While at the movies, Ron becomes smitten by the new ticket taker, Zita Flores. Despite Kim's claim otherwise, he feels he has no chance with her due to "the rules," an unwritten code that, among other things, states that "guys like me don't end up with girls like that". Later, the two are called to the Space Center to investigate the theft of robot from scientist Fen, which was supposedly stolen by his former lab partner, Vivian Porter.
With the help of Kim's cousin, Larry, Team Possible tracks Vivian to the Robot Rumble, an underground society of geniuses who fight robots, founded by Vivian's boyfriend, Oliver. Forced to battle in the ring, Kim uses the Kimmunicator and gets trounced, resulting in her and Ron being banned. Afterwards, Ron makes several attempts to ask Zita out, failing each one; after returning to the Space Center, Fen claims Oliver's robot is his, so he and Kim break into the rumble arena and retrieve it, though not before fighting off another one.
Although things seem wrapped up, Kim is still wary, until her dad mentions that he can't believe Fen could ever design a robot on his own. Convinced her suspicions are correct, she heads to the space center, as Oliver and Vivian have arrived, and reveals that Vivian built the robot and Fen, jealous he could never make one himself, framed her so he could obtain hers. Using a giant electromagnet, Kim defeats the bitter scientist and reveals that Oliver was a robot, was also built by Vivian, who was jaded since her peers couldn't except that someone who looked like her could be a respected scientist. She is given a job at the Space Center. Back at the movies, Ron is upset when he finds Zita gone, only to encounter her in the theater, and the two have a "date" of sorts.
This episode provides examples of:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The robot that Jim & Tim build for the Robot Rumble is this, as it defies its intended programming and attacks them. The robots Finn works with also qualify, as they seem inclined towards attacking him. Justified, as Finn turns out to be inept as a scientist.
- The Alleged Expert: Dr. Fen is a scientist at the Middleton Space Center in charge of the robotics department. His colleague, Mr. Possible, describes him as "utterly clueless", and constantly has trouble with robots despite being an "expert". He's fired when it's uncovered that he's a fraud, and Vivian, an actual robotics expert, is immediately hired to fill in the sudden vacancy.
- Attack! Attack... Retreat! Retreat!: Verbatim. The robot that chases Kim and Ron through the subway tunnels constantly shouts "attack", until an "oncoming train" (Ron and Rufus with the Kimmunicator making a bright light and a loud train noise) is in its way, then the robot shouts "retreat" and then it does so.
- Blatant Lies: Ron saying he didn't buy a ticket to every movie.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Throughout the episode, Ron struggles hard to ask Zita out for a date not helped that he does it while she's on the clock, which causes him to get interrupted by irritated moviegoers.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- The giant electromagnet in the Space Center introduced in the beginning of the episode as part of the Running Gag of Ron losing his pants is used to retrieve the stolen robot from Fen.
- The robots' self-preservation programming used to trick them from fleeing from Kim and Ron as they're escaping the Robot Rumble comes in handy when Fen makes his intention to destroy it clear: it picks him up with an extensible arm and disarms him.
- Continuity Nod: Cousin Larry shows up again. note
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Oliver's robot vs. the Kimmunicator converted into a robot.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Kim sees Ron worrying that Zita might get the wrong idea about him and her seemingly leaving a romantic movie together as ridiculous. However, unlike his other odd ideas, Ron saw everyone else in the theater assume that Kim's his girlfriend and wants to avoid that with Zita.
- Dumb Blonde: Inverted. Vivian is actually the world's leading expert in robotics. However, she was frustrated that her peers couldn't accept this just because of her looks.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Justine Flanner is among the denizens of the Robot Rumble. note .
- "Eureka!" Moment: Mr. Possible commenting that he sometimes wonders how Fen could be a robotics expert is what makes Kim realize her suspicions about the true inventor of the robot are correct.
- Evil Makes You Ugly: While Dr. Fen is maintaining his facade of a respectable, if ditzy scientist, he looks tired but fairly normal. However, when he's revealed for the fraud he is, his skin and hair appear to have become a sickly green and he has Creepy Shadowed Undereyes.
- Foreshadowing: When first introduced, Fen has trouble with his machinery and took offense when Ron said he's had trouble with robots too. This hinted he's not as good with robotics as he claims to be.
- When Fen comments he had to let Vivian go because she couldn’t keep up with him, Mr. Dr. Possible’s response is that he heard she quit. Fen says she was pushed into resigning. In the end, it turns out that what Dr. Possible heard was right after all.
- Kim notes that it looks as if the lab were broken into from the inside. It later turns out that Dr. Fen staged the robbery.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The reason for Fen's villainy was that he was jealous Vivian could build a robot with AI and he couldn't.
- Good All Along: Vivian is completely innocent of the theft because the robot belonged to her and Dr. Fen is the thief, who tricked Kim into doing the deed.
- Irony: This conversation in response to Ron worrying that Zita might get the wrong idea about him and Kim (seemingly leaving a romantic movie together):Kim: You and me...on a date?Ron: It could happen.
- Meet Cute: One of the movies Ron sees, while buying tickets to talk with Zita, is called "Meeting Cute."
- Oh, Crap!: Ron and Kim both scream in fear when they see one of the robots chasing after their mine cart.
- After Ron and Rufus are separated during the pursuit, Kim has another moment of this and screams when she thinks she sees a train heading straight towards the mine cart from the opposite direction. Turns out it's just Ron and Rufus on a push cart, using the Kimmunicator to mimic the lights and sounds of a train.
- This turns out to be useful, as the robot pursuing them has self-preservation programming and has its own Oh, Crap! moment and promptly breaks off its pursuit of the trio to flee.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Downplayed in that he doesn't make any explicitly bigoted remarks, but Fen takes advantage of the fact that he's seen as more respectable than Vivian, whose colleagues weren't ready to take seriously, to get a job as a robotics expert at the Middleton Space Center despite having no actual credentials to his name, and he's fully aware of it.Fen: So what?! I've got the reputation, I've got the robot!
- Ridiculously Human Robots: Oliver.
- Robotic Reveal: Oliver, after the electromagnet is turned on him.
- Shipper on Deck: When Wade shows up on the movie screen asking Ron to come outside and help Kim on the mission, everyone else in the theater assumes that Kim's his girlfriend and encourage Ron to go help her.
- Shout-Out:
- Robot Rumble is so obviously one to BattleBots.
- The scene where a pair of robot legs chases Fen around his lab has been said to be similar to The Wrong Trousers.
- Skewed Priorities: When Larry, Kim and Ron are told to leave by Oliver, Ron decides to ask why Vivian is with someone as nerdy as Oliver, instead of complying quietly. He is promptly kicked out as a result.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Until Kim's dad offered her a job at the Space Center, Vivian explains to Kim, Ron and Rufus that, "My colleagues weren't ready to take someone who looked like me seriously."
- Spotting the Thread: Kim starts to suspect that Fen's credentials as an expert on robotics may not be legitimate and has Wade look up his scholarly publications. His investigation coincides with her "Eureka!" Moment when her father outright states that Fen is incompetent at robotics despite allegedly being an expert, with all recent publications on robotics being written by Dr. Vivian Porter.
- Unwitting Pawn: Dr. Fen tricks Team Possible into stealing Vivian's robot by staging a theft. It works initially but Kim spotted the thread and realized that Fen is the actual villain.
- Wham Line: An unguarded remark by Mr. Possible about his colleague when Jim and Tim are having trouble with their own robot is what leads Kim to figure out who the real robotics genius is:Mr. Possible: Honestly, you boys are no better with robots than Fen!
