With Linka's birthday coming up, Wheeler wants to buy an amazing present to impress her, and when Gaia sends them to Africa, he considers it a great chance to pick up an ivory necklace inexpensively. However, he learns the true cost of ivory when the Planeteers try to stop Looten Plunder from wiping out the elephant population.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- 1-Dimensional Thinking: When Kwame gets trapped in front of a stampeding elephant, he keeps running forward, only barely managing to stay ahead of it, rather than to the side. He avoids getting trampled because Captain Planet arrives to scoop him up and deposit him safely with the others.
- And Then What?: Belo, a local poacher, claims he has to go along with Looten Plunder's poaching scheme to feed his family. Gi asks what happens when the elephants die out. He can't answer.
- Alternate Animal Affection: The elephants snuggle with their trunks and lean on each other.
- Bad Boss: Looten Plunder charges his workers for the vehicles Captain Planet destroyed. When Belo asks how he'll feed his family, Plunder flatly says that he will probably do so poorly if he doesn't obey orders.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: One of the poachers captures Sneezer and tries to bring her back to Looten Plunder. However, midway there, she stops him, just in time to keep him from falling into a trap. Ashamed of himself, he decides to give up the poaching business for good.
- Birthday Episode: While it's not Linka's birthday yet, the fact that it's soon forms a big part of the plot. Wanting to blow her away with his present, Wheeler decides to get her an ivory necklace, oblivious to where ivory comes from. He's ashamed when events on the latest mission explain things to him.
- Crying Critters: Sneezer cries when the poachers capture her mother.
- Everyone Laughs Ending: The episode ends with Wheeler trying to get a kiss from Linka, who snipes back with a "fast nyet" for his "fast moves." Kwame quips that Wheeler can obviously kiss that idea goodbye. Everyone laughs while Wheeler scowls, but after a few moments he smiles.
- Forced into Evil: Belo, one of the poachers, is decent enough to feel terrible when the Planeteers begin protesting his actions. However, he doesn't know how else to provide for his family...until the Captain gives him a little superpowered help to assist in getting a new venture off the ground.
- Honorable Elephant: The elephants are portrayed as harmless, innocent victims of the ivory poachers. They initially appear on screen playing and cuddling quite happily, and Sneezer saves Belo from a trap.
- Innocently Insensitive: Kwame is already vexed by the eco-emergency, given that it's his continent that Plunder is pillaging, and he lashes out at Wheeler when the latter talks about buying an ivory necklace for Linka. But Wheeler isn't intentionally poking Kwame's sore spot; he just doesn't know that ivory comes from dead elephants.
- It's Personal: He doesn't say it, but Kwame is especially unhappy about the week's emergency, because it involves his home turf and animals with which he particularly sympathizes.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Wheeler is completely oblivious to ivory's origins for much of the episode. Even when Kwame chews him out for planning to buy a necklace for Linka, he doesn't bother to explain why he thinks it's an awful idea, instead just snapping back with a vague statement that the trip will teach Wheeler the real cost of ivory.
- Nothing Can Stop Us Now!: Naturally, Plunder feels the need to gloat about how no one can keep him from poaching the elephants for profit. He quickly finds out he's wrong.
- Shout-Out: Captain Planet quips about what's behind "Door #1" and "Door #2" while freeing the elephants.
