Episode 5: The Ultimate Force: The Great Moth

[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.]

Joey, Tristan, and Téa are congratulating Yugi on wiping out all of Weevil's monsters, when Mai Valentine shows up to tell them that Yugi doesn't have a chance against the Regional Champion. Téa's pretty steamed, but Mai takes it in stride. The subtitles in the Japanese episode are particularly goofy this time. In this exchange, Weevil says,

"Yugi, you will regret that you arouse my seriousness."

To which Yugi replies, "To put your regretness into your cards, I have to knock you down."

Weevil plays a monster in defense, but Yugi won't bite, knowing Weevil's got a trap card waiting that can destroy his monsters as soon as they attack. Instead, Yugi plays a monster recovery magic card that recalls all his monsters to his deck. He draws a new hand and attacks with Kuriboh, knowing he won't lose much when the weak monster is destroyed.

But Weevil's trap was only a trick to get Yugi to recall his monsters, so he could safely play Larvae Moth. The Larvae Moth is weak by itself, but then Weevil plays the Cocoon of Evolution, which will enable the larvae to grow into the powerful Great Moth in five turns.

Yugi plays Gaia the Fierce Knight (Dark Knight Gaia), but it's too weak to destroy the Cocoon of Evolution, and Yugi loses Life Points. The gang cheer him on, but Mai tells them that no one has ever been able to beat Weevil's Cocoon. (In the Japanese, Anzu's furious with Mai for calling Yugi "Yugi-chan"—an honorific used for little kids.)

Yugi's on the ropes, and doesn't know how to combat Weevil's Cocoon. His friends cheer him on. Mai is disdainful of their cheering, telling them they're only distracting Yugi from the game—until Yugi gives his pals a thumbs-up, having gotten an idea from something Joey said. Yugi summons Curse of Dragon and attacks with it, using the Burning Land magic card to destroy the forest, eliminating Weevil's field power bonus, and reducing the Cocoon of Evolution's defense points so that Gaia the Fierce Knight can destroy it.

But it's too late! The Great Moth emerges from the Cocoon, and destroys the Beaver Warrior (Ruizu? What the heck does that mean?) Yugi had in defense.

Yugi uses Polymerization to fuse Curse of Dragon with Gaia the Fierce Knight to create Gaia the Dragon Knight (later called Gaia the Dragon Champion). The Japanese episode conveniently includes a neat little description of how fusion works.

But the Great Moth's attack has left poison particles in the air which erode the Dragon Knight's attack. So Yugi plays Makiou the Magical Mist to wash the poison away.

Weevil attacks with the Great Moth and destroys the Dragon Knight, lowering Yugi's Life Points to 50. It looks bad, but Joey, Téa, and Tristan keep on cheering, telling Mai that they'll never give up on Yugi. Mai says Yugi wastes too much time on his friends, instead of keeping his mind on the game. Then Tristan says, look at Yugi! (In the Japanese, Honda retaliates by calling her "Mai-chan.")

Yugi's smiling! He tells Weevil that he'll win because he plays with honor, and calls Summoned Skull (Demon Summon). Summoned Skull's lightning attack has been boosted by all the water left on the field by Makiou, while Weevil's Great Moth has been weakened, and Yugi wipes out Weevil's Life Points.

Yugi wins! And now Mai has something to think about....

Yugi takes Weevil's Star Chips, and Joey relieves him of his dueling glove. One duel down!