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Episode
GuideEpisode 165: Deck of Armor (Valon Begins! Enigmatic Dark Deck)
Yami and Téa climb out of the valley, back to where they were when the train crashed. Now all they have to do is follow the train tracks, and they'll find Tristan and Joey. Then they can get back to what they set out to do—find Dartz and set free all the people he's captured. (Japanese Anzu says she can't wait to tell Jounouchi and Honda that Yugi's fine now.)
Meanwhile, Tristan and Joey are slowly making their way up the tracks. Joey's exhausted from carrying Rex, and thinks it must be Tristan's turn. They rock-paper-scissors for it, and Joey loses again. Joey's sure Tristan must be cheating—he's won five times in a row! Tristan says he just wins by playing scissors every time. But Joey is too tired to get up, until Tristan asks, what if he buys Joey a pepperoni pizza when they reach civilization? Joey takes off so fast, Tristan can barely keep up with him. (Japanese Honda asks, what if something has happened to Yugi? Jounouchi runs to find his friend.)
In a meeting at Dartz's headquarters in the city, Mai tells everyone to leave Joey Wheeler to her. Rafael thinks she should wait until Dartz gives her an assignment, but she says she'll decide who she's going to duel for herself. She's not going to wait for a homework assignment. Rafael thinks she should show more respect for Dartz, but Alister asks what Little Miss Loudmouth knows about respect? Mai insists she would have won her duel with Joey if Valon hadn't interfered, calls Dartz a scrawny freak, and walks out, with a toss of her hair. (This shot of Valon is replaced by a shot of Dartz in the US version.)
Valon gets up to go after her, but Dartz tells him to let her go. In the end, he says, she'll get what she deserves.
Mai rides away on her motorcycle, thinking it's time to finish what she started. When she reaches the highway, she catches up with a motorcycle gang, who surround her, telling her to go back to the playground. (In the Japanese, the bikers tell her she has a cool bike, and ask her to play with them.) She summons Harpie Lady to knock the gang off their bikes with her whip, then leaves them in her dust. But then she finds Valon riding towards her on his bike. The two play chicken, riding straight towards each other, until they stop with their front wheels only inches apart.
Mai says she told him to stay away, but Valon says he only came to help. She says he's done enough already. Valon says they need each other, and they'll take Wheeler down as a team, but she insists she doesn't need his help. (Japanese Valon says he'll defeat Jounouchi, but she says he doesn't have to do that. He says he'll do it for her, and she tells him he must be joking.) Valon reminds her of the day they met, and says he can help her to get what she's always wanted—revenge, and the satisfaction of knowing Wheeler got what he deserved. First they'll beat him, and then they'll take on the rest of the world. (Japanese Valon says he and Mai are the same—they live for victory. He tells her she's like a vampire, searching for the blood of victory. But even if she wins, she won't be satisfied. She'll always be searching for another victory. Cut from the US version is a brief flashback of Mai defeating the masked wrestler duelist.)
Mai tells Valon she doesn't like him, but he says they're alike—lonely and misunderstood. She says Mai Valentine works alone, and that will never change. (Japanese Mai says he must be joking, and asks him what he's talking about. Cut from the US version is a scene where Valon tells Mai she's not satisfied because she doesn't have an ultimate goal, as Jounouchi and the Pharaoh do. Rafael and Amelda have an ambition, too. And so does he—his goal is her.)
(He asks her to be his woman. He tells her he'll beat anyone for her, whether it's the Jounouchi or the Pharaoh. Even Dartz. She tells him it's different now.)
A little farther up the highway, Duke and Rebecca are driving down the road, with the Hawkins' trailer in tow, the professor resting inside. Duke's not sure they should have left so soon, but Rebecca thinks time is running out, and they have to catch up with the others now. Besides, they can't translate the ancient ruins without her grandfather's help. (Japanese Duke asks how the Professor is. Rebecca says he's a little tired, so he's sleeping. Duke says he's not recovered yet, and she agrees, but says Grandfather said they had to leave soon.)
Duke pulls up when he spots Mai and Valon at the side of the road, recognizing Valon as one of those biker punks who brainwashed Mai, and who works for Dartz. Rebecca jumps out of the car and runs to confront Valon, demanding to know what he did with Yugi. Valon says he's never heard of him, so Rebecca activates her Duel Disk and challenges him to a duel, saying if she wins, he talks. (Japanese Rebecca accuses Valon of stealing Yugi's soul. He says, so what? She says so she'll beat him.) Duke runs after her, warning her that it's too dangerous (Japanese Otogi calls her "Becky"), but she says she's dueled tougher opponents than this. (Japanese Rebecca points out that she's a national champion, and says she has to defeat him to get Yugi's soul back.) Valon accepts, thinking it will be a good chance to impress Mai. Then Duke activates his own Duel Disk, telling Valon he'll have to duel them both. The three face off, Duke warning Rebecca not to let Valon play the Seal of Orichalcos.
Valon begins by summoning Psychic Armor Head (0 ATK) in attack mode. Duke and Rebecca wonder why he'd summon a monster with zero attack points, and decide he must be up to something, so they decide not to attack. Duke pays 1000 life points to play the Summon Dice magic card. If he rolls a one or a two, he can summon two monsters in one turn. A three or a four will allow him to summon a monster from his graveyard. But a five or a six lets him summon a high-level monster without a tribute. He rolls a six, and summons Orgoth the Relentless (God Orgoth) (2500 ATK). Then Rebecca draws, and summons Luster Dragon #2 (Sapphire Dragon) (1900 ATK) in attack mode. (They've got this turned around. In the real game, this card is Luster Dragon, and the more powerful dragon is Luster Dragon #2. Originally, both cards were issued as Luster Dragon. When they found out they'd accidentally given two cards the same name, they renamed the older card Luster Dragon #2. Earlier editions of the card still have the "Luster Dragon" name.) She sets a card face down and ends her turn.
Valon uses Psychic Armor Head's effect to move an Armor monster from his deck to his hand. He chooses the six-star Double Cloth Armor (Double Cross Armor) (0 ATK), and sacrifices Psychic Armor Head to summon it. He sets one card face down and ends his turn.
Duke wonders what this guy's thinking, summoning another monster with zero attack points! Valon decides to explain. If his Double Cloth Armor is attacked, the attacking monster will be destroyed, and half its attack points deducted from its owner's life points. Duke knows that if he attacks with Orgoth the Relentless, he'll lose 1250 life points. But after that, Valon won't have any monsters on the field to protect himself.
Duke draws and sets a card face down, thinking that for his plan to work, he'll need Rebecca's help. She nods, and he attacks Double Cloth Armor with Orgoth the Relentless. Orgoth is destroyed, and Double Cloth Armor delivers the direct damage to Duke, taking him down to 1750 life points. But Double Cloth Armor is also destroyed, and now it's Rebecca's turn. She sets one card face down, then sacrifices Luster Dragon #2 to summon the original Luster Dragon (Emerald Dragon) (2400 ATK). Then she attacks Valon directly with Luster Dragon.
But Valon activates his trap card, Magnet Armor, which allows him to summon an Armor monster to the field from his graveyard, and he brings back Double Cloth Armor. (In the real game, summoning a monster to the field in the middle of an attack would have triggered a replay, and Rebecca could have chosen not to attack.) Luster Dragon is destroyed, and Rebecca takes a hit of 1200 points, bringing her life points down to 2800. But she's not through yet—she activates her own trap card, Rope of Life, discarding her hand in order to bring Luster Dragon back from her graveyard with an additional 800 attack points, for an attack of 3200. Then Duke activates his set magic card, Sword Revival (Diamond Blade Revival), which allows him to sacrifice a dragon that's just been revived from the graveyard and summon a new dragon in its place. He brings forth Diamond Head Dragon, which absorbs all of Luster Dragon's attack points plus 1000, giving it a total attack of 4200.
But Valon says he's just getting warmed up. It's time to change all the rules, he says, as Armor pieces appear all around him. (Japanese Valon explains that this is an effect he can activate during his Standby Phase when Psychic Armor Head is in the graveyard.) This move is sure to impress Mai, he thinks. Rebecca thinks he's about to play the Seal of Orichalcos, but he tells her not to flatter herself. She and Duke aren't worth the Seal of Orichalcos. Instead, he plays Armor Gravitation, merging himself with the pieces of armor to become a monster himself. Now, he says, he'll win the duel, because his monster's special effect allows him to destroy every monster on the field, and the damage will come out of their life points. (Since his own attack is zero, he loses nothing.) He flies towards their monster, and Rebecca activates her trap card, Mirror Force, to try to stop him, but her trap has no effect (probably because Valon isn't really attacking, he's using his monster's effect). Diamond Head Dragon is destroyed, and Duke and Rebecca lose.
Mai thinks to herself that she has to admit, that was pretty impressive. (Mai's cleavage is digitally reduced all throughout this episode.)
Looking up from the ground where they've been thrown by their dragon's destruction, Rebecca tells Valon he won, now leave them alone, and Duke tells Valon to get lost. Valon stands over them for a moment, then his armor disappears with the end of the duel. He tells them he has a message for Wheeler—tell that punk he's next.
But when he turns to Mai, she's already getting on her motorcycle. Telling him again that she works alone, she drives away.
Back on the tracks, Joey and Tristan are laid out, exhausted, with the soulless Rex between them. Joey wants Tristan to remind him why they're carrying this pip-squeak all over creation. Because he needs their help, Tristan says, and they're nice guys. And last time he checked, it was Joey's turn to be nice.
Suddenly, strange lights appear in the sky.
Yami and Téa see the lights, too. Yami says it's the Great Beast, remembering that the same thing happened when the Beast emerged the first time. They're running out of time.
Dartz stands at the window of his city headquarters, watching the lights, telling his Great Leviathan to keep feeding. He's almost ready.
Meanwhile, aboard the Kaiba Corp plane, Mokuba asks Kaiba if he thinks it's really true that Yugi lost to one of Alister's partners in a duel. And does that mean he's trapped somewhere? Kaiba says it just means Yugi isn't as perfect as he thinks he is, and he's not worth Kaiba's time. They've got more important things to do.
Mokuba notices the lights outside, and runs to the plane's window, calling his brother over to check it out. Kaiba doesn't know what it means, but he doesn't trust it. They hear their pilot announce that they may be experiencing some mild turbulence, and they should fasten their seat belts, just to be safe. The pilot smiles—it's Alister.
