"A Fighting Promise", known as "Promise With Each Other" in the Japanese version, is the ninety-third episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime. It aired in Japan on March 13, 2019. It aired in English on Teletoon on November 15, 2020.
Knowing the ins and outs of Playmaker's deck, Cal launches a relentless assault against him and does all he can to protect Jin. On the other hand, Playmaker just can't attack, and gets driven into a corner. Playmaker’s Life Points are now dangerously low. Cal then starts talking about the promise the two of them made in the past.
Summary[]
Continuing from the previous episode, Playmaker laments that he just cannot fight Cal like this as Flame affirms the statement to Soulburner, who agrees and said that Cal's bonding with Playmaker can be described to be stronger than a familial bond. Varis then asked Playmaker if he is able to defeat Cal and overcome such an ordeal. As Playmaker looks on, Cal simply says that he will finish Playmaker off the next turn.
Cal then doubles down to Playmaker, saying that there is no other way but to fight, Playmaker however, uses his cards to stall for time. Cal mocks him for such an act, saying that he feels disappointed. Soulburner then angrily says that he could have helped out had it not been for the barrier. Cal then confessed that in the end, he never really cared for the Human-Ignis conflict and it didn't matter to him which faction won as long as his brother was safe. As Ai and Playmaker both watched on helplessly, Lightning delightfully tells Bohman that Cal is behaving as expected and even shows amusement at Playmaker's conflicting feelings.
Cal then told himself that he has failed to protect Jin twice, and ask for his forgiveness before continuing his attack. As Cal uses his cards to destroy the cards Playmaker has that is stalling for time, Cal said that he did not expect this ending, saying that he has already made his choice long ago on what is more important to him: His brother or justice. Cal then reminded Playmaker the promise they made.
As this was happening, Lightning notices something is amiss and decides to come to the place Cal and Playmaker are with Bohman following. Ai angrily accuses them of cheating as Lightning said that they are simply steadily moving towards their main goal, and that Ai is a failure that has no right to look down on him or Bohman. Lightning then tells Cal to hurry up and finish Playmaker and Cal declares an attack, but to the surprise of Lightning, Playmaker survives, with Ai boastfully telling Lightning that it is due to the effect of a monster they control. Cal then activates a Spell Card that will finish off Playmaker if he destroys a monster he controls.
Flame then asked why does Playmaker look so tired as Soulburner said that it's due to the mental fatigue of fighting his friend in addition to the duel. As Cal continues to chat with Playmaker, Lightning tells him to finish the duel while Cal said that he should enjoy it at the very least, much to Lightning's frustration. Cal then prompt Playmaker about the promise they made:
Before they decided to venture to Mirror Link VRAINS, Cal and Yusaku both talked without Ai around. Cal told Yusaku to make the promise that he will carry out justice no matter what situation, explaining that the final battle will soon begin, and that he suspected that Lightning will use Jin as blackmail to make outrageous demands, and that due to his love for his brother, Cal will carry out any orders including making him duel. Although Yusaku was reluctant, Cal said that Playmaker represents hope and is a hero of Link VRAINS. Cal tells Yusaku that when the time comes, he needs to do what is right and defeat Lightning instead of saving him and Jin as only Yusaku is capable of doing that.
Back to the present, Playmaker made a scream of anguish and immediately begins to fight seriously, using the cards he has to destroy every card Cal controls and perform an OTK. As Cal gets deconstructed into data, he silently tells Yusaku that he will leave the rest to him before making one final apology to Jin. A crying Ai silently collects Cal's data as Playmaker watches in despair and falls to his knees. Ai tries to tell Playmaker to stay strong while Lightning coldly asks how does Playmaker feel about defeating Cal. Ai then angrily scolds Lightning, saying that he needs to have sympathy as the latter says that he doesn't need to understand such emotions at all. Lightning then goes on to tell Playmaker that he can't even save his friend who went down disappointed that he can't even keep a simple promise.
Lightning continues on, mocking Playmaker, saying that he is no savior nor will he create any future, incapable of accomplishing anything and is a foolish and weak person, being beaten without even needing to be battled. Yusaku then said that Lightning was wrong while Lighting dismissed it, saying that it's uncharacteristic of Yusaku to act like a sore loser. Yusaku said that Cal knew that Jin will be used as a hostage and that Cal has already entrusted him for when the time inevitably comes. Lightning then angrily realizes that he got tricked as Yusaku tells him that Cal went out proud of him and that their victory is meaningless. Nonetheless, the stress of the duel was too much and Yusaku collapsed on the ground. Soulburner then cries and declares that for their actions, he will never forgive Lightning or Bohman.
Featured Duel: Playmaker vs. Cal Kolter[]
Duel continues from the previous episode.
Turn 4: Playmaker
Playmaker activates the Continuous Spell Card "Link Satellite", letting him target a Link Monster he controls and place Satellite Counters on "Link Satellite" equal to the targeted monster's Link Rating. He targets "Decode Talker" (Satellite Counters: 0 → 3). While "Link Satellite" is on the field, neither player can declare an attack, but it will be destroyed when the last Satellite Counter is removed from it. Playmaker sets a card, and during the End Phase he removes a Satellite Counter from "Link Satellite" because of its effect (Satellite Counters: 3 → 2).
Turn 5: Cal Kolter
Kolter Normal Summons "Codebreaker Zero Day" (1800/0), then uses "Zero Day" and "Codebreaker Virus Swordsman" to Link Summon "Codebreaker Virus Berserker" (2800/LINK-3/↑↓→). Kolter then activates "Virus Berserker's" effect as it is Special Summoned and co-linked, letting him target 1 Link Monster on the field and Special Summon up to 2 "Codebreaker" monsters from his hand or GY to to any zone the targeted monster points to. Kolter targets "Decode Talker" and Special Summons "Zero Day" (1800/0) in Defense Position from his GY to a Zone that 'Decode Talker" points to. Kolter then activates "Zero Day's" effect where non-"Codebreaker" Link Monsters that point to this card will have their ATK/DEF increasing effects reversed (except multiplications and dividing). As a result, "Decode Talker" loses 500 ATK because it points to another monster ("Decode Talker": 1300 → 800 ATK). As a "Codebreaker" monster was summoned to his field, the effect of "Codebreak Backfire" inflicts 600 damage to Playmaker (Playmaker: 1800 → 1200 LP). Kolter activates the other effect of "Virus Berserker", letting him destroy face-up Spell/Trap Cards Playmaker controls equal to the number of "Codebreaker" monsters Playmaker controls and inflict 600 damage for each destroyed card. He destroys "Link Satellite" (Playmaker: 1200 → 600 LP).
"Virus Berserker" attacks "Decode Talker", but Playmaker activates his set "Link Cancel", letting him target 1 Link Monster on the field that was Link Summoned using only Link Monsters as material, return it to the Extra Deck and Special Summon the monsters used as its Link Material from the GY. Playmaker returns "Decode Talker" to the Extra Deck and Special Summons "Link Spider" (1000/LINK-1/↓) and "Protocol Gardna" (1000/LINK-2/←→) from his GY. A replay occurs and "Virus Berserker" attacks "Protocol Gardna" (as the first effect of "Protocol Gardna" prevents monsters it points to from being selected as attack targets), but due to the second effect of "Protocol Gardna" it cannot be destroyed by battle the first time it is attacked, and Playmaker takes no Battle Damage from that battle.
As he controls a "Codebreaker" Link Monster, Kolter activates the Continuous Spell Card "Codebreak Bind", preventing monsters that aren't linked to a "Codebreaker" monster from declaring attacks. In addition, if Playmaker Special Summons a monster that is then linked to a "Codebreaker" monster, and that monster destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the GY, "Codebreak Bind" will be sent to the GY and Playmaker will take damage equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK.
Turn 6: Playmaker
Playmaker draws "Decode Destruction". He then uses "Link Spider" and "Protocol Gardna" to Link Summon "Decode Talker Extended" (2300/LINK-3/↙↑↘) to the Right Extra Monster Zone. The effect of "Decode Talker Extended" increases its ATK by 500 for every monster it points to, but the effect of "Zero Day" reverses those ATK changes ("Decode Talker Extended": 2300 → 800 ATK). Playmaker activates "Decode Destruction", letting him target a "Decode Talker" he controls and apply up to 3 effects depending on how many monsters it points to. "Decode Talker Extended" is always treated as "Decode Talker" and it points to 3 monsters, so all 3 effects of "Decode Destruction" apply. The first effect increases the ATK of "Decode Talker Extended" by 500 for every monster it points to ("Decode Talker Extended": 800 → 2300 ATK).
"Decode Talker Extended" attacks "Virus Berserker" and as his Cyberse monster is battling Playmaker activates the Quick-Play Spell "Cyberse Pride", letting him target that monster and make it unable to be destroyed by that battle. Since it is battling a monster with higher ATK, the other effect of "Cyberse Pride" lets him pay LP equal to the difference to increase the ATK of his battling monster by the same amount (Playmaker: 600 → 100 LP) ("Decode Talker Extended": 2300 → 2800 ATK). The attack continues and only "Virus Berserker" is destroyed. The second effect of "Decode Destruction" then banishes "Virus Berserker" as it was destroyed in battle by the targeted monster, which prevents the effect of "Codebreak Bind" from activating as the destroyed monster was not sent to the GY. As a "Codebreaker" Link Monster was destroyed by battle or card effect, both copies of "Zero Day" are destroyed by their own effects ("Decode Talker Extended": 2800 → 4300 ATK). The final effect of "Decode Destruction" allows Playmaker to destroy all cards Kolter controls after damage calculation since the targeted monster destroyed a monster by battle. As a monster that "Decode Talker Extended" pointed to was destroyed by battle or sent to the GY during Playmaker's Battle Phase, its effect lets it make a second attack during this turn's Battle Phase. "Decode Talker Extended" attacks Kolter directly (Kolter: 4000 → 0 LP).
Featured cards[]
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.
