The Ultimate Robot Warrior

Hunting for the secret of the Cave of the Dragons, Megatron becomes convinced that it's hiding a powerful Transformer.


 * Japanese title: The Ultimate Extreme! Buddha-Transformer

Detailed synopsis
Sifting through Doctor Onishi's mind with the psycho probe, Megatron finds a mention of the mysterious "Cave of the Dragon." Sky-Byte suggests there may be something important concealed there; this intrigues Megatron, who orders the Predacons to look into it. A sulky Gas Skunk would rather watch TV...where he stumbles on a news broadcast at the cave, purporting to show a giant statue which changes into a firebreathing dragon. Gas Skunk promptly races off to inform Megatron and Sky-Byte, thus conveniently failing to hear that the dragon is a special effect for a movie. Megatron is eager to recruit this apparently powerful Transformer into his ranks, and Sky-Byte assures him he'll take care of it..

Unsure where the cave is, the Predacons start hunting for statues all over the planet; unsurprisingly, they don't have a lot of luck getting them to transform. When the Autobots show up to chase Slapper away from his latest target, they have no idea what he's talking about, but their confused denials only encourage the Predacons' delusions.

Back at Autobot headquarters, Optimus and T-AI are trying to figure out the Predacons' sudden statue obsession. Koji mentions that there are statues in the Cave of the Dragon, where his dad used to spend a lot of time. T-AI thinks he may be on to something, as Doctor Onishi's microchip also mentions the cave. The Autobot Brothers are sent out to investigate.

Side Burn, however, is more interested in chasing after Kelly. His courtship attempts are cut short when a sudden blinding fog rolls in; trying to find his automotive amour, he runs into Sky-Byte, who's finally located the cave. Both are startled to see a huge figure come towards them in the fog--and then vanish! Sky-Byte promptly reports the sighting to Megatron (who is not terribly impressed by a view of empty space and an assurance that "it was here a second ago"). Back at Autobot HQ, T-AI explains to Side Burn that the whole thing was just more special effects. This gives Optimus an idea....

Sky-Byte goes exploring in the cave, leaving the Predacons outside to keep the Autobots away--and then passes directly by Railspike and Rapid Run without noticing. He finally locates the "dragon" (actually the two trainbots in clever disguise) and promptly runs away screaming when it chases him. Outside, the Autobot Brothers show up, claiming they're here to stop the Predacons from desecrating a "sacred place," and a fight ensues until the dragon arrives; the Autobots retreat, pretending (badly) to be terrified of it. The Predacons think this is their opportunity, but they are driven back when the dragon "transforms" into a giant statue firing storms of missiles at them (despite a slight hitch when the statue, or rather the Autobots inside it, falls over and can't get up). When Optimus manages to disentangle himself from the statue and declares that he's here to defend the "giant robot", the Predacons decide retreat is definitely the wiser course.

Back in the cave, the Autobots discover that one of the real statues has a mysterious Cybertronian artifact in its forehead. Optimus comments on the irony: the Predacons were chasing after a mythical dragon when what they really wanted was right here.

Stats
Original airdate:

Written by: Richard Epcar

Featured characters
(''Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes
"Oh honey, you take those curves like a pro! I must say, sweetheart, your driving skills have improved a lot!" "The only reason my driving skills improve is because you're always chasing me!"
 * Side Burn and Kelly's version of flirtatious banter

"I really resent having to be the caboose." "Part's perfect for you. So pipe down and keep walking."
 * Rapid Run and Railspike discuss who gets to be which part of the dragon.

X-Brawn: "He's too powerful for us!" Sideburn: "He's unstoppable! We should really get out of here while we still have the chance!" Rapid Run: "That was terrible. Sounded like they were just reading their lines. They need to give it some umph!"
 * Rapid Run, acting critic

Continuity

 * Doctor Onishi's microchip was retrieved by the Autobots in "The Secret of the Ruins".