What does Rick turn himself into in the episode 'Pickle Rick'?

In “Pickle Rick,” Rick turns himself into a pickle. He announces the transformation just before a planned family therapy session, using it as an excuse to avoid attending with Beth, Morty, and Summer.

The third-season episode premiered on Adult Swim on August 6, 2017. After becoming a pickle, Rick must survive without his usual human body and uses science, improvised weapons, and whatever materials he can find to escape from the garage and later fight through a dangerous sewer environment.

The episode's premise is deliberately absurd, but the story is also about Rick's refusal to confront family problems. His transformation lets him prove that he can survive almost anything, while Dr. Wong's therapy session challenges his belief that intelligence and technical ability are enough to solve every personal problem.

A common mix-up is thinking Rick becomes a cucumber because pickles and cucumbers are closely related foods. The episode specifically identifies him as a pickle, and “Pickle Rick” became one of the franchise's most recognizable catchphrases and character designs. The episode later won the 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.