No Such Duel

Chapter 6: The First Lessons

The Loud Sisters also saw some strange machinery around the room, "Before we begin, we'll show you what a Duel is really like. The first mock Duel will be between Rusty and Haiku, and they'll demonstrate Fusion Summoning," she said, as both aforementioned kids took their places, on either side of the room. They attached odd looking devices to their arms, which projected a blade like apparatus. The machinery around the room activated too.

"In a Duel Monsters match, who goes first is decided by a coin toss. The winner decides if they want to go first or go second," Clyde said, as a holographic coin appeared.

"I'm calling tails," Rusty said.

"Then I'm calling heads," Haiku said, as the coin was tossed in the air. It landed blank side up.

"Tails, so Rusty gets to choose if he goes first," Clyde said.

Rusty Spokes: 4000 LP Hand : 5

Haiku: 4000 LP: Hand: 5

"And the first move is mine!" Rusty said, drawing a card, looking at his hand, "For my first move, I'll play one monster in defense mode, and three face downs," Rusty said, as he placed four cards down.

Rusty Spokes: Hand: 2

"There are three positions you can place monster cards; Attack mode, Face-Up Defense mode, or Face-Down Defense mode. Also, you can play spell and trap cards in the spell and trap card zone face down, but Spell Cards you can play immediately. Traps first have to be face down before they can be activated," Zach explained.

"My turn. I draw," Haiku said, drawing a card.

Haiku: Hand: 6

"First, I'll activate the Spell Card, Fusion Sage," Haiku said, as she play a green card with a picture of an old man on it, "This allows me to add one Polymerization from my deck to hand," she said, as her deck spat out one card.

"There are several phases to a turn. There's the Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase 1, Battle Phase, Main Phase 2, and End Phase. Some of them are self explanatory," Clyde said.

"Next, I'll activate Polymerization, and fuse Fluffal Bear with Edge Imp Sabres that are both in my hand, to Fusion Summon Frightfur Bear," Haiku said, as a stuffed bear and a living blade appeared, before being sucked into a vortex, spawning a more ferocious looking bear, that looked to have blades coming from it's gut.

Frightfur Bear

DARK Attribute

Level: 6

Type: Fiend/Fusion/Effect

Edge Imp Sabres + Flufful Bear

When this monster destroys an opponent's monster in battle, and sends it to the graveyard, you can that monster to this card as an Equip Spell Card with the following effect

The Equipped Monster Gains 1000 Attack Points

Attack/Defense Points: 2200 / 1800

Haiku: Hand: 3

"What was that!?" Lori exclaimed.

"What you just witnessed is called 'Fusion Summoning'. Using a Polymerization or any other similar Fusion Spell Card enables you to Fusion Summon a monster from the Extra Deck, so long as you meet the requirements to summon it. The Extra Deck is where you place particularly powerful Monster Cards, each of a different type. These types are Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Cards. The Main Deck is where they're drawing cards from. The Main Deck can have 40 – 60 cards, while the Extra Deck can have a maximum of 15 cards," Tabby explained.

"Now then, Frightfur Bear, attack his face-down card!" Haiku ordered. Frightfur Bear went on the attack. The face-down card flipped face up, to reveal a robotic jar like monster, "Uh oh, Cyber Jar!" she exclaimed, as Frightfur Bear destroyed the jar.

"Cyber Jar's Flip Effect now activates! When it's destroyed, all monsters on the Field are destroyed, then we get to draw five more cards! Then we can summon as many level 4 or below Monsters from what we draw!" Rusty said. Both of them drew five cards.

Rusty Spoke: Hand: 7

Haiku: Hand: 8

"And I got some sweet ones! Here's Ojama Yellow, Ojama Black, Ojama Green, and Ojama Blue!" Rusty said, as four, rather ugly looking monsters, each the respective colors appeared on the field.

Ojama Yellow

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 2

Type: Beast / Normal

Atttack / Defense: 0 / 1000

Ojama Green

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 2

Type: Beast / Normal

Attack / Defense: 0 / 1000

Ojama Black

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 2

Type: Beast / Normal

Attack / Defense: 0 / 1000

Ojama Blue

Attribute: Light

Level: 2

Type: Beast / Effect

If this monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard; You can add up to 2 "Ojama" Cards from your Deck to your Hand

Attack / Defense: 0 / 1000

Rusty Spokes: Hand: 3

"Eww, those things are gross!" Lola exclaimed.

"I was only able to draw two monsters. Edge Imp Saw and Fluffal Leo," Haiku said, as she summoned a living buzz saw, and a stuffed lion.

Fluffal Leo

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 4

Type: Fairy / Effect

When this card declares an attack, it gains 500 Attack Points until the end of the Battle Phase

Attack / Defense: 1600 / 1200

Edge Imp Saw

Attribute: DARK

Level: 3

Type: Fiend / Effect

Once per turn; When this card is Normal Summoned, you can send one "Flufful" monster from your hand to your graveyard; draw 2 cards, the place one card from your hand on either the top or bottom of your Deck.

Haiku: Hand: 6

"All of this was done because of the special ability of Cyber Jar. Some Monster Cards have unique abilities that help to change the rules, so that's something you'll need to keep in mind. Some effects require you to target Monsters with a certain name, Attribute, Type, or Attack or Defense Point Value," Clyde explained.

"But before you continue your turn, I'm activating all of my face downs!" Rusty exclaimed, as he turned up all of his face downs, "First up is the Trap Card, 'The Ojama Trio'! This summons three Ojama Tokens to your side of the field, and they can't be sacrificed for a Tribute Summon, AND, if any one of them is destroyed, you take 300 points of damage for each one," Rusty said, as three Ojama Monsters appeared on Haiku's field, "Next up is a new Spell Card called 'Greater Polymerization'. It fuses 3 monsters, and gives the new Fusion Monster TWO Special Abilities. First, my Fusion monster cannot be destroyed by card effects, and secondly, if it attacks a Monster in Defense Mode, and if my Monster has more Attack Points than there are Defense Points, then it can inflict Piercing Damage! Now watch, as Ojama Yellow, Black, and Green combine together, and allow me to Fusion Summon Ojama King!" Rusty said, as the three Ojama Monsters merged into a colossal, regal looking white Monster.

Ojama King

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 6

Type: Beast / Fusion / Effect

Ojama Green + Ojama Yellow + Ojama Black

Select up to three of your Opponent's Monster Zones. As long as this card remains on the field, your opponent cannot use any of those Zones

Attack / Defense: 0 / 3000

"He got rid of three icky looking Monsters to bring THAT thing out?!" Lola exclaimed.

"He's going to loose. It doesn't even have one attack point," Lynn declared.

"Don't be so quick to judge. Because my last face down will change that! It's called 'Ojamuscle'! The way it works is like this, I target one Ojama King on my field, and destroy all other Ojama Monsters on the field, then my King gains 1000 Attack Points for each one," Rusty explained, as Ojama Blue, and the Ojama Tokens all disintegrated, and assimilated into Ojama King. It's Attack Point Value rose to 4000, "And don't forget, since the Ojama Tokens on your side of the field were destroyed, you take 300 points of damage per Token."

Haiku LP: 4000 – 300 x 3 = 3100 Remaining

"Wait, that has to be cheating!" Lynn exclaimed.

"Nope. It's perfectly legit. There are various ways to reduce Life Points. As you just saw, they can be reduced by using card effects, but the most efficient way to reduce LP is inflict battle damage. This can be done by having one of your monsters attack a weaker one, in which case, the difference is dealt to the loosing monster's controller, or paying LP, which can put you at a disadvantage in exchange for activating powerful effects," Clyde replied.

"Another good way is to make your opponent's Deck run out of cards. When you're unable to draw anymore cards, then you automatically loose the Duel," Girl Jordan added.

"Now you need to know about Damage. When this happens, a Duelists LP is reduced by a certain amount. As you saw, because of the effect of the Ojama Trio Trap Card, Haiku took 300 points of damage for each of the Tokens that were summoned to her field. Card Effect Damage is one way to loose LP, but the most efficient way is through the Battle Phase, where Damage Calculation happens. If a monster in Attack Mode attacks another monster with fewer Attack Points, then the Monster with the least amount of Attack Points is destroyed, and the difference it dealt as damage. If you attack a Monster that's in Defense Mode, your opponent won't take Damage unless your monster is able to inflict what is known as 'piercing damage'. What's more, if the monster in Defense Mode has more Defense Points then the attacking monster has Attack Points, then neither monster is destroyed, but the attacking monster's controller takes the difference in damage. And, if your opponent has no monsters, then you can wage a direct attack, in which case, the monster's overall Attack Point Value is dealt as damage. But if it turns out that the opposing Monster has equal Attack Points, then both are destroyed, and no damage calculation is dealt, or if the opposing monster has equal Defense Points, then neither monster is destroyed, and, once again, no battle damage," Zach explained.

"Tsk, alright. But I'm nowhere near done with my turn! I activate a Spell Card from my hand; 'Frightfur Fusion'! By banishing Fusion Materials on either my field or in my Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon one Frightfur Monster. So, by banishing Edge Imp Saw and Flufful Leo, I can Fusion Summon Frightfur Leo!" Haiku said, as her two monsters merged into a big, stuffed lion monsters with buzz saw blades all around it's body.

Frightfur Leo

Attribute: DARK

Level: 7

Type: Fiend / Fusion / Effect

1 "Edge Imp Saw" + 1 "Fluffal" monster Must be Fusion Summoned, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. You can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; destroy it, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster. This card cannot attack directly the turn you activate this effect. You can only use this effect of "Frightfur Leo" once per turn.

Attack / Defense: 2400 / 2000

Haiku: Hand: 5

"Normally, I can use Frightfur Leo's Ability to Destroy one Monster on your side of the field, but due to Greater Polymerization's effect, that's a no go, so I'll end my turn with two face downs," Haiku said, as she set two cards face down on the field.

"Alright, my turn!" Rusty said, drawing a card.

Rusty Spokes: Hand: 4

"I summon Armed Dragon LEVEL 3, in Attack Mode!" Rusty said, as he summoned a small, yellow spiky dragon.

Armed Dragon LEVEL 3

Attribute: WIND

Level: 3

Type: Dragon / Effect

During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Armed Dragon LV5" from your hand or Deck

Attack / Defense: 1200 / 900

Rusty Spokes: Hand: 3

"And wait! There's more! I activate the Spell Card 'Level Up'! I can send a monster on my field with the word 'LEVEL' in it's name to the Graveyard, and special summon the Monster that's listed in the text of that LEVEL monster. I send Armed Dragon LEVEL 3 to the Graveyard to Special Summon Armed Dragon LEVEL 5 from my hand or deck!" Rusty said, as the little yellow dragon turned into a larger, red dragon.

Armed Dragon LEVEL 5

Attribute: WIND

Level: 5

Type: Dragon / Effect

You can send 1 monster from your hand to the Graveyard to select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to the ATK of the sent monster, and destroy the selected monster. During the End Phase of the turn this card destroys a monster by battle, you can send this face-up card from the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Armed Dragon LV7" from your hand or Deck.

Attack / Defense: 2400 / 1700

"What's with this 'Level' business?" Luan asked.

"See, apart from XYZ Monsters, ALL monster cards have a certain level, ranging from 1 – 12. The highest Level you're allowed to summon is Level 4, unless a Monster's effect says otherwise, or if you use any kind of Spell or Trap Card that allows you to Special Summon. For Level 5 or 6 monsters, you need to Tribute one monster you control, and send it to the graveyard. For Level 7 or higher monsters, you need at least 2 monsters to sacrifice, unless a monster card says to Tribute more. The exception to the Tribute Rule is Pendulum Summoning, but we'll cover that later," Clyde explained.

"Now, Armed Dragon's Special Ability now activates! I send one monster card in my hand to the Graveyard, then all Monsters with Attack Points less than or equal to the discarded Monster's attack points that you control are all destroyed! I discard Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning to the graveyard, so now all Monsters with 3000 or less Attack Points are destroyed!" Rusty said, as Frightfur Leo was destroyed, "And before I wage a direct attack, I activate a Spell Card from my hand called 'Heavy Storm', which destroys all other Spell and Trap Cards!" Rusty said, as Haiku's 2 face downs were destroyed, "Now then, Armed Dragon, attack her LP directly!" Armed Dragon then struck Haiku directly.

Haiku LP: 3100 – 2400 = 700 LP Remaining.

"And now, for Ojama King's attack!" Rusty exclaimed, as Ojama King attacked Haiku.

Haiku LP: 700 Remaining – 4000 Damage = 0 Remaining

Winner: Rusty Spokes

"As you saw, Rusty was able to win by attacking Haiku's LP directly, but there some Cards that can grant an automatic win, such as Exodia, but cards like that have specific instructions to achieve such a win," Haiku said.

"Of course, more advanced strategies can allow you to attack your opponent's deck, and make them discard a certain number of cards. And when your opponent runs out of cards, then you win the duel," Rusty added.

"Anyhow, next up will be Giggles and Girl Jordan. They'll demonstrate Pendulum, XYZ, Synchro and Ritual Summoning," Clyde said, as both girls took to the field. Like before, they placed the Duel Disks on their arms, and a virtual coin appeared.

"I'm calling heads," Giggles said.

"Very well, then I'm calling tails," Girl Jordan replied, as the coin was tossed, landing Tails side up, "Looks like I'm going first," Girl Jordan said, as she and Giggles drew their cards, and the machinery around the room activated.

Giggles: 4000 LP Hand: 5

Girl Jordan: 4000 LP: Hand: 5

"Alright, first, I'll activate the Ritual Spell Card 'Black Dragon Ritual'!" Girl Jordan said, as she played a spell card that had some knight standing up a cyclone of dark clouds, "Next, by sending this Level Four Luster Dragon from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Ritual Summon the Paladin of Dark Dragon!" she said, as an alter appeared, and a blue dragon appeared in the middle of it. It then turned into four flickering flames that lit each lamp, called out a knight that was riding on a black dragon.

Paladin of Dark Dragon

Attribute: DARK

Level: 4

Type: Dragon / Ritual / Effect

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Dark Dragon Ritual". At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks a Defense Position monster: Destroy that monster. You can Tribute this card; Special Summon 1 "Red-Eyes" monster from your hand or Deck, except "Red-Eyes B. Chick". You can only use this effect of "Paladin of Dark Dragon" once per turn.

Attack / Defense: 1900 / 1200

Girl Jordan: Hand: 2

"Next, I'll activate his special ability! By sacrificing my Paladin now, I can summon one 'Red Eyes' monster from my hand or deck, apart from the Red Eyes Black Chick. So now, I'm bringing out the Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Girl Jordan said, as her Paladin of Dark Dragon disintegrated, and was replaced with a lanky, yet powerful looking black dragon with red eyes.

Red Eyes Black Dragon

Attribute: DARK

Level: 7

Type: Dragon / Normal

Attack / Defense: 2400 / 2000

"Hold on! I thought you guys said that TWO monsters were needed to summon level 7 monsters!" Lynn Jr. voiced out.

"Under normal circumstances, yes, but Girl Jordan used the effect of her Paladin to bypass that rule," Liam replied.

"And there's more! Since all I've been doing is Special Summoning, that means I can still summon one Monster, like the Tuner Monster, Dark Tinker!" Girl Jordan said, as she summoned a hunchbacked monster with arms growing out of it's back.

Dark Tinker

Attribute: DARK

Level: 2

Type: Fiend / Tuner

When this card you control is sent to the graveyard, look at the top card in your deck, then place it back on either the top or bottom of your deck

Attack / Defense: 1000 / 1300

Girl Jordan Hand: 1

"What good does that do? That thing is way too weak to do anything worthwhile!" Lynn proclaimed.

"Just wait, because now I Tune Level 2 Dark Tinker with my Level Seven Red Eyes Black Dragon to Synchro Summon Azure Eyes Silver Dragon in Defense Mode!" Girl Jordan said, as her Dark Tinker then turned into two green stars, that then turned into rings, which then surrounded her dragon, turning it into stars, before a flash of light filled the room, and a big silver dragon with azure eyes was in the place of both monsters. There was a soft blue glow around it.

Azure Eyes Silver Dragon

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 9

Type: Dragon / Synchro / Effect

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Normal Monsters

If this card is Special Summoned: Dragon-Type monsters you currently control cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects until the end of the next turn. Once per turn, during your Standby Phase: You can target 1 Normal Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target.

Attack / Defense: 2500 / 3000

"Next I'll use my new Dragon's Special Ability, and bring back Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Girl Jordan said, as her Red Eyes then returned to the field, "Now I'll set a card face down, and end my turn."

Girl Jordan Hand: 0

"As you saw, both Synchro and Ritual Summoning rely heavily on a Monster's level. Ritual Monsters can only summoned using the Ritual Spell card that is need to summon it and by sending monster's who's total levels are either greater than or equal to the Ritual Monsters. Something to know about Ritual Monsters is that they go into the Main Deck with all your other Monster, Spell, and Trap Cards, and NOT the Extra Deck. As for Synchro Monsters, they require one Tuner Monster, much like the Dark Tinker Girl Jordan used, and one or more non-tuner monsters. Unlike with certain Ritual Spells, the total Levels of the tuner and non-tuner monsters MUST equal the same Level as what ever Synchro Monster you plan to summon," Clyde explained.

"Alright, now it's my turn! I draw!" Giggles said, as she drew her card. She then examined her hand, "Ok then, first I'll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 4 Ghost Beef and Scale 7 Mild Turkey!" Giggles said, as she placed two cards on opposite ends of her Duel Disk. Two columns of light then shot out from the ground, and a ghostly cow, and a roast turkey then appeared high above the clown girl, "Next, I'll activate BOTH of their Pendulum Abilities! I roll a six sided die for each one, and, depending on the roll, I can increase Ghost Beef's Pendulum Scale and decrease Mild Turkey's!" Giggles said, as a pair of dice appeared before each column, before getting tossed down. The one in front of Ghost Beef landed on a 5, while Mild Turkey's landed on a 5 as well, "And with these results, Ghost Beef's Pendulum Scale increases to 9, and Mild Turkey's decreases to 2! Now I can summon as many monsters as I want, as long as they're level 3 through 8! Now I Pendulum Summon Alexandrite Dragon and Aqua Armor Ninja!" Giggles exclaimed, as a vortex appeared between the two columns, and two different flashes of light, one yellow, one blue shot out, and took the form of a bejeweled dragon and a ninja.

Alexandrite Dragon

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 4

Type: Dragon / Normal

Attack / Defense: 2000 / 100

Aqua Armor Ninja

Attribute: WATER

Level: 4

Type: Warrior / Effect

When an opponent's monster declares an attack: You can banish this card from your Graveyard and negate the attack

Attack / Defense: 800 / 1600

Giggles Hand: 2

"And now, for the next act! I overlay Level 4 Alexandrite Dragon and Aqua Armor Ninja to build the Overlay Network!" Giggles said, as her monsters morphed into balls of yellow and blue light, and were sucked into what appeared to be a galaxy, "Now, I XYZ summon Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!" she proclaimed, as a black dragon with blade like tusks emerged. Two lights were orbiting it as well.

Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon

Attribute: DARK

Rank: 4

Type: Dragon / XYZ / Effect

2 Level 4 Monsters

You can detach 2 materials from this card, then target one monster your opponent controls; It's attack points become half, and if it does, this card gains the same amount that was lost.

Attack / Defense: 2500 / 2000

"I take it that Pendulum and XYZ summoning rely on Levels?" Lisa asked.

"Yes. As you saw, Pendulum Monster Cards can be played two ways, either as Monster Cards while in the Monster Card Zone, or as Spell Cards in the Pendulum Zone. While they are treated as Spell Cards, Pendulum Monster Cards are not actually Spell Cards. In the Pendulum Zones, they can use what is known as 'Pendulum Abilities', which can only be used in the Pendulum Zones. Then there are Pendulum Scales. They determine what levels of Monster Cards you can Pendulum Summon from your hand, as long as the Levels of the Monsters are within the Pendulum Zone. For instance, when Giggles used the Pendulum Abilities of her two cards, she altered them to help her summon more monsters. The scales were changed to 2 and 9, which means she could only Pendulum Summon monsters that are Levels 3 through 8," Zach explained.

"While most Pendulum Cards can let you summon ANY monster within the Pendulum Scale range, there are some Pendulum Cards that only allow you to summon Monsters with a certain title in their name. For instance, I have here Super-Heavy Samurai Generals Jade and Coral. Their Pendulum Abilities only allow a duelist to Pendulum Summon Super-Heavy Samurai Monsters," Chandler added, showing two cards of robotic samurais, both red and green.

"Then there are XYZ Monsters. Something to know about them is that they don't have Levels. Instead, they have what are known as 'Ranks'. You can summon an XYZ Monster simply by placing two monsters with the same Level on top of one another. Those two Monsters are then known as 'XYZ Materials', and they can be detached to activate special abilities that XYZ Monsters can use," Cookie explained.

"The higher an XYZ Monster's Rank is, the stronger abilities it can use," Kat added.

"Alright, now I activate Dark Rebellion's Special Ability! I detach both of it's overlay units, I can cut the Attack Points of one monster on your side of the field in half, then my Dragon gains those Attack Points! And since I can't target Red Eyes because of Azure Eyes' Ability, I'll use my Dragon's Ability on your Silver Dragon!" Giggles proclaimed, as both orbiting lights were absorbed by her dragon, and both aforementioned Dragon's Attack Points were altered.

Azure Eyes Silver Dragon

Attack : 2500 / 2 = 1250

Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon

Attack: 2500 + 1250 = 3750

"How did she do that?!" Lynn exclaimed.

"It's Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon's Ability. By using two Overlay Units, it can cut an opposing Monster's attack points in half, then gain the same amount. Another thing you'll need to know how to do is to strengthen your monster's Attack and Defensive Power by way of Monster Effects, Spells or Trap Cards," Polly Pain explained.

"And now, I'll hinder your ability to summon anymore Normal Monsters by taking out Azure Eyes Silver Dragon!" Giggles said, as her Dragon went on the attack.

"I don't think so! I play my face down Trap Card, 'Negate Attack'! This stops your attack in it's tracks!" Girl Jordan exclaimed.

"Not quite. I play the Spell Card 'Remove Trap', to keep you from using your own Trap!" Giggles said, play a Spell Card from her hand, which destroyed Girl Jordan's Trap Card, thus allowing Dark Rebellion to destroy Azure Eyes Silver Dragon.

Giggles Hand: 1

"Hold on, doesn't Girl Jordan take any damage?" Luan asked.

"No, since Azure Eyes was in Defense Mode, Girl Jordan's Life Points are safe, for now. The only way to inflict battle damage when your monster battles a Defense Mode Monster is if it's ability can inflict Piercing Damage," Clyde commented.

"I end my turn with a face down," Giggles said, setting two cards face down. The Pendulum Scales of both her Pendulum Cards returned to normal.

Giggles Hand: 0

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" Girl Jordan then looked at the card she just drew, "First, I'll activate the Card of Sanctity! This allows both of us to continue drawing cards until we're both holding six cards!" Girl Jordan said, as she and Giggles drew their cards.

Girl Jordan Hand: 6

Giggles Hand: 6

"Next, I activate Machine Angel Ritual, and sacrifice my Level 7 Red Eyes Black Dragon in order to summon Cyber Angel Idaten!" she proclaimed, as an alter appeared on her side of the field. Like before, her Red Eyes Black Dragon was sucking into the alter, making way for a pink and purple woman.

Cyber Angel Idaten

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 6

Type: Fairy / Ritual / Effect

You can Ritual Summon this card with Machine Angel Ritual. If this card is Ritual Summoned: You can add 1 Ritual Spell Card from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand. If this card is sacrificed, you can make all Ritual Monsters you control gain 1000 Attack/Defense.

Attack / Defense: 1600 / 2000

Girl Jordan Hand: 4

"What was the point of that!? That thing has way less Attack Power than Dark Rebellion!" Lynn exclaimed.

"I now activate Idaten's Special Ability! I add one Ritual Spell Card directly from my Deck to my hand, and the one I chose to add is Black Illusion Ritual, which I'll activate right away, sacrificing the Level 1 Scapeghost I have in my hand to the Graveyard, in order to summon one of the more powerful Ritual Monsters in the game, Relinquished!" Girl Jordan said, as another alter appeared, and a ghost sheep went into a pot, which then took the form of some kind of odd looking shell like creature.

Relinquished

Attribute: DARK

Level: 1

Type: Spellcaster / Ritual / Effect

You can Ritual Summon this card with "Black Illusion Ritual". Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls, equip that target to this card (max. 1). This card's Attack / Defense become equal to that equipped monster's. If this card would be destroyed by battle, destroy that equipped monster instead. While equipped with that monster, and battle damage you take from battle involving this card inflicts equal effect damage to your opponent.

Attack / Defense: 0 / 0

Girl Jordan Hand: 3

"That thing looks disgusting!" Lori proclaimed.

"It's just as icky, if not more so than those Ojama things Rusty used!" Lola added.

"On top of that, how is that thing even remotely powerful?! I doesn't even have any attack points!" Lynn added.

"I use Relinquished's Special Ability! It can absorb one of your monsters, and then gain that Monster's total Attack and Defense Points!" Girl Jordan said. Relinquished then sucked in Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon with it's black-hole like stomach, and closed it's shell. Dark Rebellion then appeared merged into the shell.

Relinquished:

Attack / Defense: 0 / 0 → 3750 / 2000

"Next, I'll play the spell card, Graceful Charity! It allows me to draw three new cards, then discard two," Girl Jordan said, as she drew three cards, then sent two of them to the graveyard, "Next, I'll play Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards!" she said, as she drew two additional cards.

Girl Jordan Hand: 6

"Alright, now my final Spell Card will be Heavy Storm, to destroy those two face downs!" she added, as her card destroyed Giggles' two face down cards, "And finally, I'll attack you directly with both of my monsters!"

Relinquished Attack Power: 3750 + Cyber Angel Idaten Attack Power: 1600 = 5350 Points of Damage

Giggles LP: 4000 – 5350 = -1350 Remaining

Winner: Girl Jordan

"So now that you've seen the various forms of Summoning, you can start building Decks and coming up with strategies," Girl Jordan said to the Loud Sisters.

"Why do we need strategies? We're up against Stinkcoln! He's an amateur and a jinx, and he is going to loose to us!" Lynn exclaimed.

"Don't be so quick to call him an amateur. He didn't become the Royal Woods Duel Monster's Champion for nothing. He's mastered every form of summoning, as well as various strategies that help keep him as one of the top ranked Duelists in town," Rusty countered.

"Then that means the Royal Woods division has to be the weakest of all, especially if that jinx is the champion," Lynn stated.

"Y'know, it that kind of self absorbed attitude that makes everyone in town favor Lincoln to win instead of any of you in terms of popularity," Ronnie Anne said.

"We're getting off track here! For now, we need to get the Loud Sisters their Duel Disks, and set them up with their E-Decks," Girl Jordan proclaimed, as some men came in with a cart that had a total of nine Duel Disks on it.

"Alright, listen up! You'll need fine-tune each of your individual E-Decks of 40 to 60 cards with a mix of Monster Cards, Spell Cards, and Trap Cards, as well as individual Extra Decks consisting of no more than 15 cards. You have access to all types of cards, so build your E-Decks strategically, and don't be afraid to strategize with one another. If it's proving to difficult to build a proper deck on your own, then you can take a survey, and an AI program will build your decks for you. You're free to take out and exchange cards with one another as you see fit," one of the men explained, as each sister was given a Duel Disk.

"Maybe we ought to take that survey," Lana suggested.

"You might have a point," Lori said, trying to figure out how to activate the Duel Disk.

"What did they mean by 'E-Decks' and 'E-Cards'?" Luna asked.

"See, unlike us, you'll be using virtual cards and virtual decks. You'll still be able to face Lincoln, even if he doesn't use an E-Deck," Girl Jordan explained.

"Ok, now how exactly to we activate these things?" Lola asked.

"Just attach it to your arm. It'll turn on automatically," Clyde replied. The sisters all did so, and the Duel Disk activated, "Now, if you want to take the survey, just go here," he said, tapping the screen, which brought the former pageant powerhouse to a survey screen, "Just answer all ten questions, then the system will give you your E-Decks," he stated. With that, each sister proceeded to take the survey, eventually ending up with their E-Decks and Extra Decks.

"Alright, for the first two or three days, you'll be facing each of us in one on one practice Duels. The main purpose is NOT to win, but rather, to understand all the E-Cards you have," Girl Jordan explained.

"Even if it's practice, I have to, nay, rather, I MUST win!" Lynn proclaimed.

"You see, Lynn? That's exactly what go you and your family into this mess in the first place! You're way too competitive, especially when you don't need to be!" Polly Pain snapped.

"When you're as awesome as I am, then you have to make sure your the best at everything, Polly. You'll learn someday," Lynn stated, unintentionally offending her former friend.

"In any case, we'll begin a few practice Duels immediately. The first match up will be Rocky against Lucy," Rusty stated, as his brother stood up, and took his place.

"Hold on! I'm the oldest of the family, so I should go first!" Lori insisted.

"Tough. None of you get a say in how we do this. Lucy, take your place on the other side of the field," Bobby coldly stated. Lucy did so, and Lori was silenced. Never had she been yelled at by her now ex-boyfriend.

"Alright, you both will start off with 4000 Life Points apiece. First player to eliminate all of their opponent's LP will be declared the winner," Clyde explained, as both kids activated their Duel Disks, thus also activating the machinery around the room. A holographic coin then appeared

"I'm calling Tails," Rocky said. The coin was then tossed into their air, landing on Heads, "Heads. That means you go first, Lucy," he said.

"Alright then," Lucy said, as her E-Cards then materialized above her Duel Disk.

"So those are her E-Cards?" Lori asked.

"Yes. They play the same way as regular cards do," Girl Jordan said.

"It's such a shame that such advanced technology is being wasted on a trivial card game," Lisa commented.

Rocky Spokes: LP: 4000, Hand: 5

Lucy Loud: LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"For my first move, I'm going to summon the Dragon Zombie in attack mode!" Lucy said, as she played one of her E-Cards, which manifested in the form of a decaying dragon.

Dragon Zombie

Attribute: DARK

Level: 3

Type: Zombie / Normal

Attack / Defense: 1600 / 0

"Next, I'll increase it's power with these two Spell Cards. First of which being the Black Pendant, which raises my Dragon's Attack Power by 500, as well as the Violet Crystal, to make it's Attack and Defense Points 300 points stronger," Lucy said, as she played two different Spell Cards.

Dragon Zombie

Attack: 1600 + 500 + 300 = 2400

Defense: 0 + 300 = 300

Lucy Loud: Hand: 2

"And since I don't have any other move to make, that will end my turn," Lucy said.

"Alright, my turn! I draw!" Rocky said, drawing a card, "First up, I'm summoning the Red Gadget to the Field in Defense Mode!" Rocky said, as he summoned a little red robot to his field, in Defense Mode.

Red Gadget

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 4

Type: Machine / Effect

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add 1 "Yellow Gadget" from your Deck to your hand

Attack / Defense: 1300 / 1500

"As per my monster's Special Ability, Yellow Gadget is added directly from my deck to my hand. And now, with the help of my Double Summon Spell Card, I'm able to summon it, also in Defense Mode!" Rocky said, as he now played a yellow robot.

Yellow Gadget

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 4

Type: Machine / Effect

When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add 1 "Green Gadget" from your deck to your hand

Attack / Defense: 1200 / 1200

Rocky Spokes: Hand: 1

"Like before, Yellow Gadget allows me to add the Green Gadget to my hand! However, neither of my monsters are strong enough to destroy the Dragon Zombie, so I'll my turn with two face downs,"

Rocky said, as he set two cards face down.

"Hmm, those two face downs are probably Trap Cards, so I should focus more on bolstering my Defenses until the time is right. And until then, I summon The Lady in Wight in Defense Mode!" Lucy said, as she summoned a skeletal lady.

The Lady in Wight

Attribute: Dark

Level: 3

Type: Zombie / Effect

Face-up Level 3 or lower Zombie-Type monsters on the field, except "The Lady in Wight", cannot be destroyed by battle and are unaffected by Spell/Trap effects. This card's name becomes "Skull Servant" while it is in the Graveyard.

Attack / Defense: 0 / 2200

"And I'll end my turn with one face down," Lucy said, placing one card face down.

Lucy Loud Hand: 1

"Hmm, well played," Rusty commented.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

"The Lady in Wight is able to safeguard all other Zombie Type Monsters. Not only that, it has rather high Defense Points as well," Rusty explained.

"Not a bad play, but that won't help you out of this! I draw!" Rocky said, drawing a card, "First up, I'm switching both Red and Yellow Gadgets to Attack mode, then I'm summoning Green Gadget in Attack Mode!" Rocky said, as a green robot materialized on the field.

Green Gadget

Attribute: Earth

Level: 4

Type: Machine Effect

If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add 1 "Red Gadget to your hand from your Deck

Attack / Defense: 1400 / 600

Rocky Spokes: Hand: 1

"Now all the pieces are in place! Reveal face down Trap Card; Stronghold the Moving Fortress!" Rocky exclaimed, as one of his face down cards flipped up, and a massive robot then materialized, "There are more ways to summon powerhouse monsters than the normal means. Stronghold is a rare breed of Trap Card that doubles as a Monster Card!" he proclaimed.

Stronghold the Moving Fortress

Continuous Trap Card

Special Summon this card in Defense Mode as an Effect Monster (Machine Type: EARTH: Attack / Defense: 0 / 2000)(This card is still treated as a Trap Card)When you control a face-up"Red Gadget" "Yellow Gadget", and "Green Gadget", this card Attack Point Value becomes 3000.

Attack Points: 0 → 3000

"Is that true?" Leni asked.

"Yep. Stronghold is a type of Trap Card known as a Trap Monster. It's treated as both a Trap and Monster card, and can be Special Summoned without a sacrifice. There are plenty of other Trap Monsters in the game, but they're extremely rare," Clyde replied.

"Now, Stronghold will now attack the Lady in Wight!" Rocky exclaimed, as his new monster attacked and destroyed the Lady in Wight.

"Since Lucy's monster was in Defense Mode, her Life Points are safe," Girl Jordan commented.

"Next, to take care of your Dragon, I'll activate my other Face-Down! Limiter Removal!" Rocky said, as his other face-down revealed itself, "This card doubles the Attack and Defense Points of ALL my Machine Type Monsters. The only drawback is that all the monsters affected by this are destroyed at the end of this turn," he said.

Red Gadget: Attack / Defense : 1300 / 1500 → 2600 / 3000

Yellow Gadget: Attack / Defense: 1200 / 1200 → 2400 / 2400

Green Gadget: Attack / Defense: 1400 / 600 → 2800 / 1200

Stronghold the Moving Fortress: Attack / Defense: 3000 / 2000 → 6000 / 4000

"All of his Gadget's just got a huge power boost!" Lola commented.

"And with Dragon Zombie having 2400 Attack Points, any one of them can take it out, leaving my other two to attack Lucy directly! Now, Green Gadget, attack!" Rocky exclaimed, as his Green Gadget went on the offensive.

"Not so fast! I have a face down! Reveal Magic Cylinder! This Trap Card negates one attack, then redirects your attack back at you!" Lucy said, as her face down revealed itself to be a trap card with a picture of two cups, which materialized, sucking in Green Gadget into one, then spitting it back out at Rocky.

Rocky LP: 4000 – 2800 = 1200 LP remaining

"Nice one! Now Lucy can use it again to take out the rest of that geek's Life Points!" Lynn exclaimed.

"First off, don't call my brother names! Secondly, Lucy can't use Magic Cylinder again, since it only negates one attack," Rusty stated.

"Which makes it the perfect time to attack Dragon Zombie again with Red Gadget!" Rocky exclaimed, as his Red Gadget went on the attack, destroying Lucy's last monster. As her monster was destroyed, the Black Pendant she equipped to her monster then shot a beam directly into Rocky.

Lucy LP: 4000 – 200 = 3800 LP Remaining

Rocky LP: 1200 – 500 = 700 LP Remaining

"What just happened? Why did that Pendant thing shoot at Rocky?" Lucy asked.

"It's because of the Black Pendant's other effect! Since Dragon Zombie was destroyed, all of the cards equipped to it were destroyed as well, and the Black Pendant's other effect inflicts 500 points of Damage to your opponent when it's destroyed," Haiku explained. The more Lynn heard talk about these Spell and Trap Cards, the more she became convinced that they were illegal to use.

'Those cards are just like steroids! They have to be against the rules!' she thought.

"And now your wide open for my Yellow Gadget to attack you directly!" Rocky said, as his Yellow Gadget attack Lucy directly.

Lucy LP: 3800 – 2400 = 1400 LP Remaining

"Unfortunately, I have no more monsters that can attack this turn, so I'll end my turn with a face down, and due to Limiter Removal's effect, all of my monster's are destroyed," Rocky said, as all of his monsters exploded.

Rocky Spokes: Hand: 0

"Lucy just needs to play a strong enough monster to win the Duel!" Luan commented.

"Tsk... the first win should be mine alone! No one else deserves to be number 1 except me!" Lynn snarled.

"Really, Lynn? You can't be happy that your sister is about to potentially win this practice Duel?" Clyde questioned.

"And besides that, what's there to gain from winning a practice Duel, other than gaining knowledge about how to play your cards right?" Polly added.

"Winning is everything. People who are naturally born winners are not only entitled to win, but also required to do so," Lynn explained.

"That has to be the dumbest logic I've ever heard in my life!" Ronnie Anne spat.

"Alright, now it's my turn again, and I draw!" Lucy said, drawing a card, and looking at it. She then examined the rest of her hand, "Hmm, I may be able to do this. First, I'm activating the Spell Card Pot of Greed, in order to draw two more cards!" she declared, as she drew two cards.

Lucy Loud: Hand: 3

"Next up will be another Spell Card called Cost Down!" Lucy said, as she played a Spell Card that show a picture of two stars being stabbed by swords, "This card allows me to summon higher level monsters with one less tribute, so long as I discard 1 card from my hand. Now I summon this Summoned Skull in Attack Mode!" Lucy said, as she discarded one of her cards, and summoned an imposing demon.

Summoned Skull

Attribute: DARK

Level: 6

Type: Fiend / Normal

Attack / Defense: 2500 / 1200

Lucy Loud: Hand: 0

"A monster that powerful can wipe out all of Rocky's Life Points easily!" Leni commented.

"Alright Summoned Skull, attack his LP directly!" Lucy declared. Her mosnter summoned electricity, then fired it at Rocky.

"Good move Lucy, but not good enough! Reveal Mirror Force!" Rocky said, revealed his face down, "This Trap Card negates one attack by one of your monsters, then destroys them all!" Rocky said, as the electric blast hit a barrier, then was sent back and destroyed Summoned Skull.

"Tsk, and I don't have any other moves I can make, so I'll have to end my turn here," Lucy said, looking at her hand.

"That's quitter talk, Luce! I won't have quitters on this team!" Lynn declared.

"Who died and made you the Leader of this team?" Lori demanded.

"I have better team leadership skills than anyone else in the family, so of course I have to be the leader!" Lynn exclaimed.

"Any how, with that, I'll have my turn then! I draw!" Rocky said, drawing a card, "I summon X Head Cannon, in Attack Mode!" Rocky said, as he played a blue machine monster with cannons on it's shoulders.

X Head Cannon

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 4

Type: Machine / Normal

Attack / Defense: 1800 / 1500

"And now, I'll have X Head Cannon attack your LP directly!" Rocky declared, as his monster fired it's cannons at Lucy.

Lucy LP: 1400 – 1800 = 0 LP remaining

Winner: Rocky Spokes

"That shouldn't count, right? That kid must've cheated somehow!" Lynn declared.

"No, Rocky won legitimately. Although some praise should be given to Lucy. She dueled rather well for her first time playing the game," Clyde commented.

"Really? Even though she lost?" Lana asked.

"She played her cards well, and it did look like my brother was going to loose there for a moment. No offense," Rusty said to his brother.

"None taken," Rocky replied.

"As you all can probably tell, the purpose of these practice Duels are to help you learn the ins and outs of all the cards you have in your E-Decks, how they can be used and so forth. We'll keep up with these practice Duels until we deem you guys ready for your match against Lincoln. And by ready, I mean being able to last a few turns while trying to deal half of his LP in damage," Ronnie Anne explained.

"That'll be easy! Stinkcoln could never defend himself in regular fights with us. What makes this Duel so much different?" Lynn quipped nonchalantly.

"Lincoln is not an amatuer, and he has several strategies to defend his LP," Zach replied.

"In any case, onto the next Duel!" Bobby said.

"Me next!" Lynn declared. Bobby rolled his eyes in annoyance, as did the rest of Lincoln's peers.

"Fine. The next practice Duel will pit Lynn against Clyde," Bobby said.

"This will be too easy!" Lynn commented, as both of them took their places.

One incredibly one-sided Duel later,

Lynn found herself on her knees, having just been brutally defeated by Clyde, "You were right. That was easy," he said, as his field, which consisted of giant, rusty robots dissipated.

"We're going again! That loss didn't count!" Lynn proclaimed.

"Sorry Lynn, but you had your chance to easily learn about your E-Cards, and you blew it. You'll have to wait your turn until tomorrow's training session. And next time, try actually using your Spell and Trap Cards," Clyde suggested.

"No way! I refuse to use any Spell or Trap cards! They're basically like steroids for the Monsters, and steroids are illegal substances!" Lynn declared.

"That's stupid Lynn! In Duel Monsters, you're supposed to use Spell and Trap Cards to help support and strengthen your Monsters, otherwise, they're going to get creamed!" Ronnie Anne stated.

"I still refuse to use any!" Lynn declared, her tone sounding final.

"Well, if you don't want to use Spell or Trap Cards, then try building an E-Deck of Super-Heavy Samurai Monsters. They rely on having no Spell or Trap Cards in your Graveyard. In other words, it's a Monster only Deck," Clyde suggested.

"Ok, so how do I do that?" Lynn demanded rudely.

"Use the search function on your Duel Disk to search for Super-Heavy Samurai Monsters. Just remember, your Deck must consist of no less than 40 cards and no more than 60 cards, and your Extra Deck can only have up to 15 cards. Something you and the rest of your sister need to keep in mind is that you're only allowed to have up to three copies of the same card in your deck. For example, you saw my Ancient Gear Golem, right? I have three copies of that Monster in my deck, and that's the limit I can have," Clyde explained.

"Of course, between each of you, you're only allowed to have three copies of a single card. For example, if say... Leni, Lucy, and Lola each had a copy of a card, like say this Monster Reborn Spell Card, then that's as many copies as your team can have on hand," Rusty explained.

"The rest of you are able to change out your E Cards too, as well as exchange them with one another," Ronnie Anne added, as Lynn was going through her choices for Super-Heavy Samurais.

"But for now, we're continuing with the training sessions! After today, once you've gotten a feel for each card and how to play them, you can start working on strategies," Chandler said. With that, the Sisters continued their training sessions. Meanwhile, a mysterious masked figure watched from the shadows.