Original air date: 12/2/1998
Production code: PPG-103
Octi Evil: HIM toys with Bubbles' mind by speaking to her through Octi, her favorite stuffed animal.
Geshundfight: In their attempt to get recognized as supervillains, the Amoeba Boys accidentally infect all of Townsville with a virus.
Octi Evil provides examples of:
- Apple of Discord: HIM turns Bubbles into one of these through Octi. By following Octi’s ‘advise’, she only makes the argument between Buttercup and Blossom worse.
- Argument of Contradictions: When Buttercup and Blossom argue over whose fault it is that they accidentally caused destruction as a result of Buttercup throwing the 3 headed monster for Blossom to catch.
- Break the Cutie: Bubbles really doesn’t like it if her sisters argue, and retreats into their room crying. HIM is more than willing to exploit this.
- Bullying a Dragon: Blossom is actually the first to take her feud with Buttercup to physical levels, punishing her with eye lasers for her "insubordination". As expected, Buttercup gives her the same ten fold for Blossom's "leadership", slamming Blossom into a wall.
- Dissension Remorse: Blossom and Buttercup immediately stop their argument when they hear Bubbles screaming and crying for help, prompting them to put it all aside for their sister's sake.
- The Dreaded: The Narrator shows clear dread towards the debuting HIM as he talks about the demon."It appears our girls are secretly being monitored, but by whom? Oh, no! Not— I—I—I can’t say it! This is a villain so evil, so sinister, so horribly vile that even the utterance of his name strikes fear into the hearts of men! The only safe way to refer to this king of darkness is simply… HIM."
- Feud Episode: Between Blossom and Buttercup for most of the episode. They give up their feud upon hearing Bubble's screams for help, deciding they should both help her.
- Living Toys: Played with; HIM makes Bubbles think this has happened to Octi, but it’s actually just HIM speaking through Octi. When revealing himself, HIM even lampshades this and makes fun of Bubbles for thinking Octi could actually talk.
- Make My Monster Grow: HIM eventually turns Octi into a giant octopus monster.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: HIM eventually undermines his own plan when he makes Octi gigantic and has him attack Bubbles. Seeing their sister in trouble makes Blossom and Buttercup put aside their differences and come to her aid.
- Ocular Gushers: Bubbles cries a stream of tears whilst her sisters are bickering.
- Reflective Eyes: Both Blossom and Buttercup have these as they stare each other down wondering who will save Bubbles only to decide they should work together.
- Showdown at High Noon: Parodied between the standoff between Blossom and Buttercup complete with furrowed expressions, extreme close-ups, and intense music; when Bubbles' screaming breaks their attention, it repeats with them having confused expressions before they finally smile in the close-ups.
- Take a Third Option: When Blossom and Buttercup see Bubbles in danger, due to their argument, they can't agree who should save her. But when they are interrupted by Bubbles screaming for help, they decide to bury the hatchet and save her together.
- Time Out: The Professor gives Blossom and Buttercup one when their argument really gets out of hand.
Geshundfight provides examples of:
- All Crimes Are Equal: The Amoeba Boys definitely think so, since they expect the girls to beat them up for something mundane as littering. Of course, the girls don’t consider it worth the effort.
- Bindle Stick: When preparing to leave Townsville, each of the Amoeba Boys carries a stick with a cloth-wrapped bundle tied to one end.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Parodied in the episode's punchline: none of this would have happened if the Boys had stuck with their original plan and stolen the orange from the fruit stand.Bossman: [glaring at Slim] I told ya you should have taken the orange!
- Find the Cure!: What the girls have to do after the Amoeba Boys infect everybody with their virus.
- Harmless Villain: This is the Amoeba Boys’ debut episode, and right at the start the narrator already points out how utterly harmless they are. They're even the trope image!
- Infection Scene: The Amoeba Boys, in attempt to commit a crime, catch a cold after standing out in the rain next to a "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" sign, and Slim sneezes near an apple cart, leaving a green trail that immediately infects the apple seller, who sneezes another green trail all over the apples. A man eats one of the apples and immediately gets sick, sneezing right before getting on a bus; when the bus hits the next stop, all the passengers are sick, and even passing by another person will infect them. This soon escalates into an epidemic.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Buttercup delivers a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to the Amoeba Boys, yells at them about how pathetic they are as criminals, and tells them to leave Townsville and never come back. While it did turn out to be a thoughtless move on her part, as the Amoeba Boys are revealed to be the ones that can put an end to the problem as well as the ones who started it, she was right about them being terrible (and partially annoying) villains.
- Not Used to Freedom: The Amoeba Boys are released from quarantine as soon as the cure is extracted from them and all of Townsville is returned to normal, though Bossman objects to being freed so early.
- The Plague: While not as harmful as most examples of this trope, the Amoeba Boys' mutated cold does affect the whole city of Townsville.
- Sick Episode: Exaggerated since all of Townsville is infected.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Amoeba Boys attempt to commit a crime, believing that standing on the grass next to a "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" sign will get them arrested. Instead, they get sick after getting caught in the rain, and their unique biology causes a citywide epidemic around Townsville, infecting the Powerpuff Girls in the process.
- Wimp Fight: The sick Powerpuff Girls vs the sick Amoeba Boys. The Girls easily win with very little effort.... without even hitting the Amoeba Boys.
- Working Through the Cold: The girls have to give the Amoeba Boys a token battle before they will surrender (they want to get beaten up like "real" criminals). Not even Buttercup can muster any passion for the job.
