Tea Gardner

Tea Gardner aka Anzu Mazaki in the Japanese versions. She is the childhood friend of Yugi Muto. Téa does not usually play games with Yugi, and his friends. But in the beginning of the anime, she could beat Joey in Duel Monsters, and was later shown to be more than competent against others. Téa is also very good at dancing, and wants to be a professional dancer when she grows up.

Appearance
Téa's character design was overseen by Kazuki Takahashi.

In the manga, Anzu originally had a conventional, short hairstyle. Her first color image, seen in Duel 1, featured dark brown hair and amber eyes. As Takahashi continued drawing the manga, Anzu gained more feminine and "cute" facial features. Her hair style became longer and less conventional. Color images from Volume 3 and onward portray her hair as a lighter brown color. Sometimes her eyes are blue and sometimes they are reddish brown. By the final volume of the manga, Téa's hair touches her shoulders. The standard female Domino High School uniform, Téa's usual outfit, consists of a pink coat, a white oxford shirt, a blue tie, and a blue pleated skirt.

In the first series anime, her hair and eyes are of a reddish brown color. Her school uniform color differs; her coat is orange and her tie and skirt are green. In the amusement park episode, she wore a light-green bikini.

In the second series anime, she has dark brown hair and blue eyes. On occasions she wore the school uniform colored in the same manner as in the manga. Her brown shoulder-length hair is sectioned into two layers, consisting of a darker shade of brown inner layer, with the outer layer of a lighter shade.

During the first season of the anime, her usual outfit is comprised of a yellow shirt, which flows like a skirt at her thighs, with a pink waistcoat over it, and a blue mini-skirt. A pair of brown knee-high boots completed the rest of her outfit.

In the second and third season, her clothes consists of a light green sleeveless buttoned shirt with yellow collar, pink and blue bracelets, navy shorts with a light blue belt, white thigh-high socks, and blue platform sandals. She also wears a yellow tank-top with the word "SPIRIT" on it (which was removed from the dub) and a red skirt on occasion in the second season.

She also wears another set of clothes: yellow tube-top, light pink shorts, black thigh-high socks, red platform sandals, and pink jacket. In the fourth and fifth season she wears a dark sleeveless shirt, a red skirt and a pair of white high-heeled boots.

Personality
At the beginning of the manga, Anzu has a spunky, tomboyish personality and was able to scare away Joey (Jonouchi) and Tristan (Honda) after they bully Yugi. She's very kind hearted, strong willed and supportive.

In the second series anime, she and Tristan are basically cheerleaders for Yugi and Joey. She is known among fans for her "friendship speeches". Téa cares about friendship a lot and keeps the group together. She always stands up for what she believes in and will do anything to help her friends.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Manga
Anzu first met Yugi in elementary school. He gave her a handheld game, which she got engrossed in. However after spending a lot of time playing it, she did not get any better and smashed the game out of frustration. Yugi laughed at the ordeal and brought her an easier game the next day.[3]

One lunchtime, after becoming fed-up playing basketball with the boys, who were trying to look up the girls' skirts, Anzu returned to her classroom. Here she caught Yugi's Millennium Puzzle box that Jonouchi and Honda were throwing around and told them off for bullying him. After they left, Yugi told Anzu that he had been working on the Millennium Puzzle for eight years and that it was a memento of his grandfather. Anzu went to Yugi's house after school. She was surprised to find his grandfather was actually alive and put off when he commented on her bust size.[4]

After Yugi became friends with Jonouchi, Anzu started to spend time with Jonouchi too. When a ZTV van arrived at their school, she argued with Jonouchi for spreading rumors of there being a star at their school and his choice to make money selling pictures of them.[5] When Honda and Jonouchi lifted her skirt with a t-square, she punched Jonouchi in the face.[6]

Going against school rules, Anzu secretly got a part time job at Burger World to earn money to attend a dance school in New York. Yugi and Jonouchi noted suspicious behavior on her behalf, which Jonouchi suspected was a result of her dating older men for pay. They followed her to Burger World after school one day. There Anzu served them burgers, but squirted a message onto the burgers, in ketchup, warning them not to tell.[7]

An escaped convict entered the restaurant and took Anzu hostage. While she was blindfolded, Yugi was forced to serve the convict a drink and Lucky Stripe cigarettes. Dark Yugi took control and played [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/One_finger_BATTLE! one finger BATTLE! ] with the convict. To Anzu, his voice sounded like Yugi's, but he was much too confident and dangerous to be Yugi. Dark Yugi defeated the convict and saved Anzu. Not knowing who her rescuer was, Anzu developed a crush on him and wanted to find out his identity.[7]

The alleged psychic Kokurano tried to seduce Anzu, by reading her future telling her how she would meet a wonderful man, who would reveal himself to her and she would swoon before him in love. Anzu hoped that this would be the man who saved her at Burger World. However, Kokurano tried to make himself the man from the prediction and caused Anzu to swoon, by knocking her out with a bottle of chloroform. Dark Yugi learned how Kokurano was in the habit of making his predictions come true and rushed to Anzu's rescue. Using the bottle, Dark Yugi defeated him in [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Paper_Crash! Paper Crash! ].[8]

Anzu was class representative as her class prepared for the school festival. She took suggestions from other students as to what they should do and decided to go with Yugi's Carnival Games idea. She managed to win the most popular spot at the festival in a lottery. As they built the booth, she assigned Jonouchi the role of playing Bluebeard in their life size Pop-up Pirate, despite his wishes. Goro Inogashira tried to steal the spot for his class and tore down the Carnival Games booth. When Yugi saw Anzu cry over this, he changed to Dark Yugi and won the spot back in a Shadow Game, Griddle Ice Hockey, against Goro.[9]

Yugi and Sugoroku introduced Anzu to Duel Monsters at the Kame Game shop.[10]

When Jonouchi mysteriously missed a day of school, Anzu admitted that it was lonely without him and helped Honda and Yugi look for him later. They later spotted him with Hirutani's gang attacking someone outside the American Club. After Jonouchi denied knowing Yugi and didn't react when one of the gangsters punched Yugi, Anzu told Jonouchi that he was the worst. Anzu tended to Yugi's injury later, while Honda told them about Jonouchi's past with Hirutani. The three agreed that Jonouchi wasn't back with Hirutani by choice and went after the gang. They spotted a member and Honda interrogated him into telling them that Hirutani forced Jonouchi to rejoin the gang by threatening to beat-up everyone in his class. The trio split-up to search for Jonouchi after finding out there had been a fight among the gang. Anzu and Honda later caught with Jonouchi after he had been rescued from the gang by Dark Yugi.[11] [12]

Yugi invited Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda to The Art of Egypt exhibition in Domino City Museum. Anzu worried Jonouchi, who was fearful of curses, by pointing out that Yugi's Millennium Puzzle, which was also from Egypt was said to be cursed as the archaeologists who uncovered it died mysterious deaths, according to Yugi's grandfather. At the exhibition, Anzu and her friends were shown around by Professor Yoshimori, who told them about the Weighing of the Heart after Anzu took interest in papyrus depicting it.[13]

Yoshimori's friend Professor Kanekura died a sudden suspicious death on the day of the exhibition,[14] leading Anzu and Jonouchi to accompany Yugi and his grandfather as they visited Yoshimori to cheer him up.[15] Shadi, the man responsible for Kanekura's death was also looking to punish Yoshimori for taking treasures from the pharaoh's tomb. However seeking to challenge Dark Yugi, he "redecorated" Yoshimori's soul room and had him attack Yugi's friends.[15] Anzu stopped Yoshimori from choking Jonouchi by walloping him in the head with a globe. Shadi entered Anzu's soul room in an attempt to coax Dark Yugi into taking control of Yugi. Inside he saw items that represented Anzu's dream of becoming a dancer in New York and a photo of a hero, whose face was blank. Shadi redecorated her soul to use her in a Shadow Game against Dark Yugi.[16]

Anzu was suspended on a bridge of life supported by three ushebti, which break when a weakness is detected in Yugi's heart. A fourth ushebti, which breaks when a weakness is detected in Shadi's heart, held the Millennium Key. Yugi's ushetbi breaking would result in Anzu being sent to her death, while breaking Shadi's would slide the Millennium Key to Anzu and return her to normal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[17]

Dark Yugi passed a series of tests Shadi threw at him, although he let three ushebti break in the process. The rope from the fourth began to break, but Jonouchi appeared under the bridge and held it up. From Jonouchi's action and how Dark Yugi passed the last test, Shadi was surprised by how the friends help and support each other, causing his ushetbi to break and return Anzu to normal. Yugi and Jonouchi helped Anzu back onto the building, after which Anzu and Jonouchi noticed Yugi had been acting different, but Dark Yugi relinquished control to Yugi when they approached him about this.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[18]

When Digital Pets became popular, Anzu got one which she called Peachy. She also lectured Kujirada on how he shouldn't disrespect other people's Digital Pets, because they aren't a hidden character, like his. Peachy later fells victim to Kujirada's pet after Kujirada swiped it from Anzu to feed it to his.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18">[19]

Anzu was fired from Burger World, after she punched a customer, who touched her rear. She then got a job at Kaiba Land, where she had to work at the Stardust Shootout. While working here, she met Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and Honda's baby nephew Johji, during Death-T and learned how Seto Kaiba was trying to kill Yugi in his theme park.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_28_19-0">[20]

Anzu and her friends enter the Horror Zone for Death T-2. Here they were greeted by Kaiba's butler, who took them to the Electric Chair Ride, which was to take them to the Murderer's Mansion. Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and the butler were strapped into electric chairs on the ride, while Johji sat on Anzu's lap. The butler controlled a series of terrors along the ride aimed at making the riders scream and if anyone screamed they would be electrocuted to death. At one part of the ride, mechanical hands came out of Anzu's chair and groped her body, bringing her close to screaming. Seeing the danger Anzu was in, Johji got off her lap, crawled back to the butler and defecated his lap, causing him to scream and get electrocuted. With the butler unable to control more terrors, the group arrived at the mansion safely.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[22]

Inside the Murderer's Mansion, as the group searched for an exit, they were greeted by a projection of Kaiba. He warned them that the serial killer, the Chopman, was in the mansion and pointed them to four holes in a wall. He explained that each hole had a button at the opposite side and in order to escape they would have to put their hands in the holes and press the right switch. Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda did so, but then had their hands strapped in place and were shown that they were now strapped to a guillotine, whose blade would drop after five minutes or if the wrong button was pressed. Yugi managed to solve the bllood puzzle just in time and told Anzu to press her button, freeing their hands.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22">[23]

Before the group exited the mansion, Johji was taken captive by the Chopman, but Jonouchi saved him and the group moved on to Death T-3.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[24]

The gang entered an empty room. As nothing happened for a while, Anzu, Yugi, Honda and Jonouchi reflected on how their lives had changed by meeting each other. Anzu asked them to hold out their hands as she drew a smiley face on them. If they ended up taking separate paths in life, Anzu told them to remember the symbol and they would remember being friends.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_33_24-0">[25]

When the stage's game, Rhythm Rock, started a number of blocks began to fall from the ceiling. Having studied dance patterns, Anzu noticed a rhythm to how the blocks were falling. With this, she was able to predict where the next blocks were about to fall and warn the others. As the room filled up with blocks, the gang climbed up on top of them and passed Johji, who had fallen asleep around. Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Johji made it out through a hole in the wall high above the ground, but Honda got trapped in and was left behind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_33_24-1">[25]

Upset over what happened to Honda, Yugi admitted to Anzu and Jonouchi that he thought there was another Yugi inside him; Ever since he solved the Millennium Puzzle, there had been times when he blacked out and the other him took over. He had been afraid to tell his friends, as he feared they might leave him if they knew. However Anzu and Jonouchi promised that they would always be friends with Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_34_25-0">[26]

Anzu knowingly saw Dark Yugi for the first time, as he prepared to face Mokuba in a game of Capsule Monster Chess in Death T-4. Jonouchi and Anzu were held there at gun point, during this stage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_34_25-1">[26] After Dark Yugi won, they were taken to the Dome Duel Arena to watch him face Kaiba in a game of Duel Monsters in Death T-5.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[27] During the Duel, Dark Yugi grew afraid that was going to lose, but then remembered the smiley face that Anzu had drawn. He imagined his friends being with him and was able to overcome his fear.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[28] As Anzu celebrated Dark Yugi's win, she wondered which Yugi she should be thinking won, but decided it did not matter and that Yugi is no longer the scared little boy he once was. Anzu, Jonouchi and Johji were still held at gunpoint, until Honda showed up and saved them with the help of Mokuba.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_40_28-0">[29]

Before Mokuba left, Anzu asked him why Kaiba had planned this elaborate revenge and he told her how Kaiba had changed since they were adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_40_28-1">[29]

After Anzu became aware of Dark Yugi's existence, she gave a Lovely Two love compatibility tester, to Yugi. Initially it got no reading, suggesting that they were not romantically compatible. That day, the teacher Tsuruoka confiscated Yugi's Lovely Two and called Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda unskilled slackers. Dark Yugi emerged and disagreed that they have skills, arguing that he had never lost a game. Tsuruoka then imposed a game, [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Find_the_Keyring!?action=edit&redlink=1 Find the Keyring! ], where he hid the Lovely Two somewhere in the school and gave Yugi and his friends one hour to find it or face expulsion. Anzu became bashful, seeing the Dark Yugi out, but handed him her love tester, thinking it might be of some use. Dark Yugi brought her tester into close proximity of where he thought Yugi's was hidden and switched it on. Anzu closed her eyes and begged the Lovely Two to react. This time it worked. The noise it made, exposed the location of Yugi's tester; under Tsuruoka's wig.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29">[30]

Anzu, Yugi and Honda sat in the studio audience when Jonouchi took part in the TV game show, The Get the Million Game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[31]

During the summer vacation, Anzu invited Yugi to come to Domino Park. On the way, she was frustrated by Yugi being more interested in a newspaper than her. As they entered the park, Yugi tried asking Anzu if they were on a date, but was interrupted by the ticket attendant, who mistook him as being grade school age. Anzu suggested that they first go to pool. They went down a water slide together and Yugi blushed at the sight of her in a bikini. While sunbathing, Anzu looked at Yugi and thought he had changed into Dark Yugi. However as he chased after a boy who squirted him with a water gun, she realized that it was just her imagination, as the regular Yugi behaved like a child. As she wondered what she could do to make Dark Yugi appear, a boy tried hitting on her. Anzu then decided that Dark Yugi might appear if she made it look like she was in danger. So screamed for help, accusing the boy who was hitting on her of being a pervert. However a bunch of boys came over and started punching him before Yugi arrived. Anzu then grabbed Yugi's wrist and fled the scene.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_45_31-0">[32]

Yugi and Anzu rode the roller coaster together and as they thought about what to ride next, they noticed the police were present. An evacuation of the park was ordered after a bomb scare. Anzu saw this as a chance to make Dark Yugi appear. She got separated from him in the crowd on got the ferris wheel, not knowing that the bomber had planted bombs in each car on it. Dark Yugi emerged and aided the police by playing a game of clock solitaire that the bomber had set up to determine which bombs would go off. Dark Yugi managed to end the game before any of the bombs in cars containing people were detonated. When Anzu got off the ride, she took Dark Yugi's arm and suggested that they get back to their date.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_45_31-1">[32]

Sugoroku was showing the ancient Egyptian game, dogs and jackals to Anzu, Yugi and Jonouchi when Imori arrived at the store to inquire about a jar and box he had found sealed-up. Sugoroku explained that the Chinese game Dragon Cards was inside and warned not to break the seal, as it would cause yin and yang to clash, creating a warped power. Anzu confessed that hearing that made her want to break the seal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[33]

Anzu, along with Yugi, Honda and Jonouchi befriended Ryo Bakura the day he transferred to Domino High School. She learned about the tabletop role-playing game Monster World from Bakura and Yugi. Jonouchi then suggested that they all play Monster World the next day. However after school, Bakura warned them that people who have played games with him have mysteriously wound up in comas, so he advised against them playing with him. Bakura did not attend school the next day, so suspecting he was upset, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda went to his apartment to cheer him up. They hoped to play Monster World to prove that the coma incidents were just a coincidence. Unbeknownst to them, Bakura became possessed by Dark Bakura, who was happy to play with them and secretly turned the game into a Shadow Game.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33">[34]

Dark Bakura explained more of the rules to Monster World and helped the others create their character miniatures. Anzu's avatar was an elf magician, similar in appearance to her. She, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda played the adventurers in the game, while Dark Bakura played the Dark Master.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_51_34-0">[35]

The adventurers quickly discovered that he had little idea what to do in the game, so Anzu suggested that they go to the village to get information. Anzu was curious about how it sounded like the villagers were really talking and asked if there was a speaker in the diorama, but Yugi theorized that Bakura was throwing his voice. She became even more curious when Karita's miniature seemed to speak. The adventurers learned from the village that the area had been taken over and terrorized by the Dark Lord, Zorc. Deciding to try and defeat Zorc, they were given directions to his castle and advised to stay out of the forest.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_51_34-1">[35]

Outside the village, the adventurers encountered Zorc disguised as a man, lying motionless on the ground. Not knowing who he was, Anzu felt sorry for him and suggested that they help him. Zorc acted afraid and claimed to have been attacked in the forest by monsters, who stole the holy sword, capable of defeating Zorc, that he had been delivering to the village hero. As the group contemplated helping him retrieve the sword, Anzu reminded them that they had been told to stay out of the village. The group finally decided to help him, but on entering the forest discovered that the rate of random enemy encounters had went up to 80%.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_52_35-0">[36]

Dark Bakura needed to roll below 20 for the group to encounter monsters. With lower rolls resulting in stronger monsters, the 05 caused five strong monsters to appear before them. Honda defeated Beega, Yugi tamed Pokii and Anzu rolled a 00, which was a super critical hit, allowing her to use top level magic and destroy the three remaining monsters at once.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_52_35-1">[36]

Zorc transformed into his true form and revealed that he had deceived the adventurers. Dark Bakura rolled a super critical for Zorc, allowing him to use his "Mind Doll" ability to seal Anzu's soul in her miniature.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_52_35-2">[36] In the next round of turns, Jonouchi, Honda and Yugi each became sealed in their miniatures too, leaving Dark Yugi to roll for the four of them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-36">[37]

Dark Yugi got Honda to shoot off Zorc's left hand, which mutated into monsters. Zorc retreated to his castle, while his offspring battled the adventurers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-37">[38] After the battle, the adventurers followed Zorc to his castle, where they quickly got trapped inside a tower, with the ceiling dropped on their heads. In order to escape the needed to complete a support pillar before their bodies shattered under the pressure. Zorc also attacked the adventurers while they were defenseless. Dark Yugi managed to complete the pillar in time for the adventurers to dodge a second attack from Zorc.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-38">[39]

Having caught Zorc off guard, the adventurers won initiative. By channeling their anger into the dice, Dark Yugi rolled low numbers, allowing the adventurers to use powerful attacks. However due to Zorc's high level, this had little effect on him. Dark Bakura rolled a super critical using brainwashed dice. Zorc then attacked the adventurers with an attack that should reduce their HP to 0. However Ryo Bakura, who had taken control of Dark Bakura's left hand after Zorc's amputation, recalculated the damage, so that the adventurers each had 1 HP.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-39">[40]

On Anzu's next turn, she healed the party. Dark Bakura claimed it did not matter, as Zorc's next attack would still destroy them. However Bakura took his next roll, causing him to roll a fumble, making Zorc's attack backfire. Dark Bakura's reaction led Anzu and her friends to believe he was not the Bakura they had befriended earlier. Yugi then extracted that Bakura's avatar, the White Wizard Bakura from Zorc's wounded wrist.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-40">[41]

Wizard Bakura aided the party in battling Zorc. When the party were on low HP, he advised Anzu against healing them again, insisting it would not be enough and they needed to defeat Zorc quickly.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-41">[42] Anzu and Last Zorc tied for initiative on the final turn. Dark Yugi and Dark Bakura both rolled super criticals, but Bakura managed to destroy Dark Bakura's dice, letting Anzu attack and defeat Zorc.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_59_42-0">[43]

After the game, Anzu and her friends were returned to normal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_59_42-1">[43]

Anzu took up playing Duel Monsters and defeated Jonouchi in a Duel at school. Later that day, the two of them went to Yugi's house to watch the final of the Japanese National Duel Monsters Championship. Afterwards they watched a videotape, Maximillion J. Pegasus sent Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-43">[44]

Pegasus was able to Duel Dark Yugi from the tape, despite claiming to be a prerecording. Dark Yugi suspected Pegasus was using subliminal messaging to tell him what cards to play, so he checked to see if Anzu, Jonouchi and Sugoroku were affected too, by asking them to guess what card he played. Anzu and Suguroku both guessed something skeleton-like, which was what Dark Yugi's instinct had told him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-44">[45] When Dark Yugi lost the Duel, Anzu witnessed Suguroku's soul being sucked from his body into the videotape.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-45">[46]

At school the next day, Anzu, Yugi and Jonouchi told Honda and Bakura what Pegasus had done. From their conversation, she was alarmed to learn that Bakura still carried the Millennium Ring around in his bag. After school, the group went to Yugi's house to watch a videotape, Jonouchi had been mailed. Before watching it, Yugi showed them the invitation to the Duelist Kingdom tournament, he had received in the mail from Pegasus. They feared Jonouchi's tape was sent by Pegasus, but it turned out to be self-recording of Jonouchi's sister, Shizuka Kawai. Anzu was previously unaware that Jonouchi had a sister, and sympathized on learning that she was going blind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-46">[47]

Yugi and Jonouchi both entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament, to save Sugoroku and use the prize money to fund an eye operation for Shizuka. They were accompanied by Anzu, Honda and Bakura. At Domino Pier, Anzu was disgusted by Mai Kujaku, who patronized Yugi, yet easily won the approval of Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda, who were charmed by her femininity. On the boat ride, Anzu spent the night on the common room floor, with her companions.

When the ship arrived at the Duelist Kingdom island, Anzu, Honda and Bakura stuck with Yugi and Jonouchi, despite not being contestants in the tournament. The group watched Dark Yugi Duel<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-48">[49] and defeat Insector Haga.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-49">[50] During the Duel, Mai's analysis greatly annoyed Anzu. Mai also mocked Yugi's friends cheering, saying it made no difference, despite Anzu's claims that Dark Yugi would hear their feelings and win.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-50">[51]

Jonouchi was later challenged to a Duel by Mai. Knowing that Mai was a more skilled player, Anzu tried to talk Jonouchi out of accepting and pleaded with Dark Yugi to do the same. However Jonouchi and Dark Yugi both thought he should accept.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-51">[52] Mai dominated the first few turns of the Duel and challenged Anzu to prove what she said earlier about helping a Duelist win by letting them hear their friends feelings. She said that that kind of thing was useless and Duelists could only trust themselves. Anzu began to sob in frustration. However Dark Yugi reminding Jonouchi of the "something you can show, but can't see" riddle, led to Jonouchi discovering Mai's Aroma Tactics, which was shortly followed by his victory.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-52">[53]

As Anzu and her friends got hungry, Jonouchi blamed Anzu, saying she should have prepared food, since she's the girl. Anzu warned him about being sexist and called Pegasus cheap for not supplying food. Jonouchi found fish left unattended by a fire and proceeded to take it, despite Anzu's objection that he was stealing. Regardless, Anzu and the others sat with him to eat the fish. They were told off by the owner of the fish, Ryota Kajiki, who unbeknown to them had left the fish as bait for Duelists. Kajiki shared the food with them and told them how he had entered the tournament to buy a new boat. He Dueled<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-53">[54] and lost to Dark Yugi afterwards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-54">[55] The group held no hard feelings towards Kajiki and Anzu guessed that all the participants came to the island with hopes and dreams.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_14_55-0">[56]

Anzu and her friends stumbled upon a participant being forced to leave the island by Saruwatari for losing all his Star Chips, despite his claim that they were stolen. The group searched for the thief in a futile attempt to help the victim. After the victim had been evicted, they met the thief, Mokuba Kaiba, who then tried to steal Yugi's Star Chips.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_14_55-1">[56] In contrast to Jonouchi, Anzu spoke politely to Mokuba and got him to explain how Pegasus needed to defeat Yugi in an official Duel as part of a plan to take over KaibaCorp. He thought that stealing Yugi's Star Chips would get him disqualified, before Pegasus could defeat him. Mokuba explained that Seto Kaiba had good intentions, despite what he did during Death-T. Anzu told Mokuba that she believed him and asked him to believe in Yugi, when he said he could defeat Pegasus. Mokuba reluctantly agreed and was about to return the two Star Chips he managed to take before Saruwatari appeared and forbid the transaction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-56">[57]

During the Duel between Dark Yugi and the Ventriloquist of the Dead, Anzu correctly noted how Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" seemed to refuse to attack, but Jonouchi told her she was being unintelligent. Before the Duel ended, Saruwatari kidnapped Mokuba without Anzu or her friends noticing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-57">[58]

Anzu liked how it felt to have the other competitors afraid of Dark Yugi's presence, as Jonouchi struggled to find an opponent. Eventually, they were approached by Mai, who had arranged for Dinosaur Ryuzaki to Duel Jonouchi. Anzu was annoyed by Mai constantly targeting Jonouchi and was surprised by Jonouchi's decision to Duel without help from Dark Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-58">[59] Jonouchi was easily overpowered by Ryuzaki initially, prompting Anzu to plead with Yugi to help him, as Shizuka would go blind if he lost. However Dark Yugi convinced Yugi that they should not interfere.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-59">[60] As Mai belittled Jonouchi, Anzu reminded her that he had beaten her, but Mai said that he cheated, as anyone could win if Yugi helped them. The two girls then exchanged intense glares. When Jonouchi won, Mai accidentally cheered for him and let out an "oops" as Anzu spotted her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-60">[61]

During the night, Anzu and her friends found a spot in the forest to sleep, without anything to eat, contrary to Anzu's expectations of the island being a resort. They were soon approached by Mai, who proposed a ceasefire for the night and shared her supplies. As Mai ordered the boys to prepare the food, she noticed how Yugi was a completely different person than earlier, when he had been controlled by Dark Yugi. Anzu pointed out that this was similar to Mai's behavior shift and asked why she was suddenly being nice. Although Mai was unsure what changed her, she lied that it was because she was a woman and her Duelist makeup does not last 24 hours. As Mai allowed Anzu to use her portable shower, Anzu thought about how she had misjudged Mai and wondered if all Duelists had two sides to them. While the group ate their food, Mai explained that despite their current friendship, they would be enemies in the next day.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_21_2-1">[3]

Mai suggested that Anzu stay with her in the tent that night, as she had heard rumors about a strange man lurking in the area. Mai told Anzu about her past as a casino dealer and accused Anzu of having a crush on Yugi. Anzu blushed and tried to deny it, but Mai was unconvinced. Mai had previously told Yugi that Anzu wanted to meet him at the cliff to tell him something. She told Anzu and sent her to the cliff, advising her that in any game, girls always have the advantage at night. Anzu spoke with Yugi about when they first met. Yugi got the impression that Anzu wanted to be with Dark Yugi and prepared to switch control. However Anzu stopped him and and said it was okay; he was still Yugi regardless of which "side" is showing and was find the way he is. The two held hands for a brief moment, before being interrupted by the sound of Mai screaming.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_21_2-2">[3]

Anzu and Yugi rushed to a Battle Box, where Mai had just been defeated by the Player Killer of Darkness. Yugi switched to Dark Yugi<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_21_2-3">[3] and Anzu and Mai watched him defeat the Player Killer,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[62] winning back Mai's Star Chips. When Mai initially refused to take back the Star Chips and prepared to accept disqualification, Anzu reminded her that she would lose her chance to fulfill her dream of Dueling Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63]

Anzu and Yugi rushed to a Battle Box, where Mai had just been defeated by the Player Killer of Darkness. Yugi switched to Dark Yugi<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_21_2-3">[3] and Anzu and Mai watched him defeat the Player Killer,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-61">[62] winning back Mai's Star Chips. When Mai initially refused to take back the Star Chips and prepared to accept disqualification, Anzu reminded her that she would lose her chance to fulfill her dream of Dueling Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-62">[63]

Anzu and her friends were woken during the night by the sound of Kaiba's helicopter landing on the island. Anzu was surprised to see Kaiba out of his coma and watched him Duel Jonouchi, who was mad about what Kaiba had done during Death-T.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-63">[64] When Kaiba defeated and mocked Jonouchi, Anzu told him off, saying that he was in no position to judge, as he did not know what Jonouchi had been through or what he was fighting for. She comforted Yugi, who felt betrayed, having believed Kaiba had changed.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-64">[65]

At some point, Anzu told Mai about Jonouchi participating to save Shizuka's eyesight.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_60_65-0">[66]

When Anzu woke up the next morning, Mai had already left and left behind supplies for Anzu and her friends.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_29_66-0">[67]

Jonouchi got separated from the group and was forced into a Duel with Ghost Kozuka.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_29_66-1">[67] Anzu and Yugi searched the forest for Jonouchi, while Bakura and Honda searched the Battle Boxes,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-67">[68], until Dark Yugi saw a vision of Jonouchi underground.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-68">[69] The group found Jonouchi in a cave and congratulated him on winning the Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-69">[70] Before they managed to leave, Bandit Keith got Kozuka, Takaido<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-unnamed_70-0">[Note 1] and Satake.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-unnamed_70-1">[Note 1] to block the exit with a boulder.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_33_71-0">[71]

Anzu and her friends found their way to the Meikyû Brothers' dungeon, where Dark Yugi and Jonouchi had to Team Duel against the brothers in order to leave the underground.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_33_71-1">[71] Dark Yugi and Jonouchi won, earning each of them enough Star Chips to enter the finals. However they still needed to answer the brothers' riddle in order to exit or be trapped. Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura searched the area for clues. Dark Yugi, with help from Dark Bakura, whom everyone believed to be Bakura, managed to correctly answer the riddle, allowing the group to return to the surface.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-72">[72]

The exit from the dungeon took them to the front of Pegasus Castle, where Kaiba stood waiting for Yugi at the entrance.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-73">[73] Anzu unsuccessfully tried talking Dark Yugi out of accepting a Duel from Kaiba, as he could risk losing his spot in the finals.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-74">[74] On the verge of defeat, Kaiba threatened to step over the edge of the tower if he lost. Dark Yugi tried to attack, but was stopped by Yugi, who threw the Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-75">[75] Yugi wept afterwards, but Anzu tried to comfort him, saying he had done the right thing. When Kaiba accused Yugi of showing weakness, Anzu told him off and said that he had been the one who showed weakness by betting his life as if it had little meaning and being afraid to continue living if he lost.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_47_76-0">[76]

Anzu and her friends prepared to find an opponent for Yugi to requalify for the finals. Saruwatari warned them that it was too late, but Mai arrived with six excessive Star Chips, which she offered Yugi to repay him for winning back her Star Chips earlier.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_47_76-1">[76] Anzu and the others encouraged Yugi to take them, although he was reluctant at first. Mai, Yugi and Jonouchi entered the castle, but Saruwatari refused to let Anzu, Honda and Bakura enter as they were not participants. However Jonouchi knocked him unconscious and they all entered.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_48_77-0">[77]

Inside the castle, Anzu, her friends and Keith watched a Duel between Kaiba and Pegasus,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_48_77-1">[77] resulting in Kaiba's soul being sealed in a "Soul Prison" card.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_52_78-0">[78]

During a dinner party, arranged for the finalists, Dark Yugi directed Anzu and their friends attention to a portrait of Shadi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_52_78-1">[78] Anzu told Bakura that she nearly died when they met Shadi before and told him about the Millennium Key's power. Anzu noticed the portrait of Cyndia next Shadi's and wondered who she was.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-79">[79]

During the night, Anzu came out of her room after she heard noise from Keith intruding on Jonouchi. She used a first aid kit to treat Yugi, who had been punched by Keith. Yugi admitted to her that he was embarrassed by always being helped by people, including her, Jonouchi and Dark Yugi. He disagreed with what she had said earlier about him being fine the way he is, as he was unable to protect people that way and vowed to become stronger.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-80">[80]

In the morning, Anzu and Jonouchi watched Dark Yugi and Mai's Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-81">[81] Anzu noticed how Dark Yugi seemed impatient during the Duel and noticed that Mai was not trying to provoke him, but get him to perform at his proper ability.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-82">[82] As Mai overwhelmed Dark Yugi, Anzu thought that she seemed much stronger than when she Dueled Jonouchi, but Mai disagreed saying Jonouchi had won by accepting and overcoming his weakness.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-83">[83] As Dark Yugi struggled with Mai's "Harpy Lady" and "Shadow of Eyes" pheromone combo, Anzu's comment on the harpies being sleazy caused him to reminded him that monsters of the same sex would be unaffected by the pheromones.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-84">[84] She congratulated Dark Yugi when he won.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_60_65-1">[66]

Before Jonouchi and Keith's Duel, Jonouchi was faced with disqualification unless he could find his "The Honor of the King's Right" in five minutes, not knowing Keith had stolen it. Anzu protested that he would not be able to make it to his room and back in that time. She also got mad at Keith for accusing Jonouchi of being afraid to Duel him. However Jonouchi returned after Mai gave him her card.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_60_65-2">[66] After he won, Jonouchi thanked Anzu and Dark Yugi saying that he could not have done it without them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_65_85-0">[85]

Anzu asked Dark Yugi and Jonouchi if they would have to Duel each other in the finals now, but Dark Yugi deemed it unnecessary as they would only expose more of their tactics to Pegasus. Honda and Bakura then showed up, having spent the night searching for Mokuba's soulless body. Anzu, Jonouchi, Bakura and Honda then watched the Duel between the Yugis and Pegasus.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_65_85-1">[85]

The nature of the Shadow Game caused Yugi to collapse and Pegasus to state his soul had died. However Dark Yugi took over and Anzu explained to the others that Yugi had not died, which she figured because Yugi had told her before that as long as one of his souls lived the other would live too. No longer able to perform his Mind Shuffle, Dark Yugi became vulnerable to Pegasus' Mind Scannig power. However an apparition of Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura soon appeared, blocking Pegasus' view of Dark Yugi's mind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-86">[86] Yugi regained his consciousness at the end of the Duel and credited their success to Anzu and the others lending their hearts.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_73_87-0">[87]

When Pegasus released the souls of he had trapped, Anzu noticed Sugoroku disappear from the camcorder. As Pegasus told Dark Yugi and his friends how he came into possession of the Millennium Eye, he mentioned that the Millennium Items possess an evil intelligence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_73_87-1">[87] Anzu realized that that was difficult for Dark Yugi, who came from a Millennium Item, to hear. She theorized that he refrained from giving Pegasus a Penalty Game as he did not want to succumb to that claim. She and her friends visited Mokuba as he regained his soul. Anzu assured him that KaibaCorp was safe and as they searched for his brother, Kaiba, she told Jonouchi off for joking that his soul might have went to Heaven. Once the brothers were reunited, Anzu realized that Mokuba was the final piece Kaiba needed to complete the puzzle of his heart. She also wondered where Bakura had went, no knowing Dark Bakura had taken control for the murder of Pegasus. After Bakura returned, Mokuba talked Kaiba into giving everyone a lift home on their helicopter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-88">[88]

Anzu stopped by Yugi's house one morning and Yugi made sure that they went by the soon-to-be-opened Black Clown store on their way to school. Anzu became creeped out by Mr. Clown, who tried giving her a balloon there and had to drag Yugi away so they would not be late.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_75_89-0">[89]

At school Yugi and Anzu told Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura about the Black Clown. Jonouchi had already heard about it from a newspaper flier, which Anzu mistook as implying his family managing to afford a newspaper subscription, when he had in fact delivered the paper. On the subject of his finances, Jonouchi told the others that Shizuka's vision was going to be fully restored thanks to the money won in Duelist Kingdom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_75_89-1">[89]

The group became distracted by their new classmate Ryugi Otogi, who was impressing girls with dice tricks. Anzu noted Jonouchi's jealously and sighed as he bragged to Ryuji about his success in Duel Monsters, shortly after saying he was not one to show off his talents. She watched Jonouchi become swindled into obeying Ryuji for two weeks only to have Dark Yugi win back his freedom, all through dice in cup and four aces bets.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_75_89-2">[89] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-90">[90]

The next day, Yugi, Anzu and Bakura queued up for the grand opening of the Black Clown. When Jonouchi arrived late, she told him to go to the back of the line, but to no avail. Yugi asked his friends not to mention that he was shopping in a rival store and belittled Sugoroku's taste in gaming. The three of them however looked at him speechless as they could see Sugoroku behind him. Yugi got separated from the others inside the shop. Unbeknownst to them, he was forced into a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters against Ryuji.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-91">[91] After they failed to get help in finding him from a security guard, Sugoroku suggested that they go back to Kame Game and wait for Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-92">[92]

Honda later met Anzu, Jonouchi and Sugoroku at Kame Game and told them that he had seen Dark Bakura enter the Black Clown, which had closed for the day. Worried that something bad was happening, they went back to the store to look for Yugi again.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-93">[93] Inside they found two security guards rendered unconscious.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-94">[94] By the time they found Bakura, he was not possessed by Dark Bakura. He was with Ryuji outside a room that had caught fire after Mr. Clown dragged Yugi inside.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-95">[95] The group forced open the door, but were unable to convince Yugi to leave. The disassembled Millennium Puzzle had been chained to a table and he wanted to recomplete, so he could speak to Dark Yugi before the puzzle got destroyed. Jonouchi got everyone else to leave, while Yugi finished the puzzle and he carried him out afterwards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-96">[96]

Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura visited Yugi in the hospital when he recovered from his burns. Anzu reminded Yugi that he told her he made a wish the first time he solved the Millennium Puzzle and asked him what he wished for this time. Yugi had not thought about making a wish, but had been desperate to see Dark Yugi again while he solved it, so he guessed that was his wish. Yugi said it was strange that he solved the puzzle within minutes, when it took him eight hours the first time. Anzu suggested that the puzzle sensed he wanted to see Dark Yugi and said that she thinks if the puzzle had a mind it would want to see Yugi. She then realized that she had begun to believe Dark Yugi was not a side of Yugi that the Millennium Puzzle brought out, but a separate person who came from the puzzle. She worried about what would happen to Dark Yugi when if the Millennium Puzzle has to be brought to a place in Egypt.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-97">[97]

At school, Yugi told Anzu that Dark Yugi had been feeling down, but would not talk about it. He suggested that Anzu go out with Dark Yugi on Sunday to cheer him up. In preparation, Anzu bought magazines with tourist information. The two met at Domino Station at 10:00, where Anzu was nervous at first.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_90_98-0">[98]

They first went to a coffee shop for drinks. Dark Yugi noted how they were both alike; not knowing where to go in life. Anzu assured him that everyone was like that and that they had to keep moving forward, despite being afraid and not seeing what is coming. She reminded him of her dream to become a dancer in America and how that moment was closer to becoming a reality. She noted that everyone has limited time and silently thought about how that meant Dark Yugi would leave them one day. Dark Yugi said he was certain her dream would become a reality.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_90_98-1">[98]

Afterwards, they went to the RPG Hobby Trading Cards shop. They then to the arcade, Game, where Anzu was challenged to a game of Super Dancer by Step Johnny. Dark Yugi advised her to ignore Johnny, but Anzu refused to back down from a dance challenge. Johnny insisted that Anzu should spent the night with him if she lost and accused her of playing for that reason. Anzu managed to win the game and admitted it felt good.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_90_98-2">[98]

The two went to the docks and Dark Yugi mentioned how the Millennium Items belonged in Egypt and how going there could help him learn more about himself, but not going would mean staying with Yugi. He was not sure which he wanted to do. Anzu suggested that he be honest to his own heart, so Dark Yugi decided to go to The Art of Egypt exhibition at Domino City Museum for clues to his past. He knew he had to go there, but had been afraid before. However spending time with Anzu caused him to make up his mind.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_90_98-3">[98]

In the museum, Anzu and Dark Yugi learned from the Tablet of Lost Memories that Dark Yugi was once a Pharaoh, from 3000 years earlier. This caused Anzu to worry about Yugi, who thought that Dark Yugi would always remain in his heart. The two were greeted by Ishizu Ishtar, who predicted Dark Yugi's arrival with her Millennium Tauk. She explained that Dark Yugi needed to collect the Millennium Items to regain his memories and would soon partake in a battle for that purpose. Dark Yugi asked that Anzu not to tell Yugi what they had learned, until he was ready to accept it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_91_99-0">[99]

Outside the museum, they bumped into Mai Kujaku, who was there for the announcement of the Battle City tournament. Mai was happy to see them and teased Anzu for being on a date.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_91_99-1">[99]

The next day, Yugi and Jonouchi searched for the RPG Hobby Trading Cards shop, in order to collect Duel Disks for the Battle City tournament. Having been there on her date, Anzu was able to show them where it was. She noticed that Yugi was suspicious of why Dark Yugi wanted to enter the tournament and thought he would figure it out before long.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_90_98-4">[98]

On the day of the tournament, Anzu noted how she and her friends were drifting apart, as they struggled to meet up. She, Bakura and Sugoroku spotted The Doll standing motionless, as they searched for Yugi and Jonouchi. At noon, she was able to correctly guess Jonouchi would be at a restaurant and they spotted him catching a thief near the Beef Buster. The thief claimed that his own Deck and Duel Disk had been stolen and that he had taken Jonouchi's to try and win his own back. Jonouchi let the boy go to fetch the thief, so he could Duel him. Anzu and the others were skeptical of the boy's story, but Jonouchi insisted they should have more faith in people. As they waited, Jonouchi told them about his desire to Duel Yugi and how Shizuka lacked the courage to remove her bandages after her eye operation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-100">[100]

Insector Haga arrived upon the thief's summoning. Anzu said that he did not deserve to Duel Jonouchi, after what he did to Yugi's "Exodia" cards, but Haga was just glad such a cute girl remembered him. She suspected Haga was up to something and warned Jonouchi to be careful. Jonouchi drew "Parasite Paracide", which worked to Haga's advantage. Anzu knew that the card did not belong to Jonouchi and Sugoroku figured that the thief slipped it in. Despite the handicap, Jonouchi still managed to win.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-101">[101]

Getting separated from Bakura in the process, Anzu and Sugoroku followed Jonouchi to the aquarium, where he faced his next opponent, Ryota Kajiki.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-102">[102]

After the Duel, Anzu congratulated Jonouchi on qualifying for the finals and reminded him that he could use his Puzzle Cards to determine the location of the finals. However before he could do this, they spotted Bakura, with a stab wound on his arm and Marik Ishtar helping him walk. Bakura had no recollection of how he had been injured. Marik then got punched defending Bakura from two boys accusing him of stealing a Duel Disk. Jonouchi proceeded to beat up the boys, while Anzu checked that Marik was okay. As Sugoroku took Bakura to the hospital, Jonouchi and Anzu thanked Marik, who lied that his name was "Namu".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-103">[103]

Without them knowing, Marik possessed Jonouchi and Anzu using the Millennium Rod<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_132_104-0">[104] and used them as hostages to lure Dark Yugi into a Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-105">[105] While possessed, Anzu answered a phone call from Honda, but hung up without saying anything. However, the sound of a ship horn in the background, allowed Honda to deduce she was at Domino Pier.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_132_104-1">[104] Marik got Anzu to place a suicide capsule between her teeth and threatened to make her swallow it, if Dark Yugi refused to Duel Jonouchi at the Arena of Death.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-106">[106] When the Duel ended, Marik got Anzu to spit out the capsule and released her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-107">[107]

Mai, Honda, Shizuka and Ryuji arrived at the pier after the Duel and Anzu witnessed Shizuka taking off her eye bandages.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-108">[108] Mai, Shizuka, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda and Ryuji all squeezed into Mai's car, so that they could all follow Kaiba's helicopter to the finals. On the way, Anzu received a call from Sugoroku, who said that Bakura had disappeared from the hospital.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-109">[109]

They arrived at Domino Stadium, where seven of the eight finalists were revealed; Marik, under the alias Namu, Rishid, pretending to be Marik, Kaiba, Jonouchi, Mai and Bakura. Anzu and here friends were surprised to see Bakura and worried about his condition. Jonouchi and Yugi were cautious about "Namu", but Bakura and Anzu, under the influence of the Millennium Rod, insisted that he saved Bakura and was their friend. Isono tried stopping Anzu, Honda, Shizuka and Ryuji from boarding the Battle Ship, as they were not finalists, but Mokuba insisted that he let them on.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-110">[110] Much to Jonouchi's dismay, the four of them went into his room and he unsuccessfully tried telling all of them, except Shizuka, to leave.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-111">[111]

Anzu watched the first Duel of the finals between Dark Yugi and Bakura. She was surprised to see Dark Bakura take over Bakura. As Jonouchi explained who Dark Bakura was to Marik, Anzu told him about the Monster World game, where Dark Bakura nearly killed them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-112">[112]

During the Duel, she saw Yugi's Egyptian God, "Slifer the Sky Dragon" for the first time and witnessed Marik's plan to have Dark Yugi lose by endangering Bakura's life. However Dark Bakura intervened and Dark Yugi won.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-113">[113] Under the influence of the Millennium Rod, Anzu, took Bakura's Millennium Ring and said she would keep it where Bakura could not get it. She did not attend Jonouchi and Rishid's Duel, as she stayed by the bedside of Bakura, who was rendered unconscious in the last Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-114">[114]

Jonouchi and Rishid were both rendered unconscious in their Duel. During this time, Jonouchi had a dream where he was at school with Anzu, Yugi, Honda, Bakura and Ryuji. In the dream, Anzu told him off for sleeping at school and helped him pick up the cards he dropped. She and the others all smiled at him, encouragingly, as he got ready for a tournament at Domino Toysaurus.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-115">[115] Jonouchi told his friends about the dream and credited their support to him being able to regain consciousness. After overhearing Mai asking Jonouchi if she was in dream too, Anzu told Jonouchi off for joking about how she was not.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_159_116-0">[116]

Although Mai said she did not want anyone cheering for her,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_159_116-1">[116] Anzu and her friends watched Mai's Duel with Dark Marik.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-117">[117] Dark Yugi threw himself in front of a blast from "The Winged Dragon of Ra", in order to save Mai.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-118">[118] After this, Anzu held onto him until he regained consciousness and warned him to never do something like that again.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_165_119-0">[119]

Ryuji and Honda took Mai's unconscious body away, while Anzu and the others stayed to watch the last quarter final Duel between Kaiba and the last finalist,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_165_119-1">[119] whom they were surprised to learn was Ishizu Ishtar, the woman they had met at the museum.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-120">[120] Anzu saw that Ishizu had used the Millennium Tauk to predict Kaiba's moves and compared her power to Pegasus' Mind Scan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-121">[121]

After the Duel, Anzu, Yugi and Jonouchi were accompanied by Ishizu, when they went to check on Mai.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-122">[122] Ishizu told them about her family's past; how they had met Shadi, how Dark Marik had been born and how he killed their father.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-123">[123] Anzu said she would stay with Mai that night. As the others returned to their rooms, Anzu called after Ishizu in private. She asked what would happen to Dark Yugi when the Millennium Items are returned to the Millennium Stone, to which Ishizu replied that he would have a place to return to.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-124">[124] At some point, Jonouchi told Anzu that he planned on Dueling Dark Marik, in order to save Mai and got her to promise not to tell the Yugis.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_184_125-0">[125]

Marik was able to return to the Millennium Ring, he had taken through Anzu, to Bakura. He aided Dark Bakura in a Duel against Dark Marik.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-126">[126] When they lost, Marik possessed Anzu, in order to talk to Ishizu and hide Rishid's body from Dark Marik.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-127">[127]

In the Duel Tower, Anzu watched the Battle Royal to determine the match-ups for the semi finals.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-128">[128] When Dark Marik turned his Duel with Jonouchi in a Shadow Game, she apologized to Dark Yugi for not telling him that Jonouchi had planned on going through with the Shadow Game, in order to save Mai.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_184_125-1">[125] Anzu wept after the Duel, fearing Jonouchi could be dead.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-129">[129] He was taken away on a stretcher after the Duel and his friends stayed at his bedside.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_192_130-0">[130]

When Dark Yugi got up to leave for his Duel with Kaiba, Anzu went after him. She asked if it is worth continuing to fight and if there was anything in his heart other than finding his lost memories. Dark Yugi told her about the premonition the Millennium Tauk had showed him, where he faces Jonouchi in a friendly Duel and said that if he did not fight, that vision would not come true. Anzu stayed with Jonouchi while Dark Yugi left.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_192_130-1">[130] During the Duel, Jonouchi awoke from his coma<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-131">[131] and told the others off not being with Dark Yugi. He led them up to the arena,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-132">[132] where they saw the end of the Duel.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-133">[133]

In the final Duel, between Dark Yugi and Dark Marik, as each player lost Life Points, a part of their other self, Yugi and Marik, would disappear. Marik possessed Anzu again, in order to tell Dark Yugi not to hold back, as he was prepared to die. He also took the time to apologize to Dark Yugi and Ishizu.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-134">[134] By the end of the Duel, Anzu returned to her normal self.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-135">[135] She felt sorry for Marik, when she saw that the instructions to retrieving the Pharaoh's memory had been carved onto his back.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_d_218_136-0">[136]

Anzu and her friends returned to the Battle Ship, after Kaiba announced that the tower was to be destroyed. Here they found Mai and Bakura, who had recovered. They desperately searched for the Kaiba brothers as the detonation time approached and Anzu told Jonouchi off for suggesting that Kaiba was again planning on killing himself over losing. The blimp finally took off without the Kaibas, but Anzu was relieved to see them alive as they passed by in their Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-137">[137]

Anzu is abducted by Yako Tenma during school. Her soul is trapped in a card, and she is connected to a machine. His plan was to put Pegasus' soul in her body, but the plan failed due to Yako's redemption during battle.

Anzu greeted Yugi and Jonouchi at school, while they were whispering about the Video Girl♡ tape, and embarrassed them by asking what they were talking about. The three of them, Honda and Bakura discussed using the Egyptian Gods to restore Dark Yugi's memories. Anzu mentioned her concerns that in gaining his old memories, Dark Yugi might lose his memories of them. However Yugi switched to Dark Yugi, who assured her that he could never forget them.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_3_138-0">[138]

After school, Anzu, Dark Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and Bakura went to Domino City Museum and were greeted at the entrance by Bobasa,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_3_138-1">[138] who was to aid Dark Yugi in his journey to the Memory World. Inside the museum, Anzu became conscious of how odd it seemed that she had always called Dark Yugi "Yugi". Being a different person, rather than another part of Yugi, she concluded that he must have a name of his own. She then went into the souvenir shop and bought a cartouche pendant, which she gave to Dark Yugi. She explained that after he learns his real name, he can carve it into the cartouche, so he will not forget it again.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-139">[139]

Following Marik and Ishizu's instructions, Dark Yugi brandished the Egyptian God cards to the tablet, sucking him into the Memory World. Anzu was stunned when Yugi reported that Dark Yugi was no longer inside him.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-140">[140]. She was somewhat relieved to hear that he would maintain his memories of the present world, but shocked to hear that he was going to experience his death again. Bobasa explained that others were able to go to the Memory World too, so Anzu and her friends volunteered to help Dark Yugi.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-141">[141] Before they continued, Bobasa used the Millennium Scales to ensure there was no evil in any of their hearts. Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda passed the scales' test, but the evil was detected in Bakura's heart, due to the presence of Dark Bakura, so he was asked to leave. Bobasa then used the Millennium Key to bring himself, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda into the labyrinth of Dark Yugi's soul room.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-142">[142]

In order to enter the Memory World, Anzu and her companions needed to find the door to Dark Yugi's true soul room.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-143">[143] While searching for the door, Anzu thought Yugi might be the only one able to find it, and grieved not being able to help. She also learned that it was their duty to find Dark Yugi's name, which may be hidden in the Memory World through his subconsciousness.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-144">[144] Yugi concluded that the doors were checking were fake and to find the true door, he suggested that they put their hands together and focus on their true goal. Doing so, caused a new doorway to the Memory World to appear.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_16_145-0">[145]

Unbeknownst to Anzu, Honda, Jonouchi and Yugi, their unconscious bodies were taken to a hidden room in the museum, where they were placed in coffins. Their minds were sent to the Memory World, where events were controlled by the Shadow RPG, played between Dark Yugi and Dark Bakura.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-146">[146]

Going through the doorway took them to an Ancient Egyptian setting; the kingdom Dark Yugi ruled as Pharaoh.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_16_145-1">[145] They quickly learned that they were unable to interact with the people of the Memory World or enter the Pharaoh's palace.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_17_147-0">[147] Anzu told Jonouchi and Honda off for wanting to exploit their invisibility to peep at the women of the kingdom.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_18_148-0">[148] They overheard that the priests were searching for a thief, named Bakura<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_17_147-1">[147] and spotted Kisara being stoned by people, who believed her white skin and blue eyes to be a bad omen. Anzu, Honda and Yugi tried helping her up, while Jonouchi confronted her attackers, but their intangibility caused them to just phase through the people, making them unable to help. However, Priest Seto, whom they immediately noticed looked identical to Kaiba, arrived on the scene, told the attackers off<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_18_148-1">[148] and prepared to take Kisara to the palace. Anzu and her friends overheard Seto mentioning the Pharaoh, whom they assumed to be Dark Yugi, so they followed him to the palace.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-149">[149]

Unable to enter the palace, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda and Bobasa waited outside, until they were woken up by the Pharaoh chasing Bakura on horseback during a ka battle.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-150">[150] They caught up with the Pharaoh and Yugi was able to lend him strength,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-151">[151] allowing him to win a battle, he had lost the first time he lived the events of the Memory World. Anzu was relieved to see learn that the Pharaoh could see them and had not lost his memory of them. They explained that he was living in the world of his memory and that they had come to help him learn his real name.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-152">[152]

The Dark Bakura at the RPG table rewound events, using an hourglass,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_43_153-0">[153] sending the group back to shortly before they reunited with the Pharaoh. This time, the part of Dark Bakura that had entered the Memory World stood in their way, preventing them from helping the Pharaoh.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-154">[154] He explained that 3000 years previous, in addition to the Pharaoh's soul, a fragment of Zorc Necrophades' soul had been sealed in the Millennium Puzzle, only one of which can return to the real world. He identified as himself as that part of Zorc's soul and revealed his motives to have Zorc return to the real world. Dark Bakura demonstrated their abilities to warp reality and caused Duel Disks to appear on his, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda's arms. Anzu was surprised that she was given one and wondered what cards she even had. Jonouchi engaged in a Duel with Dark Bakura,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-155">[155] which was interrupted as the world fell into darkness, due to the Pharaoh blacking out.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-156">[156]

Some time after, the sky turned black and everyone around Anzu and her companions became immobilized,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_41_157-0">[157] due to Dark Bakura freezing time with another hourglass.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_43_153-1">[153] Anzu said that it reminded her of when they were turned to figurines in Dark Bakura's Monster World game, which prompted Yugi to realize they were living in a game world.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_41_157-1">[157]

After Zorc had been resurrected, Bobasa reported to the group what had happened and transformed into Hasan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_43_153-2">[153] Hasan was able to inform them that they would find the Pharaoh's name inside his tomb. Jonouchi thought this was odd, because the Pharaoh was still alive, but Anzu explained that in Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs had their tombs built while they were still on the throne. While Hasan fly away to protect the Pharaoh, he left the four of them to find the name. Yugi discovered that they too should be able to fly and led the group to the Valley of the Kings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-158">[158]

Inside the tomb, Anzu, Honda and Yugi saved Jonouchi as he tried flying across a deep hole, not knowing they could not fly in dungeon settings. They were able to safely make their way through most of a maze, as the traps were all frozen in time. Inside the maze they found a Duel Monsters card, "Destiny Board" and realized they were not alone.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-159">[159] Time resumed after a while and they were chased by statues swinging blades for the remainder of the maze.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_46_160-0">[160]

When the group exited the maze, the group was confronted by Dark Bakura. In order to pass, they needed to defeat him in a Shadow Game of Duel Monsters, in which the loser would die. Yugi accepted the Duel, while Anzu and the others watched.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_46_160-1">[160] Anzu took notice of Yugi using a different Deck than Dark Yugi and how he had become independent and strong.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-161">[161]

After Yugi defeated the Dark Bakura in the Memory World, the Dark Bakura at the RPG table used his third hourglass, causing the ground to sink, destroying the bridge Anzu and her friends had just crossed. As the tomb collapsed behind them, they raced into the last chamber,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-162">[162] where they found the Pharaoh's name, but were unable to read the hieroglyphs.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_54_163-0">[163]

She and her friends flew to where the Pharaoh and his army were battling Zorc<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-164">[164] and while the others fought, Anzu tended to the Pharaoh, who had been injured. She, Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, the Pharaoh and some of his army were shielded from one of Zorc's attacks by Hasan, who informed them that they needed to show the Pharaoh his real name before they could defeat Zorc. The attacked killed and unmasked Hasan, allowing the others to see that he was Shadi. As they wondered how they could show the Pharaoh his name, Anzu spotted the cartouche pendant she had given the Pharaoh and told the others to concentrate on the glyphs, so they could carve them onto the pendant.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_54_163-1">[163] The Pharaoh, read his real name, Atem, from the pendant. With his name as the key, he was able to summon The Creator God of Light, Horakhty, who defeated Zorc.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-165">[165]

As they celebrated defeating Zorc, Anzu inattentively referred to Atem as "Yugi", which he said he did not mind, but Anzu insisted that she should call him by his own name now. Despite Zorc's defeat, the ground began to collapse and Atem insisted that Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda find a way out of the Memory World. After getting Atem to promise that he would come after them, they flew towards the Millennium Puzzle in the sky, from where they had originally entered.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-166">[166]

Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda woke up in the museum and Atem returned to Yugi's body shortly afterwards. They found Bakura unconscious and free from Dark Bakura, at the opposite side of the RPG table.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_58_167-0">[167]

One month after going to the Memory World, Anzu, Yugi, Atem, Jonouchi, Honda, Bakura, Sugoroku and Ryuji traveled to Egypt for Atem's final trial, which was to take place in the Valley of the Kings.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_58_167-1">[167] They were greeted outside the airport in Cairo, by Marik and Rishid, who informed them that they were unable to fly to Luxor as planned, due to a sandstorm, so Ishizu arranged for a ship to take them there. On board the ship, Ishizu and Marik explained that Atem needed to lose a Ceremonial Battle, in order to pass on to the afterlife. Anzu was uncomfortable with the idea of Atem leaving and later tried talking to Yugi about it, but was unable to do so and changed the subject to Honda's medicine.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-168">[168]

The next morning, the group arrived at the Shrine of the Underworld. After placing the Millennium Items in the Millennium Stone, Atem and Yugi split into separate bodies, in order to Duel in the Ceremonial Battle. Anzu contemplated wanting Atem to win, as she did not want him to leave.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-169">[169] When Yugi smiled after Atem took the upper hand, Anzu suggested that he might have done so because he wanted Atem to win and stay. Jonouchi told her she was wrong; Yugi was happy that Atem was he was no longer following Atem, who was now coming at him with all he had.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-170">[170] After Yugi defeated "The God of Obelisk", Anzu wondered how Atem felt about how strong Yugi had become and thought he must be happy as "the other Yugi", but sad as "Atem". She noticed Yugi's "Gold Sarcophagus" card was similar to the box that Yugi got Millennium Puzzle in; the box that brought him and Atem together.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-171">[171]

After Yugi won, Atem said his name to the Eye of Wadjat, opening the door to his afterlife. Before he went through, Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda called him back. Anzu reminded him that if he went through, he would not be able to come back and said she did not understand why he had to go. Jonouchi told her that she did not need to understand it, she just needed to accept it and never forget him. Anzu wept as he left and vowed to never forget anything about him. After the door to the afterlife closed, the shrine began to collapse, burying the Millennium Items, while Anzu and the others ran outside, where they reflected on Atem's passing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-mw_d_65_172-0">[172]

Duelist Kingdom Saga
The anime begins with Seto Kaiba kidnapping Yugi's grandfather and defeating him in a Duel order to acquire his rare four-of-a-kind card, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". On doing so he tears up the card so it can't be used against him.Téa draws symbols on her, Yugi, Joey and Tristan's hands to symbolize their friendship before Yugi faces Kaiba, after Kaiba tears up Solomon Muto's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon".

Yugi then duels Kaiba to get revenge. Not entirely conscious of the transformation, he switches to Yami Yugi for the Duel. Yugi learns that Kaiba possess the other three "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" cards as he Summons them. Yami starts to doubt he can win, but thinking of how his friends are supporting him in spirit, he manages to Summon the "Exodia", an instant win card combination. Yami then inflicts the Mind Crush Penalty Game on Kaiba, dispelling his evil side.

In the manga, Yugi's encountered Kaiba much earlier in the series. The anime encounter is an shortened combination of their two previous encounters.

Joey takes up learning Duel Monsters, but proves a weak player after losing to Téa at school. (In the anime, he also loses to Yugi.) Yugi agrees to help him improve and they start by watching the Japanese regional Duel Monsters tournament final at Yugi's house. Yugi explained that he didn't enter this tournament as he had wanted to face Kaiba in a fair Duel in his first tournament. (In the manga, Kaiba was in hospital after receiving the Mind Crush.) The tournament ended with Weevil Underwood defeating Rex Raptor. As Weevil was congratulated by the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion Pegasus, he received an invitation to an upcoming tournament.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-d_1_1-0">[2] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-ep_2_2-0">[3]

After watching the finals, Yugi opened a package he received, containing a gauntlet, 2 Star Chips and a videotape. The tape contained a recording of Pegasus, who invited Yugi to Duel on the spot. Yugi switched to Yami Yugi, upon realizing that this was a Shadow Game. Pegasus won the Duel due to an imposed time limit and took the soul of Yugi's grandpa as Yugi's penalty. (In the manga, Grandpa's soul was sealed in the videotape.) In order to get the soul of his grandpa back he accepts Pegasus' invitation to Duelist Kingdom. Téa and Tristan sneak onto the boat to Duelist Kingdom to support Yugi and Joey in the tournament. Téa mostly stands on the sidelines giving the boys encouraging speeches.

Yugi and his friends faced Yami Bakura in a Shadow Game of Duel Monsters, where the players are trapped in cards similar to their Monster World pieces. Téa becomes the card "Magician of Faith" in the Duel. As she is upset over Joey's sacrifice, she uses her effect to return "Monster Reborn" to Yami Yugi's hand, which allows him to revive Joey.

Kaiba defeats Yugi in the tournament by standing on the edge of the castle, so Yugi's last attack would knock him off. Yugi relinquishes the Duel to Kaiba. Téa then argues with Kaiba over his strategy. Kaiba explains how Duelists are given one chip and must use it in whatever way allows them to win. Téa argues back that Kaiba only won because he couldn't live without the chip and insist that Yugi won the Duel.

After losing to Kaiba, Yugi no longer has enough Star Chips to enter the tournament finals. Mai offers Yugi her excessive Star Chips. Yugi initially refuses, feeling unworthy. Téa Duels Mai for the Star Chips. Using a combination of Magic Cards, Téa makes her "Shining Friendship" card defeat Mai's "Harpie Lady". Although Mai is able to turn the Duel around, using "Harpie's Feather Duster", she is impressed by Téa's performance and wants to give Yugi the Chips, so she surrenders saying "Harpie Lady" was her best monster and Téa defeated it.

Kemo doesn't allow Téa, Tristan or Bakura to enter the castle, where the finals are held, as they are not finalists, but Mai distracts him, long enough for them to sneak in.

Inside they witness Kaiba and Pegasus Dueling. Pegasus was able to predict Kaiba's moves and easily win. Tristan suspects that Pegasus cheated, so that night he talks with Téa and Bakura on the subject. The three inspect the Duel arena and find a hole that shines moonlight directly at the Duel arena. Tristan spots a tower and the three head towards it. In the tower, they are confronted by Pegasus, who uses his Millennium Eye to transport them to another dimension. They wake up and enter a room, where a Shadow Game between two robed men is taking place while others are chanting. The winning man, Pegasus confronts the three and tries to take Bakura's Millennium Ring. Yami Bakura takes over Bakura's body and sends Téa and Tristan back to their rooms and erases their memories.

During the final rounds, Téa cheers on Yugi and Joey in their Duels. She is unable to watch the end of Yugi's Duel with Pegasus, as Pegasus takes the Duel to the Shadow Realm. Despite this Yugi feels his friends are with him in spirit and manages to defeat Pegasus.

Pegasus disappears after the Duel. The gang proceed to a tower, where they find Pegasus' diary, which Téa reads. She learns that Pegasus had a wife Cecelia, who died and Pegasus was trying to revive her using the Millennium Items and Kaiba Corporation technology.

Téa and her friends are taken home by Seto Kaiba in his helicopter.

Legendary Heroes Saga
Seto Kaiba went to fire The Big Five after finding out about their little scheme to take over KaibaCorp. The Big 5 challenge him to a virtual game, and if he wins, they will resign their posts. Unfortunately, inside the game Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" was captured by a "Dragon Capture Jar". Kaiba himself is then captured by the "Witty Phantom", who wishes to sacrifice him to the "Five-Headed Dragon".

Mokuba Kaiba runs to Yugi Muto for help. Yugi, Téa Gardner, Joey Wheeler, and Tristan Taylor all run to KaibaCorp. While Yugi,Joey and Mokuba are in the vitural game,Tea and Tristan try to stop Kemo from unplugging the pods that the boys are in. Yugi, Joey, and Mokuba in the virtual world. On the way, Joey is forced to Duel with Mai Valentine. When she finds out her opponent is Joey (they were both masked), she joins in the search for Kaiba.

On the way they encounter a maze. Joey hears a girl crying and attempts to rescue her. (Mai disgustedly observes that Joey is too easily attracted to maidens in distress.) Joey finds Princess Adena who looks like Mokuba. (Joey initially thinks that the princess is Mokuba, and asks why he is wearing a dress. Mokuba appears behind him and explains that he is there.) Adena says she is about to be the sacrificed to the Mythic Dragon.

The four become guests to a royal feast. Adena explains everything about the Five-Headed Dragon. When they are ready to go vanquish the dragon, Adena is suddenly captured. However it is actually Mokuba in disguise. The remaining three heroes give chase, destroying many obstacles in their way. Finally, they get to the Kaibas. But then, the Big 5 cheat by re-writing the program and summon the Mythic Dragon themselves. After many sacrifices leaving only Yugi and Kaiba standing, they finally vanquish the dragon, by fusing Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" and Yugi's "Black Luster Soldier" into the "Dragon Master Knight".

Tea is happy that Yugi,Joey and Mokuba are back. Mokuba then tell Kemo that Seto is looking for the. Which makes Kemo and the others leave quickly. Mokuba the thanks Yugi, and his friends for him save Seto. Mokuba then leaves to go find Seto. (In the English version, Yugi and the gang say goodbye to Mokuba) In the Japanese version, Yugi and his friends say that they are going out for Ramen Noodles.

Battle City Saga
When Kaiba learns of the Egyptian God Cards, a set of Duel Monsters cards that were purported to be based on three Egyptian Gods (and thus powerful enough to have never been put into circulation), Kaiba, at the request of Ishizu Ishtar holds an elite Tournament with the intention of winning and acquiring all 3 cards while defeating Yugi Muto in the process. The tournament would be held in the streets of Domino City, using a portable Duel Disk holographic projection system of his own design. For his efforts, Seto Kaiba is given 1 of the Egyptian God Cards, The God of the Obelisk or Obelisk the Tormentor (Obelisk no Kyōshinhei in Japanese, literally translated means Giant God Soldier of Obelisk, "The God of the Obelisk" in the English manga).

To acquire the remaining God Cards, Seto Kaiba created the ante rule in the tournament, a rule that the winner of a Duel could take the rarest card from the loser's deck and used a satellite to monitor every duel by adding a device to his new mass production Duel Disks. It is not mentioned in the series what would happen if the Duel was to end in a draw but it was implied that, although winners were entitled to take the rarest card from their opponent, the winner may not have to take the opponent's rarest card; indeed, when Yugi defeated Bakura, he did not take the latter's rare card. As for the tournament itself, entrants in the tournament were given a special transparent card in the shape of a puzzle piece, known as a locator card. Winners in Duels, in addition to the ante rule would also be entitled to take one locator card from their opponent; although, duelists can wager more than one rare card and/or locator card per duel if they wish. Those without locator cards would be eliminated from the tournament, while the first 8 duelists with 6 Locator Cards would move on. The Duel Disks were also used as a method to prevent cheating (although this didn't prevent Espa Roba from having his siblings read Joey Wheeler's cards, Weevil from slipping a copy of "Parasite Paracide" into Joey's Deck, a Rare Hunter from using counterfeits (marked cards in the dub), and Arkana from trimming his cards down to size to draw them easier), as well as a method of helping Seto (himself an entrant) track the progress and location of other duelists.

In a move ostensibly to promote the real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, the tournament used rules that were identical to the trading card game's rules (unlike the Duelist Kingdom tournament) with the major difference that duelists would start a game with 4000 Life Points rather than 8000 Life Points in the real-life game (2000 Life Points in the Duelist Kingdom tournament) for the purposes of brevity. Minor differences include being able to summon monsters in Defense Position (face-up, instead of "setting" face-down) and Fusion Monsters not being able to attack during the turn they are summoned. From hereon, almost all duels in the series would follow these rules.

Yugi asks Téa to go out with Yami. After visiting many shops and attractions, they enter an arcade. Inside Téa beats Johnny Steps in a dance game. Not taking his loss too well, Johnny later catches up with Yugi and Téa and challenges to another game. If she loses she must become his girlfriend. Yami instead challenges Johnny to a game of Duel Monsters. If he wins, Johnny must leave Téa alone. If Johnny wins, Téa must go on a date with him. Yami reveals himself to be Yugi Muto, towards the end of the Duel Johnny recognizes Yugi Muto as the one who beat Pegasus, causing Johnny to surrender and run. Téa stops him to tell him how quitting isn't going to get him far, and he must keep trying to achieve his goals. Afterwards Téa and Yami go to an Ancient Egyptian exhibition to find clues to Yami's past.

Meanwhile, Yugi and the nameless Pharaoh learn from Ishizu Ishtar the Egyptian God Cards and how it may have a connection with the nameless Pharaoh's past. Ishizu warns Yami Yugi of the organization known as Rare Hunters, whose leader, Ishizu's brother Marik, seeks Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and the 3 Egyptian God Cards to drain the nameless Pharaoh of his own powers. Ishizu convinces Yugi that in order to find out more about the nameless Pharaoh's past he must enter and win the Battle City tournament. Helping him along is Joey Wheeler, who seeks to become a True Duelist. Ishizu would later reveal as an Ishtar, a family entrusted to guard the secrets of the nameless Pharaoh's power, her family were effectively locked away from the outside world, and Marik saw it as a lost cause. When Marik was punished for wandering into the outside world, the dark part of Marik was born and only Odion (Rishid in the Japanese versions) their adopted older brother and trusted servant could hold Marik in check.

Although Yugi would enter the Battle City tournament without a problem, Joey, because Seto Kaiba only thought of him in a derogatory manner was barred from entering the tournament. However, seeing that Joey would ante his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, the shop owner, a Rare Hunter, successfully enters Joey into the tournament with the intention of getting his rare card off his hands. Joey, unfamiliar with Seto Kaiba's "advanced rules", had his card taken away from him even before the tournament began and Joey began the tournament by dueling Seeker, a Rare Hunter for it. Although Yugi wins (as well as exposing the Rare Hunter's use of forgeries in the meantime), Joey declines to take his card back saying that he would have to earn it in the spirit of a True Duelist. (In the English anime, Joey declines the card as a way to show that Joey would always be supporting Yugi - the True Duelist subplot was eliminated altogether.) Instead, Joey stakes his Time Wizard (known as Time Magician in Japan) in the tournament - the only other card in his possession that is considered to be rare.

Also cheering Joey on is his sister, Serenity Wheeler who had managed to get her eye operation just in time due to the prize money from Duelist Kingdom that Yugi gave to Joey. Although the operation was successful, Serenity vowed not to remove her bandages until she saw her brother Duel.

After Yugi defeats Seeker, he would duel with Pandora (Arkana). In the second series anime, Arkana was "the greatest illusionist and magician since Harry Houdini himself", but his career and "movie star good looks" were lost because of a terrible accident during a simple escape routine. Arkana dismissed his love, Catherine, not being able to let her see him ruined, regretting it all the rest of his life; Marik falsely promised him the return of Catherine if Arkana became a Rare Hunter and defeat Yugi. Arkana plays a Deck that focuses on the Dark Magician. He also uses various Spell Cards to power it up and save it from annihilation. He plays by a rule of Shadow Games, where the loser not only loses his rarest card (and his Locator card) but the loser loses his legs (in the English anime he would get sent to the Shadow Realm). Unlike Yugi, Arkana possesses 2 Dark Magicians. However, after both players were down to their last chunk of Life Points, Yugi uses Dark Magician Girl, whose special effect allows her to gain 300 Attack Points for every Dark Magician in the Graveyard, to defeat Arkana.

After Yugi's duel with Arkana Tea,Mokuba and Solomon succeed in finding him.

Throughout the road to the finals, Yugi faces Marik's Rare Hunters, each of which is kept in line due to Marik's Millennium Rod's ability to exert mind control over others. Marik would use his Rare Hunters in an attempt to win Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and claim the power of the nameless Pharaoh for himself. However, Yugi would prevail each time and acquire an Egyptian God Card, Slifer the Sky Dragon (known as Osiris no Tenkūryū, or Sky Dragon of Osiris in Japan) in the process. He acquires this card in a Duel against one of Marik's mind-controlled slaves, the Silent Puppet (Strings in the English anime) when Marik tries to use a strategy that is thought to have been unstoppable: by combining Slifer the Sky Dragon with 4 other cards.

Joey strives to become a true duelist. First, he takes on Espa Roba, a self-proclaimed psychic who could supposedly predict the future. However, Espa Roba simply uses his 4 little brothers to spy on the opponent's cards using binoculars, until Mokuba caught them red-handed and they promised not to cheat. Joey wins again with a Spell Card - Roulette Spider. He then won Espa Roba's rarest card, Jinzo.

Next, Joey duels Weevil Underwood. Weevil used a cheating method to sneak a Parasite Paracide card into Joey's deck, turning his monsters into Insects. Weevil then used Insect Barrier to make it impossible for insect monsters to attack him. Ironically, Joey was able to destroy Weevil's Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth with the parasite itself and later uses a variety of Spell Cards to destroy Weevil's insects and Life Points. Ultimately, Joey wins the duel with Gearfried the Iron Knight, whose special effect caused it to be immune from the parasite and Insect Barrier. Joey won Weevil's Insect Queen and 2 locator cards.

Joey would gain his last 2 locator cards from Mako Tsunami. For once, Joey didn't rely on luck, but rather the great many new magic and trap cards he got, such as Lightning Blade, Magic Arm Shield, Graceful Dice, Skull Dice and Giant Trunade. Joey won the Fortress Whale (but not the Ritual Spell Card Fortress Whale's Oath, meaning he cannot play it). Mako offered and gave Joey his prized Legendary Fisherman card as well.

In a desperate move to take the power of the nameless Pharaoh for himself, Marik attempts to capture Yugi's friends. Although he fails to capture Tristan and Joey's sister thanks to Duke Devlin and his dice), he does manage to capture Joey and Tea, and force Yugi to duel against his friend, in which both were tied to an anchor and the loser would drown from the anchor falling into the water (a rare instance death is mentioned in the English dub). However, Joey manages to rid himself of Marik's Mind Control when he declines to take his own Red Eyes Black Dragon from Yugi's hand, and Yugi summons the Dragon, making Joey remember both his promise to help Yugi and his favorite card. Marik becomes very angry at the hesitancy of Joey, and decides to take control over Joey's body, but Joey is able to force Marik out. Joey plays to a draw, and both players' keys are released. Joey frees Yugi, but before he can free himself he plummets into the ocean, where he was saved by Shizuka (in the manga, Kaiba saved him). This is probably the only penalty game in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh series to not be censored by 4kids in the form of a Shadow Game.

In the end, the 8 duelists to qualify for the finals were Yugi, Joey, Kaiba, Mai Valentine, Marik (using the pseudonym "Namu"), (Odion) (who everyone was led to believe was Marik), Ryo Bakura (who had won all his locator cards in one duel, despite being injured), and Ishizu.

Téa, along with Tristan, Serenity and Duke Devlin proceed to the KaibaCorp blimp to cheer for Yugi, Joey and Mai in the finals. Roland initially refuses to let them board, as they aren't finalists, but Mokuba talks him into letting them on. Despite Joey's objections, all of them take residence in Joey's room for the finals.

For the quarterfinal round, the duels were to be staged atop Kaiba's airship, the Battle Ship with the draw determined at random.

Yugi vs. Bakura (Yami Yugi vs. Yami Bakura) would be the first duel. Although Yugi would get an early advantage, Bakura plays Dark Sanctuary, whose effect allows Bakura to possess one of Yugi's monsters so that when it attacks, the attack would be negated, and Yugi would lose life points. Bakura also plays the Destiny Board cards, which, when all five are played, would give Bakura an automatic victory. In desperation, Yugi is forced to summon Slifer and win the duel, as Slifer (Osiris) is immune to the effects of Dark Sanctuary.

Joey vs. Odion (Joey Wheeler vs. Odion Ishtar) would be the second quarterfinal match. Although Joey is being done in by Odion's traps, he comes back and ties the match with 200 life points apiece, thanks to the three cards he had won in Battle City, especially Jinzo, which prevented Odion from using any trap cards. However, Odion would play the Mystical Beast Serket, which destroys the three monsters and left Joey wide open. However, as Odion was still posing as Marik, Marik would force Odion to play his counterfeit God Card, The Winged Dragon of Ra (Ra no Yokushinryū in Japan, "Sun Dragon Ra" in the English manga). However, the counterfeit card backfires on Odion, striking down both duelists in the process. Although Joey would win the duel by virtue of Kaiba's edict that the first duelist to stand would be the victor, the dark side of Marik was unleashed due to Odion being unconscious.

Mai vs. Marik (Mai Valentine vs. Marik Ishtar) would be the third quarterfinal, and Mai would be first to fall against Marik, as she is put in Marik's shadow game. Mai takes a clear lead in the duel, outplaying Marik and even managing to get the real Ra card from Marik and summon it. However, for Ra to obey Mai (and thus, for Mai to use the card), Mai must recite the hieratic text on the card. With Mai clearly unable to do so, Marik successfully recites the text, and uses Ra to attack Mai and win, leaving Mai critically injured (in the English anime, she is sent to the Shadow Realm).

The final quarterfinal Kaiba vs. Ishizu (Seto Kaiba vs. Ishizu Ishtar) saw Ishizu, then an eighth "mystery duelist", face off against Kaiba. Although Ishizu prophesizes that she will win, thanks to the ability of her Millennium Tauk (Millennium Necklace) to see into the future, Kaiba manages to systematically destroy Ishizu's deck using Crush Card (Deck Destruction Virus of Death in Japan) and Virus Cannon. Yet, Ishizu manages to play Exchange of the Spirit, forcing both players to switch their Decks with Graveyards, thus leaving Kaiba with only six cards in his deck and Ishizu with her most powerful cards because of Kaiba's virus cards. In desperation, Kaiba attempts to summon Obelisk, while Ishizu, knowing Kaiba's intention, applied the Blast Held by a Tribute trap on Obelisk that would force itself to self-destruct when it attacks, causing Kaiba to lose. When Kaiba summons Obelisk, however, Marik's Millennium Rod [Priest Seto (Kaiba's past life)'s Millennium item] gave him a flashback of his past self and a dead girl named Kisara in front of what seems to look like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. He analyzes this and trusts in this card so he summons it even if it is a less-powerful card but still having sufficient power to win. Kaiba does so and wins. It is later revealed that Blue-Eyes is actually Kisara (Priest Seto's loved one)'s Ka monster. It also turns out that she sacrificed her life for Seto and her ka monster stayed loyal to Seto. This flashback was Kisara's way to save Seto's future destiny once more.

Afterwards, Yami Bakura (bearing the soul of regular Marik) attempted to defeat Yami Marik in order to win Marik's body back but ultimately lost to Ra's One-Turn Kill, sending Bakura to the Shadow Realm (in the Japanese version, he 'dies').

Vitural World Saga
Aboard Seto Kaiba's airship, the eight Battle City Finals duelists prepare to head for Alcatraz (KaibaCorp Island in the English dub), the site of the semifinal and final rounds of the Battle City (Yu-Gi-Oh!) tournament. However, the trip takes a mysterious wrong turn, and finds itself landing in an undersea fortress - apparently, a mysterious force is set on revenge against Kaiba. Forcing many of its passengers off the ship, the mysterious force leads them into another room, where they reveal themselves to be the Big 5, who are the five former board members of KaibaCorp, who were assumed to be fired by Kaiba sometime before the Battle City tournament for attempting to take over his company from underneath him.

The Big 5 seek revenge against Kaiba for firing them, as well as Yugi Muto (Yugi Mutou in the English manga) for foiling their plans to take over the company on two different occasions by defeating Maximillion Pegasus (Pegasus J. Crawford in the Japanese versions in Duelist Kingdom and the Big 5's Five God Dragon in Legendary Heroes). To do so, they force their participation in their own virtual Duel Monsters tournament, in a similar vein to Kaiba's Legendary Heroes games. There was also an added stipulation: if one of the protagonists were to lose, the Big 5 also threatened to take their bodies for themselves and escape into the real world.

It is also noted by the Big 5 that the virtual tournament would require virtual cards, and thus neither "Slifer the Sky Dragon" nor "Obelisk the Tormentor" could be used by Yugi or Seto Kaiba, although players could freely choose their decks before every duel.

As the group enter the virtual world, however, they find themselves separated: Yugi in a forest near a lake, Téa Gardner (Anzu Mazaki in the manga and the Japanese versions) in a canyon, Tristan Taylor (Hiroto Honda), Serenity Wheeler (Shizuka Kawai), and Duke Devlin (Ryuji Otogi) in and around a castle, Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi) in a mansion, and Seto and Mokuba Kaiba in another forest. Each of the separated groups, as it would turn out, would face a different member of the Big 5.

As it turns out, the Big 5 are controlled by Noah Kaiba, the legitimate son of Gozaburo Kaiba, and stepbrother to Seto and Mokuba. Noah had died (or, in the English dub, had his body "rendered useless") in a traffic accident when he was young, but his mind was preserved in the virtual world. He believes that, as Gozaburo's biological son, he is the true legitimate heir to KaibaCorp, and that he, not Seto, should be the one running the family business.

How Noah enlists the help of the Big 5 is unclear, but it was implied that, as a result of the earlier encounter between them and the main characters, the minds of the Big 5 were similarly preserved in the virtual world (In the English dub, the Big 5 reveal that when Mythic Dragon — the monster at the end of the "Legendary Heroes" arc — was destroyed, so were their bodies, but not their minds). In the virtual world, each member of the Big 5 would use a different monster as their Deck Master and their personal avatar.

Gansley, a businessman with a penchant of quoting famous philosophers (in the original) or business acumen (in the English dub) would be the first to duel, against arguably the strongest of any of the main characters - Yugi. Despite wanting to choose his trusted Dark Magician, Kuriboh chooses itself as Yugi's Deck Master. Forced with this choice, Yugi proceeds to duel. Gansley's strategy to defeat Yugi was simple - by using a supposedly invincible sacrifice-and-revive combination, he could force Yugi's monsters to attack Yugi directly, without fear of being harmed. Yet, Yugi is persistent, and eventually has the last laugh - by combining Kuriboh (who Gansley dismissed as "weak") and Rainbow Blessing, Yugi could set up a play which could allow a monster to bypass Gansley's defenses, and attack Gansley directly, which he does to win the duel, using Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight.

As Yugi proceeds to find a way to reunite with his friends, Crump manages to trap Téa Gardner into a duel. Being a competent amateur player in her own right, she chooses a deck of all-female monsters, including "Dark Magician Girl" as her Deck Master, to which Crump scoffs at, citing it as an unwise decision, thinking that Dark Magician Girl would not be effective without her male counterpart (in the English dub, this is replaced by remarks suggesting a perversion towards young girls). As an additional catch, whenever either duelist lost Life Points, part of their body would be frozen, and encased in ice. Despite being at a disadvantage for most of the match, Dark Magician Girl would eventually help Téa by summoning herself to the field and using her own Deck Master ability, allowing Téa to draw the "Sage's Stone" card. With that card, Téa would summon Dark Magician from nearby Yugi's Deck (thus helping Yugi to find Téa) and win the duel.

With Yugi and Téa reunited, the focus shifts to Johnson, who is slated to face Joey Wheeler. Believing he finally escaped the virtual world, and eager to get his hands on Marik Ishtar for what he did to Mai Valentine (Mai Kujaku), Joey discovers that this was an elaborate trap set by Johnson, who proceeds to duel him. Johnson manages to get the upper hand in the duel through a combination of his Deck Master ability, "Clear the Courtroom" (which could, "at the cost of 1000 Life Points", clear the field of all cards), as well as the (somewhat illicit) ability of controlling the outcome of Joey's luck-based moves. Yet, just as it seems that Joey's luck was about to run out, Noah appears and insists that Johnson forfeit the duel for cheating. Joey, in the spirit of a "true" duelist, convinces Noah to let the match continue, knowing well that Johnson would not be able to cheat again, and eventually wins by outwitting Johnson at one of the mind games he claimed to be an expert at.

Tristan Taylor, Duke Devlin, and Serenity Wheeler manage to find each other, yet they find themselves faced off against Nezbitt, who wants to take Serenity's body for his own. With Tristan and Duke willing to protect Serenity from harm, they try to convince Nezbitt that they should take her place, but he settles on a three-on-one duel. Serenity, despite having never played in a duel herself, and knowing little about the rules, is relieved that Tristan and Duke would help her along, but miscommunication between Tristan and Duke would ultimately cost Tristan his Deck Master. Crestfallen over Tristan's sacrifice, Duke manages to use his dice tricks and his signature monster, "Orgoth the Relentless", to buy some time. Convinced by her older brother (who had managed to find her) that she, too, must fight in the spirit of a "true" duelist, Serenity vows to continue playing. Serenity would ultimately deal the final blow in the match, thanks to her Deck Master, "Goddess with the Third Eye", whose ability allowed her to Fusion Summon monsters without Polymerization, using the remnants of Tristan's playing field.

With Nezbitt having won Tristan's body, Nezbitt uses it to kidnap Mokuba, while Yugi and friends seek to restore Tristan, who now resides in the body of a robot monkey (which is actually a brown version of "Acrobat Monkey"). Kaiba, in pursuit of Nezbitt, encounters Leichter (Daimon), the last member of the Big 5. Eager to put Leichter aside, Kaiba tries to use his "Crush Card Virus" (Deck Destruction Virus of Death in the Japanese version) strategy against him, only to fail as he realizes that Leichter's Deck Master was "Jinzo" (Android Psychic Shocker), which destroys Trap Cards. Combined with "Imperial Order", a card that rendered Magic Cards useless, this left Kaiba with only Monster Cards. Furthermore, Leichter would use "Satellite Cannon", a monster that could only be destroyed by Level 8 monsters or above, and whose power increased the longer it is in play (but only while attacking), in an attempt to ensure his victory. However, Kaiba manages to summon "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", a Level 8 monster, in time, and uses it to destroy "Satellite Cannon" and win the duel.

Throughout the duel, the viewers learn of how Seto took over KaibaCorp: In the Japanese version, on Seto's birthday, he and Mokuba were given 2% shares in KaibaCorp. In the English dub, Seto was given ten million dollars; quite how Mokuba acquired 2% of KaibaCorp is never explained. In the Japanese version, Seto had to return one hundred times the investment within one year, while in the English dub, he merely had to return ten times the investment. Seto had shown his cruel business tactics when he accomplished his feat in just one day, and with that task completed, he managed to get the Big 5 into transferring their shares of KaibaCorp to Seto, so that both Seto and Gozaburo had 49% of the company each. However, Seto had blamed Mokuba for leaking the information out to Gozaburo (when in fact it was Seto himself), making Seto's attempt fruitless. When it seemd that Gozaburo had won, Mokuba then threw a bombshell of his own: he'd never turn his back on his brother, and combined with Seto's 49%, his 2% would be enough to oust Gozaburo from power. It is not completely clear what happened to Gozaburo after this; in both the Japanese and English versions he 'disappears', while in the manga, he commits suicide.

Noah manages to capitalize on Seto blaming Mokuba, and convinces Mokuba through brainwashing that Noah is his true big brother, and that Seto was a nobody. This is part of his plan to slowly take everything Seto has of value from him, and the Big 5 was simply a tool for his means - by making a false promise of bodies, he could manipulate the Big 5 as he wished.

Unaware of this, the Big 5 continued to try and take more bodies so that they would not have to share Tristan's, and manage to convince Yugi and Joey into a duel with everyone's bodies on the line, in a winner-take-all duel. During this duel, the Big 5 (who started with 8000 Life Points) manage to summon their signature monster, "Five God Dragon", by tributing their five respective Deck Masters. However, it is destroyed by "Mirage Knight", a monster that was summoned after Yugi and Joey were able to fuse "Dark Magician" and "Flame Swordsman" together (which were, respectively, Yugi and Joey's Deck Masters) to create "Dark Flare Knight", who destroyed itself by attacking "Five God Dragon" and taking no battle damage due to its effect, allowing "Mirage Knight" to be summoned. The duel, however, did not end, thanks to the Trap Card "A Deal with Dark Ruler", allowing the Big 5 to summon a new Deck Master, "Berserk Dragon" - a monster that gradually weakened the longer it stayed on the field. After surviving a round of attacks, Joey, who the Big 5 thought was the weaker link of the two, and was allowed to survive on 300 Life Points, would set up "Dark Magician" by transforming him into "Dark Magician Knight" by using the Magic Card, "Knight's Title", allowing him to use his Deck Master's special ability (which, he explains, would only work on Warrior-Type monsters) and was able to transfer most of the ATK of "Flame Swordsman" directly to "Dark Magician Knight", which was enough to destroy "Berserk Dragon" and win the duel.

With the Big 5 defeated, Noah banishes the five and takes matters into his own hands. He challenges Seto directly, fully intending to take his body in order to escape the virtual world, and claim the position that he believes he deserves. Noah tells Seto that he would win in seven turns, with each turn representing each of the seven days of creation (this detail, like all other religious references, was removed from the English dub). Despite Noah's choice of "Shinato's Ark" (Miracle Ark) as his Deck Master (from which Noah's arc, the affectionate nickname for this story arc, is derived), Seto manages to get into a position in which one of his monsters could attack either of Noah's two monsters and win the duel. However, Mokuba suddenly appears to support Noah, effectively stopping Seto from attacking Noah's monsters for fear that Mokuba would be hurt.

Because of this, Seto had effectively played into Noah's hands: Noah was never in any danger of losing the duel, thanks to another of his Deck Master's abilities that gave him Life Points based on the number of discarded monsters. Now with the upper hand, Noah begins to take control of the duel. Meanwhile, Seto attempts to get through to his brainwashed brother, to no avail. With one last hope, Seto summons his "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", which manages to break Mokuba free of Noah's control. Yet, thanks to his Deck Master, Noah's Life Points continue to rise. Desperate, Seto uses "Last Turn" to force the duel into one final winner-take-all Battle Phase. Seto chooses "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" to attack while Noah chooses his Deck Master to defend. Although "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" wins the battle, the destruction of "Shinato's Ark" allowed Noah to summon "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane", a more powerful monster that destroys "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", allowing Noah to win the duel. As a token of his victory and his apparent worthiness of the title of head of KaibaCorp, Noah turns Seto and Mokuba to stone.

Yugi, however, is enraged over Noah's actions: had Seto not tributed "Different Dimension Dragon" (Twilight Zone Dragon), the duel would have been a draw, since this dragon cannot be destroyed in battle (in the real game, it cannot be destroyed by monsters with 1900 ATK or less). Instead, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" was summoned so that Seto would save Mokuba (in the English dub, this detail was omitted - Yugi is enraged over how Seto had effectively been blackmailed by Noah earlier when he had used Mokuba as a human shield). He challenges Noah to continue the duel, with Yugi taking Seto's place. With Life Points being 7400-400 in favour of Noah, and no monsters on Seto Kaiba's side of the field (and no cards in his hand), Noah gladly accepts, intending to quickly win, and turn both Yugi and his friends to stone. Should Yugi win, however, he demands that everyone be set free from the virtual world.

Having to duel against a different kind of duelist in Yugi, Noah uses Spirit Monsters, a type of monster that returns to the hand at the end of the turn, and the "Spring of Rebirth" Magic Card to attack Yugi and increase his own Life Points in the process. Although Yugi manages to use "Cyber Jar" to destroy all of Noah's monsters, including "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane" (which Seto forced Noah to Summon to the field as a result of Noah needing a target to declare as a defender for the effect of "Last Turn"), Noah uses another Deck Master ability to pull "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane" back to the sidelines, but with the caveat that Noah now cannot Summon "Shinato, King of a Higher Plane" back to the field for the remainder of the duel. Because of his Spirit Monsters, "Spring of Rebirth", and another Deck Master ability, Noah's Life Points continue to accumulate to the point that Noah simply allows Yugi to directly attack him every turn - an effort that turned largely fruitless as Noah would manage to gain even more Life Points.

Being confident of himself, Noah offers Yugi a chance to forfeit the duel, but for every turn that Yugi continues to play in which Noah is not defeated, one of Yugi's friends would be turned into stone. With time running out, Yugi ends up in a situation where he has 100 Life Points to Noah's 10,000, facing off against Noah's most powerful Spirit Monster (which stayed on the field due to a Trap Card), with nothing on the field and no cards in his hand. Worse, all of his friends are eventually turned turned to stone. It seemed all but lost for Yugi, when he is reminded that even though all of his friends (Seto and Mokuba included) are turned to stone, they are still there in spirit to cheer him on. With a new-found confidence, Yugi draws "Card of Sanctity", allowing Yugi to draw six cards. With these six cards, he revives Seto Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" and fuses it with the two "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" he has drawn to form "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon", and he uses his fifth card, "Quick Attack", to allow "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" to attack Noah's monster immediately. He then uses his final card, "De-Fusion", to split "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" back into three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons", and attacks directly with all three, winning the duel.

With the duel won, Yugi demands that Noah free everyone from the virtual world. However, Noah reveals to everyone that, in the process of entering the virtual world, they were all knocked out and placed in virtual reality pods (not unlike those used by Seto in the Legendary Heroes arc). Everyone is later shocked to find that it was Gozaburo, or at least, a digitized copy thereof, who had attempted to trap everyone in a complicated plan to take over the world by trapping everyone in the virtual world (In the Japanese version, Gozaburo was going to use missiles positioned in space to manipulate the world to his will). Desperate to tell the world of Gozaburo's impending atrocity, they are determined more than ever to escape the virtual world. With Noah willing to help Yugi and company despite his duplicity, they follow him to a large door that was said to be a secret backdoor that Gozaburo had not discovered and closed. However, Noah's true colors are revealed as they trap Yugi and friends within their own recent memories, although all would eventually free themselves from the trap.

Meanwhile, Noah and Mokuba discover a virtual replica of Domino, in which Noah tricks Mokuba in order to escape the virtual world in Mokuba's body. Noah (as Mokuba) then aims a missile-armed satellite in order to destroy the undersea fortress (and thus the virtual world), and proceeds to leave on a helicopter alone. However, once there, he experiences a change of heart due to Mokuba's willingness to forgive Noah (and even helps convince Seto to find a way to create a new, if somewhat artificial, body for Noah), and proceeds back into the fortress, only to find the satellite controls having been destroyed by Marik. With only 60 minutes until the fortress is destroyed, Noah begins working on a way to save everyone.

Meanwhile, Seto, being too smart to fall for their trap, proceeds to the virtual KaibaCorp headquarters, where Gozaburo waited. Gozaburo challenges Seto to a duel to see who was worthier of running KaibaCorp (similar to how Seto had played chess with him as a child). Gozaburo quickly finds a way to discard the five pieces of "Exodia the Forbidden One" (using "Painful Choice") in order to summon "Exodia Necross", a monster which, as long as the five pieces of "Exodia the Forbidden One" were in the Graveyard, it is immune to virtually every card (The Left Leg, Right Leg, and Left Arm granted Necross immunities to Magic Cards, Trap Cards, and Monster Effects respectively) and grew more powerful with every battle it was involved in (Exodia's Head prevented it from being destroyed from a monster attack while the Right Arm ensured that its ATK increased by 1000 points whenever it engaged in battle).

Although Exodia Necross seemed unstoppable, Seto realized that, like himself with "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" so long ago - ironically before his defeat at the hands of Exodia, Gozaburo is using the power of only one monster, believing that it alone would win the battle for him. By using the "Soul Demolition" Trap Card, Seto manages to remove the five parts of Exodia from play from Gozaburo's Graveyard, weakening it so that "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" could destroy it and win the duel.

As the countdown to impact reaches eight minutes, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke, and Serenity manage to escape the virtual world thanks to Noah's help, but Noah asks Yugi to stay behind to help save Seto. With everyone safely out, Noah then proceeds to put himself back in the Virtual Reality pod in order to save Mokuba and trap Gozaburo in the virtual world. Yugi and company make it back to the airship, which escapes just in time to avoid being destroyed by the missile.

The airship proceeds towards the Battle City Finals, completing the originally-planned trip. Meanwhile, Mokuba mourns for the stepbrother that he only briefly knew.

Battle City Finals Saga
In the semifinal round, taking place upon Alcatraz Tower (not titled in the English anime, in which it is known only as "KaibaCorp Island"), a special, massive mechanical tower located on a lone island, the four duelists fought in Battle Royal mode, with the first two losers playing in the first semifinal and the two survivors playing in the second. Both Marik and Kaiba wanted to duel Yugi for their own reasons, while Yugi wanted to duel Joey so that he couldn't duel Marik. Joey, however, wanted to duel Marik in hopes he could free Mai from the Shadow Realm (and, in the process, get revenge on Marik). The four-way duel started with Kaiba going first, Marik 2nd, Yugi 3rd, and Joey 4th. Joey did well in the beginning turns of the duel, mainly thanks to Yugi's intervention. However, Joey finally convinced Yugi to let him play without his guidance so that he could prove to himself that he didn't need Yugi's help to duel well against the best of the best. During the next turn, Joey was able to set up the duel so that, in his attack on Kaiba, he deflected the damage done to himself into Marik, making him the first loser. In addition to this, he took out his only monster while attacking Kaiba, who, in the next turn, destroyed all of Joey's life points. In the end, Joey (and by extension, Kaiba) got what they wanted.

In the first semifinal Marik vs. Joey (Marik Ishtar vs. Joey Wheeler) like Mai, Joey was subject to a Shadow Game, with each duelist being drained of life as each monster is destroyed. As Joey is pushed back by Marik's traps and monster effects, Joey manages to create a short comeback with reviving Jinzo after Marik is unable to name it as the bottom card of his graveyard with the effect of Question, and later with Gilford the Lightning. However, the comeback was short-lived as Marik revives Ra and uses its Egyptian God Phoenix and One Turn Kill abilities to bring Joey to the brink of defeat. However, Joey, to Marik's surprise, manages to remain standing, and he summons Gearfried the Iron Knight in an effort to attack a wide-open Marik. However, Joey collapses before making his attack, and Marik wins. Had this duel not been a Shadow Game, Joey would have won.

As Yugi prepares to face Kaiba, Téa informs Yami that she would rather he didn't Duel, as she is afraid of what might happen to him, but Yami tells her he need to Duel Kaiba to Duel Marik so he can save the world and she understands and lets him go. She stays back with everyone to try and help Joey but is still cheering Yugi on.

With Joey being in critical condition (in the English anime, he is said to be "fighting the shadows" of the Shadow Realm), Yugi is forced to battle Kaiba when more pressing matters were at stake (namely, Jonouchi's health). The Yugi vs. Kaiba (Yami Yugi vs. Seto Kaiba) duel was evenly-matched, as Yugi's attempt to summon Slifer was countered by Kaiba's attempt to summon Obelisk. The two God cards would be summoned in successive turns, and after more jockeying for power with magic cards, the two evenly-matched God cards would destroy each other. With both God cards gone, Kaiba resorts to summoning his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, while Yugi would have Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Joey's "soul card". Kaiba would force the duel to end by playing Final Attack Orders, making both players discard all but three cards from their decks and prohibiting the defense mode. Using his three cards, Yugi manages to combine Dark Magician (Black Magician in Japan) with Buster Blader to form Dark Paladin (Black Paladin in Japan), and, along with Diffusion Wave-Motion, to win the duel. As the tournament rules states, Kaiba is forced to give up Obelisk.

During the duel, as Red-Eyes Black Dragon was being played, Joey manages to regain consciousness. In the Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters anime (but not in the manga), he promptly challenges Kaiba to a duel for third place, just for fun. Kaiba declines, believing that dueling Joey would be beneath him, but Joey manages to convince him to duel. Although Kaiba would win, Joey reveals that Kaiba had simply allowed anger to get the best of him in both his duel with Yugi and with Joey (as witnessed by him once taking control of Blue Eyes White Dragon in their duel - a card considered to be Kaiba's prized possessions, and Kaiba using another Blue Eyes to destroy it).

Near the end of Yugi and Kaiba's Duel Joey wakes up and at first doesn't remember anything but slowly does. Then he asks Téa if Yugi started the Duel yet.She tells him he did and Joey wants to go immediately. Just then the doctors show up,but Joey demands to go and Téa tells him not to because so many people got hurt and he was just in critical condition. Joey says he made a promise to Yugi and he has to be there for him which reminds her of what Yami told her before his Duel. Then Joey, Téa and Tristan go to the Duel Tower just in time to see the ending of Yugi's Duel.

Since Yugi won he moves onto the finals to Duel Yami Marik but first Joey challenges Kaiba to a Duel to see who gets third place. Before the Duel starts Marik takes over Téa body so he can go talk to Ishizu. He then tells Ishizu that he needs to confront Yami Marik and runs off to the Duel Tower to do so. Yami Marik is already up there trying to figure out what happened during Yugi and Kaiba's Duel then he gets annoyed and throws the rod, which lands near Téa. She picks it up and is holding it up at Yami Marik while Marik is talking to him. Yami Marik ends up getting the rod back, and he tries to get rid of Marik with the rod. Then Ishizu comes up just in time to stop him. Marik then tells Ishizu to forget about him and stops taking control of Téa. She is knocked out for a while, and Yami comes up to find out what happened to Téa and starts talking to Yami Marik, and he eventually leaves. Yami then talks to Ishizu about what was going on, and Téa wakes up not knowing what happened. Yugi decides to not tell her that Marik was taking control of her. They go back down to see how Joey's Duel was going and they tell her that he lost so they get ready for Yugi's Duel with Marik.

Before the final Yugi vs. Marik (Yami Yugi vs. Marik Ishtar) match takes place Kaiba is convinced Yugi cannot win, yet he cannot allow Marik to win, both for his personal reasons and for the greater good. He believes he has the perfect card to defeat Ra, being Devil's Sanctuary (Fiend's Sanctuary), which he gives to Yugi. Again, Marik turns the duel into a shadow game, in which the loser must forfeit their alter-ego. Marik discards Ra in his first turn, with the intention of reviving Ra for one turn at a time. Yugi, meanwhile, manages to quickly summon Slifer, but Marik simply revives Ra to deal with it. Marik then tries to use Ra's One Turn Kill against Yugi, but Yugi forces Marik to stop the attack with Devil's Sanctuary, creating a token so that, when attacked, would redirect the damage to Marik, causing him to lose. Marik saved himself by playing De-Fusion (Marik is considered to be fused with Ra when utilizing the One Turn Kill ability) - thus, all of Ra's attack points are transferred to Marik's life points, and Ra, without any attack points, deals no damage to Marik. Yugi then quickly turns one token to three with Multiply, summoning Obelisk with them, and reducing Marik's life points to 700.

Yugi's triumph would be short-lived, as Marik would combine Metal Reflect Slime and Revival Jam to create an indestructible "Egyptian God Slime". With Yugi unable to attack with Obelisk, Marik revives Ra once again to destroy Obelisk, but Yugi revives Slifer to block the attack (The move would be illegal in the real game). Then Yugi uses Soul Taker to defuse and sacrifice the God Slime, allowing Obelisk to use its special ability, Soul Energy Max, which would give Yugi an automatic victory should Obelisk's attack be successful. The attack fails, but Marik manages to revive Ra once again. This time, Yugi sacrifices Obelisk and another monster for his trusty Dark Magician, and along with Dark Magician Girl (Black Magician Girl in Japan), activate Ragnarok (Dusk of all Cards in Japan), which allows, at the expense of all his monsters, Yugi to finally destroy Ra, and, as Marik was using One Turn Kill at the time, most of Marik with it. The two sides of Marik begin to fight, the good side attempting to take control and allowing Yugi to attack as a way to atone for his actions, while the evil side attempting to stop Yugi's attack. With the help of a strugging Odion, the good side prevails. When the smoke clears, the good Marik has control of the body, and the Dark Marik is now his sacrifice. Marik forfeits his sole remaining life point, destroying his other self, leaving Yugi the last man standing. Yugi is now the owner of the three God cards, as well as the keys to unlocking the nameless Pharaoh's past.

With the tournament behind him, Kaiba prepares to destroy the duel tower - the supposed place of his victory over the past before Yugi had beaten him, and the place where his hatred now resided. As the airship could not function, everyone was effectively trapped on the island - if it were not for a helicopter that had managed to arrive as Jonouchi was recovering from his duel with Marik. Everyone would part ways soon after, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion back to Egypt to start a new life, Duke back to the United States to sell his Dungeon Dice Monsters game, Kaiba and Mokuba to build their new American amusement park, and the rest to new adventures. Marik surrenders his Millennium Rod to Yugi and also gives him the Millennium Ring, which Dark Marik won from his duel against Bakura. Yugi has also acquired the three most powerful cards: Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. However, the story did not end here as another menace awaits them.

The following day Téa was showing Serenity around town and remembering everything that happened during Battle City. Serenity eventually has to leave. Téa is sad at first, but Serenity tells her that it's ok and that they will always be friends. After Serenity leaves Téa is thinking about how she's not ready to say goodbye to Yugi and realizes that she should just enjoy the time she has left with him. Then she catches up with Yami.

Waking the Dragons Saga
Téa is on the roof of the school wondering why Yugi left early. Joey and Tristan come up; they're wondering the same thing. Between classes, Yami took control of Yugi's body and skipped out of school to go to the museum, with Egyptian God Cards to uncover his memories. Yugi asked why they were going alone. Yami replied that it would be too depressing to say goodbye and just wants Yugi to see him off. (In the English version, there was no mention of why they were going alone. Instead Yami said that he felt the Egyptain God Cards pulling him to the museum.) However, Téa, Joey and Tristan caught up with him outside the museum and reminded him that they are a team. Inside Yami held the Egyptian God cards up to the tablet, but something held him back. The group heard a scream and dashed outside, finding a large number of living Duel Monsters in the city.

One night, a group of perpetrators break into the Kame Game Shop and steal the three God Cards from Yugi's grandfather Solomon Muto, who had been given the cards for safekeeping. Giving chase to the thieves, they eventually encounter Gurimo, a mysterious man in a cape. Gurimo is collecting souls for the group, and plans to collect the souls of duelists by defeating them in a duel. To this end, he uses "The Seal of Orichalcos" card, a Field Magic Card that could not be dispelled and prevented outside interference, with only the winner of the duel being able to escape and the loser having his soul taken by the Seal. Although Gurimo manages to unleash the power of "Obelisk the Tormentor" against its former owner, Yugi eventually wins the duel but ultimately fails to recover the God Cards.

The God Cards eventually arrive in the hands of Dartz, who sacrifices their power to awaken his Great Beast, The Great Leviathan.

The next day they run into Rebecca, and she calls Yugi her boyfriend, which Téa doesn't like. She takes them to see Professor Hawkins,who starts talking about how the monsters coming to life could have something to do with Atlantis. After that, everyone heads home.

Later they're all at Yugi's house. Yugi gets a package from Pegasus with a video. Pegasus asks Yugi to come and see him right away. The next day they go on a private jet then in a limo. The limo breaks down so they have to walk for a while, Téa is able to get a driver to stop and give them a ride to Industrial Illusions.

The third Legendary Dragon, "The Claw of Hermos", would be unlocked by Joey Wheeler (Katsuya Jonouchi): when Yugi and his friends receive a video from Pegasus (as it turns out, shortly before he is defeated and his soul sealed), who implores Yugi and his friends to travel to America and retrieve a card holding the key to defeating their then-unknown threat. At Pegasus' Industrial Illusions HQ however, they are locked inside the building, where Mai Valentine (Mai Kujaku) emerges to battle Joey. During this duel, Yugi & friends discover that Mai had been wandering the Earth after their Battle City tournament: although she finished in the Top 8 she was always overshadowed by Joey, and continually traumatized by her loss to Marik Ishtar (in which she was physically and emotionally seriously scarred). Determined to become stronger at any cost and never wanting to lose another duel again, Mai eventually wound up with Dartz, eagerly accepting his offer of becoming stronger, not realizing that the power of the Orichalcos would be her undoing.

The change in Mai's behavior would, as it turns out, be partially due to Valon, the second of Doma's three Swordsmen, who had cared for Mai in her time of need, and wanted her to move on with her life by defeating Joey (effectively also doing his work for her). When Joey appears to have the upper hand in the Duel (thanks to "The Claw of Hermos"), Valon uses his Orichalcos stone to break the seal, rendering the match a no-contest and allowing both Mai and Joey's souls to survive.

Meanwhile, Duke Devlin, accompanied by Weevil Underwood (Insector Haga) and Rex Raptor (Dinosaur Ryuzaki), would manage to break into the building and unlock the doors. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba would also appear, and all of them would help Yugi find the card that Pegasus claimed would help Yugi end the threat of Doma - yet, when they find it, it is blank.

The third swordsman, Rafael, would later challenge Yugi. Rafael claimed that Yugi and his friends are fighting for the wrong cause, and that Rafael was a noble hero out to save the world. He claimed that mankind was inherently evil, and that the Orichalcos exposed the darkness within the souls of mankind - thus the need for them to be sealed by "The Seal of Orichalcos".

However, as Yugi dueled, he finds himself easily outmatched by Rafael's Guardian Monsters, which he refused to allow to go to the card graveyard. After Rafael plays the Spell Card "Exchange", Yugi finds himself with "The Seal of Orichalcos" in his hand. Not wanting to lose yet not wanting to play the Seal, the two souls of Yugi would debate over whether to use the card. Blinded by the desire to win at any cost, Yami (in control of Yugi's body during the Duel) ignores Yugi's pleas and plays the Seal in order to power up his monsters. Using the ability of "Catapult Turtle", he sacrifices monster after monster to wear away at Rafael's Life Points, even sacrificing his trusted "Dark Magician" and "Dark Magician Girl" in the process. Yet, Rafael is able to survive and use the situation to his advantage by summoning "Guardian Eatos". Eatos would use the spirits of Yugi's own monsters to defeat Yugi.

As the Seal slowly circles around the fallen Pharaoh, however, Yugi realizes that two souls reside within one body, and allows the seal to take him instead, sacrificing himself so that the Pharaoh would survive. Meanwhile, Weevil and Rex, after seeing the power of the Orichalcos, seek to have the power for themselves.

The Pharaoh, despite the attempts of his friends to cheer him up, became distraught over the loss of his other self. Meanwhile, as the Pharaoh and company continue to travel.They are on a train to Florida. Most of the time Téa is trying to help Pharaoh from being upset about Yugi while she herself is also upset. Weevil isolating Yami and Téa Gardner (Anzu Mazaki), while Rex finding Joey and Tristan Taylor (Hiroto Honda). Thus, the two Duelist Kingdom rematches were slated to begin, only with much more on the line. While Joey would have little trouble dispatching Rex with the help of his "Claw of Hermos", Timaeus would seemingly abandon the Pharaoh, forcing him to win the duel without it. He would ultimately prevail against Weevil with the help of "Breaker the Magical Warrior", which, along with its ability and "Berserker Soul", allowed it to attack Weevil repeatedly as long as the Pharaoh drew and discarded monsters - which he did ruthlessly. Téa would implore the Pharaoh to stop - long after he had beaten Weevil - just as Yami was about to discard "Dark Magician Girl". Just then, however, the moving train would head off a cliff, although they would survive, having been rescued by a mysterious person.

When the Pharaoh came to, his saviour would be revealed as Ironheart. Ironheart would lead the Pharaoh into the Valley of Lost Souls, where he found the spirit of Yugi. Yugi confronts the Pharaoh, and implores him to face himself through a duel, with both players sharing the same deck. In this duel, Yugi would bring forth "The Seal of Orichalcos", and would use a similar strategy to what the Pharaoh had used against Rafael. The Pharaoh ultimately wins the duel after successfully countering Yugi's moves. Despite not wanting to lose Yugi again, the Pharaoh promises to save him.

Just as he was about to leave, however, Dartz, who had been observing the Pharaoh's activities, conjures a spell to bring forth an Orichalcos Soldier. While dueling the Orichalcos Soldier, however, the Pharaoh realizes that Timaeus is his only hope of winning, yet he cannot use it as he does not have the card in his deck (after having given it to Ironheart, believing him to be unworthy of the card's power). Ironheart and his family (consisting of grand-daughter Chris and pet wolf Skye) would sacrifice their lives to deliver the card to Yugi, who uses it successfully to defeat the Orichalcos Soldier. With the darkness within himself defeated, the Pharaoh could finally move on, and hope to find and rescue Yugi, wherever he may be. After a while they just focus on finding Joey and Tristan.

Kaiba's company was taken over by Dartz. Joey runs off to Duel Valon and Mai. While Joey Duels, Tristan, Téa, and the Pharaoh go to look for him.

Valon, in his perspective, saw Joey as the big obstacle in Mai's life, and vowed to take him down in her honor, while Joey wants to take down Valon, believing that Doma is to blame for turning Mai against him. When their duel inevitably begins, Valon uses his deck of Armor Monsters - mostly 0 ATK and mostly 0 DEF monsters with devastating effects, to literally form a suit of armor around himself, intending to literally beat Joey senseless. Likewise, Joey is forced to defend himself with a suit of armor of his own, formed from his trusted Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The two would physically punish each other throughout the match, with Joey coming out in front.

The duel between Valon and Joey would arouse Mai's interest, and Joey would be forced to duel her in order to set the record straight. Joey, tired and physically beaten from the previous duel, is unable to concentrate on the duel, yet manages to deal serious damage to Mai - yet, he manages to reach out to her just as Joey is about to lose. Mai would ultimately not attack Joey (and win the duel), but Joey collapses in exhaustion, allowing "The Seal of Orichalcos" to take his soul. Taking the fallen Hermos with her, she proceeds to confront Rafael, the last of the three swordsmen, where it is implied that her soul was also taken. But when they find him he already lost his soul.

When Rafael confronts the Pharaoh again, he hands the Pharaoh "The Claw of Hermos" (which he had picked up from Mai's soul-less body), and promises to defeat the Pharaoh like he did before. This time, however, it is instead Rafael who uses the "The Seal of Orichalcos", to the Pharaoh's horror (up to that point, it seemed that Rafael was not the type of person who would use such a card); after Timaeus detroyed Eatos, and like the Pharaoh before, Rafael would proceed to sacrifice his trusted Guardians, all to power up his deadliest Guardian, "Guardian Dreadscythe" - a guardian who could be revived simply by discarding a single card. Determined to set Rafael free, and see the errors of his ways, the Pharaoh takes it upon himself to destroy Dreadscythe by any means necessary, and he does so with the combined power of Hermos and "Guardian Eatos" - Rafael's most trusted Guardian.

With Rafael seeing the error of his ways, he uses a final magic card to resummon all his Guardians, at the cost of the remainder of his life points. Though Rafael loses, his soul is surprisingly not taken since he found the light in himself, as souls are taken because of the darkness inside of someone. Rafael proceeds to tell the Pharaoh and company where to find Dartz.

After Pharaoh's Duel with Rafael the gang goes to Dartz in Kaiba's helicopter. Kaiba and the Pharaoh Duel Dartz; after Kaiba loses the Duel the Pharaoh continues while Téa, Tristan, and Mokuba are unconscious.After Yami wins the duel, the souls of Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba are liberated from the Orichalcos, Dartz sacrifices his own soul, allowing the Great Leviathan to be revived and fusing himself with the Great Beast to control it.

Mokuba, Tristan, and Téa wake up. Seeing Yugi back they have a group hug. Then they're off to finish off Dartz. Téa wishes Yugi good luck as he, along with Joey and Kaiba, have their final battle with Dartz. She tells Mokuba to stay with them,while Kaiba,Yugi and Joey battle Dartz. After the duel is over Tea,Mokuba ,Seto,Joey and Trustan are reunited wIth Yugi on the beach.

Grand Championship Saga
Téa does not have a prominent role in the Grand Championship arc, but as always she is Yugi and Joey's cheerleader throughout their duels. Téa also meets and despises Vivian, because of her love for Yugi. She also develops a habit of saying the line "I need some female friends!" whenever the others start getting on her nerves.

Capsule Monsters Saga
Yugi Muto wakes up after having a strange recurring nightmares about the Pharaoh being captured by an evil monster with glowing red eyes and telling him that why he is having these dreams will become clear when he "plays the game". This time, the Millennium Puzzle starts glowing in response to the dream, bewildering Yugi even further.

Before leaving for school that day, Yugi noticed that his grandfather, had not returned from his "secret expedition" (Yugi was told at the last minute) as his flight was due last night. Yugi is worried about the fact that Solomon is missing.

Meanwhile, there is a new game on the block; the Capsule Monsters board game is the new fad in the Duel Monsters craze, and Yugi has already taken the opportunity to learn the rules of the game. When Joey breaks the news about the trip, Yugi and his friends could not contain their excitement. Yugi,Tristan, and Tea agree to take Joey's other three tickets.

Just when the private plane for the trip approached its final destination, the engines cut out and the aircraft crash lands in a mysterious forest. After Yugi and his friends evacuate the aircraft, they find a man who says his name is Dr. Alex Brisbane.

When Yugi lets slip to Brisbane that he is Solomon Muto's (Sugoroku Mutou) grandson, Brisbane tells him that he's a colleague of Grandpa, and on their latest expedition together he disappeared. Now Yugi knows just where Grandpa had gone, but the Pharaoh still suspects something. They just happen to win a trip; their plane just happens to crash; and they just happen to meet the man who was the last person to see Grandpa. It all seems a little bit coincidental. Brisbane shows Yugi and the gang where he last saw Solomon. Yugi and his friends are surprised when they discover that Brisbane last saw Solomon in a pyramid.

Brisbane explains that he believes it to be the legendary pyramid of Alexander the Great, and that it's supposed to contain some sort of ancient game. They check it out, narrowly avoiding a number of dangerous traps, and come across a room that, as Tristan put it, is the size of Cleveland. The floor looks like a giant map of different land types, which looks incredibly familiar to Yugi. Joey decides to check it out but, to everyone's surprise, disappears into thin air the second he steps on the map. Coming to the conclusion that Solomon must have gone to the same place as Joey, the rest of the gang decide to follow, leaving a bewildered Brisbane behind.

They find themselves in a forest, with Joey nowhere to be seen. Yugi notices a lot of egg-shaped rocks around, but before they can investigate, some giant cockroaches (Gokibore, a monster from the Volume 6 expansion set) and a giant praying mantis (Kamakiriman, from Volume 3) ambush them. The escapes of Yugi, Tristan, and Téa causes them to have to split up.

Yugi is cornered by the mantis, so the Pharaoh takes over to protect him. He accidentally touches one of the strange egg-shaped rocks whilst jumping, which somehow causes Celtic Guardian to appear. Celtic Guardian attacks the mantis, destroying it.

Meanwhile, Tristan and Téa escape the cockroaches by ducking into a cave. They find themselves on a beach, accompanied by two monsters: Thunder Kid and Happy Lover.

At the same time, Joey is up high on a mountain, looking over onto the forest that the gang are in, hearing Yugi's shouting. Suddenly, a giant bird (LOB-039 Kurama) comes up behind him and grabs him by the shoulders, flying away with Joey in his claws.

Back in the forest, Celtic Guardian disappears in a beam of light, transforming into a small capsule. Now, Yugi knows where he'd seen this before. Somehow they have entered a real life version of Capsule Monsters. However, he is soon again attacked by a monster, this time it's a Trent. Pharaoh realizes the strange device on their wrists are for launching the capsules that house their monsters in order to summon them. Calling upon Celtic Guardian, the Pharaoh attacks the tree, but it gets the upper hand and injures Celtic Guardian. The Pharaoh feels Celtic Guardian's pain and realizes that the Capsule Monster world is a deadly Shadow Game. To make matters worse, the Trent turns surrounding trees into copies of it to assist its attack. However, the Pharaoh releases a new capsule monster to assist them, the fire-attribute Hinotama Soul. It easily burns the Trents to ash. The Pharaoh switches with Yugi, and Yugi runs off to find his friends.

Elsewhere, Joey has been dropped by the Kurama into a nest of its young. Joey repeatedly jumps off cliffs housing Kurama nests to escape until he lands on a branch and accidentally releases Baby Dragon from another rock. Joey boards Baby Dragon and flees the mountains. However, a flock of Kurama chase after them. Realizing there are too many to take on head first, Joey decides to trick them into getting stuck in a small opening in a canyon.

On the beach, Tristan figures out that Happy Lover and Thunder Kid are monsters they accidentally released from the egg-shaped rocks back in the forest when they ran from the giant roaches. Suddenly a giant sea monster called Root Water emerges from the ocean. Happy Lover and Thunder Kid stand before it to keep Tristan and Téa safe.

Elsewhere, Joey has taken refuge behind a waterfall and checks his guide book, still believing himself to be in India. Joey then notices a treasure chest behind him and Baby Dragon and opens it. However, instead of treasure a scroll wraps around him, and Baby Dragon burns it off him (with Joey having to put out the fire on him in the waterfall). The ashes of the scroll turn into a map, and Joey wonders if it's a treasure map.

Back on the beach, Tristan is having Thunder Kid attack Root Water with limited success as Thunder Kid is taking a pounding from the giant monster. (They too realize they feel the pain inflicted on their monsters.) Téa remembers Yugi's advice on how to play the board game version of Capsule Monsters and has Happy Lover heal Thunder Kid with its Heart Beam. Tristan then decides to blind-side Root Water with a sneak attack and Thunder Kid is successful in frying the fish. However, instead of vanishing, Root Water's charred body shatters and the beast evolves into High Tide Gyojin. It then creates a typhoon, sucking up Téa and Tristan along with their monsters. However, Solomon arrives and uses his Summoned Skull to blast High Tide Gyojin apart, saving Téa and Tristan.

Having seen Summoned Skull's "Lightning Strike" attack, Yugi heads to the beach to find Téa and Tristan unconscious with their monsters. However, his mind is put to ease when Solomon walks up to him and tells him that they're resting after the ordeal they went through. Yugi happily clings onto his grandpa and cries in joy of seeing him again.

Later, Yugi and the others make camp and begin to wonder where Joey is in the Capsule Monsters world. At the same time, Joey has gotten hungry and follows the smell of the campfire to his friends (after nearly fallen to his death before Baby Dragon managed to catch him). The Pharaoh switches with Yugi and explains that their dilemma of being in this world won't be an easy problem to solve. However, Téa points out that the flowers around them have gotten closer since they set up camp. Solomon tosses a stick from the fire into the flowers to reveal that they are actually a pack of Flower Wolf. Everyone but Solomon (whose Summoned Skull is too high level to be used frequently) releases their Capsule Monsters to fend off the pack. However, the Pharaoh knows they don't stand a chance and has Thunder Kid blind the wolves temporarily by reflecting its lightning off Celtic Guardian's sword.

The next day, Tristan and Joey do an annoying "victory dance" while the Pharaoh and Yugi wonder about the safety of their friends. Joey and Tristan then collapse and beg for food. Tristan then remembers about snacks he packed for the trip, but then remembers everyone (except Solomon) left their packs back at the campsite. After Solomon tries to encourage them to go a few days without food, they take off to find some, but run into tree branches. Tea reveals Solomon had a bag of food and taunts them as she eats a chip. Solomon tells them all they had to do was ask nicely. While Joey and Tristan complain, Yugi notices that the mountains are moving and runs to the edge of the forest to see they're on an Island Turtle. Joey and Tristan try to be tough until Yugi tells them it won't attack them unless they keep it up. Joey and Tristan apologize but immediately do another victory dance. Téa complains about the lack of female friends she has, while the Turtle roars in annoyance to Joey and Tristan's song. It dives, forcing everyone to "abandon ship!"

They then reach a temple in the middle of the lake and enter to have the doors shut behind them. Joey notices a "giant tea pot" in the middle of the room and (having switched with Yugi) the Pharaoh tells him it is not a tea pot. La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp emerges from the lamp. The Pharaoh summons Celtic Guardian and begins fighting the genie. Suddenly, the doors swing back open and a flood of water rushes in. It then freezes, trapping Téa and Solomon in ice. The perpetrator behind this is Neo Aqua Madoor, "Jack Frost's evil cousin". Tristan and Joey summon their monsters to help out the Pharaoh despite his constant protests, telling them to not interfere out of concern for their safety. Joey then tells him that they don't want to see him get hurt either as the Pharaoh realizes they can use the two enemies' attacks against each other. After faking head on attacks, Celtic Guardian and the others' capsule monsters back off as Neo Aqua Madoor and La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp's attacks collide into each other and destroys them.

Téa and Solomon are released form the ice, and a tablet with Egyptian writing on it appears. Solomon translate it: " Before the shadows blanket the land, Go to the fortress of fear. Locate the place where the spirit sleeps, And the pathway you seek will appear." Joey takes out his map from earlier and realizes that it shows the exact space they're on right now and that the fortress is on the same square, but VERY far away. Everyone resolves to go there, hoping the pathway it mentioned means the way home. Tristan finds a secret passage under the main floor (as they did not want to take chances with swimming across) and they quickly run through it.

Coming out above ground, they find themselves in an ancient graveyard that is soon flocked with Wood Remains and The Wandering Doomed. Yugi, Tea and Joey each release a new monster; Kuriboh, Dark Witch and the Flame Swordsman respectively. With their new monsters the Zombies are easily defeated.

Racing to the top of the hill the fortress lays upon, Tristan jinxes their good luck as four walls rise up from the ground and surround the fortress with statues of the Aqua Spirit, Spirit of Flames, The Rock Spirit and Garuda the Wind Spirit at each corner. Joey unsuccessfully tries to fly over as he is repelled by a force field. Yugi figures out that if four people mimic the stances of the four statues, the door will open. They do so, forcing Yugi to enter the fortress himself. Yugi falls into a pit, but is saved from a rough landing by the Pharaoh taking his place. The walls of the room they are trapped in begin to close in on them while outside, Joey breaks his pose and the statues come to life and begin attacking everyone. The Pharaoh finds a new capsule and releases the monster, which carries him up in a beam of light. Coming to his senses, the Pharaoh sees his new monster is Dark Magician and that his friends are in trouble. Using Dark Magician's "Magical Crossroads" the statues are destroyed at the cost of Solomon's Summoned Skull being taken down by the Rock Spirit.

Inside the fortress, Yugi opens the coffin located in the fortress (the place where the spirit sleeps) just as the sun sets and everyone else comes in. The coffin turns into a doorway and a piece of golden armor hovers above it. Another riddle appears as the armor dons itself on Yugi. Solomon says it says five trials await them to test the strength of Yugi's heart. Despite some discussion about not going through with the trials, everyone decides to go along with it in hopes of it leading them home again.

They arrive in a desert and find a village, where they are given a pendant and the instructions for the first trial; "Silence the whisper that rides the desert wind". While Solomon stays a safe distance form everyone else, they call forth their monsters and destroy a Medusa Worm, which they initially believed to be the enemy. However, it turns out to be one of many Medusa Worms under the voice's control. Everyone, but the Pharaoh is spat on by a worm and are turning to stone. Dark Magician takes the Pharaoh above the storm and the voice sent to confuse them to show him a tornado causing it. The Pharaoh calls Dark Magician back to his capsule and proceeds on foot to reach the voice. However, he isn't strong enough to reach the tornado. He then sees a man wearing a cape and mask, telling him to merge with the Dark Magician to gain the strength needed to pass the trial. Doing so, the Pharaoh becomes the Dark Warrior and flies into the tornado to find the voice is Mystical Sand. Silencing her, the Pharaoh clears the trial and reverses the Medusa Worms' petrification on his friends. The armor takes a toll on the Pharaoh as he is not used to it yet. Yugi takes his place to relieve some of the pain and tells of the man he saw explaining how to use the armor. One of the five shapes on the pendant lights up to signify the victory over this trial, and a doorway comes out of the sand.

Entering it, everyone finds themselves on a floating island above the clouds. Yugi collapses from the strain of the Duel Armor and is taken to a cave to rest. Another message arrives, and Solomon reveals that next is "The Trial of Light and Shadow". They are tasked with breaking an unbreakable stone in the "valley of light" as it appears only once a day. Deciding to take care of the trial in Yugi's place, Tristan, Joey, and Solomon head for the nearest valley as it becomes noon and the stone is revealed. However a Prisman appears and begins to attack them. Tristan takes advantage of its short temper and uses it to blast the stone apart.

In the meantime, Yugi has recovered, and Téa shows the Pharaoh the trial's instructions. Noticing they only know half of the trial, the Pharaoh realizes that by exposing the parchment to darkness, the second half is revealed. He realizes they are now in danger and takes off with Téa to find them.

Elsewhere, everyone has picked up a large piece of the stone and smash Prisman to pieces. However, a Skull Guardian appears as a sign of the second phase of the trial beginning. Joey hoped he was there to congratulate them, but it began attacking instead. The Pharaoh once again merges with Dark Magician to become the Dark Warrior and easily defeats the monster. However, he spares it as a glow where the stone was appears. The Pharaoh then explains that the second part of the trial was to not only defeat the Skull Guardian, but to show mercy. This rewards them with the means to leave the island. At the same time the masked man from before appears to all of them and congratulates the Pharaoh on completed Level 2 of the trials. The Pharaoh wonders what will happen if he completes the trials, and the stranger explains that he will receive the power to rule the world as he will have proven himself a true king. However, even though the Pharaoh might not want it, there are others seeking it, and it must be claimed before someone evil does. Also, if they fail, they will be trapped here until the next challenger arrives.

Using the wings found in the trial's reward chest, everyone flies off into another glowing doorway.

Back outside the game, Dr. Brisbane is laughing evilly that soon the power to rule the world will belong to him.

In the game, everyone has reached a volcanic area, where they must remove the Blade of Chaos before it's too late. Tristan gains a new monster, Thunder Dragon. Joey ends up separated from them, but returns, fused with Red-Eyes B. Dragon and full of evil. As Joey fights the Pharaoh in Dark Warrior mode, Joey begins to wonder why he is attacking his friend and realizes this happens because of his fusing with Red Eyes. Breaking free of the evil controlling him, Joey separates form Red Eyes, sees the Blade of Chaos is stuck in its thigh. Removing it, Joey clears the third trial and claims Red Eyes as his monster. Everyone leaves through another glowing doorway.

They then end up in a jungle (where they learn that despite its apparent endless scenery, it is only as big as the game board itself). Their next test is to find a golden apple that "gives you a raise" and offer it up. Tristan finds a giant melon and draws a picture of himself on it. The fruit then falls down a hole, and everyone follows it to find themselves in a chamber with three long pedestals with an apple each on them. Tristan then notices his melon in the corner, which turns out to actually be a Petit Moth. Everyone attempts to leave, but are then caught in a labyrinth. Joey eats some of the fruit he took from the forest and instantly becomes a genius. Right as he is about to figure out how to get out of the labyrinth, a Battle Ox chases him away from his equations. At the same time, Téa gets a Seiyaryu after defeating a Jirai Gumo. Hopelessly lost in the meantime, Tristan releases a Shovel Crusher and it careens around the labyrinth like a lunatic, collecting his allies and depositing them back at the apple room. However, there is a slight difference. An apple is missing and a Cocoon of Evolution is where Petit Moth was. It hatches into Great Moth and Yugi becomes the Dark Warrior to fight it. However, a Dark Magic Attack simply further evolves it into Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. The Pharaoh then realizes that he must eat one of the apples to evolve Dark Magician in order to stand a chance against the moth. Doing so evolves his magician into Magician of Black Chaos and earns them victory. He then takes the remaining apple to an altar, which opens a doorway.

They then find themselves back at the camp where they were attacked by the Flower Wolves. The masked man appears and properly introduces himself as Alexander the Great. He then goes on to explain he once possessed the Millennium Ring, which he considered his lucky charm as it helped him conquer most of the world. However, prolonged possession of it caused a split personality to emerge (due to Zorc being sealed in the ring) and most of his retainers lost faith in him. He was then put to a test to see if he was still worthy to wear the ring by Shadi and was the first to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters Collectible Figure Game. However, though he was victorious in the trials, the door leading to the great power to rule the world did not open. This enraged his darker half into attacking his four vassals. It was then the pyramid punished him by splitting his soul in two. His darker half was sealed into the pyramid and he was sent to the game to act as a guide for future adventures. Alexander then gifts the monster-less Solomon with a new monster and tells him he will need it for the fifth trial.

They head to a village, where Alexander explains that the fifth trial involves destroying five different elemental dragons known as the Fiendish Five that terrorize the village. They find a girl about to sacrifice herself to give their dragon god the strength to keep the five away. However, they intervene and promise to slay the dragons. Solomon, using his new Curse of Dragon against Aqua Dragon, the Pharaoh faces Tyrant Dragon, Téa versus Serpent Night Dragon, Tristan battles Luster Dragon #2 and Joey fights Meteor Dragon. However, despite the aid of Yugi's new Black Luster Soldier, everyone fails to defeat the dragons and are forced to return to the village. The Pharaoh then learns of a sword that can slay the five only if a large power descends upon the village. Tricking the five into coming towards the village, the Pharaoh frees the sword and slays them. However, the defeated dragons transform into the Five-Headed Dragon. The girl from earlier prays for her god's help and her tears free the Blue Eyes White Dragon from its picture, and it fuses with the Pharaoh and slays the Fiendish Five once and for all.

With the trials now completed, everyone is about to be sent home, and Alexander is given permission to use Solomon's body as a means of taking himself out of the game.

They arrive outside to find Dr. Brisbane acting normal and concerned for their safety. He then wonders if they found anything interesting in the game, and Solomon presents the trial pendant, now fully lit. Right as the evil side of Alexander tries to grab the pendant, the good side jumps into Dr. Brisbane and seemingly subdues his evil side. However, it's a trick as the evil side was stronger and fused together with his weaker good half. Evil Alexander takes the pendant and runs up to the doors and successfully opens them after waiting for thousands of years. Everyone chases him into the room and they find themselves in an alternate dimension.

Shadi appears and wonders who should receive the power promised to the victor of his challenge. Though the Pharaoh protests that Evil Alexander cheated, Shadi points out that Alexander has a fair claim to the power as he tried himself and won thousands of years ago. To end the stalemate, Shadi announces one final Capsule Monsters battle. Evil Alexander summons the souls of his vassals to assist him and Good Alexander's Duel Armor. Evil Alexander fuses with Reshef the Dark Being and sacrifices his retainers' monsters to summon his Seven-Armed Fiend, the apparition from Yugi's dreams. Everyone but Yugi's monsters are destroyed except for their dragons and Seven-Armed Fiend is destroyed. However, Evil Alexander decides to use the remaining monsters he used for his sacrifice to power Reshef and use his pawns' pain connection to them as a shield. However, the Pharaoh, disgusted with Evil Alexander for how he treats his loyal subjects, fuses with his friends' dragons to form the Armor of Unity and destroys Reshef. The evil side of Alexander is purged and the good Alexander tells the Pharaoh that his reign over Egypt is what inspired him to be pharaoh himself. Alexander then passes on with his vassals. Shadi wishes to gift the Pharaoh with the power promised, but he instantly turns it down. Shadi then muses to him that the one who can rule the world need not possess the power. The pyramid then begins to collapse, and everyone manages to escape safely.

They return to their pilots to discover the rescue plane has come. They talk the pilots into taking Solomon and Dr. Brisbane back to Domino City with them.

Dawn of the Duel Saga
Now that Yugi is home after the battle against Dartz and the Grand Championship, one more quest is about to be undertaken, knowing the true past of Yami Yugi, the spirit of the puzzle. Yami Bakura and Yami Yugi faced off, but Bakura told Yami to play the ultimate Shadow Game at Egypt.

Moreover, Bakura also duels Seto Kaiba (Kaiba doesn't play a part in the Dawn of the Duel arc in the manga), so that Bakura could have the power of Kaiba's "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". After the Duel, Bakura tells Kaiba that something interesting is happening, and Kaiba should go to Egypt to play the ultimate game. He also gives Kaiba the Millennium Eye, which he had previously taken from Maximillion Pegasus after Duelist Kingdom. Kaiba, even though he doesn't show signs of it, agrees, and goes to Egypt. The gang traveled to Egypt, where they reunited with Marik Ishtar, Ishizu Ishtar and Odion Ishtar. Ishizu explained that the stone tablet at the museum had been moved back to Egypt, deep within the chambers of the Tomb Keepers. The Ishtars lead them to the stone. Before Yami Yugi presented the God Cards, Tea gave him a cartouche that she had just bought, so he can write his name on it when he finds it. Yami Yugi showed the three God Cards to the Tablet of Lost Memories. This time, a portal was opened, and Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura suddenly went into the tablet.

Yami's friends realized that the Memory World may be quite dangerous, and Yami Yugi has a very difficult task to do. Therefore, they wanted to get into the Memory World, but couldn't go through the portal in the tablet. Thus, Shadi appeared, and helped them find the "real" door to the Memory World, deep within the mazes of Yami Yugi's mind in the Millennium Puzzle. The stage was set for the ultimate game.

As Yami entered the Memory World, he was shocked to find out that he was in the body of his past self. Around him were the six priests: Seto, Aknadin, Mahad, Isis, Shada and Karim, each with their own Millennium Item. Also, next to him is his vizier, Shimon Muran.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Yugi and his friends, Joey Wheeler, Téa Gardner, and Tristan Taylor were shocked to find out that Yami Yugi had left the puzzle. So, Bobasa (in the manga), or Shadi (in the anime), helped them by using the Millennium Key to open the way to the Maze of Yugi's heart to try and find the door to the Memory World.

Back in the Memory World, Yami had little time to react his surroundings, because at that moment, Thief King Bakura showed up, possessed by Yami Bakura, who had entered Bakura's body after entering the Memory World. He summoned his Ka spirit "Diabound", and attacked the priests. Bakura revealed his plan to take the seven Millennium Items and gain the Shadow Power of the Evil God Zorc Necrophades by putting them all in the stone slab in an underground crypt in the village of Kul Elna (based off the village of Qurna). The Pharaoh has had enough, and summons "Obelisk the Tormentor" to attack "Diabound", something the other priests are shocked by. In the manga, "Obelisk" defeats "Diabound" with ease, while in the anime, Obelisk and Diabound's power were equal (Diabound had the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon from Dark Bakura's duel againest Kaiba). Bakura retreats, leaving the priests to discuss what happened. Later on, Seto tells Akhenaden about his plan to use the Kas of villagers to create a Ka stronger than Diabound, which Akhenaden objects to.

The next day, the priest Mahado plans to lure Bakura into a trap. He leads Bakura to a tomb he made to look like Akhenamkhanen's tomb. He battles Bakura, but is defeated in the end. He sacrifices his life to fuse his Ka and Ba to turn himself into the Dark Magician. While Bakura does get the Millennium Ring from Mahado, Mahado attacks him and destroys the tomb. But somehow, Bakura manages to escape.

By this point, Yugi and the others had found the door to the Memory World. Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda had to go alone, because Shadi couldn't enter it for some reason. When they arrive in the Memory World, they meet up with Bobasa, who promises to help them. They go to the Palace but cannot get inside. They can pass through other buildings and people like ghosts, but they cannot enter the palace gates.

Seto and Shada go through the streets and the citizens on the street. Seto tells Shada to use his Millennium Key to test the hearts of the people, and try to find people who are home to strong monsters. When Seto tells Akhenaden of his plan, Akhenaden begs for Seto to reconsider, but Seto doesn't listen. A short time later, Bakura, wearing the Millennium Ring, attacks Akhenaden with Diabound. Deciding not to kill Akhenaden, he instead uses the power of the Ring to transfer his evil to Akhenaden.

While on their search for criminals with strong Ka, Seto and Shada stop an angry mob from their assault on an innocent woman. Shada senses her powerful Ka (the Blue Eyes White Dragon) and Seto takes her back with them to the palace. It is later shown in a flashback that Seto and Kisara - the girl he rescued - had met before as children. Meanwhile, Akhenaden is resting and has a flashback of what happened fifteen years ago: Akhenaden created the Millennium Items at the cost of sacrificing the village of Kul Elna. It's also revealed that Akhenaden is the younger brother of Aknamkanon, the previous Pharaoh, thus revealing that the Pharaoh and Seto are cousins. Now corrupted by Zorc, Akhenaden's strongest wish is to see Seto rise to the throne as the new Pharaoh of Egypt. When he learns of Kisara's Ka, he is eager to have Seto extract it from her (and use it to usurp Atem), but Seto - out of his strong feelings for the girl - refuses. Akhenaden then kidnaps him, although Kisara ultimately saves him and dies taking a blow meant for Seto. Distraught, Seto tries to kill Akhenaden, only to have his mind taken over by Akhenaden/Zorc and is subsequently forced to duel Pharaoh Atem. During the fight Kisara's spirit saves him by purifying Akhenaden from his mind, and he is able to join Pharaoh Atem in the final battle against Zorc Necrophades.

However, after discovering that Yami Bakura followed him, the gang went after Yami.The gang was betrayed by Tristan, who was possessed by Bakura and almost killed, but jumped to a cliff and saved themselves. Tea pulled Yugi up, who was hanging onto Joey and then both her and Yugi saved Joey. When they found Tristan, he revealed that he had been possessed by Bakura and dueled Yugi. Tea noted that Yugi had to duel without Yami. Yugi still won, though. When they found Yami, they gave him his name by thinking of the symbols and putting them on a necklace-like item. Yami then remembered who he was a revealed that his true name was Atem. Atem was then able to summon The Creator of Light to destroy Zorc Necrophades. The gang then returned to the real world.

Ceremonial Battle Saga
Both the Pharaoh and Yugi have obtained all 7 Millennium items and all 3 Egyptian God Cards. The Pharaoh has defeated Zorc Necrophades in the memory RPG and The Pharaoh has learned his name. Now it was time for the final test to see if Atem and Yugi were finally ready to separate for good; Atem would have to be defeated in a duel where he was actively trying to win, demonstrating that he had learned from Yugi that one did not need to win all the time and that defeat could teach us just as much as victory.

Originally planned to fly to Luxor via the Cairo International Airport, a sandstorm has brewed over the Valley of Kings, blocking that path but with the help of Marik and Ishizu Ishtar, they proceed to the Valley by boat from where its stated that the sandstorm might have not been without purpose due to the ancient belief that Ships carried kings or people back from the gods as it to say, travel from this world to the Land of the Dead. Both Joey  and Kaiba asked Yugi if they could battle The Pharaoh. Yugi declined both requests, feeling that battling The Pharaoh was something he had to do to prove to himself that he was ready to separate from him. The boat docked and everyone was waiting for him. Ishizu then lead them across the desert to an underground cavern to the back of the cavern there was a large door with a carving of The Eye of Wdjat which Ishizu explained would unravel the Pharaoh's spirit from Yugi's, further explaining that in order to pass on he must pact with the Rite of the Duel. Yugi approached the Shrine of The Millennium Items and placed all the items in their appropriate places. A wave of light passed over Yugi, his shadow split in two, then his body. The Pharaoh and Yugi walked opposite ways to the far sides of the cavern. The Final Duel had begun.

Tea is mostly seen torn about the leaving of Yami. She is mostly seen having a debate within herself as to whether it would be good for him to stay or not, usually ending with her crying to herself while when with the rest of the gang she displays a happy facade.

Yugi falls to his knees, cries and tells Atem that he (Yugi) is weak. Atem tells him that he would not cry if he were in his place. Yugi says that that is the point, he admits that he could not follow in the footsteps of Atem. Atem reminds him that he is not a coward and it was he who taught Atem about the principles needed to win. He also says that now he is leaving, there would be no one else for Yugi to follow and that there would only be one Yugi.

The Eye of Wdjat glows on the wall, and Ishizu says the spirit of the Pharaoh has been freed. Atem stands before the Eye and declares that he is Atem. The wall parts to reveal a glowing light, and Atem walks towards it. Téa, Joey and Tristan step forward, asking him if this is how it ends: Atem can't show up, change their lives, and leave.

Yugi says that they don't want to say goodbye, and Téa cries that while she know its for the best, it doesn't seem fair that Atem has to leave. They were just getting to know him, and Atem was just getting to know himself, but now he's leaving. She knows they should be happy for him, but its hard when they're losing their best friend and they don't understand why. Joey says there are some things they aren't supposed to understand: he goes through half his life like that. But he does know that while Atem's stay isn't as long as they'd like, they were lucky to know him at all. Atem silently thanks him, and Téa wishes him luck.

Joey shouts that Atem isn't going anywhere: the memories he gave each of them will remain in their hearts. Joey and Yugi give Atem a thumbs-up, and Atem returns the gesture as he walks forward. The Pharaoh is about to pass through the gates to the afterlife, she is last seen trying to run after him however stopped by Joey. The Pharaoh's cloak and clothing appear around him as images of Adviser Siamun, Mana, Akhenamkhanen, and the six priests (Young Akhenaden, Mahado, Seto, Isis, Kalim and Shada) greet him. Atem vanishes into the light, the wall closing behind him.

The Wdjat temple then starts to crumble as the Millennium Stone shatters, scattering the Millennium Items in a bottomless pit. They all run away from the temple while Shadi's spirit watches the temple he protected crumble, his duty being fulfilled, the Pharaoh's spirit has gone to the Afterlife.

Yugi, Téa, Joey, Tristan, Duke, Grandpa, Kaiba, and Mokuba all leave Egypt and return to Japan. In the airport, they meet up with Rebecca and Serenity. Both Duke and Tristan fall for Serenity, but are pulled back by Joey. Rebecca hugs Yugi much to Téa's annoyance.

Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor get into an argument again and decide to duel. Zigfried and Leon von Schroeder make a business proposition with Pegasus, which turns to their favor. Mako Tsunami sets sail from his fishing trip to be met up with Espa Roba at the harbor. Mai Valentine and Vivian Wong are facing a two-on-two duel against the Paradox Brothers atop the Great Wall of China.

The credits end with a cutscene where Grandpa is sweeping while Yugi comes out from the house to join Téa, Joey and Tristan to go to school. Yugi ends the show by saying that his story has not ended and that his story is not about a pharaoh who after three thousand years defeated the evil Zorc.

In fact, Yugi says that his story is just beginning. This alludes to the famous phrase "This isn't the legend of a Pharaoh. Everybody has his own story....The story that completes in the light. My story has just started." FIN

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Anime)
Téa is never mentioned in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, but for a brief moment, she can be seen on a flier that Jaden picks up, along with Yugi,Joey,Tristan and Kaiba. As this is seen when Jaden Yuki had travelled to the past, ot therefore places Battle City V2 after Battle City but before The Ceremonial Battle.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Pyramid of Light
The events of Battle City have just concluded, and Yugi now owns all three Egyptian God cards. Seto Kaiba longs to finally defeat him, and he has a plan. He suspects that since Maximillion Pegasus created the Egyptian God cards, he would have also created a way to beat them, just in case something ever went wrong.

heads off to Pegasus's castle and challenges him to a duel. The stakes are the following: if Pegasus wins, he gets Kaiba's three "Blue Eyes White Dragons"; if Kaiba wins, Pegasus hands over the card that can beat the Egyptian Gods. Kaiba wins, and Pegasus must fulfill his wager: he picks up two cards from Pegasus's decks. However, Pegasus only created one card to beat the Egyptian Gods, so where did the other card come from?

Yugi, Joey, Téa, and Tristan at school. They were just leaving when the noticed a big crowd of people. When they went to see what it was all about and it turned out to be a group of people wanting to duel Yugi. Joey tells Téa to get Yugi out of there, they run out of the crowd and notice people are everywhere looking for Yugi. Téa noticed the museum and they go in there.

Yugi Muto and Téa Gardner, stumble into Domino Museum.She tells Yugi that no one would look there for them. When they discover a new attraction on display called the Pyramid of Light, which looks a little like the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi's grandpa, Solomon Muto (who also happens to be visiting the museum), reads an inscription on the side of a sarcophagus (The eye that sees what's yet to come, its vision shall be fulfilled, unless blinded by events predetermined, thus light & shadows both be killed), triggering a strange vision in Yugi's mind concerning his Millennium Puzzle, the Pyramid of Light, Anubis, and Kaiba. After he wakes up, he finds the pyramid stolen, the sarcophagus now empty.Yugi asks her to stay with grandpa so he can go see Kaiba  Yugi also found Mokuba standing outside. Mokuba says that Kaiba wants Yugi to bring his duel disk to the KaibaCorp Duel Dome immediately.

Yugi does so, transforming into Yami Yugi on the way, and finds Kaiba ready to duel. Seto asks Mokuba to seal all the exits, forcing Yugi to duel him, but not before Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor find their way in to watch.

The duel goes on for what seems like an eternity, and Yugi is starting to suspect that there are dark forces at work - especially when Kaiba activates a Trap Card called the "Pyramid of Light", which not only bears a striking resemblance to its namesake in the museum, but also prevents Yugi from using any of the Egyptian Gods! Before long, Kaiba has his "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" on the field, but to Yugi's surprise, he sacrifices it to summon a monster known as the "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon", which is even stronger!

The Pyramid of Light also pulls the souls of Yugi, Joey, and Tristan into Yugi's Millenium Puzzle, where they are chased by a group of mummies controlled by an unknown force...

Téa and grandpa are walking and they see the Kaiba Dome explode with a beam of light. They rush over to see whats going on, when they get there they see a huge blue pyramid. Mokuba tells them Kaiba and Yugi are in there dueling. Téa hops they are okay. The ground begins to crack and just in time Pegasus came with a helicopter and saves them. Téa feels that her friends need her help so she stands in the edge of the helocopter and looks into the eye of the Pyramid of Light which separated her mind from her body and she almost falls but Pegasus, Mokuba, and grandpa bring her back in. Her mind is sent into the Millennium Puzzle like Yugi's, Joey's and Tristan's. When she first gets there she is floating in the air and starts talking to them about there friendship symbol she drew on them in the first episode. There are mummies below her and she falls down. She is a afread of the mummies so Joey and Tristan help her by beating them up but it desn't work because they are already dead. Eventually they are surrounded but Yugi saves them by throwing a dagger at the eye in the wall.

Kaiba could win the duel there and then, but he wants to humiliate Yugi by wiping him out with his own Egyptian Gods! His "Pyramid of Light" removed the gods from play, and he wants to play "Return from the Different Dimension" to get them under his control. Of course, to do that, he needs to destroy his Pyramid of Light first, otherwise it would just destroy the gods again! Kaiba commands his "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" to use its "Shining Nova" effect, which allows it to sacrifice itself to destroy anything on the field - and he aims it at the Pyramid of Light. Suddenly, a ghostly voice calls out, "This I cannot allow!", and the Pyramid stays exactly where it is. Then, a man rises up from behind Kaiba, throws him aside, and takes over the duel himself.

It's Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of the Dead, whom the Pharaoh destroyed 5000 years ago. But now he's back with the Pyramid of Light around his neck and two of his most powerful monsters - "Andro Sphinx" and "Spinx Teleia! On top of this, Téa, Joey, Tristan and Yugi are all trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle, leaving the Pharaoh to duel all alone. Putting all his faith into the cards, Yugi draws the "Double Spell" card, which allows him to discard his other spell card to activate "Monster Reborn" from Seto's Graveyard. He uses it to revive "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon", who then destroys the "Pyramid of Light" (after it was weakened by Yugi from inside the Millennium Puzzle), along with "Andro Sphinx" and "Sphinx Teleia". But Anubis's not done yet. With the Pyramid gone, he summons his last trick up his sleeve - "Theinen the Great Sphinx"! Yugi, however, activates "Reverse of Reverse" to activate Kaiba's "Return from the Different Dimension". The God Monsters return, destroy the Great Sphinx and Anubis is seemingly defeated. But a giant jackal - the ancient Egyptian representation of Anubis, the Lord of the Dead - rises from the remains of the Pyramid!

Téa wakes up next to Joey and Tristan and Yugi is back with Yami. The card Pyramid of Light was destroyed by Yami so they could see the duel. Téa, Joey, Tristan, Pegasus, Mokuba, and grandpa cheer him on. Yami is now facing Anubis because Kaiba is knocked out. Anubis loses but he sends out a real monster and Kaiba wakes up and they have to defeat it. Téa and everyone else has to leave because it was to dangerous.

Yugi and Yami defeat the monster with a card of Kaiba's, he was unable to do anything because he was hurt so he gave the card to Yugi. Yami and Yugi join forces, putting all their strength into the "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" card, and using Shining Nova to destroy Anubis once and for all. On top of it all, Pegasus, who had earlier arrived via helicopter to help them, gets them out of the explosion in time.

Once the monster was defeated everyone started talking to each other.Then Yugi,thanks Kaiba,in which Kaiba and Mokuba leave afterwards. Yugi then talks about friendship and lastly he talks to Yami.

Yugi Muto
Téa is deeply in love with Yugi, but is uncertain if it is Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi) or regular Yugi that she loves more. Even though in the manga and first series anime she has been friends with Yugi since childhood she is unaware that he is in love with her.

During the first chapter in the manga, she hung out with Yugi instead of playing basketball like the rest of the girls. In another manga chapter (Duel 45: 13 O'clock Terror!), when on a date with Yugi, Téa tries to bring out Yami (thinking that if she goes to extreme measures and plays a joke on Yugi, he will change into Yami). She makes Yugi fearful for her safety by going on a Ferris Wheel when it was known that a bomber was in the park; she was "pretending" to be in danger so she could "make the Yugi she wants to appear", not knowing that she placed herself in danger of being blown up for real. She is rescued by Yami Yugi, so her ploy succeeds in the end.

In the manga and the anime for much of the series, Téa believes that Yami Yugi is a more mature personality of regular Yugi. While at Duelist Kingdom, Yugi tells Téa that he "knows" that she prefers Yami Yugi. When he offers to switch out with Yami Yugi to give them time alone, Téa stops Yugi and tells him that there's no need because Yugi and Yami Yugi are both Yugi, so there's no need for him to change, as she really cares for both "personalities". It is only later on in the series when Yugi is in the hospital after trying to save Yami Yugi that she finally accepts the fact that Yugi and Yami Yugi are two separate people, but in the second series anime she knows they are two different people. This, then, causes confusion as to who Téa is really in love with: Yugi or Yami Yugi. The last references to this in the anime are during the final Duel, when Téa wishes Atem to be victorious so she does not have to say goodbye to him, but also roots for Yugi without even realizing it. She also does have romantic feelings toward the original Yugi as it is shown in many episodes when Rebecca Hawkins hugs Yugi, Téa appears upset; though this is before she accepts that Yugi and Yami are separate personalities. Téa has also hugged Yugi on two occasions during the second series anime - Once during the Virtual World Arc, after she beats Crump in a duel after being nearly encased in ice and Yugi comes to her aid; and again during the Waking the Dragons Arc after Yami Yugi defeats Dartz and Yugi's soul is returned to his body along with Kaiba's and Joey's. Both of these cases occur during anime-only arcs in the story as neither the Virtual World arc or the Waking the Dragons arc are present in the manga. However towards the end of the fifth season though she is still seen unable to decide for her affections greatly reside in either Yugi or Yami, however after the Ceremonial Duel and Atem walks through the Gates of the afterlife she is seen trying to run after him however stopped by Joey. She does immensely care for Yami and has affection for him too. However in the Japanese anime credits, the gang returns back home. Rebecca is seen embracing Yugi and Téa is still jealous. This shows that whichever Yugi it may be, Yami Yugi or Yugi, she has affections for both of them.

Yami Yugi
Téa is deeply in love with Yugi, but is uncertain if it is Yami Yugi (Dark Yugi) or regular Yugi that she loves more. Even though in the manga and first series anime she has been friends with Yugi since childhood she is unaware that he is in love with her.

During the first chapter in the manga, she hung out with Yugi instead of playing basketball like the rest of the girls. In another manga chapter (Duel 45: 13 O'clock Terror!), when on a date with Yugi, Téa tries to bring out Yami (thinking that if she goes to extreme measures and plays a joke on Yugi, he will change into Yami). She makes Yugi fearful for her safety by going on a Ferris Wheel when it was known that a bomber was in the park; she was "pretending" to be in danger so she could "make the Yugi she wants to appear", not knowing that she placed herself in danger of being blown up for real. She is rescued by Yami Yugi, so her ploy succeeds in the end.

In the manga and the anime for much of the series, Téa believes that Yami Yugi is a more mature personality of regular Yugi. While at Duelist Kingdom, Yugi tells Téa that he "knows" that she prefers Yami Yugi. When he offers to switch out with Yami Yugi to give them time alone, Téa stops Yugi and tells him that there's no need because Yugi and Yami Yugi are both Yugi, so there's no need for him to change, as she really cares for both "personalities". It is only later on in the series when Yugi is in the hospital after trying to save Yami Yugi that she finally accepts the fact that Yugi and Yami Yugi are two separate people, but in the second series anime she knows they are two different people. This, then, causes confusion as to who Téa is really in love with: Yugi or Yami Yugi. The last references to this in the anime are during the final Duel, when Téa wishes Atem to be victorious so she does not have to say goodbye to him, but also roots for Yugi without even realizing it. She also does have romantic feelings toward the original Yugi as it is shown in many episodes when Rebecca Hawkins hugs Yugi, Téa appears upset; though this is before she accepts that Yugi and Yami are separate personalities. Téa has also hugged Yugi on two occasions during the second series anime - Once during the Virtual World Arc, after she beats Crump in a duel after being nearly encased in ice and Yugi comes to her aid; and again during the Waking the Dragons Arc after Yami Yugi defeats Dartz and Yugi's soul is returned to his body along with Kaiba's and Joey's. Both of these cases occur during anime-only arcs in the story as neither the Virtual World arc or the Waking the Dragons arc are present in the manga. However towards the end of the fifth season though she is still seen unable to decide for her affections greatly reside in either Yugi or Yami, however after the Ceremonial Duel and Atem walks through the Gates of the afterlife she is seen trying to run after him however stopped by Joey. She does immensely care for Yami and has affection for him too. However in the Japanese anime credits, the gang returns back home. Rebecca is seen embracing Yugi and Téa is still jealous. This shows that whichever Yugi it may be, Yami Yugi or Yugi, she has affections for both of them.

Voice Actresses
Japanese : Maki Saito

English : Amy Birnbaum