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Episode
GuideEpisode 31: Keith's Machination - Part I (Brutal Heavy Metal Deck)
Croquet announces Yugi's victory over Mai Valentine, and says that Yugi will advance to the next round. Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura cheer, and Yami looks up at them smiling, thinking that he wouldn't have won without their help. (Japanese Yami thinks, "Thank you, everyone... and thank you, the other me." Yami uses the phrase "mou hitori no ore" for "the other me," rather than Yugi's "mou hitori no boku." "Ore" is a slightly rude, "tough guy" word for "I" or "me," where "boku" is more polite, but still male. Yugi and Bakura always use "boku," while Yami, Jounouchi, Honda, and Kaiba all say "ore." Anzu uses "watashi," an even more polite and gender-neutral way of saying "I," as do Pegasus and most other adults.)
Yugi switches back with Yami, as Pegasus stands up and applauds Yugi's victory, telling him it was a superb duel, and that he knows how to put on a good show. Tristan says Pegasus is a creep, but Yugi only glares at him, thinking that Pegasus had better enjoy this while he can. Yugi thinks that the only reason he's here is to save his Grandpa, and as soon as he beats Pegasus to get Grandpa back, Pegasus won't have anything to chuckle about. (Japanese Yugi thinks that he must save Grandpa, Kaiba, and Mokuba, and to do this, he will beat Pegasus.)
Pegasus resumes his seat, telling Croquet to proceed. Croquet announces that the next match, Bandit Keith vs Joey Wheeler, will begin shortly. He tells them to prepare their decks. Joey's a bit freaked at having to duel so soon. (Japanese Jounouchi says, good, it's his turn. Cut from the US version is this bit where Honda tells Jounouchi to be calm, advising him to write something three times on his palm to relax himself. A wound-up Jounouchi tells Honda he's only making him more nervous, and smacks him.)
Bakura and Téa reassure Joey that he'll do fine. Joey thanks them, saying he is a bit tense, but Tristan isn't quite so reassuring, reminding Joey that he's got reason to be tense—it's the Intercontinental Champion he's going up against—Bandit Keith makes his living out of tournaments like this. (In the Japanese, Honda reiterates his advice for Jounouchi to write on his palm to calm himself. Jounouchi tells him to just shut up, and Honda protests that he's only trying to be a friend. Anzu and Bakura look a bit disgusted as the two continue to argue.)
Yugi leaves the dueling arena, sighing in relief. Then he sees Joey in the anteroom, who reminds him that if he wins his duel, the two of them will have to face each other in the final. Yugi isn't worried, saying that if that happens, they'll have an honorable duel. Joey says, nice call—they'll both do their best, and stay friends, no matter what.
Joey enters the arena main floor, and Yugi joins the others to cheer for Joey from the balcony. But the other side of the dueling platform is empty. Where's Keith? (The Japanese shot shows the graphic of the matchups projected over the arena. The projection is removed in the US version.)
Joey's infuriated to see Keith still on the sidelines, lounging on a sofa, asking what time it is. Joey asks what he's doing, and demands that he get over here! Bandit Keith tells him to chill out—the pummeling will commence when he's good and ready! Joey says he can stall all he wants, but he's going to have to duel Joey sooner or later. Bandit Keith chuckles to himself, thinking that's what Joey thinks. (Japanese Bandit Keith tells Jounouchi he doesn't know anything about the game—is he sure he wants to duel Keith? Jounouchi says he'll win. Keith thinks, so Jounouchi thinks he can beat him....)
Croquet asks them to show their tournament entry cards, and Bandit Keith displays the Glory of the King's Hand card he stole from Joey. Joey reaches into his pocket for his card, but it isn't there. Croquet asks again for his card, and, frantically, he searches all his pockets, to no avail.
Téa can't believe Joey lost his tournament entry card! Bakura says Joey couldn't be that absent-minded, but Tristan says, yeah, he could. (Japanese Bakura says, since it's Jounouchi they're talking about, this could happen. Honda says, that idiot!) Bandit Keith says it's a shame—he won't be needing to get up after all. Joey tells him not to get comfortable. Once he finds that card—
Croquet says that Joey can only duel if he finds his card within the time allowed. Joey stammers, there's a time limit? Bandit Keith knows that time will run out before Joey finds his card—since Keith himself snatched it last night.
Téa tells Joey to retrace his steps. Is he sure he put the card in his pocket? Joey thinks it might have fallen out in the room. Joey says he'll go back to his room and check it out, and rushes off the the dueling platform. As he reaches the door, Croquet tells him he has five minutes. His match will begin at 11:00 sharp, no extensions. If he hasn't returned with the card by 11 o'clock, he'll be disqualified. Grimly, Joey runs out of the arena. Téa protests that it's not fair—Joey has barely enough time to make it back to the room. But Croquet insists that these are the rules.
Bandit Keith leans back on the sofa and laughs, telling Joey to run as fast as he can—it won't do him any good. His card has a new owner.
Joey runs down the hallway, thinking that if he doesn't find that card in three minutes, he'll forfeit his duel to Keith. Another minute clicks over, and Keith yawns, asking if anyone would mind if he takes off his boots. Croquet tells him to do as he wishes—but if he's not on the dueling platform at the designated time, he'll be disqualified, too. (Japanese Bandit Keith asks if the clock isn't a bit slow. Crocketts says the clock is on time, but more importantly, if Keith isn't in the arena on time, he'll be disqualified, too.) Grumbling about suits and their rules, Keith gets up from the sofa.
Joey tears his room apart, but can't find the card anywhere.
Yugi thinks that he'd give Joey his Glory of the King's Opposite Hand card to duel with, but then he wouldn't be able to challenge Pegasus to save his Grandpa. (Japanese Yugi thinks that he's already given Jounouchi one of his cards, and now, this is the only one he has left.) Leaning on the dueling platform, Bandit Keith asks if they can't just disqualify Joey now—he says they all know Joey isn't coming back. Tristan and Téa insist Joey will be there, but Keith says that Joey's been afraid of him ever since their run-in at the cave, and now he's not looking for his card, he's looking for a place to hide. In fact, Keith says, Joey probably lost the card on purpose so he'd have an excuse not to duel. Yugi says, no way—Joey's never backed down from a duel, and he's not about to start now. Bandit Keith tells him to believe what he wants, but there's only one minute left. Bakura says, he'd better hurry up! and Tristan wonders, what if he can't find the card? Yugi urges Joey to come on!
Joey he pauses outside the door to the dueling arena, gasping for breath, and devastated. He falls to his knees, unable to believe that after all this time—after beating duelists with twice his experience—after getting past all of Pegasus' traps—he's going to get disqualified for losing one lousy card! He pounds the floor in frustration, apologizing to his sister, saying that he came close. Tears fall onto his hand.
He hears Mai, telling him to get up off the floor, and turns to see her standing beside him. She tells him to quit crying (Japanese Mai tells him he can cry after the match), and he rubs his eyes, saying, who's crying? he just has something in his eye. (Japanese Jounouchi says he has a nosebleed.) Mai hands him her handkerchief, then turns away, saying that every time she thinks she has him figured, he surprises her. (Japanese Jounouchi notices that her handkerchief is damp.) Then she says that Téa told her about his sister, and how he's dueling to win the prize money for her operation. She says it sounds like a bad soap opera, but who doesn't love a bad soap opera? Then she tells him she'll see him around, and heads off. (Japanese Mai says she heard the story of his sister from Anzu. His tears for his sister... no, his "nosebleed".... She tells him not to give up. His dream will come true.)
Joey stands up, unfolding the handkerchief, which is wrapped around Mai's Glory of the King's Hand card. He runs after her, telling her to wait. She tells him to take it—she doesn't need it any more. Joey asks if this means that they're friends. But she only says, doesn't he have a duel to run off to? (Japanese Jounouchi asks why she's doing this for him. Mai tells him he's wasting time.) He starts to take off, stopping when she adds her encouragement to take Keith down. As she watches him leave, she says to herself, "Dork. Of course we're friends!" (Japanese Mai says, "Idiot. It's because we're friends.")
Joey flings open the doors to the arena, and his friends cheer as he walks in. Bandit Keith thinks Joey's come back to tell them he couldn't find the card, but Joey steps onto the dueling platform, triumphantly holding up the card, just as the clock ticks over to 11:00 o'clock. Keith thinks it's impossible! He has Joey's card.
Croquet announces that the duel will proceed as scheduled, and the gang on the balcony all heave sighs of relief. Joey says it's time to duel, and Bandit Keith says part of him wanted Joey to show up, for a nice little warm-up duel. (Japanese Keith says he'll send Jounouchi to hell.) Joey says he'll warm Keith up! Croquet says the duel will now commence, and Yugi and the others cheer Joey on. Yugi thinks Joey has to win this match, or he's out.
The duel begins. Joey and Bandit Keith each draw five cards. Bandit Keith asks how it feels to be going up against the Intercontinental Dueling Champion. Joey says he could win a better prize in a box of cereal. (Japanese Keith says Jounouchi's about to go up against last year's top player in America. Jounouchi says Keith's title doesn't impress him—he was in the top eight in the intercity championship!)
Bandit Keith makes the first move, setting a monster face-down in defense. Bakura wonders if Keith's title gives him an edge, but Tristan says Joey's got something better than titles—he's got guts. Téa adds, and heart, too. She tells Joey to remember who he's fighting for, and Tristan says it's the moment Joey's been waiting for! Joey thinks, it's time to go to work. This one's for Serenity. He makes his move, also setting a monster in defense.
Bandit Keith says it won't be a very exciting match if they're both playing in defense all day, so he flips his monster into attack mode, revealing Pendulum Machine (1750 ATK). He attacks Joey's defense monster, Battle Warrior, destroying it. (The shot of Pendulum Machine dragging Battle Warrior up to his feet is cut from the US version.)
(Also cut are these shots of Jounouchi watching in horror as Keith gloats. They are replaced with a shot of Keith ordering Pendulum Machine's "Slashing Blade" attack.)
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(Also cut is this shot of Pendulum Machine preparing to slice Battle Warrior in half with its pendulum blade. It's replaced in the US version by right and left diagonal white slashes on a black background.)
(And, this shot of the sliced-in-half Battle Warrior is cut from the US version.)
Tristan says, that's not good! But Yugi says it isn't bad, either. Bakura agrees—now that Keith's monster is in attack mode, Joey can see how strong it is. Now, all he has to do is play something stronger. (Japanese Bakura says Jounouchi played his monster in defense in order to lure Keith into attacking.) Yugi wonders why Bandit Keith played a machine monster.
Joey summons Giltia the Knight (the real card is named Giltia the D. Knight, and it's a fusion monster, 1850 ATK). Téa says that Giltia has a higher attack power than Keith's monster! Joey orders Giltia to use its Soul Sword attack, but the attack fails. Bakura exclaims, Great Scott! Tristan asks Yugi if that can be right. Bandit Keith says his machines are protected by magic-resistant armor, so that magic attacks won't work. (No, there is no such rule in the real game.) Yugi realizes that that's why Keith played a machine monster—they're immune to all magical attacks, from monsters as well as magic cards. Tristan wonders if they'll ever catch a break! (Japanese Honda tells Jounouchi to think of another way to attack.)
Bandit Keith summons another machine monster, Launcher Spider (2200 ATK), and destroys Giltia, taking Joey's life points down to 1650. Joey thinks, he knew he'd get a rough match from Keith, but he wasn't prepared for these big metal bullies! (Japanese Jounouchi thinks, it was a good move. No wonder Keith was the American champion.) Bakura says they're tough, but no machine is without its glitch. Téa asks Yugi what their glitch is, but Yugi isn't sure. Machine monsters are some of the most powerful monsters in the dueling world! Not only are they impervious to magic attacks, but they have a strong offense as well. But they can only use that offense in one way—against head-on attacks. Maybe Joey can use that to his advantage.
Joey thinks that attacking will just get him clobbered, so he plays a card face-down, and sets a monster in defense. Bandit Keith calls Joey a dweeb and asks if he's afraid to fight like a man, but Joey just growls at him. Keith thinks that if Joey keeps playing monsters in defense, he'll never get at his life points. He has to draw Joey out and get him to attack, so he plays a card face-down, then says he'll play a monster in defense, "accidentally" dropping the monster card on the field face-up. He picks up the card, telling Joey to forget what he saw, then sets the monster in defense. Téa says that whatever that was, it sure was ugly. Tristan adds, but not metal.
Joey laughs to himself, thinking that Tristan was right—that monster wasn't a machine, it was a shadow monster called Zoa. His Flame Swordsman can destroy it easily. Unlike machine monsters, it's totally vulnerable to magic. Tristan says to check out Joey's big grin—something's up. But Yugi says he doesn't know.
Joey summons Flame Swordsman (1800 ATK). Yugi points out that Zoa's attack points were higher than its defense. Téa doesn't get it, but Bakura says he sees. Joey equips Flame Swordsman with Salamandra, as Bakura explains that if Zoa's attack is greater than its defense, there's little sense in playing it in defense, unless Keith was deliberately trying to lure Joey into attacking. Salamandra raises Flame Swordsman's attack to 2500. Téa realizes that Keith must have let Joey see his card on purpose. Tristan calls out for Joey to wait, but it's too late. Joey attacks.
Bandit Keith activates his trap card, Magic Metal Force (the real card's name is Metalmorph), which turns Zoa into the machine monster Metalzoa (3000 ATK), increasing its attack and defense by 400 points each, and deflecting magic attacks back where they came from. Joey watches in horror as Flame Swordsman is destroyed, and Joey loses another 500 life points, and his life points go down to 1150.
Bandit Keith has a good laugh at Joey's expense, telling him he should have seen the look on his face when his Swordsman's own attack toasted him. Keith draws, saying he's just getting started. Next on his list is Joey's defense monster. He plays Stop Defense to force Joey's Axe Raider (1700 ATK) into attack mode. Yugi says Joey's life points will be all gone if Metalzoa's attack hits! Tristan tells Joey to hang tough, and Bandit Keith orders Metalzoa to attack. But then Metalzoa disappears!
Joey holds up his trap card, the Chasm of Spikes, telling Keith he fell right into it, just as Joey planned. Bandit Keith can't believe Joey set a trap for him! Yugi says, it's perfect! Not only is Metalzoa destroyed, but one quarter of its attack points are deducted from Keith's life points. Bandit Keith's life points go down to 1250, and now it's Joey's turn to gloat, saying Keith should have seen the look on his face when his Metalzoa got shish-kebobed.
Téa says it's about time someone gave Bandit Keith a taste of his own medicine, and Yugi thinks Joey might have discovered the glitch in Keith's machine monsters—instead of attacking them head on, he's letting his traps do the work. Bakura agrees, saying that now Keith's only ahead by 100 life points.
It's Joey's turn, and he starts by playing a card face down, telling Keith it's a trap so don't bother attacking. Tristan is impressed, saying just look at him duel! But Téa tells Joey to be careful—he hasn't won yet. Bandit Keith says that's the lousiest bluff he's ever heard! Then Joey switches his Axe Raider to defense, and summons Garoozis (1800 ATK) in attack mode. He uses Garoozis to destroy Pendulum Machine, reducing Keith's life points to 1200.
Bandit Keith is really mad now! He orders Launcher Spider to demolish Garoozis, and smiles, saying he knew Joey didn't have another trap—but he's wrong. Joey activates Kunai with Chain, which raises Garoozis' attack by 500 points, to 2300, allowing it to destroy Launcher Spider. Keith loses another 100 life points, and now, Bakura points out, Joey's got a slight lead. Téa laughs, saying she knew he'd make a comeback. Yugi thinks that Joey's trusting his instincts and believing in his cards. He's dueling like a true champion. (Japanese Yugi thinks that Jounouchi's feelings for his sister are coming out in his cards.) Tristan calls out, way to go! and tells Joey that if he keeps this up, he'll be dueling Pegasus in no time. Pegasus watches thoughtfully.
Bandit Keith is infuriated, smashing his fist on the dueling table and saying he's not going to let Joey make a fool out of him. Joey asks him what's wrong—he's not losing his cool to an amateur like Joey? (Japanese Jounouchi says that Bandit Keith is the one who'll be going to hell. The Japanese episode ends here.)
But then Keith laughs. Joey's already counting the prize money, he says, and this duel isn't even close to being over. Joey's traps can't last forever, and when they run out, Keith will really bring out his bigger machines, and really give their audience a show! He tells Joey he's going down. Nobody beats Bandit Keith! (This bit is added to the end of the US version.)
To Be Continued
