Episode 1

"The Trail of Light, Pendulum Summon" (の、 ペンデュラム Hikari no Kiseki, Pendyuramu Shōkan), known as "Swing into Action: Part 1" in the Dub version, is the debut episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime.

Yūya Sakaki is an eighth grader who aims to become an "Entertainment Duelist". At You Show Duel School, he practices Dueling every day alongside his childhood friend, Yuzu. One day, he receives a written invitation for an exhibition match from the Pro Duelist, "Strong Ishijima". In the middle of a giant cheer, Yūya and Strong Ishijima begin their Duel! Although Yūya excitedly fends off Strong Ishijima's attacks in their Action Duel, he's eventually pushed into a corner. At that moment, a dazzling light shines from Yūya's pendant!

Summary
Yūya Sakaki and his friend, Noboru Gongenzaka, are having a Duel with each other. Gongenzaka controls "Superheavy Samurai Waka - "Oni"" and "Superheavy Samurai Sword - "Kyukyukyu"" and has 2600 LP remaining. On the fourth turn of the Duel, Gongenzaka Releases his two monsters to Advance Summon "Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei". Gongenzaka yells at Yūya to Duel him with a one-on-one match. Behind a nearby pagoda, Yūya exclaims, "Ladies and gentlemen!" and leaps up while riding on "Entermate Discover Hippo". He activates the Quick-Play Magic Card, "Hippo Carnival". Gongenzaka is stunned as the "Hippo Tokens" are Special Summoned and start dancing. Elsewhere, Yuzu Hīragi is watching the Duel from a computer screen, and yells at Yūya to play seriously.In her anger, Yuzu accidentally pounds the keyboard, causing it to malfunction. She panics and the machine starts to explode. Yuzu's father, Shūzō Hīragi, rushes into the room and asks what's happening. Yuzu apologizes and Shūzō exclaims that if the machine breaks, the Solid Vision would malfunction. As the machine explodes, Yūya dances and says that Entertainment Dueling is the specialty of You Show Duel School. Suddenly, the Solid Vision disappears and he falls to the ground. The blue-haired boy watching the Duel is concerned, but fortunately, Yūya manages to make a quick recovery and pull off a funny face.

The origins of Action Duels are explained. It was born when the generation of matter was integrated into Solid Vision. Duelists, their monsters and the field would become one, causing the crowd to go wild.

Back at school, Shūzō is upset and exclaims that if his hot-blooded coaching and the Solid Vision are ruined, students will leave. He panics further and adds that the school will be over. Yūya, placing his goggles over his eyes, is frustrated because he wanted to make the audience laugh even more, but he didn't get the chance because Yuzu broke the machine. Yuzu retorts that this was because Yūya was goofing off. She swats at him, but Yūya dodges and bumps into Gongenzaka. An unamused Gongenzaka says "this boy" was not laughing. Yūya removes his goggles and lightheartedly says that he was cracking up. Still angered, Gongenzaka tells Yūya that there is a difference between someone laughing at you and someone laughing with you. He reminds Yūya that his father, Yūshō Sakaki, always made other people smile with his Dueling. Gongenzaka also asks Yūya if he had forgotten the smiles that stirred within the hearts of Yūshō's audience. Yūya replies that the audience laughed at his father in the end. Yuzu and Gongenzaka yell at Yūya, still angry at him. The door opens and a man wearing a suit and shades comes in. He says there is something amiss in here. Shūzō asks who the man is. The man introduces himself as Nico Smiley, the manager and promoter of the current Action Dueling Champion, Strong Ishijima. Yūya reacts to the name in shock. He recalls an advertisement of Strong Ishijima urging others to brush up their skills at the Leo Duel School as several cards surround him. If one wanted to go pro, Strong Ishijima would be waiting for them at LDS, managed by the Leo Corporation. Nico explains that Strong Ishijima is the poster Duelist at LDS and that he would like to invite Yūya to join him on Fan Appreciation Day. Stunned, Yūya asks if Nico wanted him to join Strong Ishijima. Nico confirms it, adding that Yūya can fulfill his dream from three years ago.

Yūya begins to hesitate as he recalls a memory of the final Duel between his father and Strong Ishijima. The announcer asks what is going on and where the current champion, Yūshō, is. Strong Ishijima questions if Yūshō got cold feet. The crowd is angry, thinking that Yūshō ran away because he was afraid to lose. They continue their jeers, calling Yūshō a coward and a weakling. A young Yūya runs to the bottom of the stands and yells that his father will show up. Until then, Yūya will Duel in his father's place. His mother, Yōko Sakaki, pulls Yūya from the stands as he continues to protest. Back in the present, Nico says the preparations are complete as he shows the group a poster of Strong Ishijima. Yūya gulps in nervousness and Shūzō says he won't let Yūya compete. Frantic, Nico asks why, because Yūshō's fans would love it if his son showed up. Shūzō yells that he will not let Nico use Yūya as their show pony. Yūya is still upset and Shūzō asks Nico about how Yūya felt for all these years. He orders Nico to leave. Nico calls this unfortunate and says that as a thank you for their cooperation, Leo Corporation would give You Show Duel School the newest Solid Vision technology for free. Shūzō is excited at the offer, but Yuzu smacks him on the head with a paper fan. She chides her father for going against his word of not letting Yūya be a show pony. Shūzō begins to protest, but Yuzu says that the school is important; Gongenzaka continues that what is important is how Yūya feels. After he finishes the statement, Gongenzaka discovers that Yūya disappeared. Yuzu wonders where he went off to.

Elsewhere in Maiami City, Yūya sits on a bridge railing. He gazes into his pendant while wearing his goggles. He recalls another memory of his childhood, when he was sitting by himself, sobbing. A hand removes Yūya's goggles, causing his tears to flow out. Yūya rubs his eyes and his father, Yūshō sits next to him. Yūshō encourages his son to laugh the biggest laugh he can muster whenever he felt like crying. Yūya will start to have fun once he starts laughing, and that it will become the energy he will use to keep going. Yūshō removes the pendant Yūya is wearing and compares the advice to a pendulum: The more you push, the more it comes back. The same principle can be applied to Dueling. Yūya repeats, "Dueling" and Yūshō continues that Yūya can't do anything while he's frozen in fear. He adds that Yūya must step forward and have courage if he wanted to win and to push forward with courage, causing happiness to swing back at him. Yūshō says the pendulum can be used for discovery as well. When Yūya is lost, the pendulum can show him where he can go. In the present, Yūya thinks, "swing, pendulum, more and more", as the pendant continues swinging back and forth. Yuzu, Gongenzaka and Shūzō arrive at the Dueling arena.Nico announces the main event: Strong Ishijima, the Action Duel Champion, will Duel against the only son of Yūshō Sakaki, the Star Champion, Yūya Sakaki. Yuzu mutters Yūya's name. Gongenzaka asks if Yūya will really go against Strong Ishijima. An excited Shūzō exclaims that he can smell the brand-new Solid Vision technology, only for his daughter to smack him on the head with her paper fan again.

Nico continues that the Duel will be conducted using the Action Duel rules. A card appears in his hand and he throws it into the sky, activating the Field Magic Card, "Frontier Fang Castle". Underground, the Solid Vision machine releases several light beams, causing a castle to appear above ground. Nico marvels at the sight, noting that the Solid Vision castle can be easily mistaken for the real thing. He introduces Strong Ishijima, who is on top of the castle, as the Ultimate King of Action Dueling for three years. Strong Ishijima yells out a battle cry as the crowd cheers. Nico introduces the "young challenger to the Ultimate King", Yūya Sakaki. Shūzō cheers, but stops short when he realizes that Yūya is not showing up. Nico himself is stunned as well. A man in the audience asks if Yūya ran away, while another says he did it just like his father three years ago. A third man notes that Yūya is a coward, "like father, like son". Yuzu tells them to hold on a minute, but Gongenzaka and Shūzō stop her. Strong Ishijima is disappointed because he thought that Yūshō would show up if he dragged his son out here. He can't be the true Ultimate King unless he defeated Yūshō as a result. Yūya, dressed in a clown outfit, sneaks up behind him. A woman asks who that is, while another woman says he must be a clown. The same boy from Yūya's previous Duel is also watching the spectacle. Behind Strong Ishijima, Yūya continues to dance and make funny faces. Yuzu recognizes the clown as Yūya. The crowd yells at Strong Ishijima to look behind him. Strong Ishijima turns, to find Yūya behind him. He asks if he is that "brat" of Yūshō's. Yūya bows to Strong Ishijima mockingly. This enrages him, causing him to ask if that is how Yūya respects the Champion. Yūya removes his clown mask and apologizes for his rudeness, and to make up for it, he requests to Strong Ishijima to allow him the honor of Dueling him. Yūya activates his Duel Disk, ready to Duel. He wonders how great Strong Ishijima is. Strong Ishijima tells Yūya to know his place as he activates his own Duel Disk and adds that he will show Yūya the skills of a pro and give him some discipline. Yūya smiles at the statement. Nico exclaims that this was an unexpected turn of events, but both players are ready.He tells both players to draw five cards to start the Duel. Nico announces that the Duelists will kick across the earth and fly across the air with their monsters, while encouraging the audience to fix their eyes on the "ultimate evolution of Dueling," the Action... "DUEL!" Yūya and Strong Ishijima yell. Nico snaps his fingers and Action Cards are scattered throughout the battlefield.

Strong Ishijima lets Yūya go first, but reminds him that he cannot draw on the first turn. Yūya yells that he will show the audience what a classic Action Duel looks like, as he waltzes up to a zip line and glides down on it, much to Strong Ishijima's surprise. For his first performance, Yūya Normal Summons "Entermate Discover Hippo". Yūya jumps off the zip line and lands on his monster's back. He tells Strong Ishijima to catch him if he can as "Discover Hippo" runs off. The same male audience member from before asks if Yūya is running away already. His companion says that Yūshō's son being quick at running is no surprise. The blue-haired boy watches in awe. Yuzu asks what Yūya is doing. Gongenzaka is upset as well and says Yūya should face Strong Ishijima proudly. From the castle, Strong Ishijima watches as Yūya and "Discover Hippo" escape into the forest. He mutters that it won't be long until he catches him. He draws "Barbarian King". Strong Ishijima activates "Feast of the Wild LV5", allowing him to Special Summon two Level 5 Warrior-Type monsters from his hand with their effects negated. He Summons "Barbarian 1" and "Barbarian 2". As the "Barbarians" jump to the ground, Strong Ishijima Releases them to Advance Summon "Barbarian King", which pushes several trees out of the way and roars. Nico exclaims that Strong Ishijima Summoned his ace monster as the audience cheers. Yūya stops short upon seeing Strong Ishijima's monster blocking his path.

Strong Ishijima says that while Yūshō got away from him, there's no escape for Yūya. He declares an attack on "Discover Hippo" with "Barbarian King", as the monster swings its club. Yūya manages to find an Action Card, "Evasion", and subsequently activates it. This negates the attack. Yūya declares "Rolling Hippo" as "Discover Hippo" does a somersault, allowing it and Yūya to avoid the attack. Gongenzaka exclaims that Yūya can't just win by evading and that he needs to fight. A voice behind him says that Yūya is indeed fighting. He turns around to find Yōko Sakaki behind him, much to Shūzō's surprise. Yōko says that Yūya is reinventing himself while fighting. Back at the Duel, Yūya and "Discover Hippo" are running away from "Barbarian King". Strong Ishijima notes that Yūya can use Action Cards effectively, just as expected. Professionals, however, can go beyond that. He reveals the effect of "Barbarian King": when it is Advance Summoned by Releasing a "Barbarian" monster, it can attack twice during the same Battle Phase. Yūya is surprised at this. "Barbarian King" brings down its club, seemingly destroying Yūya's monster. Nico exclaims that "Barbarian King" did it, but is surprised to find Yūya and "Discover Hippo" escaping from the destruction unscathed. Strong Ishijima is surprised as well, and Yūya says he managed to escape just in time. He reveals that he activated the Action Card, "Miracle", preventing the destruction of his monster by battle and halving the battle damage. This reduces his LP to 2900. The two male audience members are amazed and one of them says that Yūya is going toe-to-toe against the Champion. Strong Ishijima Sets a card and ends his turn.

Yuzu asks Yōko on what she means about Yūya reinventing himself. Yōko replies that Yūya spent the last three years behind the mask of a clown. He made fun of himself before letting others make fun of him for his father running away. She continues that Yūya wants to be like his father, the legendary Duelist he admired since he was a boy. Yūya begins his turn and draws "Odd-Eyes Dragon". Yūya is satisfied that he got the card. "Discover Hippo" jumps up several pillars and Yūya announces the climax of his show. He explains that "Discover Hippo" can be treated as two Releases for a Advance Summon. "Discover Hippo" runs to the edge of the platform, jumps off and disappears. This leaves Yūya in a free-fall as he removes his clown outfit and Releases "Discover Hippo" to Advance Summon "Odd-Eyes Dragon".

Yūya lands on the back of "Odd-Eyes" and says the fun is just beginning. From the stands, Shūzō exclaims that this is Yūshō's catchphrase, causing his blood to burn with excitement, while Yōko watches Yūya proudly. She thinks that Yūya was waiting for this moment. Strong Ishijima chides Yūya for using his father's catchphrase, as a coward would. Yūya contacts Strong Ishijima and affirms that his father is not a coward. He will win the Duel using the skills Yūshō taught him to prove that he is stronger than anyone else. Strong Ishijima says that "Odd-Eyes" only has 2500 ATK, which is lower than that of "Barbarian King". Yūya says, "we'll see about that", and activates the Continuous Magic Card, "Wonder Balloon". A multicolored box appears in front of Yūya. Yūya dashes into the forest, finding three Action Cards. He sends them to the Graveyard as Nico commentates on the spectacle. After doing this, Yūya yells that he will send "Wonder Balloon" flying off and explains that for each card he sent from his hand to the Graveyard, a balloon will appear. He can then send "Wonder Balloon" to the Graveyard to reduce an opponent's monster's ATK by 1000 for each balloon that was sent out until the End Phase. The balloons surrounding "Barbarian King" pop and trap it in even more balloons. Yūya says that it lost 3000 ATK, making its ATK 0. Nico exclaims that Yūya managed to turn the Duel around with the clever use of Action Cards. Strong Ishijima says that a player cannot hold more than one Action Card at a time. He notes that Yūya wasn't just running around - he was finding out the locations of the Action Cards.

Yūya holds up his pendant and replies that he has a knack for finding things. The two male audience members are stunned and say that Yūya has the Champion on the ropes. As the crowd cheers, Yūya thinks this is the acclaim that his father felt at the stadium. He urges "Odd-Eyes" to get the crowd going even more. "Odd-Eyes" prepares an attack on "Barbarian King" as the blue orb on its chest gleams. Yūya explains the effect of "Odd-Eyes": when it destroys a monster by battle, it inflicts damage to the opponent equal to half the ATK of the destroyed monster. Since "Barbarian King" has 3000 ATK, Strong Ishijima will take 1500 damage from its effect. Strong Ishijima then realizes that with the 2500 ATK from "Odd-Eyes", this will total 4000 damage and he will lose. Yūya says he will win in one turn and declares an attack with "Odd-Eyes". He declares "Spiral Flame" as "Odd-Eyes" releases a crimson stream of fire from its mouth at Strong Ishijima's monster, causing a huge explosion in the arena. Shūzō exclaims that Yūya won, while Gongenzaka and Yuzu yell Yūya's name. The crowd cheers at the victory.

When the smoke clears, "Barbarian King" is still on the field, trapped in the balloons. It lets out a loud roar. Yuzu asks why this happened. Strong Ishijima reveals that he activated his own Action Card, "Miracle", which was the same card Yūya used earlier. Nico exclaims that the Champion did not let them down as always. Strong Ishijima says this is all there is to Yūshō's Dueling as he leaps from the castle tower and activates the Continuous Trap Card, "Barbarian Rage". When he takes damage, he can have a "Barbarian" monster he controls gain 2000 ATK. Frustrated that he missed the win, Yūya ends his turn. Strong Ishijima continues that "Wonder Balloon" wears off, allowing "Barbarian King" to regain its original ATK. "Barbarian King" destroys the balloons surrounding it, increasing its ATK to 5000. Yuzu exclaims that not only did "Barbarian King" return to normal, it got stronger than before. Strong Ishijima says this is the beginning of Yūya's requiem and starts his turn. Yūya turns around and starts to run away. Strong Ishijima says Yūya won't get away and orders "Barbarian King" to attack "Odd-Eyes". As he tries to escape, Yūya sees an Action Card on a tree, but before he can reach it, "Barbarian King" brings its club down on "Odd-Eyes", destroying it and sending Yūya flying. Yūya is pitched to the ground as his Life Points fall to 400. Strong Ishijima, standing on the hand of "Barbarian King", tells Yūya that "Barbarian Rage" returns a monster destroyed by battle with "Barbarian King" to its owner's hand instead of sending it to the Graveyard. He then activates "Barbarian Magic", allowing him to gain Life Points equal to half the ATK of "Odd-Eyes". This restores him to 4000 Life Points, much to Yuzu's surprise. Strong Ishijima continues that "Barbarian King" can only attack monsters twice, allowing Yūya to survive for another turn. He Sets a card and ends his turn.

Strong Ishijima urges Yūya to start his turn and draw a card. He also offers Yūya a chance to surrender, turning tail and running away just like his father. Yūya yells that he will never run, but stops and realizes he has all monsters in his hand - "Stargazer Magician", "Entermate Whip Viper", "Entermate Sword Fish" and "Odd-Eyes Dragon". He is unsure on what to do. Back at the stands, Yuzu mutters Yūya's name as Gongenzaka, Yōko and Shūzō watch. Yūya starts to doubt himself - he calls the situation hopeless and wonders if he has what it takes to take his father's place. He recalls the words Yūshō said to him during his childhood. Rejuvenated, Yūya begins his turn and declares, "Swing pendulum! More and more!" as he draws "Timegazer Magician". Yūya's pendant starts to glow with a blue light. Yūya's cards, "Timegazer Magician", "Stargazer Magician" and "Odd-Eyes Dragon", are also surrounded by the same light. Surprised, Yūya watches the Monster Cards transform into half-orange, half-green cards with twin effect boxes and widened art frames - Pendulum Monsters, while "Odd-Eyes Dragon" transforms into "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Yūya continues his turn, placing "Timegazer Magician" in the left Pendulum Zone and "Stargazer Magician" in the right Pendulum Zone. As he does so, the word "Pendulum" appears on his Duel Disk. Both of Yūya's Pendulum Monsters are surrounded in pillars of light as they rise up and an an enlarged version of Yūya's pendant appears between them. Yūya explains that he can Pendulum Summon monsters between Levels 2 and 7, as the Pendulum Scales of "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician" are 1 and 8, respectively. Strong Ishijima asks what's Yūya chants, "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether!" as a portal appears overhead and three rays of light burst through. He Pendulum Summons "Entermate Whip Viper", "Entermate Sword Fish" and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Yuzu, Shūzō, Gongenzaka and Yōko are stunned by the turn of events as Yūya stands before Strong Ishijima, determined to defeat him.

Yūya Sakaki vs. Noboru Gongenzaka
Duel already in progress. Yūya has 4000 LP remaining, no cards in his hand, and controls "Entermate Discover Hippo" (CG Star 3/800/800) in Attack Position and 1 Set card. Gongenzaka has 2600 LP remaining, 4 cards in his hand, and controls "Superheavy Samurai Waka - "Oni" (CG Star 4/0/2000) and "Superheavy Samurai Sword - "Kyukyukyu"" (CG Star 3/1000/1800) both in Defense Position and no Set cards.

Turn 4: Gongenzaka

Gongenzaka Releases "Samurai Waka - "Oni"" and "Samurai Sword - "Kyukyukyu"" to Advance Summon "Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei" (CG Star 8/1000/3500) in face-up Defense Position by its effect. Yūya activates his face-down "Hippo Carnival", Special Summoning three "Hippo Tokens" (CG Star 1/0/0 each) to his field.

Due to the Solid Vision machine breaking at this point, the Duel ends with no conclusion.

Yūya Sakaki vs. Strong Ishijima
At the start of the Duel, the Field Magic Card "Frontier Fang Castle" is activated, as per the rules of an Action Duel. It will allow the players to use Action Cards, but they may only have one in their hand at a time.

Turn 1: Yūya

Yūya Normal Summons "Entermate Discover Hippo" (CG Star 3/800/800).

Turn 2: Strong Ishijima

Strong Ishijima draws "Barbarian King". He activates "Feast of the Wild LV5", letting him Special Summon two Level 5 Warrior-Type monsters from his hand, but their effects are negated. He Special Summons "Barbarian #2" (CG Star 5/1800/1500) and "Barbarian #1" (CG Star 5/1550/1800), both in Attack Position. Strong Ishijima Releases both of them to Advance Summon "Barbarian King" (CG Star 8/3000/1100). "Barbarian King" attacks "Discover Hippo", but Yūya finds and activates the Action Card "Evasion", which negates the attack. As "Barbarian King" was Advanced Summoned using at least 1 "Barbarian" monster, it may attack again, as long as the attack target is a monster. "Barbarian King" attacks "Discover Hippo", but Yūya finds and activates another Action Card, "Miracle", preventing its destruction by battle and halving the battle damage (Yūya: 4000 → 2900 LP). Strong Ishijima Sets 1 card.

Turn 3: Yūya

Yūya draws "Odd-Eyes Dragon". He Releases "Hippo", which treats itself as two Advances via its effect, to Advance Summon "Odd-Eyes Dragon" (CG Star 7/2500/2000). Yūya activates "Wonder Balloon", which allows him to send cards from his hand to the Graveyard to place a counter on it. Yūya finds and sends three Action Cards (two "Evasion" and a "Miracle") to the Graveyard, placing three counters on it ("Wonder Balloon": 0 → 3 counters). Yūya activates the second effect of "Wonder Balloon", sending it to the Graveyard and targeting "Barbarian King" to decrease the latter's ATK by 1000 for each counter "Wonder Balloon" had until the End Phase ("Barbarian King": 3000 → 0/1100). "Odd-Eyes" attacks "Barbarian King", but Strong Ishijima activates the Action Card "Miracle", preventing the destruction of "Barbarian King" and halving the battle damage (Strong Ishijima: 4000 → 2750 LP). He then activates his face-down "Barbarian Rage" as he took battle damage, targeting "Barbarian King" to increase its ATK by 2000 ("Barbarian King": 0 → 2000/1100). At the End Phase, the effect of "Wonder Balloon" expires ("Barbarian King": 2000 → 5000/1100).

Turn 4: Strong Ishijima

"Barbarian King" attacks "Odd-Eyes Dragon". Yūya finds an Action Card, but the attack of "Barbarian King" destroys "Odd-Eyes" before he can get the card (Yūya: 2900 → 400 LP). Due to the effect of "Barbarian Rage", "Odd-Eyes Dragon" returns to Yūya's hand instead of going to the Graveyard. Strong Ishijima then activates "Barbarian Magic", increasing his LP by an amount equal to half the ATK of a monster returned to the hand (Strong Ishijima: 2750 → 4000 LP). Strong Ishijima Sets 1 card.

Turn 5: Yūya

Yūya's hand contains "Odd-Eyes Dragon", "Stargazer Magician", "Entermate Sword Fish" and "Entermate Whip Viper". Yūya draws "Timegazer Magician". Yūya's pendant transforms "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician" into Pendulum Monsters and transforms "Odd-Eyes Dragon" into "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Yūya places "Timegazer Magician" (Left Pendulum Scale 8) and "Stargazer Magician" (Right Pendulum Scale 1) in his Pendulum Zones. Yūya Pendulum Summons "Entermate Whip Viper" (CG Star 4/1700/900), "Entermate Sword Fish" (CG Star 2/600/600) and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (CG Star 7/2500/2000), all from his hand in Attack Position.

Duel continues in the next episode.

List of Featured Characters

 * Yūya Sakaki
 * Yūshō Sakaki
 * Yōko Sakaki
 * Yuzu Hīragi
 * Shūzō Hīragi
 * Noboru Gongenzaka
 * Strong Ishijima
 * Nico Smiley
 * Tatsuya Yamashiro

Media
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