Mario finds himself in the colorful world of Splatoon! A Splatoon tournament is about to begin and Mario wants to compete... Will he be able to win it?
While helping refurbish Peach's castle, Mario opens a fresh can of paint and finds an Inkling stuck inside. This squid kid, Meggy, drags him down a pipe to her home of Inkopolis, where she's training to win the annual Splatfest competition. Soon enough, Mario bugs her into letting him join her team, leading to the beginnings of an unlikely friendship.
This episode marks the First Appearance of Meggy Spletzer, who would go on to become the series's first true Breakout Character.
- Bittersweet Ending: Despite all their hard work training, Meggy's team loses the Splatfest. Nevertheless, thanks to some cheering up from Mario, Meggy remains just as determined to win next year's competition, and the two become Fire-Forged Friends.
- Brick Joke: The episode opens with Mario helping Peach and Toadsworth paint the castle and making a mess of the basement while trying to catch Meggy. Once Mario comes home from his adventure, the first thing Toadsworth does is kick Mario's ass for the mess.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Meggy starts out fairly hostile towards Mario because of his stupidity, and because she thinks he trapped her in the paint can he found her in, but they start to get along after she's left with no choice but to recruit him to her Splatfest team. By the end of the episode, their friendship is solidified by Mario's attempt to give her a pep talk.
- Pet the Dog: In a rare display of kindnessnote , Mario tries cheering Meggy up by offering her some helpful advice when she starts crying over losing the Splatfest, only to get sidetracked into thinking about spaghetti. It pays off.
