Dinosaur King
Register
Advertisement


Elements of Surprise is the 11th episode of Mesozoic Meltdown and the 60th episode of Dinosaur King overall. It is the 2nd episode of the 4-part Ancient China arc.

Summary[]

After realizing Sanzo's necklace isn't a Cosmos Stone, the branch under Max's foot breaks, and he plummets! Zoe quickly summons Paris to break his fall, sliding him down her tail and back…and then flipping him onto on her crest a bit hard and in somewhat the wrong spot. Now the D-Team just have to figure out what about Sanzo the Space Pirates want him for, the monk mentioning their desire to move a mountain somewhere; he sets out on his way back home, but the D-Team decide to accompany him.

Shear has been looking for Sanzo all day, deciding to take some beauty rest in a tree…which a pair of loggers decide to harvest for lumber. The falling tree crashes onto a shrine for Lady Tessan and the Bull King, who the loggers think they've awoken when a grumpy Shear sends Mapusaurus at them. While searching for the fruit of eternal life, the Alpha Gang think they've found it when they fall into an orchard, but unpleasantly discover its just unripe peaches. When confronted by pitchfork-wielding farmers, they beg for mercy incoherently, leading to Ursula being mistaken for a chanting Sanzo Hoshi and his three followers; naturally, they play along. Meanwhile, the D-Team notice a nearby dinosaur signal for only a moment, but Sanzo collapses from exhaustion.

In a village, a feast of their food for the entire month is prepared for Sanzo, but it's actually the Alpha Gang gorging themselves; the village elder asks "Sanzo" to chant forth a rain to end their months of drought. The D-Team has switched to riding Chomp instead of walking, Sanzo discussing how to address peacefully their conflict with their parents' captors; also, he's really hungry. Recalling Chomp, they approach a village building defensive walls, the elder telling them to give up on crossing the mountain past the village. After realizing who Sanzo is, however, he prepares them dinner, also explaining that the monsters of Fire Mountain, the ancient demon terrors of Lady Tessan and the Bull King, have escaped the statues they'd been sealed in, and begging for help from the terrified Sanzo to seal them again with his chanting. The D-Team conclude the new "demon" is Shear, volunteering to solve things, but Sanzo declines their violent strategy and decides to go with them tomorrow. The next morning, however, Sanzo has left early, alone; the D-Team scramble after him.

Arriving at Fire Mountain, Sanzo meets Shear, who is frustrated at being mistaken for this "Lady Tessan" again, and tries chanting at her; she summons Mapusaurus, and Sanzo faints yet again. As the D-Team arrive, Mapusaurus is dangling Sanzo over a lava pit to try and wake him up. Max channels Sun Wukong, acolyte of Sanzo from literature, and wields a stick at Shear like Sun's staff…and conks himself on the back of the head. He then summons Chomp instead, Ace diving after Sanzo when Mapusaurus tosses him away to fight Chomp. As the battle rages, Sanzo decides to chant and bring a peaceful end; it almost happens as Shear's Heat Eruption causes Fire Mountain to erupt, forcing all to retreat. The D-Team calls for the village's evacuation, the elder briefly thinking their dinosaurs are the Bull King, but Sanzo returns to chanting. Shear makes another failed grab at him, leaving the volcano for the D-Team to deal with after dismissing her dinosaur as "useless" following its defeat. Chomp uses Lightning Strike to dig a channel to block the lava, Ace uses Biting Wind to disperse the lava near the village, and Paris uses Emerald Garden to cover over the remaining lava and volcano alike with plant life, draining its heat energy and quelling the eruption. Sanzo looks up from his chanting, both he and the villagers believing him to be responsible, leaving the D-Team rather nonplussed.

Back at the other village, Ursula says she will bring rains from below the ground, sending Tank digging for an aquifer; she scrambles back out of the hole as she hits lava instead, which floods the fields as the Alpha Gang flees both the lava and the villagers, Dr. Z insisting on being Sanzo next time. New statues of Lady Tessan and the Bull King resembling Shear and Mapusaurus have been constructed, but as Sanzo and the D-Team prepare to head off, a stampede of cattle charges right at them…

Battles[]

D-Team vs. Shear/Mapusaurus[]

Mapusaurus is dangling Sanzo over a lava pit to wake him up when Max summons Chomp. Without orders otherwise, it tosses Sanzo to prepare for battle, sending him flying towards another deep lava pit; Rex summons Ace to run after him with Cyclone, leaping into the pit to catch him before shooting back out with Sanzo with a gust of wind.

Chomp charges and rams Mapusaurus sliding up to the rim of the pit. The dinosaurs are upgraded into Spectral Armor Mapusaurus and DinoTector Chomp, the two headbutting into each other several times. Chomp bites onto Mapusaurus' tail, but it swings him off. Ace charges in, but Mapusaurus uses Heat Eruption. The volcano itself they're standing on erupts, raining flaming rocks onto the countryside and around Ace, and leaking huge lava flows from its peak, surrounding Mapusaurus. Shear not having intended "a Heat Eruption this hot", Mapusaurus is recalled, Chomp and Ace racing the D-Team and Sanzo down the volcano.

Shear summons Mapusaurus again (without armor), flying in and snatching Sanzo, but Zoe summons Paris, whose sonic call forces Shear to let him go. Mapusaurus attacks with Fire Bomb, but Chomp counters with Lightning Spear, overpowering its Move. Chomp then hits and defeats Mapusaurus with Gatling Spark, Max reclaiming its card. Shear abandons the scene in a huff.

D-Team wins

New Cards[]

Quotes[]

-Elder: "Please, Sanzo Hoshi, will you use your chanting powers to make it rain?"
-Ursula: "Whai—?"
-Elder (grabs her shoulders and shakes): "I beg you, please!"
-Ed: "Only if you put a little sugar on top."
-Elder (still shaking Ursula): "Very well, pretty please with sugar on top."
-Ed: "Actually, I meant on my soup."

Trivia[]

  • This episode's title is a reference to the phrase "the element of surprise".
  • In the intro, all of Max's lines are placed one shot earlier than in the previous cliffhanger, implying he realized Sanzo's necklace wasn't a Cosmos Stone slightly sooner.
  • The Alpha Trio keep thinking peach orchards contain the fruit of eternal life because of the Peaches of Immortality, from Chinese mythology and featured in "Journey to the West".
  • Also from "Journey to the West" is the location of Fire Mountain and the characters of the Bull (Demon) King and Princess Iron Fan ("Tessan" (鉄扇) means "Iron Fan" in Japanese), who is the Bull Demon King's separated wife with a wind-summoning fan that can quell the Mountain. However, being sealed in statues is not relevant to the characters nor events before, during, or after the chapter. Also, while "Journey to the West" features many times of Sanzo Hoshi being kidnapped, Fire Mountain was surprisingly not one of them.
  • While Shear is complaining to the D-Team and flipping her hair, the dark purple trim on her lower skirt vanishes.
  • Although Terry later uses Heat Eruption in Malice in the Palace, it's not known if it's the same copy of the Move that Mapusaurus used in this episode. Since the Move Card wasn't lying on the ground next to Mapusaurus' card, it's also possible that it was a second copy made later by Dr. Z.
  • Even though Heat Eruption was not as effective later in fights, it can still be considered one of the most powerful/dangerous Moves in the anime as it could cause a real volcanic eruption, even against the user's intentions.
  • Although Mapusaurus' Spectral Armor wasn't destroyed, it returns to its normal gray dinosaur card after it is defeated while not wearing it. This is odd, as the Deinonychus trio return to their purple Spectral Armor card after their first defeat without their Armor.
  • Slaking Z
    Near the end, Dr. Z is shown laying in a position identical to the official artwork for the Pokémon Slaking; whether this is a reference to Slaking or both are referencing the same third thing is unclear.

Videos[]

Elements_of_Surprise

Elements of Surprise

Mesozoic Meltdown episode 11

Navigation[]

p · e · t Dinosaur King episodes
Season One:
(Dinosaur King)
Prehistory in the Making · Battle at the Pyramids · Tanks a LOT! · Bungle in the Jungle · Rubble Trouble · Don't Mess With Maiasaura · A Game Show Showdown · Maui Owie! · Dino Snore! · Downtown Runaround · Alpha Bets It All · Alpha's Zeta Point · Escape from Zeta Point · Child's Play · Volcanic Panic · All Fired Up! · Field Of Screams · Dance Evolution · The Big Apple Grapple · Tee'd Off · No Free Lunch · Just Plane Crazy · A Loch Ness Mess · Fashion Victims · A Miner Disaster · Double or Nothing · Carnival of Chaos · Daddy Dearest · Rhino or Dino? · Dinosaur Amour! · Temple Tempest · Falls Alarm! · Battle Royale! · Ninja Nightmare! · Ruff and Ready · Metal Imbalance · Dueling Dinos · Mythical Mix Up · Beast Or Famine · A Mesozoic Mess · Lights, Camera, Destruction! · Planes, Trains and Dinosaurs · Vaccination Vacation · A Kyoto Caper · Santa Saurus! · Full Scheme Ahead · Tricks of the Traitor · One Final Move! · Dinosaur War!
Season Two:
(Mesozoic Meltdown)
Alien Parent Trap · Ancient Roman Holiday · Desperately Seeking Spartacus · Coliseum Clash · There's No Place Like Rome · Dinosaurs of the Caribbean · X-treme Map Quest · High Sea Chase · Amazing Treasure Race! · Four Part Harmony · Elements of Surprise · Monk in the Middle · The Third Cosmos Stone · Two Shoguns are Better than One · The No-Fun Shogun · Dinosaurs, Ninjas and Bears! Oh My! · There's No Business Like Shogun Business · The 39 Thieves · Desert Heat · Princess of the City · Malice in the Palace · The French Conniption · The Wee Musketeers · All for One · The Haunted Hunt · Bad Deal · The Forestfire Effect · The Search for the Last Cosmos Stone · Clash for the Cosmos Stones · Fate of the Cosmos
Advertisement