This episode's another big one. Major character, major plot points, tearjerkers galore, and backstory! Let's get to it!
Holly attempts to use the Magic Stone, but is having trouble when the group isn't giving her concentration room. She tries again, and the stone points past a canyon.
Genki comments that the place reminds him of the Wild West, which excites Suezo and Mocchi and confuses Holly. "He's had too much sun."
Undaunted, Genki blades up to a cliffside and grins. "Listen up! You pilgrims have got a mighty long ways to go, and I aim to get you there," he says in a cowboy accent. "So saddle 'em up and let's move 'em out!"
Suezo's response is a blunt "Definitely sunstroke."
Suddenly, Genki hears a growl and thinks he sees something--but when he turns to look, nothing's there.
When the others confirm that they didn't see anything, they continue walking--unaware that they were being watched by two wolf-like Monsters. The yellow and red one is a Daton, and the green one is a Datonare.
The Monsters head for the rest of their pack...
And meet up with their leader in a cave. "There are five of them in all." "They spend their time playing games--this is nothing we can't handle."
But their leader decides to join them. "I'll come too--it'll pass the time."
Soon, a harsh wind picks up in the canyon area...
And Genki and his friends are surrounded on all sides.
Holly wonders if these Monsters are okay, but Suezo recognizes them as the Wild Bunch.
Genki asks who the Wild Bunch are, and Holly explains. "They're Monsters who escaped from their masters and became wild."
And then she's interrupted by a new voice. "Wrong, human! We became free!"
The Wild Bunch's leader leaps from his perch on the canyon...
and his impact with the ground creates a howling windstorm that pushes Suezo back and knocks Genki's cap off, forcing Golem to catch both.
"We are our own masters," the pack members declare. "Free from orders, free from masters! Free.. like the wind."
Genki isn't scared, and challenges him. "Tiger of the Wind, huh? Well, listen! I'm Genki of the air, and you don't scare me at all!" Tiger is unmoved. "Mind your manners, Genki. You've been warned."
"We're on a mission here, and you're not going to stop us! Kiss the sky, Mocchi!"
They start to leap for the Monster, but Holly stops them. "You don't understand, Genki! He's Tiger of the Wind. I think we should surrender now--or we'll be lost in a tornado of destruction."
Tiger is amused that even children have heard of him, but Genki isn't willing to surrender.
"Well, mister Monster of the Wind, we've come a long way, and we're not going to give up! We've got no quarrel with you unless you stand in our way!"
"Foolish boy! You don't know when to stop. Come on!"
Genki and Mocchi charge him...
And Tiger howls, creating a beautifully-animated shockwave that stops them both in their tracks.
When the wind subsides, Tiger charges Genki and slams him and Mocchi into a cliff.
Golem tries to help, but sees that his friends are corralled. "It's not smart to go against the Tigers of the Wind," a Daton warns, and Golem is forced to back down.
"I went easy on them," adds Tiger.
"The wind could have been much worse."
The pack examines the items scattered around, and Holly says they really don't have much of anything.
The Tigers don't buy it, and a Daton tricks Suezo into revealing a worthy prize--the Magic Stone.
Tiger eagerly claims it. "This is what we wanted!"
Then Holly notices the Magic Stone is glowing red... and wonders why.
She walks up to Tiger. "Please return the Stone to me!" Tiger refuses. "We can't just walk away and take nothing!"
"Sure you can!" It's Genki, ready for more. "One more time, and this time it's personal!"
Tiger just grins...
And then he charges. A single slap of his tail knocks Mocchi into the sky.
Tiger then pins Genki down in the same motion, his fangs dangerously close to the boy's neck. He opens his mouth.
He speaks. "Listen up, punk, and listen up good!"
Holly pleads with Tiger to let Genki go, and Genki dares him to get on with it. "I'm not afraid of you!"
"Well, maybe you should be. You're a very brave, and very foolish little human. You rush in head first not bothering to even think of the consequences. You don't understand that sometimes, bravery isn't enough. Life can be hard, little human, hard and unfair--and you must know this."
Genki starts to cry, and Tiger punctuates his words before releasing him. "Don't. Be. Reckless. You're young, brave, and you have a good heart--but in this world, that isn't enough. I know that better than anyone."
"Let's go," he yells, and the pack runs off--and Holly turns to see Genki rubbing his eyes, claiming he had sand in them.
The group finds Mocchi, and Holly uses a telescope to try and locate the Wild Bunch.
She doesn't see them, but Suezo does--and he sees something else waiting in their path. It's a group of Dinos--and they're working for Moo!
Tiger returns to his base to see a stockpile of treasure laid out.
He inspects it--and is trapped in a net suspended from a wooden crane. The Magic Stone falls.
Tiger tries to break the net by scratching and biting it. When this doesn't work he tries his Super Torpedo attack--to no avail.
"Listen up," shouts a harsh voice, and Tiger looks down to see Dinos, flanking their Captain. "You Tigers should know who you're dealin' with here! Your Super Torpedoes won't harm that net!"
"You're working for Moo, aren't you," Tiger growls, but Captain Dino ignores him. "Never mind who we work for. I'll ask the questions 'round here! Where is the Mystery Disk?"
Tiger tells him that they don't have one, but the Dino sneers. "Have you so soon forgotten who it is you're dealing with? Whatever happens to you, good or bad, is up to me!"
The Wild Bunch growls at this threat, but Tiger remains calm. "We mean no disrespect to Moo. But I'm telling you that there is no Mystery Disk here! You'd better leave."
But Captain Dino keeps grinning. "Aren't you forgetting... something?"
Tiger winces, and his pack waits.
"...All right, then. Please." From his reaction, it's clear that there's more going on than an apology...
Captain Dino sneers. "Very nice."
"..But I don't think so!"
The Dinos attack.
"Tigers, run!"
"I said run!"
By the time they are finished...
Every member of the Wild Bunch is dead.
Tiger screams. (Brian Drummond's voice acting nails this scene.)
"Well, well, well, look what I just found," says Captain Dino, moving to claim the Magic Stone--but he stops when he sees teardrops.
"Aw, have you forgotten, Tiger? Tears are not enough!"
Tiger glares at him, tears in his eyes. "Dangerous practice to mock what you cannot know, Captain. Perhaps you have forgotten why I am called Tiger of the Wind."
Captain Dino laughs at him and, with a flick of his claw, commands Tiger be dropped down the canyon.
Soon, Genki and the others race up to reclaim the Magic Stone... and are shocked to find the Lost Disks.
That's when Mocchi sees Tiger--alone and hurt at the bottom of the canyon. He alerts the others, and they move to help him.
By nightfall, the group is situated around a campfire, and Tiger is covered in bandages.
He shakily opens his eyes, and starts when he sees Genki and his friends. "W-where am I!?"
Tiger tries to rise, but fails. "Hold on, you have to take it easy," cries Genki.
Tiger ignores him. "If you're looking for the Magic Stone, Genki, the Dinos took it. There. Now leave me to my fate."
Holly gently feels for his arm. "Just be still. It's time to change your bandages, okay? I have some medicine."
She moves to give it to him, but Tiger knocks it out of her hands. Suezo's angry. "That wasn't nice!"
Tiger growls that he doesn't accept help from humans, and Genki picks up the medicine. "Humans? My name is Genki. Remember when you gave me that speech about being reckless a while ago? Well, Tiger, it's your turn to listen."
He smiles and gently applies the medicine. "Please allow us to be your friend!"
"Maybe we can help each other!"
"Maybe we aren't... who you think we are!"
Genki finishes applying the medicine... and Tiger thanks him. "Thank you--no. Thank you, Genki."
Genki and Holly smile at this.
Some time later, everyone is asleep by the fire...
except Genki, who's changing Tiger's bandages. Tiger awakens, and asks him why he's journeying.
"This is not your world... these are not your battles..."
"If we can revive the Phoenix from the Mystery Disk, all of the bad Monsters will become good Monsters! Even Moo." Tiger asks if he's planning to battle Moo, and Genki nods.
Tiger grows quiet.
"Once, I was as reckless as you, Genki. Once, I had a younger brother..."
"We did everything together, had every sort of adventure--always together."
"Life was hard. We did what was needed to survive."
"Time passed and many miles passed. We joined with others, all of us cast out by humans."
"We became a family... until...Moo."
Tiger leapt at Moo and was clawed in the face--that's how he got his scar across his eye.
His brother, Gray Wolf, attacked Moo... and was grabbed, electrocuted...
and carried away to become corrupted and join Moo.
Tiger was left alone in the snow.
"And your brother," Genki asks. "Gone forever."
"...It's not fair," Genki says, and spends the rest of the night staring into the fire.
The next day, everyone is ready to go, and Genki asks Tiger if he'd like to join their group. He turns away instead.
"Help us, Tiger," Holly says. (The sad music begins here.)
"It's your chance! To battle Moo," Genki adds.
Tiger pauses. "There are some fights you cannot win. My friends, do not confront Moo. It will go very badly for you."
Suezo watches him leave, a serious expression on his face. "Listen to him! It's like he's completely given up!" Holly says that Tiger's reason are his own, and they must respect them.
Mocchi agrees with her, and they decide to get the Magic Stone back themselves.
Genki isn't sure where to start, but Suezo has a new trick he's been developing--Golem will toss him into the air, letting him see as far as he can!
From his vantage point in the sky, Suezo sees the Dinos headed for a village!
And then he's forgotten about when he comes down, and crashes. This begins one of the series' most frequent running gags.
The group heads off, and the Dinos have begun to terrorize the village. Captain Dino stomps into town and demands a Mystery Disk.
From across the village, Golem chucks Mocchi at the Dinos... and he crashes into the captain's neck, stealing the Magic Stone back! So awesome!
Genki catches him as he leaps back, and the two blade off. "See ya later, alligator!"
The Dinos give chase, and Genki and Mocchi head for an alley...
and pass the Stone off to Holly as they run!
But Genki and Mocchi's escape plan is hindered by more Dinos, who plow through a building to get to them!
Genki barely vaults over another Dino and heads for the village entrance...
Before Captain Dino slaps them both with his tail, knocking them to the ground. They're quickly surrounded.
Genki gets up... and grins. "I'll take you all on at once! Come on!"
Captain Dino roars... and is cut off by a harsh wind.
It's Tiger, come back to help out!
His head bandages fly off as he approaches.
"What's this? Another piece of unfinished business for Moo?"
"You've had your way around here long enough, Dino. The party is over."
"For you!" The Dinos charge Tiger.
He dodges, running closer to Captain Dino as he does.
Tiger runs between the pack.
His fangs show.
And in one stroke...
One attack...
The battle is over.
Captain Dino's pupils dilate, then disappear... and, hitting the ground with a thud, he turns into a Lost Disk.
The other Dinos turn tail and run.
Tiger got revenge for the slaying of his pack.
Holly asks Genki if he's okay, and he says he is--thanks to his friend Tiger.
Tiger collapses from the strain, and Genki asks him why he came back to save them. "Even if it is reckless, a Tiger's gotta do what a Tiger's gotta do."
Genki pleads for him to get better, and Tiger nods. "Don't worry. I'll stick with you--Genki."
At that, everyone celebrates, with Suezo thinking six is a nice, round number.
And Holly wonders if the Magic Stone is leading them to Mystery Disks or each other.
The wind blows through Holly's hair in response, and she smiles
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