“If you have the same picture, then that must mean you are... that must mean you are a photographer!” Pfft, Ash is so dense sometimes. Until we reach this: “Since Einstein invented the lightbulb.” Actually, nevermind, Jessie has her moments, too.
Some people like to complain that Ash let Haunter go when they forget (probably) that he only befriended Haunter, not captured him in a PokéBall. So he had every right to let him go. It's also because he didn't catch him that Haunter had freedom to go anywhere he wanted, thus why he was absent at the first “rematch”. Ash also said once he found Haunter that he didn't have to help him once Sabrina was defeated. And I think it was for the best, because Haunter is not a great character on his own—all he has going for him are practical jokes that... really aren't all that funny to me, personally, at least by themselves. But Jessie and Sabrina found the comedy in it, so I guess it's just personal tastes. I like to think of the three Ghost Pokémon from the previous episode to be like Larry, Curley and Moe, in which they are excellent together, but are nothing special as individuals. So if some people didn't like Haunter in this episode, that's why.
Stroke of genius, in a way.
This episode is sadly the weakest of the Sabrina arc, if only because we spend about half the time talking about/looking for/being around Haunter. There was the bit where we got a bit of backstory into Sabrina's childhood and how she got the split personality, but more could've been added to it for more “oomph”. So she was obsessed with developing her psychic powers, okay. We get mentions of her parents trying to stop her, but we otherwise don't get all of their feelings on it. Sabrina's father at least helps fill it in on his end, but the mother is still defending Sabrina and has no hard feelings for her. Which is fine, she still loves Sabrina even after all she did, but you'd think she'd be more saddened by it like how it affected her father.
Really, this episode should've been focused on that instead of wasting time on Haunter when he wasn't going to do much worthwhile with his screentime. It would've helped the pacing, and perhaps with the rather iffy climax of the episode. I understand that some people have issues with how it played out. Haunter was set up from the very start that he's a prankster, sure, but was there any real reason for him to wander around? Maybe, if just to show off what he can do. But the big thing that is brought up a lot throughout the original series are the pity badges, and the Marsh Badge is not exempted from it. However, I wouldn't exactly say it's a pity badge because Ash did battle Sabrina. He was trying his best in the rematch. But the argument is that Haunter, whom wasn't battling Kadabra, interrupted the match for the sake of making Sabrina laugh.
Well, remember that Sabrina is a psychic trainer, and I think it was mentioned a couple of episodes before that she has a telepathic bond with her Pokémon. (Even if it wasn't mentioned, one can come to that conclusion anyway through subtle hints.) Perhaps Haunter knew this and went after the source and not the Pokémon like Ash ordered. And as Sabrina was mostly an emotionless person for most of her life, she may not have control over her emotions. And with the bond linking her with Kadabra, as she laughed, so did Kadabra. And I believe that there has to be a certain amount of time a Pokémon can stall in battle before it's a sign of being unable to battle. (This would be later shown in the battle between Ash and Ritchie when Charizard loafed around instead of battling Sparky, thus costing Ash the match.)
So technically Ash did earn the badge, and I love how Ash questions the legitimacy of his wins whenever he feels he didn't do enough to earn it. Some people seem to forget that he has integrity when they point out the pity badges. If he felt he didn't honestly deserve them, he speaks his mind about it, and it's only after it's explained why it is he won it does he come to accept it. Thus, he feels better at learning he didn't cheat or earn it out of pity—despite what Misty and Brock said earlier. Now am I going to deny that the pity badges don't happen? Not exactly. I'm looking at you, Erika.
It's not often we get to have another gym battle so soon, but first, we need to settle some monkey business. Or should I say Mankey business.
*shot*