Yes, that's Pokemon at its best! A really great episode and a pleasure to watch!
The best thing certainly was the idea of James disguising himself as Jessie. A refreshing change of pace! I love whenever the writer come up with new ideas and surprising twist and turns! That's how it should be. Keep it up.
I hadn't seen the episode before, but when I noticed that "Jamesalina" (I hereby claim the copyright for this word if it hasn't been invented yet

) would choose Meowth for the appeal round, it was crystal-clear to me what kind of performance Meowth would do! Of course, he would do what he's best at and that strategy sure paid off.
Nice reference to Christopher, the noodle shop guy from DP 117 "Noodles! Roamin' off!" !
Moreover, this episode once again showed why James is the secret mastermind of the Rocket trio. If he weren't a member of said team, I bet you that he would be a highly successful trainer, and I dare say perhaps even a gym leader.
But I was also impressed by Dawn's performance, especially the Ice Armor strategy. She wiped the floor with the first contestant, but unfortunately lost to Jamesalina which was really a pity. Using that move, albeit not a brand new one, she would have deserved to come at least second. And the match between them could easily have been a nerve-racking and worthy final match, but well, the writers decided otherwise.
As I said at the beginning, this sure was a fascinating and excellent episode. If I lived in the US, I'd be honored to stand up early for such great entertainment.
7.5 out of 10 points