Episode 55 - Stalked By the Rare Hunters

At school, Joey is excited to hear about the new Battle City tournament, but is angry that Kaiba hadn't told him about it. As Joey gets himself psyched up to enter the contest the next day, Tristan reminds him that Serenity's operation is the same day, but Joey is sure that he can make it to both occasions without any trouble.

As Joey continues to brag about how great he is, Yugi warns him that each duellist has to risk a rare card on the result of a victory, but this only makes things worse as Joey is sure that he will win everybody else's cards. In a final attempt to calm his friend down, Yugi tells Joey that each competitor needs one of the new version duel disks. As soon as Joey hears mention of the duel disk system he quietens down, remembering what happened last time he used the system against Kaiba.

As the two friends head into town to find the Game Shop where the disks are being sold, Téa is the only one who knows where the shop is, having been there with Yami the previous day. As Joey and Tristan rush in, Yugi thanks Téa for going on the date with Yami, explaining that his partner seems happier since the day out. Téa realises that Yugi doesn't know about what Yami learnt during the trip to the museum, but as Yugi comments that he feels that Yami is searching for something, Téa realises that Yami won't be able to keep his secret from his partner for very long.

As the group enters the shop to enquire about the duel disks, the store owner brings up Yugi's data on the computer and is stunned to see that he is a level 8 duellist and therefore gets the disk free of charge. More than that, Yugi is one of the highest ranked duellists in the whole tournament.

Excited to hear what a high level his friend is, Joey asks what level he is, but as the store owner pulls up Joey's data Joey is shocked to see that he is only at level 2, not even high enough to qualify for the tournament. As Joey curses Kaiba for putting him at such a low level the store owner is intrigued to see that Joey has a Red-Eyes Black Dragon and decides to change Joey's level, claiming that it was merely a computer error. However as Joey leaves the store with his duel disk system, the store owner is immediately on the phone to somebody, informing them that he has found the perfect target.

As night draws in, Joey heads for the hospital to offer his support and all his friends are hoping for the best. However as he makes his way to the hospital Joey is stopped by a group of robed figures who challenge him to a duel, proclaiming themselves to be members of GURUS. Surrounded on all sides, Joey has no choice but to duel, hoping to defeat his opponent and still get to the hospital in time. As the duel begins, Joey plays the Panther Warrior and his opponent counters with a monster in defence mode, but as Joey plays Scapegoat to summon four small goats, he sacrifices one of them so that his Panther can attack, destroying his opponent's monster. However as his opponent's turn begins, he plays Angel's Gift, drawing three cards and then discarding two from his hand, and then plays another monster in defence mode.

As Joey wonders what his opponent is planning, Serenity is beginning to worry about where her brother is, not realising what is happening to him. As Joey plays the Armoured Lizard, he sacrifices a second goat so that his Panther can destroy the opponent's monster, but then Joey is able to attack his opponent directly with his lizard, reducing his life points to 2500.

As his opponent plays Angel's Gift again and then plays another monster in defence mode, Joey is sure that his opponent is scared and that that is why he is playing monsters in defence mode. Determined to finish the match quickly, Joey decides to summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Knowing that high level monsters have to be tributed in order to be played, Joey assumes that one of his monsters will have to be sacrificed, but as he plays the dragon he realises that both his monsters have to be sacrificed in order to summon a level 7 monster.

As Joey destroys his opponent's monster, he is sure that he will win the match, however as his opponent draws his next card, he plays the five pieces of Exodia onto the field. As the monster appears and destroys Joey's dragon and all of his life points, Joey is shocked to see the cards, thinking that Yugi was the only duellist who had them in his deck.

As Joey looks on stunned, his opponent reveals that he actually has three of each piece of Exodia in his deck, explaining that GURUS has the power to copy rare cards. Having defeated Joey, the Rare Hunter and the other members of GURUS attack Joey and take his Red-Eyes from him.

The next morning, Serenity refuses to have the operation because Joey still hasn't arrived and in an attempt to find her son, Mrs Wheeler calls Yugi to see if he knows where his friend is. Shocked to hear that Joey is missing, Yugi and the others gather in the town to search for their friend and Tristan eventually finds him moping on the beach. Joey tells Tristan what happened last night, but Tristan convinces his friend that his sister is more important that any card. Realising what a jerk he has been, Joey heads off for the hospital, hoping that it isn't too late.

Arriving at the hospital, Joey approaches the door to Serenity's room and calls in to her, apologising for everything that he's done. As the two talk through the door, Joey convinces his sister to go through with the operation and Serenity opens the door.

Later that day, Joey calls Yugi to tell him that the operation went well and he also warns Yugi about Battle City, but his friend is confused by the warning, not knowing the full extent of what happened the previous evening. As Yugi and Joey both prepare for the challenges that face them in the upcoming tournament, Joey is determined to get his Red-Eyes back one way or another

Episode 56 - The Battles Begin

As a new morning begins, Solomon is shocked to realise that Yugi has been up all night sorting out the deck that he and Yami will use during the upcoming tournament. Yami explains to Yugi that the tournament is important to him as he is seeking to answer an important question, however while he expects his partner to ask what it is he is searching for, Yugi doesn't. Amazed by the trust that his partner has towards him, the pair head off for the start of the tournament.

Elsewhere, Joey is worried that he will be at a disadvantage without his red-Eyes and decides to phone Serenity for some comforting words of guidance. However as the call connects, Joey is furious to hear Tristan answer the phone, realising that his best mate is trying to hit on his little sister while he is out duelling.

As the duellists begin to gather in the city, two people heading off to work are confused as to what is going on. A couple of duellists stop and explain that the town has become the site of a giant duelling tournament, and they advise the pair to get off the streets before the fighting starts.

As Yugi arrives at the main square, he checks the puzzle piece that he has been given in order to work out where he should start duelling from. As Yugi works out where to head to, Mai arrives and is excited when she learns that Joey is competing in the tournament, however as the two friends continue to talk they are interrupted by the arguing of Rex Raptor, Weevil Underwood and Mako Tsunami, old acquaintances from the Duellist Kingdom. However as the three continue to argue, none of them realise that the Rare Hunter who defeated Joey is watching them all, determined to claim their rare cards from them. They finally stop arguing and each of them heads off to their starting point.

Reaching his starting position, Yugi is just in time to catch Kaiba as he makes the starting announcements from a video screen attached to the Kaibacorp blimp. Kaiba explains that duels can be fought anywhere in the city and warns competitors that at the end of the preliminaries only 8 duellists will be left. Kaiba explains that not only is each duellist competing for rare cards, but they are also competing to learn where the finals of the tournament will be held. Each duellist has their own puzzle piece, and when six are brought together they will mark the location of the finals.

As all the duellists prepare to fight their hardest to win, Yugi spots Joey just as he prepares to confront the Rare Hunter. As Joey challenges the Hunter, Yugi arrives and immediately arouses the Hunter's attention because of his rare card, the Dark Magician. Determined to take GURUS down, Yugi prepares to challenge the Hunter when Joey warns him not to fight the opponent, knowing what his deck is like.

However as the Hunter challenges Yugi, Yami appears and accepts the challenge, determined to crush GURUS and stop their ways. As the two prepare to duel, Joey tries to warn Yami about the deck the Hunter is using, but Yami stops him, explaining that no duellist should know their opponent's tactics before the duel begins.

As the duel discs initialise, Kaiba is alerted to the fact that Yugi is beginning to duel and he and Mokuba prepare to watch the duel as it unfolds. The first turn begins, and the Rare Hunter already has two pieces of Exodia in his hand, but as Yugi makes his first turn he plays two cards face down before summoning Magnet Warrior Beta. However the Hunter seems unfazed by the move, playing Angel's Gift to draw three cards and then discard two from his hand. Yami is surprised by this tactic, not realising that the Hunter now has three of the five pieces of Exodia in his possession.

As Yami plays Glorious Light, preventing monsters from being summoned face down, the Hunter plays the Aztec Statue in defence mode. With the monster's DEF set at 2000, Yami sacrifices his Magnet Warrior to summon Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts. Fusing it with Baffomett from his hand, he summons Winged Beast Chimera, a monster with 2100 ATK points. However because of the new rules of Battle City, the monster is unable to attack until its next turn, so play passes back to the Hunter after Yugi plays one more card face down.

The Hunter once again plays Angel's Gift and successfully draws a fourth piece of Exodia, and with the aid of special contact lenses he can see that the next card on his deck pile is the final piece he needs to summon the Forbidden One. As Joey worries that Yugi won't figure out his opponent's strategy in time, the Hunter plays Air Patrol Golem in defence mode.

As Joey tries to convince Yugi to call off the duel, his friend realises that there must be some hidden agenda behind the defence monsters. As he thinks through his opponent's motives, Yugi realises what the Rare Hunter is trying and tells him that he will stop him from summoning Exoida. However even though the Hunter is impressed that Yugi has worked out his strategy, he is confident that there is no way for Yugi to stop him before he can draw the final piece.

Episode 57 - Exodia's Obliteration

As the duel continues to rage, the Rare Hunter is sure that he will win on his next turn, however it is a view not shared by his opponent. As Yugi plays a card face down, he destroys the Aztec Statue and then ends his turn. However as the Hunter taunts Yugi, confident that he is about to win, Yugi plays the Seal of Time to force the Hunter to miss his turn, preventing him from drawing the card.

Determined to defeat the first member of GURUS, Yugi uses the Hand Sealing Sword of Light to seal the Right Hand of Exodia, preventing the Rare Hunter from using it for three turns. Sacrificing Chimera, Yugi summons the Summoned Skull and uses it to destroy the Air Patrol Golem. As Joey looks on, impressed by his friend's comeback, the Hunter refuses to give up and plays the Swords of Revealing Light, paralysing Yugi's Skull for three turns.

As Yugi draws a card, he warns the Hunter that he will win within the next three turns, and then ends his turn without playing any cards. As the Hunter draws a duplicate piece of Exodia, Yugi plays a card face down before summoning Magnet Warrior Alpha onto the field. As his opponent looks on, confident that he will win, Yugi warns the Hunter that Exodia is only a powerful monster if the player has all five pieces.

Drawing yet another card, the Hunter is still missing the fifth piece of Exodia and decides to summon the main part onto the field to defend against Yugi's monsters. However as he does so, Yugi activates Chain Destruction, destroying all three copies of the piece from within the Hunter's field and deck. With only four pieces of Exodia left, there is no way for the Hunter to win, and as Yugi uses the Magical Space Typhoon to remove the Swords of Revealing Light, he summons Chimera back onto the field before powering up his Magnet Warrior with the power of the Summoned Skull.

Attacking with his souped up monster, Yugi destroys all of the Hunter's life points in one go, winning him the match. As Joey is pleased to see that his friend has won, both Kaiba and Mokuba, watching from Kaibacorp, are impressed by Yugi's skills. Reclaiming Joey's Red-Eyes from the Hunter's deck, Yugi destroys the fake cards that the Hunter was using.

As the two friends prepare to head off, the Hunter stands up, however as he begins to talk the two realise that he is being possessed. The controller of the Hunter explains that he is able to control his servants whenever he wishes and informs Yugi that he too has the power of a Millennium Item, the Millennium Rod. Introducing himself as Malik, head of GURUS, Malik explains that he is collecting the three God Cards in order to take control of the power of the pharaoh.

He warns Yugi that there are other, more powerful, Rare Hunters within the city, and that one of them possesses one of the three God cards. Yugi is determined to crush GURUS, however Malik warns him that he won't stand a chance against the powers of the Gods. As Malik leaves the body of the Rare Hunter, his servant passes out and collapses.

As Yugi and Joey prepare to head off to find more opponents, Yugi offers Joey the Red-Eyes but his friend refuses to accept it. He explains that he admires Yugi's determination and that he can't take the Red-Eyes back until he can defeat his friend in battle and claim it fairly, and that he will still be able to win as long as he has the Time Wizard to help him.

The two friends promise that they will face each other again once Joey has found what he is searching for, and as the two of them head off to find their next opponents, they have no idea as to what is in store for them as the Battle City rages.

Episode 58 - Psychic Psyche Out

Having vowed to win back his Red-Eyes from Yugi fairly, Joey is looking for somebody to duel in order to work his way up to finding out the location of the finals of the tournament. As he reaches a large opening, he sees that his old enemy Rex Raptor is in a duel against Esper Roba. Watching the match unfold, Joey is just in time to see Rex's Serpent Night Dragon taken down by the Psycho Shocker, wiping out the last of Rex's life points.

As Esper Roba declares that he has psychic powers, Joey is determined to defeat this strong adversary and refuses to listen to Rex's warnings. Meanwhile, over at the hospital, Tristan has brought Serenity a laptop so that they can monitor how Joey is doing in the tournament, while elsewhere Téa is still searching for both Joey and Yugi and Yami is seeking out the Rare Hunter who holds the God card.

Joey and Esper Roba prepare to duel, Joey not realising that his sister is being told his progress by Tristan. As Joey prepares to play his first card, Roba begins a psychic trick and pretends to stop Joey's monster from summoning. But as Joey is freaked by the trick, he realises that the monster was of too high a level to be summoned without a tribute. Having wasted his turn, an embarrassed Joey passes play to Roba.

As Roba suggests that Joey should have played the Landostar Swordsman, he plays the Cyber Raider and attacks directly, reducing Joey's life points to 2600. Watching at the hospital, Tristan is worried about Joey but lies to Serenity, telling her that her brother is winning, meanwhile Yami is watching the duel from a nearby rooftop, wondering whether Roba could in fact be the Rare Hunter he is seeking, until he sees Roba's brothers on another rooftop, spying on Joey's cards for their brother.

Roba uses the information that his brothers have told him to warn Joey that using two Graceful Dice in one turn is not allowed, however while Joey is freaked out by the comment, inspection of his hand shows that one of these cards is actually a Skull Dice. Realising that Roba is not a real psychic, Joey plays the Landostar Swordsman and then lays two cards face down.

As Roba sacrifices his Raider, he summons the Giga Cyber, but Joey reveals his Graceful Dice. Hoping to increase his Swordsman's ATK by enough to defeat the Giga Cyber, Joey is disheartened when he only rolls a 3, leaving his Swordsman still 700 ATK weaker its opponent, but as the Giga Cyber attacks, Joey reveals his other card, the Skull Dice. Rolling a 5, he reduces the monsters ATK to 440, making it weaker than the Swordsman.

As the two monsters collide, Roba's is defeated and his life points reduced to 2940 and Joey informs him that he isn't fooled by his tricks any longer. Up on the roof, Mokuba has spotted Roba's brothers and prepares to call off the match when they beg him not to, explaining that Roba fights to help them. Remembering how his own brother helped him out, Mokuba agrees to let the duel continue as long as the brothers stop cheating.

Oblivious to what is happening on the roof, Roba is becoming concerned that his brothers are not helping him any more and plays a card face down. Determined to win the match and challenge Yami again, Joey plays the Wyvern Warrior and orders both his monsters to attack. But while his Wyvern's attack hits home, reducing Roba's life points to 1440, as the Swordsman prepares to attack Roba reveals the Puppet Strings, taking control of the monster for two turns.

Confused as to why Roba waited to reveal the card, Joey plays a trap card face down, but as Roba sacrifices the Landostar Swordsman to summon the Psycho Shocker, he uses its special power to destroy the trap card. Unable to play trap cards, Joey is desperately seeking a way to win, but does he have what it takes now that his Red-Eyes isn't there to help him out.

Episode 59 - Spin to Win

With the Psycho Shocker dominating the field, Roba increases its power further by playing the Computer Amplifier, increasing it's ATK by 500 and then by a further 300 on each future turn. Destroying the Wyvern Warrior, Roba reduces Joey's life points to 1200, much to the annoyance of his opponent who is still reeling from how his trap card was wiped out before he could use it.

As Joey prepares to draw his next card, his trust in the Heart of the Cards pays off as he draws the Baby Dragon. Playing the card in combination with the Time Magician, Joey surprises both Esper and Rex Raptor as he spins the Time Roulette, landing on a Time Machine. However as the Time Magic transforms Joey's Baby Dragon into the Thousand Dragon, both he and Rex are stunned to see that Roba's Android has not been affected by the passing of time and is still more powerful.

As Joey's dragon is destroyed, reducing his life points to 700, Tristan, watching from the hospital, lies to Serenity once again, telling her that Joey is still doing fine. But as a nurse asks Tristan to leave the room he calls Téa, asking her to get a message to Joey. Refusing to give up, Joey plays Scapegoat, but Roba tells him that he may as well give up and Rex agrees with him. Back at the hospital, Tristan returns to the room but Serenity tells him that she knows he is lying and that she wants to know how her brother is really doing.

As Roba plays the Demon Mirror, the Psycho Shocker's ATK is increased by another 300 points thanks to the Computer Amplifier. As the two monsters attack, destroying two of Joey's goats, Roba warns Joey that next turn he will be able to play another monster and defeat him. Joey begins to think things are hopeless as Téa arrives and tells him that Serenity is watching him from the hospital.

Determined not to let his sister down, Joey is filled with new strength and as he draws his last card he summons the Roulette Spider. As the Spider attaches itself to the Psycho Shocker's face, it draws it to the centre of the duelling field and makes it start to spin. Joey explains that when the spinning stops, the Android will attack whichever monster it is facing at the time.

Rex is shocked that Joey is still leaving duels down to luck, but as Roba becomes worried at the prospect of losing the spinning stops, with the Shocker pointed at his Demon Mirror. As the attack hits Roba's monster, it is reflected back at the Shocker destroying both monsters and wiping out Roba's life points.

Watching from the sidelines, Rex can't believe that Joey lucked out again, meanwhile Esper Roba's brothers are distraught that their brother has been defeated. Joey demands his prizes from Roba, but his opponent is furious that he lost to a duellist who was relying on luck to win, but Joey explains that that is just the way he duels. Joey offers his friendship to Roba, but his opponent is too stubborn until his brothers arrive and tell him how proud they are of him.

Later that day, Roba and Joey have settled their differences and Roba hands over the puzzle card and his Psycho Shocker. Joey explains that both he and Roba are lucky to have such kind friends cheering them on, and as the two part ways he looks forward to finding Yami and winning back his Red-Eyes in a fair duel.

Episode 60 - Duel of the Dark Magicians

As a duel between two contestants in Battle City finishes, the winner is not amused with the rare card that his opponent is offering him and demands a better one. The argument begins to get heated until Kaiba and Mokuba arrive and order the two to stop fighting. Kaiba challenges the winner of the duel to fight him using a deck made out of any rare cards he wants from Kaiba's briefcase. Although the duellist is sure that he will win, as the duel begins Kaiba unleashes the God of Obelisk, defeating his opponent in a single blow.

At GURUS headquarters, Malik is informed that Kaiba has the third God card. Realising that Isis must have given it to him, Malik remembers back to how he was confronted by his sister when he claimed the God of Ra. Isis tried to stop her brother, but Malik was determined to collect all three God cards and free their family of the curse that has been haunting them for centuries. However even though Kaiba has the final God card, Malik's first priority is to destroy Yami Yugi, and he tells his followers to leave Kaiba alone for the time being.

Over at the hospital, Tristan leaves Serenity to go and find Joey and Yugi, but before he can leave she makes him promise to take her to watch Joey due after she gets the bandages removed. Meanwhile, Joey is off searching for a new opponent while Téa and Solomon head off to try and find Yugi.

As Yugi and Yami talk, Yami tells his partner that he is looking forwards to letting Joey win back the Red-Eyes from him in a fair duel. The two are distracted by a clown who leads Yami to a circus tent, but the two are followed by Téa and Solomon who want to see how Yugi is doing in the contest. Entering the tent, Yami approaches a box on the stage but as he steps in, the box collapses and Yami has disappeared.

As Téa and Solomon wonder where Yugi could have gone, Mokuba has also been informed that Yugi's signal has vanished and he and Kaiba head back to the tournament headquarters to check what has happened. Meanwhile, Yami has been transported to the Hobby Shop where the PC is displaying his duellist information.

As Yugi studies the screen, the image of the Dark Magician transforms into a magician wearing red robes. Before he has a chance to react, Pandora appears and challenges Yugi to a duel. He explains that while Yugi may be a good duellist, Pandora is the true Master of the Dark Magician, however Yugi warns his opponent that it is the cards who choose their own master and that as a Rare Hunter Pandora is unable to sense this.

Tired of arguing, Pandora leads Yugi down to the arena where they will duel. As the two make their way down the stairs, Pandora explains that Malik has told him that he would be coming and that his leader can appear anywhere at any time.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Pandora leads Yugi into the large duelling arena where they will hold their battle. As the two shuffle and cut their own decks, Pandora taunts Yugi explaining that he is missing a great opportunity that could come from joining GURUS. However as Yugi refuses, the duelling arena begins to transform.

As the floor of the arena pulls the opponents back to either end of the arena, both players find their legs clamped in place by a pair of locked manacles. While Yami is startled by this turn of events, Pandora makes things worse by revealing two spinning saw blades around the edge of the arena which will slice off a player's legs if their life points reach 0. Pointing to a box on the floor, Pandora explains that the winner will find a key to unlock the manacles, as well as a Puzzle card to help gain access to the Battle City finals.

As the duel begins, Pandora is not surprised to see that he has a Dark magician in his opening hand, having altered his deck so that the card would always be on the top when he cuts his deck. For his first turn, Yugi plays Alpha the Magnet Warrior as well as one card face down, and Pandora retaliates by playing Rijon, the Dark Clown.

However as Yugi's second turn begins, he senses Pandora's confidence and plays Card Destruction, causing both players to discard their hands and preventing Pandora from summoning his Magician. Yugi then uses Brain Control to take control of Pandora's Clown before sacrificing both his monsters to summons the Dark Magician onto his side of the field.

Attacking Pandora's life points directly, Yugi reduces his opponent's life to only 1500 in a single attack. However as Yugi warns Pandora that he will pay for cutting the cards to try and win, Pandora is still confident that he has what it takes to be the victor.