The twelfth episode of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters.
Gromble's Opening Line: "Rotten germheads!"
The class's scares have been pitiful lately, and according to the Gromble, it's causing the mythical Pool of Elders to suffer. The Gromble warns that if the Pool continues to go down, monsters will soon start disappearing. While the rest of the class think the Gromble is trying to prompt them to scare harder, Ickis is the only one fretting about the teacher's warnings. Is Ickis truly being worried over nothing, or is the very existence of monsters everywhere really at stake?
Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: As a result of the Pool's decline, monster start disappearing piece by piece, resulting in lost body part. Ickis's right hand vanished before he eventually lost his entire body while Oblina ending up losing both her arms.
- Answer Cut: Upon being informed that the Gromble wouldn't be teaching anymore classes for the time being, Ickis worriedly wonders what they're going to do now. It then cuts to the rest of the class celebrating having some time off.
- Be the Ball: When the monsters try to scare humans before they disappear completely, their plans are stymied due to their vanishing body parts. One such monster, Grelch, tries to scare humans at the bowling alley, but when she loses her legs, she gets mistaken for a bowling ball by a human who uses her to bowl. She complains about her failure when she returns to the Monster Academy.Grelch: So this wartloo pushes me out, and boom! I'm Grelch, the monster bowling ball!
- Bittersweet Ending: Played for Laughs when, after the existence of monsters is saved, the Gromble mentions how proud he is of Ickis, saying he feels Ickis is destined for greatness...which is why he's going to push him harder than any of the other students from now on.
- Dare to Be Badass: When the Pool tells him it's up to him to save the others, Ickis retorts that he's only a head. The Pool replies that if he uses it, he'll find it's all he needs. Ickis takes the advice to heart and comes up with a plan to save the day.
- Get Out!: Angered with his class's pitiful scares and their apathy to it, Gromble stops the Alumni party and orders everyone out.
- Hypocritical Humor: When the students are disappearing bit by bit, Krumm tries to tell everyone not to panic. Then his eyes disappear and he has a Freak Out.
- Ignored Expert: None of the students (except Ickis) believes the Gromble when he warns them of the danger of disappearing. As such, he stands off to the side and waits for the class to see the threat for themselves.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: When Ickis's arm vanishes, he tries to downplay it by saying it's just one little arm and nothing truly horrendous...and then the others start losing their body parts.
- Losing Your Head: Ickis spends a good portion of the episode being nothing but a head.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The class has one when they realize the Gromble had been telling them the truth about the Pool and that monsters were at risk of disappearing.
- Only Sane Man: Ickis is the only one to take the Gromble's warning that monsters could disappear to heart, while the rest of the class writes it off as the Gromble's attempt to Scare 'Em Straight, with even normally level-headed Oblina being fine with taking a break from class. Ickis ends up getting vindicated when the crisis begins and everyone starts losing body parts.
- Opening Shout-Out: Just before scaring a huge crowd of humans at a stadium, Ickis, Krumm, and Oblina are hiding in the trenchcoat disguise shown in the theme song.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Jigger, the monster who makes funny of Ickis the most for his paranoia, is the first to disappear, as proof to the class that the Gromble's warnings weren't exaggerations. He isn't shown being restored once the crisis is over.
- Sarcasm Mode: Upon seeing the trio's botched scare in which they got hit with cleaning spray, the Gromble gives off a Mirthless Laughter. The rest of the class think he's laughing for real and join in, only for Gromble cut them off yelling "WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!".
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Under the Pool's recommendation, the Gromble stands off to the side and lets Ickis and the others deal with the crisis on their own. He later admits that it was the hardest thing he ever had to do.
- So Proud of You: The Gromble at the end when the class manages to weather the crisis, especially Ickis who pulled them together.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: When the class party keeps going in the trio's room while he's trying to get some sleep, Ickis grumbles about how much longer they'd be around, seeing as how they'd already eaten all the trio's garbage and drunk their motor oil.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: According to the Pool of Elders, it was the primordial fear of monsters from humans that caused them to come into being in the first place, but in order to continue existing, they must scare humans to make them believe.
