[STORY] F4-Programmer (Season 1: Duelist Kingdom) : #005

Episode 5: The Ultimate Great Moth (The Ultimate Force: The Great Moth)

[Note: For US broadcast, Episodes 4 and 5 were edited together and shown as one episode. This recap is based on the complete episode included on the US DVD release.]

Joey, Tristan, and Téa congratulate Yugi on wiping out all of Weevil's monsters. Then Mai Valentine shows up to tell them that Yugi doesn't have a chance against the Regional Champion. (This pan up Mai's chest is cut from the US version.)

Mai says that Weevil's got moves their shrimp couldn't even dream of. Téa's pretty steamed, thinking she's not going to let Mai trash her friends, and tells Mai nobody asked her, so why doesn't she just take a hike? (Japanese Mai says that "Yugi-chan" has only won one duel. In Duel Monsters, you never know what the next turn brings. It's a little early to be celebrating. Anzu thinks, who does this woman think she is? And who's she calling "Yugi-chan"? ["Chan" is an honorific used for little kids. It's very condescending of Mai to use it with Yugi.] Anzu asks Mai, can't she see that Yugi's in the lead?) Mai takes it in stride, pushing past Téa to say she can't miss the chance to watch a champion like Weevil turn this around. Joey agrees—Weevil really came from behind to win the regionals, and Tristan nods along, saying Weevil's tough and sneaky. Téa asks whose side they're on! But Joey just says this is Yugi's first official duel, and he's fighting a champ. (Japanese Jounouchi says that of course Yugi will win, but he can't let his guard down.) Mai chuckles, while Téa thinks Yugi will show her. (Japanese Anzu thinks that Yugi will have to duel this woman sooner or later, and Mai thinks she'll watch and see how strong Yugi really is.)

Weevil tells Yugi that he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Yugi says Weevil's done a lot of buzzing throughout the duel, but he's still waiting for the sting. (Japanese Haga says Yugi will regret this, because now it's personal. Yugi tells him to put his complaints in his cards. He'll beat him head on.)

Weevil says that since Yugi's new to this tournament thing, he'll make things easy for him. (Japanese Haga says he has the ultimate trump card in his deck, and tells Yugi his life as a duelist is already over.) He picks a card, saying this little bug won't stand a chance against Yugi's powerful monsters, and plays it in defense. Yugi won't bite, knowing Weevil's got a trap card waiting that can destroy his monsters as soon as they attack. Instead, Yugi plays the magic card, Monster Recovery, which recalls all his monsters to his deck. (Monster Recovery gets a slight redesign in the US version.)

He draws a new hand, then summons Kuriboh (300 ATK) and attacks with it, knowing he won't lose much when the weak monster is destroyed. Weevil's trap, Parasite Worm, is activated, destroying Kuriboh, and lowering Yugi's life points to 1050. Yugi smiles, telling Weevil that trap cards only work when they catch you by surprise. He tells Weevil not to give his plan away next time.

But Weevil laughs, saying he doesn't give a bee's behind about that stupid trap! It was only a trick to get Yugi to recall his monsters, so he could safely play Larvae Moth (500 ATK, raised to 650 by the field power bonus), which he flips up into attack mode. The Larvae Moth is weak by itself, but then Weevil plays the Cocoon of Evolution (2000 DEF), which he equips onto the Larvae Moth.

Everyone watches in disgust as the Larvae Moth squelches around, becoming encased in the cocoon. Mai thinks, she told these chumps Weevil would turn this duel around.

Weevil says that in five turns, his Larvae Moth will undergo a startling transformation, becoming the Ultimate Great Moth! Yugi says he'll crack the Cocoon before that happens, but Weevil points out that the Cocoon of Evolution gains a field power bonus from the wilderness, raising its defense to 2600 points. In just five turns, his Great Moth will fully evolve and finish Yugi off.

Yugi thinks he'd better act fast, and find a way to break open that cocoon now. Does he have a card that's strong enough to stop it? He plays Gaia the Fierce Knight (Dark Knight Gaia) (2300 ATK) and attacks, but it's too weak to destroy the Cocoon of Evolution, and Yugi's life points go down to 750. That's one turn down, Weevil says. Yugi knows that Weevil's Cocoon will be tough to crack. Joey tells Yugi to hang tough, but Mai laughs, saying that all that stupid cheerleading they're doing makes it sound like Yugi still has a chance. Steaming, Téa insists that of course he does! (Japanese Mai tells the gang they don't seem to know much. No wonder Yugi-chan's having a hard time. Anzu says that's enough with the "Yugi-chan" stuff!) Joey holds Téa back, telling her not to listen to Mai, but Mai says that every duelist who's ever gone up against Weevil's Cocoon has been totally trashed. Téa protests that Yugi's got his friends to help him beat it. Mai thinks he'll need a whole lot more than these losers. (Japanese Anzu asks Mai if she's saying Yugi's going to lose. Mai just laughs and turns back to the duel, thinking, what are you going to do now, Yugi?)

Yugi knows he has to come up with something quick, or he'll not only lose the duel, he'll lose his only chance to save his Grandpa. He has to win! (Japanese Yugi thinks he doesn't have any cards strong enough to destroy the Cocoon, even in a combo attack. What can he do?) Weevil draws, telling Yugi he only has four more turns before the Great Moth emerges. (Japanese Haga explains that as long as the Cocoon of Evolution is on the field, he can't play any other cards, so his turns will go quickly, but the monster in the Cocoon is evolving all the while.) Yugi draws Beaver Warrior (Ruiz) (1500 DEF) and plays it face down in defense, thinking he'd better prepare a defense in case he really can't stop that thing. Weevil draws, saying nothing will save Yugi once his moth is out. Then Yugi draws again, thinking he has to find a way to turn this duel around. There must be some way to pop that thing open!

Téa tells Yugi to hang in there, and Joey says Yugi has to win for his Grandpa. Yugi says he knows, and Joey tells him he's got to get fired up! (Japanese Jounouchi tells Yugi not to make him stand there and watch him lose. Put some fire into it!) Yugi suddenly gets an idea.

Mai is disdainful of their cheering, telling them they're only distracting Yugi from the game. (Japanese Mai says that once a duel begins, a duelist's only ally is herself. She's never known cheap talk like theirs to help anyone win a match before.) Téa asks how Mai would know—she'd bet no one's ever cared enough to cheer Mai on. (Japanese Anzu says they do help Yugi. He knows they're behind him.) Mai says friends haven't helped Yugi any—he's losing. But Mai is startled when Yugi gives his pals a thumbs-up, and Téa makes faces at Mai, saying that from the look on Yugi's face, his friends just did help him. So there. (Japanese Anzu says a hussy like Mai could never understand their friendship.)

Yugi summons Curse of Dragon (2000 ATK), and then combines it with the magic card, Burning Land, and attacks. But his attack isn't against the Cocoon—Curse of Dragon's flames destroy the forest, eliminating Weevil's field power bonus, and reducing the Cocoon of Evolution's defense points back to its original 2000. Now Yugi can attack and destroy it with Gaia the Fierce Knight.

The gang cheer. But Weevil laughs, and they hear sounds from the Cocoon. Everyone watches in astonishment as a creature emerges. Joey realizes that it must have evolved enough to survive, and Mai says she told them Weevil was good. Weevil says Yugi wasn't able to stop the evolution of Weevil's ultimate insect, the Great Moth (2600 ATK)! Even though Yugi stopped its evolution one turn early, the Great Moth is still strong enough to beat him. Mai thinks the gang's not cheering now—Weevil's creature is unbeatable. They can chatter from the sidelines all they want, but it won't help Yugi one bit. (Japanese Mai thinks, so this is Haga's trump card! She's never seen it before. Haga's practically won already. Yugi's in a tight spot now.)

Yugi thinks Weevil turned the duel around one more time—but Yugi's not giving up yet. He tells Weevil he'll find a way to squash that oversized bug.

Weevil orders his Great Moth to take flight, thinking that Yugi's dragon is no match for the Moth, and none of Yugi's land monsters can attack it in the air. Which one should he destroy first? He tells Yugi it's high time his Knight pays for demolishing Weevil's Cocoon. Yugi thinks, his Knight is the heart of his attack force! He can't afford to lose him. Weevil prepares to attack, and Yugi plays a magic card. (That's to be an illegal move—you can't play a magic card from your hand during your opponent's turn.) Weevil attacks and destroys Yugi's face-down Beaver Warrior. The Great Moth's attack continues, enveloping Gaia the Fierce Knight in its vapors. (Japanese Haga explains that the Great Moth destroys all land-based monsters at once.) Weevil tells Yugi his Knight will be totally blown away!

Yugi smiles, holding up the Polymerization (Fusion) card, and telling Weevil he was so busy fawning over his Moth, he didn't notice that Yugi played it. (The Polymerization card has been redesigned in the US version. The real card has the same design as the Japanese card.)

Yugi explains that if he has two compatible monsters on the field, he can use Polymerization to fuse them into one ultimate creature. Curse of Dragon has joined with Gaia the Fierce Knight to create Gaia the Dragon Knight (real name Gaia the Dragon Champion). (The Japanese episode conveniently includes a neat little description of how fusion works.)

Its attack is 2600, the same as the Great Moth. But Weevil tells Yugi to look again—the Dragon Knight is losing attack points. (Cut from the US version is this brief flashback of the gang running through the bug-infested forest, as Yugi realizes the Great Moth has poison scales.)

Weevil explains that the Great Moth's attack has left poison particles in the air which erode the Dragon Knight's attack.

Yugi watches as his Dragon Knight's attack decreases, knowing he's in trouble, and there's nothing in his hand that can help him. But he knows his Grandpa's deck won't let him down. He draws the magic card, Makiu the Magical Mist, and uses it to wash the poison away. (Makiu has also been redesigned in the US version.)

He saved his Knight, Yugi thinks, but that's not all he did.

Weevil attacks with the Great Moth and destroys the weakened Dragon Knight, lowering Yugi's life points to 50. It looks bad, but Joey tells Yugi to keep fighting. Mai says they're all delusional, but Téa says Joey's right. Yugi never gives up, and they never give up on Yugi. Mai says Yugi's lost his best monster combo, and he's down to 50 life points—he can't win, so they might as well stop yapping. Téa tells her to get lost, but Joey tells Téa to just ignore her—Yugi's in trouble. But what can they do? (Japanese Jounouchi says it's all right, there's a way Yugi can win. Anzu asks him what it is, but he says he doesn't know, he only came in eighth in the regionals—don't ask him!) Téa says she wishes they could trade Mai for life points. But Mai says she told them all along Yugi never had a chance of winning. He wastes too much listening to these losers, while Weevil keeps his mind on the game. Tristan asks, then why didn't Weevil see this coming? (Japanese Mai says Yugi-chan never had a chance against Haga. There's no need for him to be ashamed of this duel. Haga was just too strong. Honda retaliates by calling her "Mai-chan," telling her she's wrong.)

Yugi's smiling! The gang all watch in astonishment as Yugi begins to laugh, saying that he'll win because he plays with honor, and that makes all the difference. (Japanese Yugi asks Haga what he enjoys most about dueling. Isn't it when a duel goes exactly as he'd predicted, and he's finally sure victory is his? He says Haga fell right into his trap. Gaia was a ruse all along.) He plays Summoned Skull (Demon Summon) (2500 ATK), telling Weevil that his Moth won't withstand his next attack. Weevil thinks Yugi's losing it. Summoned Skull is strong, but the Great Moth is still stronger. But Yugi points out that his Magical Mist is still dampening the field, and the Great Moth is soaked, while Summoned Skull attacks with electricity. The water boosts Summoned Skull's attack by 1000 points, raising it to 3500. Yugi attacks, and the Great Moth is destroyed, wiping out the rest of Weevil's life points.

The gang cheer Yugi's win, while Mai stands with her mouth open. Impressive, she says. She didn't think Yugi could ever beat Weevil. (Japanese Mai says now she sees how Yugi beat Kaiba.)

Yugi stands over a sniveling Weevil, telling him he won his duels by lying and cheating, but a true champion plays with honor. (Japanese Yugi says, who would have thought that the first one to be sent home would be the all-Japan champion?) He takes Weevil's Star Chips, and Joey relieves him of his dueling glove. (The word "Retire" is written across Haga's "card" in the Japanese version, and his name, "Insector Haga," is written on the top.)

Yugi has three Star Chips now. But he still needs seven more to gain entry into the castle, where his grandfather is being held prisoner, and he'll battle Pegasus once and for all!