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Episode
GuideEpisode 56: Yugi vs the Rare Hunter - Part I (Fierce Fight! Battle City Begins)
Grandpa is sweeping outside the game shop, complaining that Yugi isn't doing his chores this morning—he has to prepare for the tournament. Grandpa says he likes a good duel as much as anyone, but in his day, their jobs came first! (In the Japanese, Grandpa notices that Yugi's bedroom light is always on—he's preparing his deck for the tournament.) Then he suddenly exclaims, "Hogwash!" Kaiba's Battle City Tournament starts today, and he wouldn't miss it for the world! He tosses the "Closed" sign up on the door (only in the US version, it's a circle with a line through it) in order to head out to the tournament right away! (Japanese Grandpa says he'll call Anzu.)
Up in his room, Yami is telling Yugi he's created a powerful deck, but Yugi's worried it won't be good enough. There comes a time when all you can do is trust in your cards, Yami says. This is a different challenge than they've ever faced before. The fate of the world depends on it. (Yu-Gi-Oh! dub drinking game! Take a drink whenever Yami or Yugi says "The fate of the world depends on it!" or "It's our destiny!" You won't stay sober for long....) He says their destiny will reveal itself when the time is right. He reminds Yugi that Ishizu told them an ancient evil is coming to destroy the world, and in order to defeat it, they must win the Battle City Tournament. Yugi says they'll do it! Yami stood by him at Duelist Kingdom and helped him rescue his Grandpa, and now it's Yugi's turn to stand by Yami.
(As usual, the conversation between Yami and Yugi has been completely rewritten. Yami says the deck is finished, but Yugi protests that the game isn't over! Yami says he was wondering if he should add any more magic cards. Then he gets serious, and says there's something he has to tell Yugi before the battle begins. The Battle City Tournament that they're about to enter is a personal quest for him, but he won't be able to win without Yugi. He trusts in the deck they built together, and hopes Yugi will keep that in mind. Yugi readily agrees. Yami is a little surprised that Yugi doesn't ask for any details, but Yugi says it's enough to know that Yami isn't dueling for the Rare Cards, but for a vital reason. He says he won't ask until Yami tells him first. He trusts Yami and the deck they made together. Yami calls him "Partner.")
Yami and Yugi merge into one, and Yugi gets a fierce face as he buckles on his dueling belt and gets ready to duel.
Meanwhile, at Joey's apartment, Joey is sitting on the floor amidst a clutter of papers and books and dirty dishes and snack wrappers, exclaiming that he has to figure out a way to get back his Red Eyes Black Dragon! Flinging himself onto his back in frustration, he reflects that he can't believe he let that Rare Hunter take his best card! And before the tournament even started!
Then he remembers his sister, and calls to check up on her, startled when Tristan answers the phone! What's he doing in Serenity's room? Tristan says he knew how busy Joey'd be with the tournament, so he thought he should keep Serenity company. Joey thinks Tristan's the last thing Serenity needs! Then Serenity gets on the phone, and asks Joey why he never told her that Tristan's the one who taught him how to duel! She thinks Joey's lucky to have such a sweet, caring guy as his friend. Joey is about to have a cow, when Tristan comes back on the line to tell Joey not to forget about that great three-card combo he taught him, and hangs up, leaving Joey screaming into the phone.
Fireworks explode over Domino, as the duelists gather in the city streets, wearing their Duel Disks. A couple of businessmen wonder what's going on—one of them thinks the Duel Disks are giant wristwatches—until a couple of duelists stop to tell them it's the greatest Duel Monsters tournament of all time!
Yugi arrives at the city center plaza, wondering about the clear card that was in the box with the Duel Disk, thinking it looks like part of a map. Mai runs up to say hi, wondering whose butt she should kick first. (In the Japanese, she asks where Jounouchi is, and gets all excited at the thought that he's going to be in the tournament, too.) Then Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor show up, with their game faces on. Rex tells Mai it's payback time for the way she played him for a chump at Duelist Kingdom, and Weevil tells Yugi his deck is infested with swarms of powerful new insect cards. Next, Mako Tsunami pops up to choke off Weevil's evil chuckles, saying that if anyone makes waves, it will be him! Weevil, Mako, and Rex all make threatening noises at each other, while Mai and Yugi stand by rolling their eyes.
Meanwhile, sipping coffee at a nearby outdoor cafe, sits the Rare Hunter who stole Joey's Red Eyes. He's looking up Yugi and Mai on his laptop computer, thinking that their rare cards will make fine additions to his master's collection. But which one shall he acquire first? (The name of the coffee shop is Almondo in the Japanese.)
The gang splits up to go find duels. Yugi goes up onto the roof of a nearby building, worrying that he can't find Joey anywhere. Then everyone hears Kaiba's voice welcoming them to the tournament—but where is it coming from? (In the US, they've removed the sign that says "Domino Station." As well as the "DR" on Rex Raptor's cap. It stands for Dinosaur Ryuuzaki, which is Rex's name in the Japanese.)
A shadow passes over the city. Everyone looks up—it's an airship, with huge videoscreens attached underneath, on which Kaiba makes his opening speech. (In the Japanese, the ship says "Duel Disk" on the side.)
Everyone that Kaiba thought was good enough to enter the tournament received a Duel Disk, he tells them, which will allow them to duel anywhere, any time. (Japanese Kaiba says the whole city is the stage of the tournament.) It also contains a tracking chip he can use to keep track of the duels. The loser of each duel is required to give his rarest card to the winner. And anyone foolish enough can challenge Kaiba himself, since he will also be competing in the tournament. He intends to win—and there's one duelist in particular he can't wait to defeat. "You're on," Yugi says, watching from the rooftop. (Japanese Kaiba doesn't say this. He's much more straightforward, explaining how the tournament rules work.)
Kaiba goes on to explain that the eight best duelists will enter the finals, which will be held in a hidden location. The clear cards the duelists received are locator cards—six of them stacked together will reveal the location of the finals. The winner of each duel will get the loser's locator card. Then, with a great flourish, he announces, Let the tournament begin!
Yugi sees Joey running through the streets below. Joey's spotted the Rare Hunter, and demands a rematch so he can win his Red Eyes Black Dragon back. But the Rare Hunter refuses—he's already got Joey's rarest card. He doesn't need to duel him again. (In the Japanese, the Rare Hunter says, "You're a loser dog, but you can still bark.")
Yugi runs down to Joey, asking him what's going on. Joey explains that this is one of the guys who took his Red Eyes, and Yugi realizes that the Rare Hunter's robe is the same as the one Bandit Keith wore when he tried to take Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. (The little flashback of Bandit Keith in the Rare Hunter's robe isn't in the Japanese.) The Rare Hunter repeats that he won't duel Joey, but instead challenges Yugi, and Yugi accepts the challenge, promising Joey he'll beat him and get back his Red Eyes Black Dragon. Yugi goes all glowy as Yami comes out. (Japanese Yugi tells the Rare Hunter he's the trash contaminating the city!)
Joey protests—Yugi shouldn't risk his Dark Magician for this. (Japanese Jounouchi says that the Rare Hunters will do anything to win, including faking Rare Cards to make the strongest decks.) Yugi tells Joey it's all right, he has to duel to fulfill his destiny. The Rare Hunter stands up, throwing his robe aside, and warns Joey not to reveal the strategy he used to Yugi, or he'll tear up the Red Eyes card. (In the Japanese, Yugi holds up a hand to warn Jounouchi not to tell him the Rare Hunter's strategy. "I have no right to know his method before the game takes place." This is moved to a later spot in the US version.)
Meanwhile, Téa is running through the streets, looking for Yugi and Joey. How could she oversleep on today of all days!
Yugi and the Rare Hunter activate their Duel Disks. The Kaiba Corp satellite detects them, and Kaiba, standing with Mokuba in a room full of strange clone-like girls sitting at computer stations, comments that it's fitting that Yugi should be competing in the very first duel of his tournament. Mokuba sees that the other duels are coming in now, too, and every card that's played is being noted. If either of the other two God cards is played in a duel, they'll know exactly where it is.
Yugi and the Rare Hunter face off. The Rare Hunter is pleased to see that he's already got two pieces of Exodia in his hand on his initial draw. Joey starts to tell Yugi to watch out, but the Rare Hunter warns him to be quiet. (Doesn't happen in the Japanese.) Yugi starts by playing two magic/trap cards face down, and summons Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode.
The Rare Hunter plays Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two, and gets another piece of Exodia. Now he only needs two! Yugi plays his trap card, Light of Intervention, which requires all monster cards to be played face up. The Rare Hunter says he doesn't care, and plays Stone Statue of the Aztecs in defense position.
Yugi sacrifices Beta to summon Berfomet, who also brings forth Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. Then he plays his other set card, Polymerization, to fuse them into Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast, a monster with 2100 attack points, enough to destroy the Stone Statue on his next turn. He plays another magic/trap card face down and ends his turn.
The Rare Hunter predicts another Graceful Charity, which is indeed what he draws. He plays it, drawing another three cards and discarding two. Now he has four Exodia pieces! Only one more, and he'll destroy Yugi!
Back at Kaiba Corp, Kaiba wonders who this new duelist is, and asks for more information. One of the clone-girls tells him that the Rare Hunter didn't exist in their database until about a week ago—he must have hacked in and entered himself into the system. That's illegal! Mokuba exclaims. He's about to run off and disqualify the Rare Hunter when Kaiba stops him. The Rare Hunters have taken his bait—it's all just as he planned. (In the Japanese, Kaiba thinks this player has a strange method, and the clone-girl tells him the player's cards aren't registered—they may be fakes. Kaiba wonders if the Rare Hunter is one of the Ghouls. But when Mokuba starts to run off to disqualify him, Kaiba tells him to wait. "It's interesting," he says. "Let them play." The screen Kaiba's looking at says "Rare Hunter" at the top in the Japanese.)
The Rare Hunter continues to gloat mentally over his near-victory. And, with his invisible ink and x-ray contact lens, he can see exactly which card he'll draw next—it's the fifth piece of Exodia! He'll win on his next turn. Then he plays another defense monster, Eargon the Moving Fortress, with a defense of 2200, strong enough to fend off Chimera.
Yugi says the Rare Hunter can defend all he wants, but he can't win unless he attacks. What's he waiting for? Joey clenches his fist in frustration, wanting to tell Yugi what the Rare Hunter's up to. He tells Yugi to stop the duel, saying he won't let Yugi lose his Dark Magician for him. But Yugi says that's enough! and tells Joey he must not reveal the Rare Hunters strategy. (This bit occurs earlier in the Japanese, before the duel begins. At this point in the Japanese, Jounouchi tells Yugi to stop the duel, saying, "What's the point of playing with Ghouls?" Yugi insists that he'll finish the duel, and play honestly. "A True Duelist never cares about who he's playing with.") He'll defeat him—for Joey. He reminds Joey that when Weevil threw Yugi's Exodia cards into the ocean, Joey dove overboard to try to retrieve them. Now he'll protect Joey's cards. Then Yugi realizes—the Rare Hunter's playing an Exodia deck.
The Rare Hunter is stunned! How did Yugi figure out his strategy? But it doesn't matter. He'll still win! No one can beat the unstoppable Exodia!
Yugi says he'll be the first.
To Be Continued
