Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V - Episode 009

"Judgment of the Stars! Xyz User "Hokuto Shijima" is the ninth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. It first aired in Japan on June 8, 2014.

Summary
Yuzu narrates the events that have occurred before Yuya's Duel against Hokuto Shijima. A Yuya look-alike ambushed Shingo Sawatari and defeated him in a Duel. Because of this, the Leo Duel School chairwoman, Himika Akaba, used Shingo's defeat as an excuse to take over You Show Duel School.

As the Duel starts, Yuya declares that he will not let LDS buy You Show. Himika notes that Yuya is an energetic boy and wonders how long he can keep it up. She urges Hokuto to show his abilities. In a corner of the room, Reiji lingers in a disguise. Hokuto says, "Understood, chairwoman," and goes first. He Normal Summons "Constellar Algiedi". Hokuto activates its effect, Special Summoning a Level 4 "Constellar" monster from his hand. "Algiedi" releases a burst of blue light from its staff as Hokuto Special Summons "Constellar Kaus". Hokuto activates the effect of "Kaus", increasing or decreasing the Level of a "Constellar" monster he controls by 1. "Kaus" forms an arrow in its hand and fires it from its bow into the air. It explodes and particles shower "Algiedi", increasing its Level to 5. Hokuto uses the effect again on "Kaus", making it Level 5. He overlays his two Level 5 monsters for an Xyz Summon. Hokuto chants, "Light of the stars, come descend and shake this very earth!" as he Xyz Summons "Constellar Pleiades" in Attack Position. Yuya mutters, "This is the Xyz..." Tatsuya wonders why "Pleiades" has a Rank instead of a Level. Sora asks if Tatsuya did not know that much. He explains the mechanics of Xyz Summons. Multiple monsters of the same Level can be used to Special Summon an Xyz Monster of an equivalent Rank from the Extra Deck. Ally asks what the lights orbiting around "Pleiades" are. Sora says these are Overlay Units, which can be used to activate that Xyz Monster's effects. Hokuto ends his turn. Himika wonders about Yuya's reaction of seeing Xyz Summons if he truly was the one who attacked Shingo.

Yuya begins his turn. He places "Timegazer Magician" in the left Pendulum Zone and "Stargazer Magician" in the right. Reiji starts to glance at the Duel. Yuya Pendulum Summons "Performapal Sword Fish" and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" in Attack Position. Yuya's friends cheer at the Pendulum Summons, while Himika is intrigued that she witnessed Pendulum Summoning for the first time. Hokuto asks Yuya if he is Xyz Summoning. Yuya insists he was not the one who attacked Shingo; he never Xyz Summoned before. Yuzu thinks that Yuya is fighting for You Show and it would do her no good if she does not believe in him. Hokuto says Yuya will not be much of a challenge regardless and he will lose. Yuya maintains his confidence and thinks he will win. He activates the effect of "Sword Fish", reducing the ATK of "Pleiades" by 600 until the End Phase. Gongenzaka exclaims that "Odd-Eyes" is now the stronger monster. Yuya declares the start of his Battle Phase and hops on to "Odd-Eyes". He attacks "Pleiades", as Hokuto smugly calls the attack within his expectations. He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return a card on the field to its owner's hand. As "Pleiades" absorbs an Overlay Unit into its fist, "Odd-Eyes" is enveloped in orange light and disappears, causing Yuya to fall to the ground. Tatsuya is surprised that "Odd-Eyes" disappeared. Yuya hits the ground and Yuzu screams his name. Yuya gets up and Hokuto says everything he does is within his expectations. From the sidelines, Sora mutters, "As are you". Hokuto asks Yuya what he will do next. Yuya curses and mutters that he cannot beat "Pleiades" with "Sword Fish". He takes "Sword Fish" with one hand and looks around the field. He sees multiple shooting stars from above. One of them hits a nearby building, revealing the location of an Action Card. Hokuto speculates that Yuya is looking for an Action Card and explains that they appear where shooting stars fall. Before Yuya can reach the card, "Pleiades" blocks his path. A frustrated Yuya turns to Hokuto, who chuckles and holds up the card he was after. Yuya asks where Hokuto got the card and the LDS student replies that this field is his specialty. He memorized the timing and locations of every Action Card. Yuya turns and runs to look for another Action Card, which reveals itself to be in another building. Once again, "Pleiades" cuts him off. Hokuto calls Yuya's efforts futile. Gongenzaka says this is bad, since Hokuto knew everything around the field. Yuzu states that Hokuto was not lying about specializing in that field. Himika smirks in satisfaction, while Shuzo yells at Yuya to forgive him while encouraging him to fight with a hot-blooded spirit. Hokuto reminds Yuya that he will be disqualified if he spends another minute without playing a card. If Yuya chooses to continue, he will have to play a card or end his turn. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Yuya Sets a card and ends his turn. The ATK of "Pleiades" returns to 2500.

Himika comments that Yuya must have a bad opponent to face. Hokuto tells Yuya that he won 40 Duels in a row since mastering Xyz Summons. Defeating Yuya will make this his 41st win. Hokuto immediately starts his Battle Phase after drawing. He commands "Pleiades" to destroy "Sword Fish". "Pleiades" brings its sword down on "Sword Fish", destroying it and reducing Yuya to 2100 Life Points, horrifying his friends. Hokuto chides Yuya for not resisting the attack and adds that Shingo must have been lazy to let Yuya ambush him. Once again, Yuya asserts that he did not do it. Hokuto reasserts that he does not care; Yuya will lose anyway and You Show will become part of LDS. Yuya yells that he will not let this happen. Hokuto beckons Yuya to try and stop him. He Sets a card and ends his turn.

Yuya thinks that as long as "Pleiades" is on the field, it will return one of his monsters to his hand regardless of ATK. But it has only one Overlay Unit left. After drawing, Yuya Pendulum Summons "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Performapal Turn Toad". Sora encourages Yuya to be more entertaining, since this is boring. Yuya yells at Sora that this isn't the time for that, causing the young boy to pout. Yuya mutters that he cannot afford to lose before seeing a shooting star reveal the location of another Action Card. He mounts "Odd-Eyes" and goes after the card. Himika calls Yuya a bold Duelist for showing his back against his enemy. As "Odd-Eyes" jumps across a dune and continues forward, Yuzu and Gongenzaka take notice of Yuya's protectiveness of You Show; this may hinder him from winning. Yuzu recalls the masked Duelist's resemblance to Yuya and wonders if they could be one and the same. Back at the Duel, Yuya and "Odd-Eyes" are almost to the card's location, which is on the tip of a roof. Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yuya's hand, causing him to fall out of reach of the card. Gongenzaka realizes that Hokuto timed the activation of the effect to cause Yuya to fall. As Yuya slips from the roof, his friends scream his name. Yuya quickly activates his Set "Performapal Revival", as a monster he controlled left the field, letting him Special Summon a "Performapal" monster from his Graveyard. He Special Summons "Sword Fish", grabs its hilt and drives it into the roof's edge, saving himself from falling. From the ground, Hokuto praises Yuya for the save, but Ally angrily criticizes him for the danger he put Yuya in, while Tatsuya calls him out for doing anything to win; Futoshi calls this a dirty tactic. Yuya swings to the top of the roof and Hokuto calls him persistent. Yuya manages to take the card, but Hokuto activates the Action Card, "Cosmo Arrow". This destroys the Action Card Yuya picked up, since he added it to his hand outside of drawing. Hokuto calls this too bad, since his opponent just got the card. Out of options, Yuya ends his turn, knowing that "Pleiades" is out of Overlay Units.

Hokuto takes the next turn and draws "Constellar Sombre". He subsequently Summons it and activates its effect, banishing a "Constellar" monster from his Graveyard to add another "Constellar" to his hand. "Algiedi" rises from a Graveyard portal and vanishes, while "Kaus" rises from it as Hokuto adds its card to his hand. Hokuto continues that if he activated this effect this turn, he can Normal Summon another "Constellar" monster. He Summons "Kaus". Yuya realizes that with two monsters of the same Level, Hokuto is ready for another Xyz Summon. Hokuto interrupts with "not yet!" and activates the effect of "Kaus" twice to increase its Level and the Level of "Sombre" by 1. Yuya understands what's coming and Hokuto overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon another copy of "Constellar Pleiades" in Attack Position. Yuya confirms his suspicions as Hokuto says he figured out his opponent's plan of depleting the Overlay Units of "Pleiades", all within his expectations. Sora mutters that Hokuto's plan is also within his expectations. Hokuto says the requirements are met as he takes a card from his Extra Deck. He explains that the card he is about to Summon can be Summoned by using "Pleiades" as an Overlay Unit. Yuya exclaims, "Another Xyz?!". Hokuto uses the "Pleiades" without Overlay Units to Xyz Summon "Constellar Ptolemy M7". As Yuya looks on in determination, Himika notes that You Show receiving his gift of Pendulum Summoning is a coincidence. No matter what, joining with LDS is within their interests.

A shooting star reveals another Action Card and Yuya rides on "Turn Toad" in an attempt to reach it. Hokuto calls Yuya stubborn; when will he ever learn? He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Turn Toad" to Yuya's hand. This causes Yuya to fall into an abyss between two floating stones, but he manages to grab hold of a stone just in time. He hoists himself up and continues for the card. Hokuto starts his Battle Phase, attacking "Sword Fish" with "Pleiades". The sword of "Pleiades" glows purple and extends, allowing it to not only destroy "Sword Fish", but to also cleave away the pillars supporting the building the card is in. Yuzu and the other You Show students scream Yuya's name as debris rains down on him. Yuya steels himself and remembers his father's words of gathering courage and pressing on. He yells, "press forward!" and runs in. The building collapses entirely, as Hokuto is satisfied that Yuya did not appear to make it outside. To his surprise, Yuya survived, as he holds up the card he got triumphantly. Yuzu and Gongenzaka are relieved that Yuya made it out. Hokuto calls Yuya's feat impossible; he should have fled while the building collapsed. Yuya tells him that if he did what he should have done, the Duel would not be exciting. Yuzu says this is typical of Yuya. Gongenzaka calls his feat a burning one, while the young students call it cool. Hokuto says that even though Yuya got the Action Card, he will still lose. He attacks directly with "Ptolemy M7". As "Ptolemy M7" prepares its attack, its wings glow gold, but Yuya activates the Action Card he picked up, "Twinkle Comet". It reduces an opponent's monster's ATK by 1000 and inflicts 500 damage to the opponent. A meteor strikes "Ptolemy M7" on the chest, reducing its ATK to 1700. The attack continues, with Yuya being blown back and reduced to 400 Life Points. Hokuto curses Yuya for damaging him for the first time out of his 40 consecutive Duels. Sora calls Hokuto's attitude within his expectations as well. In a rage, Hokuto activates the Continuous Spell Card, "Constellar Tempest". Since he controls two Xyz Monsters, Hokuto can halve Yuya's Life Points during the End Phase. Hokuto laughs maniacally and yells "Crush him!" Meteors rain down from the sky, all aimed at Yuya. Yuya frantically dodges them, but a meteor's explosion strikes Yuya from behind, bringing him down to 200 Life Points. The ATK of "Ptolemy M7" returns to 2700. Still in a maniacal state, Hokuto says he will take down Yuya in the next turn, no matter what. Futoshi and Ally criticize Hokuto for his actions, but the LDS Duelist snaps at them to shut up. To him, a Duel is a fight; in order to win, one cannot be picky about their tactics. Yuya yells at Hokuto that he is wrong; he does not want anyone to get hurt. Yuzu remembers the masked Duelist telling her the same thing, increasing her suspicion of him being Yuya.

With newfound confidence, Yuya yells "Ladies and gentlemen!" and draws "Performapal Trampolynx". He Summons it and activates its effect to return a card he controls to his hand. He returns "Stargazer Magician". Tatsuya and Futoshi wonder why he pulled off that move, since this will disable Pendulum Summoning. He replaces the empty Pendulum Zone with "Turn Toad", to the surprise of everyone watching. Yuya tells them to watch closely as he sets the Pendulum Scales. Using the new Scales, he Pendulum Summons "Stargazer Magician". Reiji wonders why Yuya would use it as a monster instead of a gate for Pendulum Summons. Yuya continues his act, Pendulum Summoning "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Hokuto immediately activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yuya's hand, adding that showtime is over. Yuya corrects him; the main event always goes on. He activates the effect of "Stargazer Magician", as a Pendulum Monster left his field; Yuya can Special Summon that monster. "Stargazer" glows with a blue aura and positions its staff in front of it. Yuya Special Summons "Odd-Eyes" back to the field. Futoshi exclaims that "Odd-Eyes" can defeat "Pleiades" with its double damage effect, but Sora reminds him that Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels. He further explains that the effect does not double the ATK of "Odd-Eyes" when it attacks, only the battle damage it deals when battling Level 5 or higher monsters. Ally asks if Yuya can't win, but Sora reminds her that Yuya said it himself: the fun has just started. Yuya announces his climax and activates the Pendulum effect of "Turn Toad", swapping the ATK and DEF of a Pendulum Monster he controls. "Turn Toad" leaps up and releases several stars, switching the ATK and DEF of "Stargazer Magician". Yuya follows up with "Magical Star Illusion", since he controls "Stargazer Magician". It increases the ATK of all monsters each player controls by the total Levels they control x100. Tatsuya adds up the Levels of Yuya's monsters: "Odd-Eyes" is Level 7, "Stargazer" is Level 5 and "Trampolynx" is Level 2, totalling to 14. Gongenzaka notes that Yuya's monsters gain 1400 ATK as a result. Futoshi asks if Hokuto's monsters gained ATK too, but a slightly annoyed Sora starts to remind him this is not the case. Before he can continue, Tatsuya says he understands; Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels. Ally finishes his sentence; the ATK of Hokuto's monsters stays the same. Hokuto exclaims, "What did you say?!", tears streaming from his eyes in disbelief.

Yuya hops on to "Odd-Eyes" and commands it to attack "Ptolemy M7" with "Strike Burst of Spirals". This reduces Hokuto to 2300 Life Points. He commands "Stargazer Magician" to attack "Pleiades" with "Horoscope Cutter". "Stargazer" forms a constellation with its staff, then sends it forward. It shatters "Pleiades" into many pieces, bringing Hokuto to 1000 Life Points. Yuya finishes the Duel by attacking directly with "Trampolynx". As "Trampolynx" makes a move towards Hokuto, he mutters, "My 41st win..." "Trampolynx" pounces backward on Hokuto, catching him by folding its trampoline back on him. It unfolds itself, causing Hokuto to spring up and hit the ceiling. His Life Points fall to 0. Yuya and his friends cheer over the victory. Shuzo cries tears of joy and calls the Duel hot-blooded. Himika smiles behind her fan, while Reiji looks on, unnoticed. Yuya's friends continue to cheer for him. Yuzu remembers what Yuya said to Hokuto; he did not want anyone to get hurt. Then she remembers what the masked Duelist said to her: he did not want Yuzu to get hurt.

Featured Duel: Yuya Sakaki vs. Hokuto Shijima
Duel continues from the previous episode.

Turn 1: Hokuto

Hokuto Normal Summons "Constellar Algiedi" (1600/1400). Its effect activates, letting him Special Summon a Level 4 "Constellar" monster from his hand. He Special Summons "Constellar Kaus" (1800/700) in Attack Position. He activates the effect of "Kaus", allowing him to either decrease or increase the Level of a "Constellar" monster he controls by 1 up to twice per turn. He increases the Levels of both "Algiedi" and "Kaus" by 1, to 5 each. Hokuto overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon "Constellar Pleiades" (2500/1500) in Attack Position.

Turn 2: Yuya

Yuya places "Timegazer Magician" in the left Pendulum Zone (Pendulum Scale: 8) and "Stargazer Magician" in the right Pendulum Zone (Pendulum Scale: 1). Yuya Pendulum Summons "Performapal Sword Fish" (600/600) and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (2500/2000) from his hand in Attack Position. He activates the effect of "Sword Fish", decreasing the ATK of an opponent's monster by 600 ("Pleiades" 2500 → 1900) until the End Phase. "Odd-Eyes" attacks "Pleiades", but Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return a card on the field to its owner's hand during either player's turn. "Odd-Eyes" is returned to Yuya's hand. Yuya attempts to get an Action Card, but Hokuto intercepts him. He attempts to get another, but is blocked by "Pleiades". Yuya Sets a card.

Turn 3: Hokuto

"Pleiades" attacks and destroys "Sword Fish" (Yuya 4000 → 2100). Hokuto Sets a card.

Turn 4: Yuya

Yuya Pendulum Summons "Performapal Turn Toad" (0/800) in Defense Position and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (2500/2000) in Attack Position. Yuya attempts to get an Action Card, but Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yuya's hand, thus putting Yuya out of reach of the card. As a monster he controls left the field via a card effect, Yuya activates his face-down "Performapal Revival", letting him Special Summon a "Performapal" monster from his Graveyard. He Special Summons "Sword Fish" (600/600) in Defense Position. Yuya finds an Action Card, but Hokuto activates the Action Card "Cosmo Arrow" as Yuya added a Spell Card to his hand without drawing it, destroying the card.

Turn 5: Hokuto

Hokuto's hand contains "Constellar Tempest", "Constellar Star Cradle" and "Constellar Virgo". Hokuto draws and Normal Summons "Constellar Sombre" (1550/1600). He activates its effect, banishing a "Constellar" monster from his Graveyard to return another "Constellar" monster from his Graveyard to his hand. He banishes "Algiedi" and returns "Kaus". The effect of "Sombre" also lets Hokuto Normal Summon another "Constellar" monster this turn if this effect was activated, so he Normal Summons "Kaus" (1800/1700). He activates the effect of "Kaus" twice, increasing the Levels of both his monsters by 1 to 5. He overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon another copy of "Constellar Pleiades" (2500/1500) in Attack Position. Hokuto overlays the "Pleiades" with no Overlay Units to Special Summon "Constellar Ptolemy M7" (2700/2000) from his Extra Deck in Attack Position via its own effect, attaching "Pleiades" as an Overlay Unit. He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Turn Toad" to Yuya's hand. "Pleiades" attacks and destroys "Sword Fish". "Ptolemy M7" attacks directly, but Yuya finds and activates the Action Card "Twinkle Comet", reducing the ATK of "Ptolemy M7" by 1000 (2700 → 1700) and inflicting 500 damage to Hokuto (Hokuto 4000 → 3500). The attack continues (Yuya 2100 → 400). As he controls two "Constellar" Xyz Monsters, Hokuto activates the Continuous Spell Card "Constellar Tempest", halving Yuya's Life Points (Yuya 400 → 200) at the End Phase.

Turn 6: Yuya

Yuya Normal Summons "Performapal Trampolynx" (300/300). He activates its effect, returning a card he controls to his hand. He returns "Stargazer Magician". He then places "Performapal Turn Toad" in the right Pendulum Zone (Pendulum Scale: 3). He Pendulum Summons "Stargazer Magician" (1200/2400) and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (2500/2000) in Attack Position. Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yuya's hand. As a Pendulum Monster he controls has left the field, Yuya activates the effect of "Stargazer Magician", letting him Special Summon that monster. He Special Summon "Odd-Eyes" (2500/2000). Yuya then activates the Pendulum Effect of "Turn Toad", swapping the ATK and DEF of a Pendulum Monster he controls ("Stargazer Magician" 1200/2400 → 2400/1200). As he controls a "Stargazer Magician", Yuya activates "Magical Star Illusion", increasing the ATK of both players' monsters by the combined Levels of the monsters they control times 100 until the end of the turn. The combined Level of Yuya's monsters is 14 ("Odd-Eyes" 2500 → 3900, "Stargazer Magician" 2400 → 3800, "Trampolynx" 300 → 1700). Since Hokuto only controls Xyz Monsters and they do not have Levels, his monsters are unaffected. "Odd-Eyes" attacks and destroys "Ptolemy M7" (Hokuto 3500 → 2300). "Stargazer Magician" attacks and destroys "Pleiades" (Hokuto 2300 → 1000). "Trampolynx" attacks directly (Hokuto 1000 → 0).

Featured cards
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.