Normally, I skip this episode when doing my dp anime speed run, but in the spirit of trying to appreciate Zoey's character, I'll look at it.
I don't think Zoey, in her first few appearances, ever meets Dawn and the gang when they are having a normal day. Here, Zoey gives a wisecrack greeting as Ash and Dawn are playing tug of war with each other over Ash's fishing rod. Maybe it's the writer's way of making Zoey look cool and composed by contrast with the quirks of Ash and the gang, though I don't like it too much b/c if Ash, Brock, and Dawn acted this way all the time (which they do not; it's just for Zoey), they would never be able to take care of themselves. Speaking of creating an aura of coolness for Zoey, Dawn quickly shows off her ribbon and then, really surprisingly for me, Ash brings out his badge. Zoey doesn't feel the need to display her ribbons in return, making Dawn and Ash look like people who no have confidence in themselves at all, a characterization I dislike, especially because it's off for Ash.
I'm not sure how the story gets to this point, but for some reason (probably not good storytelling) Ash decides to train with Buizel, looking insane doing so in the eyes of Zoey, Dawn and Brock (why Brock would be surprised, I don't know). This is the last time I think the writers have Ash do this just for the humor of it, which is good- Ash's hands on training is a very important part of his training style, and it not something to be shown just to get a laugh b/c Zoey thinks he's crazy. At the very least, Ash doesn't care, so that's spot on. Dawn actually gives the training style a try by allowing Piplup to go with Ash, which is a little progress in terms of her liking what Ash does. But since the whole thing is supposed to be humorous and to give a half reason for Buizel to suddenly respect Piplup, I don't want to take it too seriously. Buizel challenges Piplup to a battle, loses, and Dawn catches Buizel (b/c Dawn has to; Pikachu defeats Buizel earlier in the episode, yet somehow Buizel is able to fight its way out of the pokeball and deliver a cheap ko to Pikachu).
I'm sorry; this episode is not one for me. Zoey does get better development in later episodes.