The thirteenth episode of Power Rangers Ninja Steel.
"Ace was just there for himself. Real friends are there for each other."
—Calvin
Tropes
- An Aesop: After seeing Ace for who he really is, Calvin sums up the message by saying friendship is a two-way street and that real friends look out for each other. Mick takes this a step further by reminding him how he bailed on the other Rangers to hang out with Ace.
- The Ahnold: Shoespike talks and acts this way in his true form. He's far more subdued when posing as a human, though.
- All Men Are Perverts: While a trophy, Victor gets knocked into the fish tank. He panics and pleads for Monty to get him out, only to get distracted by the mermaid figurine and begin flirting with it.
- Behemoth Battle: Ninja Fusion Zord vs. Shoespike.
- The Bet: Shoespike's challenge for Brody and Levi is a three-legged race, with Calvin later joining in. If the Rangers win, everyone is returned to normal. If Shoespike wins, he gets their power stars and they get turned into trophies, too.
- Big "NO!": Shoespike in response to losing the race.
- Bring It: Brody and Levi's reaction to Shoespike's challenge. He happily echoes the sentiment right back at them.
- Broken Pedestal: Upon learning Ace is a fraud and a jerk, Calvin denounces him.
- Competition Freak: Shoespike uses his magic baton to make Brody and Levi behave this way. It's all part of his plan to turn the other participants into trophies, as during the relay race, the brothers actively trash talk and cheat in order to win. The later three-legged race is no picnic because of this, either.Levi: You know what's even more fun that running?
Runner: What?
Levi: Swimming! [pushes him into the river] - Defeat Equals Explosion: Befalls Shoespike twice.
- Delayed "Oh, Crap!": Calvin insists he is nothing like Ace and would never treat his real friends badly, all the while as Mick holds up the relay race baton. Calvin looks at it for a beat before realizing how he screwed up.
- Fake Ultimate Hero: Calvin practically worships Ace for allegedly building his own prized car. In truth, Ace simply paid someone else to do that work, freaks over the idea of getting his hands dirty, and is trying to milk free repairs out of Calvin.
- I Warned You: Even after calling him out, Calvin still tried to warn Ace that he shouldn't try driving so soon after the repairs were completed. The car breaks down almost immediately.
- Ignored Expert: Ace is fine with conning Calvin into doing free repair work, but he ignores Calvin's attempt to tell him how long he should wait before trying to drive out of there. He quickly suffers for it.
- Irony: Victor is constantly trying to win his 50th trophy, but this time he gets turned into a trophy. He appears to be aware of the irony of this shortly before he gets caught up in assorted slapstick.
- It's Personal: Brody and Levi take the lead on the Zord fight, as they feel they owe Shoespike one for the spell and for using them to turn the others into trophies.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Ace's beloved car ends up breaking down and in worse shape than ever because he ignored Calvin's warnings about how long to wait before running the engine.
- Make My Monster Grow: Shoespike is gigantified by Cosmo.
- Malicious Misnaming: After Calvin sees him for who he is, Ace starts calling "Marvin" instead.
- Monster of the Week: Shoespike
- Near-Villain Victory: Shoespike just narrowly loses the three-legged race, costing him three power stars, all his new trophies, and his perfect record.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Calvin abruptly leaving to help Ace and his crew creates an opening on Brody and Levi's team that Shoespike is only too happy to fill.
- Only Sane Man: With Brody and Levi being excessively competitive, Calvin takes the lead on the three-legged race to get them all functioning as an effective unit.
- Sibling Rivalry: The Competition Freak spell remains after the relay race, causing Brody and Levi to try to one up each other in addition to beating Shoespike (who actually finds this somewhat annoying).Shoespike: You have to beat me, not each other!
- Team Spirit: As to be expected for this show. Calvin stressing the importance of teamwork gets Brody and Levi to focus on what's really important.
- This Cannot Be!: Shoespike in response to his winning streak being broken.
