Conspiracy IR: Fox Hunting

is the sixteenth episode of Kamen Rider Geats. It features Win Hareruya's elimination and Girori's removal from the position of Game Master, resulting in the current Desire Grand Prix ending without a winner.
==Synopsis==
Ace, Keiwa, and Neon are told that the "decisive battle to crown the Deza Shin" has now become a "fox hunt" to which they compete to exterminate Geats. Keiwa and Neon hesitate to follow the new ruthless rules set by the Game Master, Girori. 
Ace, who is now a target, can't afford to lose in order to make his ideal world come true. In the end, both Keiwa and Neon set aside their own hesitations and decide to fight!
==Plot==
Tsumuri updates her video diary with Ace’s reinstatement and then turns her attention to Neon and Keiwa who are briefed on the Tournament. The game is Fox Hunt, where Girori will use mind controlled GM Riders as hounds to corner a fox and then the two will fight and kill it. Neon quickly figures out that the fox is Ace and Tsumuri strongly objects as it is against the rules for the staff to directly play a role in murdering the contestants. But she is ignored by Girori as he orders the Tournament to commence in order to end Geats for good…
Ace is seen on the run, being attacked by the Hounds and fending them off. 
As both Neon and Keiwa stand and wait for their prey, they remember the rules, the Hounds will corral Ace to the right open area and whomever kills him first shall be crowned the Desire God. Keiwa is reluctant to harm Ace, even though Girori tries to push him to do so, gifting him the Twin Command Buckle to do the deed. 
Ace gets cornered into Neon’s area, but he tries to convince her to fight after she shows reluctance, saying that if he wants to be Desire God, he must defeat the both of them. Punkjack suddenly appears and attacks Ace, still under Girori’s control. 
Girori tries to convince Keiwa to attack Ace by showing him what Ace wished for on his Desire Card… 
Neon watches Ace fight Punkjack, wondering if fighting is the only way, with Ace saying that is the only way he will get his desired world. He prepares to shoot Punkjack with his rifle, but hesitates when he hears Win groaning in pain and remembers he is under mind control. This gives Punkjack the opportunity to charge at him, with Ace being forced to shoot and a massive explosion engulfs the two Riders. 
An announcement states that Punkjack lost the game and after hearing the explosion, Keiwa grips his phone tightly in anger as rain begins pouring down. 
Girori calls Win “useless to the very end”, which upsets Tsumuri upon seeing the announcement and she argues with Girori again about breaking the rules, but he fires back and justifies his behavior as a means of cultivating a new Desire God and Ace must be destroyed to make that a reality. Neon meets with Keiwa, informing him that she witnessed Ace murder Win in cold blood. Keiwa is still unsure if he can fight Ace, but Neon has made up her mind and will fight her own way, by any means necessary. 
Outside in the rain, an exhausted Ace is resting somewhere to hide, but Tsumuri finds him, treating his injuries and giving him food. He is surprised that she found him, but she replies that she IS the game navigator. 
Ace reminds her that helping a player is against the rules of her job, but she doesn’t seem to care as the Game Master doesn’t know so she will not get in trouble. She asks why he wished for things like her to be his sister, and he replies that he wants to know the purpose of his existence and why he was born. Ace hopes his mother Mitsume can answer those questions and asks Tsumuri if she has heard of her. She says she may know something and Ace pleads for her to tell him, but Tsumuri is afraid and says it is information she cannot divulge to him. 
At home, Keiwa asks Sara that if it was possible to see their parents again by reviving them, would they take the opportunity? Sara is curious as to why he would bring that up, saying while she loved and misses them, they built a happy life together as siblings and that is enough for her. The only thing left for them to worry about is finding someone to marry somewhere down the line and live their lives, believing that is what their parents would have wanted. 
While Keiwa does half agree with Sara, he says he regrets all the things they never got to witness in their lives and that they would have loved to have seen Sara in a wedding dress as a bride. 
She asks if something is wrong since he is acting strange and Keiwa reveals he has always dwelled on what could have been if their parents were still alive. Sara tells him to stop thinking about it, he can’t dwell on the past and wishing for things that cannot happen as that will only make him more miserable. (Revealing she doesn’t remember the previous game after the reset) Sara decides to treat her brother to dinner to cheer him up, but Keiwa mulls over his wish, saying under his breath that it is possible to bring their parents back. He finally decides to confront Ace… 
Meanwhile, Neon meets with her father and asks for a favor after revealing she knows he is sponsoring her in the DGP, wanting to talk about an issue with the current fox hunt game…. 
The next morning, Ace is blasted out of his hiding place by a GM Rider, with Girori informing the other players that their prey has been located. He asks Keiwa if he is now ready to kill Ace to which he says yes with a cold look of determination on his face. 
Ace struggles to escape the “hounds” as they relentlessly chase him and corner him to Keiwa’s location. Keiwa says while he is grateful to him for helping him out during the games, he is now determined to get his wish no matter what. Ace understands and the two transform into their Raising Form to battle each other. 
After an intense sword fight inside the warehouse, the two fully charge their second Command Buckles and then duel as Cannon Mode versus Jet Mode. Keiwa begins to struggle to keep up with Ace, but the two compliment each other, with Ace noticing the improvements to his opponent’s fighting skill and Keiwa finding Ace is as strong as ever. 
Keiwa appears to be losing as the fight intensifies, with Girori leaving the temple and deciding to deal with Ace personally using the Vision Driver. As Glare, he prepares to kill Ace with an attack from behind, but Keiwa blasts him and reveals that he staged the fight to draw Girori out. 
Niramu appears and says he now has proof of Girori’s misconduct and violations of DGP rules. Neon then appears and says she reported the Game Master’s misdeeds and rigging the game to eliminate Ace through her father and his connections to the DGP. She reveals that the story she told about Punkjack was a lie and she actually witnessed him being used as a human suicide bomb under Girori’s control. Girori murdered Win in a failed attempt to take Ace out, who pushed Win out of the way before he detonated. Neon and the others refuse to play in his one sided game. 
Niramu says that Girori will be punished for his illegal acts, but the latter tries to defend his actions by saying he is protecting the world from Ace’s worthless wishes. Keiwa objects, none of the people who participated had worthless wishes, risking everything they had including their lives just in the hopes of seeing them come true. Any wish made through all that would be respectable, calling out Girori’s heartlessness for looking down on all of them. 
Girori calls them imbeciles for forsaking the worlds they want just to oppose him, deciding to remove all three of them from the game permanently as he charges to attack. Neon transforms and all three Riders fight while Niramu expresses disappointment in Girori for losing his composure, saying that interacting with the three he now faces is probably the cause. 
Girori’s Glare suit deploys drones to block the trio’s attacks and fire lasers at them, but Neon and Keiwa pin down Girori long enough with a dual Rider Slash for Ace to use a Command Twin Victory Rider Kick to send him flying through crates and landing hard onto the pavement. 
An enraged Girori gets up to try to attack the Riders again, but Niramu stops him and shuts down his Vision Driver with just the snap of his fingers. Niramu declares that Girori is fired, as he begins to fade, he tries to warn him something is wrong with the Jyamato and only he can find Riders strong enough to combat the threat. Niramu coldly tells Girori he is very replaceable as the latter completely disappears. Niramu picks up the Vision Driver, thanks the Riders for bringing the matter to his attention and bid them good day, leaving via teleportation. 
Ace laughs as he powers down, as he did not expect Keiwa and Neon to outsmart him, referring to the sneak attack on Girori and reporting to the top administration. Keiwa reveals that he noticed Ace’s next wish was to be part of the DGP staff and asks if that was part of the plan to find Mitsume, as Neon told him what was going on. With the Game Master gone, he hopes that they all can fight fair in the next round. Ace says that this season is likely cancelled because of the Game Master’s interference, with Tsumuri appearing to congratulate the three as they have been given special priority entry into the next season of the DGP. 
At the greenhouse, Archimedel goes to the storage shed and is excited to find “new fertilizer” there waiting for him, with the corpse of Michinaga lying on the floor. Archimedel examines the body, then sniffs and licks Michinaga’s hand and is surprised that he is still alive. He believes that Michinaga overexposed himself to the Zombie Buckle as an explanation to why he still lives. Archimedel laughs at the new “research sample” he has found, with unknown sinister plans for Michinaga. 
Tsumuri gathers the Riders at the temple and makes a shocking revelation, the Desire Grand Prix is not just a means to save the world, it is a popular reality entertainment show. The temple is then surrounded by hovering cameras that decloak with spectators cheering from somewhere. Kousei Kurama is watching the announcement on a screen from inside a room, telling Niramu that he hopes that he continues this entertainment within the “extra-dimensional world” of his. Samas tells Niramu that their biggest sponsor is very pleased with the DGP so far. Niramu then declares a cheers to another season of the DGP. 
A mysterious man with blue highlights in his hair is watching Ace: stating that all eyes are on the ways that the players live and the moments when they perish… 
==Cast==
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*Michinaga Azuma (吾妻 道長, Azuma Michinaga): Kazuto Mokudai (杢代 和人, Mokudai Kazuto)
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*Narration: 
===Guest Cast===
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===Suit Actors===
*Kamen Rider Geats: 
*Kamen Rider Tycoon: 
*Kamen Rider Na-Go: 
*Kamen Rider PunkJack: 
*Kamen Rider Glare: 
==Forms and Collectibles Used==
===Raise Buckles===
*Buckle Used: 
**Geats
***Magnum (once in Magnum Shooter 40X), Command Jet, Command Cannon
**Tycoon
***Command Jet, Command Cannon
**Na-Go
***Beat
**PunkJack
***Monster
**Glare
***Drill (offscreen), Arrow (offscreen), Propeller (offscreen)
*Form Used:
**Geats
***Magnum Form (Upper half), Raising Form, Command Form Jet Mode
**Tycoon
***Raising Form, Command Form Cannon Mode
**Na-Go
***Beat Form (Upper half)
**PunkJack
***Monster Form (Upper half)
**Chuta
***Armed Drill (Upper half; via Remote Control), Armed Arrow (Upper half; via Remote Control), Armed Propeller (Upper Half; via Remote Control)
==Errors==
*to be added
==Notes==
*As part of Super Hero Time, this episode aired alongside episode 42, .
*Closing Screen DGP Rule: 
*Count at episode end
**Raise Buckles in Geats' possession: Magnum, Zombie, Feverslot, Command Jet
**Raise Buckles in Tycoon's possession: Ninja, Feverslot, Command Jet
**Raise Buckles in Na-Go's possession: Beat, Feverslot
*Eliminations: PunkJack (Self-destructed under Glare's command)
*Riders Remaining: 3/32 (Geats, Tycoon, Na-Go)
*Winner of DGP: None
*This is the final Geats episode to air in 2022.
*The "IR" in the title stands for "Irregular"https://www.kamen-rider-official.com/geats/18/, as the Desire Grand Prix continued beyond the defeat of the final boss as a result of Girori's interference.
**Thus, the Conspiracy Arc is the first arc to not end with an "F" due to the ongoing DGP being cancelled.
*This episode features the final appearances of Geats Raising Form and Command Form Jet Mode.
*The episode skips the opening at the beginning, instead featuring the title over a black background. The opening theme Trust・Last plays in the end credits.
*Due to the events of Movie Battle Royale taking place before this episode, Ace is no longer in possession of the Boost Buckle anymore.
*Ziin makes a brief appearance at the end of the episode.
==External links==
*TV Asahi's official episode guide for 謀略IR：キツネ狩り
*KR Official's official episode guide for 謀略IR：キツネ狩り
*JAE's official episode guide for 謀略IR：キツネ狩り
Category:New Kamen Rider Episode