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Episode
GuideEpisode 197: Sinister Secrets, Part 2 (Stromberg's Golden Castle)
Leon tells Yugi he's looking at the next international champ. (Japanese Leon says he's playing a magic card from his hand.) He plays his magic card, Iron Cage, which sends any monster he chooses to the graveyard. Joey says, there goes Yugi's only monster! But Leon uses his magic card to send his own Iron Hans to the graveyard. As a result, Iron Knight's attack increases to 1700. Joey says, that's an extra thousand points! and Duke adds that now Yugi's monster is toast. Leon orders Iron Knight to attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, destroying it, and taking Yami's life points down to 3700. Then, Leon attacks directly with Forest Hunter, for another 1200 points of damage. (The shot of Forest Hunter's arrow flying towards and past Yami is cut from the US version.)
Yami's down to 2500 life points.
Joey says Yugi's off to a bad start. No joke, says Tristan. Yugi just lost almost half his life points. Leon ends his turn.
Professor Hawkins tells Grandpa that Leon certainly is a talented lad. Grandpa agrees that, not only does he have impressive skills, he also has a great deal of respect for the cards in his deck. That is the mark of a true duelist. Téa thinks that when push comes to shove, Leon will do the right thing. Grandpa reminds her that the Schroeder-Kaiba rivalry is a bitter one, and the anger and jealousy between the two families runs deep. (Japanese Anzu says that Leon seems so happy when he's talking about his cards. Grandpa says Leon cherishes his cards as much as Yugi. He thinks Leon really wants to play an enjoyable duel.)
Leon looks up to his brother in the high balcony, and Zigfried thinks that Leon had better not let him down. (Japanese Siegfried chuckles to himself.)
Yami tells Leon, well done. He's impressed. Leon says that his deck of fairy tale cards has always come through for him. There was a time when these cards seemed like his only friends. (Japanese Leon thanks Yami for the compliment, and says it's been his dream to duel Yugi with this deck.) It started when he began to read fables and folk tales to pass the time. He used to pretend that he was part of the stories. Flashbacks show young Leon lying on the floor in his room, books spread out around him. (Japanese Leon's fairy tale books are in German. The writing is blurred so it's unreadable in the US version.)
As young Leon holds the Little Red Riding Hood card, present-day Leon says that Maximillion Pegasus felt the same way, so he created a whole series of Duel Monsters cards inspired by fairy tales. (Japanese Leon says that he wrote a letter to Pegasus asking him to create more cards based on fairy tales.) That's when his passion for dueling first started. Ever since then, he dreamed about being a champion.
But, Leon says, this isn't about his dreams. It's about finally paying his dues to the Schroeder family, by making sure Kaiba Corp falls into ruins. (Japanese Leon says he'd really like to defeat Yugi with these cards. Cut from the US version is this bit where Leon looks up at his brother and says, if he believes in his brother, he has to win.)
(Yami says that if this is Leon's reason, he'll do his best. Yugi protests, but Yami tells him that Leon's mind is made up. He wants to fight for his brother, even if it means tarnishing his glory as a duelist.)
Yami says that the only way to get through to Leon is to duel him with all his strength. (Japanese Yami says that in order to fight a duel he won't regret, he must fight with all his strength. Yugi nods, then fades back into Yami.)
Yami draws Mirror Force, then plays Queen's Knight (1500 ATK) in attack mode and attacks Forest Hunter. It's destroyed, and Leon's down to 3400 life points. Zigfried watches, frowning, from the balcony, as Yami sets one card face down and ends his turn.
Leon draws, then, thanks to Iron Cage's effect, he's able to bring back Iron Hans. Iron Knight's attack goes back to 700, but with Iron Hans back on the field, Leon is able to summon another Iron Knight. Next, Leon plays Spinning Wheel Spindle. Téa wonders what Leon can do to Yugi with a giant roll of string. Rebecca remembers that card—it's a monster destruction card.
Leon says it's time to reenact the story of Sleeping Beauty with Yami's Queen. The spindle strikes Queen's Knight in the chest. (The spindle is obscured in the US version.)
Queen's Knight falls to the ground asleep, then disappears. Leon explains that she'll sleep in the graveyard for three turns, then she'll return. Now that she's gone, Leon attacks directly with Iron Hans.
Yami activates his trap card, Mirror Force, reflecting the attack back on Leon's monsters and destroying all three of them. Joey and the others cheer, while Kaiba snidely tells Zigfried, tough break. Zigfried says to give Leon time. The Schroeders have a habit of toying with their opponents. To himself, Zigfried thinks that it's almost time to reveal the final secret. (Japanese Siegfried tells Kaiba not to look down on his brother, then, to himself, tells Leon not to disappoint him.)
Moving on, Leon plays his magic card, Water of Life, which brings back Iron Hans from the graveyard. Then he can summon another Iron Knight. (The card mistakenly says Iron Knight's attack is 1700. Its original attack is 700.) Tristan says that knight keeps coming back for more! Joey says it's the deck that won't quit. Rebecca agrees, saying that's why Leon's so hard to beat. He built his deck with a perfect balance of magic, trap, and monster cards. Duke hopes Yugi can find a weakness before it's too late. (Japanese Otogi says it's no wonder Leon has won so many duels.)
It's Yami's turn, and he starts by playing Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Unfortunately for Leon, he says, he drew Watapon (200 ATK). Since it was moved from his deck to his hand by the effect of a magic card, he can special summon it to the field. Then he sacrifices Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000 ATK). Leon looks on delightedly as she appears on the field. This is awesome, he says. She's one of Yugi's most famous monsters! Dark Magician Girl blows Leon a kiss, and he blushes, then says this isn't cool—now he has to destroy her.
Not if she destroys Leon first, Yami says, then attacks the Iron Knight. (In the Japanese version, Black Magician Girl's attack burns a hole right through the Iron Knight.)
Leon loses 1300 life points, taking him down to 2100. Yami ends his turn.
Leon says it was nice meeting Dark Magician Girl, then frowns as he adds that all good things must come to an end. Zigfried thinks that they've toyed with these fools long enough. It's time to unleash the final phase of their plan. Watching Zigfried over his shoulder, Kaiba wonders what he's up to.
Leon draws, then says it's the same card Yami drew. Some might call it coincidence, but he calls it fate. Leon plays Pot of Greed and draws two more cards. He gasps when he sees what he's drawn—that's the card! Zigfried smiles evilly.
Zigfried calls out to Leon to make his family proud, and activate that card. (Japanese Siegfried says, "You got it!") Leon stares at the card in his hand, remembering when Zigfried gave it to him. When he saw it, he told Zigfried that he'd never even heard of that card. Zigfried told him it was one of a kind, and he'd been saving it just for Leon. When Leon drew it, Zigfried wanted him to play it immediately, and the whole Schroeder family would thank him. (Japanese Siegfried says the goddess of victory would smile on Leon.) Leon promised he wouldn't let his brother down.
Zigfried thinks that everything they've done so far has been leading up to this moment. Silently, he urges Leon to play the card.
Saying that this is for his family, Leon plays the Golden Castle of Stromberg. Kaiba, Professor Hawkins, and Grandpa gasp as Leon puts the card into the field card slot. Even Leon is surprised when a huge golden castle rises over the field behind him.
Joey asks if anyone knows what that is. Professor Hawkins says he does. Grandpa does, too. Kaiba turns on Zigfried, asking him how he got his hands on that. Zigfried just smiles.
Yami says he's heard stories about that card, but he thought it was never released.
In Kaiba's control room, one of the techies observing the duel says she's getting some interference at her computer console. The techie next to her says the mainframe's running fine. Techie #1 says the signal strength is fine, too. It makes no sense! But, whatever it was, it's over now.
Back at the duel, Leon activates the special effect of the Golden Castle, allowing him to summon any monster with four stars or less. He plays Cinderella (300 ATK) in attack mode, and her fairy godmother appears to give her her fancy dress. Then, Pumpkin Carriage appears on the field, and Cinderella gets her Glass Slippers. Rebecca calls out to Yugi to watch out—that princess is tougher than she looks. Leon explains that when Pumpkin Carriage is on the field, Cinderella can attack Yami's life points directly, and orders Cinderella to attack. Yami's life points go down to 2200. Then Cinderella's Glass Slippers form on Dark Magician Girl's feet, reducing her attack by 1000 points.
Tristan says, Yugi's getting crushed! Joey protests that he's the King of Games—he's not afraid of some princess. Rebecca says, that's no princess, that's a monster in heels!
Kaiba asks Zigfried again where he got that card, but Zigfried plays dumb. Professor Hawkins wonders if that's really "it," and Grandpa says it is. Téa asks what's going on, and Professor Hawkins explains that there are several Duel Monsters cards that Pegasus created, but never fully developed or officially released, and the Golden Castle of Stromberg is one of them. Grandpa remembers a tournament several years ago that offered the Golden Castle as a prize, but it was never meant to be used. (In the Japanese version, the sign over the tournament says, "Fall Cup Duel Project.")
Professor Hawkins agrees, and says that because it was only a test sample, it was forbidden from tournament play. Grandpa adds that, since only one copy was ever made, it became one of the most sought-after cards in the game. Professor Hawkins can't believe that Leon has it in his deck!
Kaiba tells Zigfried that his brother just played an illegal card. Zigfried disagrees. Mokuba says that if it's really a non-registered card, Leon's Duel Disk shouldn't have recognized it. Kaiba says that the card limiter must have been deactivated, and he thinks he knows how. Joey says that means Leon is cheating! Leon's surprised to hear it. Kaiba says, that's the real reason Zigfried hacked into his computer system. Zigfried pretends to be offended, saying that the King of Games is about to be dethroned by a Schroeder, so Kaiba accuses him of cheating? Leon simply played a strong card. Zigfried says not to blame him because Kaiba's cheap computer network decided to malfunction. Kaiba Corp's heyday is over! (Japanese Siegfried asks Kaiba what he's talking about, and says he just got a card and gave it to Leon. He says it's interesting that the card he and Pegasus made is putting Kaiba into a crisis.)
Kaiba says no one's going to buy that. It's a fact—Leon broke the rules. He played a non-registered card in an official duel. Zigfried tells him to go ahead and cancel the match, even though he promised the world a winner. Kaiba says the duel will go on. Zigfried thinks that Kaiba knows that if he disqualifies Leon, his entire tournament was pointless and his reputation will plummet.
Leon looks at the castle behind him, wondering if this is really a forbidden card. No way, he says, His brother would never lie to him like that. Zigfried tells him to just continue his move. The Golden Castle of Stromberg was accepted by his Duel Disk, so it can't be illegal. He tells Leon to show these people what it means to be a Schroeder. Leon says all right, but Yami turns on Zigfried, asking, how could he! Joey says he knew Zigfried was a jerk, but lying to his own brother! Zigfried tells Leon not to listen to them. Kaiba's friends just want to tear their family apart. Who is Leon going to believe, these strangers or his own flesh and blood? (Japanese Siegfried tells Leon that he has to cast aside everything if he wants to win. Victory is more important. This is for the name of Schroeder.) Leon says he doesn't want to win by cheating. Zigfried again insists that the card is legal.
Yami warns Leon not to trust Zigfried. He says Zigfried's just using him. He reprogrammed Kaiba's dueling system to accept an illegal card. Leon asks his brother if it's true. Zigfried finally admits it, but says it's too late to stop him now. The most powerful card never released is already on the field, and no one can stop it! (Japanese Yami tells Siegfried that he's stained the souls of all the duelists. He's not qualified to be a duelist. Leon says, "Yugi!" Siegfried replies, the souls of duelists? This is just a game. Cut from the US version is this bit where Yami asks Siegfried, doesn't he understand? The duelists who have fought along, and those who've come to cheer for them...)
Zigfried says there's only one winner here—Schroeder Corp. When Leon is crowned World Champion, they'll be the number one gaming company on Earth! Yami says, not if Zigfried forces him to win by cheating. (Japanese Yami continues, and everyone who's enthusiastic about dueling, and Leon's feelings—Siegfried has stained the good will of all of them.) Zigfried just laughs, saying he calls it creative dueling. (Japanese Siegfried tells Yami he's too green to play the hero.) Leon protests that he was supposed to win fair and square. But Zigfried says it turns out the rules didn't fit his needs. He tells Leon to use the card he gave him, and let Zigfried handle the rest. Leon's dreams are about to be realized—don't let them pass him by.
Leon says his dream has always been to win in a duel against Yugi, but he refuses to do it by breaking the rules. Leon plays Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the Golden Castle of Stromberg. Joey and Tristan cheer, telling Leon he doesn't need that illegal hunk of junk.
But the Golden Castle remains standing. Zigfried laughs, saying that since the Golden Castle of Stromberg card was never finished, he was able to add a few twists of his own. Grandpa says, a duelist can't change the attributes of a card! Professor Hawkins says, unless he was able to rewrite the file and alter the data. Kaiba asks Zigfried what he's done. Laughing, Zigfried tells him to witness the final phase of his revenge. Mokuba points to the Golden Castle, which has started to glow. Screens showing the duel flicker. Zigfried says if Kaiba thinks he hacked into his dueling system just to strengthen one card, he's wrong. In fact, that card was just a key. As soon as it was played, it unlocked the most devastating virus ever constructed.
Kaiba orders his man to launch the anti-viral program immediately, but Zigfried says, too little, too late. Every one of Kaiba Corp's program files and databanks is being deleted as they speak. When Kaiba's empire crumbles, Maximillion Pegasus will have no choice but to negotiate a partnership with Schroeder Corp. Kaiba calls Zigfried a snake, and Yami says he must be stopped. Leon says it's all his fault. He never should have trusted Zigfried, and now it's too late. Yami says there's still time, but Leon isn't listening. He says he just wanted the chance to face Yugi in a fair duel, but that chance is gone. He begins to place his hand over his deck to surrender, but Zigfried interrupts him, saying it's not that easy. His virus can't be stopped by surrendering. There's only one way to put a stop to all this—destroy the Golden Castle of Stromberg, and the virus will cease.
But how? Téa wonders. Magic and trap cards are useless against it. Joey says, who knows what other abilities Zigfried added to it.
Leon asks, now what? Yami says, they continue the duel. Leon says, it's no use. His brother made that card indestructible. Yami asks, what happened to the Leon he met at the start of the tournament? He wouldn't be giving up, he'd be fighting for his dream. He tells Leon to duel him with everything he has, and show Zigfried what the Heart of the Cards is all about. Together, Yami says, he and Leon will put an end to Zigfried's selfish scheme. (Japanese Leon says it's all his fault. Yami tells him he's a true duelist, and that hasn't changed. He can't give up now, he has to do his best. Show them the glory of the duel. Yami will destroy this trap.) Leon isn't sure, but Yami says to trust him. Every card has its weakness. They just need to figure out this one—and they don't have much time.
To Be Continued
