Aqua Pups: Pups Save a Mer-Race" is the 18th episode in Season 9 of PAW Patrol.
Summary
The PAW Patrol take part in a big mer-race, but must come to the rescue when Moby's cheating puts Puplantis in serious danger.
Characters
- Ryder
- Chase
- Marshall
- Skye
- Rocky
- Rubble
- Zuma
- Robo-Dog
- Coral
- Moby
- McSquidly
- Baby dolphin
- Baby mer-pup
- Cap'n Turbot
- Chickaletta
- Dierdre
- Kelp (debut)
- Mama mer-pup
- Mayor Goodway
- Mr. Porter (non-speaking)
- Precious' owner's father
- Precious' owner's mother
Synopsis
At City Hall, Ryder picks up Mayor Goodway and Chickaletta, who are suited up in their underwater gear, in the PAW Patroller to go to Puplantis and participate in its very first Friendship Race. After showing off the new scooter he built for her, the pups and the Mayor discuss how the winner of the race will become King/Queen of Puplantis for the day, being able to get what they want with Mayor Goodway wanting a picture of her and Chickaletta with the Mer-Pups while Skye wants to take all the Mer-Pups flying. As the PAW Patroller drives off the pier, it transforms into the Whale Patroller and submerges underwater towards Puplantis where they hear Mer-Pups singing. Meanwhile, on Junk Island, Moby is testing out some new wheels he added to his vehicle for the land duration of the race, wanting to win so he can have the power to cancel the after-race celebration, and every other celebration for that matter. To ensure his victory, Moby has McSquidly plant ink traps all around the race course, starting with an old shipwreck.
With the race about to start soon, Skye swims off to find Coral. Unaware of McSquidly, who slips an ink trap into her sub's engine, Coral swims back and forth, nervous for the race, but calms down after practicing some breathing exercises with Skye and remembers to have fun. A horn signals that the race is about to start, so the two swim off to join Kelp, Mayor Goodway, and Cap'n Turbot at the starting line. After Ryder explains to the racers that the first part of race takes place underwater, the second part on land through Adventure Bay, and the final part underwater in Puplantis, Moby finally joins them at the starting line and declares that he is going to win to cancel the Mer-Pup celebrations permanently, causing the Mer-Pups to worry.
The race begins, but Moby is already off to a bad start as his vision is obscured by McSquidly. Coral takes and maintains a strong lead until McSquidly, on Moby's command, detonates the ink trap in her engine, causing her sub to malfunction. Witnessing the situation, Ryder and Rocky quickly swim over to her location. At first, Coral believes she pushed her engine too hard, but after giving it a look over, Rocky finds a leftover piece of the ink trap with his claw and fixes her engine, allowing her to get back into the race with a little more confidence in herself.
Further ahead, Cap'n Turbot, in second place, being followed by a curious baby dolphin, catches up to Moby, but McSquidly detonates more ink traps, obscuring Cap'n Turbot's sight. His diving bell veers off-course and crashes into the old shipwreck where he and the baby dolphin get trapped underneath the wreckage. Skye takes note and temporarily exits the race to help him out, using her hook to keep the wreckage from fully crushing his bell while he calls the PAW Patrol. After being informed of the situation, Ryder summons all the Aqua Pups, minus Skye and Coral, to the Whale Patroller where he gives them their mission briefing. He assigns Zuma to use his sub's claws to lift the shipwreck off of Cap'n Turbot's diving bell and Rocky to use his vehicle's saw to cut an opening for the baby dolphin to escape. The two pups deploy and slide into their respective vehicles, setting off with Ryder.
Meanwhile, Coral catches up to the wreckage and temporarily steps out of the race to help Skye hold up the wreckage from crushing the diving bell until the other PAW Patrol members arrive. Zuma uses his vehicle's claws, along with Skye and Coral's assistance to lift the wreckage off the bell, freeing Cap'n Turbot while Rocky uses his saw to cut an opening for the baby dolphin to escape through. Worried about the damage his bell has sustained, Cap'n Turbot decides to drop out of the race while Skye and Coral resume it, catching up to Mayor Goodway and Kelp as they near a cave.
Still in the lead, Moby attempts to sabotage Kelp by having McSquidly drop an ink trap over him outside the cave, but due to a sticky tentacle mishap that smashes it against a boulder instead, Kelp zips through the cave and takes the lead with Skye and Coral tailing behind. However, just as Mayor Goodway reaches the end of the cave, the ink trap causes an avalanche, trapping her inside. She tries to leave the way she came in, but the lights inside go out, effectively trapping her in the dark. As Moby zooms past Skye and Coral, they realize Mayor Goodway is nowhere to be seen and report the sealed cave exit to Ryder who calls on Rubble and Chase for help.
Meanwhile, at Adventure Beach, Kelp is the first one to surface onto the land with Moby being second, until he cuts Kelp off and steals the lead, Coral being the third, and Skye being the fourth. Back at the cave, Chase reports an ink stain on one of the boulders to Ryder as Rubble uses his vehicle to burst through the block, freeing Mayor Goodway, who, like Cap'n Turbot, decides to drop out of the race as she is too far behind to catch up with the other racers. With this being the third ink sabotage to a racer, Ryder and the team decide to keep a closer eye on Moby.
Back in Adventure Bay, Kelp maintains second place and catches up to Moby. To slow him down and keep their lead, McSquidly places several more ink traps under a sewer lid, detonating them as Kelp nears, blasting him into the air and onto the rooftop of a building. Skye drops out of the race to rescue Kelp, keeping his bubble car afloat with her vehicle's engines until Chase arrives with his net. Unfortunately, Kelp's bubble car pops upon landing, effectively forcing him out of the race. Skye confirms to Ryder that Moby is the one who has been sabotaging the entire course, and the group returns to the finish line in Puplantis, putting all their faith in Coral, who catches up to Moby. To keep his lead, Moby leaves a trail of ink on the road, but Coral uses it to her advantage to gain momentum and slide past him, taking the lead as she returns underwater. In the final leg of the race, after McSquidly and Moby run out of traps, Moby orders McSquidly to pull Coral's vehicle back and fling them forward, but he misses and gets stuck on a coral branch instead, giving the opposite effect and sending Moby backwards.
Coral crosses the finish line first and receives a trophy for her victory while being hailed as Queen of Puplantis for the rest of day. She thanks Ryder and the pups for helping the racers before announcing her wish to have the biggest celebration ever, much to Moby's displeasure. Robo-Dog brings in the Whale Patroller to play pop music with disco lights, and everyone sings and dances while Moby, annoyed, sulks in his vehicle.
Pups in Action
First Responders (1st Emergency)
- Uses his vehicle's claws to lift the wreckage off Cap'n Turbot's bell.
- Uses his vehicle's saws to free a baby dolphin from the wreckage.
Backup Responders (1st Emergency)
- Use their vehicles to hold the wreckage until Rocky and Zuma arrive.
First Responders (2nd Emergency)
- Uses his vehicle to burst through a block of boulders.
- Uses his net to catch Kelp.
Backup Responders (2nd Emergency)
- Uses her vehicle to keep Kelp afloat until Chase arrives.
DVD Inclusions
This episode appears in the following DVD(s):
