Pirates vs. Ninja

*“Ninja versus pirates. Who will win?”*

— Kai

**Pirates vs. Ninja** is the second episode of the second season of *Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu* and the 15th episode overall. It first aired on Cartoon Network on July 25, 2012 in the United States.

## Synopsis

*When Garmadon by accident brings to life the original owners of the Black Bounty - the ruthless Captain Soto and his Pirates - it is up to our ninjas to stop them from plundering Ninjago City.*

*When Lord Garmadon accidentally brings to life the original owners of the Ninja's ship, the Destiny's Bounty, it's bound to be an epic battle!*

## Plot

The episode begins with a brief flashback, showing the history of the *Destiny's Bounty*. Long before the ninja found it, the ship belonged to a group of pirates lead by Captain Soto. They hoped to find the fabled Island of Darkness, but the incompetent piloting of the blind No-Eyed Pete caused them to crash, killing everyone on board.

In the present time, the ninja have begun training Lloyd, but they realize their apartment is too small to train in. They soon relocate to a dojo owned by a confident yet poorly trained martial artist named "Grand Sensei" Dareth. He doubts the ninja truly saved the city and will only allow them to use the dojo if they can defeat him. He demonstrates several animal poses, and afterward, Kai pulls on his hood and defeats Dareth easily with an attack of his Spinjitzu.

Lord Garmadon, who has recently acquired the alliance of Acidicus, Skalidor, and Fangtom, has yet to uncover the Mega Weapon's power. He decides to test it on the Ultra Dragon as it flies by. However, his commands to injure the Ultra Dragon fail, although he says it’s because the Serpentine are steering the ship wrong. He soon finds a journal belonging to Captain Soto hidden in his cabin and reads it. Aloud, he wishes that he had a trained crew like the Pirates. The Mega Weapon begins to react, and in the next room, Garmadon overhears the Pirates who have been brought back to existence. Garmadon shortly after walks to the deck.

The Pirates and Serpentine begin arguing over to whom the *Bounty* truly belongs. Garmadon tries to cut in and tells the Pirates that they now serve him, but the Mega Weapon has drained almost all of Garmadon's power, so he and the Serpentine are easily thrown into the brig by No-Eyed Pete. The Pirates are initially confused about the changes to their ship, but soon figure out how to operate it and make it fly towards Ninjago City.

Back at the Dojo, the ninja are still training Lloyd. When he is told to break boards, he accidentally cracks the floor in the process. Zane comments that the reason he has the potential to be the greatest ninja is that he can master all of the main elemental powers. Dareth, though, is not impressed. He tells the ninja he could chop fifty boards in half and says if he does so, the ninja would have to make him the Brown Ninja, although he fails miserably.

Soon after, the Pirates begin flying the ship through Ninjago City. The ninja are instantly alerted and head after it, telling Lloyd he needs to stay behind since his powers are too uncontrollable. However, Dareth gets on board first, convinced that if he stops the Pirates he'll be allowed to be the Brown Ninja. He is soon captured, and the ninja decide to sneak on dressed up as Pirates.

Onboard, Dareth is forced to walk the plank. He confesses that all his trophies are fake and his brown belt is colored before falling off, only to be caught by the Ultra Dragon, who is being driven by Lloyd. The ninja shed their disguises and fight against the Pirates using their wooden weapons. When Lloyd drops in, they tell him not to fight before Kai puts him in a barrel. In an attempt to get out of the barrel, Lloyd uses his first Spinjitzu, and Garmadon and the Serpentine are freed from the jail cell in time to see Lloyd has become stronger.

After Lloyd accidentally used his elemental powers, the ninja are trapped under the mast. Just before the Pirates could finish them, Nya appears in her Samurai X mech, stops the Pirates, and repairs the ship. The Pirates are soon taken away by the police, but Garmadon takes control of the *Black Bounty* before the ninja. He tells Lloyd that although he’s getting stronger, he will never be able to defeat him and says he should give up. Lloyd instead takes a stand beside the ninja and Nya, and Garmadon flies away. As the team watches, Dareth attempts a sneak attack on Jay, only to have Jay flip him at the last second. The episode concludes with him saying he “Dareths them to forgive him."

## Appearances

### Characters

* Acidicus
* Cole
* Dareth
* Fangtom
* First Mate
* Garmadon
* Guide Parrot
* Jay
* Jeffy
* Kai
* Lloyd Garmadon
* No-Eyed Pete
* Nya
* Office Worker
* Phil
* Postman
* Serpentine Soldier
* Skalidor
* Soto
* Wu
* Zane

### Items

* Captain Soto's journal
* Katana
* Mega Weapon
	+ Scythe of Quakes (mentioned)
* Nunchucks
* Scythe
* Serpentine Staffs
	+ Constrictai Staff
	+ Fangpyre Staff
	+ Venomari Staff
* Underworld helmet

### Vehicles

* *Black Bounty*
* Samurai Mech

### Locations

* Endless Sea
* Ninjago
	+ Ninjago City
		- Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo
		- Wong's Costume

### Species

* Dragons
* Humans
* Nindroids
* Oni/Dragon/Human hybrids
* Serpentine
	+ Constrictai
	+ Fangpyre
	+ Hypnobrai
	+ Venomari

## Trivia

* Michael Kramer originally wrote lyrics for the pirates' singing at the beginning of the episode, but LEGO told them that this would be too complicated because it would require translating and hiring voice actors for the translations, so instead, Kramer and Jay Vincent made the pirates sing "pirate gibberish."
* This episode uses an internet meme as the basing of its plot and as the title.
* When Dareth uses the word "dare" he replaces it with his name, for example, "I *Dareth* you to forgive me."

## Continuity

* Lloyd performs Spinjitzu for the first time in this episode.
* Kai tells Lloyd, "You're not even ready to face my pinky toe," the same words Sensei Wu said to Kai in "Way of the Ninja." Wu even notices, saying that the student has become the teacher.
* Dareth and Captain Soto are introduced.
	+ Dareth's and Soto's voice actor, Alan Marriott, also joins the voice cast.
		- One of Soto's pirates' face is later used by The Mechanic.
		- It is revealed that the *Destiny's Bounty* sank 200 years before this episode.
		- This episode starts the Mega Weapon arc of Season 2, where all of the episodes are based on classic plots from older series (like time travel, evil doppelgangers, a big race, and the regression plot).
		- When Lloyd is training in the apartment, a poster of The Royal Blacksmiths is shown on the wall.
		- This is the only episode in Season 2 where Nya appears as Samurai X.
		- Kai ruffles Lloyd's hair at the end of this episode, saying, "don't forget to include this guy," acknowledging that Lloyd played an important role in saving the day in spite of his young age. Kai would later ruffle Lloyd's hair the same way in "Winds of Change" and "The Mask of Deception," with both times being meant to acknowledge Lloyd growing up while still having Kai as an older brother figure.
		- The events of this episode are referenced in "Misfortune Rising," when the Sky Pirates attack Ninjago and shoot a cannon ball through the same office building that is seen in this episode. The same businesswoman, voiced by Jillian Michaels, even makes a reappearance.

## Errors

* When Jay says "Look pal, we're the guys that just saved the city from a giant snake," he speaks with Cole's voice.
	+ He also uses Kai's voice when he mentions the Scythe of Quakes.
		- When Soto says "Who you calling fellas, four arms?", Garmadon says, "Me, Lord Garmadon." This does not make sense, as it would mean Garmadon was calling himself "fellas."
		- When Jay takes note of Lloyd harnessing the power of the Scythe of Quakes, he says "Staff of Quakes."
		- After Soto activates the *Destiny's Bounty*'s flying mechanism, his First Mate is replaced by another pirate.
			* The barrel on the *Bounty* only appears when it's almost necessary for the plot. It also switches positions from the right side to behind Kai and was closed with a lid before Lloyd was put in it.
			* The scene before Lloyd harnesses the power of the Scythe of Quakes, Master Wu would not be seen. However, when Lloyd does harnesses the power, Master Wu would magically appear in the top right corner even though he wasn't there the scene before.
				+ When Captain Soto puts his journal away, it was on its side, with the spine facing upwards, but when Garmadon retrieves it, it was standing up.
				+ When Kai yells "Lloyd! Don't! Your powers are too uncontrollable!" he says it with Cole's voice.
				+ When Captain Soto says "More pajama men?" he says it with the wrong voice.
				+ When Soto fights Lloyd, his hook is strangely bent into a circle.