After discovering that Mokuba was taken by Kemo during the conclusion of Yugi's duel, the group of heroes heads across the island calling for him, but getting no response.

"We know you're just a kid, but this is not the time to play hide and seek!" Pinkie calls out.

"My guess, that varmint Kemo took the little feller back to Pegasus' castle, likely where he escaped from in the first place." put in Applejack as the group reassembles.

"Great, first he gets the soul of our teacher, Yugi's own grandpa, and now they've got Kaiba's little brother. Can this day get any worse?" Rainbow asks, knowing full well that she may end up regretting it later.

"Don't worry, Rainbow. It's just another reason for both me and Joey to get 10 star chip to enter that place." Yugi answers.

"No doubt!" Joey says in agreement, but he soon finds Duel Monsters cards on the ground near Tristan's feet, thinking someone dropped them. "It's my lucky day." he says when he spots them.

"Hands off! Those are mine." Tristan says, surprising the whole group.

"Well, Tristan, I sure didn't expect you to train in order to become a duelist." Rarity said in surprise.

"Yeah. Well, I figured if someone like Joey can hold his own in this game, then, hey, I'll probably be an expert at it." Tristan says, though Joey seemed a bit offended. Soon, however, Joey spotted a card that looked familiar.

"Hey, I recognize that monster." Joey says as he picks it up.

"Didn't I see that card in your deck, Joey?" Twilight asks.

"Not this one, but I think I got something just like it." Joey answers as he looks through his deck until he finds the card he's referring to. "Bingo! Swamp Battleguard."

"Well, I'll be. Those two Battleguards look like their long lost brothers or cousins." Applejack says.

"You're right. Of course, that doesn't mean your boy packs the same kind of wallop mine does." Joey replies, cheekily, towards Tristan.

"His wallop is just fine!" Tristan answers. "My Lava Battleguard as never let me down. Try him out. You'll see."

"Thanks. They both say that they work best together." Joey replies.

"Good point. The cards both say that they gain an extra 500 attack points for each of the other on the field." Spike adds.

"You know something, girls? I think I kinda see a resemblance between them and those muscle-heads." Tea says, but while everyone else laughs, save for Fluttershy, Joey and Tristan are furious.

"Tea, you know it's wrong to tell your friends that they look like something they aren't and laugh about it." Fluttershy says. Meanwhile, Mai is busy wrapping up another duel with one last attack from her Harpie Lady Sisters. After the duel, she lays back looking at the clouds while the sun sets, wondering why she's not having as much fun dueling as she used to. She then says aloud that it's because of her loss to Joey. But as she's trying to find a way to get even with him, a familiar face shows up.

"Listen up, Mai, I, Rex Raptor, am really itching to finish the match we started on the boat!" Rex says furiously, remembering when she kicked him out of his room on the way to the island.

"Funny. I thought I already knocked you on your Jurassic tail." Mai responds.

"Think whatever you want. But you're about to get stomped!" Rex retorts.

"You think I'm gonna waste another minute with a runner-up like you?" Mai asks. "I'm busy over here, so beat it, dino-breath."

"I ain't no runner-up, Mai! I may have lost in the finals of the regionals, but I have five star chips to prove my strength!" Rex retorts in anger. However, Mai shows off that she won eight chips, shocking Rex.

"How'd you get eight chips already?!" Rex asks.

"From wannabes like you who think that by dueling a girl they'll win some easy stars." Mai responds. "I've only lost once, but once I find that punk, Joey, it's payback."

"Joey Wheeler?" Rex asks in disbelief. "How could you lose to him?"

"I'd love to see you try and beat him." Mai responds, but she soon gets an idea. An awful idea. "Ok, Rex, I'll duel you, if you do something for me first." Later, the group spots the remaining competitors that barely managed to hang on to what star chips they have.

"Wow. After all the crazy duelists we've been running into, save for Mako, it's nice to see some normal kids for a change." Tea says.

"Well, at least none of them are cheaters like Mai and Weevil." Applejack adds.

"But I'm guessing that these duelists somehow managed to fly under the radar of the more experienced duelists." Twilight says.

"Well, how about it, tough guy, and of these tykes puny enough for you to take on, or do you wanna go looking for some three year olds who just made their first deck?" Tristan asks jokingly.

"Come on. Be nice." Tea says. "You know Joey's just biding his time until he finds a dueling monkey to challenge."

"Tea! That wasn't very nice, either!" Fluttershy said. But as Yugi, Tea, Rainbow and Tristan laughed, Joey lost his cool.

"Who wants some?" Joey shouts. "Just one more word about dueling monkeys, and I'm gonna..." But before Joey can finish his sentence, they all heard a familiar laugh.

"Tell me that's not who I think it is." Spike said, but right on cue, Mai shows up.

"How are you, Joseph? Glad to see me?" Mai quickly asks.

"Ecstatic." Joey answers.

"Tell me, Joey, is Yugi still fighting all your battles for you?" Mai asks. "Everyone knows that if Yugi wasn't there to give you one of his star chips or pointers during our duel, you wouldn't have beat me. Right, Yugi?"

"That's not true." Yugi answers.

"Oh, really?" Mai responds. "Then I propose he steps out of the shadow of the so-called 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon slayer' here and now. If Joey thinks he's so tough, let's see him play for himself!" Everyone is shocked by Mai's proposition. "Well, Joey, we're all waiting for your answer. Think you have the guts to step up and face the duelist I've arranged for you to battle?"

"It's not you?" Joey asks, puzzled as to why Mai would get someone to fight him for her. From behind a tree comes Rex Raptor.

"I'm dueling on Mai's behalf." Rex says. "Recognize me?"

"We know who you are, Rex Raptor." Rainbow says.

"You supposed to scare me or something?" Joey asks. "He may have been in the finals of the regionals, but he lost in the final match, so he's not as tough as Weevil had to be, despite the fact that Weevil's a cheat."

"You make a good point, but I don't know about challenging a finalist in the regional championship." Rarity says.

"Well, Joey, you gotta ask permission from your babysitters or not?" Mai asks.

"No way!" Joey says. "They're my friends, not babysitters. And just like with you, this is my fight and I'm accepting it."

"Joey, are you trying to prove something?" Applejack asks. "You gotta learn to pick which battles are worth the fight." Rex watches on, in disbelief that Mai agreed to duel him just for beating Joey. Mai believes that it was Yugi that led Joey to victory over her, and without him, he can only lose.

"And here's an extra stipulation..." Mai says. "If Yugi does any of his backseat dueling, Joey is automatically disqualified and the match goes to Rex. And the same thing goes for any of you ladies and your purple and green haired pal." None of the gang could believe that Mai would have Joey fight alone and without any support. "What do you say, Joey? This is your big chance to prove yourself and show that you are as good as you think you are, or are you gonna hide behind your friends and back out?"

"He's not hiding behind us like a shield, Mai." Fluttershy says. "We're just looking out for a friend, now I suggest you change your stipulation or there won't be a duel."

"No." Joey says at last. "This is the way I want it. I don't need you guys to be an excuse for why I win my duels. It's just gonna be me and him. Sure, it may end up costing me my two lone star chips, but I don't deserve to keep them if the only reason I'm winning is because of the combined smarts of Yugi, Spike, and the girls. My whole life, people try to help me because they don't think I can help or take care of myself. Well, I'm not gonna be helped out this time."

"You've lost it, Joey." Tristan says. "You can believe whatever you want, but I'm not gonna stand by and let you throw your only star chips away. I hope you two don't mind, but Joey won't be dueling. Maybe once he beats more weaker duelists, he'll take up the offer."

"THAT'S IT!" Joey shouts and shoves Tristan to the ground, shocking everyone but Rex.

"Joey, what did you do that for?!" Fluttershy asks as she checks on Tristan.

"Didn't either of you hear or understand what I just said? I'm tired of everyone thinking that I need help all the time!" Joey explains.

"But Joey, there's nothing wrong with friends helping friends out." Twilight says, hoping to calm tempers.

"Please, Twilight, keep out of this." Joey responds. "Just let me duel."

"Fine." Tristan says as he gets up. "Go ahead and duel, just don't blame us when you lose the chance to save your sister's eyesight." Joey thinks about his sister for a minute.

"Tristan, let's just cool off for a second." Spike says.

"Forget it." Tristan responds. "If Mr. Macho wants to lose, he can do it himself."

"Tristan, dear, wait!" Rarity calls out.

"Let him go, Rarity." Joey says.

"Some trouble in paradise?" Rex asks.

"Stay out of this, your prehistoric varmint!" Applejack snaps.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Mai asks. "You plan to do what you said you would or run off and apologize to your friend?"

"I'm still standing here, aren't I?" Joey asks. "So take that as my answer. And Yugi, no offense, but per the stipulation you, Spike and the girls should stay out of this one."

"Alright, then it's dino feeding time!" Rex says aloud as the arena rises.

"We all believe you can do this, Joey." Fluttershy says as he gets into position. "Just don't forget what and who your fighting for." Joey knows what and who's he's fighting for, but it's who he's fighting against is what's making him sweat.

"Rex, don't forget our deal. Beat him, and you get to duel me." Mai says.

"I can't believe that you reduced yourself to being Mai's personal attack dog." Joey says.

"At least I ain't no dueling monkey!" Rex retorts, having heard the joke Tea made. But that tactic only gets Joey mad. "So how many chips do you want to lose to my dinos?"

"I got two, but I plan on doubling them right here!" Joey responds.

"You wish! I bet your deck isn't even prepared for the fields we'll be playing our monsters on!" Rex retorts. Of course, he's right, because Joey knows he's still having trouble using the fields he battles on in any strategic way, meaning he'll have to try and make his attacks hard and fast before any of his larger dinosaurs can come out. He then thinks he has just the cards to do the job, Baby Dragon, Polymerization and Time Wizard, and if he can use just Time Wizard or all three of those cards, Rex's dinosaurs will become fossils and his Baby Dragon will become the Thousand Dragon, remembering how effective those cards were against Mai.

"Alright, amateur-us rex! Let's duel!" Rex calls out as both players' life points set to 2000. However, Yugi, Twilight, and Fluttershy figure that something should be done on their end.

"Hey, Tea, you and the others cheer Joey on for us, me, Twilight and Fluttershy have to go see about something. Come on, you two!" Yugi says as Twilight and Fluttershy follow. Up on the field, Joey manages to get the cards he needs to play his combo on the first draw. But he soon notices that Twilght, Yugi and Fluttershy are gone, so he goes ahead and tries to play his combo early.

"Baby Dragon, defense mode!" Joey calls out as said monster appears, though Rex is baffled. As for Mai, she knows what Joey is trying to do, but is grateful that Joey can't summon another monster on his first turn.

"You never leave a baby unattended, nor defend on your first move in a duel, and you're about to find out why!" Rex calls out as he plays his first card. "Two-Headed King Rex...attack!" Right as the Two-Headed King Rex appears, it immediately stomps Baby Dragon to dust. "Poor baby. Looks like we've found out what he's made of, the hard way."

"Great. There goes my special combo." Joey says aloud.

"Just like I said, even a three year old knows better than to defend on their opening move." Rex says. "Guess you'll have to try something else, you rookie."

"Even we made mistakes in a duel before, Joey." Rarity says. "Just try not to make another one." Mai starts laughing.

"You don't get it, do you? Little Joey's already made the one fatal mistake that's gonna cost him this entire duel." Mai says. "That and ever agreeing to this match in the first place."

"Face it! With your Baby Dragon crushed, my Two-Headed King Rex can terrorize the field for the rest of the match!" Rex says aloud.

"So what if I messed up on the first move? I still have a way to beat that King Rex. Leogun!" Joey says as he plays his next card. "Show that overgrown, two-headed iguana who the real king of beasts is!" Right on cue, Leogun charges

"Wrong move, amateur." Rex says. "Since I'm playing my cards in a desert region, my King Rex gets a nice, big Power Bonus. Tough luck for your pussy cat!" Joey can't believe that Rex waited until that moment to tell him about the Field Power Bonus. "King Rex! Foot Stomp!" Within second, Leogun is flattened, dropping Joey's life points down to 1670. Rex knows that the quicker he can beat Joey, the sooner he'll get to beat Mai. "Your Baby Dragon and Leogun were just the appetizers, and my King Rex is ready to move on to the main course!"

"I've got plenty to serve, now let's see if I can get this Field Power Bonus as well." Joey says as he picks his next monster. "Axe Raider!" The monster soon appears, and its attack points were affected by the Field Power Bonus, increasing them to 2210. "Alright, now my monster's stronger!" In moments, the King Rex is sliced in half, dropping Rex's life points to 1870.

"Not bad, Joey." Spike says.

"Those two are almost even with 200 life points separating them." put in Rarity.

"Don't let it go to your head!" Rex calls out as he plays his next dinosaur. "Sword Arm of Dragon! Cut that Axe Raider down to size!" The girls and Spike were surprised, yet mostly baffled, that the Sword Arm of Dragon looks more like a Stegosaurus than a dragon. "Sword Tail Slash!" With one swipe, Joey's Axe Raider is defeated and his life points drop to 1605. Joey realizes that Rex took out three of his monsters already, and even the Field Power Bonus isn't helping much.

"Come on, Joey, you know that Rex can't intimidate a guy who's fighting for someone he cares about." Applejack says. "We're right behind you the whole way." However, Joey doesn't believe her since Tristan, Yugi, Fluttershy and Twilight left. Out in the forest, Tristan is washing himself off after Joey shoved him when Yugi, Fluttershy and Twilight show up.

"You okay, Tristan?" Yugi asks. Tristan can't believe they're not with Joey.

"Yugi, Fluttershy, Twilight? What are you three doing here, you should be helping Joey." Tristan says.

"Joey made it clear that he doesn't want help this time." Fluttershy says.

"And since you left in a huff, we figured we could try and see if you calmed down a bit." put in Twilight.

"Me being there and you three being there are two totally different things." Tristan says. "Without your support, girls, and without Yugi's coaching, Joey won't last two minutes against Rex. No matter what he said, you have to go back and help him out."

"We can't do that." Yugi says. "Just like with Mai, Joey needs to fight his battles himself and we need to respect his decision."

"Yugi!" Tristan says as he frustratingly grabs Yugi by his shirt collar.

"Tristan, calm down and listen!" Twilight says. "If we go back on our word and go against the stipulation Mai put into the duel, he'll be automatically disqualified and lose his star chips and his opportunity to help his family! His baby sister!"

"Twilight's right." Fluttershy put in. "If we don't believe in him, he won't believe in himself."

"Yeah, well...maybe I don't think he can win." Tristan says.

"You don't get it, do you?" Twilight asks. "To Joey, this is more about than winning or losing, it's about him being a strong big brother for his sister. And even thought he doesn't need our help, he needs to know he has our support." Tristan, however, isn't sure. Back at the duel, Joey's trying to find out what to do and even starts second-guessing himself. However, Joey quickly pushes those doubts aside and looks to his hand to find an answer. He then realizes he still has the Time Wizard, and even though he doesn't have the Baby Dragon to play his combo with it and Polymerization, he decides to put it on the field anyway.

"I defend with the Time Wizard!" Joey says at last. Mai then realizes what could happen if Joey tries to play it.

"Raptor! Watch that Time Wizard!" Mai calls out.

"Ah, without Yugi's help or Baby Dragon or Polymerization to play with it as his intended combo, this chump probably doesn't even know how to use it!" Rex retorts. He starts to think that if Joey tries to play another monster on his next turn, he'll simply crush it, too. While Mai starts to think that Rex may have a point in what he said about Joey, all the while, Rex passes his turn.

"To protect the Time Wizard, I play Rock Ogre Grotto in defense!" Joey says as he sets said monster.

"I figured that Joey didn't know what he was doing. So I play Megazowler!" Rex says as his monster appears. "Time to wreck that rock, old school style! Horn Ramming Charge Attack!" The giant Triceratops charges and destroys the Rock Ogre. "Reduced to Rubble! I sure sent him back to the Stone Age!"

"Fine!" Joey says. I use Polymerization to fuse Masaki, the Legendary Swordsman and Flame Manipulator in my hand to summon Flame Swordsman!" Said monster soon appears with a giant flame colored blade in hand. "Time to turn up the heat and carve that dino like it was a big turkey!"

"Didn't you see what I did to your Rock Ogre?" Rex asks. "Do you really think your puny little Flame Swordsman is gonna last any longer? Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you respect for my dinosaurs the hard way! Attack!" The Megazowler charges in for a Horn Ramming Charge Attack, but Mai realizes Rex's mistake as Joey orders the Flame Swordsman to counterattack with a Flaming Sword of Battle attack. With flames all over it, Megazowler gets burned to a crisp, baffling Rex.

"How can a swordsman beat a dinosaur?!" Rex asks in disbelief as his life points drop to 1330. Even Joey can't believe that he won that exchange.

"There is no way Joey could've known that dinosaur cards are especially vulnerable to fire." Mai says. "That jerk got lucky on that one."

"Looks like Joey found the secret to beating Rex's dinos!" Rainbow says with a smile.

"And that's gotta make Rex feel sore!" Pinkie added with a laugh, hinting that she made a joke.

"I switch my Sword Arm of Dragon to defense mode!" Rex says.

"Want some?" Joey asks. "Then come and get it!" Joey's Flame Swordsman starts slashing Dinosaurs down left and right. First Sword Arm of Dragon, then Crawling Dragon #2, then Uraby.

"Yes! We knew you'd make a comeback, Joey!" Pinkie says with glee.

"This is far from over, you know." Rex says. "One card alone won't win this for you."

"Alrighty, then. I'll just bring out another for you! Swamp Battleguard!" Joey says as he plays said monster, while its attack power increases to 2340.

"Big deal! I have a beast that can wipe that smirk off your face permanently!" Rex retorts as he draws his next card, and gets what he was looking for. "Alright! Meet the top link of the food chain! Serpent Night Dragon!" None of the girls nor Spike can believe what monster Rex just brought out. "This rare card is awarded to the elite few who made it to the final round of the regional championships each year they're held. But for a rookie loser like you, it should be an honor just to get thrashed by it! Nightmare Sonic Blast! In next to no time, Joey's Flame Swordsman is gone, along with ten of his life points.

"Oh dear." said Rarity. "I suppose that's one of the perks of being a finalist of a championship tournament." Joey starts to think that no monster in his deck can save him. He draws, and finds none other than Tristan's card, Lava Battlegaurd. He starts to remember something that happened a long time ago, when some local street thugs were picking on a kid and he stood up against them, until Tristan arrived to give him backup, though unwanted. Then, it hits him, Tristan was always looking out for him, not because he thinks he always needs help, but because he's a true friend. Soon, a familiar voice is heard calling to Joey, he turns to see it's Tristan, with Yugi, Twilight, and Fluttershy.

"We're here for you, buddy!" Tristan calls. "So how about it? You gonna take that card of mine for test drive or what?"

"You got it, pal!" Joey responds. "Go, Lava Battleguard!" Soon, both Battleguards are standing together, side by side.

"What a touching reunion!" Rex says sarcastically. "Too bad my Serpent Night Dragon is gonna blast it to shreds! Now, attack the Swamp Battleguard!" The dragon launches a Nightmare Sonic Blast, but it suddenly gets deflected right back at Serpent Night Dragon, destroying it, baffling everyone, and lowering Rex's life points to 840.

"How did my attack get deflected?! There aren't any trap cards on the field!" Rex says. Then, everyone realizes what happened.

"I get it! The Lava Battleguard blocks attacks aimed at the Swamp Battleguard, and vice versa!" Spike says in realization. "And they get 500 attack points for being on the field together!"

"Tristan's card was there right when I needed it most." Joey says, deeply touched.

"They helped each other out just like we help each other out." Applejack said. "That's what being a real friend is all about."

"Thanks for everything, man." Joey says to Tristan. "I owe you one."

"There's more to celebrate, because those two made a nice dent in Rex's life points!" Twilight said with pride.

"Right! And now that we're together again..." says Joey.

"There's not a monster Rex has that can stop us!" finished Tristan. However, Rex knows that what Tristan said is wrong, as he knows he has a super powerful monster just waiting in his deck. One that can prove to be a real powerhouse surprise.

Author's Note

For clarity's sake and for the sake of making the game make more sense, I put in the necessary fusion materials to bring Flame Swordsman onto the field.