Right outside Room 160, a sign was posted that said "Buddyfight Club Tryouts". The sign had been there all day, but so far, no one seemed interested. Inside, Dan and Katarina were confused. Why would no one in a school that seems extremely interested in Buddyfight want to join a Buddyfight Club? They kept asking themselves that question all through lunch.
Suddenly, Dan said, "We need a big old Buddyfight in the school commons!"
"I tried that..." answered Katarina. "The schedule is full for an entire month."
"An entire month?! How?"
"The Athletics Club has both the commons and the gymnasium booked for an entire month."
"What could they possibly be doing for an entire month?!" As Dan said that, a group of students ran by the window. Dan and Katarina made their way outside only to see a large crowd of students training for various events.
"One! And two! And one! And two! Come on! We've only got a month to practice!"
"This is why... " Katarina said to Dan. "They're training for the School Carnival."
"What's the School Carnival?" Dan asked. As he finished his question, Raiki runs past them. After he noticed them, he ran backwards to talk to them.
"The School Carnival is the most prestigious event in a middle schooler's life," answered Raiki. "It is a great honor for a middle schooler to have a good showing at the School Carnival. That means you can attend the best high schools in the country."
Dan was confused.
"Were you born yesterday or something?" Raiki continued. "Middle schools from across the country put teams together and compete for top marks in over a hundred different events, many of which Harumi Middle School has a fine tradition of winning." He then tosses Katarina a catalog. "Now, if either of you are interested, I can squeeze the two of you into the club."
"We'll definitely consider it," Dan replied, "But for now, we have a huge favor to ask you."
"Shoot."
"We need to borrow the commons for a short presentation for our Buddyfight Club."
"Sorry," Raiki immediately answered, "No can do. As much as I enjoy Buddyfight, the club president won't allow us to make concessions for any club, even the Buddyfight Club."
Katarina finished flipping through the catalog. "I'm sure he'd be fine with it if he knew Buddyfight was one of the premier events at the Carnival. Right there alongside baseball." Raiki grabbed the catalog and immediately started reading it.
"You're right!" Raiki realized. "How did I not see this before?"
"Maybe because Buddyfight was banned here up until a week ago?"
Raiki looked around quickly, then said, "Okay, but make it quick. I don't want the coach catching us slacking."
"Okay, everyone," Katarina began, "Shidou and Raiki are going to demonstrate how to play Buddyfight. I'll help you follow along by explaining a few things."
"The world is but a dream, but illusions are what you make of them! Luminize! Illusion Ritual!"
"Strongest knights fear no one! Awaken your hidden strength, and trample your enemies! Luminize! Evoknight Revolution!"
"Each player starts out with 10 life points and a deck of 50 cards, as well as a flag card and a Buddy card." A hand went up in the air. "Yes, you in the front?"
"What's a Buddy card?"
"A Buddy card shows the monster you chose to fight with." Another hand. "Yes? Third row... all the way to the left?"
"What's a flag card?"
"Good question. Buddyfight allows you to choose from many different worlds to help you win. Your flag card shows what works you are fighting for. When both players are ready, they say BUDDYFIGHT!!!"
"Raise the flag!"
"Magic World!"
"Danger World!"
"Evoknight Kraken!"
"Illusion Dragon, Danzari!"
"Dan has the first move," Katarina continued her lesson.
Meanwhile, a girl was watching the fight from behind a tree. She looked very nervous.
"Each player starts out with six hand cards and two gauge." Another hand. "Third to the left of center?"
"What's a gauge?"
"The gauge is how you pay for most costs in Buddyfight," Katarina explained. "Those are the glowing cards to the player's right."
"Draw! Charge and draw!" Dan demonstrated how to start the turn.
"What Dan did is how each player begins the turn. You draw, then charge and draw."
"Draw, then a charge and a draw?"
"To draw is to add the top card of your deck to your hand cards," Katarina answered quickly, "To charge is to put a hand card into the gauge. Then, you draw again."
"I call Illusion Dragon, Dancat to the center!" Dan continued. "Then I Buddy Call Illusion Dragon, Danzari to the center!" (Dan: 10→11)
"Why did Shidou's life go up?"
"Dan has received a Buddy Gift," Katarina explained. "When you Buddy Call a monster, you gain one life, but you can only Buddy Call once per game." The audience began to understand what was happening.
"Danzari! Attack the fighter!"
"On it!" Danzari threw himself towards Raiki and struck him with an ice beam. (Raiki: 10→8)
END OF MOVE
"My turn," Raiki then said, "I draw! Then I charge and draw! If you're gonna Buddy Call this early, I might as well do the same! I Buddy Call Evoknight Kraken to the left!" (Raiki: 8→9)
"Raiki's Evoknight deck relies on making lots of high-powered attacks in a single turn, while Dan's Mystic Dragon deck tries to compile lots of gauge for devastating special moves."
"Evoknight Kraken, a Size 2 monster with 10000 Power, 4000 Defense, and a Critical of 2. It is my Buddy, and the card that will help me win. I activate Kraken's effect. By paying 3 gauge, I get to draw a card and call a monster from my hand. Come forth, Evoknight Cerberus!"
"Hold up!"
"Yes?" Katarina asked.
"This paper here says the size limit is 3. How come he has 2 Size 2 monsters on the field?"
"Until the end of the turn, the monster called by this ability is treated as Size 0," Katarina answered.
"That's right, and Cerberus can attack Dan right away!" Raiki added. "Attack Danzari!"
"The attack won't go through!" Dan answered.
"That's what you think!" Raiki answered back.
"What?!"
"I cast! Evothunder Overdrive! With this spell in play, all Evoknights on my field get 10000 Power!"
"Danzari will remain on the field thanks to his Soulguard!"
"That's what I was planning!" Raiki answered. "Cerberus can attack a second time if that attack doesn't deal damage. But first, I equip Evoblade, Evovulcan!"
"Evovulcan is an item card that gets an additional 5000 Power and 2 Critical if Raiki's center area is open," Katarina explained.
"Now it's my turn!" Raiki declared, before charging right at Danzari. Once again, Danzari's Soulguard kept him on the field. (Dan: 11→9)
"What was that?!" Dan asked, feeling a pain he shouldn't have.
"Evovulcan can deal Penetrate damage when it attacks and destroys a monster," Raiki explained. "Now, Cerberus, attack Danzari again!" The monstrous three-headed hound charged at Danzari and delivered another devastating blow. While Soulguard was activated again, Danzari was now out of Soulguards.
"Now, Kraken, attack the fighter! Its effect activates! I pay 2 life and restand Cerberus!" (Raiki: 9→7)
I don't have any defensive cards in my hand... Dan unfortunately thought to himself. He allowed the attack to land. (Dan: 9→7)
"Cerberus, attack the fighter! Its effect activates! Evoburst!"
"Evoburst?" asked a member of the audience.
"I reveal the top card of my deck, and if it's an Evoknight, I can add that card to my hand and stand another monster. Stand up, Evoknight Kraken!" That attack landed as well. (Dan: 7→5) "Attack one more time, Kraken!" That attack also landed. (Dan: 5→3). Dan was blown away by the successive series of strong attacks. He stood back up rather quickly.
"Why isn't the program saying End of Move?" Dan was unprepared for what Raiki had in store next.
"Final Phase!" Raiki declared.
"What?!"
"I pay 3 life and cast! Evoknight Overaccelerate! This impact deals four damage to you, which cannot be negated or reduced to 0!" Dan was now surrounded by Evoknights.
"Shidou!" "This is bad!" "Oh my!"
"Impact! Evoknight! Overaccelerate!" One by one, the Evoknights attacked Dan, enveloping him in a cloud of smoke and dust, and reducing his life points to 0. Raiki has successfully defeated Dan in a single turn. The crowd was stunned. Katarina struggled to explain that this didn't happen all the time, although she probably didn't have to. The crowd loved every moment of the fight, however short the fight was. After the smoke cleared, Raiki walked over to Dan.
"You okay?" he asked Dan, before a voice bellowed right behind them. It was the coach and staff sponsor of the Athletics Club. He was a large, towering figure who spoke in a deep, stern voice. Simply hearing this voice would make one feel as if they were getting in trouble, even if they were not.
"I TURN MY BACK FOR ONE MOMENT AND THE ENTIRE ATHLETICS CLUB IS SLACKING OFF AND PLAYING A CHILDREN'S CARD GAME?! THIS IS UTTERLY DESPICABLE! YOU ALL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!!"
Raiki couldn't speak in his own defense, so Dan and Katarina helped him out. Katarina handed the coach the pamphlet Raiki gave them.
"We saw that Buddyfight was a part of the School Carnival, so we decided to reach the club how to play," Dan told him.
"IS THAT SO? RAIKI! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS SOONER?!"
"Well," Dan answered for Raiki, "We didn't even know until today."
"WELL, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, YOU TWO!" the coach bellowed out in a stern, but somewhat happy voice. "IF YOU TWO NEED ANYTHING, FEEL FREE TO VISIT MY OFFICE, OKAY?"
"Uh... okay," Dan answered. The coach then went to his office. Katarina began to laugh.
"Guess the coach isn't as scary as we thought, right Raiki?" Katarina asked him. Silence. "Raiki?" She turned him around, only to see that his entire body became pale as if he were a ghost. Dan and Katarina might not have been scared of the coach, but Raiki knew the coach longer. He was still scary to Raiki. Seeing Raiki's ghostly pale face caused the rest of the club to laugh.
Dan said quietly to himself, "Three down, two to go." Meanwhile, a girl who was watching the entire fight barely showed her face from behind a tree. Being nervous as she is, she was afraid someone was watching her, she hid herself again.
Dan: And now for the card intro segment! At the end of each episode, I'll talk about an important card you'll need to think about when you Buddyfight.
Today's card is Raiki's ace in the hole, Evoknight Kraken! This monster has the ability to call another monster from your hand, which then immediately attacks your opponent! And if that attack doesn't deal damage, you can stand it again! And when Kraken attacks, you can pay 2 life and stand another monster on your field! With just two cards, you can make up to four attacks! Be sure to combo this card with other Evoknight cards for even more attacks!
I hope everyone tries out this card at least once. With this card, you can take your skills to the next level! Let's Buddyfight!
Dan: That was close!
Katarina: Close? That fight was an OTK! Not even close at all!
Dan: OTK?
Katarina: A one-turn knockout. He beat you in one turn!
Raiki: I think you mean "one-turn kill". A one-turn knockout is a OTKO.
Shingo: An OTKO doesn't even exist! Now, an OHKO exists, and that's—
Katarina: Shingo? What are you doing in this preview?
Shingo: The prince of the night doesn't reveal his reasons.
Raiki: Kat's right though, the fight wasn't even close.
Dan: Oh yeah, but if I had won, we wouldn't have had Raiki join the club!
Katarina: Well, now that the whole Athletics Club is interested in the game, we'll get to five members in no time!
Dan: I sure hope so, but in the meantime, let's all have a good Buddyfight!
Next Chapter: Brave Up! I Can Be a Hero Too!