Chapter 5
The Ultimate Great Moth
It seemed pretty clear that Yugi nearly had the duel won, as he had took out most of Weevil's life points. "That was a great play, Yugi!" Spike called out. "He wiped out Weevil's army in one move!" Tristan added. "I must say, that Mirror Force trap card is quite handy to have." put in Rarity, knowing that she, Twilight and Spike each had one in their own decks. "Alright! You got that four-eyed bug on the ropes!" Rainbow shouted with a smile, only for someone to laugh at the very thought. "Yeah, right!" said the voice. Everyone looked and saw it was Mai Valentine. "It seems most of you don't seem to know who your pal is up against." she said. "Oh, we know who he's up against. Regional Champion Weevil Underwood, and the same bully who threw Yugi's Exodia cards overboard on the way here!" Pinkie said. "You may know he's regional champion, but I'm willing to bet he's got moves that Yugi can't even dream of." Mai responded, angering most of the girls, particularly Tea. "No one asked for your opinion on this duel, big mouth, so why don't you just get lost?!" Tea shouted. "And miss watching a duel I heard many of the other contestants say they wanted to see on the boat? No way, and I'm willing to bet that Weevil's gonna turn this duel around in no time." Mai responded. "Admittedly, Weevil is a tough and clever duelist." Spike pointed out. "He's tough, clever and sneaky." Tristan added. "Who's side are you two goofballs on, anyway?!" Tea shouted. "Tea, dear, all they're saying is that this is Yugi's first official tournament duel, unlike his duel with Kaiba, which wasn't an official match for the world title." Rarity explained. 'That troublemaker thinks she knows so much about dueling, well just wait until she sees just what Yugi's faith in the Heart of the Cards can do.' Pinkie thought to herself.
"You may have flattened my army of bugs, Yugi, but you haven't won. I have plenty plenty of tricks up my sleeve." Weevil said, still upset that Yugi destroyed five of his monsters in one counterattack. "You've done an awful lot of buzzing throughout this whole duel, Weevil, but I'm still here, waiting for the sting." Yugi responded. "Since you're new to this whole dueling tournament thing, I'll try to make this simple for you; I'm gonna wipe that goofy grin from your face. Now, let's see which lucky bug gets to take the next bite out of your life points." Weevil said before picking his card. "Oh, but this little bug won't stand a chance against that ferocious Dark Magician. Oh, well. I'll set him on the field in defense mode." he continued as he made his move, but Yugi knew better. "That would've been a nice bluff, but, I still haven't forgotten about that trap card you told me about a few turns ago." Yugi said, remembering that Weevil told him that attacking with any monster would instantly spring the trap. 'He didn't trap me then, he's not gonna trap me now. Weevil's trap card will activate as soon as I call an attack, and it'll destroy at least one of my monsters on the field. But what if I get my monsters off the field first, and then spring Weevil's trap? That's it!' Yugi thought to himself. "I'll spring your trap, Weevil, but first I play the Monster Recovery card! It allows me to recall all the creatures I have on the field. Monsters, return to your cards!" he said aloud, slightly frustrating Weevil as the Dark Magician and Yugi's face down Torike were recalled. "Now your trap has nothing to snare. And once my monsters and my entire hand are safely back in my deck, Monster Recovery allows me to draw a new hand." he continued as he put all his monsters and his hand back in his deck and shuffled before drawing a new hand. "Now all I have to do is sacrifice one of my weaker monsters and your trap is sprung. I pick Kuriboh, in attack mode!" he finished as Kuriboh, a level one, Dark attribute Fiend monster with 300 attack points and 200 defense points appeared. Right then and there, Weevil activated his trap card and destroyed the little fur ball.
"Whoa! That was smart on Yugi's part. That trap card was called Parasite Worm, and it destroys any monster you summon and deducts life points equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. So by using Kuriboh as a sacrifice to get it off the field, Yugi only took 300 points of damage." Spike said in amazement. "Trap cards only work when they catch you by surprise. Next time, don't give your plan away." Yugi said, but Weevil just laughed. "I didn't! I never gave a bee's behind about that Parasite Worm trap! I tricked you into recalling your Dark Magician and your face down monster, so you couldn't attack this!" Weevil responded as he flip summoned his face down monster, which was a level two, Earth attribute insect with 500 attack points and 400 defense points, now increased to 650 and 520, respectively, called Larvae Moth. 'It's just a simple little Larvae Moth. That tiny creature can't be much of a threat. What's Weevil up to now?' Yugi pondered. "Sure, he's just a little slug now, but the Cocoon of Evolution will change all that!" Weevil said to a shocked Yugi as he played said card, which was a level three, Earth attribute insect with 0 attack points and 2000 defense points. "Isn't it beautiful?" Weevil asked as the Larvae Moth began sealing itself inside the cocoon, to the disgust of a few of the group. "Ew. That's just gross." Tea remarked. "Here, here, Tea, darling." Rarity concurred. "Wait a minute! I know this move! Weevil's equipping his Larvae Moth with the Cocoon of Evolution, which is itself another way to summon the Larvae Moth, and that means he's planning to hatch something big!" Fluttershy said in worry. 'Looks like the pastel patrol have been studying, and they knew I was right when I told them Weevil would find away to turn this duel around.' Mai thought to herself.
"Behold, my Cocoon of Evolution! Within that cocoon sits my tiny little Larvae Moth, and over the next five turns, he'll undergo a startling transformation! From harmless caterpillar to unstoppable Great Moth!" Weevil declared with a laugh. "Then I'll crack your cocoon before that happens." Yugi responded. "Easier said than done, Yugi, for my Cocoon of Evolution is equipped to my Larvae Moth, and that means its attack and defense points are equal to that of the cocoon itself. Plus, the Cocoon of Evolution also gets a Field Power Bonus from the wilderness around us, increasing its defense points! Now it's so strong, you can't even scratch its surface! Just five more turns, Yugi. In five turns, my Great Moth will fully evolve and finish you off!" Weevil retorted. 'If what Weevil says is true, I better act fast. That thing's getting bigger and stronger with each passing second. I just have to find a way to break open that cocoon. I can't let that moth get to its fifth stage of evolution, but do I have a card strong enough to stop it?' Yugi thought to himself before playing a familiar monster. "Gaia the Fierce Knight! Shatter that cocoon with Spiral Saber attack!" Yugi commanded upon Gaia's appearance, but the attack failed. "No! That Field Power Bonus made it too strong! That cocoon must be 300 attack points stronger than Gaia in order for the attack to fail!" AJ said in shock and worry. "That's one turn down. Care to try again?" Weevil asked with a laugh. 'Weevil's cocoon is gonna be tough to crack. And for each attack that fails, my life points go down.' Yugi thought to himself as his life points dropped to 750.
"Come on, Yugi! You gotta hang tough and pop that bug bag!" Rainbow shouted, though Mai just laughed at the thought. "Just what do you think you're laughing at?" Tea asked, annoyed. "All that stupid encouragement you're spouting off. You make it sound like your Yugi has a chance." Mai answered. "Of course he does, Mai. Haven't you ever heard of The Heart of the Cards?" Pinkie asked. "Heart of the Cards? Come on. A duelist has to think with their head, not their heart. And let's face it, just like Yugi is going to find out, any other Duelist that's ever gone up against Weevil's Cocoon of Evolution got a nasty surprise, and was totally trashed. Trust me, I've seen it happen on television." Mai responded. "All of them?" Joey and Tristan asked, causing the others to stand in silence. "But none of those other Duelists are like Yugi. He's got the Heart of the Cards to guide him and friends to cheer him on." Fluttershy said, confident. 'He's gonna need more than you lot and this Heart of the Cards nonsense you're yammering about.' Mai thought to herself. "Hear it growing? The more time you waste, the more powerful it becomes." Weevil said. 'If I don't think of something quick, I'm not only gonna lose this duel, I'll lose my only chance to save my grandpa. There's no way I can let that happen.' Yugi thought to himself. "Tick tock, tick tock. Just four more turns until my ultimate insect emerges. Then you can stop worrying about how you're going to destroy it, and start worrying about how it's going to destroy you!" Weevil said with a laugh as he drew his next card and passed the turn. 'Maybe I should prepare a defense in case I really can't stop that thing.' Yugi thought as he drew and set his Beaver Warrior. "You're wasting your turn. No defense will save your life points once my moth is out!" Weevil scoffed as he drew and passed, prompting Yugi to draw once more.
'I have to figure out a way to turn this duel around! Weevil's pretty confident that whatever's growing in that cocoon is unbeatable, but there's gotta be some way to pop that thing open, and wipe that smirk off his face! But how?' Yugi thought to himself, knowing he had a few turns left to figure out how to do just that. "Yugi, you have to turn this thing around! Your grandpa's counting on you!" Fluttershy said. "I know he is." Yugi answered. "Then stop letting bug boy push you around, get fired up, and find away out of this web!" Rainbow shouted. 'Wait. That's it! Get fired up!' Yugi said to himself, instantly having an epiphany. "So, do you just work up these lame encouragement cheers or do they just come to you? Or do you now realize that trying to will Yugi back in the fight is actually distracting him from the duel?" Mai asked. "How would you know? I bet no one ever cared to try to cheer you on, let alone try to be your friend." Pinkie responded. "Friendship hasn't helped Yugi any, he's losing the duel." Mai said before looking up and getting a shock as Yugi gave his friends a thumbs-up. "Guess we beg to differ, Miss Valentine. By the look on his face, I'd say his friendship with us is helping him." Rarity said, snootily. 'Yeah, right. What possible idea could Yugi have gotten from these mentally challenged goody-goods?' Mai pondered. "Go, Curse of Dragon! Take flight!" Yugi shouted as his next monster, one familiar to Spike, a level five, Dark attribute dragon with 2000 attack points and 1500 defense points called Curse of Dragon, appeared before everyone's eyes. "And I'll combine it with a magic card known as Burning Land! Attack, with Dragon Flame!" he continued as Curse of Dragon fired a stream of flames right onto Weevil's side of the field.
"What do you think you're doing? You know your little firefly can't hurt my cocoon!" Weevil said, thinking Yugi's attack was pointless and worthless, until Yugi chuckled. "What's so funny?" he asked. "Whoever said I was aiming for your cocoon? You must not have heard me when I said I was combining my Curse of Dragon with the Burning Land magic card, to destroy the forest all around your cocoon!" Yugi responded. "No forest?! That means, I lose my Field Power Bonus!" Weevil said in shock. "Exactly. Your cocoon was too tough to attack correctly, but without its Field Power Bonus, it's just a big target." Yugi said with a smile as the Cocoon of Evolution's defense points dropped back to 2000. "Now you know why I love that card, Applejack." Spike said with a big grin. "Now let's try this again. Gaia the Fierce Knight, attack with Spiral Saber!" Yugi commanded as Gaia charged forward and FINALLY pierced the cocoon. "He did it! Popped that cocoon open like a water balloon!" Pinkie cheered, but Weevil just chuckled as noises were heard coming from the pierced cocoon. "Is it still alive?" Tea asked. "I've got a bad feeling we're about to find out." Joey answered. Suddenly, a new monster appeared from the remnants of the Cocoon of Evolution, a level eight, Earth attribute Insect with 2600 attack points and 2500 defense points. "I can't believe it! Whatever was in that cocoon is still breathing It must've evolved enough to survive the attack!" Spike said in shock. "You're surprised? I told you Weevil was good." Mai said as the monster revealed itself. "I'm impressed that you pierced my cocoon, Yugi, but still, you were unable to stop the evolution of my ultimate insect! The Great Moth!" Weevil shouted. "But I thought it took five turns." Yugi said. "So you stopped him one turn early before he reached his perfectly ultimate stage, he's still strong enough to beat you." Weevil responded with a chuckle. "Well, this is just great! Now what's Yugi gonna do?" Rainbow said, annoyed. 'Looks like they're all worried instead of cheering now. The Great Moth is an unbeatable creature, they can chatter all they want here on the sidelines, but it won't help Yugi one bit.' Mai thought to herself.
'Weevil turned this match around again! But I'm not giving up!' Yugi thought to himself. "So, Yugi, feeling outclassed yet? Or perhaps you're enjoying your first major league dueling loss." Weevil spoke with a chuckle. "You may have gotten your prized monster onto the field, Weevil, but I'll still find a way to squash that oversized bug." Yugi retorted. "You'll pay for that stinging jab with your life points! Great Moth, take flight!" Weevil shouted as the Great Moth took to the air. "So be it. We'll settle this in the skies!" Yugi responded as the Great Moth and Curse of Dragon soon faced each other, eye to eye. 'Yugi's dragon is no match for my Great Moth, and none of his land monsters have the ability to attack me in the air! But which puny creature should I obliterate first?' Weevil pondered before quickly making his choice. "I think it's high-time I pay back your knight for demolishing my cocoon." he said aloud. 'My knight! He's the heart of my attack force! There's no way I can afford to lose him!' Yugi said to himself, slightly worried. "This is it, Yugi! My Great Moth will crush your defenses, slay your knight, and blast your dragon from the sky!" Weevil said with glee. "Not if I can help it, Weevil!" Yugi retorted as he played a card. "But that's just it, you can't help it! Moth Hurricane attack!" Weevil shouted as his monster fired spiraling blasts of wind from its wings, destroying Beaver Warrior. "No! My Beaver Warrior!" Yugi said as his monster was blown away. "It's hopeless! Nothing can stand against the gale force winds of my Moth Hurricane! Your knight will be totally blown away!" Weevil shouted as Gaia was seemingly destroyed. "That'll teach him to mess with my cocoon!" he added.
"Don't count on it. Weevil, you were so busy fawning over your moth, you didn't notice I played a Polymerization card!" Yugi responded. "But, I thought..." Weevil began to say, shocked that Yugi was a step ahead of him. "If I have two compatible monsters on the field, I can use Polymerization and fuse them into one ultimate creature." Yugi explained, but most of Twilight's friends knew how the concept of Monster Fusion worked as they all, save for Twilight herself, had a Fusion Monster or two in their collections, and Spike knew exactly what Fusion Monster Yugi had on the field at that moment, for he had one himself, a level seven, Wind attribute Dragon Fusion monster with 2600 attack points and 2100 defense points known as Gaia the Dragon Champion. "I'm not some beginner, I know what fusion does!" Weevil said, clearly annoyed that Yugi had to explain it. "Then you must know that it matches our monsters' attack points. My new monster, Gaia the Dragon Champion, is now powerful enough to go head to head with your Great Moth." Yugi responded. "I wouldn't be so sure about that! Look again!" Weevil retorted with a laugh. And right on cue, Gaia the Dragon Champion began losing 100 attack points at a time. "No! My Dragon Champion, he's losing points, and fast! But how? And why?" Yugi pondered. "It's poison, Yugi. Poisonous scales from my Great Moth's wings. Each time it uses its Moth Hurricane attack, it releases tons of these tiny, toxic scales. And your precious Dragon Champion is being poisoned by their deadly touch!" Weevil answered with a laugh. 'My Dragon Champion is losing points with each passing second, but how do I protect him from the very air itself?' Yugi pondered. "Looks to me like my poison scales are taking their toll, Yugi!" Weevil said with glee.
'My Dragon Champion's in serious trouble, and I don't have a card in my hand to help him, but I know my grandpa's deck won't let me down!' Yugi thought to himself as he drew his next card, which was just what he needed. "Yes! Ready to be rained out, Weevil?! I play Makiu the Magical Mist!" Yugi shouted as a rainstorm came down upon the battlefield. "No! My poison! You're washing it all away!" Weevil shouted. "That's right. Makiu washes the field clean." Yugi confirmed. "No fair! I was about to win and you saved yourself with a little drizzle?!" Weevil complained. 'It's true, I saved my Dragon Champion, but that's not all I did.' Yugi thought to himself. "Alright, then. You may have stopped my poison attack, but I promise you've only won a brief reprieve, because my next move is one you won't be able to think your way out of! Brace yourself for my ultimate insect's ultimate attack! Great Moth, Tornado of Doom!" Weevil shouted as the monster launched its attack and destroyed Gaia, dropping Yugi's life points down to a mere 50. "A direct hit! Your little rainstorm didn't save you from that one, now did it?! Your Dragon Champion is toast, and you're almost out of life points!" Weevil said with a laugh. "Yugi, you may be down to your last 50 life points, but you've gotta keep fighting! I know you can come back from this, just like you made a comeback during your duel with Kaiba!" Spike shouted. "You're delusional, kid." Mai said, doubtful. "No, Spike is right. Yugi never gives up, and we never give up on him." Tea retorted. "Then you're all nuts. Weevil totally annihilated Yugi's best monster, a Fusion Monster, no less, and he's down to his last 50 measly life points. There's no way he can win, so just save your breath." Mai responded. "No way, you save your own breath, you selfish, pompous, bleach blonde, know-it-all, windbag!" Pinkie shouted. "Do us a favor and get lost, right, Joey?" Rainbow added.
"You said it, so just pretend she's not even here, Rainbow. Besides, Yugi's in serious trouble." Joey responded. "We know, but what can we do?" Fluttershy asked. "Beats me, but it'd be great if we could trade Mai in for life points." Joey responded, prompting Pinkie to drop to her knees and laugh. "I wish!" she said. "I tried to tell you that Yugi didn't have a chance in an official duel against a champion. He's wasting too much time listening to you while he should be thinking and planning his next move, just like Weevil does." Mai continued. "Then why didn't he see this coming?" Tristan asked, puzzling everyone. "See what coming, Tristan, darling?" Rarity asked. "Whatever it is Yugi's grinning about." he answered. Mai looked up and was baffled that Tristan was right. "Yeah, you're right. He's smiling!" Pinkie said. "Actually, I think I hear him laughing." Twilight said. "No way." Mai said in disbelief, wondering why Yugi was laughing at a time like this. "Hey! Hey! What are you so happy about?! Stop that snickering!" Weevil shouted. "Weevil, I know it will be very difficult for you to accept losing a duel, especially after spending so much time finding inventive ways to cheat. But if you thought bending the rules would help you win this match, you're wrong." Yugi said at last. "No! This is a trick!" Weevil retorted. "You play dishonestly, so you expect the same from your opponents. But I duel with honor, Weevil. And that makes all the difference." Yugi said. "You've got nothing!" Weevil responded, with a hint of worry and a dash of panic. "Here's what I've got, the mighty Summoned Skull!" Yugi retorted as the monster, a level six, Dark attribute Fiend with 2500 attack points and 1200 defense points, appeared.
"Whoa, what's that?" Mai asked. "It's a monster I happen to have in my deck. The Summoned Skull." Spike responded. "This is it, Weevil. Your ultimate insect won't withstand my next attack." Yugi said. 'Ha! Yugi must be losing it. His Summoned Skull is strong, but my Great Moth is stronger still. If he's foolish enough to attack, my monster will most certainly squish his monster and wipe out the rest of Yugi's precious life points as well!' Weevil thought to himself. "There's something you overlooked, Weevil. My Magical Mist is still dampening the entire field." Yugi pointed out, shocking and surprising everyone, especially Mai and Weevil. "He's right! Everything's wet! My Great Moth is totally soaked!" Weevil said in shock and worry. "And my Summoned Skull attacks with electricity, making your waterlogged bug a giant-sized lightning rod. I hope you're in the mood for some fireworks, Weevil, because all this water boosts my monster's electrical attack power by 1000 points!" Yugi said. "Alright, time to call down the lightning like Zapp!" Rainbow said, remembering the time she could control lightning bolts in the comic book she and her friends got sucked into. "Summoned Skull, Lightning Strike!" Yugi commanded as a bolt of lightning went up and then came back down, setting the Great Moth ablaze as it hit, exterminating it and Weevil from the tournament. "It's over. I've won." Yugi simply said as the smoke cleared. "No! Impossible! My moth's unbeatable!" Weevil said in shock that he actually lost. "Not anymore it ain't!" Rainbow shouted as Weevil fainted on his feet and dropped to his knees. Right on cue, everyone started to celebrate Yugi's first win in the tournament, while Mai stood impressed. "Impressive. I didn't think Yugi could ever beat Weevil." she simply said.
"But I'm the Regional Champion! The Regional Champion!" Weevil protested. "You call yourself a champion, Weevil, but you only won your duels through lying and cheating. True champions, they play with honor. They play fair." Yugi retorted. "Don't waste your time with this sneaky slug. He's a dueling disgrace." Rainbow said as Joey forcefully took his glove. "And I hereby relieve you of his dueling gauntlet." Joey put in. "And further more, Yugi, since you beat a champion in an official duel, you get his title. Therefore, you're now the Regional Champion." finished Twilight as Joey put on his new Dueling Gauntlet and Yugi put in his three star chips. "There. Three star chips so far, but I still need to win seven more. Ten star chips will gain me entry into that castle, where they're holding my grandfather prisoner, and where I'll battle Pegasus once and for all." Yugi said as he gazed up at the castle, determined to get his grandfather's soul back.
