Beat Up the Dragon!

is the ninth episode of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. It features the debut of Ex-Aid Hunter Action Gamer Level 5 (Full Dragon) and Graphite's Dark Graphite form.
This episode broadcast was accompanied by web broadcast of the ninth installment of Kamen Rider Information Program: Poppy Pipopapo's Room.
==Synopsis==
Graphite infects the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Health with the Bugster Virus, while the doctors at the CR fall out over the most important course of action: Save the Patient or defeat Graphite?
==Plot==
Director Kagami is obsessing over cleaning up CR in preparation for Ministry of Health Deputy Director-General Hinata's arrival. He is shocked when Emu calls Hinata by his first name, Kyotaro, but Emu explains that Hinata was the doctor that saved his life as a child 16 years ago, the event that had inspired him to become a doctor himself. Upstairs, Hinata arrives, but is intercepted by Graphite, who infects him with black Bugster Virus cells from the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat and then walks away.
Hinata is taken down to CR and his diagnosis is confirmed, Emu noting that the symptom display shows the same flame icon that his CR stethoscope showed when he diagnosed the human form of Graphite earlier. Hiiro walks in with his Gashat at the ready; he triggers Taddle Quest, but the Bugster infection begins forming a large mass growing from Hinata instead of overtaking his entire body. Emu joins in Hiiro's transformation, and the infection completely separates from Hinata to form a dragon Bugster Union. Ex-Aid uses a Stage Select to move the battle to a forest waterfall, recognizing the Bugster as being a monster from Drago Knight Hunter Z, but the human Graphite arrives, announcing his intention to create more Bugsters before using the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat to transform into Dark Graphite.
At Genm Corp., Kuroto reveals to Parado that he let Graphite take the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat so he could collect battle data for the full version and complete "Phase One". Ex-Aid Action Gamer Level 1 and Brave Quest Gamer Level 1 try fighting Dark Graphite and the dragon Union, but are easily outmatched without their second Gashats, and the Bugsters escape. Taiga confronts Kuroto, knowing he's carrying the tenth of ten Rider Gashats, but is told he won't get it. At CR, Emu criticizes Hiiro's reckless action while Asuna tells them to stop fighting. Kuroto arrives and presents them with the Level 5 Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, but says it will need data from the dragon Bugster to be completed. Hiiro tries to take it, but Emu stops him, saying that he will be the one to save the doctor that saved him, grabbing the Gashat and ignoring Kuroto's warning that the game was designed for 4 players. Hiiro talks with his father the Director regarding the Gamer Driver compatibility surgery, and after some dodging, is told that Emu never had one. Meanwhile, Kiriya acquires Emu's medical history, discovering Hinata had operated on him 16 years ago.
At CR, Emu continues to insist on being the one to save Hinata, Asuna noting his behavior being off all day. Hinata says the only thing Graphite could do to induce stress in him is revealing the Bugster Infection to the public and causing panic. Emu races off to find a place where this could happen right as Graphite triggers the Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat to spread a thick cloud of black Virus cells from the top of a building. Emu finds a man showing the same flame icon symptom as Graphite and Hinata before most of the people around him start collapsing from the Bugster Infection. He confronts Graphite on the roof and transforms, Stage Selecting them back to the forest, but the dragon Bugster arrives much bigger than before; Brave arrives to fight Dark Graphite and Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3 Snipe attacks the dragon. Snipe uses a Handgun Mode Gekitotsu Critical Finish to blast the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat away from Ex-Aid, Poppy and Parado arriving separately to watch; Ex-Aid uses a Muscular Energy Item to get the Gashat back. Back at CR, Kiriya confronts Hinata about whether his operation 16 years ago really saved Emu's life. Ex-Aid grabs Brave's Gashacon Sword as he was preparing for an Ice Mode Taddle Critical Finish, dual-wielding it with his own Gashacon Breaker in Blade Mode for a dual Mighty-Taddle Critical Finish, a pathway of ice freezing the dragon Bugster in midair before racing up the ice path and slashing it with both swords, releasing four armor fragments. Ex-Aid absorbs the fragments into the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, finishing it and adding the dragon into its artwork.
Ex-Aid triggers the Gashat, summoning the completed Hunter Gamer formed from combining the armor fragments, automatically moving the battle to an open field; he then takes Hunter Action Gamer Level 5 Full Dragon. However, he immediately goes out of control, sending fiery attacks in all directions at both Graphite and the other Riders. He takes a point-blank attack from Dark Graphite unscathed, then knocks him back with one hit before collapsing, reverting out of his transformation and being sent back to the rooftop outside the Game Area.
==Cast==
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*: 
*Narration: 
*: 
===Guest Cast===
*Doctor: 
===Suit actors===
*Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level 1: 
*Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Level 2, Level 5: 
*Kamen Rider Brave Level 1: 
*Kamen Rider Brave Level 2: 
*Kamen Rider Snipe Level 2: 
*Graphite Bugster: 
==Rider Gashat==
*Gashat Used:
**Ex-Aid
***Mighty Action X, Taddle Quest (in Gashacon Sword), Drago Knight Hunter Z
**Brave
***Taddle Quest
**Snipe
***Bang Bang Shooting, Jet Combat, Gekitotsu Robots (in Gashacon Magnum)
**Graphite
***Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z
*Level Used:
**Ex-Aid
***Action Gamer Level 1, Action Gamer Level 2, Hunter Action Gamer Level 5 (Full Dragon)
**Brave
***Quest Gamer Level 1, Quest Gamer Level 2
**Snipe
***Combat Shooting Gamer Level 3
==Energy Items==
*Energy Items Used:
**Ex-Aid
***Muscular
==Errors==
*When Emu activates the Mighty Action X Gashat inside the CR operation room, the title screen doesn't appear behind him.
==Notes==
*As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside episode 40, .
*Viewership: 4.3%
*Closing Screen:
**Text Color: Pink
*Count at episode end
**Gashats in Ex-Aid's possession: Mighty Action X, Drago Knight Hunter Z
**Gashats in Brave's possession: Taddle Quest
**Gashats in Snipe's possession: Bang Bang Shooting, Jet Combat, Gekitotsu Robots, DoReMiFa Beat
**Gashats in Lazer's possession: Bakusou Bike, Giri Giri Chambara
**Gashats in Genm's possession: Proto Mighty Action X, Proto Taddle Quest, Proto Bang Bang Shooting, Proto Bakusou Bike, Proto Gekitotsu Robots, Proto DoReMiFa Beat, Proto Giri Giri Chambara, Proto Jet Combat, Proto Shakariki Sports, Shakariki Sports
**Gashats in Graphite's possession: Proto Drago Knight Hunter Z
**Mighty Action X, Taddle Quest, Bang Bang Shooting, Bakusou Bike, Gekitotsu Robots, DoReMiFa Beat, Giri Giri Chambara, Jet Combat
*Video Game References in this episode:
**The artwork of the Dragon Hunter monster resembles DarkTyrannomon from Digimon.
**Ex-Aid using both his weapon and Brave's weapon for a special finisher could be a reference to finishers/attacks in RPG games, as players need to equip certain items, weapons or armor to access certain skills or boost their stats.
**In order to obtain the data of Drago Knight Hunter Z, Ex-Aid had to weaken the dragon and then capture it by sending it inside the Gashat. This is identical to how players obtain data for their Pokedex in the Pokemon games: weaken a monster in battle, try to capture it with a Pokeball and once caught, the data will be obtained.
***Another Pokémon reference is in how Ex-Aid lacked control of Hunter Action Gamer Level 5 (Full Dragon). Unless the player has a certain amount of experience (or more specific to that game, a number of badges), a Pokémon won't listen to their commands.
Gamers falling down.png|All four Level 3 Gamers falling down.
Three Riders against Emu.png|Three Doctor Riders, in their Level 3 form, against Ex-Aid.
Ex-Aid accept challenge.png|Ex-Aid also transform into Robot Action Gamer Level 3.
Ex-Aid Breaks the wall.png|Gekitotsu Smasher breaks the screen, lead to next sequences.
*This episode features a minor update in the opening credits, as the Level 3 forms of Ex-Aid, Snipe, Brave and Lazer as well as their Gamer support robots are now shown.
*This is the first time Snipe uses a different Gashat for his Gashacon Magnum Critical Finish attack other than Bang Bang Shooting (Gekitotsu Robots).
*This is the first episode where Ex-Aid wields the Gashacon Sword.
*This is the first episode since
**his debut that Snipe doesn't assume Shooting Gamer Level 2 onscreen.
**their respective debuts that Ex-Aid and Brave don't assume their Level 3 forms.
**its debut that Kiriya doesn't assume Lazer Chambara Bike Gamer Level 3
**its debut that Kuroto doesn't assume Genm Sports Action Gamer Level 3.
**Episode 2 that Kyotaro Hinata is seen.
*This is the first time the Gashacon Bugvisor isn't seen.
*This is the first time a Bugster Union is destroyed by a Level 2 Rider (Ex-Aid).
==DVD/Blu-ray releases==
*Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 3 features episodes 9-12: Beat Up the Dragon!, Uneven Doctors!, Who's the Black Kamen Rider? and Christmas Special: Targeting the Silver X mas!.
*Blu-ray Collection 1 comes with 12 episodes.
Ex-Aid Vol 3.jpg|Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Volume 3, DVD
91zGeAfZ8UL SL1474 .jpg|Kamen Rider Ex-Aid Collection 1, Blu-ray
==External links==
*TV Asahi's official episode guide for Dragonをぶっとばせ！
*Toei TV's official episode guide for Dragonをぶっとばせ！
==References==
Category:Kamen Rider Ex-Aid episodes
Category:New Form Episode