Ok, this episode was pretty awesome. It wasn't a boring 3 on 3 battle between to random trainers, it was an actual 6 on 6 battle (even if Brandon used 3 pokemon only) and two amazing trainers, Brandon and Paul.
I loved the fact that Paul used pokemon we haven't seen before, that made things a bit more exciting, even if we could predict they'd all lose to Brandon's Regirock, Regice and Registeel.
I loved it how Paul was continuously being scolded by Brandon, e.g. "What is the reason you fight for?", "Your pokemon are strong, but they lack the strength in the battlefield, there is no connection between you and them, you dont put your heart into the battle.". Hopefully he can take these pieces of advice into consideration, although I doubt so.
Ash is the finest trainer of all, having beaten Brandon, who so easily defeated Paul, who in turn is considered to be a decent trainer.
It was also sad to see Candice go, but her riding a Dodrio was pretty exciting. I kept thinking she'd fall off.
P.S. Loved Paul's face when he found out Ash had battled and defeated Brandon. Never seen that face before.
A nice link with the next episode has been established.