A Small Problem

A Small Problem is the eleventh episode of the first season of Ben 10, and the eleventh episode overall.
==Synopsis==
When Ben is not allowed on an attraction at a water park because he's too short, he decides to go alien to get even with the ride's attendant.
==Plot==
Ben and Gwen race for the entrance of a large slide at a water park, though Gwen is the only one able to get in line, as Ben gets stopped by the attendant, Brad, due to falling short of the minimum height. Upset, Ben decides to transform into Ripjaws to show the attendant just how tall he can be. Unfortunately, Ben gets stuck as Grey Matter, and a large crowd of kids comes running towards the attraction. Grey Matter is able to dodge the stampede. At the entrance of the ride, someone is explaining the history of the site to Brad. He seems to think that aliens crash-landed onto the site in the year 1951, hoping to get a few soil samples. He asks if he can have a word with Brad's supervisor. Brad doesn't seem to care. While they continue their discussion, Grey Matter ties Brad's shoelaces together to get revenge for not letting him through. The man catches him doing this and tells Brad what he just saw. Brad sees nothing and calls him crazy. So, the man decides to get Grey Matter himself. Brad tries to stop him, though he trips because of his tied-up shoelaces.
Grey Matter meets up with Gwen and jumps in ahead of her. He makes it to the bottom first and is almost crushed under Gwen when she comes down shortly after him. When they both emerge from the water, Gwen points out that Max will not like the idea of Ben using the Omnitrix to sneak onto a ride. However, Grey Matter claims that he'll never know because he'll change back before Max finds out. They decide to go towel off, or "napkin off", in Grey Matter's case. Before Grey Matter gets out, the man from earlier surfaces from the pool and picks him up. Grey Matter immediately calls out to Gwen, who tells the man to let go of him. Instead, he quickly stuffs Grey Matter into a cooler and runs off. Gwen finds Max and they go after him, but he makes it to his car and drives off. The man takes Grey Matter to his home, where he has installed a very elaborate security system. 
In the RV, Gwen and Max search for Grey Matter. Gwen thinks that Grey Matter will eventually revert back to Ben and transform into Four Arms and escape on his own. Max then points out that Ben should have reverted before he was taken, realizing there must be something wrong with the Omnitrix. Gwen is far from worried, believing that Grey Matter has an advantage because of his intelligence.
Back at the house, the man questions Grey Matter, who is sealed in a glass jar. He asks Grey Matter what galaxy he's from, which Grey Matter doesn't know, much less anything about himself, despite his intelligence. The man continues to stare while Grey Matter vainly hopes for the Omnitrix to time out at the exact moment. Infuriated, Grey Matter sarcastically suggests taking a picture, which will last longer. He takes his sarcastic jab literally since he needs proof of Grey Matter anyway. Now that he has pictures, he calls up a group called the Organization and video chats with Enoch, a mysterious armored knight hidden under a mask and a chainmail cowl. He has little patience with the man, who he refers to as Howell, due to his inconclusive proof he's already tried sending him numerous times before. However, when he sees the images Howell has just sent, Enoch takes his word for it and sends a car to investigate, warning him that this had better not be a waste of their time.
Grey Matter's luck turns around when he spots Howell's cat. He lures the cat and it knocks over the glass jar to get to him. It breaks, allowing him to escape. Howell walks into the room where Grey Matter was held earlier, finding him missing. Meanwhile, Grey Matter climbs up the kitchen cabinets and finds a phone on the counter, which he uses to call Gwen. Grey Matter says that he's at Ripley but can't tell her the full name because he accidentally triggers alarm and a steel shutter on the window. Grey Matter dodges the shutter, but breaks the phone by knocking it over, ending the call. Grey Matter is then cornered by Howell and climbs up his shirt. Howell tries to reach for him, but Grey Matter leaps from his shirt and climbs inside an air vent. Howell grabs Grey Matter before he goes any farther, but he bites his hand to make him let go. In the meantime, Gwen and Max are forced to sort through all the houses on each street with Ripley in the name.
Howell turns the vent fans on to blow Grey Matter out. He is taken for a short ride until he grabs a ceiling grate. He opens it, and Howell spots him and hits him with a broom. Grey Matter dodges the attacks and jumps into the sink. Howell turns the faucet on to flush him out. The rushing water pushes Grey Matter into the toilet, disgusting him. In the neighborhood, Gwen and Max split up to begin searching the houses. Max is repelled by a sprinkler and Gwen is scared away by a spider, leading them back into each other, so they give up in favor of searching with the RV. Back at Howell's house, Howell uses his security cameras to find Grey Matter at the main power switch, which Grey Matter uses to leave Howell's home in darkness. Howell continues his search with a flashlight, and Grey Matter eventually finds a way out. He heads to the chimney-looking route, and it attracts Howell as he opens it. Howell starts to smoke Grey Matter out as he climbs and succeeds in catching him into a fishnet. He confines him in a compartment, along with his collection of alien figurines. The Organization shows up. Three henchmen were sent to see his discovery and brought in a small, electrified container with them. Howell shows them Grey Matter, and promptly stuffs him into the container, leaving with the Organization.
As Gwen and Max continue their search, they seem to have found Howell's car in the garage. Max decides to forget knocking in favor of breaking the door down. However, an elderly woman in a wheelchair comes and orders her dog to attack. Max wrestles with it, and Gwen spots men shoving Howell into their car on the other side of the street. Howell drops his phone as he's pushed in. She tells Max that they're getting away, and Max touches the dog's head and puts it to sleep, impressing Gwen. Since they don't know where they're going, they decide to find out by investigating Howell's home. Inside the Organization's car, Grey Matter thinks that the men are more trouble than Howell. Howell just says that Grey Matter's in the cage and he's not. They arrive at the castle and shove Howell out of the car, and lead him and Grey Matter inside.
Max notes Howell and the old lady's similar cars. Gwen finds Howell's phone and goes through the pictures of Grey Matter, all showing him to be rather sad. Max figures that they can get an address from the call history if they do a reverse trace on the numbers. At the Organization's castle, the men lead Howell to see Enoch. Howell wants to know how they'll spread the word of his find. Instead, he hands Grey Matter to scientists for some tests, saying that they would rather keep the discoveries to themselves. Howell protests and is grabbed by the other men. Enoch describes him as disposable and takes him away. Before he's taken away further, he knocks the other man out and runs. He says that they shouldn't do this to either him or Grey Matter.
Outside, a guard is patrolling with a spear with an energy weapon equipped to it. Gwen asks Max who they are, and he says they're a secret society dedicated to collecting alien technology. He sees Gwen's confused expression and he covers it up by saying that he just picked it up somewhere during his life. Inside, Grey Matter is taken to a lab. The scientists have made a doll of him, strapped onto an operating table. Various cutting lasers attached to the table cut the doll apart, scaring Grey Matter. The scientists prepare to do the same process to him. Gwen and Max make their way inside the castle walls using a nearby tree. A guard eventually spots them. Max goes on with the attack, knocking off his spear. He does well but is soon overpowered. Gwen, however, is able to knock the guard out with his own spear.
Outside the lab, an unknown assailant dressed as one of them knocks one of the scientists out as he prepares to enter. Whoever knocked him out takes his suit and goes inside. The other scientist is about ready to dissect Grey Matter. The impostor scientist, whose voice reveals him to be Howell, knocks the scientist out. He uses the lasers to free Grey Matter. More scientists show up to stop him, so he uses the extending arms the lasers are attached to knock them away. He tries to get away with Grey Matter but is tackled down and drops him. Grey Matter escapes as Howell wrestles with one of the scientists.
In the hall, Grey Matter runs into Gwen's leg. Both are surprised and happy to see each other, but Max says they should save the family reunion for later. Sneaking through the castle and dodging guard patrols, they eventually find their way to a storage room. Within it is much of the alien technology that the Organization has collected, arranged in a circle around a large device in the center. Grey Matter's tone suggests that the objects they've collected must be incredibly valuable, powerful, or both, in which he states that they don't know what they've been dealing with. Meanwhile, Enoch orders his men to recapture Grey Matter.
Grey Matter says that they need to destroy everything. Several guards show up, along with Enoch and Howell in custody. The three take cover near the large device in the center. Grey Matter comes up with a plan and has Gwen and Max grab some of the alien technology, a hyper core, and a capacitor to be precise. One of the guards catches them as they retrieve the parts, but Max takes his weapon and holds the others at bay. Max provides cover fire; Grey Matter tells them to leave, saying that he can activate the device, though he doesn't say what it does. He just assures Gwen that he'll meet her outside. With Gwen and Max gone, Grey Matter activates the device, which powers up and starts releasing energy. Enoch says that the reaction will decimate the castle. He orders everyone to evacuate, except Howell, whom he's tired of dealing with and plans to leave in the castle. The Organization departs and Grey Matter climbs out of the device. The Omnitrix finally times out and Grey Matter reverts back into Ben. Howell misses this, so he's confused when he finds Ben. The two escape the castle just before the alien device collapses it into what appears to be a miniature black hole. Howell asks Ben and Gwen where Grey Matter went, but they feign ignorance. Annoyed, he decides to give up chasing after aliens.
Ben states that he's happy to be big again. Gwen makes fun of him, saying he's still short. Ben threatens to go Four Arms on her. When he slams his hand on the table, the Omnitrix releases an audible as well as visual charge, interrupting them. Ben immediately claims that he didn't do anything. Gwen says that they need to get it fixed. Meanwhile, Enoch is shown in his car. There is a great deal of electronics installed in it, including a computer. Profiles of Ben, Gwen, and Max are on the screen. Enoch orders his men to find out everything there is to know about them.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*Team Tennyson meets Enoch and the Forever Knights.
====Character Debuts====
*Howell Wainwright
*Forever Knights
**Enoch
*Brad
===Minor Events===
*Ben ends up stuck as Grey Matter for most of the episode due to a malfunction in the Omnitrix.
==Characters==
===Main Characters===
*Ben Tennyson
*Gwen Tennyson
*Max Tennyson
===Antagonists===
*Howell Wainwright (first appearance; switches to supporting)
*Forever Knights (first appearance)
**Enoch
===Other Characters===
*Brad (first appearance)
*Brutus
*Elderly Woman
==Aliens Used==
*Grey Matter (intended alien was Ripjaws)
==Quotes==
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast==
==Errors==
*In some shots, the Omnitrix's dial faces the wrong way.
*In one frame, half of Grey Matter's face is covered by the background.
*Despite Howell clearly covering Grey Matter with his hands, Grey Matter somehow manages to get in his shirt. 
*Before Ben changes into Grey Matter, he is wearing his swimsuit. When he changes back to normal near the end of the episode, he is wearing his regular clothes.
Problem (7).png|Omnitrix dial error/Ben in swimsuit
Problem (22).png|Omnitrix dial error
Problem (184.1).png|Grey Matter's face covered
Problem (221).png|Howell covers Grey Matter with his hands
Problem (222).png|Grey Matter is inside Howell's shirt
Problem (576).png|Ben in regular clothes
Problem (606).png|Omnitrix dial error
==Trivia==
*This is the first time Ben gets stuck in alien form, because of Ben's ignorance of the device and the seeming vagaries of the Omnitrix.
==References==
===Production Material===
====Backgrounds====
===Crew Statements===
====Duncan Rouleau====
===Cartoon Network===
de:Staffel 1/Folge 11: Klein, aber oho
es:Un pequeño problema
it:Caccia all'alieno
pl:Mały problem
pt-br:Um Probleminha
ro:O problemă minoră
ru:Проблемы с ростом
tr:Küçük Bir Problem
Category:Episodes
Category:Ben 10 Episodes
Category:Ben 10 Season 1 Episodes
Category:Episodes Directed by Scooter Tidwell