Yugi vs. Pegasus
Yugi Mutou vs. Pegasus J. Crawford is the final duel in the Duelist Kingdom Arc. After Katsuya Jonouchi forfeited his duel against Yugi Mutou in the finals, Yugi faced Duel Monster creator, Pegasus J. Crawford, for the title of "King of Duelist Kingdom".
Prologue[]
After Jonouchi won against Bandit Keith, both him and Yugi advances to the championship of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. However, in able to prevent Pegasus to know more about their dueling tactics, the two friends decide to skip their match and let Yugi advance to the finals. With his friends, rival and grandpa's hope resting on his shoulders, Yugi faces against the King of the Duelist Kingdom. He has to win, or he will face the same fate as Kaiba and Mokuba.
Duel[]
Dark Yugi starts the game. He plays a card face-down and plays "Beaver Warrior" (☆☆☆☆, ATK 1200/DEF 1500) in Defense Mode. He wonders if Pegasus could see his hand and his face-down card. He then ends the turn.
With delighted smile, Pegasus starts his turn. He plays a card face-down and summons "Red Archery Girl" (ATK 1400/DEF 1500) in Attack Mode. He ends his turn. Pegasus begins to predict in his mind that Dark Yugi's face-down is "Horn of Unicorn" and will use it next turn to attack with "Beaver Warrior". Dark Yugi assesses that his face-down will be the trump card against the water element "Red Archery Girl".
Dark Yugi's turn. Dark Yugi plays the face-down Spell Card "Horn of Unicorn" and use it on "Beaver Warrior" to boost its attack by 700 points (ATK 1900). He commands it attack the "Red Archery Girl" but Pegasus activates his set card, "Mermaid's Tear", trapping the "Beaver Warrior". The surrounding water causes the electricity from "Horn of the Unicorn" to electrocute the "Beaver Warrior", decreasing its attack to 1200 ATK. The "Red Archery Girl" counterattacks and destroys "Beaver Warrior", inflicting 200 damage to Dark Yugi (2000 -> 1800 Life Points). Dark Yugi is surprised that Pegasus knows what he was about to do. As Pegasus smirks, Dark Yugi wonders how he can stand up to the power of Pegasus' Millennium Eye. Pegasus begins telling Dark Yugi that there are different variables in the game of Duel Monsters; the road to defeat is lined with variables of mistakes. He then tells Dark Yugi that he never makes mistakes, to Dark Yugi's irritation. Dark Yugi plays "Giant Soldier of Stone" (☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 1300/DEF 2000) in Defense Mode and ends his turn.
Pegasus starts his turn by playing a card face-down. He then plays "Ryu-Ran" (☆☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 2200/DEF 2600) in Defense Mode. He switches "Red Archery Girl" to Defense Mode (DEF 1500) and ends his turn.
Pegasus using his "Mind Scan" to read Yugi's hand.
Dark Yugi's Turn. Pegasus begins to use his Mind Scan once again. He sees "Celtic Guardian", "Spellbinding Circle", "Magical Hats" and "Imp" on Dark Yugi's hands. When Dark Yugi draws a card from his deck, Pegasus sees that he got the "Summoned Skull". Dark Yugi immediately felt that Pegasus is reading his mind and looking at his cards. Pegasus deducts confidently in his mind that he already knows Dark Yugi's tactic this turn; Dark Yugi will play "Spellbinding Circle" face-down and play "Summoned Skull" (☆☆☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 2500/DEF 1200) in Defense Mode. Dark Yugi does as Pegasus has predicted and ends his turn.
Pegasus decides to play on Dark Yugi's trap, with "Trap Displacement" already set on the table. Pegasus switches "Ryu-Ran" to Attack Mode (ATK 2200) to attack "Summoned Skull" (DEF 1200). Dark Yugi activates Trap Card "Spellbinding Circle", restraining "Ryu-Ran" and decreasing its attack by 700 points (ATK 1500). Pegasus begins to act like he is dismayed by the trap. Dark Yugi begins to doubt if his trap really worked.
It is Dark Yugi's turn and he switches "Summoned Skull" to Attack Mode (ATK 2500) to attack "Ryu-Ran". Pegasus activates his own face-down Trap Card, "Trap Displacement"; he transfers the "Spellbinding Circle" from "Ryu-Ran" to "Summoned Skull" (ATK 1800). "Ryu-Ran" (ATK 2200) counterattacks and destroys "Summoned Skull", inflicting damage to Dark Yugi (1800 -> 1400 Life Points). As he ends his turn, Dark Yugi marvels to himself once again on the power of the Millennium Eye and begins to think of a way to beat it.
Pegasus' monsters turned into Toons by "Toon World".
As Pegasus starts his turn, Pegasus remarks there is no way to beat the Millennium Eye. He goes on that any game is a contest between two minds; the one who masters and understands the opponent wins the game. He notes that Dark Yugi does not have the power to set foot on his mind's territory. Pegasus then activates Spell Card "Toon World". All of Pegasus' monsters turn into Toon Monsters. Pegasus then proceeds to attack Dark Yugi's "Giant Soldier of Stone" (DEF 2000) with "Ryu-Ran", killing the stone giant. The Toon "Ryu-Ran" returns to the "Toon World" after the battle, hiding it from Dark Yugi's cards. Dark Yugi remarks how the Toon World makes it hard for him to attack Pegasus' monsters; it is Pegasus' perfect defense. Pegasus switched Toon "Red Archery Girl" to Attack Mode (ATK 1400) and ends his turn.
Dark Yugi's turn. Dark Yugi thinks that if he plays a monster in Defense Mode, it will only get defeated. So decides to use one of his Normal Monsters to see if he can defeat a Toon Monster. He summons "Celtic Guardian" (☆☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 1400/DEF 1200) in Attack Mode to see if it will be destroyed together with the Toon "Red Archery Girl". He goes on and attack the Toon Monster, but Pegasus tells him that normal attacks will not work on Toons. The Shell of the Toon "Red Archery Girl" stretches its hands to block the attack, while the Toon destroys the "Celtic Guardian". As the "Celtic Guardian" is sent to the Graveyard, Dark Yugi realizes that it's impossible to hurt a Toon Monster. Pegasus confirms Dark Yugi's deduction and remarks that only a Toon can hurt a Toon. The Toon "Red Archery Girl" goes inside the Toon World after the battle. With Pegasus knowing all his strategies and with the Toons invulnerable to normal attacks, Dark Yugi starts to doubt whether he can actually win the duel.
Pegasus' turn. He sets 2 cards face-down and ends his turn.
Back to Dark Yugi's turn, Dark Yugi plays "Imp" (☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 1300/DEF 1000) in Defense Mode. With that Pegasus activates his set Permanent Trap Card, "Gorgon's Eye". With it, all of Dark Yugi's Defense Monsters turn into stone. In addition, if any of them is destroyed during a battle, half of its DEF would be subtracted to Dark Yugi's Life Points. Pegasus also activates his face-down Spell Card "Doppelganger", which lets him copy "Summoned Skull" from Dark Yugi's Graveyard. Because it's on Pegasus' side, the "Summoned Skull" becomes a Toon Monster.
Pegasus' turn. Pegasus commands Toon "Summoned Skull" (ATK 2500) to attack "Imp" (DEF 1000), inflicting 500 damage to Dark Yugi (1400 -> 900 Life Points). The Toon "Summoned Skull" returns to the "Toon World" as Pegasus ends his turn.
Dark Yugi's turn. Pegasus continues using his Mind Scan. Dark Yugi draws "Dark Magician". Pegasus lets out a small chuckle. Dark Yugi continues to be disheartened by the precarious situation. Pegasus tells him there is no way out and asks if Dark Yugi will forfeit. Dark Yugi's friends tells him not to give up, and reminds him what are at stake in this duel. Dark Yugi remembers Kaiba, Mokuba and his grandpa, and they rekindled his will to fight. He plays "Dark Magician" (☆☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 2500/DEF 2100) in Attack Mode and activates Spell Card "Magical Hats" to hide it. By using this combo, Dark Yugi hopes to block Pegasus' telepathy. Pegasus compliments Dark Yugi's plan to stall against his Toons, but goes on to say it's useless. Pegasus notes that Dark Yugi hid the "Dark Magician" to the far left hat, to Dark Yugi's shock. At that instance, Dark Yugi's confidence is completely shattered.
As Pegasus begins his turn, Dark Yugi's friends continue to cheer him on. Pegasus lets Toon "Summoned Skull" (ATK 2500) out of the "Toon World" and declares an attack on the hat on the far left. At that moment, Dark Yugi hears a voice from his heart; a voice from his partner. His Millennium Puzzle begins to glow.
Yugi taking on Pegasus in place of Dark Yugi
Inside Yugi's Heart, the two Yugis meet for the first time. Yugi asks Dark Yugi to let him duel Pegasus. Dark Yugi tells him it's hopeless, but Yugi suggests what if Pegasus can only read one mind at a time. A hope from Dark Yugi arises. With one of the hat destroyed, Pegasus is confident he hit the "Dark Magician" underneath it, but to his surprise, the hat was empty. Yugi changed the position of the "Dark Magician" at the last moment. Pegasus is surprised to see the other Yugi.
Yugi's turn. He plays a card face-down and ends his turn. Yugi gloats Pegasus to read his mind to see what card he has set, but when Pegasus uses Mind Scan, he can not see the face-down card. Dark Yugi has switched in and tells Pegasus its pointless to read his mind. Because Pegasus' Mind Scan takes time, Yugi can easily dodge it by changing personalities; a strategy he calls as "Mind Shuffle". Pegasus is now unable to tell where exactly the "Dark Magician" is and know what strategy Yugi has in mind.
Pegasus turn. Pegasus tells Yugi that simply hiding will not defeat him, but Yugi then challenges Pegasus to catch the "Dark Magician" without cowardly relying on Millennium Eye. Caught off-guard, Pegasus takes on the challenge and attacks intuitively using the Toon "Summoned Skull". He destroys one hat, but the "Dark Magician" is not inside either. Dark Yugi then goes on to tell Pegasus there are two things that separate winners and losers; Good Judgement and Instincts. He asses that Pegasus has relied too much on the Millenium Eye, and had lost the instinct and confidence of a true gamer. He notes when it comes to confidence, the other Yugi is ten times better than Pegasus.
Yugi's turn. He draws "Magic Effect Arrow" and set it face-down on the field. When he finished, he switches back to Dark Yugi. Pegasus cannot tell what is the latest face-down card either. Dark Yugi also does not know, but he rests his trust on Yugi.
Pegasus' turn. He draws and activates "Magic Neutralizing Zone". It removes the remaining "Magical Hats" on the field, exposing the "Dark Magician". Pegasus goes back on Dark Yugi's statement, telling him that skilled duelist do not need instinct but brains to use and to win with without taking risks. Pegasus declares an attack on "Dark Magician" (ATK 2500) using Toon "Summoned Skull" (ATK 2500). Just then, Yugi activates his face-down card, "Magic Effect Arrow". Yugi reveals that the Dark Yugi was provoking Pegasus to force him to dispel the "Magical Hats". Once Pegasus did, Yugi then activates the "Magic Effect Arrow" to reuse the effect. "Magic Effect Arrow" shoots "Magic Neutralizing Zone" and targets "Toon World".
Yugi defeating Pegasus' "Toon World".
Pegasus exclaims that despite not having "Toon World", "Dark Magician" will still get destroyed. However, Yugi reveals his second face-down Trap Card, "Mirror Force"; Toon "Summoned Skull's" lightning bounces back to the rest of the Toons. Since the "Toon World" is gone, the Toons are destroyed by the bounced attack and Pegasus receives 1200 damage (900 from Toon "Red Archery Girl" and 300 from Toon "Ryu-Ran") (2000 -> 800 Life Points). Dark Yugi tells himself that they have done it thanks to Yugi's courage. Pegasus could not believe Yugi was able to trump his Mind Scan, but goes on to compliment him. He forgot that Yugi is also chosen by the Millennium Items. With that, he starts a Shadow Game.
Yugi is surprised that Pegasus mentioned a Shadow Game. Pegasus begins with telling about how he got the idea of Duel Monsters after visiting Egypt 7 years ago. Legend has it that three thousand years ago, Egyptian Magicians had the power to seal monsters in stone tablets and summon them to battles in the Pharaoh's court. He created Duel Monsters to bring the ancient game to the modern times. With the pressure from the shadows being too much for Yugi to take, Dark Yugi quickly switches in. Yugi still wants to fight, so that they can continue to block Pegasus' Mind Scan. Both of them faces Pegasus' Shadow Game.
Pegasus continues with his turn by summoning "Dark-Eyes Illusionist" (☆☆☆☆, ATK 0/DEF 0) in Attack Mode. Pegasus explains that in this Shadow Game, the players' willpower literally brings the monsters to life. The one who loses the game, or even runs out of willpower, will be the one who dies.
The turn then goes to Yugi. Despite "Dark-Eyes Illusionist's" 0 ATK, Dark Yugi takes caution of its special ability. He summons "Curse of Dragon" (ATK 2000/DEF 1200) and ends his turn.
Yugi switches in to let Dark Yugi come up with a strategy. Pegasus marks Yugi's action as his fatal mistake. Soon enough, Yugi starts to feel the drawback from having the Monsters' forms draining his willpower. Pegasus plays a card face-down and ends his turn.
Dark Yugi notices Yugi's situation and quickly switches in to start his turn. He commands "Curse of Dragon" (ATK 2000) to attack "Dark-Eyes Illusionist" (ATK 0) to quickly finish the game.
Summoned through a ritual, "Sacrifice"
However, Pegasus, anticipating this, activates "Dark-Eyes Illusionist's" special ability. It cast a dark magic on "Curse of Dragon" and paralyzes it from attacking. Dark Yugi ends his turn.
It switches back to Pegasus' turn. Pegasus plays another monster and activates his face-down Spell Card "Black Illusion Ritual" to summon a Ritual Monster, "Sacrifice" (ATK 0/DEF 0). Pegasus activates "Sacrifice's" special ability and sucks in "Curse of Dragon". He ends his turn.
Back to Yugi, Dark Yugi immediately commands "Dark Magician" (ATK 2500) to attack "Sacrifice", but the latter uses the absorbed "Cursed of Dragon" (ATK 2000) as a shield. "Cursed of Dragon" is destroyed and Yugi receives the 500 damage from the battle (900 -> 400 Life Points). Yugi is shocked about the "Sacrifice's" ability.
Pegasus' turn. Pegasus uses "Sacrifice's" other ability to paralyze "Dark Magician" and went on to let "Sacrifice" suck in "Dark Magician", increasing its stats to 2500 ATK and 2100 DEF. With his Invinsible Illusion Combo, Pegasus reminds Yugi that he'll still receive damage either way if he attacks. Dark Yugi starts to panic as couldn't think of a way to break through Pegasus' Combo. Yugi tells him he should not give up, and switches with him immediately.
Yugi fainted due to the strain of the "Shadow Game"
Yugi's turn. Yugi draws a card that can turn the duel around and plays it face-down on the field. He summons "Feral Imp" in Defense Mode and ends his turn.
Pegasus' turn. Pegasus attacks "Feral Imp" (DEF 1400) with "Sacrifice" (ATK 2500) and destroys it. As Yugi's begins to faint, he tells Dark Yugi to use their face-down card to defeat Pegasus. With Yugi fainted, Pegasus declares that Yugi's soul is dead. Yugi's friends couldn't believe what has happened and begins to call out to Yugi. At that moment, Dark Yugi switches in to continue playing.
Pegasus reminds Dark Yugi that without their Mind Shuffle, he cannot defeat him. Dark Yugi insists on continuing, and the duel continues. (Pegasus: 800 Life Points; Dark Yugi: 400 Life Points). Dark Yugi's turn. Pegasus sees that Dark Yugi drew "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress". Dark Yugi knows that Pegasus can now know his cards except the face-down card. He plays "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress" (☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 1400/DEF 1200) in Defense Mode. End Turn.
Pegasus' turn. "Sacrifice" again paralyzes "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress" and absorbs it, increasing its status to 3900 ATK and 3300 DEF. Pegasus then plays "Jigen Bakudan" (☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 200/DEF 1000). He tells Dark Yugi that he intends to absorb all of Dark Yugi's monsters to complete his Sacrifice Combo. "Jigen Bakudan" cannot be attacked and will destroy all the monsters on the field after two turns. When "Sacrifice" dies, Dark Yugi will take all the damage instead.
As Dark Yugi looks at his cards, he cannot think of ways to beat Pegasus' Combo; even so, Pegasus can see his cards. Dark Yugi urges himself to draw a card, but Pegasus' Millennium Eye discourages him further.
The thought of Yugi's friends are blocking Pegasus' "Mind Scan".
Pegasus thinks that he has already won. Just then, Dark Yugi remembers what his grandpa has told him. He regains his spirit and draws a card. Pegasus tries to read what he drew, but the hearts of Yugi's friends block Pegasus' Mind Scan. They assure Dark Yugi that Yugi's fine and tell him to focus on defeating Pegasus. Dark Yugi marvels how even the power of Millennium Eye cannot break the bonds of their friendship. He activates "Mystic Box" to free "Dark Magician" from "Sacrifice" by switching it with "Jigen Bakudan".
Pegasus turn. He quickly ends his turn as he bets on "Jigen Bakudan's" ability; it is still active to blow up during Dark Yugi's upcoming turn.
Dark Yugi quickly draws a card on his turn. He activates the drawn Spell Card "Brain Control" to take control of "Sacrifice". Pegasus thinks that he wins despite what Dark Yugi does, but Dark Yugi, in place of Yugi, reveals the remained face-down Ritual card, "Dark Magic Ritual". He sacrifices "Jigen Bakudan" and "Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress" to transform "Dark Magician" to "Magician of Black Chaos" (ATK 2800/DEF 2600). Yugi declares that he is going to win the duel. Pegasus acknowledges he's in disadvantage, but he plans to use "Sacrifice" after "Brain Control" wears off to absorb "Magician of Black Chaos" to gain advantage once again. He notes that Dark Yugi cannot win even if he plays at his limits. Dark Yugi plays a card face-down and summons "Kuriboh" (☆☆, ATK 300/DEF 200) in Defense Mode. Pegasus is surprised that "Kuriboh" is even played. He shows concern, though, about the face-down card. However, Pegasus still has a trump card in store.
Pegasus' turn. "Brain Control" wears off and "Sacrifice" returns to Pegasus' control. He knows that Dark Yugi has a plan against "Sacrifice" absorbing "Magician of Black Chaos". Pegasus uses "Fusion" to fuse "Sacrifice" and "Thousand-Eyes Idol" (☆☆☆☆☆☆, ATK 0/DEF 0) into "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice" (ATK 0/DEF 0). Pegasus exclaims that this is the end of their duel, in which Dark Yugi responses that it is not over yet. Pegasus then reveals that the "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice" is more powerful than "Magician of Black Chaos". Dark Yugi knows that Pegasus' target is the "Magician of Black Chaos", and he aims to protect and use it to defeat Pegasus as a promise to his other self.
"Magician of Black Chaos" defeating "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice"
Pegasus then activates "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice's" ability to paralyze all of Dark Yugi's monsters. He goes on to absorb "Magician of Black Chaos", but Dark Yugi plays a Spell Card, "Multiply". Multiple "Kuribohs" appear on the field to protect "Magician of Black Chaos". They are all absorbed into "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice", giving it 300 ATK. At that moment, Dark Yugi activates Kuriboh's ability. As Kuriboh touches an opponent monster, it explodes immediately. Dark Yugi receives 300 damage (400 -> 100 Life Points). However, it also damages "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice". With the curse of the "Thousand-Eyes Sacrifice" gone, Dark Yugi goes on to attack it (ATK 0) using "Magician of Black Chaos" (ATK 2800), plunging Pegasus' Life Points to 0 (800 -> 0 Life Points). Dark Yugi wins the duel.
Aftermath[]
After Pegasus' devastating defeat, Yugi and his friends celebrate their victory. Yugi's Grandpa, Kaiba and Mokuba are released from the Millennium Eye's curse. Pegasus' plans to take over Kaiba Corp. is thwarted. Yugi also wins the tournament's prize money, which he gives to Jonouchi for the surgery of his sister. As Dark Yugi is about to send Pegasus to the oblivion for losing a Shadow Game, Pegasus reveals his past and the connection of the Millennium Items to the conception of Duel Monsters. The mystery behind the Millennium Items grows deeper.