Nistro

Nistro, known as Gauche in the Japanese and Italian versions, is a character appearing in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL anime. He was Mr. Heartland's left-hand man and a committee member responsible for maintaining the World Duel Carnival along with Dextra. Ultimately, his and Dextra's true task during this tournament was searching for "Number" cards. However, he resigned his position in order to join the World Duel Carnival along with his partner, with his goal being to defeat Yuma Tsukumo and the Original "Number" before Kite Tenjo did. He later became a professional Duelist, with Dextra as his manager and is currently the Champion of Spartan City.

Appearance
Nistro has flame-shaped dark red hair with a lighter red fringe and purple eyes. He has a Duel Disk which looks a lot like Quattro's, but more of a fireball based design. He also has a red Duel Gazer tattoo, like Kite Tenjo, Trey, Quattro, Quinton, and his partner Dextra.

Prior to entering the WDC, Nistro used a black and dark red trench coat with a high collar over a red shirt with dark red trousers black shoes and black gloves as well as a bracelet on his left wrist identical to the one on Dextra's right ankle. Later, he can be seen wearing a grey and black colored coat with orange ruffles as well as two belts and leather pants with white and brown cowboy boots.

During the Pro Duelist Spartancity Tournament, Nistro wears a form-fitting blue and red costume, resembling that of a wrestler. He also dons a star-shaped mask whilst wearing this costume. His nightwear consists of a sleeveless, black vest, brown belt and black sweatpants with a grey line down each side.

Personality
Opposite to Dextra's cold-blooded personality, Nistro is a very high-spirited person, evident to how excited he got during the opening ceremonies of the World Duel Carnival. In the Japanese version, he has a habit of saying "nori" in each of his sentences.

He also seems to take his job less seriously, as when investigating mysterious Duels within the tournament, he joked about how some of the Duelists were defeated, while Dextra maintained a calm manner whilst investigating. This tends to cause frequent arguing with his partner, but they actually get along better than they initially appear and their Dueling styles complement each other well. It also seems Nistro values Dextra (or at least his colleagues in general) highly, as during their Duel with Yuma Tsukumo, he activated a card that served no other purpose than to take the hit for Dextra.

Nistro loves Dueling, heavily punishing anyone that dishonors Dueling. As a member of the committee, he is very severe when punishing a cheater, to the point of physically injuring the participant or forbidding him/her from Dueling in Heartland City for the rest of his/her life.

Nistro can be quite competitive with Kite Tenjo, having some form of rivalry with him in collecting "Numbers". After his defeat, he formed a friendly rivalry with Yuma because he liked his spirit, but he also considered Yuma as his "prey" since he possess the "Original Number". Recently, however, he has allied himself with Yuma, because he does not want Yuma to be defeated by anyone except himself. . When Nistro Duelled Yuma, he showed a more child like nature, wanting to defeat Yuma with honor, and having Yuma "Duel with strong guts". When he lost, Nistro told Yuma that it would dishonor him if he didn't Duel with all his might. During Yuma's Duel with Kite, Nistro cheered for Yuma more, in contrast to Dextra, who cheered for Kite only. He also supported Yuma when he summoned "Heroic Champion - Excalibur".

Etymology
"Gauche" means "left" in French. This may be a reference to the fact of him being Mr. Heartland's "left hand" while Dextra is the "right hand". His English name also reflects this, as "Nistro" contains the the middle four letters of "sinister", which is another word for "left". Furthermore, "Nistro" could be the short for "sinistro", which means "left" in Italian. "Nistro" may also refer to the word "Nitro" which means speed, which resembles his fiery and excited personality.

Abilities
Nistro is able to teleport.

History
In their childhood, Nistro and Dextra grew up in Spartan City as orphans, but found happiness in Dueling. One night, they were picked up by Mr. Heartland, who instructed them further in Dueling and moved them out to Heartland

Years later, they were tested by Mr. Heartland alongside other young Duelists such as Kite Tenjo in an attempt to find the next generation's elite Duelists. They were made to fight a Dueling robot, with Heartland having set its level to maximum. The robot physically assaulted them, with Nistro being thrown against a wall. When the robot attempted to do the same to Dextra, he yelled her name. Dextra was saved by Kite, who destroyed the robot with his "Daybreaker".

World Duel Carnival Preliminaries
During the opening ceremonies of the World Duel Carnival, Nistro, along with Dextra and Mr. Heartland, kept watch over various parts of Heartland City. Seeing the amount of Duelists excited Nistro, but he was quickly scolded by Dextra who told him to be more professional. He then argued with Dextra, but was stopped by Mr. Heartland. Kite Tenjo arrived, with Nistro joking about how quickly Kite responded to Heartland's summons. Kite gave him an annoyed look in response.

Nistro and Dextra investigated incidents during the World Duel Carnival, such as Tombo Tillbitty's Basket Rule. During that time, he wore a blue Duel Gazer. They were responsible for eliminating Duelists who break the rules of the tournament, now Dueling with a tattoo-like Duel Gazer akin to Kite's. When Flip was caught cheating, Yuma Tsukumo intervened and Dueled them in Flip's place.



Their combination overpowered Yuma and drastically lowered his Life Points. In an attempt to turn the Duel around Yuma managed to Summon "Utopia", surprising Nistro and his partner as he held a "Number" card. When Dextra Summoned "Photon Papilloperative", Yuma identified them affiliates of Kite, with Nistro and Dextra learning that he has Dueled Kite. Yuma gave up hope when they reduced him to 100 Life Points, but Astral returned and was briefly visible to everyone watching the Duel. Dextra and Nistro identified him (Astral) as the "original Number". Astral helped Yuma execute a winning move and Yuma attacked Dextra. Nistro defended her with "Bounzer Guard", resulting in him losing instead of her. After the Duel, Nistro asked Dextra not to tell Mr. Heartland about Yuma because he wanted to defeat him himself before Kite did.



After Hart Tenjo disappeared from Heartland Tower, Nistro and Dextra went to look for him via a helicopter. After finding him, Nistro blamed Yuma for kidnapping him and when he tried to take Hart back, he created a powerful energy to force Dextra and Nistro to retreat; when they returned, Hart, Yuma and Tori have disappeared.

Having found out that Hart disappeared, Kite contacted Nistro and Dextra in order to find out what has happened. Nistro thought it would be best to ignore Kite, but Dextra listened to what he had to say, and then told him the area of the city where Hart was last seen. After Hart was abducted by Quinton, Nistro and Dextra managed to find Yuma in order to question him on Hart's whereabouts. Unfortunately for Nistro, Yuma kicked him in the crotch in order to escape, causing him immense pain (this is cut from the English dub). Nistro recovered and tried to to attack Yuma again, but was stopped by Kite. After discussing about what to do, he, along with Dextra decided to leave the job to Yuma and Kite. They then got back into their helicopter and flew away.

After Kite and Yuma defeated Quattro and Trey, Hart was rushed to the hospital as he required medical care. Angered at how Mr. Heartland didn't prevent Hart from being hurt, Kite attempted to talk to him about the matter, but was stopped by Nistro and Dextra as he was having a meeting with Dr. Faker about the situation at hand. Nistro mocked Kite for joining up with Yuma, and questioned him on why he didn't reveal Yuma's identity to Mr. Heartland. He then stated that if Kite wouldn't take him out, then he would be happy to take care of the matter.



On the third day of the World Duel Carnival, Nistro resigned from his job as an administrator in the contest in order to compete. Dextra later asked Nistro if he was going after Yuma. He confirmed that intends to use his true Deck in order to defeat the original Number. Nistro and Dextra began collecting Heart Pieces and defeat an unspecified number of Duelists off-screen. This path led Nistro to also challenge Nelson Andrews to a Duel. The two exchanged blows with Nistro forcing Nelson to bring out his "D.D. Jet Iron". Nistro revealed his new ace monster, "Heroic Champion - Excalibur", ultimately beating Nelson's ace. Nelson then gave one of his Heart Pieces to him and before Nistro left with Dextra, he told Yuma to make it to the finals as he wanted to fight against him.

World Duel Carnival Finals
At the WDC Finals party Nistro allowed Yuma to enter despite forgetting his invitation, saving him from two bouncers were attempting to eject him. Nistro told them that despite his looks, Yuma is a finalist. He then turned to talk to Yuma, but he, along with his friends, already ran to the party. Nistro witnessed Quinton and Vetrix attend the party and found them to be suspicous. Dextra confirmed this by telling him about how they were involved with Hart's current condition.

The day of the finals, Nistro greeted Yuma at the Duel Coaster, calling the event the final showdown while urging Yuma to still enjoy himself. When Mr. Heartland explained that Spell and Trap Cards would activate from the coaster itself, even Nistro was surprised, not having known. Later then, Nistro easily defeated one of the finalists with "Heroic Challenger - Spartan" and "Riryoku". He told his opponent he was at least ten years too early to challenge him.

After Yuma and Anna Kaboom are cornered by the Triad of Terror's "Magnet" strategy, Nistro rushed in and managed to defeat Coyote with his "Heroic Challenger - Extra Sword". He then assisted Yuma in Xyz Summoning his "One-Eyed Skill Gainer" and powering it up enough to defeat the Triad of Terror at the cost of losing Anna from their team. They then entered the final area of the Duel Coaster. In this underground section, Nistro was challenged by Tricky Tommy Noble, who he defeated with "Heroic Challenger - War Hammer". He then approached Quinton, knowing that it was him that had kidnapped Hart. He wished to take revenge as he had been humiliated when he was unable to get Hart back himself. Quinton negated Nistro's first attack and Nistro told him to fight with his full strength. Quinton claimed he did not need to do that to defeat Nistro and proceeded to inflict heavy damage with more Spell and Trap Cards. He brought out "Heroic Champion - Excalibur", but Quinton even countered that. Nistro was saved by Yuma, who used the effect of "Achacha Chanbara" to reduce the damage Nistro would have taken to zero. Quinton changed lanes after that and Yuma lead Nistro to a Trap Point that contained "The Paths of Destiny".



After Yuma had witnessed all of the other semi-final Duels, he ended up arriving at the "Desert Field" field to see that Nistro was waiting for him. By then, Nistro had recovered his Life Points back to 4000. With Yuma only having only 100 Life Points himself, Nistro decided to restore him back to 4000 via the effect of "Heroic Gift" as he wanted to have a fair and fiery Duel with Yuma. Despite this, Yuma continued to play defensively, which annoyed Nistro as he expected an enjoyable Duel. Yuma then realized this and began to Duel up to Nistro's expectations. Midway through the Duel, the field switched to "Sunset Showdown". Wishing for the Duel to be decided by a battle using their respective ace monsters, Nistro played "Xyz Xtreme !!", letting him and Yuma Summon "Excalibur" and "Number 39: Utopia", respectively. Yuma increased the ATK of "Utopia" with "Double or Nothing!", winning him the Duel. Despite his loss, Nistro wished Yuma luck, and gave him "Excalibur". After the Duel with Vector and Dr. Faker was concluded, he and Dextra transported Shark back to the hospital, with Nistro piloting the helicopter and Dextra administrating medical attention. He and Dextra later watched the rematch between Kite and Yuma and was excited when Yuma summoned "Excalibur". After Kite won, Nistro left with Dextra, commenting it was a good Duel and muttered a farewell to a sleeping Yuma.

Legendary Number War
After leaving Heartland, Nistro returned to Spartan City to become a Pro Duelist with Dextra as his manager, although he originally wanted her to join him as a Tag Partner. Nistro took the name "Star Man" to inspire hope in children and became very popular with the citizens. After Yuma and his friends arrived in Spartan City to find another "Legendary Number", Yuma noticed Nistro on an advertisement about the Pro Duelist Spartancity Tournament, which Nistro won by defeating his opponent with "Heroic Champion - Kusanagi". Afterwards, Nistro was signing autographs where he met up with Yuma and was happy to see him. After a brief reunion, Yuma informed Nistro of why he was in Spartan City and they discussed about the "Legendary Number" over lunch. Nistro and Dextra told everyone about the legend surrounding a sunken colosseum, which Yuma lamented over. Unable to sleep that night, Nistro went down to the lake on his motorbike just before Alito used several "Blast with Chain" cards to drain the lake, causing Nistro to fall into the now drained lakebed. Nistro then ventured into the temple and found Alito shortly before the latter gave him "Number 54: Lion Heart". Nistro was brainwashed by Alito's "Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force" and entered a Tag Duel against Dextra and Yuma, where he quickly Summoned "Lion Heart".

With "Lion Heart" on the field, Alito manipulated Yuma's and Dextra's attacks to target "Lion Heart", with Nistro able to use the effect of "Lion Heart" to continuously save his Life Points from being depleted by detaching its Overlay Units. Eventually, Dextra used "Night Papilloperative" in an assault to eliminate the final Overlay Unit along with herself. Though Alito replenished the Overlay Units, Dextra's sacrifice got through to Nistro enough for him to Duel on his own, who proceeded to refuse to play "Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force" after drawing it. He reverted to his usual strategy of attacking head-on and boosted the ATK of "Lion Heart" to successfully destroy "Number 39: Utopia". Nistro also called out to Yuma, who attacked "Lion Heart" with "Heroic Champion - Excalibur" and defeating Alito with "Overlay Marker" due to Alito attempting to make Nistro use his " Barian's Force" using "Battlin' Boxer Cheat Commissioner". The Duel ended and Nistro was freed from Alito's brainwashing and gave Yuma "Lion Heart". Nistro told Yuma he would like to help with fighting the Barians, but Yuma told him that he needed to continue his dream of being a symbol of hope to children. The next day, Nistro held the Spartancity Tournament trophy to a crowd of fans.

Barian Emperor Onslaught
After the Barians began to invade Earth, Nistro became aware of the crisis in Heartland and went to aid Yuma. As the Seven Barian Emperors were chasing down Yuma, Nistro distracted Alito by hitting a baseball at him, which Alito caught. He affirmed he was here to block his path and started a Duel. Nistro gained an advantage with "Heroic Champion - Gandiva", with Alito being surprised he was having trouble against a human. Enjoying the Duel, Nistro complemented Alito, telling him it had been a while since he was this pumped up. Eventually, Alito initiated a Barian's Chaos Draw alongside the other Emperors as Nistro looked on in shock. This allowed Alito to use "Rank-Up-Magic The Seventh One" to bring out "Number C105: Battlin' Boxer Comet Cestus", which made Nistro excited by the new challenge. Although Nistro proclaimed that he will keep standing for Yuma's sake, Alito told Nistro to burn to cinders by his fists of malice as the monster defeated him. As his soul was sent to the Barian World, Nistro apologized to Yuma for being unable to repay his debt, but he was still pleased with the Duel overall.

Yu-Gi-Oh! D Team ZEXAL


In the spin-off manga Yu-Gi-Oh! D Team ZEXAL, Gauche is part of the Team Duel Tournament's committee. In order to enter the tournament, a member of the Dueling Team should face Gauche in a Duel, and if he judged the team was worthy, then it would enter. Yuma faces Gauche representing the Team ZEXAL, and by defeating him, makes his team able to enter the tournament.

Gauche later shows up again to announce the beginning of the tournament and explain the rules. He also announces news about the tournament, like when Team Shark became the first team to advance to the finals.

Decks
Nistro initially plays a "Bounzer" Deck, focused on Level 6 monsters used to be Xyz Summon "Photon Strike Bounzer". This Deck was given to him by Mr. Heartland when he became a Number Hunter. He later switches to his own "Xyz Heroic" Deck, which he had previously used before becoming a Number Hunter.

Bounzer
During his time as a World Duel Carnival referee, Nistro used "Bounzer" Deck focused on Summoning high-Level monsters in order to punish and relentlessly attack the opponent, reflecting his fiery personality. The Deck was used to Duel against those who violated the rules of the WDC, as well hunt the "Numbers".

Heroic
Nistro later uses his "Xyz Heroic" Deck, whose card names are based on various warriors and weapons. This Deck is also said to be Nistro's "real power". His ace card, "Heroic Champion - Excalibur" is capable of a late-game counterattack via its effect, which doubles its ATK. This can be further increased by "Heroic Chance".

World Duel Carnival Finals
In the finals, Nistro continues to use his "Heroic" Deck and also utilizes ATK-modifying cards, such as "Riryoku" and "Heroic Challenger - Extra Sword". In addition, Nistro also uses several cards which make Xyz Summoning easier and require less cards, such as "Heroic Challenger - Double Lance" and "Xyz Crown".

Legendary Number War
Nistro continues to use an Xyz "Heroic" Deck, allowing more flexible Xyz Summoning through cards such as "Heroic Challenger - Ambush Soldier".

V Jump Magazine
A Decklist based around Nistro's Deck was published in the December, 2013 issue of V Jump Magazine.