Yu - Gi - Oh ! GX - Episode 001 " The Next King of Games " , known as " The One Who Succeeds Yugi " in the Japanese version , is the first episode of the " Yu - Gi - Oh GX " anime . It aired in Japan on October 6 , 2004 and in the United States on October 10 , 2005 . An unspecified number of years after the end of " Yu - Gi - Oh ! Duel Monsters " , the card game has become a worldwide phenomenon , with schools having been established for the purpose of training students to become professional duelists . Summary . Jaden Yuki is rushing through the streets . He is late to the entrance examinations for Duel Academy , as his train was late . He determines that it ' s simply another challenge that was presented to him , and states he ' s excited . As he runs , he sees he is about to collide with Yugi Muto , but is unable to stop . His Deck is scattered as he hits the ground . As he picks up his cards , Yugi asks if he ' s a Duelist . Jaden responds that he is , and that he ' s on his way to take a test for Duel Academy . Yugi takes out his Deck and picks out one card , which he calls a " lucky card " . He states the card wants to go with Jaden . Jaden thanks him , and Yugi walks off , telling Jaden to do his best ( in the dub , he tells him " good luck " ) . Jaden thanks him again , and Yugi turns slightly , giving Jaden a thumbs - up . Jaden looks at the card he was given , which is " Winged Kuriboh " . The card appears to make a noise . Jaden resumes his run , throwing the card into his Deck case as he goes ( in the dub , he states he can ' t be the next King of Games if he ' s late to the games ; the Japanese version contains no dialogue at that point ) . In a domed building , the exams are taking place . Several Duel fields are shown , with monsters such as " Gear Golem the Moving Fortress " , " Big Shield Gardna " and " Twin - Headed Thunder Dragon " present . Narration explains that Duel Academy is a school for training elite duelists , and that skill exams are being held at Kaiba Land today ( in the dub , a man ' s voice is added over a PA system , who tells those that have passed the exam to report to registration and telling those that failed " better luck next year " ) . Dr . Crowler sits with two other instructors ( in the dub , his thoughts are heard , as he responds to the PA system , quipping " Good luck in Duel Monsters Community College " ) . At one of the Duel fields , " Leghul " is Summon ed by the opponent of Syrus Truesdale . The exams are divided into written and practical , with only those applicants proving themselves through the written exams being allowed into the practical portion ( in the dub , dialogue is instead inserted for Syrus , who states he ' s nervous with all the academy students watching and judging him . He wishes he was already enrolled . Then , the PA system states that this is the last call for applicants ) . Outside , a man in a suit nods to two teachers dressed in yellow ( in the dub , he tells them to mark all the no - shows as no - shows ) . Jaden climbs over a nearby fence , covered in leaves . He introduces himself as examinee # 110 ( in the dub , he tells them to mark him as present ) . Jaden is allowed inside , where he watches one of the Duels . Bastion Misawa has " Vorse Raider " , one Set card and 3200 LP , while the examiner has " Big Shield Gardna " , " Gear Golem the Moving Fortress " and 1900 LP . The proctor claims that no matter how capable Bastion is , he can no longer lower his LP when playing against his " Super Defensive Deck " ( in the dub , he instead gives Bastion a mock " multiple choice question " ) . Bastion activate s his face - down " Ring of Destruction " , destroy ing his own " Vorse Raider " and causing both players to take 1900 damage . This defeats the proctor , but leaves Bastion with 1300 LP . The proctor congratulates him as on his win , and the applicant thanks him . Three male students dressed in blue talk with another . Taiyou Torimaki says that the # 1 examinee , Bastion , is not half bad , while Raizou Mototani says that it was worth coming to see him after hearing the rumors . Chazz Princeton says that ' s nonsense , as the Duels here are set at a low level and that coming here was a waste of time . After all , Duel Academy needs only one king , not two ( in the dub , he believes they ' ll be better to him since they ' ve been in " Duel prep school " for the past three years ) . Jaden speaks with Syrus , saying that " number one " ' s combo was amazing . Syrus responds that Bastion had the highest score on the written test . Jaden was unaware that was what determined the numbers , while Syrus says that the final score depends on the combination of written and practical exam scores . He states he ' s unsure that they ' ll accept him . Even though he won his Duel , he ' s still examinee # 119 . Jaden tells him to relax and that he himself is # 110 ( numbers are omitted in the dub , and they both simply say that they " barely passed " ) . Syrus tells him that the Duels for the examinees in the hundreds have already ended ( in the dub , Syrus mentions test anxiety , and has apparently already been accepted to Duel Academy ) . Two teachers agree that they need no not debate about Bastion - he ' ll be accepted for sure ( in the dub , they simply state that they have many good applicants this year ) . He was also the last examinee . The man from outside approaches Dr . Crowler , telling him that ' s one more applicant that arrived at the last minute ( in the dub , he addresses Crowler as " Mr . " and when Crowler question that , he uses " Mrs " instead . Crowler then states he has a " PhD " in Dueling and has thus earned the title of Doctor ) . Crowler asks what his number was . Upon hearing that he was # 110 and that he was late , he won ' t accept him . The academy has no need for drop - out boys . Another teacher tells him that they have to let him take the test - he was late due to his train being delayed ( Jaden ' s reason for being late goes unmentioned in the dub ) . Crowler gets a call from Chancellor Sheppard , who tells him that he ' s aware of the late student . He instructs Crowler to let him take the test , low written score or not , as the school ' s objective is to gather a wide range of Duelists to train ( in the dub , Sheppard states he doesn ' t want a repeat of last year - Crowler had cut one third of the applicants for addressing him as " Mr . " or " Mrs . " ) . Crowler believes the academy is built for the elite and does not understand why Sheppard is backing the " dropout boy " ( in the dub , he goes so far as to call Sheppard a " furry - chinned windbag ) . Crowler rises , announcing he ' ll Duel the examinee himself . Another professor tells him to wait and to please take an examination Deck . Crowler responds that he has no need for one - he ' ll use his own ( in the dub , Crowler does not mention where he ' s going and simply says to leave the selection of opponent and Deck up to him ) . Bastion takes a seat in the stands , and Jaden tells him that he may be the second - toughest student to apply this year . Jaden is announced as the next person to Duel and he begins to walk to the arena . Bastion tells him to wait , and asks why he ' s number two . Jaden responds that it ' s because " he ' s " number one . Syrus questions why someone scoring only nine points higher than him would be so confident . Jaden arrives at the arena , and Crowler introduces himself as the acting Chief General Director of Practical Application ( in the dub , Crowler is the " Chair of Department Techniques " ) . Jaden is honored to Duel him , and thinks Crowler must be expecting a lot out of him ( in the dub , Jaden says he thought Crowler was some sort of " weird academy mascot " ) . The blue students from earlier wonder why Crowler would Duel him himself , and determine he must be quite talented ( in the dub they are amazed at Jaden ' s audacity ) . Crowler engages his Duel Coat , which Jaden seems to think is quite cool . Jaden asks if he can buy a coat like that himself , with Crowler responded that high - ranking students have access to them , but thinking that a drop - out boy shouldn ' t be concerned with it . The Duel begins . Jaden ' s opening hand contains " The Warrior Returning Alive " , " Polymerization " , " Hero Signal " , " Draining Shield " , " Monster Reborn " and " Elemental HERO Avian " . Jaden Normal Summon s " Avian " in Defense Position and Set s a card before ending his turn ( in the dub , he tells Crowler to get " Get Your Game On ! " ) . Crowler ' s opening hand is " Ancient Gear Golem " , two copies of " Statue of the Wicked " , " Heavy Storm " , " Confiscation " and " Emes the Infinity " . Crowler determines that Jaden is playing a HERO Deck , and supposes he could say Jaden was a small - town Hero of sorts . Crowler tells Jaden he ' ll show him how wide the world really is , and plays " Confiscation " ( in the dub , he instead muses that he ' ll win for sure with his personal Deck ) . He pay s 1000 LP to check Jaden ' s hand and force him to discard one card . The cards appears as holograms in front of Crowler , who states that this is truly a drop - out boy ' s Deck ( he calls him a " naive rookie " in the dub ) . Jaden wonders why he would scold the Deck he put his life into ( he says nothing in the dub ) . Crowler chooses " Monster Reborn " . Crowler Sets two cards and then plays " Heavy Storm " , which destroys all Spell and Trap Card s on the field . Jaden ' s face - down " Draining Shield " and Crowler ' s two face - down " Statue of the Wicked " cards are destroyed . Jaden tells Crowler his cards were destroyed as well , and Crowler responds that that is called " being a frog in a well " ( he tells Jaden not to speak out of turn in the dub ) . Crowler Special Summon s two " Wicked Token s " . Syrus says he has no clue what happened , and Bastion explains that when " Statue of the Wicked " is destroyed , it Special Summons a token and that Crowler destroyed himself intentionally . One of the blue students says that that ' s no exam Deck - it ' s Crowler ' s own " Dark Ages " Deck ( the term " Dark Ages " is not used in the dub ) . The believe that any examinee standing up to that Deck would be wishful thinking . Chazz states he thought the examinee was something special , but that he was mistaken ( in the dub , he says he ' ll enjoy watching Jaden lose ) . Crowler will crush his hopes and dreams . Alexis Rhodes tells Zane Truesdale that she feels sorry for that examinee . Zane responds that thanks to # 110 , they may get to see the " legendary rare card " of the Dark Ages Deck . Crowler declares that his turn is not over , and Jaden asks what he ' ll be shown this time . Crowler Tribute s both tokens to Summon " Ancient Gear Golem " in Attack Position . Jaden says he heard rumors about that card , and Syrus is shocked to see a Level 8 monster so easily . Zane says that Crowler has never lost once he has successfully Summoned that card . He says he wouldn ' t have thought Jaden would have the power to make Crowler take the Duel seriously . Alexis responds that Crowler is rather fickle . She believes it ' s a shame that the academy ' s doors are now shut to Jaden , believing he has no chance ( in the dub , they talk of Jaden ' s carefree attitude and Alexis says it ' s good Jaden is showing some backbone ) . Crowler laughs and declares his attack , destroying " Avian " . Syrus says that " Avian " had no chance with only 1000 DEF and Bastion adds that that ' s not all - " Ancient Gear Golem " inflicts piercing damage . Syrus says that that monster defies the rules . Jaden ' s LP drop 2000 , and Crowler asks if Jaden ' s lost his fighting spirit already . Jaden laughs in response , stating that he ' s touched that Crowler is fighting his hardest against him . Crowler ' s reasoning is that he never intends for a drop - out boy like Jaden to enter the academy . Jaden thinks that this is where his true power will be put to the test ( in the dub , he believes Crowler is impressed by him ) . As he moves to draw , he hears something . He draws , and sees it is " Winged Kuriboh " . The picture on the card moves and winks at him . Jaden says he ' ll believe in him and Normal Summons it in Defense Position . Jaden Sets a card to end his turn . Crowler says that Kuriboh may be a rare card , but it ' s only low - Level monster . He states that the fact it ' s in Defense Position matters not - it will still take piercing damage . He states that a small fry monster befits a smallfry like Jaden well ( in the dub , he states Jaden made a good move , but it won ' t matter . Crowler is a " master technician ) . Crowler draws , and then attacks " Winged Kuriboh " with " Ancient Gear Golem " . It ' s destroyed , and Jaden apologizes to " Winged Kuriboh " , while Crowler questions why Jaden ' s LP didn ' t decrease ( in the dub , he tells Jaden to " check his gear " , implying he believed that Jaden ' s Duel Disk was broken ) . Jaden reveals that on the turn " Winged Kuriboh " is destroyed , all damage he takes becomes 0 . Alexis is surprised that Crowler didn ' t know what the effect of " Winged Kuriboh " was , and Zane responds that there are some places that even the professors can ' t reach and that the Dueling world is boundless ( in the dub , Zane calls the effect an " obscure technique " so it ' s believable that Crowler would not know it ) . Alexis says that that ' s why Dueling is so interesting . Crowler asks if that was the small fry monster ' s effect , and Jaden tells him he ' ll pay for insulting the friend who put his life on the line to protect him . Crowler asks why there would be a problem with him calling a throw - away monster a smallfry ( he calls him " lame " in the dub ) . Jaden responds that the shriek of " Winged Kuriboh " is what will signal his other monsters to action . He activates his face - down " Hero Signal " , Special Summoning what he calls his second " Elemental HERO " - " Burstinatrix " . It appears in Attack Position ( in the dub , he is less eloquent and simply activates the card ) . Jaden begins his turn , drawing " Skyscraper " . Jaden tells Kuriboh he ' s held on tight to the encouragement he gave him . He says that " Avian " will use his unyielding fighting spirit to come back from the dead , playing " The Warrior Returning Alive " to return " Avian " to his hand ( in the dub , he simply explains the effect and plays the card ) . He then Normal Summons him in Attack Position . Crowler asks what good Jaden ' s fragile comic book Heroes will do - they ' re only Normal Monster s . Jaden states that " Avian " and " Burstinatrix " are only their temporary Normal Monster forms . He tells Crowler he ' ll be surprised to see their true form and activates " Polymerization " ( in the dub , Crowler calls the Summoning of " Avian " an amateur mistake and Jaden simply says he wasn ' t done yet ) . He fuses " Avian " and " Burstinatrix " to Fusion Summon " Elemental HERO Flame Wingman " in Attack Position , which he calls his favorite card . Bastion says that " Flame Wingman " can only be Summoned via fusion and that its effect will inflict damage to the opponent equal to the ATK of any monster it destroys by battle . Syrus says that that may be true , but its ATK is still less than that of " Ancient Gear Golem " . Bastion says that if Jaden is really # 1 , he ' ll work something out . Syrus responds that he ' ll actually be # 110 ( in the dub , Bastion calls Jaden and Syrus friends , and Syrus asks if they really seemed like friends ) . Crowler offers to give Jaden a special lecture . He states that cards like that are useless in this Duel and that Jaden would do well to remember that . Jaden says he ' ll be the one to teach Crowler something . Heroes have their own battle arena fit for them . He activates the Field Spell Card " Skyscraper " . Skyscrapers rise around the Duel field , with " Flame Wingman " floating at the top of one of them , its arms folded . Jaden says that the stage is set and attacks " Ancient Gear Golem " with " Flame Wingman " . Crowler explains that their ATKs are not even close . " Flame Wingman " dives towards " Ancient Gear Golem " and Jaden quips that Heroes always win . He reveals that " Skyscraper " increases the ATK of " Elemental HERO " monsters that battle with monsters that have higher ATK by 1000 . " Flame Wingman " is engulfed in flames as it completes its dive , destroying " Ancient Gear Golem " . Jaden tells Crowler that he ' ll now take damage equal to the ATK of " Ancient Gear Golem " . Thus , Crowler ' s LP fall to 0 and " Ancient Gear Golem " literally falls apart on top of him . Jaden points at Crowler with two fingers and says " Gotcha ! " , telling Crowler that he thought the Duel was fun . Chazz ' s eyes pop , shocked that Crowler was just beaten by an examinee ( in the dub , he states it must have been dumb luck ) . Alexis says that Jaden is pretty interesting , and Zane simply walks away ( in the dub , she says that Jaden has a future at Duel Academy ) . Syrus cheers for Jaden , and Bastion thinks that Jaden may be a great rival . Jaden jumps around cheering , and then pulls out " Winged Kuriboh " , telling it he ' ll be counting on it , and calling it " partner " . Kuriboh winks in response . Featured Duels . Syrus Truesdale vs . Examiner . Duel is already in progress . Syrus control s a Set monster , while the examiner controls no cards . Examiner ' s turn The examiner Normal Summon s " Leghul " ( 300 / 350 ) in Attack Position . " Leghul " attack s Syrus directly via its own effect . After " Leghul " attacks directly , Syrus ' side of the field becomes empty ; what happened to his Set monster is unknown . The rest of the Duel is not shown , but Syrus wins . Bastion Misawa vs . Examiner . Duel is already in progress . Bastion has 3200 LP , " Vorse Raider " ( 1900 / 1200 ) in Attack Position and one Set card . The examiner has 1900 LP and control s " Big Shield Gardna " ( 100 / 2600 ) and " Gear Golem the Moving Fortress " ( 800 / 2200 ) , both in Defense Position . Bastion ' s turn Bastion activate s his face - down " Ring of Destruction " to destroy his " Vorse Raider " and inflict damage to both players equals to its ATK ( Bastion : 3200 → 1300 LP , Examiner : 1900 → 0 LP ) . Jaden Yuki vs . Vellian Crowler . Turn 1 : Jaden Jaden draws " Elemental HERO Avian " . Jaden ' s hand contains " The Warrior Returning Alive " , " Polymerization " , " Hero Signal " , " Draining Shield " and " Monster Reborn " . He Normal Summon s " Avian " ( 1000 / 1000 ) in Defense Position and Set s a card . Turn 2 : Crowler Crowler draws " Statue of the Wicked " . Crowler ' s hand contains " Ancient Gear Golem " , two copies of " Statue of the Wicked " , " Heavy Storm " , " Confiscation " and " Emes the Infinity " . He activate s " Confiscation " to pay 1000 LP ( Crowler : 4000 → 3000 LP ) , check Jaden ' s hand , and force him to discard a card from his hand . After seeing Jaden ' s hand , Crowler chooses to force Jaden to discard " Monster Reborn " . Crowler then Sets two cards and activates " Heavy Storm " to destroy all Spell and Trap Card s on the field . As both " Statue of the Wicked " cards were destroyed , Crowler activates the effect of both cards to Special Summon two " Wicked Tokens " ( 1000 / 1000 each ) in Attack Position . Crowler then Tribute s both " Wicked Tokens " to Tribute Summon " Ancient Gear Golem " ( 3000 / 3000 ) in Attack Position . " Ancient Gear Golem " attack s and destroys " Avian " . " Ancient Gear Golem " inflicts piercing damage to Jaden ( Jaden : 4000 → 2000 LP ) . Turn 3 : Jaden Jaden draws " Winged Kuriboh " and subsequently Normal Summons it ( 300 / 200 ) in Defense Position . He then Sets a card . Turn 4 : Crowler Crowler draws . " Ancient Gear Golem " then attacks and destroys " Winged Kuriboh " . Due to the effect of " Winged Kuriboh " , Jaden takes no Battle Damage from this battle and any Battle Damage Jaden would ' ve taken for the remainder of Crowler ' s turn will be reduced to 0 . Jaden then activates his face - down " Hero Signal " to Special Summon " Elemental HERO Burstinatrix " ( 1200 / 800 ) from his Deck in Attack Position . Turn 5 : Jaden Jaden draws " Skyscraper " . Jaden ' s hand contains " The Warrior Returning Alive " and " Polymerization " . He activates " The Warrior Returning Alive " to add " Avian " from his Graveyard to his hand . He then Normal Summons " Avian " ( 1000 / 1000 ) in Attack Position . Jaden then activates " Polymerization " to fuse " Avian " and " Burstinatrix " to Fusion Summon " Elemental HERO Flame Wingman " ( 2100 / 1200 ) in Attack Position . Jaden then activates " Skyscraper " . Now when an " Elemental HERO " monster battles another monster whose ATK is higher , it will gain 1000 ATK during damage calculation only . " Flame Wingman " attacks " Ancient Gear Golem " . The effect of " Skyscraper " activates during damage calculation ( " Flame Wingman " : 2100 → 3100 ATK ) . " Flame Wingman " destroys " Ancient Gear Golem " ( Crowler : 3000 → 2900 LP ) . The effect of " Flame Wingman " then activates , inflicting damage to Crowler equal to the ATK of his destroyed monster ( Crowler : 2900 → 0 LP ) . Featured cards . The following cards appeared in this episode . Cards in italics debuted here .