Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 222

Major Events

 * Kaiba wants to leave the Duel because he feels the outcome can be too easily predicted, but Yugi urges him to stay: He has a plan!


 * Yugi is still feeling uncertain about the responsibility of this Duel, but a major pep-talk from the Pharaoh gives him the moral boost he needs.


 * Thanks to "Magnet Force" and the help of his 3 Magnet Warriors, Yugi devises a plan to get rid of the 3 Egyptian God Cards Yami Yugi has in play!

=Summary= (NOTE: for steps in the Yami Yugi and Yugi Muto Duel please see the Featured Duel section below)

A Pep-Talk for Destiny

 * During the Duel, after Yami Summons "The Winged Dragon of Ra" and plays "Pot of Greed", there is a small pause. Their friends comment on what just happened.
 * Seto Kaiba: "This isn't exactly brain surgery here folks: it's pretty obvious that only ONE of the two Yugi twins inherited the dueling skills so why even watch? Looks his little secret is out: Yugi can't duel his way out of a paper bag, so he got his look-a-like to duel for him." (starts leaving)
 * Joey Wheeler: "Get back here rich boy! This duel ain't over till it's over!"
 * Téa Gardner: "(...) Yeah how about showing a little respect?"
 * Seto Kaiba: "Do you losers honestly believe Yugi can still win?? (...) Then answer me this: what possible combination of cards would YOU use to defeat all three Egyptian Gods? (...) I rest my case. You're as clueless as Yugi is."
 * Joey Wheeler: "Ugh, look pal, I may not have the answer, but there is one. Come on Marik, you're the expert here: what's their weakness?"
 * Marik Ishtar: "Well INDIVIDUALLY they have drawbacks, but when all three are together, they're practically indestructible!"
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "Only FATE can decide the outcome of this ritual. If Yugi is unable to defeat his alter-ego, then the two are not yet meant to separate from one another. If this occurs, the Pharaoh will be trapped here for another 5,000 years."
 * Seto Kaiba: "(...) Come on Mokuba." (starts leaving again) "Hey Pharaoh, if you end up having to stick around for a few more years there IS a bright side: the two of us can finally have that rematch. And by the looks of this Duel, you're not going anywhere."
 * Yami Yugi: "That remains to be seen."


 * Yugi Muto: "Kaiba WAIT! What's the rush? (...) You OWE it to the Pharaoh to stay. You have a bond that goes back thousands of years and you should be here to say goodbye to him when he loses. (...) [I'm] More serious than I've ever been in my life. Those Egyptian Gods may be strong, but they're not undefeatable! And I'm gonna take them down ONE by ONE!"
 * Seto Kaiba: "(...) Come on! You mean to tell you actually have a strategy in mind for defeating all three Egyptian God cards. (...) Fine, then THIS I gotta see. And when you fail miserably, I'll step in and show you what REAL dueling is all about."
 * Yugi Muto: (thinking) "''(...) It won't be easy, but I need to defeat all three Egyptian God cards. It's the only way for me to pass this test and free the Pharaoh by proving I'm ready to be on my own. Ever since our spirits joined together I've always let the Pharaoh take the lead during our duels, but every obstacle we faced together pushed me to try harder, and I always knew that some day I'd be good enough to walk by his side. I just hope that day is today.
 * Yami Yugi: "Yugi, I can see the uncertainty in your eyes and if you expect to win this duel you must first overcome your self-doubt. I believe THAT's why fate brought us together, so that you could learn to trust in yourself and be the duelist that you truly are inside, and so that I could learn from YOU. (...) I wouldn't be who I am without YOU, and I thought about everything that you taught me when I was building my deck."
 * Yugi Muto: "That's exactly what I did when I built mine! You taught me about bravery, and about having self-confidence even when all hope seems lost. And I thought about that with every card that I picked."
 * Yami Yugi: "And you taught me about friendship, and having compassion for others. In Duelist Kingdom you showed me there are some things more important than winning, like the safety of a friend. Each of us has given the other a gift."
 * Yugi Muto: "(...) Wow. So even though our minds have separated each of us has maintained the other one's strengths. And those strengths are represented in our Decks. So we're pretty evenly matched."
 * Yami Yugi: "That's right!"
 * Yugi Muto: (thinking) "That was just the kind of pep-talk I needed. I have to admit part of me was worried that the sides of this duel were uneven, but now I realized that even though the Pharaoh has ALL THREE Egyptian God cards, I have everything I need to STOP them. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"


 * The Duel resumes.

Ishizu's Prediction

 * During the Duel, Yugi has just activated "Mirage Ruler". Ishizu makes a prediction on the next turn.
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "I feel as if Yugi is going to turn things around in his next move."
 * Marik Ishtar: "Huh? Have you seen the future?"
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "I haven't had a vision of the future in years. Let's just call this a strong hunch."
 * Marik Ishtar: "So you think Yugi has a chance against the Egyptian Gods?"
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "I'm not sure, but something just occured to me that perhaps I hadn't thought about before. Maybe fate chose Yugi as the vessel of the Pharaoh's spirit not because he needed the Pharaoh's help, but because Yugi himself is the modern-day version of the Pharaoh equal in every way. The two were brought together because they represent opposite sides of the same soul!"
 * Marik Ishtar: "Yes, but they're so..."
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "What? They're so different from one another because Yugi is shy and the Pharaoh's assertive and confident? Well the truth is, they each had a quality that the other needed so they learnt from each other."
 * Marik Ishtar: "Hold on. Are you saying they're complete now?"
 * Ishizu Ishtar: "We'll soon find out. If their journey is truly over, then fate will allow Yugi to defeat all 3 Egyptian God Cards and win the Duel."


 * The Duel resumes.

=Featured Duel: Pharaoh Atem VS. Yugi Muto - Part 2=

Duel continues from previous episode.

Turn 7: Pharaoh Atem


 * Yami Yugi has just managed to summon all 3 Egyptian God Cards to the field, the last one being "The Winged Dragon of Ra".


 * Activates "Pot of Greed" to draw 2 cards.


 * "Slifer the Sky Dragon": 2000 > 1000 > 3000 ATK / 2000 > 1000 > 3000 DEF).

(Insert dialogue from A Pep-Talk For Destiny Summary Section Above)

Turn 8: Yugi Muto


 * "Silent Swordsman LV3's" effect activates: Its LV increases by 1 and it gains 500 ATK ("Silent Swordsman LV3" > "Silent Swordsman LV4": 2500 > 3000 ATK / 1000 DEF).


 * Tributes "Alpha The Magnet Warrior", "Beta The Magnet Warrior" and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" from his hand to Special Summon "Valkyrion the Magna Warrior" (3500 ATK / 3850 DEF) in Attack Position.


 * The effect of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" activates: It reduces "Valkyrion's" ATK by 2000.


 * Yugi activates "Mirage Spell": It negates "Slifer's" effect and increases Yugi's Life Points by the same ATK amount "Valkyrion" would have lost, i.e. 2000 (Yugi: 1400 > 3400 Life Points).


 * Sets 2 cards.

Turn 9: Pharaoh Atem


 * Yami Yugi draws and since he now holds 4 cards in his hand, "Slifer's" ATK/DEF is 4000 ("Slifer the Sky Dragon": 3000 > 4000 ATK / 3000 > 4000 DEF).


 * Uses "Slifer the Sky Dragon" to attack & destroy "Silent Swordsman LV4" (Yugi: 3400 > 2400 Life Points).


 * Uses "The Winged Dragon of Ra" to attack & destroy "Valkyrion the Magna Warrior" (Yugi: 2400 > 900 Life Points).


 * Uses "Obelisk the Tormentor" to attack Yugi directly.


 * Yugi activates "Mirage Ruler": All of his monsters that was destroyed this turn are Special Summoned back to the field and all Battle Damage dealt to him is added back to his Life Points, all at the mere cost of 1000 Life Points (Yugi: 900 > 3400 > 2400 Life Points).


 * Since the number of monsters on Yugi's side of the field changed, a replay is triggered. Yami Yugi decides not to attack with "Obelisk the Tormentor".

(Insert dialogue from Ishizu's Prediction Summary section above)

Turn 10: Yugi Muto


 * "Silent Swordsman LV4's" effect activates: Its LV increases by 1 and it gains 500 ATK ("Silent Swordsman LV4" > "Silent Swordsman LV5": 3000 > 3500 ATK / 1000 DEF).


 * Tributes "Valkyrion the Magna Warrior" to Special Summon "Alpha The Magnet Warrior" (1400 ATK / 1700 DEF), "Beta The Magnet Warrior" (1700 ATK / 1600 DEF) and "Gamma The Magnet Warrior" (1500 ATK / 1800 DEF) from his Graveyard back to the field.


 * The effect of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" activates: It reduces the ATK of each monster Yugi just summoned by 2000.


 * Yugi activates "Magnet Force": It redirects "Slifer's" effect back to Yami's 3 Egyptian God Cards ("Obelisk the Tormentor": 2500 > 500 ATK / 4000 DEF) ("Slifer the Sky Dragon": 4000 > 2000 ATK / 4000 DEF) ("The Winged Dragon of Ra": 5000 > 3000 ATK / 4000 DEF).


 * Yugi uses "Silent Swordsman LV5" to attack "Obelisk the Tormentor".


 * Yami Yugi activates "Mirror Force", destroying all of Yugi's monsters.

Duel continues next episode.

=Inconsistencies with Previous Episodes= In this episode:
 * The ATK of "Obelisk the Tormentor" remains 2500 from "Ground Erosion". In previous episodes, it has been shown that this effect would have worn off at the end of that turn.


 * Yugi states that his target isn't "Obelisk the Tormentor", rather the "field underneath him", possibly referring to the Monster Card Zone, which could imply that cards that don't directly target Egyptian God Cards can still work.


 * The effect of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" should not have been manipulated as it was, since it is unaffected by Trap Cards as is clearly stated. However, "Slifer the Sky Dragon" wasn't the direct target of "Magnet Force", which could imply that Trap Cards that indirectly target a monster may work.


 * The effect of "Slifer the Sky Dragon" decreases "The Winged Dragon of Ra", while previous episodes show that it would be unaffected by the effect, but this is probably because Ra was in its Phoenix Mode when this effect was used. (Ra's ATK points was originally 0 so it can't be reduced to 0 and be destroyed.)