"Sly Earthling."
The alien seemed a bit annoyed, grunting heavily.
"But the Beast of Light isn't so easily defeated!
Activate Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'! Revive a monster destroyed this turn.
Return to the field, Candelato, the Beast of Light!"
A deafening roar and blinding light. The twin-headed dragon spun back into form amidst the thunder.
[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 4000]
"This Beast of Light is the embodiment of the great Light's purifying force—the universe's purest power of destruction!" the alien proclaimed arrogantly. "It won't be beaten by a mere Earth insect!"
"Is that so? Then I'll have to step it up too."
Jaden rubbed his nose and grinned.
"Let me show you the power of my cosmic partners and brand-new heroes this turn!"
That made Mokuba's eyes light up.
"Is Jaden going to use the alien's power too?"
Kira only smiled: "Just watch."
"My turn, draw!" Jaden said. "Activate Continuous Spell 'Precious Cards from Beyond'. When I tribute two or more monsters for an Advanced Summon, I can draw two cards."
He gestured to his Fluff Tokens.
"Tribute both Fluff Tokens!
Appear, the miracle Elemental HERO who has accepted the righteous waves of darkness, coming from the distant Neo Space—
—Elemental HERO Neos!"
The two tokens vanished into light. The sky was filled with stars, the galaxy splitting the heavens. A sphere of light fell like a meteor, crashing onto Jaden's field.
Elemental HERO Neos, summoned!
[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500]
Dandylion, despite being a frequent banlist guest, is actually somewhat weaker in the real card version. In the anime, tokens could always be used as tribute, but in the card game, the turn you summon tokens you can't tribute them.
But in this scene, Jaden's tokens were summoned last turn, so even by real card rules, it's legal.
"Precious Cards from Beyond: draw two cards!"
Jaden drew.
"Next, activate Spell 'Magic Planter', send 'Precious Cards from Beyond' to the grave to draw two more cards."
"Then activate Continuous Spell 'Common Soul'! Select a monster on the field, then Special Summon a 'Neo-Spacian' from my hand. The chosen monster gains ATK equal to that Neo-Spacian's ATK.
I'll summon my new partner—
—Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!"
[Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin, ATK 600]
The moment Aqua Dolphin appeared, the researchers grew even more excited.
"Another spirit reading! This one's a spirit too!"
"Alien! It really is a cosmic spirit!"
"..."
Jaden had no time for them—the duel continued.
"Neos' ATK increases by Aqua Dolphin's ATK!"
[Elemental HERO Neos, ATK 2500 → 3100]
"Even so, it's still nothing compared to Candelato!" the alien shouted.
"Heheh, don't be so sure." Jaden grinned. "Aqua Dolphin's effect! Discard a card, choose a monster from the opponent's hand.
If your field has a higher-ATK monster, destroy the chosen card and inflict 500 damage."
Jaden discarded a card. "Aqua Dolphin's effect, sonar echo!"
Aqua Dolphin unleashed a sonic wave at the opponent's hand.
"Let's see your hand?"
"I locate your 'D.D. Scout Plane', which has lower ATK than Neos," Jaden declared. "So it's destroyed and you take 500 damage!"
The alien's card was shattered by Aqua Dolphin's echo.
[Alien, LP 4000 → 3500]
[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 4000 → 3000]
Aqua Dolphin's real card is "once per turn," but in the anime, there's no such limit. As long as you have cards to discard, you can keep activating it.
But unfortunately, sonar revealed there were no other monsters in the alien's hand, so it wasn't worth using again.
"Next, I'll Contact Fuse 'Elemental HERO Neos' and 'Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin'!"
"Contact Fusion?" Mokuba was shocked.
"Neos' fusion doesn't need 'Polymerization'—you can fuse monsters directly from the field!" Jaden raised his hand. "The miraculous Elemental HERO, evolving with the power of a Neo-Spacian partner—take on the form of water—
—Elemental HERO Aqua Neos, summoned!"
Neos and Aqua Dolphin merged in a galactic vortex, transforming into the blue Aqua Neos.
[Elemental HERO Aqua Neos, ATK 2500]
"Aqua Neos' effect: once per turn, discard a card to randomly destroy two cards from the opponent's hand!" (Anime effect)
Of course, the real card was nerfed to "discard one to destroy one," a huge downgrade.
The anime version was extremely strong, but the writers later realized that such effects were too powerful. Also, for the duel to keep up with the plot, the protagonist needed constant draw engines, so effects that could wipe out the opponent's hand were a headache for the story. After its debut, Aqua Neos was basically banned from appearing again.
But in a way, that's proof of how overpowered this Neos form was.
Hand destruction is one of the most brutal effects in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and this card could hit two at once.
The alien thus became the first to experience the "hand destruction special."
[Candelato, the Beast of Light, ATK 3000 → 1000]
With only one card left in hand, Candelato's attack shrank from Blue-Eyes level to "equal to Elemental HERO Avian."
"Damn..." the alien gritted his teeth.
With Candelato down to 1000 ATK, it would soon be defeated...
But surprisingly, Jaden didn't finish it.
"Aqua Neos returns to the Extra Deck at the end phase," Jaden said. "But I equip it with 'Instant Neo Space' from my hand.
With this equipped, Aqua Neos doesn't have to return at the end phase.
Turn end."
The alien: "?"
He's not attacking? Not finishing off Candelato?
So polite?
Wait...
The alien's eyes widened, suddenly realizing why.
Aqua Neos' ATK is 2500, so it could only deal 1500 damage, not enough for a KO.
But as long as Candelato stays on the field, the alien can never draw a card.
And his hand had already been nuked by Aqua Dolphin...
Now the alien realized how bad things were.
Na-na-na-NANI!?
Basically, as long as Jaden doesn't attack Candelato, the alien can only sit there helplessly!
His last card is the Spell "Block Attack," which can change an attacking monster to defense, but it's useless here. And Jaden already saw it last turn, so he can't even bluff.
If he uses Block Attack, Candelato's ATK will drop to 0, and he'd never win.
Maybe suicide attack with Candelato?
Nope. Doing so would take 1500 damage, dropping his LP to 2000. Next turn, a direct attack from Neos would finish him.
"Damn it..."
The alien gritted his teeth.
He really had no options left.
"Switch Candelato to defense mode."
"End... end my turn."
Yes, that's all he could do. Put Candelato in defense, at least to block one attack.
If Jaden destroys Candelato next turn, the alien can finally draw, maybe have a chance...
"My turn, draw."
Jaden said.
"I summon 'Elemental HERO Lady Heat' in defense."
[Elemental HERO Lady Heat, DEF 1000]
"Turn end."
The alien: "?"
Still not attacking? Another turn end?
But Jaden grinned.
"Lady Heat's effect: at my end phase, deal 200 damage to the opponent for each Elemental HERO on my field.
I have two, so you take 400 damage."
[Alien, LP 3500 → 3100]
The alien: "..."
Only now did this extraterrestrial duelist truly give up his last hope.
He finally understood what it means when "some people are alive, but already dead."
That's him.