Getting to the Heart of it All! (Japanese: ジュペッタのさがしもの！Juppeta's Search!) is the eighth episode of Pokémon: To Be a Pokémon Master, the 144th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,229th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on March 3, 2023, in Canada on July 1, 2023, in South Africa on July 11, 2023, and in the United States on September 8, 2023.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Ash, Misty, and Brock are enjoying the sights in a town when the calm is interrupted by a scream! The cause? A Banette who seems determined to steal as many heart-shaped items as possible, including Misty’s new hair tie. After some investigation, our heroes discover the Banette used to be a plush doll with a heart-shaped hair tie, and now it wants to find the little girl who accidentally left it behind. With an old photo as a clue, Brock realizes something—the little girl grew up to become the town’s Nurse Joy! Banette and Nurse Joy have a tearful reunion, and they vow to stay together going forward.
Plot
Ash and his friends arrive at a small town at dusk, with Misty wearing a new heart-shaped hair tie she had just bought. While looking for the local Pokémon Center, the group spots a crime in progress, with Officer Jenny on the scene. She explains that an unidentified Pokémon has been stealing things around town recently, so the group offers to help, with Ash calling out Gengar to provide assistance. The group splits up around the house, and soon they find the culprit Pokémon, which Brock identifies as a Banette before it escapes. The group follows Banette from house to house, but it manages to evade capture at every turn. Officer Jenny reads a list of the stolen items to the exhausted group, revealing that Banette has only stolen heart-shaped items. Meanwhile, Banette brings its latest haul to an abandoned house in the outskirts of the town, but none of the items it had taken match what it's searching for.
Consulting Ash's Rotom Phone, the group learns that Banette is a doll that came to life due to a deep grudge from being abandoned. This still doesn't explain why this particular Banette is only stealing heart-shaped things, though, so, after eating their fill at the local Pokémon Center, they resume their search. They soon spot Banette on a rooftop, with a gust of wind blowing away the photo it was looking at. Brock catches it, with Banette diving in to retrieve it, but it changes its target when it spots Misty's hair tie and starts chasing her. Ash chases after Banette, but fails to stop it, so he has Gengar chase after it as it flees. While Gengar ends up losing sight of Banette just outside the abandoned house, Brock declares that he's figured out what's going on: the photo Banette dropped features a young girl hugging a plush doll with a heart-shaped hair tie, meaning that this photo features Banette before it became a Pokémon, and it's now searching for a similar hair tie that it wore back then, which was precious gift to it from its owner. As the group heads back to the Pokémon Center, Ash asks Misty if she could give her hair tie to Banette to make it happy. Misty agrees, admitting she was thinking of doing so herself.
Ash's team for this episode
At the abandoned house, Banette reminisces of its past: it used to be a plush doll owned by a little girl who once lived in this very house and had made it a heart-shaped hair tie as a gift. When the family had moved to a new house, the movers had accidentally left the doll behind. Years passed, until finally, the worn-out doll became a Banette. Discovering a photo of its owner, it had set out to search for her, only to realize that it had become a Pokémon and lost its hair tie. Returning to the house, it had discovered the hair tie, but the papery object had worn out over the years and crumbled into dust in its hands.
The next day, Gengar leads the group to where it last saw Banette. Spotting the abandoned house nearby, they decide to investigate it, discovering the heart-shaped items that Banette had stolen. Ash makes Banette show itself by offering to return its photo. Once it has appeared, they present Misty's hair tie to it and offer to help it find its owner, much to Banette's delight. In town, Banette approaches a girl, but she says she's not the girl in the photo. Misty soon realizes the photo features the abandoned house in the background, meaning that the photo is years old and the girl featured in it has grown up by now. Undeterred, Ash decides they simply need to talk to everyone, but by dusk, they've had no luck in finding Banette's former owner, with Misty even mentioning the possibility of the girl having moved somewhere far away. Banette leaves in a dejected state, with the group deciding to continue their search the next day. Gengar, sympathizing with Banette, flies after it and finds it sitting on a train car, having decided to continue the search for its owner elsewhere. Gengar accepts its decision and waves it goodbye as the train starts moving.
The group returns to the Pokémon Center, though Brock can't shake the feeling they're overlooking something important. The moment they enter and are greeted by Nurse Joy, though, Brock suddenly realizes what they've been overlooking: the girl in the photo is actually Nurse Joy. Shocked by this revelation, Ash runs out and relays the news to Gengar, who points to the direction which Banette had left to. Calling out his Dragonite, Ash follows after Gengar and manages to catch up with the train. Immediately upon learning that its owner has been found, Banette hops onto Dragonite as well, and they return to town. Seeing the hair tie Banette is wearing, Nurse Joy immediately recognizes her childhood toy and tearfully hugs it, apologizing for leaving it alone for so long. The next day, Banette has officially become Nurse Joy's assistant. Joy thanks Ash and his friends for reuniting her with her friend as the group continues on their way.
Major events
For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.
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