This time, the episode cuts to the chase as Sakura pursues The Dash
◊ card. Kero points out that luckily, it gets tired after short distances. Sakura uses the opportunity to trap it with Windy. As it struggles, it manages to escape offscreen and out of sight. Sakura senses its location at someone's house and tries to jump onto the wall, temporarily forgetting she had a card that would make things easier. Unfortunately, people are coming, as a woman thoguht she saw someone in a bizarre outfit
◊. They'll have to catch Dash later, but Kero reassures Sakura it's not going anywhere. Right.
Meanwhile, their son, er, daughter
◊ heard something outside. Seriously, if it weren't for the fact she wears the schoolgirl uniform later on, I wouldn't be able to tell. Her name? Jessie. Of course. Anyways, she notices the creature has hurt her leg, and tends to it. As she cradles it at the front porch, they take a liking to each other. Suffice to say, this is going to be one of Sakura's toughest obstacles yet.
Sakura's outfit the next day is a baseball uniform. As Jessie tends to the strange animal she names Hoppy, Sakura accidentally lands a baseball in her yard. Jessie is surprised there is a baseball game going on, but tells her she can't come since she just got back from track meet training. They wish each other luck.
At school, Sakura and Madison observe Jessie's practice. Why Sakura isn't participating in the event is beyond me, but she's a cheerleader for the track meet, which is okay...I guess? On Jessie's next run, Sakura notices some magical energy from her, and she manages to vastly improve on her previous time. Uh-oh.
Sakura and Madison are invited to snacks for celebration, as Jessie tells her about her good luck charm Hoppy. She is ready to show them when Sakura hastily decides to leave, with the excuse that she can't see Hoppy since it would be bad luck. Kero warns her outside that the card is getting stronger, and Sakura reluctantly agrees to seal it at some point. Hoppy is spooked for a reason Jessie cannot determine.
Jessie qualifies for the 100-metre dash with a new school record, the first to make it in a long time! Surprising considering Sakura was held up as the school's star athlete, but then she just might be better suited for longer distances. Ms. Mckenzie shows up behind Sakura and her friends, telling them her improvement could have been because she didn't believe she could do it last week. As Sakura is about to leave, Chelsea tells her she knows whose fault it will be if Jessie doesn't win. Um.... Oh, it's just her way of telling them all to go cheer her on!
Jessie is determined to win, but Sakura is feeling guilt-tripped about the whole ordeal. She tells Kero that she wants to wait after the track meet to seal Dash. Kero is decidedly unhappy at her refusal to accept her responsibility, which gets Sakura upset at his apparent lack of sympathy. Kero follows up by saying that sometimes the choice she has to make isn't necessarily the one she wants to.
Two days to the meet, and Jessie's performance is as strong as ever. Kero warns Sakura that if left unchecked, the Dash card could cause more chaos and continues to remind her that her job is to capture cards. They suddenly spot Li's Lasin Board detecting the Dash card. Hoppy senses Li's presence as well, and runs away into the forest. Sakura is still hesitant to seal the card, but Kero decides to get personal. He reminds her that even if she does leave the card be, Jessie will only be winning by fraud, and he asks her what kind of friend would allow that. Point taken. Sakura decides to finally seal the card, which ends up going to Li. He is infuriated that Sakura would just let the card run loose this whole time, but Jessie's desperate cries for Hoppy to come back bring Li to an understanding. Kero tries to comfort Sakura after such a difficult decision, but Li gets an idea.
At the day of the race, Jessie is feeling noitceably less confident in her ability, but she suddenly sees an image of Hoppy and she and Sakura regain their motivation. Sakura cheers her on, and...you know what happens in the end. Of course, Li didn't do anything. Just an illusion of magic is all it takes. He's surprised she would think he used such a cheat, undoubtedly considering the fake card episode.
