PvP

"PvP" is the thirty-seventh episode of RWBY and the ninth episode of Volume 3. It premiered for Rooster Teeth sponsors on January 16th, 2016 and was made public on January 17th, 2016.

The episode was followed by an episode of RWBY: World of Remnant, "The Four Maidens" on January 23rd, 2016.

Summary
At Amity Colosseum, the match between Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos begins. In addition to the masses spectating around the world, Ozpin and General James Ironwood are also following the match personally. As the fight commences, Penny attacks with her array of wire-controlled swords, but Pyrrha is able to dodge or deflect her attacks. From the stands, Emerald Sustrai is seen watching attentively and concentrating.

Outside the arena, Ruby Rose confronts Mercury Black, who acts threateningly and prevents her from leaving. Unarmed and alone, Ruby attempts to escape by using her speed Semblance, but Mercury stops her with a kick to the gut, then proceeds to shoot her scroll when she attempts to call for help.

During the match, through continuous attacks with a combination of lasers and swords, Penny manages to put Pyrrha on the defensive, even momentarily disarming her, but Pyrrha holds her own using her polarity Semblance. As Penny prepares her next attack, Emerald secretly uses her illusions to multiply Penny's weapons dozens of times – making it appear to Pyrrha as if Penny has thousands of swords. In response, Pyrrha unleashes a disproportionately powerful pulse of magnetic force, deflecting all of the swords, but also ensnaring Penny in her own wires. Due to the force of Pyrrha's pulse, the wires cut straight through Penny, cutting the girl into several parts and revealing her robotic nature. Penny falls to the ground motionless, her eyes devoid of life.

The audience around the world is visibly horrified. Pyrrha is shocked by what she has done. Ozpin, watching from his office, is also taken aback. An unknown figure is seen watching from Atlas, reacting with restrained emotion. Ruby, who has managed to escape Mercury, re-enters the stadium where she sees the aftermath of the match and breaks down. Announcers Bartholomew Oobleck and Peter Port attempt to shut off the broadcast, but they find that they no longer have control.

The broadcast is hijacked by Cinder Fall, who uses it to transmit a message. Cinder places the blame for the incident on the headmasters of the academies. She pointedly asks what purpose Penny, a synthetic soldier disguised as an innocent little girl, could possibly serve against the indiscriminate killers of the Grimm. She calls the students of Beacon Academy lacking in both honor and mercy, citing Yang's unprovoked attack on Mercury and Pyrrha ruthlessly killing Penny. Painting the presence of the Atlesian military in Vale as a hostile occupation and Ozpin's actions as retaliation, Cinder concludes that peace is fragile and claims that the Kingdoms are at the brink of war while their citizens are left unaware.

The Grimm, drawn to the negative emotion in the city, have breached the defenses of Vale undetected and begin attacking. Goliaths and all manner of Grimm move in as people panic and attempt to flee. Acting quickly, Ozpin sends Glynda Goodwitch and Qrow Branwen to the city and calls upon Ironwood to use his army to defend it. In the skies above, Giant Nevermores are attacking Amity Colosseum as well as Ironwood's airships while hordes of Beowolves and Ursai overwhelm the troops on the ground.

On one of the airships, Neopolitan, in disguise as an Atlesian officer, frees the imprisoned Roman Torchwick, who commandeers the airship and turns it against the rest of the Atlesian airfleet. At the same time, Adam Taurus leads a squad of White Fang soldiers – as well as several Grimm Ursai – in an attack on Beacon Academy.

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is a reference to Player vs. Player ("PvP") modes in multiplayer video games. In this case, "PvP" also stands for "Pyrrha vs. Penny" (or "Penny vs. Pyrrha").
 * One of Junior Xiong's Henchmen appears in the audience again (the first time being "It's Brawl in the Family").
 * This episode features Travis Willingham, most famous for playing Roy Mustang in Full Metal Alchemist, as the Atlas Ship Captain. Travis is the third member of the Fullmetal Alchemist voice cast to join RWBY, following Vic Mignogna and Laura Bailey who respectively play Edward Elric and the homunculus Lust.
 * This is the first episode of Volume 3 Roman Torchwick has physically appeared in. Interestingly, he is not credited in the episode's end credits despite having a voice role. This was fixed for the YouTube release.
 * Despite being a central character in this episode, Pyrrha does not have a single speaking line throughout. As such, she is also not included in the credits as a speaking role.
 * The destroyed character model of Penny was actually built by her voice actor, Taylor McNee, who is also a 3D artist on the show.