Imaginary Fiend

Imaginary Fiend
General Information
Original broadcast	November 26, 1999 (Australia) December 11, 1999 (Canada) January 16, 2000 (UK) March 17, 2000 (United States)
Details
Season	2
Episode	17
Pun	Imaginary Friend
Credits
Written by	Amy Keating Rodgers John McIntyre
Storyboarded by	Cindy Morrow
Directed by	Randy Myers Craig McCracken
Art direction	Don Shank
Episode Guide
Previous episode	Pet Feud
Next episode	Cootie Gras
Links
Gallery
Transcript
Errors

"Imaginary Fiend" is the 17th episode of Season 2, and the 41st episode overall.

It was produced in 1999 but premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on March 17, 2000 as part of Cartoon Cartoon Fridays.

Plot

The girls must stop Patches, an evil imaginary friend created by Mike, the new kid at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten.

Synopsis

At Pokey Oaks Kindergarten, Ms. Keane addresses the classroom saying that she has a "little surprise". Blossom guesses that she is getting a "nose job," Bubbles guesses she is getting married, and Buttercup guesses that she is getting fired. Ms. Keane corrects them and introduces the new student Mike Believe, who shyly hides behind Ms. Keane's legs in fear of the other students. Ms. Keane tells Mike to take a sit and he sadly walks to his chair in the back of the room. Bubbles greets Mike on his way, but he doesn't respond and keeps walking as the other students watch. In recess, Mike sits alone in the sandbox when a mysterious noise is heard. Then Mike looks around as if he heard someone called him. His eyes fix at some point in the space above him and he appears to be talking to himself while the girls are watching him. Buttercup insists that Mike is weird, but Bubbles defends him by saying that there is nothing wrong with talking to yourself and she then starts talking to herself.

Back in class Mike suddenly starts laughing alone and says: "That's funny. Yeah, I think girls are gross too!" Ms. Keane asks: "Mike, who are you talking to?" Mike responds: "My new friend, Patches!" Everybody, except Bubbles, starts to laugh. During the following time of class, Mike is found guilty of several mischievous actions, such as throwing a paper ball at Bubbles, dipping a girl's hair in green paint, and drawing a line in the "c" of Blossom's spelling bee so that the word "cookie" reads as "dookie". Because of this, Mike is punished by Ms. Keane saying that she thinks he needs a "time out" and he gets placed in a chair in the corner of the room.

In story time, Ms. Keane is about to read the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood, when Bubbles notice the chair behind Ms. Keane move by itself. Ms. Keane falls to the floor and, naturally, blames Mike, who was behind her, for the movement of the chair moving. Bubbles defends Mike saying that she saw the chair moved by itself.

Ms. Keane's apple flying

Blossom is skeptical until Ms. Keane's apple flies into the air and lands on Blossom's head. Then a chair and a can of paint are thrown through the air, and Bubbles comes to the conclusion that Patches must be the one behind this. Then the words "Ha Ha Ha Ha you can't stop me!!" are written on the chalkboard. The Girls try to stop Patches, but Buttercup, speeding towards a can flying in the air, smashes into the wall. Blossom trips while flying and smashes in a pile of clothes and Bubbles flies to the board Patches is erasing but is stopped by a cloud of chalk dust. The Girls then are knocked out by Patches who then write on the board: "Poor little Powerpuffs! Can't you be more creative than that? I'm waiting...". The girls feel defeated, and Bubbles says she imagines that they finally met their match. Immediately Blossom gets the idea of imagining their own imaginary friend to combat the evil Patches.

Powerpuff Girl's Imaginary friend

The Powerpuff Girls' Imaginary friend is a mixture of the Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's favorite qualities, being strong, smart, and a bunny. The Powerpuff Girls' Imaginary Friend is a female bunny scientist, with glasses, a red ribbon on her head, a "pretty dress" and combat boots. She beats up Patches, who was eating, breaking Patches and Ms. Keane's desk in a looney-tune style in the process. When the Powerpuff Girls' Imaginary friend is ready to leave Blossom says "Thanks!", Buttercup says, "You're cool!", but Bubbles says: "Wait! I'm going to miss you!". She assures Bubbles that she will still be in her imagination, "Hanging out with her other imaginary friends". But when Bubbles suggest Kooz as a friend she says: "You mean that Kooz jerk? No thanks". In the end, the girls offer to be Mike's friends but imagine that Buttercup can't think of a witty retort. Then everyone, except Buttercup, laughs.

At the end of this episode, the Narrator finishes with his usual line; "Once again the day is saved thanks to the Powerpuff Girls...," but adds "At least I think so..." referring to the way Powerpuff Girls' imaginary friend defeated Patches.

Characters

• The Powerpuff Girls
  • Blossom
  • Bubbles
  • Buttercup
• Ms. Keane
• Mike Believe (debut)
• Powerpuff Girls’ Imaginary Friend
• Patches
• Mitch Mitchelson (non-speaking)
• Elmer Sglue (cameo)

Trivia

• The episode premiered in the United States on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17).
• This episode aired in some countries before the United States.
  • This episode premiered in Australia on November 26, 1999.
  • This episode premiered in Canada on December 11, 1999.
  • This episode premiered in the United Kingdom on January 16, 2000.

Uh… He tripped me, seriously!

• After Blossom comes out of a pile of clothes, she is dressed in a blue winter hat, yellow gloves, and a red coat, and then says "Uh... He tripped me. Seriously." This is a reference to Eric Cartman from the TV show South Park.
• When the bunny confronts Patches, she quickly beats him up. She finishes the fight with a very looney-tune inspired act where she filled Patches up with helium, causing him to blow up like a balloon and then releasing him and having him fly away.
• There is a Dexter's Laboratory reference in this episode. When Bubbles has an idea of her imaginary friend, she thinks of Koosalagoopagoop from Dexter's Laboratory. Everyone kept replying to that saying, "Nobody likes that Koos jerk".
• It's unknown how Bubbles knows about Koosalagoopagoop, as he is Dee Dee's imaginary friend and not Bubbles'.
• Mike apologizes for Patches' behavior, when really it should be the class and Ms. Keane apologizing to Mike for blaming him for everything. Bubbles does know this and tells him it's not his fault, but the episode ends before anyone else apologizes.
• This episode predates and parallels Craig McCracken's next cartoon, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Both involve children with names that start with M, and they both have imaginary friends who cause mischief. Unlike Patches, Bloo is not a villain and, like every imaginary friend in Foster's, is visible to everyone.
• This episode shares its title with an episode of Almost Naked Animals.

Continuity

• When the girls tries to fight Patches, the music used during Dynamo's take off in Uh-Oh, Dynamo is used again. In addition, the noise when Patches deflates after being inflated is also the same when the Fish Balloon Monster deflates.

Errors

• When Ms. Keane is about to read Little Red Riding Hood to the classroom Mike can be seen in front of Ms. Keane, but after she had fallen, he appears to be behind her.

Production Notes

• Although this episode premiered in the United States on March 17, 2000, it was actually produced in 1999 according to the credits.
  • This episode was finished in June of 1999.