Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL - Episode 004

"Turnaround Countdown! The Counter-Measure is Astral!?" is the fourth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL anime.

Summary
Professor Ukyo Sets a card and ends his turn. "Gogogo Golem" then returns to Yuma's side of the field. Yuma is surprised because he didn't expect Ukyo to use his monsters. At that moment, a warning is heard alerting them that in twenty minutes the virus bomb will be released. Astral begins his turn and Yuma reminds him again that it's his turn. Todoroki comments that Yuma has been talking to himself the whole time and asks Kotori if he's okay. Kotori tells him that he's fine and that it's just his "Bring it to 'em" mode.

Yuma begins his turn and draws a card. Astral tells Yuma to Summon "Ganbara Knight" but Yuma warns Astral not to butt into his problem. However, Astral reminds him that a "Numbers" monster is riding on the Duel and that, if they don't get it, Astral will be obliterated. Yuma just says he doesn't give a care about him. Then, Astral says Yuma isn't strong enough to win on his own, which makes Yuma extremely angry at Astral. Yuma says he'll no longer do a single thing Astral tells him to. Astral doesn't understand exactly what Yuma means by not doing anything he tells him and Yuma explains that, if Astral tells him to move his right hand, he'll just move his left hand. After that, since Astral chose "Ganbara Knight", Yuma Normal Summons "Achacha Archer", which leaves Astral baffled. Through its effect, Ukyo takes 500 points of damage. Yuma is happy since he delivered damage but Astral says that doing that came with a huge price. Astral explains that, if Yuma had Summoned "Ganbara Knight", he would have had two Level 4 monsters and, therefore, could have done an Exceed Summon to bring out "No. 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope". Yuma realises he messed up but tries to cover it up by saying he already knew that. Ukyo activates his Trap Card, "Damage Vaccine Omega MAX", recovering the damage he took. Ukyo then says he yearns for a perfect victory and won't let Yuma injure even a speck of his Life Points.

Todoroki starts to panic, saying that even if he was used, he was still the one who launched the virus bomb and that, to summarize, he'll be blamed as the culprit. Kotori looks at the clock, showing seventeen minutes and thirty seconds left and says they're running out of time. Akari continues to search for the switch for the virus bomb in the labyrinth and swears she'll stop the bomb. Back at the Duel, Yuma ends his turn. Ukyo begins his turn and activates the effect of "No. 34 Electronic Computer-Beast Tera Byte", sending an Overlay Unit to the Graveyard to gain control of "Gogogo Golem". Astral says that, if Yuma had Summoned Hope, Ukyo would have nothing to steal because "Tera Byte" can only control monsters with Levels and Exceed Monsters don't have levels, but ranks. Astral then tells Yuma his Duel is defective and that he would be better off just obeying him, to which Yuma just tells him to shut up. Yuma says, although he'll take damage, in his next turn, "Gogogo Golem" will return to his field and he can then Summon Hope. Ukyo just laughs and says he's not a foolish Duelist who uses the exact same strategy he used the previous turn. Ukyo activates two Continuous Spell Cards, "Virus Mail" and "Cracking". Kotori asks Todoroki what exactly are Continuous Spells and he says that, unlike Normal Spell Cards, Continuous Spells, as long as they remain on the field, will always have their effects active. Ukyo explains that, through "Virus Mail", he can choose a Level four or lower monster and attack the opponent directly with it but, after that, the monster is destroyed. Ukyo attacks Yuma with "Gogogo Golem" through "Virus Mail". After the battle, "Gogogo Golem" is destroyed and Ukyo activates the effect of "Cracking", inflicting an extra 800 points of damage to Yuma. Ukyo calls this technique the "Tera Byte" combo and Yuma comments that that combo is going to give him some problems.

Yuma sees Astral fading a bit and Astral explains that, when his Life Points are depleted, so will his own life. Yuma remembers the time when Astral warned Yuma that, if he loses, he'll lose something of great value. Kotori wonders what's wrong with Yuma since he seems a bit down and Todoroki praises him to cheer him up, calling him an inrecognized genius and telling him that, if he unlocks the dormant talent within him, he'll definitely win. Yuma is pleased at hearing this and says he'll do his best. Astral says his Observation nº 6: "Humans work their hardest when they are praised." and tries to do it himself. Astral talks about Yuma's "eternal combo of recovery", the way he jumps over boxes, drowns in the pool and how he changes his character at whim; and that, summarizing it, he's quite intriguing. However, Yuma doesn't like hearing this and angrily asks Astral if he's looking for a fight. At that moment, the room they are in starts to shake and moving upwards. Akari finds the final door where the switch is and finds out that, to stop the virus bomb, she needs to defeat a Bugman avatar inside. Akari accepts this challenge and sends her own avatar to a karate fight.

Back in the tower, Ukyo says that the place they're in will be the front row seats to watch the virus bomb's success. Ukyo Sets a card and ends his turn. Astral thinks to himself that Yuma is bound to lose to him but that he must win at all costs. Astral then recalls what Yuma said about not doing anything he'll say and sees it as an approach. Yuma begins his turn and draws "Goblindbergh". Yuma Summons it and, with its effect, he's allowed to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from his hand. Astral tells Yuma to Summon "Zubaba Knight" but Yuma refuses and Summons "Ganbara Knight" instead. Realising he has two Level 4 monsters on the field, Yuma overlays "Ganbara Knight" and "Goblindbergh" and Exceed Summons "No. 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope". Astral tells Yuma not to set the Trap Card in his hand, but as Astral predicted, Yuma does so anyway and ends his turn. Akari has just left the Bugman avatar with 50 Life Points whereas Akari has 1000 left. She thinks the battle is won but Bugman can still rise.

Ukyo begins his turn and draws a card. He activates the effect of "Tera Byte" again, gaining control of "Achacha Archer". Then, through the effect of "Virus Mail", he can use "Achacha Archer" to attack Yuma directly. Yuma panics, thinking there's nothing he can do, but Astral reminds Yuma that "Hope" has a great effect of his own. Yuma activates the effect and sends the overlaid "Ganbara Knight" to the Graveyard to negate an attack. Astral explains that Yuma is safe because, since "Achacha Archer" didn't attack directly, he isn't destroyed and, therefore, "Cracking" won't activate. Also, Astral points out to Yuma that Ukyo has used up all of the Exceed Material Monsters that "Tera Byte" had, so its effect can no longer be activated. Ukyo comments that he thought Yuma was just dumb but apparently isn't and Todoroki also says that Yuma seems much smarter than usual. Kotori wonders if it's because of the Dueling Spirit Yuma sees. Ukyo tells Yuma not to think he didn't read through that strategy. He also adds that the conditions for his perfect victory have been set. Ukyo activates the Trap Card, "Bug Switch", switching a monster from Defense Position to Attack Position and, since "Bugman X", "Bugman Y" and "Bugman Z" are in the Graveyard, he can Special Summon "Super Bugman" in Defense Position. Yuma is relieved because he thought it would be in attack. However, through the effect of "Super Bugman"', all Attack Position monsters have their ATK and DEF swapped as long as "Super Bugman" remains on the field. Ukyo attacks "Hope" with "Tera Byte" and Astral tells Yuma to dodge that attack. Yuma sends the last Overlay Unit of "Hope" to the Graveyard to negate that attack. Ukyo Sets a card and ends his turn. "Achacha Archer" returns to Yuma's side of the field.

Yuma draws a card and says that, if he doesn't defeat Ukyo this turn, "Hope" will be dead. Astral gives advice, saying that, he may be wrong, but using "Zubaba Knight" and "Achacha Archer" to Exceed Summon "No. 17 Leviath Dragon" could be a good idea. Yuma Summons "Zubaba Knight" and overlays "Achacha Archer" and "Zubaba Knight" to Exceed Summon "No. 17 Leviath Dragon". Yuma puts the blame of his zero ATK "Leviath Dragon" on Astral, saying that only happened because he butted in. Yuma then remembers that Astral would never tell him to do something stupid and realises that he lied so that Yuma could bring "Hope" to the field. Astral tells Yuma to activate the Spell Card "Thunder Shot" and that, if he does, his victory is set. He adds that, this time, it's not a lie and that, if he doesn't activate "Thunder Shot", Astral will be obliterated from this world. Yuma activates "Thunder Shot" and, through its effect, inflicts 500 points of damage for each monster his opponent controls. Ukyo activates a second "Damage Vaccine Omega MAX", recovering the Life Points he lost. Yuma thinks that the Spell Card was just pointless but Astral tells him to use the Trap Card he had set before. Yuma activates "Unprepared Danger", destroying "Super Bugman". The ATK of all monsters returns to normal. "Leviath Dragon" destroys the 0 ATK "Tera Byte", while "Hope" attacks directly, defeating Ukyo.

Yuma, Kotori and Todoroki celebrate the victory, but Yuma still asks Astral how come he knew that Ukyo was going to recover his Life Points. Astral says that, since he was seeking a perfect victory, he decided to bet he would try to recover the damage from "Thunder Shot". Astral takes "No. 34 Electronic Computer-Beast Tera Byte" from Ukyo, recovering another piece of his memory. With this memory, Astral sees a galaxy with blue and pink colors and remembers that he came to this world from the Astral World. Kotori wakes up Professor Ukyo and Yuma tells him to hurry up and stop the virus bomb but Ukyo says he can't because he doesn't have the deactivation switch. Meanwhile, Akari has finally managed to defeat the Bugman avatar with only ten seconds left but, even so, the timer didn't stop and reaches zero. However, instead of the state of mass panic Yuma and his friends were expecting, the only thing that happens is that a building with its lights off goes on. With this, Ukyo tells his students to look at the sky with the D-Gazers on. They do so and see in the sky the image of a giant "Bugman".

Ukyo explains that the night view in the city makes the matrix code of that image, responding with the D-Gazers and materializing the Bugman's picture. However, the code was incomplete because of the lights off in the building. Yuma asks Ukyo if all that perfection talk was just about putting light on a building and Ukyo says it was, leaving his students completely baffled. After that, Todoroki gives Yuma his Bugman" card and tells him to read its text. While he does so, many other kids see Bugman throwing bombs which create fireworks: "Bugman, an electrical fairy that lives off of the other bugs. It becomes extremely powerful because it lives off its bug friends. It's said that those who witness its full moon-like appearance may forever live in happiness.". Todoroki says that, to summarize, their teacher just wanted everyone to live forever in happiness. Astral says his Observation nº 7: "My memory pieces, the Numbers cards... They grow the desire and darkness that dwells inside those they come into contact with."

Featured Duel: Yuma Tsukumo vs. Professor Ukyo
Duel continues from the previous episode

Professor Ukyo's turn Sets a card. At the End Phase, "Gogogo Golem" returns to Yuma's side of the field.

Yuma's turn Yuma Normal Summons "Achacha Archer" (1200/600) in Attack Position. Its effect activates, inflicting 500 damage to Ukyo (Ukyo 4000 → 3500). Ukyo activates his face-down "Damage Vaccine Omega MAX", gaining Life Points equal to the damage he just took (Ukyo 3500 → 4000).

'''Professor Ukyo's turn

Ukyo activates the effect of "No. 34 Electronic Computer-Beast Tera Byte", sending one of its Overlay Units to the Graveyard to take control of "Gogogo Golem" until the End Phase. Ukyo activates two Continuous Spell Cards - "Virus Mail" and "Cracking. "Virus Mail" lets him select a Level 4 or lower monster he controls each turn. That monster can attack directly, but will be destroyed at end of the Battle Phase. "Cracking" will inflict 800 damage to the owner of a monster when that monster is sent to the Graveyard via a card effect. Ukyo selects "Gogogo Golem" with "Virus Mail", letting it attack Yuma directly (Yuma 3200 → 1400). It is destroyed, and "Cracking" inflicts 800 damage to Yuma (Yuma 1400 → 600). Ukyo Sets a card.

Yuma's turn

Yuma Normal Summons "Goblindbergh" (1400/0) in Attack Position. Its effect activate, so Yuma can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from his hand. He chooses "Ganbara Knight" (0/1800) in Attack Position. Yuma overlays his two monsters to Exceed Summon "No. 39 Aspiring Emperor Hope" (2500/2000) in Attack Position. He Sets a card.

Professor Ukyo's turn

Ukyo activates the effect of "Tera Byte" sending the final Overlay Unit to the Graveyard to take control of "Achaacha Archer". Ukyo uses the effect of "Virus Mail" to let "Achaacha Archer" attack directly, but Yuma activates the effect of "Hope" sending the overlaid "Ganbara Knight" to the Graveyard to negate the attack. Ukyo activates his face-down "Bug Switch". As he has "Bugman X", "Bugman Y" and "Bugman Z" in his Graveyard, he may switch "Tera Byte" to Attack Position to Special Summon "Super Bugman" (0/3000) in Defense Position. As long as it remains face-up the ATK and DEF of all face-up Attack Position monsters are switched ("Tera Byte" 0/2900 → 2900/0, "Hope" 2500/2000 → 2000/2500, "Achacha" 1200/600 → 600/1200). Ukyo attacks "Hope" with "Tera Byte", but Yuma activates the effect of "Hope" sending the overlaid "Goblindbergh" to the Graveyard to negate the attack. Ukyo Sets a card. During the End Phase, "Achaacha Archer" returns to Yuma's side of the field.

Yuma's turn

Yuma Normal Summons "Zubaba Knight" (1600/900 → 900/1600) in Attack Position. He overlays "Zubaba Knight" with "Achachca Archer" to Exceed Summon "No. 17 Leviath Dragon" (2000/0 → 0/2000) in Attack Position. Yuma's hand contains "Double Up Chance" and "Thunder Short". Yuma activates "Thunder Short", inflicting 500 damage to Ukyo for each monster he controls (Ukyo 4000 → 3000). Ukyo activates his face-down "Damage Vaccine Omega MAX", regaining Life Points equal to the damage he just took (Ukyo 3000 → 4000). Yuma activates his face-down "Unprepared Danger", destroying "Super Bugman" since Ukyo gained Life Points. The ATK and DEF of all Attack Position monsters return to their original values("Tera Byte" 2900/0 → 0/2900, "Hope" 2000/2500 → 2500/2000, "Leviath Dragon" 0/2000 → 2000/0). "Leviath Dragon" attacks and destroys "Tera Byte" (Ukyo 4000 → 2000) and "Hope" attacks directly (Ukyo 2000 → 0).

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