Pokemon: Aim to be a Pokemon Master is a mini-series of the anime series, Pokemon. The series recently premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on January 13th, 2023. The mini-series is a sequel to the main Pokemon Journeys: The series, comprising of eleven episodes.
Produced by OLM studios, the mini series features Ash (Satoshi) and Pikachu, our main characters of Pokemon for the last twenty-five years. They are accompanied by Misty (Kasumi) and Brock (Takeshi), creating the original trio from the Indigo League adventures.
As the Pokemon community might know, Ask Ketchum had just won the Masters Eight tournament. The Pokemon: Aim to be a Pokemon Master mini-series bids adieu to our old cast of Ash and Pikachu, serving as an epilogue to the long and rocky adventure of theirs.
Pokemon: Aim To Be A Pokemon Master Episode 8: Storyline
The episode titled ‘Banette’s Search’ depicts the trio coming to a town where a mysterious Banette, a ghost pokemon is stealing heart-shaped objects from several houses.
The episode begins with the trio visiting a town and Misty showing off her newly bought heart accessory which is attached to her hair. The other two complain about how long the queue was. While trying to search for the Pokemon center, the trio is suddenly disturbed by a shrill shriek, leading them to rush to the spot where they heard it.
There, they witness Officer Jenny (Junsa) taking witness notes from a few people. According to her statement, a strange phenomenon is spreading throughout the city and she believes a pokemon is behind it but does not know who.
Through her limited knowledge, Jenny furthers the investigation, accompanied by Growlithe, the trio and their pokemon Pikachu and Gengar. They enter the house of the victim and immediately notice a mysterious, purplish blob floating in the sky. As Gengar and Pikachu charge their attacks, the blob manages to avoid the attacks.
Brock gets a glimpse of the Pokemon, which is later identified as a Banette (Jupetta). Revealed to have stolen things, particularly heart-shaped ones, the trio start to investigate the cause behind Banette’s theft.
The story then shifts its focus to Banette who is trying out its newly obtained accessories on its head in front of a mirror. It seemed visibly distressed after the ordeal of finding the perfect heart item. It is here that we see Banette holding a very old and torn photo of a girl (whose face is blurred) hugging her beloved doll, zooming in on its heart accessory, tied to its left ear.
According to the Pokedex, Banette is the embodiment of the grudge held by an abandoned doll. The trio investigate the case further and encounter Banette who is sitting on a roof, trying to find the item that it wants. Noticing Misty’s heart accessory on her head, Banette rushes to get it from her.
Frightened by the sudden act of chase, Misty starts running while Brock gets a hold of the picture and deduces that Banette was the doll in the picture and it wants to find her owner with the help of the heart ornament.
The scene shifts to the old ramshackled house where Banette is looking at the moon through the windows. The scene shifts to a flashback where we see the doll, named as Gon being hugged by the unknown little girl. She puts a heart-shaped bow on the doll’s head and waits eagerly for it to come to their new house as the family had to shift.
The movers were moving the furniture but due to haste, one of them accidentally dropped Gon leading to it being abandoned unintentionally. Days and months passed but there was no sign of the girl coming back. Hence, Banette emerged from within the doll’s grudgeful soul.
The trio try their best to help Banette by giving it Misty’s heart-shaped item. However, Banette does not remember the face of the girl and the fact that the house was so aged in the picture meant that the girl had grown up. The chances of finding her looked slim but Ash did not give up.
After countless hours of searching, Banette decides to leave the town to look for her owner. However, Brock solves the puzzle and finds out that the owner of Banette was ultimately, Nurse Joy, the nurse at the Poke-clinic. Ash, Gengar, Pikachu and Dragonite rush to the train to tell Banette that they have found her owner.
In the ending, we see the two characters unite and Banette starts working as an assistant to Nurse Joy in the clinic.
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Pokemon: Aim To Be A Pokemon Master Episode 8: Review
Much like the original Pokemon Journey, each episode of Pokemon looks into a different topic to cover. The theme of this episode was the rekindling of old ties and the theme of abandonment.
We get to see a different perspective through Banette. Even though, it emerged as an embodiment of a grudgeful soul, full of resentment, it did not portray itself as such. It only wished to be reunited with the little girl, the owner whom it dearly loves. It tried its best to find the girl. It used all possibilities, like the heart shaped bow, to reach out to her.
However, due to the time that they remained parted, Banette forgot her face but the bond of love never withered. The same went for Nurse Joy who eagerly waited for Banette’s arrival. The moment they rekindled, the scene was like a tear-jerker. The emotion of love can be so strong and long-lasting that even years of separation cannot erase it.
Our old characters are just like they were. Misty being the observant character who noticed that the green door in the picture was that of the house.
We all know Brock for his shenanigans. He is constantly fawning over ladies and Misty and Croagunk have to go the extra mile to keep him within boundaries. However, he is always a massive help to the trio, being able to solve the mystery behind Banette and who the young girl was in the picture.
And Ash is always the same, energetic young man who never gives up. Having the fiery spark accompanied by Pikachu and his pokemon, he keeps moving forward.
Not to mention, the opening and ending credit songs are absolutely nostalgic. Pairing the frames of old pictures with that of the newer journeys, it shows how far Ash has come in his life. It would be heart-wrecking for the entire fandom to see him go.
Our Verdict
Pokemon: Aim To Be A Pokemon Master is the final arc of the Pokemon Journeys. As a person who has been watching Pokemon for a really long time, it feels like parting ways with a major part of my childhood.
However, if you are someone who really loves Pokemon, then this mini-series would be a walk down memory lane for you.
Our Rating: ⭐ (4.7/5).
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