Season 2-59 – Espa Roba – The ESP Duelist, Part 2
“Gamble of Courage – The Spinning Roulette Spider”
(勇気ある賭け 廻れルーレットスパイダー)
Aired Japan: June 5, 2001
Aired USA: Feb 1, 2003
The duel continues between Joey and Espa Roba. Joey has 2600 life points, and Espa Roba has 1440 life points. Right now Joey is at a disadvantage because of Jinzo’s ability to negate and destroy traps. Since Joey cannot activate his trap that he set down earlier, his Alligator Sword is an easy target. Espa Roba continues his move by using the magic card Amplifier. This card boosts Jinzo’s strength by 500 points, increasing it to 2900 attack points. Plus, with every turn, Jinzo gets a 300-point boost. With a massive attack strength, Jinzo attacks Alligator Sword. Joey’s monster gets destroyed, and Joey is down to 1200 life points. Espa Roba thinks Joey will lose big time, but Joey knows he can’t give up. Even Espa Roba’s brothers are excited that Espa Roba can duel well without their help. Yugi also admits that Espa Roba is a strong duelist, but he knows Joey can beat him.
It’s Joey’s turn now. He hopes to draw something good. He ends up drawing Baby Dragon, which excites Joey. Joey summons it to the field in attack mode. Rex Raptor knows what Joey is planning. Espa Roba laughs at Joey’s card, since Jinzo is a lot stronger than it. Joey tells Espa Roba that it may just be a baby now, but it’s about to grow up. With that, he summons Time Wizard. Espa Roba knows that Time Wizard is a powerful card, but he doesn’t think Joey’s plan will work. Joey knows that his plan is a risk, but he hopes Time Wizard succeeds for him. The spinner begins to spin. It slows down and eventually lands on the thing that’s not a skull. So Baby Dragon transforms into Thousand Dragon, a monster with 2400 attack points. Now it’s Jinzo’s turn to rust. What takes Joey by surprise is that Jinzo does not rust at all. Espa Roba explains that Jinzo is protected by a special metal that is guaranteed not to rust for 10,000 years. Joey’s plan failed. Because Thousand Dragon is weaker than Jinzo, Jinzo easily attacks and destroys it, dropping Joey’s life points to 700.
Back at the hospital, Tristan continues to watch Joey’s duel. Serenity asks Tristan the status of the duel. Tristan tries to resist answering the question, but he eventually says that Joey is still winning and that he’s toying with his opponent. Serenity thanks Tristan for telling her exactly what’s going on. Tristan tells himself that he cannot tell Serenity the truth, since it will break her heart. The nurse walks in the room to take Serenity’s temperature. Tristan decides to walk out for a bit. When the nurse is done, she reports that Serenity is doing very well. Before the nurse leaves, Serenity asks her to tell her who is currently winning the duel.
Téa is still sitting on the bench worrying about what Ishizu said earlier. Suddenly, a pair of hands cover Téa’s eyes, and a familiar voice says, “Guess who?” Téa freaks out and knocks the guy in the nose. It happens to be Yugi’s grandpa! Téa tells Grandpa that he scared her. Téa’s phone then rings. The call is from Tristan. Tristan asks Téa if he’s watching Joey’s duel at the moment, and Téa replies with a no. He tells Téa to find Joey and give him a message.
Espa Roba states that Joey’s Battle City days are over. Joey, on the other hand, still believes that his deck can come through for him. There’s not much he can do at the moment, so he activates Scapegoat to buy some time. Espa Roba tells Joey that he should just hand over his locator card, since there’s nothing he can do to stop Jinzo. The crowd begins to laugh, and Rex Raptor tells Joey that Espa Roba is right. However, Joey ignores them, and tells Espa Roba that it’s his move.
The nurse is done with Serenity, and she walks out of the room. Tristan walks back in and tells Serenity that Joey is still probably winning. Serenity tells Tristan that he doesn’t have to continue lying anymore. She asked the nurse and found out that Joey has been losing the whole time. Tristan apologizes and says that he just didn’t want her to worry about Joey. Serenity understands, but she wants to be told the truth because she wants to always be there for Joey. She explains how Joey helped her get through her operation, so she wants to repay back the favor and help him get through the tournament. She wants Tristan to be there for Joey in spirit.
Espa Roba draws a card and summons Reflect Bounder to the field. Reflect Bounder’s ability allows it to reflect and attack to another monster. So even if Joey did summon something decent, any move it makes would just be reflected right back at it. Also, Amplifier boosts Jinzo’s attack strength to 3200. Both of Espa Roba’s monsters attacks Joey’s Scapegoats. Joey is down to two Scapegoats. Espa Roba predicts that he will have three monsters on the field by his next turn, and then it will be game over for Joey. Joey tells himself that he can’t go down like this, but there’s nothing else he can do right now. Espa Roba continues to mock Joey and tells him that he should just hand over his Time Wizard now. Joey then begins to wonder if Espa Roba is right, since he’s played all of his best cards, and they did nothing for him.
Suddenly, Joey hears called. It’s from Téa. Téa tells Joey that Tristan is watching the duel with Serenity. Serenity wants Joey to know that they are a team and to never give up. Joey’s confidence strikes back up. He knows that he can’t give up on Serenity or himself. Joey tells Espa Roba that he doesn’t plan on quitting anytime soon. Grandpa tells Joey to not give up and to believe in himself and the heart of the cards. Joey knows that there’s a card in his deck that can turn the duel around in his favor. All he has to do is draw it now.
So Joey draws his final card and plays Roulette Spider. Joey explains how the card works: it attaches itself to the strongest monster in the game (in this case, Jinzo) and drags it to the center of the field. Roulette Spider could win the duel for him or destroy him. With a cost of half his life points (down to 350 now), Joey activates Roulette Spider. The spider spins and doesn’t stop until Espa Roba tells it to stop. It’s target will be destroyed instantly. It’s a very risky move and could destroy Joey, but Joey has faith in his cards. After several spins, Espa Roba tells the Roulette Spider to stop. It stops and points to Reflect Bounder. Since Reflect Bounder destroys any monster that attacks it, both monsters will be destroyed. Jinzo attacks, Reflect Bounder reflects, and both monsters are destroyed. Because Reflect Bounder had 1700 attack points and Jinzo had 3200 attack points, the difference between the two gets deducted out of Espa Roba’s life points. That’s 1500 life points, and with only 1440 life points, Espa Roba loses the duel.
Téa, Grandpa, and Tristan cheer for Joey’s victory. Espa Roba’s brothers can’t believe their brother lost. Espa Roba is in shock. The crowd even begins to taunt him. Joey walks up to Espa Roba and tells him to hand over his locater card and Jinzo. Espa Roba refuses to hand it over because people count on him to win. Joey explains that everyone loses sometimes. Espa Roba says that he isn’t dueling for himself; he’s dueling for his brothers. If word gets out that he lost, his brothers will get picked on by the bullies again. Joey thinks that it’s all crazy talk, and he offers Espa Roba a hand. Espa Roba jerks away, and his ear microphone falls out. Joey starts to get angry with him, and he slowly walks away.
Suddenly, a voice comes out of the microphone. It’s from Espa Roba’s brothers, and they tell him that he’s still a winner even if he lost. The Roba brothers all give each other a hug. Espa Roba finally hands over his locator card and Jinzo to Joey. He promises not to cheat ever again. Joey thanks Espa Roba and walks away. The two of them are alike: Joey has his sister and Espa Roba has his brothers for support. Téa and Grandpa catch up to Joey and congratulate him for his win. Yugi walks down a different street and states that Joey gets stronger with every duel. Joey is satisfied with his first win of the tournament and knows that he’s not alone in this.
These are the cards used in this episode.
Joey:
Alligator Sword – 1500/1200
Baby Dragon – 1200/700
Time Wizard – 500/400
Thousand Dragon – 2400/2000
Scaepgoat – Magic
Roulette Spider – Magic
Espa Roba:
Jinzo – 2400/1500
Amplifier – Magic
Reflect Bounder – 1700/1000
Screenshots:
Go to: « S2-58 Espa Roba - The ESP Duelist, Part 1 | S2-60 The Master of Magicians. Part 1 »