Episode 2: Jenn's Test, Part 1

Previously, on Yu-gi-oh! Duelist Showdown! Clyde and Joseph both said, "Let's duel." Joseph and Clyde shuffled their decks and put them down again, and their Life Points started at 2000. Clyde said, "I'll start this duel with one card face down and Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000) in Attack Mode. That ends my turn." Joseph said, "You call yourself a champion, yet you duel like an amateur. Maverick, attack!" Clyde said, "I summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800). It's time to put that horse back in its stable. Attack! Still don't think I'm a champion?" Joseph said, "I play Waterfall Drop. This magic card washes the field clean by destroying all monsters in play, and then the owners take battle damage equal to their attack points." Then, Elemental Hero Bladedge got destroyed, and Clyde lost 2600 Life Points, bringing him down to 0. Clyde caught Joseph before Joseph left and said, "You beat me fair and square in this duel. But I assure you we'll duel again. And when we do, you better watch out." Joseph said, "It's very kind of you to accept defeat, Clyde. But when we duel again, you better hope for the best." Joseph then left and went to prepare his deck for the tournament.

Once Joseph got home, he found a package by his door and bought it inside. He set it down on his sofa and then opened it. Once he did, he saw a particular duel disk inside, along with duel armor, a werewolf coin, and a vampire coin. Joseph then put the VHS tape into his VCR, and it played on his TV. Once he pushed play, Jenn Richards, running the tournament, appeared on his screen. Jenn said, "Hello, Joseph. I'm Jenn Richards, the person running this tournament. I heard you beat Clyde Tinker, so I gave you your duel disk and armor. I also included two coins, one with a werewolf on it and another with a vampire on it. To make it to the finals, you'll need 12 of each. You win the coins your opponent wagered against you whenever you win a duel. But if you lose, you lose your coins by wagering them against your opponent. Now for the duel armor. It only works when you and your opponent start with 8000 Life Points. If you start with 4000, only the duel disk will work. When activated, you can merge with any monster you have on the field and become that monster, but if your armor gets destroyed, you lose Life Points equal to how many points the monster you merged with had. Also, you can attack like the monster you've merged with, but none of your other monsters can attack if you choose to. It also works visa versa. If you have other monsters on the field and they attack, you can't attack. Also, some monsters may get field power bonuses based on the environment around you." Joseph said, "Sounds like fun." Jenn said, "One other thing. I would like to see you in action with my duel armor. So, I set up a duel for you with one of my eliminators. I'll be watching. Come to my company. My eliminator will be waiting for you there. We based his deck on Yugi's to see how well you stand up to the king of games. There will also be a surprise when you walk in the door.

Joseph went to Jenn's company, Richards' Industries, and walked in the front door wearing the armor Jenn gave him. Once he got inside, he saw Jenn's eliminator, Ralph, wearing duel armor just like him and waiting for him. Then, all the doors and windows were shut, and the place became locked. Joseph said, "So, this must be the surprise." Ralph said, "Yep. My name's Ralph; I'm the eliminator with Yugi's deck Jenn told you about on the tape. Now let's duel."

Joseph and Ralph put their decks in their duel disks, and their Life Points started at 8000. Then Jenn turned on her TV screen and watched the duel. Ralph drew Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, Swords of Revealing Light, Black Luster Ritual, Dark Magician, and Kuriboh from his deck. Joseph pulled Waterfall Drop, Treetop Snake Pack, The Masked Avenger, Mountain Lion Attack Pack, and Musketeer Boat from his stack. Ralph said, "I'll start."

Ralph drew Buster Blader from his deck and said, "I summon Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in Defense Mode. That ends my turn. Joseph drew Kitty, The Talking Horse, from his deck and said, "I summon Mountain Lion Attack Pack (1600/1200) in Attack Mode. Destroy his Gazelle!" Ralph said, "No harm done, seeing how my Gazelle was in defense mode." Joseph said, "Wrong. Thanks to my lions' special ability, they waste your Life Points even though your monster was in defense mode." Ralph then lost 400 Life Points, bringing him down to 7600. Jenn lifted her drink and said, "Not bad. A toast to Joseph since he won the first round." Joseph said, "Ok, I'm ending my turn."

Ralph drew Sage's Stone and said, "Not just this one, but your next three. Because I play The Swords of Revealing Light." Then, a tremendous light shined around Joseph, and he covered his eyes. Then, a bunch of swords surrounded his field. Ralph said, "This magic card prevents your monsters from attacking for three turns." Joseph said, "Three turns. Oh, man." Ralph said, "I'll end my turn." Joseph drew Toronado, The Masked Avenger's Horse, from his deck and said, "I'll place one card face down in defense mode. I may not be able to attack, but I can still summon." Ralph drew Lightforce Sword and said, "I lay 1 card face down. That ends my turn." Joseph pulled a card from his deck, but Ralph activated a trap card before he saw what it was. Ralph said, "I activate Lightforce Sword." Lightforce Sword then snared the card Joseph drew. Joseph said, "Hey."

Ralph said, "This trap randomly discards a card from your hand and keeps it out of play for three turns. And it looks like it chose the one you just drew." Joseph looked at his hand and said, "No matter. I sacrifice both my monsters and summon The Masked Avenger (2500/2400), and thanks to his special ability, I can automatically summon his horse, Toronado (1950/1200), to the field. And thanks to his special ability, he gets 300 more points because The Masked Avenger is on the field." Then, Toronado's power rose from 1950 to 2250. Joseph said, "However, I can't attack as long as Swords of Revealing Light are in play, so it's your move."

Ralph drew The Book of Secret Arts from his deck and said, "I pass this turn." Joseph said, "One more turn to go." Joseph drew Felix, The Queen's Guard, from his deck and said, "I summon Felix, The Queen's Guard (1300/1000) in Attack Mode. That ends my turn." Ralph drew Beaver Warrior from his deck and said, I summon a monster face down in defense mode. That ends my turn." Then the Swords of Revealing Light disappeared, and Joseph could attack again. Joseph drew Fusion Gate from his deck and said, "Eureka." Ralph was confused and said, "Hmm." He was wondering what Joseph drew, so Joseph showed him. Joseph said, "I play Fusion Gate. This magic card allows me to fuse my monsters without using a Polymerization card. And since it's a field spell, I can keep it on the field.

Now I activate Fusion Gate and fuse The Masked Avenger with Toronado, allowing me to summon The Masked Horse Rider (2700/2800). Since fusion monsters must wait one turn before attacking, I sacrifice Felix, The Queen's Guard, to summon Kitty, The Talking Horse (2100/2600). I'll hold her for now. Next, I activate my duel armor. And I'll fuse myself with The Masked Horse Rider." Then Joseph became The Masked Horse Rider, and Jenn was impressed. Joseph said, "I still have to wait one turn before attacking, so Kitty, will you be so kind?" Kitty then destroyed Ralph's Beaver Warrior and sent it to the graveyard. Joseph said, "I end my turn. And now that three turns have ended, your Lightforce Sword returns my card." Joseph then looked at his card and saw what it was.

To Be Continued