Yu-Gi-Oh! - Episode 058

Espa Roba - The ESP Duelist - Part 1, known as Esper Roba - Terror of the Psychic Deck in the Japanese version, is the fifty-eighth episode of Yu-Gi-Oh!. It aired in Japan on June 5, 2001, and in the US on January 25, 2003.

=Summary= It is day two of the Battle City Tournament and Joey Wheeler is still looking for an opponent to fight his first Duel with. He doesn't want to Duel wimps. He wants to find a worthy opponent to defeat. He arrives just in time to watch Espa Roba, a Duelist claiming to have psychic powers, defeat Rex Raptor. Espa, knowing Joey was the runner-up in Duelist Kingdom, challenges him to a Duel and Joey accepts.

In the hospital, Tristan visits Serenity and brings a laptop with him, so he can watch the Duel online and tell Serenity how it is going. Now if he can just figure out how to make the computer work. He has to get a nurse to help him. The Duel does not start off very well for Joey, as he still does not know some of the Battle City rules (including Tributes) and is intimidated out by Espa's psychic powers. Yugi is watching the Duel from a rooftop and sees Espa's brothers spying on Joey's hands of cards, revealing that Espa is indeed a cheater. Yugi decides to just watch and let the duel take its course.

Duel Monsters is full of cheaters, and learning to beat them anyway is a valuable skill. Joey proves that cheating is going on by activating "Skull Dice" and "Graceful Dice" when Espa thought he had two "Graceful Dice". Mokuba finds out about the cheating, dashes in and tackles the wicked accomplice up on the roof. He threatens to expel Espa from Battle City, but the brothers talk him out of it after telling him their sad story about being orphans and having no one but Espa to protect and care for them. Mokuba, having been in a similar situation, is convinced to let the Duel continue as long as they stop cheating. He stands by to be sure they don't start doing it again.

Joey appears to have regained control of the Duel, bringing Espa's Life Points down to 1440. However, Espa activates "Mind Control" to take control of Joey's "Swordsman of Landstar". He then Tributes it to Summon "Jinzo", which makes all Trap Cards useless, putting Joey in a tight spot. Can he defeat the psychic cheat, or will he be eliminated from the tournament before things really heat up?

=Featured Duel #1: Rex Raptor vs. Espa Roba= Most of the duel is skipped.

Espa's turn

"Jinzo" attacks then destroys "Serpent Night Dragon" (Rex: 50 → 0 Life Points).

=Featured Duel #2: Joey Wheeler vs. Espa Roba - Part 1=

Joey's turn

Joey attempts to Normal Summon "Giltia the D. Knight" in Attack Position. However, since the Summoning Conditions in Battle City are different than those in Duelist Kingdom, a Level 5 or higher monster requires at least 1 tribute. Since this is an illegal move, "Giltia the D. Knight" is removed from play. (NOTE: In the real game, Giltia the D. Knight is a Fusion Monster).

Espa's turn

Espa Normal Summons "Cyber Raider" in Attack Position (1400 ATK / 1000 DEF). "Cyber Raider" attacks Joey (Joey: 4000 → 2600 Life Points).

Joey's turn

Joey Normal Summons "Swordsman of Landstar" (500 ATK / 1200 DEF) then Sets 2 cards.

Espa's turn

Espa tributes "Cyber Raider" to Tribute Summon "The Fiend Megacyber" in Attack Position (2200 ATK / 1200 DEF). "The Fiend Megacyber" attacks "Swordsman of Landstar", but Joey activates Quick-Play Magic Card "Graceful Dice" then activates Quick-Play Magic Card "Skull Dice". Both cards allow Joey to roll 1 die. Because the result of "Skull Dice's" roll is 5, its effect decreases "The Fiend Megacyber" ATK to 440. (NOTE: In the real game Skull Dice is a Trap Card and it reduces the ATK points of all of your opponent's monsters by the number rolled x 100). Because the result of Graceful Dice's roll is 3, its effect increases "Swordsman of Landstar's" ATK to 1500. (NOTE: In the real game Graceful Dice increases the ATK points of all your monsters by the number rolled x 100). "Swordsman of Landstar" destroys "The Fiend Megacyber" (Espa: 4000 → 2940 Life Points). At this point, Joey points out that Espa Roba was cheating and Commissioner Mokuba catches Espa Roba's brothers helping him. They told him why they were doing this and after a little argument, Mokuba resumes the duel. Espa Sets 1 card.

Joey's turn

Joey Normal Summons "Alligator's Sword" in Attack Position (1500 ATK / 1200 DEF). "Alligator's Sword" attacks Espa Roba (Espa: 2940 → 1440 Life Points). "Swordsman of Landstar" attacks Espa, but Espa activates Trap Card "Mind Control" to take control of it. Joey Sets 1 card. (NOTE: In the real game Mind Control is a Normal Spell Card).

Espa's turn

Espa tributes "Swordsman of Landstar" to Tribute Summon "Jinzo" in Attack Position (2400 ATK / 1500 DEF) to destroy Joey's Set Trap Card "Chasm of Spikes". While Jinzo is on the field, its effect prevents the activation of Trap Cards. (NOTE: In the real game Jinzo doesn't destroy Trap Cards, it just negates them while they are on the Field).

Duel continues next episode.

=Changes to the English Version=
 * A close-up of Honda with a big sweet-drop on his forehead is cut out from the dub.
 * Cut from the dub, Joey thinks about Yugi, saying that he doesn't know the future, but he knows that somewhere in the city someone is waiting for him. He has to keep going until he finds him.
 * The words "TO BE CONTINUED" are added at the end of the dub episode.