Chapter 6
Joey's First Duel
Up in the castle, Pegasus looked at his watch and chuckled. "All over the island, my unwitting pawns are in place. The duels have begun, and by now, the slow process of elimination is well underway. Only the strongest Duel Monsters players will survive, and those of insufficient skill will fall by the wayside." he said. Elsewhere, Yugi and his group are in a meadow near the beach. "Okay, bring em on! I'm itchin' to duel and I'm taking on the next player we see!" Joey said as he rushed forward. "You know, I'm not sure Joey's up to this." Tea admitted. "I'm inclined to agree, there are tournament level players here, like the recently defeated Weevil Underwood, but perhaps he's smart enough to realize..." Rarity concurred before being cut off. "Here I stand, a future Duel Monsters champion!" Joey shouted. "He needs a reality check." Tea said, clearly embarrassed by Joey's remark. "Guess he's about as smart as he looks." Tristan added. "I better be a champion." Joey said, and he knew he had to be for his sister's sake, remembering that she always counted on him when they were kids, specifically remembering the day he took her to the beach for the first time. 'I'm your big brother, Serenity. I'm supposed to take care of you. I'm gonna win this tournament, and the prize money. I'm gonna make sure you don't lose your eyesight, and show you that beautiful ocean one more time. I promise.' Joey thought to himself.
Soon, they all heard cheering as Tea looked off to her left. "Look there!" she said. "Duel Monster battlefields! Look at them! They're all over the area!" Pinkie shouted. "You said it. Lots of dueling going on." Yugi concurred as they looked around. "Right. I'm going in." Joey said, eager to duel. "You sure you want to just charge on in like that? If you lose, you give up your only star chip." AJ asked. "Don't panic. You can do this, Joey. You do know that, don't you?" Yugi said, hoping to calm his friend's nerves and angst. "I hope you're right, Yugi. This is my first official duel and I can't afford to get knocked out at the start." Joey responded. "True, but not everyone here is a professional like Yugi or Weevil. I'm sure you can find someone on your level. Someone easy." Fluttershy said gently. "Then I guess I should think about what field my cards are best suited for. They're mainly Warrior monsters, guess that makes this meadow region my kind of turf." Joey said. "That's right, Joey. See? You know just what you're doing." Fluttershy responded. Soon, a familiar voice was heard. "You lost, crybaby, now give me your star chips!" shouted the voice. Everyone looked over to the left and followed the voice to the source. "A voice that annoying can only belong to...Mai." Tea said as she saw Mai laughing at her defeated opponent. "It's not fair! You cheated somehow! How could you know what your cards were when they were still face down?" the losing duelist asked. "I'm psychic, and you're done." Mai answered with a wink before the defeated duelist walked away in tears. Soon, the group approached. "Well, look who's here." she said as she saw the group. "Wow, Mai's already won two more star chips." Joey pointed out, which meant she had four in total.
"Tell me, Yugi, are your duels going well?" Mai asked. "I'm making progress, but the only opponent I've beaten so far is Weevil." Yugi answered. "So you have three star chips now, do you? I might be up for another duel." Mai said. "Take her, Yugi. Knock her down a peg or two if not out of the contest and off the island." Pinkie whispered, really hoping that Yugi would take her on in another all or nothing match. "You know, I'm definitely in the mood for my next duel. So, get ready, because I choose to challenge...you, Joey." Mai said, pointing right at Joey. "Wha? You challenge me?" Joey asked. "Get it? I want to play you, kid. Do you have the guts to accept?" Mai asked back. "Guess you heard about my skill." Joey said, hoping to get Mai to take him seriously. "Don't flatter yourself. I overheard you and Yugi talking with your pastel posse on the boat and I know he gave you the only star chip that you have. My motto is; take out the weakest players first. And considering that you wouldn't even be here if Yugi hadn't given you one of his chips, you've got to be the weakest duelist on the island." Mai responded. "Hey, do you have to be so insulting towards him?" Rainbow asked. "This time, she was being truthful. I'm willing to wager that Mai is ruthless on the dueling field, so don't play against her first." Tea responded. "She's got a point. If you lose, you're out of the contest for good." Twilight added. "Yugi, stand up for Joey. You have to fight her in his place." Tea said. "No, Yugi can't do that. It's Joey's decision to make alone." Fluttershy responded. "Fluttershy has a point. Show Mai what you're made of." Yugi concurred. "Right. She thinks I'm a pushover, but she'll see." Joey replied. "You can't be serious." Tristan said to Joey. "I've never been more serious. Don't you see? This is my chance to prove myself, to show everybody, that I can handle dueling myself. Don't forget, Yugi's gramps trained me. I mean, sure, he didn't get the chance to finish my training, and, granted, I wish I had a chance to practice more before getting thrown into a tournament this huge with so many heavy hitters, but honest, I think I can take her." Joey responded. "You better be right, for your sister's sake." Tristan added. "Just stay calm and remember your training, Joey." Fluttershy said, encouragingly. "I accept. Let's duel." Joey said to Mai. "Get ready to lose." Mai responded as both players took the field. "Yugi, are you sure that Joey is ready for his first major league duel?" Rainbow asked. "He'll do fine." Yugi answered.
"Since you only have one measly star chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you." Mai said as she took out and put down a single star chip. Joey took out his only star chip, thinking that the region would give him a Field Power Bonus, but soon found that the region wasn't all meadow. "Oh, no! What are all those mountains doing on the field?!" Joey shouted as he saw the dueling field was split into different regions. "The field we'll battle on is 40% forest, 40% mountain, and the last 20% is meadow. So deal with it, or surrender." Mai responded. "Calm down, Joey! You'll be okay! Your monsters will still get a Field Power Bonus from the meadow parts of the field!" Yugi called. "Oh, yeah. Listen, Mai, not for nothing, but I gotta ask you one question we start." Joey said to a confused Mai. "What?" she asked. "Why did you decide to take part in this tournament? Tell me, Mai, why is it you duel?" Joey asked. "Why do I duel? For all the comforts that I crave! Designer clothes, travel perks, anything to avoid real work. Hot cars turbo charged for living large!" Mai answered. "So that's why you want the prize money? Talk about being selfish!" Rainbow said in response. "How dare you try and judge me! Who do you think you are, you rainbow haired brat?!" Mai responded, angrily. "Hey, you're only dueling for material things. But just so you know, some of us are fighting for someone we care about, family." Fluttershy pointed out. "Alright, Joey. Show Mai what it's like to duel from the heart!" she added before both players put down their decks, drew their hands and said "Let's duel!"
"So to start the game off, I play Masaki the Legendary Swordsman." Joey said as he summoned out his first monster, a level four, Earth attribute Warrior with 1100 attack and defense points. "The Field Power Bonus from the meadow will raise his attack power by over 300 points!" he added as Masaki's attack and defense points increased to 1430. "Alright, that ends my first move." Joey concluded before Mai put her cards face down in front of her dueling field and started making humming noises. "What does she think she's doing?" AJ asked. "Divining my hand. I have to mystically choose which one of my cards is the best to play." Mai answered. "What are you, a psychic or something?" Joey asked. "And the best card would be...this one. Meet the Harpie Lady!" Mai responded as the creature, a level four, Wind attribute Winged-Beast with 1300 attack points and 1400 defense points, appeared. "She's got a Harpie Lady, too?!" Rainbow asked, knowing she, and Rarity, had one in each of their decks. "I sure do, and her strength is increased by the Field Power Bonus from the mountains." Mai answered as her monster's attack points and defense points increased to 1690 and 1820, respectively. "Well, let's see how well it does against Masaki! Attack!" Joey retorted, though Yugi knew it was a bad idea as Masaki charged. "Joey, wait! Earth attribute monsters are at a disadvantage to Wind attribute monsters and that means Masaki loses the Field Power Bonus!" Spike shouted. "So Joey blew it already?" Rainbow asked. "No, he just attacked too soon before he could comprehend what the Harpie Lady could do." Spike answered as Masaki was destroyed. "My samurai's sushi!" Joey shouted as his life points dropped to 1410 and Mai beckoned the cards to speak to her. "And I'll choose again, without looking." Mai said as she set her next card. "How's she doing that?" Joey asked.
"Looks like he's starting to lose it." AJ said, worried. "Guess that mop-head wasn't ready for his first major league duel." Tristan said. "Hey, Joey! Think about your moves before you make them!" Spike shouted. But Joey was too busy wondering how Mai could know which card was which when they were face down. 'My little card trick is making this kid forget everything he ever knew, and apparently learned, about Duel Monsters. All I have to do is keep pushing his buttons.' Mai thought to herself. 'What do I do?' Joey thought to himself as he picked his next card. "Maybe this monster will help. Tiger Axe!" he said aloud as said monster, a level four, Earth attribute Beast-Warrior with 1300 attack points and 1100 defense points, appeared. "The Field Power Bonus should raise its attack power so it can take on the Harpie Lady head to head." he added as Tiger Axe's attack power jumped to 1690, matching Harpie Lady's attack power. "You're still not thinking your moves through! Harpie Lady is still resistant to Earth attribute monsters!" Spike shouted. "Right. And Tiger Axe is one of those handicapped, Earth attribute monsters. In moments, as Tiger Axe was shredded, its attack points returned to their original value, dropping Joey's life points to 1020. "It'll take stronger monsters than your land-based wimps to beat my Harpie Lady. Now I'll play this lovely card, once again, without even looking. I'll give you a hint; it's an equipment magic card that will help me defeat your next card in one turn." she added. "Again with all that psychic stuff?" Joey asked before wonder if she could see his cards in his hand. 'Since I can't see what she's playing, I've gotta get defensive.' he thought to himself as he set a monster in defense mode. "Running scared, huh? Well, let me show you my surprise. Cyber Shield to juice up my Harpie Lady." Mai said as she revealed her card, which was all too familiar to Rainbow, equipped it to the Harpie Lady and boosted her attack power to 2190. The winged monstrosity proceeded to attack and destroyed Joey's face down monster, a leverl four, Earth attribute Warrior with 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points called Kojikocy, which was familiar to Applejack as she had one in her deck. "No! How's she doing that?" Joey pondered as Mai laughed.
"This is so much fun! In case you were wondering, the next card you're thinking of won't work either." she said. "Mai has ESP, that's gotta be it. I'm gonna lose this duel, and the chance to save my sister's eyesight!" Joey said, deeply worried. "You're right about one thing, this game is mine! You can't win against me." Mai concurred. "She's right. She's too much for me." Joey said. "Settle down, Joey! Remember what Mr. Muto taught you about playing Duel Monsters!" Spike shouted. "You're just letting her rattle you and psyche you out!" Rainbow added. "Stay out of this! Your talk of encouragement and whatever that Heart of the Cards nonsense Little Miss Perky over there was yammering about during Yugi's duel against Weevil won't help him against the superior strength of my Harpie Lady. Don't you get it? Friendship hasn't helped anyone win in duels, never will. It sure hasn't helped him, cause he's defeated and he knows it." Mai shouted. "Not true! And the name's Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie retorted. "You think it's not true what I say? I beg to differ. There can be only one King of Games, or in my case, Queen of Games. On this island, in this tournament, someone could be your best friend today, and your worst enemy tomorrow. Once the competition forces you to face each other in a duel, where's your friendship then? That's why the only person a Duelist can trust is himself. I hope that your defeat today teaches you that lesson, kid." Mai responded as Joey groans in frustration. "He's losing it!" Tristan shouted in worry. "Yugi, I may not make much sense, but tap into that puzzle's power and do something to help him!" Twilight pleaded. Right on cue, Yugi's more confident side emerged. "Don't listen to her, Joey! We're here to help you, just like you're always there for us!" Yugi said, catching Mai's and Joey's attention, whilst also surprising Mai with his sudden change in demeanor. "Trust me on this, she's just trying to divide and conquer, a strategy that's been used for centuries. Believe me, I know." he added as the symbol of the Millennium Items, the eye of Anubis, appeared on his forehead.
"When you get that look in your eye, I have no choice but to believe everything you say." Joey said, confused as to why that happens while Mai simply laughs. "Do you really think Yugi wants you to be the grand prize winner and be crowned King of Games? He's a Duelist, too, you know. To win, you'll eventually have to take him on." she said. "She's right. We will end up having to duel, but..." Joey started to say before remembering the promise he made to Yugi that he'd help him save his grandpa's soul. "We are a team, but I also have to win the three million dollar prize for Serenity." he added before remembering the video his sister sent her. "What do I do? Maybe Yugi's right about this. I just have to stop listening to Mai's nonsense, and start using my head. I just have to concentrate on how to win the game." he continued as he closed his tear-swelled eyes and started to ponder as to how to beat Mai and win the duel. 'There's gotta be a way to beat Mai. If I can just figure out how she knows what her cards are. If she's not psychic, there must be something else she's doing.' he pondered. Suddenly, a smell hit his nose. 'What's that strange smell? I never noticed that smell when my eyes were open. I'm smelling a whole bunch of different perfumes, coming from, her cards!' he thought. Joey then realized that Mai was cheating. "Let's go, kid! It's your turn!" Mai said, impatiently. "That's it! I see through your card trick!" Joey responded, catching Mai off-guard. "You sprayed all your cards with different perfume fragrances! And by smelling each different scent, you could tell which card is which, even when they're face down! So you don't have to look at them to play whatever card you want, that way you can psyche the other player out!" he added as each of Twilight's friends took a deep smell and caught the perfume scents. "So Mai sprayed perfumes on her cards and played at being psychic? That cheater!" Rarity shouted, clearly insulted at the abuse of perfumes. "No way! How could an amateur punk like you see through my aroma strategy?! It's just impossible!" Mai said in disbelief. "I gotta admit, Mai, you really had me buying into the whole psychic power schtick. I was too freaked out to think things through cause of that, but you're not a psychic at all! You're just a big fake!" Joey responded. "All right, Joey!" Rainbow said with a smile. "Yee-haw! Time to show that no-good cheater just what happens to her kind!" AJ added. "You're the man!" put in Tristan. "Yugi, you were right!" Joey called down to his friend.
"Just because you saw through my little psychic act, doesn't mean you're going to be able to defeat me in a duel!" Mai shouted, angry that an amateur had found her out. "I think you're wrong. Before, you were winning by confusing me and trying to pit me against my friends, but now my mind is clear, I know who I can trust. All you've got are your cheap tricks, and I won't fall for them anymore!" Joey retorted. "I'm gonna blast your Harpie Lady out of the sky in two turns, starting with this!" he added as he drew and revealed his Baby Dragon from his hand. "Good card, Joey!" Yugi said. 'I agree, especially if he combines it with another certain card.' Spike thought to himself. "Baby Dragon in defense mode." Joey said as the little tyke of a monster appeared, to the mocking scoff of Mai. "That wimpy card is part one of your grand two turn win plan? I only wish it was in attack mode and worth more so when I devastate you, it would do more damage to your life points. My card will be, Elegant Egotist! Its magic will make duplicates of my Harpie Lady." she said as the magic of that card, one that Rainbow Dash was also familiar with, allowed Mai to play another card she was familiar, a level six, Wind attribute Winged-Beast monster with 1950 attack points and 2100 defense points, now increased to 2535 and 2730, respectively, called Harpie Lady Sisters. "Oh, no! It's the Harpie Lady Sisters!" Rainbow shouted. "That's right, Rainbow. Harpie Ladies one, two, three." Mai concurred. "It's three times the trouble!" Joey said in shock. "Now what'll he do? He was struggling against one Harpie, and now he has three of them pesky varmints to deal with." AJ said in frustration. "Come on, Joey! You said you'd take her down in two turns, so you need this last one to count!" Spike called out. "But what move could he use for this last turn?" Tea asked. "How would Spike know? He may know plenty about Duel Monsters, but he's not an expert, so ask Yugi." Tristan responded. "It's Joey's duel, he has to figure it out." Yugi said. "I only have one of the cards I need in my hand to wrap up my plan, but I wasn't expecting for her to make one Harpie into three!" Joey said as he looked at his hand, seeing that one of the cards he needed was Polymerization. "Ha! And I'm going to keep using the power of my two remaining Elegant Egotist cards in my deck and the two remaining Harpie Ladies hiding in there with them to bring out two more trios of Harpie Lady Sisters within the next two turns! But while my Harpies multiply, I can't attack you, so it's your move. Of course, you'll soon be up against an army of nine Harpies total!" Mai said with glee. "An army of nine Harpies? How the heck do I fight an army?" Joey asked himself.
"Don't give up, Joey!" Yugi called out. "Think hard about her strategy. She's been using only one type of monster and strengthening it with magic cards. But there's a serious flaw in her dueling strategy, Joey!" he added. "Using magic on one type of monster card? That's true! She's just been juicing up a single Harpie for the past few turns, but if she has mostly magic cards, maybe her only monsters are Harpie Ladies! I bet if I can just defeat her Harpies, she won't have any monsters left to play!" Joey realized. "That's right, Joey! Now, think. What card in your deck can help you win?" Spike responded. "Which of my cards? You tell me." Joey replied, before realizing and remembering that Yugi did indeed give him a card that could be helpful in a tight spot, the Time Wizard. "Wait, I think I do have the card I need, the Time Wizard. This must be the kind of tight spot Yugi was telling me about. Now if I can just remember what he told me about how to use its magic. It's my only chance. But, do I have it in my hand?" he said as he looked down at his hand and saw he only had the second card he needed, Polymerization, with the first being Baby Dragon and the third being Time Wizard. "If I had known how long it was going to take you to make a move, I would've brought a magazine." Mai said, impatient that Joey hadn't made his move yet. "Uh oh, the Time Wizard isn't in my hand. I'll have to draw for it. But what if I don't get it?" Joey said as he reached toward the deck. "Trust in the Heart of the Cards, Joey, and in yourself. And you'll find the card you need." Fluttershy said calmly. "Here I go. It's all or nothing!" Joey said as he reached for his next card. 'Heart of the Cards, guide him.' Fluttershy thought to herself as Joey made the faithful, final draw. When Joey opened his eyes, he saw it was just the card he needed. "Alright! It's the Time Wizard!" Joey shouted happily as he played the card and the creature appeared. "What good is that thing?" Mai asked. "Don't you know? The Time Wizard, when combined with Polymerization, can speed up time, causing my Baby Dragon grow into a creature called the Thousand Dragon!" Joey answered. "Right, Joey. And that's not the only effect this combo will have." Twilight said with a smile as Joey played Polymerization and activated Time Wizard's Time Magic. "Baby Dragon, transform into the Thousand Dragon!" Joey called out as Baby Dragon went from a level three, Wind attribute dragon with 1200 attack points and 700 defense points, to a level seven, Wind attribute dragon with 2400 attack points and 2000 defense points.
"So you have a bigger dragon, big deal! My Harpie Ladies still have greater attack power. Attack it, my Harpie Sisters!" Mai said, but as she gave her command, she saw her Harpie Lady Sisters had aged drastically. "What?! What happened to my Harpie Lady Sisters?! They've gotten so old!" she said in shock as her Harpie Sisters' attack power dropped to 1300, the same amount as a regular Harpie Lady. "Twilight tried to warn you. A millennium has passed on the battlefield, causing not only the mountains to erode but also causing your Harpie Ladies to become old and decrepit. Face it, Mai, time's running out for you and your ladies." Yugi said with a chuckle as Mai worried and winced. "I believed! And the cards came through for me! Awesome!" Joey said, surprised that he managed to get the card he needed. "See, Joey? You just have to trust in your cards and yourself, and the Heart of the Cards will pull you through every time." Fluttershy said with a smile. "Now finish it!" Rainbow shouted. "You got it! Go, Thousand Dragon! Attack with Inferno Flame Breath!" Joey shouted as the Thousand Dragon burned the Harpie Lady Sisters to a crisp, dropping Mai's life points to zero. "He did it! Joey won!" Tea shouted happily. "I knew you could do it!" Fluttershy said with a smile. "Thanks, guys!" Joey called as Yugi gave him a wink and a thumbs-up. "How? How could I ever lose, to such an amateur?" Mai asked herself. "Hey, Mai." Joey said, getting her attention. "I tried to tell you, there's more to Duel Monsters than just kicking your opponent's butt. If you're ever gonna be a real champion, you gotta learn to care about someone, other than yourself, and fight for them when they need someone to fight for them most. Isn't that right, guys?" he explained as Yugi nodded and turned back to his usual self.
'I'm proud of you, Joey. All your hard work and training paid off. You went from a guy with nothing but eagerness and attitude, to a winning duelist who battles with his head, and his heart.' Yugi thought to himself as Joey celebrated his first major league dueling win.
