Tough Luck is the twenty-second episode of Ben 10.
Plot
A mysterious teenage girl walks through a prison, easily opening the doors in front of her with magic powers. She opens her bag and it seems to be the source of her magic. She breaks down the door of a cell, and it was Hex, who waits for someone to let him out. He addresses her as his niece, and her name is Charmcaster. She has come to not only let him out of prison, but to deliver his staff to him. In a quick result, they easily get out from the prison’s hold.
In a highway cliff, a bus is about to fall off the cliff. Four Arms was able to save it, but it seems that the elderly people want Four Arms to carry them off the bus. He doesn’t seem to be happy about it. In the RV, Gwen searches the internet of magical items and artifacts, which reminds her of Lucky Girl. Ben enters and he complains that he deserves to have a day off from being a hero. Max said that he should be grateful for the power that he has been given. Ben recaps Gwen's way while she was Lucky Girl. His insult makes her throw a pillow in his face. Ben continues and he says that the elders in the bus offered him to come to a magic convention in Las Vegas. Ben was not interested in their offer, though Gwen overheard what he said and she seems to be happy to hear about it.
Somewhere, Hex and Charmcaster stand near a fire. Hex recites a spell, and it reveals to him the Lost Keystone of Bezel and pinpoints to him the location of it. Charmcaster seems to want to leave, but Hex tells her to stay. With no choice, she stays, afraid that her uncle might hurt her.
Ben, Gwen and Max arrive at the magic convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her expectance of the event doesn’t seem to satisfy, but Ben seems to enjoy what he’s looking for so far. Grandpa Max tells her to look around some more, in case Gwen finds something that she might like. She spots a booth that offers magical charms, and a specific one seems to satisfy her enough. Before she finishes explaining to Max about the charm she bought, screaming is heard from outside.
A man is hanging from a rope attached to a flying helicopter, and it seems that the helicopter is breaking down. Ben transforms to Stinkfly to save the man, though the situation seems to have worsened after the blades popped off. Gwen finds that Max doesn’t notice the blades heading his way, and she immediately goes after to push him out of the way. Mysteriously, the charm in the bracelet sparkles, and she pushes Max out of the way just in time. Her amazing stunt intrigues him. Immediately, she knows what she’s just been given.
Stinkfly continues to hang on under the helicopter, and he uses his slime to create threads that were able to hold the helicopter in place. Stinkfly was able to stop the helicopter, but the man was ready to fall when they see that the rope holding him was burning. He falls down, but Lucky Girl comes to the rescue, and catches him just in time. The crowd cheers for Stinkfly and Lucky Girl's teamwork. Stinkfly was amazed by Lucky Girl's return, he seems to be happy about it.
In the RV, Gwen researches more information on the charm, figuring out that it's related to the Charms of Bezel. Ben thought that she destroyed all the charms, though she explains that it's the legendary Lost Keystone of Bezel. It can greatly enhanced one’s skills and magical powers ten times.
They head back to the Magician of the Year convention, and they watch the upcoming event. As the announcer tells the audience that the next contestant is about to attempt for the crown, Ben seems to have an idea in what to do. The magician in the stage calls for a volunteer, and Ben was the first to come up and do it. He puts Ben into the box, and in a matter of seconds after the man chants Abracadabra, the box glows green and Wildmutt bursts out, immediately causing the audience to cheer for the magician’s act. Max and Gwen seem to be the only one in the crowd to ignore Wildmutt. A cloud of red dust hovers above the building, and it directs to the stage, where Hex then appears. He sees Gwen, and he orders her to hand over the Lost Keystone of Bezel.
Hex realizes that the audience is looking for magic tricks. So to go along with the subject, he uses magic that threatens them. Lucky Girl comes to stop Hex and Charmcaster. Hex grabs a hold of Lucky Girl's Keystone, but gets thrown by Lucky Girl. Charmcaster then attempts her fighting style. She opens her bag to release little objects, which then grew into massive creatures. Wildmutt comes to try and pin her down, though her strength in magic overcomes Wildmutt’s advantage over her. Hex gets back up on his feet, and causes a feedback that throws Max and Lucky Girl into a hedge maze. More of the mysterious creatures then stop by their feet, and then transform to chase them. Luckily, they were able to get out of their sight.
Hex and Charmcaster come in, and he orders her to track them down. Max, however, is being chased by the giant stone monster, but Wildmutt was just in time to save him, though Wildmutt reverts to Ben. Lucky Girl finds Charmcaster, and Lucky Girl was able to take her bag away. Charmcaster tells Gwen that she’s innocent and that she wants to get away from her uncle. Gwen is suspicious of her claims, though she immediately goes on her side after learning about Hex’s threat of what he might do to Max and Ben if she doesn’t hand the charm over. Charmcaster opens her bag and releases bats that drop him into a nearby pool. Little did Gwen know that she had been fooled, and Hex realized that Charmcaster was smart to act innocent. The eclipse is near, and Hex readies the ritual to recreate the five Charms of Bezel and gain their powers and abilities once more.
Gwen puts herself down after realizing that she was fooled, but Ben warns her that Hex must be stopped before the charms are recreated. Hex must go to the highest point of the city, where the ritual will be performed.
Hex recites a spell, and the Keystone rises to the sky. The eclipse draws nearer, and time is short. Ben insists for Gwen’s help, just enough to cheer her up. Ben still can’t activate the Omnitrix, though Max finds another way to get up the building. Gwen and Max head to the window washer’s platform, while Ben finds another way to the top.
Lucky Girl comes up to interrupt Hex’s chant, and she appears to have arrived at the top by levitation. Charmcaster is not buying the trick that Lucky Girl is attempting. Hex pulls off her act to find Max holding her up. Though they find that Lucky Girl has no known magical powers and abilities, Ben comes along with his hoverboard. He hits Hex in the head, though he ends up being pushed off to the edge of the board. Lucky Girl tries to pin down Charmcaster, though Max and Lucky Girl end up on the roller coaster.
Ben continues to hang on for his life, but it was enough time to recharge the Omnitrix. Hex knocks him off, and he was meant to change into Four Arms, he ends up as Wildvine. Wildvine extends his arms to hold on to buildings. Charmcaster throws the magical orbs onto the coaster tracks, putting Max and Lucky Girl in danger. Luckily, Wildvine was able to grab a hold of them.
Hex tells Charmcaster that he’ll continue the spell from there, though it seems that she turns on him. She says that she needed a master magician to perform the recreation ritual. Hex tries to grab a hold of his staff, though with no success. From there, Charmcaster continues the spell to complete the five Charms of Bezel. Charmcaster isn’t afraid of Lucky Girl, though she was able to activate the staff. To finish the job, Wildvine destroys the newly created charms, and drains Charmcaster and Hex of all of their magic, sealing them away in the Keystone. Gwen realizes that the Keystone may have lost its power, and she may not become Lucky Girl again, but Ben tells her that there are other ways to be a hero. She rides the hoverboard to show Ben a fine example. But little did Gwen know that the Keystone of Bezel still has power left, after showing itself to glow.
Major Events
- The gang meets up with Hex.
- Lucky Girl returns.
- The gang meet Charmcaster.
Debuts
Characters
- Ben Tennyson
- Gwen Tennyson
- Max Tennyson
- Harold
- Edith
- Mildred
- The Amazing Alan
Villains
- Hex
- Charmcaster (first appearance)
Aliens Used
Spells Used
- Fallum Quarca Daminigan
- Darkara Dorokey Aghosto
- Metacorpius
- Barban Hextida Zerzam
Quotes
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(Gwen flies off on the hoverboard)
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Naming and Translations
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Má Sorte | Bad Luck |
| Spanish (Latin America) | La Suerte Regresa | The Luck Returns |
| Spanish (Spain) | Menuda Suerte | What Luck |
Trivia
- The trios' twenty-first stop is Las Vegas.
- This is the first and only time in the series when we see the Omnitrix dial pop-up when its red.
- This marks the first time Wildvine is mentioned by name.
- Many believe Charmcaster lost her magic in this episode, yet she still had magic when she appeared in A Change of Face. It is unknown what the purple energy leaving Charmcaster's body was.
- In a stark contrast to Gwen's first appearance as Lucky Girl, Ben actually welcomes her assistance this time. In fact, Ben and Gwen do not really have any arguments in this episode at all, which is unusual.
- Charmcaster explained to Gwen that Hex's staff only works with a master magician, yet Gwen managed to use it, hinting Gwen's future using magic spells.