Battle-dork.
Dib needs his father's signature to give a presentation to his paranormal enthusiasts group, but Prof. Membrane is too busy shooting his show. Dib's only chance is to get into the audience. To do so, he must pass both a written test and... a cage match against burly opponent Shunk Wugga. Meanwhile, Gaz tags along to be as unhelpful as possible.Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight: This episode focuses exclusively on Dib and Gaz. Zim doesn't even appear, save an image of him in Dib's presentation.
- All for Nothing: Dib gets his dad's signature to get into the Swollen Eyeballs meeting, but forgets his briefcase containing his presentation in the alley behind the TV studio.
- Ambiguously Human: It's never specified if Shunk is a human with birth defects or some sort of monster.
- Berserk Button: Shunk does not appreciate people making fun of his large head. Gaz picks up on this right away and cheats by lying to him and saying that Dib is saying things about his head to goad him.
- Chekhov's Gun: The permission slips which explode from forged signatures. Dib packs an extra one for safety. When he's being dragged out of the studio by security, he signs one and throws it in a trash can to create a distraction.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Gaz bypasses the audience admissions exam by taking the staff entrance rather than trying to go through the front door, but she obviously wouldn't have told Dib about this.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Subverted. Shunk is obviously bigger and more athletic than Dib, who only barely understands the games as they're happening, which gives Shunk the advantage. However, both put up a good fight and Shunk never resorts to excessive violence to defeat Dib.
- Disproportionate Retribution
- Gaz makes sure Dib fails the cage match by cheating and ends up getting him as physically abused as possible in the process because he took the last slice of her pizza before leaving.
- Also, anyone who gets less than 94.1% of the written portion of the test correct is deemed unacceptable and thrown into a smoking room labeled "rejects."
- Foreshadowing: As Dib leaves the house, he gripes about not having handcuffs to make sure he doesn't lose his briefcase. Guess what happens.
- Hulk Speak: Shunk speaks like this.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Gaz gets Dib humiliated and abused and prevents him from getting his dad's signature to go to his Swollen Eyeballs meeting, but when she tries to get another slice of pizza to make up for the one Dib stole, it get knocked out of her hands and falls to the ground, where it's eaten by ants.
- Made of Explodium: The permission slips explode from forged signatures.
- No Kill like Overkill: Everything about the studio where Prof. Membrane shoots his show. The security guards are armed with cattle prods and you can only get into the audience by passing a two part test. One part is a freaking cage match.
- Suddenly Shouting: "94%. Your score is... UNACCEPTABLE!!"
