The Slide

"The Slide" is the ninth episode of Season 5 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 165th episode overall.

Synopsis
Rocky decides to stop living life online, and find love on a dating app, and Gumball and Darwin try to help him.

Plot
The episode begins with a moaning Rocky in the school library; he continues to moan until he realizes that he isn't catching the attention of the Watterson brothers. It turns out the brothers thought that he was putting on his "gamer face". After calling the two out for their naivety, he proceeds to explain to them that he hasn't spoken to a living, breathing woman in months and that he is desperate for love. Gumball and Darwin try to comfort him; Darwin specifically offers to be his girlfriend in the video game the trio are playing. Rocky declines the offer, explaining that he has already met his dream girl during a former trip to the mall, and that he desires to find her again.

As Rocky continues to ramble, the video game conveniently presents an advertisement for the new dating service software, Trawlr. Despite Gumball's initial cynicism about the software, Rocky still pulls out his cell phone and downloads the app.

Rocky and the children go to the schoolyard to test out Trawlr. First thing on the agenda for the software is to set up a dating profile, complete with a self-portrait. Gumball and Darwin suggest using one of Rocky's selfies. While scrolling through a proper selfie to use, Rocky starts to drool on about a "romantic" way to meet a girl; Gumball ends these fantasies with an offhand comment about his selfies. Surprisingly, Rocky lacks a proper selfie to use, for all his selfies he has portray him as some sort of demon creature. Even when Darwin teaches Rocky how to take a proper selfie, Rocky somehow still manages to capture a selfie that makes him look just hideous. Out of options, the three just crop and apply filters to the photo to make him appear more attractive.

Once school is dismissed, the Watterson brothers and Rocky head to the front of the building still attempting to use Trawlr; the three are currently trying to finish Rocky's profile. At last, the three finally finish the profile (with embellished truths) and begin to use the service; as they scroll through the potential suitors, they find that none of the women really appeal to Rocky. Darwin believes Rocky is being too picky and that he is potentially hurting these women's feelings. Rocky claims that everything is digital and nobody is actually getting injured. Ironically enough, for every person Rocky slides up, that same person is launched into the air only for them to fall down.

Some scrolling later, the three finally discover someone that catches Rocky's attention; they begin to engage in conversation with the person. Surprisingly, both Gumball and Darwin have some smooth pick-up lines; of course, however, Rocky butchers these pick-up lines in such a way that it seems as if he's fat-shaming the person on the receiving end. Having enough, the person ends conversation with Rocky (complete with Rocky being launched into the air).

Discouraged, Rocky is reminded of the depressing words of his mother that only furthers dampens his mood; Gumball tries to offer some encouragement by reminding Rocky that his mother is evil. Ironically at that moment, Mrs. Robinson, disguised under the profile picture of a blank mask, hits Rocky up on Trawlr; Gumball quickly realizes this and "slides" off of her before things can get too awkward.

Things are looking pretty grim until Darwin stumbles upon on a mysterious girl on the app. Rocky confirms that the girl on the app is the same as the one that he saw at the mall; excited, the trio celebrate and begin to make conversation. Before Rocky can make a conversation with this woman, he accidentally slides the profile the wrong direction. With the damage of that move being irreversible, Rocky and Darwin begin to cry at their failures. However, Gumball quickly realizes that if the woman is on the app, then the woman must still be in town. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Rocky and the children make a dash for the woman.

As the three make a run across town, they bash through several residents; although they are initially irritated with their bashfulness, the citizens quickly forgive the them once the trio say they're doing such in the name of love. Doing actions in "the name of love" allows them to get to the hospital and gain access to the supposed woman's records; they learn that the woman's name is Byrdie and that she lives in the suburbs with her parents. In a hurry, Gumball, Darwin, and Rocky take a resident's car and rush into Byrdie's home.

The journey is finally is complete, and the trio at last have made it to Byrdie. Surprisingly, Byrdie doesn't take very well to these border-line criminal actions the three have taken, even going as far to say that Rocky and Byrdie never "locked eyes lovingly" and that Rocky is a mere creep. To add insult to injury, Byrdie "slides" the three out of her room with Trawlr.

In the end, Rocky learns that he can't have Byrdie, and that he has to settle for Darwin's initial offer of a "video game" girlfriend. Although it's not the same, Rocky is happy to find friends in Gumball and Darwin, thus ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Rocky

Supporting Characters

 * Byrdie

Minor Characters

 * Hot Dog Guy
 * Tobias
 * Juke
 * Masami
 * Carmen
 * Carrie
 * Eggheads
 * Rock Lady
 * Hexagon Lady
 * Cowboy
 * Karen
 * Crocodile Woman
 * Harold
 * Felicity
 * Mrs. Cooper (debut)
 * Green Bear
 * Mr. Robinson
 * Mrs. Robinson
 * Hamburger Cop
 * Shape People
 * Hobo
 * Betty
 * Gary
 * Marvin
 * Nurse
 * Melted Cheese Guy
 * Blue Elephant
 * Byrdie's dad

Trivia

 * A Mic Graves poster can be seen in Byrdie's room.

Continuity

 * This is Rocky's second major role. His first was in "The Boss."

Cultural References

 * Gumball says he is a "neutral good" character; this is a reference to the Dungeons &amp; Dragons alignment system.
 * The game Gumball, Darwin and Rocky play resembles Minecraft. It's possible this is the Bricklane game Banana Joe was playing in "The Blame."
 * The application Rocky downloads, Trawlr, is a parody of Tinder, namely of its interface and swiping feature to indicate interest (or lack thereof).
 * A "Rage Against the Humans" album can be seen in Byrdie's room. This is a reference to the band Rage Against the Machine.
 * Darwin's gaming face could be a reference to The Tempest, specifically the 2010 movie version where Prospero is a woman, not a guy. The Tempest is a Shakespeare play.