Episode 4: Insector Combo

[Note: For US broadcast, Episodes 4 and 5 were edited together and shown as one episode. This recap is based on the complete episode included on the US DVD release.]

The ship arrives at Duelist Kingdom, and the duelists disembark. Tristan's afraid of being spotted as a stowaway and tries to "play it cool" as he leaves, but only catches the attention of Pegasus's suits, who tell him to relax as he strides stiffly off the ship. Joey's caught a cold from jumping into the ocean after Yugi's Exodia cards, and sneezes all over Téa.

The duelists head for the courtyard of the castle for Pegasus's welcome speech. On the way up the steps, Téa spots Bakura in the trees, but he disappears before anyone else catches sight of him.

Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor are there, as well as Mako Tsunami (Kajiki Ryouta), another high-ranked duelist. But the world champion Kaiba isn't there—it seems he was beaten by some kid named Yugi....

Pegasus comes out on a balcony to greet the duelists. He tells them that they must use their dueling gloves to collect Star Chips. Whoever wins ten Star Chips will be allowed to enter the Castle for the finals. Duels will be held in arenas located all over the island, and new rules will be in effect which the duelists will discover as they play.

Joey is afraid he won't be able to win and offers to give his Star Chip back to Yugi, but Yugi and the others encourage him to stay and fight for his sister. (In the Japanese, Jounouchi tells Yugi he's sorry he's put Yugi at a disadvantage, but doesn't offer to give the Star Chip back.)

For his first duel, Yugi is determined to challenge Weevil. Weevil leads them into the forest where he turns and accepts the challenge. An arena rises up out of the ground. Yugi wagers his single Star Chip plus his dueling deck against Weevil's two Star Chips.

Weevil plays Killer Needle (Killer Bee), an insect monster, which Yugi counters with Mammoth Graveyard. Now the new rule is revealed—the field on which they're playing can boost the power of their monsters. (In the US version, Weevil says he stole the tournament's new rules, but in the Japanese, he claims Pegasus told him about the new rules.) The forest gives a field power bonus to Weevil's insect monsters. But half of the field is wasteland, which powers up Yugi's Mammoth Graveyard as well, and the two monsters destroy each other. (In the Japanese, the field is 80% jungle, and 20% rural. Huh. I guess percentages are too complicated for American kids.)

But most of Yugi's cards can't take advantage of the field power bonus. He tries to power up Feral Imp (Gremlin) with the magic card Horn of the Unicorn, but Weevil's power-boosted insects are resistant to magic attacks, and the Hercules Beetle defeats it.

The boasting Weevil continues to put insect monsters on the field, while Yugi can only defend. But Yugi slips in a Trap Card, and lures Weevil into attacking by playing Dark Magician, his favorite card. Joey notes that Yugi seems like a different person while he's dueling. (But not in the Japanese.) Yugi's Mirror Force destroys Weevil's insect army, and Yugi has taken over the lead.

But Weevil's most powerful monster is still waiting in the wings.... (Weevil's final bit of gloating isn't in the Japanese episode. It ends on Yugi's successful turn.)

To Be Continued