Episode 42: Deadly Shadow Ghoul

Yugi tells Rebecca again that his Grandpa didn't steal her Blue Eyes White Dragon. But she insists that he did. That Blue Eyes White Dragon was her grandfather's favorite card, and Yugi's Grandpa took it from him!

Grandpa begins to tell Rebecca the story of how he met Arthur Hopkins, many years ago in Egypt. (Grandpa keeps saying this was "a long time ago," but in the first episode, they talk about Duel Monsters as being a new game that's just catching on. It's unclear just how old the Duel Monsters game is supposed to be, but Pegasus is a relatively young man, and he invented the game sometime after Cecelia died, when he was 17. Evidence from the manga indicates that Pegasus is 24 at the time of Duelist Kingdom, which would mean that the game is no more than six or seven years old. In the Japanese, he says it was "years ago," but doesn't specify how many.) He'd traveled to Egypt to participate in an archeological dig, exploring a new find near the Great Pyramids. (In the Japanese, he says he was interested in Duel Monsters, though it wasn't well known back then, and went to Egypt because he'd heard you could get a lot of rare cards there.) It was so hot and dry, his canteen soon ran out, and Professor Hopkins shared his water with him. They became fast friends.

Arthur Hopkins was a brilliant archeologist, but he had some radical theories about Duel Monsters playing some part in ancient Egyptian history. His studies of Egyptian heiroglyphics kept turning up the word "duel," and he came to an astonishing conclusion! (In the Japanese, the word Arthur kept finding was "game," said in English.) One day while he and Solomon Mutou were exploring, he found an inscription reading, "By the spirits of the River Nile, I combine magic and monster to vanquish my enemy in our battle this day." He believed that ancient Egyptians used Duel Monsters to fight their battles! (In the Japanese, Arthur said the ancients used card games to foretell the future.) He showed Solomon his Giant Soldier of Stone card, which was similar to the monster carved in the stone of the cave.

Arthur's colleagues ridiculed his theories, but he refused to give up his studies, and invited Solomon to work with him. (In the Japanese, he just says that he agreed with Arthur, so they became good friends.) Eventually, he discovered a link between the game and the Millennium Items. The Egyptians didn't play the game for fun or money, Arthur said, but for the power to rule the world! The inscriptions told of a place called the Shadow Realm, where powerful monsters and warriors battled for dominion, and the ancient Egyptians dueled in this realm, with the fate of the earth at stake. (In the Japanese, they don't talk about the Shadow Realm or the Millennium Items. Solomon says Arthur believed in the existence of God Cards—the first mention of these cards that will play a very important role in the Battle City Tournament coming up. This reference is removed from the US version. "If you collect all the God Cards," Arthur quotes from the inscription, "then you can replace the sun god, Ra, as the ruler of the world.")

Téa asks if Professor Hopkins gave the Blue Eyes to Grandpa, and he says that's right. But Rebecca, who's been bored with this entire story, calls Grandpa a liar! Her grandfather would never have given away his Blue Eyes White Dragon card!

Grandpa continues with his story. At just that moment, the tomb caved in, and he and Arthur were trapped. They lit their lamp and waited for rescue, but no one came. Soon they'd eaten all their food, and had only enough water for just one person. Arthur suggested a duel to keep them occupied, and they agreed to play for the remaining water.

For Arthur's first turn, he played Witch of the Black Forest—just as Rebecca had.

But Rebecca's tired of listening. Grandpa could be making the whole thing up! She wants to continue the duel. The gang would rather hear the story, but Grandpa agrees that they should go on with the game.

It's Yugi's turn. He plays Catapult Turtle in attack mode. This monster allows him to sacrifice any monster on his field, and inflict half its life points as direct damage to his opponent. Then he plays Brain Control, and siezes Rebecca's Millennium Shield, sacrificing it for Catapult Turtle's effect. And finally, he attacks Cannon Soldier with Summoned Skull. All of Rebecca's monsters are destroyed, and she's down to 200 life points! She throws a tantrum, swearing to defeat Yugi.

Rebecca draws a magic card, Judgment Blaster (Judgment Bomber), which allows her to discard five cards from her hand to destroy every monster on Yugi's side of the field. Then she summons her favorite monster, the Shadow Ghoul! It gains 100 attack points for every monster in her graveyard! Tristan recalls that she's discarded eleven monsters, and Joey rather feebly attempts to count eleven times 100 on his fingers, until Téa disgustedly tells him it's eleven hundred points—making Shadow Ghoul's total attack 2700 points!

But Yugi's a bit shocked for all the poor monsters Rebecca has casually tossed aside to power up her Shadow Ghoul. Each monster has its own strengths, and deserves respect, he tells her, but she thinks he's nuts. Duel Monsters has nothing to do with respecting your monsters, she says. It's all about winning! And anyway, what would a family of thieves know about duelist's real power? She learned her strategies from a master, her grandfather. And duel monsters aren't real, they're just cards. What's to respect?

Yugi thinks Rebecca knows strategy and tactics, but she's never found the heart of the cards. And Grandpa thinks if anyone can teach Rebecca what she needs to learn, it's Yugi!

Yugi plays a monster in defense mode. (Just a dueling aside: you don't summon a monster in defense mode. "Summoning" means playing it in face-up attack mode. You set a monster face-down in defense.)

Rebecca plays Stop Defense, forcing Yugi's Dark Magician into attack mode, then attacks it with Shadow Ghoul, destroying it. Grandpa says his duel with Professor Hopkins went exactly this way. But the outcome of the duel may yet surprise you!

Yugi plays Swords of Revealing Light, stopping Rebecca from attacking for three turns. That's annoying, she says, and passes. Then Yugi plays Monster Reborn to revive his Dark Magician, and Rebecca responds by playing Cannon Soldier in defense.

Yugi knows Rebecca wants him to attack, but he can't leave Cannon Soldier on the field, so he destroys it with the Dark Magician, powering up her Shadow Ghoul by another 100 points. Rebecca passes again, knowing on her next turn, her Shadow Ghoul will be free to attack.

Grandpa remembers when his duel with Arthur reached exactly this same point.

Yugi draws. And Grandpa remembers that after he'd drawn his card, he surrendered the game and let Arthur win.

Yugi stares at his card. Then he lays his hand on his deck, and surrenders.

The gang is shocked! Yugi's given up! Why would he do it? Rebecca cheers her own victory and runs over to Grandpa, demanding the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He hold out the card to her, but she's shocked to see that it's torn in half, and mended with tape. "You tore it!" Grandpa tries to explain it wasn't he who tore the card, but Rebecca as usual won't listen, and throws another tantrum.

Just then, Rebecca's grandfather shows up, telling Rebecca to behave herself. He and Solomon greet each other with pleasure, and Arthur asks Rebecca if she realizes that Yugi really won the duel. "Yugi, you're just like your grandfather," he says. He shows Rebecca the final card Yugi had drawn: it's Soul Release, a magic card that he could have used to remove five cards from his graveyard—or hers. If he'd used to to take five monsters from her graveyard, Shadow Ghoul's attack would have gone down to 2300, low enough for the Dark Magician to attack and destroy it. Yugi didn't have to surrender.

Rebecca asks Yugi why he did it. While Yugi blushes, Arthur explains that he did it to show her that there's more to dueling than winning and losing. The way to the heart of the cards is through your own heart. He goes on to explain that after that tomb collapsed, Solomon also sacrificed a victory to save Arthur's life. Arthur had been weak and overcome by the heat. Solomon had surrendered the duel in order to make sure Arthur got the water. Soon after, they were finally rescued. What's more, Arthur explains, even though he sacrificed his monsters to power up the Shadow Ghoul, he honored them for their sacrifice. And, he says, a duelist must also honor and respect his opponent. After his and Solomon's duel, he was so grateful that he gave Solomon his Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Still a brat, Rebecca says Solomon showed his respect by tearing up the card! Solomon apologizes to Arthur for letting the card be damaged, but Arthur says it doesn't matter, only that Solomon kept it as a sign of their friendship. Arthur tells Rebecca that duels can be the basis for great friendships.

Finally, Rebecca apologizes to Yugi, who readily forgives her, and gives her the Ties of Friendship card. Arthur tells Solomon it's been a long time since they dueled, and they agree to a game. This I gotta see, Joey exclaims—dueling grandpas!

The Ties of Friendship card falls to rest atop the Blue Eyes White Dragon.