The thirty-ninth episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
When Tails invents a hover hang glider for Sonic's birthday, Sonic suggests he assist Professor Von Schlemmer with his new Robotnik-Nabber machine. Robotnik disguises himself as Von Schlemmer to trick Tails into using the machine against Sonic.
This episode provides examples of:
- Anvil on Head:
- Robotnik disguised as Von Schlemmer attempts to do this to Sonic, but misses. This is how Sonic suspects that something's wrong.
- Robotnik later drops a barbell from the window above the one Tails looks out, causing Sonic, who is hanging on it for his life, to fall.
- Balloonacy: Scratch and Grounder float up to Robotnik and the Robotnik Nabber on some balloons.
- Birthday Episode: This episode takes place on Sonic's birthday.
- Circling Birdies: This happens to Tails when a pile of old spare parts falls on him in the junkyard. This gives him the idea to add wings to Sonic's birthday present.
- Coconut Meets Cranium: A variant; when Scratch and Grounder fall out of a tree after hearing about Tails' Gadgeteer Genius talents, an apple falls out of the tree, bounces off Grounder's head, and gets lodged in Scratch's beak.
- Crazy-Prepared: When Robotnik activates the Robotnik nabber to stop Sonic and Tails, Sonic tries to get rid of it by having it crash through a wall and fall into the ground below. Unfortunately for Sonic, Tails added a back-up propeller and wings, giving it the ability to fly.
- Dartboard of Hate: A variant; the pinata at Sonic's party is of Robotnik.
- Don't Ask: When Sonic tries to save Tails from Robotnik, he enters Von Schlemmer's lair through the sewer system. When he comes out of the bathroom door,
covered in green slime, he says to the viewers, "Don't even ask." - Gadgeteer Genius: While not as prominent as his canon video game counterpart, Tails builds Sonic a hovercraft from old spare parts. When Robotnik finds out about this from Scratch and Grounder, he tricks Tails into using the Robotnik Nabber that he helps Von Schlemmer invent against Sonic.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: Von Schlemmer invents a machine that could potentially defeat Robotnik and needs Tails' help to finish it, so Robotnik plans to manipulate Tails into sabotaging the machine and declares that he'll make Tails cooperate of his own free will, even if he has to force him.
- Informed Flaw: The hovercraft Tails built for Sonic is apparently incomplete despite working perfectly.
- Lead In: An uncommon trope for episodes of this series. The first few minutes are Tails trying to earn money for Sonic's birthday gift, and realizing his skills as an inventor whilst doing so. This sets up the episode's main plot, which is Robotnik wanting to take advantage of Tails' talents.
- Shamed by a Mob: Tails is chased away by the citizens of Sky City when he accidentally breaks their windows trying to deliver papers.
- Shout-Out:
- When Robotnik locks onto Sonic with the Robotnik Nabber, he says, "I... HAVE... YOU... NOW!"
- A few minutes later, when Robotnik tells Tails to make the Robotnik Nabber go faster, Tails tells him, "I'm givin' er' all she's got, captain!"
- Show Within a Show: A movie shown in a theater at one point in this episode features a scene of Robotnik shooting at a building. Scratch and Grounder crash through the roof directly when this happens.
- Tranquil Fury: Robotnik, in disguise, is tricking Tails into using Von Schlemmer's machine against Sonic. When Tails makes an insult about him, he refrains himself to keep up his ruse.Robotnik: (disguised as Von Schlemmer) And now, we'll add a tractor ray, to slow down his blasted little fast feet.
Tails: Are you kidding? Robotnik's not fast. He's a slow, stinky old watermelon.
(Robotnik's face turns purple as he shakes and calms himself down)
Robotnik: (angrily) Let me just... test this here. - World in the Sky: Sonic spends his birthday at Sky City, a city that floats high above the planet.
