Cappy Town (Pupupu Village) of Popstar is under attack by a giant octopus monster that's been eating all the local sheep. When the shepherd in charge of them sees the giant monster fly to DeDeDe's castle, several of the villagers try to inform the king about the presence of the monster, but the major domo, Escargoon (Escargon), claims that they were only imagining things, as there'd be nowhere for such a monster to hide. He's confronted by the cabinet minister's daughter, Tiff (Fumu), along with the rest of her family, Tuff (Bun), Sir Ebrum (Parm), and Lady Like (Memu), as Tiff demands that Escargoon hear the villagers out, only for him to blow her off. Sir Ebrum thinks DeDeDe is responsible for the appearance of the monster, earning them a reprimand from Escargoon, only for DeDeDe himself to smugly interrupt and point to a nearby fish tank with a tiny octopus inside, asking if that was the monster they saw. When the villagers claim that it must be it, DeDeDe laughs it off, saying it's only his pet, Octakon, and that he only eats little fish like smelt, feeding it one to prove his point, and asking how such a little thing could possibly eat an entire sheep. Escargoon then tries to drive everyone from the throne room, but Tiff slips past and investigates the tank closely, not convinced and suspicious of Octakon. As she glares at it, the tiny octopus's face turns evil and angry at Tiff for scrutinizing it so.
At a loss of what to do about the giant monster, the villagers of Cappy Town decide to go to Kabu's valley to seek out the great oracle Kabu himself and ask what for advice on what to do, and Kabu answers that there is indeed a monster lurking in Cappy Town, having been sent by the Emperor of Darkness, Nightmare. DeDeDe and Escargoon are observing nearby in the king's personal tank, finding the villagers impudent for suspecting them of troublemaking, with DeDeDe deciding to teach all of them a lesson. Tiff asks Kabu to clarify about whomever is targeting Dreamland, with Kabu stating that Nightmare is the head of Nightmare Enterprises (Holy Nightmare Corporation), a force that currently dominates the universe, and that if nothing is done, Dreamland will ultimately be destroyed. Worried by this, Tiff brings up a legend they had all heard that would provide hope in this dire situation. Kabu states that a Star Warrior from the deep reaches of space will come to Dreamland: Kirby. Everyone hopes that Kirby will be a capable warrior, but as they wonder what he might look like, DeDeDe and Escargoon come plowing through the crowd to decry what Kabu says as nonsense. When Kabu affirms what he says is true, DeDeDe threatens to fire upon him with his cannon, only for Kabu to state that DeDeDe will not push the button. Right when the king is about to, the sky lights up with a brilliant light; a shooting star containing a star-shaped ship plunges from the sky, crashing through the nearby forest and sheep field before coming to a stop on the edge of a cliff.
Everyone quickly gathers around the starship, wondering what will come out of it. The cockpit opens, and out tumbles a little pink ball who can barely even speak a word. DeDeDe tries to smash him with a hammer, accusing it of being a monster, but Tiff stops him and asks the stranger who he is. When he responds to the name Kirby, everyone realizes that the little pink puffball is the Star Warrior they've been waiting for, greatly dismayed by how small and harmless he looks. DeDeDe tries to get rid of him under the pretense of testing his capabilities, smacking him into a nearby gorge with his hammer. Tiff, Tuff, and their aids, Fololo and Falala (Lololo and Lalala) rush down to try and save him. Tiff ends up slipping and drops screaming down the gorge. Kirby comes to and sees her falling, quickly taking a deep breath and floating to catch her before she falls onto a sharp rock. Tuff, Fololo and Falala are impressed that Kirby can fly, but Tiff doesn't think it's so praiseworthy since they were trying to rescue him. Kirby starts to wander off out of curiosity, with the others wondering if he even understands what they're saying.
Kirby soon comes to a precipice overlooking Cappy Town. As the rest catch up, they explain to Kirby where he is, and who they are. Kirby seems to understand, but suddenly DeDeDe comes charging in with his tank and starts ramming the hapless Kirby and firing at him with his cannon, sending Kirby running into a nearby watermelon field. Determined to get rid of Kirby, the duo keep driving further into the field, but Tiff and Tuff cut them off and chuck watermelons right into their faces. They adamantly refuse to let DeDeDe and Escargoon pass, and DeDeDe childishly demands they be arrested, but Escargoon advises DeDeDe to let it go since Kirby is only a kid. Instead, they'll focus on seizing his crashed ship. DeDeDe relents and lets them go, while the villagers check on the kids to see if they're all right. Tiff and Tuff quickly find Kirby helping himself to one of the watermelons, looking no worse the wear.
That night, at the mayor's house, Mayor Len Blustergas is holding a party in Kirby's honor, eager to formally welcome the Star Warrior to Cappy Town. But right when the have a toast, a sudden suction force builds up as all the food on the table goes flying: Kirby is inhaling up everything in sight! Everyone is bewildered at Kirby eating everything and coughing up the silverware and china, with Tuff snapping at Kirby for eating everything, and Tiff demanding to know if that was a special ability of his. Kirby wonders if he did anything wrong, and then quickly runs off out of the house.
When Tiff, Tuff, Fololo and Falala give chase, they find him at the sheep pen, looking curiously at a pile of sheep bones. The group wonder if Kirby was the one who ate the sheep, and decide to hide him in a nearby shed to interrogate him, but Kirby doesn't seem to understand what they're asking. Just then, Tiff hears the sounds of people approaching the shed and voices discussing the eaten ship and finding the shed suspicious. Tiff quickly hides Kirby under a sack as the door is kicked down, with two armored figures, Blade Knight and Sword Knight, royal guards from the castle, entering. Upon addressing Tiff and company, they state they've come looking for Kirby on orders from their master. Tiff and Tuff feign ignorance of Kirby not being around, but another voice replies in skepticism; Sir Meta Knight, DeDeDe's loyal vassal.
Shocked to see him, she tries to defend Kirby, only for Meta Knight to lunge with sword out, scaring her off as he uses the sword to lift the sack off of Kirby. Upon seeing him, Meta Knight is surprised, feeling a strong energy coming from him, and mutters how he's here now of all times. Lowering his sword and turning to leave. Tiff and Tuff accost him, wondering what that was all about as Meta Knight states that wondered if the monster had hid in the shed, but has now confirmed that it was in fact Kirby. However, this leaves the question of where and who the real monster is. At that moment, they hear a sound and see an explosion of smoke coming from DeDeDe's castle. Kirby seems to know what it is and immediately starts running towards it.
At the castle, DeDeDe and Escargoon are tinkering with Kirby's ship, but having little progress. DeDeDe knows Kirby will come once he realizes they have his ship, but becomes distracted when he notices an odd jewel box, and finds a gleaming star object inside. Taking interest, he claims it for himself and leaves Escargoon to keep working. Kirby arrives right then, surprising Escargoon, who claims they're servicing his ship to send him off early. Kirby seems more anxious about the empty jewel box, and rushes into the castle, desperate to find the star that was inside. Back in the throne room, looking at his pet Octakon. He still doesn't believe it's a monster capable of eating sheep, even after he went to the trouble of ordering it from a system capable of delivering monsters from all over the universe. Tapping a button on his throne, the floor opens and reveals a hi-tech platform and a video screen. The screen turns on, revealing a salesman from Nightmare Enterprises, Customer Service.
DeDeDe complains he sent them a lot of money to get a monster, and all he got was a shrimpy-looking octopus. Customer Service simply replies that Octakon has yet to show his real power. Curious, DeDeDe takes another look, and sees that the little octopus has grown quite a bit, sporting evil glowing eyes. As DeDeDe stares, he's quickly hypnotized and brought under the monster's control. When Kirby comes into the room, DeDeDe pulls out his hammer and quickly tries to smash Kirby. After taking a few hits, Kirby tricks DeDeDe into running into a column, causing him to drop the little star he found. Tiff and her family rush into the room, with Tiff picking up the star, only for Meta Knight to dive in and push her out of the way of a falling pillar. Meta Knight quickly points out Octakon is growing to monstrous sizes, proving it was indeed the same monster that ate all the sheep. It starts breaking parts of the castle with it's tentacles as DeDeDe comes back to his senses, terrified at the sight of such a huge monster, claiming he didn't order such a huge beast.
As Meta Knight and his knaves attempt to stop Octakon, DeDeDe, Escargoon, Tiff and Tuff attempt to flee, but Octakon blocks the kid's path. Seeing them in trouble, Kirby jumps in to protect them, as Octakon produces tons of mini-Octakons from it's tentacles. They quickly bash Kirby around, exhausting him to the point he turns blue, which seems to trigger a reaction from the star Tiff is holding. Meta Knight takes notice, wondering where she got it. When she says DeDeDe dropped it, Meta Knight calls it the Warp Star, the source of Kirby's power. The Mini-Octakons chase Kirby up one of the towers as Tiff tries to get to Kirby. Kirby quickly finds himself trapped at the top of the tower as Octakon breaks out of the castle, with Kirby surrounded on all sides by the Mini-Octakons.
Tiff approaches from a balcony and holds up the Warp Star for Kirby to see, which invigorates him as he starts using his Inhale ability to suck up all the Mini-Octakon. Tiff and Tuff are surprised he can eat all those monsters after having eaten so much before, with Meta Knight calling it his most basic of abilities. Octakon then fires flaming Mini-Octakon at Kirby, but Kirby kicks them all away as Tiff and Tuff cheer him on. When Octakon sends another volley, Kirby starts inhaling all the fiery Octakon. After swallowing them, Kirby suddenly produces a flaming hat, which Meta Knight recognizes as a Copy Ability. He clarifies that Kirby as the ability to copy the powers of his foes, and alters his appearance. Kirby has now become Fire Kirby.
Octakon tries to fry Kirby with a breath of flame, but Kirby is unfazed, inhaling it and blowing it right back. When Octakon tries to advance on Kirby, Tuff throws the Warp Star towards Kirby as it grows in size and starts flying. Kirby jumps upon it and evades Octakon's attacks, before blasting it with a powerful stream of fire. Octakon tries to cling to the tower, but the force of the fire blasts Octakon away, destroying the monster.Tiff and Tuff cheer for Kirby's victory, while DeDeDe cries over losing Octakon. Meanwhile, Customer Service is observing from afar, with his boss, Nightmare, looming in the background. Customer Service notes that Kirby seems to indeed be a true Star Warrior, with Nightmare simply chuckling in amusement.
The following day, Kirby's starship has been prepared, and Kirby is looking ready to leave. Everyone is sad that Kirby has to go so soon, but say their goodbyes as Kirby begins to take off. DeDeDe and Escargoon however attempt to get the last laugh, having rigged the ship with a detonator. However, when Escargoon activates the explosive, it just causes the ship to malfunction and drop right on top of their car, throwing Kirby clear as it leaves both a destroyed wreck. DeDeDe is furious that Escargoon messed things up and chases him with his hammer, while Tiff and Tuff laugh it off, glad that Kirby can stay longer, with Kirby himself eager to start living in Cappy Town.
Tropes:
- Death Glare: Octakon gives Tiff one when she looks at it with suspicion.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: This is the only episode that has Kirby turning blue when low on energy, and the only episode that has the Warp Star serving as a means for Kirby to restore his power. All future episodes with it simply have it used as a vehicle for flight.
- Mind-Control Eyes: When Octakon takes control of DeDeDe, his eyes turn green.
- Wishful Projection: When the villagers wonder what Kirby looks like, Tiff imagines a tall princely figure. The image is promptly shattered once she finds out Kirby is just a pink ball who barely even knows how to speak.
- Your Head Asplode: Right before Fire Kirby blasts Octakon off the tower, it's head seems to explode in a flash of white light
