He is possessed by Tragoedia, thus making him an antagonist. James seeks out Atticus Rhodes, catching him in the forest near the Abandoned Dorm and challenges him to a Duel, which Atticus wins, despite Jim's use of the Legendary Planet, "The Tyrant Neptune". Jim had been rivals with David Rabb when they were in America, and seeks out Atticus because he defeated Rabb before Jim ever got a chance to. He is then selected to tag with Axel Brodie against Chazz Princeton and Syrus Truesdale, and his team ultimately loses, despite working together much better than Adrain and Jesse before them. During the match, he attempts to make it a Shadow Game, but Principle MacKenzie prevents him from doing so.
In the singles match-up, he Duels Bastion Misawa in the forest, and is the only one of the American Duelists to make the match into a Shadow Game. He cruelly defeats Bastion with "Neptune", laughing afterwards at the closeness of the match. Tragoedia later recalls him to reclaim Neptune, and he is found in the warehouse where Tragoedia has stored his tablet by Aster Phoenix, and later Jaden and the others. He recovers after Tragoedia's defeat, seen before Jaden's Duel with Koyo alongside Axel.
