Capture the Flag

"My flag! Now I definitely won't be able to do the piston-pop with my flag in the parade." "Nia, we're so sorry! If I hadn't been rushin', I wouldn't have dropped your flag on the ground." "And if I hadn't rushed you to skip your step-by-step checklist, you wouldn't have dropped it."

- Nia, Percy and Thomas Capture the Flag is the seventeenth episode of the first series.

Plot
Thomas races down the line excited because the Big Train Day Festival is happening that day. Percy then comes up him, who is excited because he is in charge of delivering all of the parade flags. On their way to the seaside, Thomas suggests that he could help Percy deliver the flags so that the deliveries will get done quicker. Percy agrees, and the two friends race to the seaside.

When they arrive, Thomas and Percy both get their parade flags. Thomas is ready to go, but Percy looks at a map, and explains that they need to match the right flags with the right engines. An impatient Thomas suggests that they should just figure it out as they go. Percy, skeptical about the idea, agrees and the two race off, but they are in such a hurry, Nia's flag flies out of Percy's mail van. But neither of them notice. After they deliver flags to Sandy, Diesel, Gordon, James and Emily, they make their final stop at Tidmouth Sheds.

Nia and Kana are there, excited for their flags, and Nia explains that she has been practicing her "Piston Pop". Kana gets her flag, but when Percy tries to shake Nia's flag out of his mail van, nothing happens. The two engines soon find out that there are no more flags inside of the van. While Kana sets off to get them good spots for the parade, Thomas, Percy and Nia set off to find the missing flag. They ask everyone they met on their route if they have seen it, but none of them had. They all arrive back at the Harbor and continue their search for the flag. Just when they are about to give up, they see the flag flying in the wind. Nia tries to catch it, but it lands in Diesel's garbage car. The three engines race after Diesel, but Diesel thinks that they are playing "Train Tag". They are about to catch him, but they all get stuck behind the Level Crossing.

Diesel, determined to win, takes a different track. The flag flies out of his car in a different direction and Thomas, Percy and Nia race after it, leaving a confused Diesel behind. Their attempts to catch the flag are ruined when it gets carried away by a seagull. Thomas and Percy apologize to Nia, explaining that if they had taken their time, the flag would not have fallen on the ground. Thomas suggests that they could make a new flag for Nia, and they chuff to the Maintenance Yard. Thomas and Percy explain to Sandy what happened, and they get to work making Nia a new flag. After taking their time and using the right materials, they make a flag even better than Nia's old one. When they make it to the parade, Kana and Diesel join them, and Nia happily teaches her four friends the Piston Pop.

Characters

 * Thomas
 * Percy
 * Nia
 * Diesel
 * Sandy
 * Kana
 * Gordon
 * James
 * Emily
 * Sir Topham Hatt
 * Annie and Clarabel

Locations

 * Crovan's Creek
 * Harwick
 * The Mail Depot
 * The Hat Store
 * Knapford
 * McColl Farm
 * Brendam Docks
 * Sodor Shipping Company
 * The Dark and Windy Tunnel
 * The Maintenance Yard
 * The Tunnel of Zoom
 * Tidmouth Sheds

US and CAN

 * Meesha Contreras as Thomas
 * Charlie Zeltzer as Percy
 * Talia Evans as Nia
 * Shomoy James Mitchell as Diesel
 * Glee Dango as Sandy
 * Ava Ro as Kana

UK

 * Aaron Barashi as Thomas
 * Henri Charles as Percy
 * Sade Smith as Nia
 * Henry Harrison as Diesel
 * Holly Dixon as Sandy
 * Chloe Raphael as Kana

Song

 * The Mail Delivery Song

Goofs

 * During the Mail Delivery Song, Gordon's tender is missing when Thomas and Percy approach Knapford Station. Additionally, the flags seen in Percy's mail car are inconsistent with which ones have and have not been delivered until Kana receives her flag.
 * At Brendam Docks, Cranky is missing.
 * Before the engines begin to chase Diesel, Percy's left wheels are not layered properly, as they are behind his chassis.
 * When Nia switches tracks to chase her flag, one of her middle driving wheels is missing.
 * At the end of the episode, the number 18 on Nia's old flag is mirrored.
 * In the UK dub, the first part of the song is US, but in the second part, it's UK.
 * On the RTÉ Player, the episode image was of the episode Gordon Gets the Giggles, and the '2509a' was beside the episode title. This was also the case with every episode from Counting Cows onwards.

US/CAN

 * Best Friends (US DVD)