Sleeping Leeko

**Sleeping Leeko** is the eighteenth Season 1 episode of Leeko: The Beginning trilogy, and the eighteenth episode overall. This episode is notable for the first appearance of the Needle ability.

## Summary

Leeko catches a sleeping sickness after swallowing a Snoozer, but only the evil Phochi Flower can save him.

## Characters

### Primary

* Leeko
* Helios & Luna
* Manny
* Milly
* Moonlight Man

### Secondary

* Daisy (*has no lines*)
* Dr. Medico
* Gamba (*has no lines*)
* King Leonardo
* Lady Chanter
* Parker (*has no lines*)
* Phochi Flower (*debut*)
* Snoozer
* Tommy
* Whitehead (*has no lines*)
* Various unnamed Puffy villagers (*have no lines*)

## Episode summary

The episode begins in Puffy Town, at Stop To Shop. Leeko, Manny, Helios, and Luna are at the store picking out treats for a picnic, and Leeko gets himself a chocolate bar. As the group leaves, King Leonardo and Tommy arrive in their Tank car and dump one of the leftover Snoozers from the earlier episode Pillowed! into Leeko's proximity. Manny encourages Leeko to vacuum-mouth the Snoozer, which he does, but this ends up putting Leeko into a deep slumber which he can't wake up from. Having planned this, King Leonardo and Tommy drive off gloating. Later on, Milly arrives with Luna at Dr. Medico's clinic to check in on Leeko, who is still in a deep sleep. Dr. Medico explains to Milly that Leeko had consumed a Snoozer and is now coming down with a sleeping sickness which he may not wake up from. Helios and Luna reveal that Manny told Leeko to inhale the Snoozer, which causes Milly to focus her ire toward him for a moment, but Medico breaks them up to tell them of a possible cure; the Phochi Flower, located in the deepest parts of Tonka Sahara. Manny refuses to go into such a dangerous jungle for Leeko's sake, so Milly resolves to go by herself.

After bidding farewell to her parents, Milly sets off on a log boat with Leeko in tow down the river toward the jungle. After she withstands a taunt from King Leonardo and Tommy, Manny jumps onto the boat, throwing Milly off, and proceeds to row forward with the intent of leaving her behind. After Helios and Luna follow suit, Milly gets pulled out of the river by Moonlight Man. As Manny, Helios, and Luna make it deeper into the jungle and continue on foot, Milly and Moonlight Man secretly follow behind. Manny quickly gets tired of carrying Leeko on his back, but refuses to let Helios and Luna help. Soon, this leads to a struggle between them, which causes Leeko to fall out and land onto a massive cobweb. Soon, a large spider appears and is about to eat Leeko. Milly tries to move in to help, but Moonlight Man urges her to stay back and let Manny handle it. Manny panics and throws a stick at the spider, but he misses. At the same time, however, a rock from elsewhere hits the spider, causing it to retreat out of sight. Manny celebrates, thinking he scared it off, which causes Milly to comment on this to Moonlight Man, but the cloaked swordsman insists that Manny should be allowed to have this confidence.

After the group rescues Leeko, Manny gloats to Helios and Luna about his aim, but they doubt him, causing him to get angry and throw a ball of spider web at them, but he misses and hits a bees nest. The group then has to get away from the livid bees, causing Manny to trip and slide down a cliff and into a bog. After the bees leave, Manny goes to retrieve Leeko, but he gets caught in quicksand on the bottom of the water, and starts sinking. As Helios and Luna approach to help him, Moonlight Man slashes a tree which falls into the bog and gives Manny something to grab onto. That evening, the group sets up camp with the intent of continuing their search the next day, as Milly and Moonlight Man comment further on the situation. Come dawn, the group ventures onward and finds a cave entrance which resembles a skull. The group enters the cave, but are soon forced out by a giant yellow cobra who chases them. Moonlight Man dispatches the cobra by slamming a log in its mouth, then dropping a boulder tied to it from a rope to send it flying down a cliff. Manny once again believes he managed to scare the monster off and gloats, much to Milly's frustration.

With that obstacle out of the way, the group sets off into the cave. After coming up to a crossroad, Helios and Luna feign a disagreement to get Manny to choose the direction they wanted him to. After a short trek, the group then discovers the Phochi Flower dormant in a large opening in the cave. As the group approaches, the large bud quivers and then opens, revealing the flower inside. After marveling at this, the group approaches, but the flower then sends out a bunch of Venus fly-trap-like appendages to capture them. Moonlight Man steps in and cuts these down, freeing them and revealing himself in the process. Moonlight Man then explains that this was a trap set by King Leonardo, having spied on them back at the castle before coming out to Tonka Sahara. Manny becomes upset that Milly had brought Moonlight Man along, complaining that she doesn't trust him, while Moonlight Man proceeds to battle the Phochi Flower. Manny tries to walk away, dejected, but the others stop him, reminding him of his responsibility toward Leeko. As this happens, Moonlight Man starts to lose the fight, as his Dark Slash is knocked out of his grip.

Finding a new resolve, Manny runs in to help, but he is captured again as Moonlight Man is further entangled. Despite this, Manny manages to worm his way to the flower's petals and pluck one, causing the monster to roar out in pain and release Moonlight Man. Manny tosses the petal to Milly, who uses it to wake Leeko, as he sneezes the Snoozer he ate directly into one of the Phochi Flower's mouths, clogging its throat. Once fully stirred, Leeko begins vacuum-mouthing, and manages to catch the spines on the Phochi Flower's base, transforming into Needle Leeko. Needle Leeko quickly uses his power to pin down the monster. With the last of its strength, the Phochi Flower tries to eat Manny, but Moonlight Man finishes it off with a torch. Manny makes amends with Milly and Leeko, apologizing for how he acted, and Moonlight Man compliments Manny for his bravery. Leeko then finally unwraps the chocolate bar he was holding onto the whole time and eats it as the episode ends.

## Trivia

* This is the second episode to have Leeko’s name in the episode title. The first was Leeko Comes To Puffy Town.
* The title is a reference to the story Sleeping Beauty.
* Featured location: Tonka Sahara
* First episode in the series where Manny cries, though he only shed some tears.
* First appearance of the Needle Copy Ability.