"The Forbidden Ritual, Part 1", known as "Activate! Ultimate Unsealing Ritual Technique" in the Japanese version, is the one hundred and forty-fourth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime. It first aired in Japan on July 11, 2007 and in the US on May 17, 2008.
As Jaden recovers, his small group of remaining companions continue on. Adrian reveals himself after a long absence and intends to sacrifice his childhood friend Echo to release the spirit of Exodia. Aster opposes him.
Summary
Jaden is freed from the influence of the The Supreme King, but at a great cost. His only remaining companions are Syrus, Ojama Yellow, Aster and Zane. Jaden is sleeping it off, and wakes up screaming as he remembers his Duels with Jim and Axel. He questions where they are, and realizes they are gone - defeated by his own hands. Aster tells him to calm down and reveals that Jesse is still alive, so Jaden needs to focus on locating and saving his friend. Jaden responds that at this point, he doesn't deserve to be anyone's friend. Jaden then passes out again (In the English Dub it is revealed that he has a high fever).
Elsewhere, Adrian Gecko is in a cave, holding the five Exodia cards he received from Marcel while the latter was still possessed by Yubel (the English dub still features the original Japanese cards, text and all). Adrian determines that he was will have to fight Yubel for control of this dimension and believes he can win if he unlocks Exodia's seal and makes it his servant. He also realizes that to break the seal, he needs a sacrifice. He reveals that Yubel's Devil Arm has been transplanted onto his own, as his current power is only a result of his deal with Yubel.
Aster thumbs through Jaden's Deck and sees the "Super Polymerization" card and is confused as to how it got there - as it was not there the last time he checked. Zane comments that he would have liked to Duel The Supreme King and explains that he came here seeking his ultimate opponent. Aster wants to help Jaden find Jesse, as Aster feels he is indebted to Jaden, since the latter aided in saving Aster's own friend - Sartorius. In the canyon below them, Dr. Crowler and Echo are being chased by a pack of "Abare Ushionis". They are saved when Zane and Aster Summon "Cyber Dragon" and "Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude" respectively. Crowler and Echo begin traveling with the rest of the group.
The picture of Adrian in Echo's locket.
That night, Aster returns a locket Echo had dropped to her - one with Adrian Gecko's picture. He questions whether she's here to save Adrian. She replies that she's not - she knows Adrian will rule this dimension, without his brother and the rest of his family to hold him back. A deep fog gathers, and the whole group is suddenly transported into a cave, where they meet Adrian, who reveals that he was not left behind in the other dimension - he chose to stay. Jaden questions whether he's seen Jesse, but Adrian replies he hasn't. He reveals that in order to become King, he needs to sacrifice Echo's life. Aster steps in, wishing to save Echo and challenges Adrian to a Duel.
The Duel begins, and Adrian's strategy seems to consist of playing defense and reinforcing his hand. Eventually, Aster realizes that he may be trying to complete Exodia, and blocks this strategy by playing "Force of Four". At this point, Adrian's hand consisted of four Exodia pieces and a Spell Card - and he had just moved the fifth piece to the top of his deck after his "Deep Diver" was destroyed. However, the Spell Card he discarded was "The Ultimate Ritual of the Forbidden Lord", which lets him Ritual Summon "Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord". However, he must sacrifice someone he loves in order to break the seal. Echo willingly steps forward to be sacrificed.
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Featured Duel: Aster Phoenix vs. Adrian Gecko
Turn 1: Adrian
- Summons "Vortex Trooper" (0/600) in Defense Position.
- Activates "Vortex Trooper's" effect, which lets him shuffle 2 cards from his hand into his Deck and draw 2 new cards.
Turn 2: Aster
- Summons "Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude" (1400/1600) in Attack Position.
- Activates "Diamond Dude's" effect, checking the top card of his Deck. If the card is a Normal Spell Card, he can show it to his opponent and use its effect from the Graveyard on his next turn, during his Main Phase; if not, the card goes to the bottom of his Deck. The top card is "Destiny Draw", so Aster shows it to Adrian and sends it to the Graveyard.
- "Diamond Dude" attacks and destroys "Vortex Trooper".
- Adrian draws 1 card since "Vortex Trooper" was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.
- Sets 2 cards.
Turn 3: Adrian
- Summons "Deep Diver" (1000/1100) in Defense Position.
- Sets a card.
Turn 4: Aster
- Activates the effect of "Destiny Draw" from the Graveyard (thanks to the effect of "Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude") and draws 2 cards.
- Activates "Diamond Dude's" effect again, checking the top card on his Deck. He reveals "Doctor D" to Adrian and sends it to the Graveyard, intending it to activate it from the Graveyard during his next turn.
- Summons "Destiny Hero - Dunker" (1200/1700) in Attack Position.
- Discards "Destiny Hero - Disk Commander" from his hand. In doing so, "Destiny Hero - Dunker" inflicts 500 damage to Adrian (Adrian: 4000 → 3500).
- Activates "Clock Tower Prison"
- Activates his 2 face-down copies of "Eternal Dread": Each "Eternal Dread" adds 2 Clock Counters to "Clock Tower Prison", for a total of 4.
- Activates "Mystical Space Typhoon", destroying his own "Clock Tower Prison".
- Since 4 Clock Counters were on "Clock Tower Prison" when it was destroyed, Aster can Special Summon "Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster" (?/?) in Attack Position.
- "Dreadmaster's" effect Summons "Disk Commander" (300/300) from his Graveyard, whose own effect lets Aster draw 2 cards.
- Meanwhile, "Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster's" original ATK and DEF both become equal to the total ATK of all Destiny Heroes that Aster controls (2900/2900).
- "Destiny Hero - Dunker" attacks and destroys "Deep Diver".
- "Disk Commander" and "Diamond Dude" attack Adrian directly (Adrian: 3500 → 3200 → 1800).
- "Dreadmaster" attacks Adrian directly
- Adrian activates Set Trap "Dimensional Prison". Aster reminds him that "Dreadmaster's" effect prevents any "Destiny Heroes" from being destroyed on the turn it's Summoned, but Adrian reveals that "Dimensional Prison" doesn't destroy "Dreadmaster" - it removes it from play.
- "Deep Diver's" effect activates at the end of the Battle Phase, allowing Adrian to place a monster on the top of his Deck.
- Activates "Force of Four", limiting both player's hands to 4 cards each. Since Adrian is holding 5 cards, he must discard one of his cards to the Graveyard. Adrian discards "The Ultimate Ritual of the Forbidden Lord".
Turn 5: Adrian
- Draws "Exodia the Forbidden One". Due to "Force of Four", he must send it to the Graveyard.[Notes 1]
- Activates "The Ultimate Ritual of the Forbidden Lord" from his Graveyard. On this note, Echo steps toward Adrian, agreeing to offer her life force in exchange for Adrian's victory.
Duel continues in the next episode.
Mistakes in the English dub
- When Adrian looks at the "Exodia" cards, they were shown to have their original Japanese text and artwork.
- "Destiny Hero - Dunker" was shown with 1100 ATK printed on the card, when its actual original ATK is 1200. The correct number was shown when it was Summoned.
- When Aster used the effect of "Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude" to activate "Destiny Draw", "Diamond Dude" was called "Destiny Dude".
- Aster calls "Dimensional Prison" a Counter Trap Card, when it is a Normal Trap Card.
Featured cards
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.
Effect Monsters
Fusion Monsters
Notes
- ↑ The given Japanese text of "Force of Four" contradicts this, as the "sending to the Graveyard" only applies for cards added from the Deck/Graveyard to the hand by a card effect.
