PJ021: Caring for a Mystery!

is the 21st episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
As Professor Cerise discusses Pokémon Eggs, Goh reveals he’s never seen one before, so he and Ash set off to find one! Along the way, Ash wins another World Coronation Series battle, but Pikachu needs to visit the Pokémon Center to recover. There, our heroes learn that Nurse Joy is caring for a Pokémon Egg that won’t hatch. Feeling a connection with the Egg, Ash agrees to care for it. It finally hatches into a Riolu, who runs off and ends up in over its head in battles with wild Pokémon. After Ash arrives and helps it battle, a bond forms, and Riolu becomes a part of Ash’s Pokémon family!
==Episode plot==
At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy is taking care of a Trainer's Vulpix and the boy is happy that his Pokémon is feeling better, much to Nurse Joy's pleasure. Nurse Joy and Chansey then walk down a hall and enter a room to check on a Pokémon Egg, which they are taking care of. At the Cerise Laboratory, everyone is researching Professor Elm's info about Pokémon Eggs. Goh is excited about this research and then became amazed to hear that Ash had seen a Pokémon Egg himself. Hearing this, Goh decided to go find a Pokémon Egg in order to see one himself. Ren points out that finding a Pokémon Egg in the wild wouldn't be easy, but the boys decide to go look anyway.
In the forest, the boys attempt to find a Pokémon Egg. Goh then spots something that looks like an Egg, but it turns out to be an Exeggcute. Despite this, Goh decides to catch it and successfully adds it to his Pokémon party. Ash isn't completely interested in Goh's catch, but then notices a Trainer named Hayden arriving to challenge him in the World Coronation Series. Rotom Drone appears and announces the match between Ash and Hashiba, with the battle being a 1-on-1 battle. Rotom Drone then tells both Trainers to send out their Pokémon. Ash sends out Pikachu, while Hayden summons Tauros. As the battle begins, Tauros charges in with Horn Attack which, Pikachu intercepts with Iron Tail, sending out a powerful wave of energy. At the Pokémon Center, Chansey is examining the egg, which starts to react from the wave link. As the battle continues, Pikachu attacks with Electroweb, only for Tauros to break through it and hit Pikachu back. Pikachu manages to get up and both he and Ash continue the fight, sending a second wave of Aura, to which the egg starts glowing due to sensing the aura. Tauros charges in with another Iron Head, but Pikachu then finishes Tauros off with Thunderbolt. The egg starts responding more frequently from the aura of Ash's battle. Tauros then falls down beaten, with Ash and Pikachu being the winners of the match. Ash hugs Pikachu but then notices an injury on his tail, and apologizes for accidentally hurting him. Ash tells Pikachu that they're going to the Pokémon center to treat his wound. Just then, Ash feels a presence nearby, which causes him to wonder what is happening.
At the Pokémon Center, Pikachu has to endure the pain during his treatment. While Pikachu is being given medical treatment, Ash once again senses the presence of the Egg and finds it. Goh and Nurse Joy found Ash who notices the Pokémon Egg. Ash asks why the Egg is hooked up, with Nurse Joy explaining it has been an Egg for a very long time and hasn't hatched. All of a sudden, the Egg starts to move around, surprising everyone by this. Ash feels the Egg, stating that it's very warm and let Pikachu feel himself. Seeing Ash's interest in the Egg, Nurse Joy tells him he can have it. She explains to the boys that the Egg came from the Sinnoh region and been sent to numerous day cares, but simply refuses to hatch. After Nurse Joy explains the egg's backstory, Ash decides to look after it.
Back at the institute, everyone marvels at the Egg, telling Ash what a big responsibility he has by being entrusted with a Pokémon's life. Chloe asks her father if there's any way to know what kind of Pokémon they can get from an Egg, and he explains that it's a complete mystery. When Goh asks how long it will take for the Egg to hatch, Cerise further explains that Pokémon Eggs are more likely to hatch when in the presence of healthy Pokémon, thus Trainers will carry the eggs around with them until they hatch. Ash decides to take it for a walk, telling it that he and Pikachu will spend time together with it. Goh tells Ash that the Egg won't hear him. However, Cerise disproves Goh by telling a tale of a Jigglypuff who would sing to an Egg every day. When the Egg later hatched into an Azurill, it sang the same song Jigglypuff sang. After realizing the story, Goh apologizes to the Egg for thinking it couldn't hear them.
thumb|left|The Egg hatching into Riolu.
At the Cerise park, Ash's Dragonite is flying around when Ash calls it over and shows it the Egg. Dragonite attempts to hug the Egg, but Ash stops it, telling to save it for when it hatches after seeing he was about to crush it by accident. Dragonite agrees and instead hugs Pikachu. At night, the boys are sleeping until they are awoken by the Egg glowing. As the boys watch this phenomenon, the Egg begins to hatch revealing it to be a Riolu. The boys are amazed that Riolu hatched and greeted it. However, Riolu becomes confused when it doesn't sense Ash's aura. Ash then notices Riolu is feeling concerned and tries to comfort it, only for the Emanation Pokémon to blast Ash backwards with Vacuum Wave. Pikachu tries to stop Riolu from hurting Ash, but the latter assures him that he's fine and is amazed by its power even though it only just hatched. However, Riolu is troubled by Ash as it jumps out of the window and escapes, leaving Ash worried by Riolu's behavior and follows after it.
As Riolu continues to run away, it stumbles upon a group of Poliwag, Poliwhirl and their leader Poliwrath. Riolu attempts to fight them, only to get overpowered and blown away by the -type Pokémon. The boys continue their search for Riolu, with Ash stating that they really need to find it. Goh states as mentioned in the Pokédex that Riolu can run across three mountains and two canyons in one night. Despite Goh's statement, Ash tells him that he can't leave Riolu alone as it has only just hatched, and explains that it had been calling out to him yesterday. Ash also explains that Nurse Joy said that Riolu had been in the egg for so long and was waiting him, but he could be wrong. Realizing Ash's feelings, Goh tells him to split up in order to cover more ground and promises to find it. Ash agrees and thanks Goh as they split up to look for Riolu. Riolu continues to battle against more wild Pokémon such as Butterfree, Rattata and Diglett, but repeatedly ends up attacked by them. Despite all the injuries it has sustained, Riolu continues to run.
Arriving at a mountain, Riolu attempts to climb up to the top, However, Riolu realizes it was climbing on an Onix, causing it to become enraged. Ash and Pikachu hear the noise from where they are and head in that direction. Riolu tries to fight against Onix by using Vacuum Wave, but it has no effect. Onix then attacks with Rock Throw, but Riolu doges it and tackles Onix, who counters with Dragon Tail. As Riolu struggles to get up, Ash and Pikachu arrive and come to its aid. As Onix approaches them, Ash and Pikachu ready themselves to battle. At the exact moment, Riolu then see waves of Aura from Ash, making it realize that he was the trainer with the strong Aura. Ash orders Pikachu to use Iron Tail which lands a direct hit. Before Pikachu continue to battle Onix, Riolu pushes him aside as it wants Ash to battle with it so it can become stronger. Realizing Riolu's wishes, Ash agrees. As Onix attacks with Rock Throw, Ash tells Riolu to counter with Vacuum Wave, destroying its attacks. Ash then commands Riolu to charge in and tackle Onix, managing to knock it of balance. Riolu then continues to attack, forcing Onix to flee while Ash tells Riolu to stop. Ash compliments Riolu for battling hard, which amuses the baby Pokémon. However. Riolu begins to collapse, but is caught in Ash's hands. Ash tells Riolu that they can go to the Pokémon center, and offer it to be carried by him. However Riolu neglects Ash's care and walks with him to the Pokémon center instead. At the Pokémon center, Riolu has it wounds healed, much to Ash's joy and relief. Riolu then walks up to Ash and asks to join his team. Ash accepts Riolu's request and captures it in a Poké Ball, becoming the newest member of Ash's Pokémon team.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Ash's Riolu
*Goh's Exeggcute
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?:" Chansey
*This episode aired to promote the Egg-related Pokémon GO spring event and Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Easter 2020 Den Event which are related to the Easter holiday which exists in western countries. The episode, in particular, focuses on an Egg and aired on Easter Sunday, and both of the aforementioned game events feature Riolu.
*This marks the first instance of Ash's sensitivity to Aura since the Diamond and Pearl series.
*The wild Pokémon encounter music in Pokémon Sword and Shield was played when Ash and Hayden were battling each other.
*Despite winning the battle, Ash's new rank in the World Coronation Series is not shown for some reason.
===Errors===
*In several frames, Riolu's left aura appendage was shown to be larger than the right one.
*In the English Dub, when Ash says to Pikachu to wrap up the battle, Pikachu's cry wasn't heard.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a Pokémon Egg
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes with Pokémon World Championship matches
Category:Episodes with World Coronation Series matches
Category:Episodes featuring Champions