Yu - Gi - Oh ! - Episode 173 " Fighting for a Friend - Part 5 " is the one hundred and seventy - third episode of the " Yu - Gi - Oh ! " second series anime . It first aired in Japan on October 1 , 2003 and in the US on April 16 , 2005 . Summary . Mai continues to Duel Joey . Just as she ' s about to inflict the final blow and seal Joey ' s soul away forever , she suddenly hesitates and stops her attack . Mai can ' t understand at first why she is hesitating , as she thinks winning will mean she has finally stepped out of the shadow of Joey ' s success and keep him out of her way for good . Joey , exhausted by the previous Duel , collapses and declares Mai the winner . Mai rushes to him , memories of their friendship washing over her , and declares that she will not let his soul be taken . But Joey says it ' s too late and , still protecting her , pushes her out of the ever shrinking circle . In the process , his hand catches on Mai ' s Orichalcos fragment and it gets removed , crumbling as the seal passes over it on its way to claims Joey . The scene changes to Dartz as Mai ' s fragment shatters , and he exclaims that Mai is now free . However , he senses a powerful soul has been captured for the Orichalcos , and is glad to have finally seized the soul of one of the " Chosen Duelists . " Joey ' s soul is claimed ; Mai cradles Joey in her arms , and then starts crying . She truly regrets what she ' s done . She realizes that blaming Joey for the loneliness she felt was wrong ; she acknowledges Joey as not just the only person who ever honestly cared about her , but also as the best friend that she ever had , and how did she repay him for all of his kindness ? By leaving him for that madman who promised her power . Now free from Dartz ' s spell , Mai decides to go challenge him directly , determined to set things right and set Joey free , and make Dartz regret the day he met Mai Valentine . As she leaves , she picks up Joey ' s " Hermos " card from the ground where it fell before hopping on her motorcycle and racing toward Paradius Inc . Home Office . Once inside , she ' s confronted by a mysterious figure whom she seems to know . Meanwhile , " Timaeus " materializes from the Pharaoh ' s card and " Critias " leaves Kaiba ' s battle . The duo appear over the city , keening in lament and mourning the fall of their companion . Kaiba is surprised at Critias ' s behavior , brushing it off as a hologram malfunction and continuing to stubbornly ignore the truth he knows in his heart . An anxious Yami Yugi , Téa and Tristan finally stumble upon the site of Joey ' s duels , only to be stunned when they see Valon ' s and , especially , Joey ' s soulless bodies sitting propped against the chain - link fence . Featured Duel : Mai Valentine vs . Joey Wheeler - Part 2 . " Duel continues from previous episode . " Joey has 3600 Life Points remaining and controls three " Sheep Tokens " in Defense Position . Mai has 3600 Life Points remaining and controls two " Cyber Harpies " ( 2600 / 1300 for " Cyber Harpie " equipped with " Aero Nail " ) ( 2300 / 1300 for other " Cyber Harpie " ) and four " Copy Tokens " ( 2300 / 1300 ) in Attack Position and " Aero Nail " ( equipped to one " Cyber Harpie " ) and " The Seal of Orichalcos " . Turn 6 : Joey Joey draws . He then Normal Summons " Swordsman of Landstar " ( 500 / 1200 ) in Defense Position and Sets two cards . Turn 7 : Mai Mai draws . One " Cyber Harpie " attacks " Swordsman of Landstar " , but Joey activates his face - down " Double Magical Arm Bind " to Tribute two " Sheep Tokens " and take control of two of Mai ' s " Cyber Harpies " ( Two Cyber Harpie Ladies : 2300 → 1800 / 1300 ) . Joey then activates his face - down " Vow of Tribe " , which prevents any monsters that exist on both sides of the field from attacking this turn . Because of that , the attack of " Cyber Harpie " on " Swordsman of Landstar " is negated . Turn 8 : Joey Joey draws . He then Tributes his two " Cyber Harpies " and " Swordsman of Landstar " in order to Tribute Summon " Gilford the Lightning " ( 2800 / 1400 ) in Attack Position . Since " Gilford the Lightning " was Tribute Summoned by Tributing three monsters , its effect activates , destroying all monsters on Mai ' s side of the Field . " Gilford the Lightning " attacks directly ( Mai 3600 → 800 ) . Turn 9 : Mai Mai draws " Card of Sanctity " and subsequently activates it to make her and Joey Draw until both have six cards in their hand ( Mai draws three cards , while Joey draws four cards ) . The cards Joey drew were " Gearfried the Iron Knight " , " Magic Arm Shield " , " Kunai with Chain " , and " Knight of Dark Dragon " . Mai then activates " Monster Reborn " to Special Summon " Cyber Harpie " ( 1800 → 2300 / 1300 ) from her Graveyard in Attack Position . She then activates " Elegant Egotist " to transform " Cyber Harpie " into the " Harpie Lady Sisters " ( 1800 → 2300 / 1300 ) in Attack Position . Mai then activates " Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation " to destroy Joey ' s " Gilford the Lightning " and last remaining Sheep Token and inflict damage to Joey equal to the total ATK of his destroyed monsters ( Joey 3600 → 800 ) , however no Harpie monsters can attack this turn . Turn 10 : Joey Joey draws " The Claw of Hermos " . He then activates " The Warrior Returning Alive " to return " Blue Flame Swordsman " from his Graveyard to his Hand . Joey then Normal Summons " Blue Flame Swordsman " ( 1800 / 1600 ) in Attack Position . He then activates " Dark Dragon Ritual " to Tribute " Gearfried the Iron Knight " from his Hand and Ritual Summon " Knight of Dark Dragon " ( 1900 / 1200 ) in Attack Position . Joey then activates the effect of " Knight of Dark Dragon " to Tribute the latter and Special Summon " Red - Eyes Black Dragon " ( 2400 / 2000 ) from his Deck in Attack Position . Due to the secondary effect of " Knight of Dark Dragon " , " Red - Eyes Black Dragon " cannot attack in the same Turn that it was Summoned via the effect of " Knight of Dark Dragon " . Joey then activates " The Claw of Hermos " to fuse it with " Red - Eyes Black Dragon " and form " Red - Eyes Black Dragon Sword " . Joey then equips " Blue Flame Swordsman " with " Red - Eyes Black Dragon Sword " , which increases the ATK of " Blue Flame Swordsman " by 1000 ( " Blue Flame Swordsman " : 1800 → 2800 / 1600 ) . " Blue Flame Swordsman " attacks and destroys Mai ' s first " Harpie Lady Sister " ( Mai 800 → 300 ) . Joey then Sets two cards ( " Kunai with Chain " and " Magic Arm Shield " ) . Turn 11 : Mai Mai draws " Harpie ' s Feather Duster " and subsequently activates it to destroy all of Joey ' s Spell and Trap Card s ( " Blue Flame Swordsman " : 2800 → 1800 / 1600 ) . Mai then activates " Spell Reproduction " to discard two Spell Card s and add " Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation " from her Graveyard to her Hand . Mai then activates " Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation " to destroy all monsters Joey controls and inflict their total ATK to Joey as damage , but Joey activates the first effect of " Blue Flame Swordsman " to transfer all of its ATK ( " Blue Flame Swordsman " : 1800 → 0 / 1600 ) to one of Mai ' s " Harpie Lady Sisters " ( " Harpie Lady Sister " : 2300 → 4100 / 1300 ) before it ' s destroyed . " Blue Flame Swordsman " is destroyed . Since " Blue Flame Swordsman " was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard , Joey activates its second effect to Special Summon the original " Flame Swordsman " ( 1800 / 1600 ) from his Graveyard in Attack Position ( NOTE : in the anime , " Flame Swordsman " is not a Fusion Monster ) . Since Mai activated " Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation " , none of her Harpies can attack this turn , so she ends her turn . Turn 12 : Joey Joey draws a card and subsequently sets it . Turn 13 : Mai Mai draws " Mirror Wall " . The boosted " Harpie Lady Sister " attacks Joey ' s " Flame Swordsman " , but Joey activates his face - down " Skull Dice " to roll a die and divide the ATK of the boosted " Harpie Lady Sister " by the result . Joey gets a two ( " 1st Harpie Lady Sister " : 4100 → 2050 / 1300 ) . " Harpie Lady Sister " destroys Joey ' s " Flame Swordsman " ( Joey 800 → 550 ) . Mai is about to order her second " Harpie Lady Sister " to attack directly , which would lead to her victory , but she decides not to after being reminded of all that she and Joey have been through . However , Joey is unable to continue the Duel as he is too exhausted to continue , so he surrenders . Featured cards . The following cards appeared in this episode . Cards in italics debuted here .