Irken escape pods

Zim's space station contains at least two escape pods, designed for quickly fleeing the area should it fall under attack or become no longer safe—or if captives happen to be escaping from Zim themselves. Each pod is equipped with laser cannons and grappling claws.

The Quarrel Aboard Zim's Space Station leads to Sonic using one of these pods to escape to Xevious, and Zim using the other pod to track him down; as Zim relentlessly fires his laser cannons at Sonic's pod, the hedgehog uses his own cannons to fire back at Zim from the rear, causing the alien to set up his pod's shields to prevent further damage. With Zim's weapons damaged from the counterattack, however, he is unable to prevent Sonic's escape pod from reaching lightspeed—so Zim uses the computer to track and follow Sonic's location. After the War on Xevious, both pods go their separate ways, Sonic returning to Earth and Zim using his pod to track down the Tallest. As Zim eventually finds the Tallest and the rest of the Irken Armada, the heavy laser fire that greets him inevitably becomes too much for the pod's shields, and the escape pod itself explodes (forcing Zim to carry on with his attack using his PAK's jets instead).