Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters - Episode 008

Episode Summary
The episode begins with Tea exclaiming how incredible the new area is: a gigantic tropical forest full of fruit-bearing trees. Solomon has also spotted something incredible: Joey eating twice his weight in tropical fruit. Yugi remarks that the blonde is a self-proclaimed food freak, and Tristan notes that as long as he's eating he can't talk, but Joey protests that even though he's eating he can still hear. As he bites into another banana, however, it transforms into the next riddle:

Choose the apple that gives you a raise And offer it up in the secret maze

The group begins their search, but there are countless apples, and Tea asks how they're supposed to find the right one. Yugi simply replies that they'll know it when they see it. After replying that it could take ages to find the apple in question and that the forest seemed to go on forever, Joey promptly stops as his head vanishes into thin air through an invisible wall. Yugi asks if he sees anything, and he replies negatively. The rest of the group closes in to find out what he means firsthand, only to find that there's nothing but an endless abyss. Solomon states that it must be the end of their map, and that the world doesn't exist past that point. The group promptly does an about-face.

As they search around, there are more invisible barriers than they thought, and closer by. Solomon looks at it positively and says that the jungle is smaller than it appears, so finding the apple is easier than they thought. As they catch up with Tristan, they find him standing in awe over what appears to be a gigantic melon. Without any fear of hurting his pride, he speaks of how it has always been his dream to eat a humongous canalope, and that he was the president of the national melon lover's fan club for four years. He attempts to pull the gigantic fruit out of the ground, but Joey and Tea protest that there's not time for that, and they should get back to their previous endeavors. Tristan conveniently pulls out a marker (where he got it from is a mystery) and draws his face on the melon, which promptly sinks into the ground. He then leaps in after it, and the group follows an underground passageway.

The group finds a large chamber at the end of the passage, complete with a set of stairs and three enormous pillars. When Joey inquires where the melon is supposed to be, Tea looks upward, spotting three golden apples on top of each of the three pillars. The problem is, there are three, and they only need one. Another problem standing is that the apples are high up in the air. Joey suggests that another clue may be up the stairs ahead, but before anyone can move forward, Yugi tells them to wait, as he's spotted something familiar. Tristan picks up quickly, claiming it's his fruit, but Tea tells him not to be so sure; it's not a melon. The "melon" squirms forward, revealing itself to be a large caterpillar. Eager to punish the oversized larvae for impersonating fruit, Tristan calls out his Thunder Kid, only to have the entire room begin rumbling. Within moments, it begins to shift and change, and everyone is separated from each other as a Labyrinth Wall rises around them and traps them within an enormous maze. Yugi quickly comes to the conclusion that this was the maze mentioned in the riddle, and before they attempt to solve it, he and Solomon attempt to find their friends.

Tea is still finding her way around the maze, and runs into countless dead ends. After sulking and nearly giving up, she resolves that since her friends would never throw in the towel, neither will she.

Joey, however, is throwing in the towel, and has sketched a map out on a scrap piece of paper (once again, the paper and marker mysteriously appear), and with his depression overtaking him, he decides to have his last meal. Pulling a spare banana from his pocket, he takes a bite out of it, only to find that it's boosting his energy...that, or he's going bananas.

Tristan has about had it with the maze as well, and decides to draw his face on the wall to mark his spot (courtesy of his favorite magic marker). Unfortunately, after countless rounds, he still ends up at the very same wall. Thunder Kid finally pulls him out of his stupor and points to a capsule nearby. Tristan activates it, hoping that whatever's in it is friendly.

Tea is still wandering through the maze, completely unaware that she's being followed by a Jirai Gumo spider. Upon hearing it hiss at her, she whips out her Dark Witch capsule, only to have it snatched away from her via spiderweb. She flees quickly, having no offensive monsters, but she quickly finds herself at a dead end. Spotting a capsule, she races for it, but Jirai Gumo lashes out and binds her leg with another shot of spider web. Calling Happy Lover to help, the monster pushes over the capsule that she barely manages to touch with her fingertips and activate. Before she's even sure what the monster is, she orders an attack, and Seiyaryu gives her one, eliminating the spider and returning her Dark Witch Capsule.

Joey, meanwhile, has also recieved a brainpower boost from the fruit he's eating. He's almost got the maze completely figured out, but in the middle of a few calculations he's interrupted by a Battle Ox. Joey immediately calls Red-Eyes for assistance, only to find that not only is the dragon a bit too big for the corridor, but Battle Ox is quickly disposed of by a rampaging Shovel Crusher, courtesy of Tristan.

While Tristan and Joey are riding on the beast (and smashing through the Labyrinth wall along the way), Joey begins to reprimand Tristan for not practicing some driving safety, but his friend only replies that Shovel Crusher doesn't seem to have any understanding of what a traffic violation is.

Tea flies around the maze on Seiyaryu and comes upon another dead end when Shovel Crusher smashes past her. On the other side of the wall is none other than Solomon and Yugi. The five are reunited and they begin to ride on Tristan's Shovel Crusher through the maze. Joey begins to suspect that they may be cheating, but Solomon shakes his head, saying that the riddle never mentioned how to get out of the maze, and for all they know, the Shovel Crusher might have been the only solution to it.

The group finally makes it back to the main room, but there are two significant differences. The first one Yugi notices is that one of the apples in the room is missing. Tristan and Solomon are also missing; Shovel Crusher apparently wanted to barrel through a few more walls. A sound catches everyone's attention, and all heads turn toward a large cocoon, which promptly hatches into a Great Moth, which immediately begins an offensive. Yugi relinquishes control to Yami, whom orders his friends to load their capsules. Seiyaryu and Red-Eyes Black Dragon are called forth, while Yami activates his Duel Armor to merge with Dark Magician. The three attack simultaneously, and the moth seems to be defeated, but it reemerges as the Ultimate Great Moth.

Tea and Joey attempt to attack again, but the moth repels their attack right back at them, and they're hit. The moth attacks again, this time striking Yami. Yami tells Yugi that the moth is powerful enough to destroy all of their monsters, and they need to find a solution quickly. Yugi takes a long shot and points out the missing apple, which gives Yami an idea. Avoiding the moth, he leaps atop one of the pedestals and eats one of the apples, activating Dark Evolution, transforming the Dark Magician into the Magician of Black Chaos. He re-fuses with the magician and takes down the moth with Chaos Sceptre Blast.

Yami comes down from the pedestals just as Tristan and Solomon reappear. He quickly begins to explain the riddle of the golden apples: each of the three apples had its own purpose. One was consumed by the caterpillar, causing it to evolve into a Great Moth. He knew if he took the second one, his strength would also grow, and that would leave a single apple left. Now all they had to do was offer up the remaining apple.

After the explanation, Tea asks where Tristan's monster is, and he replies with a retort that it's resting after careening around like a lunatic. The group goes up the stairs (Yami defuses his armor and Yugi takes control between these two points) and Yugi places the apple on a golden altar, where a bright light shines temporarily and the staircase to the final challenge appears. With renewed vigor, the group heads forward.

(end)