Strong! No Zeni and the Triceradogos is the tenth episode of Zoids: Wild. It first aired in Japan on September 8, 2018.
Overview
This episode introduces 2 new characters, Gyoza and Sanratan, and their respective Zoids, the Triceradogos and the Catalga.
The episode starts with Arashi and Onigiri once again needing food. They are flat broke.
They run into Gyoza, but once he realises they can't pay, he leaves them. They then meet Sanratan, who gives them food. But she also doesn't do it for free, and expects them to pay. Which they obviously can't.
So they head into town looking to make money to pay her back.
They again meet Gyoza, who's busking with his Zoid. Arashi and Onigiri confront him about exploiting his Zoid for cash (while also considering it themselves). Arashi says Zoids should be the partner and share in their dreams, and that his dream is to find the Great Ancient Treasure Z. Gyoza doesn't have a dream of his own, but is just focused on money. He proposes a wager on a match between them, which can earn Arashi the cash he needs. Onigiri is worried, because failure means owing money to both Sanratan and Gyoza.
Arashi agrees, and in true Shonen mech show fashion, Gyoza reveals the match is not a fight, but be a game of Zoid Soccer. Since Soccer is 2v2, he picks another teammate, and it's none other than Penne.
The game starts, and while the Wild Liger is decent, Onigiri is using a tortoise, so is at a massive handicap. They go on for a while, until a spectator's cat runs onto the field. The cat's owner (a young girl) runs after it, but they find themselves in the path of Gyoza. He manages to stop his Zoid, and jump off getting the girl out of the way. Everyone's relieved, but in the meantime, Onigiri scores and they win the game.
Because of the way he won, Arashi refuses to accept the prize money. Goyza doesn't give it a second thought and takes the money for himself.
To make money, the duo end up cleaning dishes. Or at least they do until a herd of green Raptors show up and start charging through the city. Onigiri, Arashi and Penne try to coax them out of town, but have little success. They pass Gyoza on the way who initially does nothing to help.
It should be noted that Gyoza has a locket on his neck with a picture of a girl in it. When Arashi pressures him to help protect the people, Gyoza says something to the effect of "you don't need to tell me that."
As Arashi and the other round up the Raptors, Gyoza shows up and uses his ball from the game to catch the Raptor's attention. They lure them out of the town. However, as they escape through a canyon, a large rock comes loose and begins to crash down. Arashi uses his Wild Blast to break it apart.
Finally, towards the end of the episode, Arashi offers Gyoza a team Freedom badge. He states that although Gyoza had been stingy with money, he helped the town with the Raptors, and made sure the little girl with the cat was safe. However, Gyoza refuses joining their team.
Back with Sanratan, she ultimately forgives their debt since they helped with the Raptors, and sends them on their way (through Death Metal territory).
A post-credit scenes shows Caviar riding his Gabriator.
Trivia
- Gyoza is likened to "Happy", one of Drake's subordinates from the previous episodes
- The currency "Zeni" is different from previous Zoids series, where "Gallos" or "Zi-Dollars" are used (albeit infrequently). Zeni appears to be similar to the currency from Dragon Ball using the same name and yen-like denominations.
- Despite Gyoza turning down the chance to join team Freedom, the Zoids Wild website lists him as a member, so it is known he will join at some later stage.