Youngmee, having come over to Blythe's place for a visit, gives a shot at applying makeup to someone else's face—namely, Blythe's. Her attempt causes Blythe to look like a mime, with Youngmee admitting that it is surprisingly difficult to apply makeup to someone else's face compared to one's own. Zoe runs up into Blythe's arms in response and licks the makeup off of Blythe's face, and Youngmee, seeing the bond between Blythe and Zoe and her Aunt Christie and Buttercream, gives thought to having a pet of her own as well. Zoe requests that Blythe help Youngmee pick a suitable pet for her, so Blythe begins by asking Youngmee what sort of pet she'd like to have. Youngmee's description initially proves far too vague to be of much use, but she starts getting increasingly specific, and Blythe and Zoe grow nervous over how feasible their search will actually be.
In a back room at the Littlest Pet Shop, Mrs. Twombly finishes assembling a cardboard model of what she hopes Littlest Pet Street will look like and feels quite proud it.
Outside, on the street, Circus Control Animal Officer Clyde Gimbal discovers what he thinks is a tuft of fur from a performing bear on the street. He picks it up, takes a whiff at it, and finds it dreadfully stinky. The tuft unfolds into a rat, who scampers off, leaving behind a shocked Gimbal.
Some time has elapsed, and Blythe has found a number of prospects for Youngmee. Blythe asks Youngmee if she would prefer a mammal, reptile, bird, or squatic creature. Youngmee is still undecided, however. When Blythe asks about the size of her ideal pet, Youngmee can only describe, "Big enough." This indecisiveness starts to annoy Blythe, but Youngmee can at least specify that she wants her pet to be able to move. Blythe deems this a start and writes it down.
In the day camp, the Littlest Pet Shop regulars are all working on cooking snacks for a party, led by Zoe. Sunil, in particular, enjoys Russell's mushroom cookies. Minka's snack is simply a banana, but Penny Ling accepts it and eats it. Vinnie pulls a cake made of flies from an oven, with many flies still alive, but because no one else wants it, he gobbles it up. Just then, a huge shadow appears over Vinnie, and he is left too scared to speak coherently. Sunil initially thinks it's because of how no one else wants to eat Vinnie's snack, but Vinnie musters up the ability to point to a bear at the back window. The other pets see the bear too, and they run and hide underneath the slide in the corner. Russell questions what a bear is doing on the city streets, and Vinnie suspects it must be a "bear-pocalypse'' in a movie he saw. Vinnie and Sunil talk about how bears are scary, but Penny hears it and takes offense, giving them a subtle threat to cut it out. Just then, Russell feels dripping coming from his head and realizes, along with the other pets, that the bear has entered the day camp room.
Up in Blythe's room, Blythe interviews a fuchsia poodle, who talks about how much she likes squeaky toys and how the sounds make her think of mythological creatures. Blythe relays this information, in a somewhat confused tone, to Youngmee sitting next to her. The girls aren't sure of what to say next, as the poodle then asks if either of them have any squeaky toys or pixies nearby.
In the day camp, the bear's roaring turns out to be him simply vigorously clearing his throat. He apologizes, then tells the pets that the window was unlatched, so he made his way inside. When Russell asks how he fit in through something so small, the bear, introducing himself as a circus performer named Ivan, tells him that he got accustomed to having to get inside tiny clown cars. He also tells the pets that he wants to get away from the circus and that his throat gets filled with dust being outside, then asks where he is. When he learns that he's in the Littlest Pet Shop, he inquires if he could stay in the day camp in order to hide: He was accidentally separated from the rest of the troupe, but a man in a uniform working as a circus control officer (Gimbal) has picked up his scent, and now Ivan desires to stay at the Littlest Pet Shop until Gimbal goes away. Ivan then smells the snacks the pets had been making and requests to have some. Russell then says to Ivan that they'll discuss these matters. The pets huddle, with Russell voicing that, despite Ivan's friendly demeanor, he is still a gigantic creature with sharp claws and teeth. Pepper points out that if Ivan wanted to eat them, he would've already done so. Sunil backs Russell up, worrying that Ivan may see them as dessert. Minka dismisses Sunil, claiming that bears do not like dessert, but Penny tells Minka that she loves desserts. Vinnie suggests a proposal: That Ivan is allowed to stay as long as Ivan doesn't eat anyone. The others, liking that idea, agree upon it. Russell brings that proposal to Ivan, who accepts. He moves on to the next topic: If they will share their food with him, as Ivan has become terribly hungry from being on the run.
Down the street, Gimbal identifies animal tracks on a stretch of wet concrete. He follows these footprints, unaware that the creature making those tracks, a ballet-dancing hippopotamus, is up against a wall right next to him, who successfully escapes.
The next candidate Blythe has chosen is a turquoise gerbil who is really into weightlifting. He also notices Youngmee is Korean and sings praise for kimchi. Blythe interprets for the Gerbil so Youngmee can understand, but Youngmee is still as indecisive as always. Blythe, her patience running thin, points out that he is the 19th interviewee and that he's a good fit for Youngmee. Youngmee angrily replies that, though she wants it kept secret from her parents, that she does not like kimchi. The gerbil is too preoccupied with lifting the barbell to hear it, however, losing his balance and falling to the floor.
Mrs. Twombly comes down from upstairs, wondering about the growling noises, and looks into the day camp to see a large bear is now there. Though initially frightened, she quickly notices the other pets are getting along with him and assumes Blythe brought him in. Her thoughts wander back to Littlest Pet Street, where she monologues about undeniably outdoing Fisker Biskit.
Blythe brings a blue iguana up to the chair to be interviewed. The iguana says that he looks intimidating but he is actually cuddly, comapring himself to an animal with little ears, some fuzz, and whiskers. Blythe asks if he means a kitten, but he really means a wolverine, upon which he backtracks and really means a kitten.
In the day camp, the other pets are having a blast with Ivan, watching him playing on the accordion while on a unicycle. His next act is him roaring like a Siberian tiger, which is loud enough for Gimbal to hear, prompting him to head in the sound's direction. Mrs. Twombly hears it too and initially thinks Blythe also checked in a Siberian tiger, but realizes it was just the bear. Thinking about bears and tigers, she considers imposing limitations on animals based on potentially dangerous attributes.
A goldfish is the next interviewee. Blythe tells the goldfish to give an introduction, but the goldfish simply creates bubbles. Blythe interprets it as him being quiet and, as a fish, low-maintenance. Youngmee still cannot even begin to make any decisions, so the two of them decide to take a break, with Youngmee requesting not to have kimchi.
Russell compliments Ivan on his Siberian tiger impression, and Ivan responds back that he's never felt so relaxed for so long, because his intimidating appearance scares everyone around him and that these pets see Ivan for how he behaves rather than how he looks. The pets discuss how they themselves get judged for how they look, namely in that Pepper, as a skunk, never gets a good first impression, and that no one wants to hug Russell because of his quills.
Blythe and Youngmee return to the Littlest Pet Shop, as Blythe forgot her phone heading out of the building. They discuss visiting Café Café and the possibility of seeing Jason #1 of the Soul Patches there.
Seeing Russell in distress, Ivan picks him up and gives him a big strong hug. True enough, Ivan gets Russell's quills stuck on him, but he laughs it off, along with the other pets. Blythe hears this laughing and walks over to see a big bear in the day camp. Seeing that, Blythe intends to consult with Mrs. Twombly about possible limitations on animals based on potentially dangerous attributes. At that point, a fly lands on Vinnie's nose, and after a failed attempt at slapping it, the fly wanders off, with Vinnie giving chase. The chase brings Vinnie to the back window, where he sees Gimbal at the window. Vinnie warns Ivan about a strange man in a uniform there, and a terrified Ivan looks over and hides next to one of its curtains, warning the pets that this man is the officer he was talking about earlier. Gimbal attempts to look through the window, but Vinnie, clinging onto the glass, follows his every move. Gimbal eventually gives up and runs off to the side, with Vinnie telling Ivan he's gone.
Gimbal rushes in through the front of the Littlest Pet Shop, however, ignoring Mrs. Twombly completely, with Minka, as a lookout, warning Ivan that now he's coming in through the front. He barges into the day camp room, explaining that he figured Ivan was at the Littlest Pet Shop because a trail of bags of eaten snacks led to the back window. After only a few seconds into the search, Mrs. Twombly walks into the day camp and angrily asks him what he's doing. He can only tell her that he's here to claim something, but Mrs. Twombly interprets his actions and words as those of a creep and a thief, and she forcibly drags Gimbal back into the street and shuts the door. As soon as she walks away and turns her back, however, Gimbal comes right back up to the front doors staring into the shop. The hydrant slide, unable to coontain Ivan's mass any longer, explodes, sending him flying back into the open. Seeing the situation, Russell vows to keep Ivan safe from Gimbal until Ivan's proper owner arrives.
For his next attempt, Gimbal puts on a trenchcoat and a lot of padding to make him appear chubby. As he walks around, with Mrs. Twombly eyeing him with suspicion, he accidentally walks into a pair of scissors, which pops the balloon padding and causes his trenchcoat to fall off, revealing his identity. Mrs. Twombly promptly removes him from the building once more.
At Café Café, Youngmee says to Blythe that she thought picking a pet would be easier, so Blythe tells her that it's no big deal, and she can decide upon one when the time is right. Blythe looks behind her and spots a wanted poster for Ivan attached to a tree. Blythe immediately identifies this bear as the one she saw earlier in the day camp and rushes back to Littlest Pet Shop with Youngmee in tow. When she arrives at the day camp, Blythe demands to the pets to tell her Ivan's locations, but they refuse. Blythe then gives Russell a stern look, and Russell points to the ceiling, where Ivan has attached himself. Looking up, Blythe tells Ivan, identifying him by name, to come down before he hurts himself, so he drops back down to the floor and asks Blythe how she knows his name. Blythe shows Ivan the wanted poster and that his owner had been looking for him, and Ivan happily sees that it really is him. Blythe tells Ivan she's already called his owner to let them know he's at Littlest Pet Shop. Only a few seconds later, a tiny clown car pulls up, and emerging from it is a clown named Bumples, who has come to claim Ivan. Blythe verifies Bumples as Ivan's proper owner, and Ivan opens the day camp's door to see Bumples and runs over so they can hug. Youngmee, seeing it all unfold, says that this is the sort of bond with a pet she'd like to have. Ivan gives the regular pets one more hug before departing, sitting on top of Bumples's car. As they head out, they crash into Gimbal, which knocks him aside.
Blythe boasts to Gimbal about how he can no longer take Ivan to Circus Animal Jail." Gimbal explains that she is very mistaken and that he has actually been tracking Ivan to inspect his hat—he opens his book on regulations and says that headgear for circus animals must be inspected annually, and Ivan's time is due. With that done, Gimbal runs back out of the Littlest Pet Shop, leaving everyone rather befuddled.
Blythe tries some more interviewees: The last ones are Vinnie and Sunil. Blythe asks why they're there when they already have owners, and Sunil replies that he wants to relive the joy of being chosen, and Vinnie is there because he likes the goldfish's jokes.
This episode contains examples of (YMMV entries go here):
- Ahem: When Sunil talks about how Downtown City shouldn't have frightening bears around, Penny Ling walks over and reminds him of her existence.note
- Bears Are Bad News: What the Littlest Pet Shop regulars are thinking when they see a huge bear in their vicinity. He's intimidating, but actually harmless.
- Bear Hug: From Ivan to Russell. Doubles as a Visual Gag.
- Ivan does it again to all of the Littlest Pet Shop regulars before departing with Bumples.
- Beary Friendly: Ivan.
- Berserk Button: Mrs. Twombly justifiably gets quite incensed at Gimbal for running into her shop and into the day camp, then acting like a creep, without saying a word. And when he does speak, he refuses to disclose anything except that he wants to take something.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Penny was pretty close to tearing both Sunil and Vinnie a new one for generalizing bears as terrifying.
- Big Eater: Penny Ling, as usual—she eats Minka's banana in one bite, peel and all.
- Ivan shares this trait, though he is many times bigger than any of the Littlest Pet Shop regulars. He eats most of the snacks the pets had been making prior, and Gimbal is able to track Ivan by following a trail of empty bags of snacks.
- Blank Stare: By Mrs. Twombly when a tiny clown car pulls up into the Littlest Pet Shop.
- Break the Cutie: The very brief scene where Russell says no one wants to hug him due to his quills. It was the first time we actually see Russell cry.
- Call-Back: Mrs. Twombly's cardboard prototype for the Littlest Pet Street was borne out of the massive amount of money she received selling her doorknob collection in "Pitch Purrfect," which she then spent to buy the land and improvements.
- Ceiling Cling: How Ivan hides from Blythe.
- Cloudcuckoolander: The fuchsia poodle Blythe interviews really likes squeaky toys. Really likes them.
- Clown Car: Ivan says he had to fit inside of one. That being said, the liberal use of Hammerspace in this series indicates he could do it. Ivan just finds it very uncomfortable. While his owner Bumples is a clown who travels in a clown car, he is shown to ride on top of it, rather than inside it.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: Gimbal's disguise in Act 3.
- Continuity Lockout: The viewer is assumed to know who Fisher Biskit is, with his name brought up by Mrs. Twombly with no further context.
- Continuity Nod: The rat Gimbal picks up in Act 1 is Pete.
- Vinnie being into foods others would consider absolutely disgusting was displayed in "Pitch Purrfect," where he delightedly ate pet food at least several years old. He also gladly ate the Biskit Twins' cake in "Bakers & Fakers" when everyone else felt revolted by it.
- Penny Ling builds a little house-like structure out of bamboo sticks. Penny previously suggested to Blythe to make a building out of bamboo in "Blythe's Big Idea."
- "The Expo Factor - Part 1" also had a bear with a Russian accent.
- Wiggles McSunbask was a previous guest pet with an intimidating appearance that drastically affects his behavior.
- Blythe and Youngmee intend to take their break at Café Café. Blythe also makes mention of a chance of seeing Jason #1 of the Soul Patches there, whom she met on her visit there in that episode.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Vinnie. Not surprising considering that he is a gecko and thus loves eating flies.
- Cosmetic Catastrophe: When Youngmee tries to apply makeup to Blythe. There are no hard feelings and they laugh it off.
- Crappy Carnival: The circus Ivan comes from is hinted to be one of these. Turns out he enjoys the circus life, Gimbal was just there to inspect Ivan's hat, and the episode was just ambiguous like that.
- Cryptic Conversation: Gimbal's regulations he must follow as a circus official prevent him from telling anyone what he's looking for until he can find it.
- Detectives Follow Footprints: Gimbal follows a line of pawprints on the sidewalk. He is so distracted, he misses the animal who made them right next to him.
- The Ditz: The fuchsia poodle to some extent. She likes squeaky toys because they for some reason remind her of fantasy creatures. Both Youngmee and Blythe are understandably confused by this.
- Don't Explain the Joke: When Ivan tries to make a pun with no one reacting (see Pun below), he then explains it.Ivan: "That was joke that combined bold references to my physical nature and well-known phrase that makes assumptions about individuals in the published works based on outward appearances."
- *Drool* Hello: Ivan's drool lands on Russell's head, which is how he figures Ivan has entered Littlest Pet Shop.
- Ear Ache: Mrs. Twombly drags Gimbal out of her store by pulling on one of his ears.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Though the only ones laughing are the two characters onscreen, Vinnie and Sunil.
- Gentle Giant: Ivan.
- Get Out!: Gimbal's bizarre and suspicious behavior quickly gets him on Mrs. Twombly's bad side, and she implicitly bans him from Littlest Pet Shop.
- Gratuitous Russian: Ivan substitutes a "da" in place of a "yes."
- Gross-Up Close-Up: Vinnie's "housefly soufflé". The other six pets have understandable reactions to this.
- Hollywood Cuisine: Blythe assumes, because Youngmee is Korean, that she must like kimchi. Youngmee is understandably offended and lets Blythe know that she does not like kimchi.
- Huddle Shot: When the Littlest Pet Shop regulars huddle to decide what to do with Ivan shortly after he arrives.
- Husky Russkie: Ivan, of course, from his name to him being a big strong bear.
- I'm Okay!: Each time after Mrs. Twombly throws Gimbal outside.
- Impossibly Tacky Clothes: Gimbal may work in a circus, but his clothes are somewhere between a WWI-era German officer and a British traveling adventurer, only a great deal more colorful. He looks thoroughly out of place wherever he goes, and onlookers stare at him with a mixture of confusion and disgust.
- Inspector Lestrade: Gimbal seems all too ready to jump to conclusions about seemingly random things he finds. He is at least competent enough to eventually catch up to Ivan though; he has his job for a reason.
- Iris Out: On Vinnie.
- Joisey: The weightlifting gerbil speaks in this accent and fits Type 1. Possibly a reference to Jersey Shore.
- Jaw Drop: A minor one occurs with Youngmee when she sees Ivan on the ceiling.
- Long List: Youngmee's description in the cold open of what she wants in a pet is longer than Blythe or Zoe expect and becomes increasingly specific.
- Made-for-TV Movie: Bear-pocalypse Meets Piranha-Possum.
- Mad Eye: After the poodle is done talking, her eyes start pointing away from each other.
- Malaproper: The blue iguana says he's as gentle as a wolverine when he really means a kitten. There is no explanation on how he came up with that.
- Mathematician's Answer: When Blythe asks Youngmee if she's interested in a mammal, reptile, bird, or fish, Youngmee says yes.
- Mirthless Laughter: When Gimbal's trenchcoat disguise is unraveled.
- Ms. Imagination: The fuchsia poodle. She apparently mentally transports herself to a fantasy world whenever she plays with squeaky chew toys.Poodle: "...I like squeaky toys best, as they sound like tiny mythological creatures to my mind. You know, elves, gnomes, pixies—not trolls or ogres or the like, just the friendly ones. When I hear a squeaky toy, it takes me to my...happy place. Heh-heh!"
- The Nose Knows: Gimbal has a very keen sense of smell. It does not seem to be any more sensitive than a normal human's, but he can identify extremely specific things by picking things up and taking a whiff. He often jumps to conclusions though.
- Note to Self: Mrs. Twombly considers a weight, claw, and fang limitation on guest pets when she sees a brown bear in there and thought a Siberian tiger was in there too. Blythe gets the same thought when she sees Ivan in there.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Gimbal puts on padding, a trenchcoat, and a Gatsby cap and attempts to pass himself off as a customer. Mrs. Twombly's behavior suggests she sees through his disguise plain as day.
- Portmanteau: "Tepetrified," created by Sunil upon Vinnie's request and combining "terrified" and "petrified."
- Pun: Ivan says not to "judge a bear by his cover." The pets just stare back at him.
- The Quiet One: The goldfish interviewee. It is possible his words are muddled by the water, though that didn't stop Goldie in "Fish Out of Water."
- Rack Focus: When Gimbal searches for Ivan in the day camp with Ivan hiding in the hydrant slide: The focus is initially on Gimbal in the foreground, then shifts to the hydrant slide in the background.
- Repulsive Ringmaster: Though he's just an inspector, Gimbal's weird attire, creepy mannerisms, and tendency to just stare give off this vibe.
- Russian Bear: The episode revolves around a lost Russian circus bear who finds his way into the daycare.
- Russian Guy Suffers Most: The worst anyone else has to worry about in this episode is Youngmee not finding a pet that suits her. Ivan is on the run with Gimbal in pursuit because he's afraid of going to "Circus Animal Jail."
- Sarcasm Mode: When Gimbal finally explains he was just there to check Ivan's hat, Mrs. Twombly utters a retort from him being such a jerk about it all.Mrs. Twombly: "Well, we certainly can't have that."
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Sunil was overdue for one.Sunil: What is wrong, my friend? Did we cause you emotional distress by our unified rejection of your grotesque snack?
- Shout-Out: Bear-pocalypse Meets Piranha-Possum may be a simultaneous reference to Yurikuma Arashi, where bears caused an apocalypse, and Piranha.
- The hippopotamus in the tutu is based on some of the characters in the "Dance of the Hours" segment of Fantasia.
- Squee: From Blythe and Youngmee when thinking about Jason #1 potentially being at Café Café.
- Take That!: Gimbal associates "Animal Circus Jail" with reality TV.
- That Russian Squat Dance: Vinnie does this dance while socializing with Ivan in Act 2.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Zoe suspects Blythe's picking out of a pet for Youngmee will be tougher than they thought due to how vague Youngmee's requirements are. Youngmee proves to have no clue where to even begin.
- Trademark Favorite Food: If it can be called a snack, Ivan will love eating them.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The A-story (about Ivan and Gimbal) and B-story (about Youngmee choosing a pet) run completely independently. The characters eventually meet, but not before the B-story is resolved.
- Valley Girl: The fuchsia poodle speaks with a slight tinge of this. Not to the extent as the Biskit Twins, but it is very noticeable.
- The Voiceless: Bumples. He can communicate, but he does so only through his bicycle horn. It seems to be treated as a foreign language, with Mrs. Twombly able to understand him perfectly. Blythe is implied to as well, as she was able to converse with Bumples over the phone to tell him about Ivan. The goldfish may be voiceless too, though it's unclear if the goldfish prefers not to talk or if no one can hear him.
