Banette earned a look of contempt from the Mouse Pokemon. It was clear on Pikachu's face that he was mildly offended by Banette's words. Though it's not like Banette knew what kind of person Ash is, and the lengths he would go to reach out to anyone, especially the Pokemon he meets.

Meanwhile, Ash listened attentively to Banette's story. And it's from there that he picked something that caught his ears. They sound similarly to the case of him and Pikachu. And from how Banette talked about its Trainer, it sounded like they genuinely cared for one another. We had each other, it said. Now, Ash continued to wonder...

"So like, he's gone? All of a sudden?" He questioned. He didn't want to doubt Banette, but there's one part of the story that he couldn't help but scrutinize at. Did Banette's Trainer really, truly left it behind willingly?

"...The way I see it, I think maybe, he didn't mean to leave you behind." Ash then continued, "He... might have been taken away, by whatever brought us here in the first place."

He recalled stories from the locals in the island, from Professor Banyan too -- how there are people who were drifted in would eventually get drifted back to their home worlds. It was a hope he held on to while in his stay in Ultern.