Pleasant episode for me, I enjoyed it for what it was. It falls right into the "COTD has a problem, TR curbstomp" style but so far this is only like the second instance of that so it's not too horrid for me yet. Plus despite me not being super invested in the conflict I still was entertained for 22-minutes and that's a job well done in my book. I actually don't mind the rental Pokemon, something is lost by us missing out on permanent captures but it at least gives these TR showdowns a fresh feel. Not sure if I mentioned but I really do like the art/animation for their motto this series. I was happy to see Tunbear again in the anime, same for Tamanta and Gregguru since it feels like ages since we've seen some of these species. I was glad seeing Go casually working for Tamanta in the background because it's cool seeing a character visibly progressing throughout their goal regularly and it is new. The more time I've given it the more I realize I do appreciate the writers innovating with this character and giving us something we've never seen before. Like Satoshi battles, Go takes a main second aspect of Pokemon "capturing."
Really want more of Tamanta, it was a bro, it's a Pokemon with zero focus in the series period, and it was cool seeing Go command it and actually help out against TR this time (certainly better than Strike/Hibunny in his first battle so it could be seen as improvement.) Maybe I'm biased but I enjoyed Go, despite him being in the background he casually shined in his own way. His work with Hibunny to get Tamanta to come to the surface by kicking a rock and then catching it earning praise from that audience of people was actually pretty cute. On top of it, again, it intervened to help Pikachu and he seemed proud of it and anxious to enter it in the race which helps let you know he does actually care about these Pokemon. These were two of the things I wanted, more "tricks" (using the rock) and an evolution of how he gets these Pokemon and his appreciation for them. It also highlights how much better Hibunny and he work as a team. Really liked how Hibunny kicked Tunbear out of its Thrash and into the water, saving the boat. Lots of casually "cool" scenes for Go, really took charge in many scenes quite befitting of his co-protagonist title and role.
Seeing Gregguru and Pochama without their iconic trainers from the Shinou saga was somewhat nostalgic. I really enjoyed both a lot, it also showed that Hibunny isn't necessarily as similar to Pochama as I thought. The Pochama being childish like Hikari's was cute and the Gregguru being not-mellow like Takeshi's but a smug, jerk was great too. I think I just enjoyed aesthetically seeing these two Pokemon again period. The ending with an iconic Kasumi Pokemon (Koduck) potentially joining the fray and Misaki repeating the same pattern was actually pretty funny. Wonder if a throwback to Kasumi was the intention with that scene? But yeah, fun episode for me.
