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Episode
GuideEpisode 26: Champion vs. Creator - Part I (Rescue Mokuba! Kaiba vs. Pegasus)
Yugi and the others all run towards the castle entrance, as Joey exclaims that they've finally made it to Pegasus's castle. Yugi tells his Grandpa he's coming. (Japanese Yugi says finally, they've reached Pegasus' castle. Jounouchi doesn't say anything.) At the door, they meet Kemo, who doesn't believe they've all won ten Star Chips. He tells them to get lost, but Yugi, Joey, and Mai step up to show off their dueling gloves, each filled with ten Star Chips. Kemo grumbles as the three walk past him, and Mai sets her Star Chips into the door's lock. The door swings open, and Yugi, Joey, and Mai go inside.
Still, Kemo's not about to let Téa, Tristan, and Bakura into the castle—they don't even have dueling gloves! Giving him a big smile, Téa says he has to let them in—they're the cheerleaders! But Kemo asks them what they think this is, a high school football game? No Star Chips, no entry. So Mai turns on the charm and distracts him long enough for the other three to sneak past, then she clocks him with her bag. Inside the entrance hall, Joey slams the door shut and bars it, leaving Kemo outside, pounding angrily on the door.
Yugi says there's no time to waste, so he runs through the entrance hall, and the others follow. The sooner he finds Pegasus, he thinks, the sooner he can find his Grandpa. They run up a stairway onto a balcony, where they spot Bandit Keith. He says it's "big tough Joey and his crew of dueling dummies." Joey calls him a slime bucket for leaving them trapped in the cave, and is all set to start a fight, but Keith evades his punches, telling him the real action is about to start. They all look down into the hall, where they see Kaiba, briefcase in hand, standing on a walkway that traverses the hall. Keith says, it's the world champ and Pegasus.
Croquet (Crocketts) enters the balcony and welcomes the finalists, introducing himself as chief tournament liaison. (Japanese Crocketts welcomes the duelists—and a few others who've barged in uninvited. He doesn't know what they're even doing on the island, but says he won't deal with that now.) He congratulates them and tells them Pegasus was so impressed with their dueling talents, he wants to reward them with some entertainment—a special exhibition match between Pegasus and Kaiba. He tells them this match will give them an idea of what's in store for them. Mai says, then it's meant to intimidate them. Croquet innocently asks why Pegasus would do something like that. Joey answers, because he's a grade-A nutcase. Croquet just tells them to enjoy the match, and leaves. They all line up at the balcony railing to watch the duel.
Kaiba clutches the pendant with Mokuba's picture, telling his little brother that he won't let anything stop him from rescuing him. Then the door at the opposite end of the walkway opens, and Pegasus makes a grand entrance, looking dashing in his red suit, and flanked by two of his goons. Kaiba demands to know where Mokuba is, but Pegasus puts him off, calling Kaiba an old friend and asking if kidnapping Mokuba and seizing control of Kaiba's company has put a rift between them. He says it was nothing personal, and besides, Kaiba can have Mokuba back if he beats Pegasus in a duel. (Japanese Kaiba welcomes Kaiba to his castle and says he's been looking forward to battling with a noble duelist like him here at Duelist Kingdom. Then he tells Kaiba not to worry—he only has to beat him, and he have Mokuba back unscathed.) His Millennium Eye glinting through his platinum hair, Pegasus says one little victory shouldn't be a problem for the Duel Monsters world champ. (Japanese Pegasus tell Kaiba to enjoy this most wonderful duel.)
Yugi thinks that Pegasus' Millennium Eye will make beating him a big problem, even for Kaiba. Joey can't believe he's saying this, but he doesn't want Kaiba to lose. He still thinks Kaiba's a first-class jerk, but he feels for Kaiba, trying to get his kid brother back. And Tristan agrees that anyone who stands up to Pegasus can't be all bad. Yugi, too, thinks that nothing could be more noble than fighting for someone you love. He just hopes Kaiba has learned to fight with his heart, as well as his head. (Japanese Jounouchi says he wishes Kaiba and Pegasus could both lose. But if Pegasus loses, he might end the tournament, they'd lose their chance to defeat him. Honda says yes, then let's watch Kaiba lose. Yugi reflects that although he has to beat Pegasus to get his Grandpa back, somehow he still doesn't want Kaiba to lose.)
Pegasus tells Kaiba it's gauche to leave him in suspense, especially with an audience in the wings. Kaiba finally notices the gang up on the balcony. Yugi says, hey there, and Kaiba wonders how Yugi could be there in the castle after he defeated him, but then Kaiba passes it off, saying he should have known Yugi would find a way. Pegasus reflects that he certainly did—Yugi has passed all the tests Pegasus set for him. Then Pegasus tells Kaiba he's been looking forward to this for quite some time.
Kaiba opens his briefcase, gets out his Duel Disks and tosses one to Pegasus, saying he should have no problem dueling with it. Pegasus looks it over like it's some strange outer-space contraption, and says he doesn't even know how it works. Does he spin it like a top, or roll it like a ball? (Japanese Pegasus asks if it's a fan, and if so, it's a bit heavy.) He sends it rolling down the walkway, his two goons chasing after it.
Kaiba is not amused. Pegasus then says he'll use Kaiba's system as long as Kaiba will agree to allow someone else to operate the Duel Disk on Pegasus's behalf. Pegasus promises he'll make all the strategic decisions, and the gameplay won't change at all. Kaiba asks why Pegasus won't just fight his own battle for once. Pegasus laughs to himself, thinking that Kaiba still hasn't learned that fighting isn't the only way to inflict damage on an opponent. His spirit can be broken in much easier ways.
Pegasus claps for his servants to show Kaiba the lad who'll play as his pawn—it's Mokuba's soulless body, shackled by the wrist to one of Pegasus' goons. Kaiba calls out to his brother, who shows no reaction. Yugi says that something's not right, and Téa agrees that Mokuba seems hypnotized. The goon leads Mokuba up the walkway, as Pegasus shows Kaiba the card in which he's trapped Mokuba's soul. Tristan realizes that Pegasus must have done to Mokuba what he did to Yugi's Grandpa. Pegasus renews his promise to restore Mokuba's soul if Kaiba wins their duel—but if Kaiba loses, his soul will be forfeit as well.
Pegasus repeats that to save his brother, Kaiba must defeat him. Kaiba says he'll crush Pegasus.
Yugi now realizes why Kaiba was willing to risk everything to win their duel, and decides that he must help Kaiba any way he can.
One of the goons hands Mokuba the Duel Disk, and Pegasus says he'll use Kaiba's invention, but Kaiba's brother will operate it for him. But Kaiba can't duel his own brother, even if Mokuba's soul is in another place. He gives in and agrees not to use the Duel Disks. Mokuba is led away, and with a snap of Pegasus' fingers, the walkway splits and retracts back into the walls, while a dueling arena descends from the ceiling. The gang on the balcony watch in awe as the arena snaps into place between the ends of the walkway, and Mai says that this is what it's all about—the two biggest legends in Duel Monsters going at it. Pegasus and Kaiba take their places at either end of the dueling arena.
Yugi calls out to Kaiba that he has to believe in the heart of the cards, but Kaiba doesn't appreciate the advice, telling Yugi to keep out of it. Yugi continues to warn Kaiba that it will take more than strong monsters and clever strategies to win against Pegasus' Millennium Eye. Joey reminds Yugi that Kaiba took five of his Star Chips, but Yugi says he knows what it's like to duel for someone he cares about, and he couldn't live with himself if he held back on anything that could help Kaiba get his brother back. Kaiba tells Yugi he's a good duelist, but he doesn't need Yugi's help. (Japanese Yugi warns Kaiba to beware of Pegasus's Dragon Capture Jar, saying that even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon will be helpless against it. Jounouchi asks Yugi why he's giving Kaiba advice, and Yugi says Kaiba's dueling to save his little brother, and therefore he absolutely must not lose. Kaiba thanks Yugi for his advice, but says he believes in his cards.)
Kaiba sets his deck on the duel field, declaring that he will win. Pegasus chuckles to himself, thinking that Kaiba is a fool who needs all the help he can get.
The duel begins. Pegasus goes first, playing a monster in defense and setting a card face down. Kaiba draws, and is pleased to see that he's drawn a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his opening hand. (His other cards are Ryu-Kishin Powered, Rude Kaiser, the Crush Card, and Saggi the Dark Clown.) But he doesn't want to risk his dragon until he has a better idea of Pegasus's strategy (in the Japanese, he's wary of the Dragon Capture Jar Yugi told him about), so he also sets a card face down. Then he summons Rude Kaiser (1800 ATK) in attack mode, and attacks Pegasus's defense monster, easily destroying it. (The monster is Toon Alligator, 1600 DEF.)
Pegasus seems to be stunned by Kaiba's attack, saying he doesn't think he has a monster in his deck to compare to Kaiba's creature. But then he draws his next card and smiles, saying he spoke too soon, and summons Parrot Dragon (2000 ATK). He attacks, but Kaiba activates his face down card, Mesmeric Control (Hypnotism), which reduces the Parrot Dragon's attack by 800 points, allowing Rude Kaiser to destroy it. (Mesmeric Control's colors are changed slightly in the US version.)
Again, Pegasus acts as though he thinks he's in trouble, but Kaiba doesn't buy it. Tristan and the others wonder what's going on—Pegasus is dueling like an amateur. But Joey remembers that this is the way Pegasus acted when he dueled Yugi. He's toying with Kaiba, and Yugi hopes Kaiba catches on before it's too late.
Kaiba knows something's not right. This is all too easy—Pegasus doesn't even seem to be trying. It's almost as if he knew exactly how Kaiba was going to attack. (Japanese Kaiba thinks that the longer he waits, the greater the odds that Pegasus will draw the Dragon Capture Jar.)
Kaiba draws, deciding he's not going to fall for Pegasus' act. He'll play a card he knows Pegasus can't defend against—his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. (Japanese Kaiba thinks that his instincts tell him that Pegasus hasn't drawn the Dragon Capture Jar yet.) He pulls the card from his hand, but before he can lay it down, Pegasus activates his trap card, Prophecy. (He calls it a trap card, but in the US version, it's actually a magic card. It's a trap card in the Japanese.)
This card allows him to guess whether the monster Kaiba's about to play has an attack higher or lower than 2000. If he's right, he gets to take the card, and he prophesies that the card is indeed over 2000—it's the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba angrily hands it over. Pegasus gloats that the most powerful card in Kaiba's deck is his, while Kaiba fumes that it's impossible—how did Pegasus know?
Yugi knows that Pegasus is using his Millennium Eye to read Kaiba's cards, just as he did with Yugi in their duel. Even Kaiba's great skills don't stand a chance against Pegasus' powers. Pegasus taunts Kaiba that now he has two things Kaiba cares about—his dragon and his brother.
Without his Blue-Eyes, Kaiba says he has no choice but to switch Rude Kaiser to defense and end his turn.
Pegasus uses his Millennium Eye to check out Kaiba's hand, and sees that Kaiba's holding the Crush Card and Saggi the Dark Clown. (As before, the Crush Card is a magic card in the US version, a trap card in the Japanese.) He realizes that Kaiba intends to play that combo to infect his deck with a virus, but now that he knows, he can play the right cards to stop it. Pegasus plays another face-down card, and sets a monster in defense.
Kaiba plays Saggi the Dark Clown and the Crush Card, which will destroy every monster in Pegasus's deck with an attack greater than 1500. Bakura recognizes this move, and Téa says it's the same move Kaiba used on Yugi in their duel. But this time, Joey says, Pegasus is going to catch the bug. Yugi says not to count on it—Pegasus knows it's coming.
Pegasus activates his covered card, Negative Energy (Dark Energy), doubling Saggi's attack to 1200. (Negative Energy's colors are also changed in the US version.)
Since the Crush Card can only be activated with a monster of 1000 attack points or less, its effect fizzles. Kaiba is stunned that Pegasus had the perfect defense set up before Kaiba made his move. How did he do it?
Pegasus claims it was just a lucky move, then flip summons his defense monster, the Dark Rabbit (1100 ATK). Thanks to Negative Energy, its attack is also doubled, to 2200 points. The Dark Rabbit attacks and destroys Saggi the Dark Clown, reducing Kaiba's life points to 1000.
Everyone gasps, and Téa says she's never seen Kaiba so shaken before. Yugi says this is bad. The duel's just started, and Kaiba's already 1000 life points behind.
Kaiba starts to panic, sweat dripping down his face. Pegasus thinks that now Kaiba sees how feeble his skills really are—and Pegasus has only just begun to make use of his Millennium Eye.
To Be Continued
