I think this episode is pretty fun, and a little bit more light-hearted than the previous 2. Dawn shows a few signs of still not being okay, but she's not pressed about it, and for the most part, she enjoys being with her friend. I think it's funny how a few things are reversed from the way they normally go: Ash is the one who's looking forward to a pokemon center instead of Dawn, and Jessie complains about seeing the twerps, saying they are like a cold that won't go away.
Dawn is interesting in this episode. She's introverted at the beginning, only suggesting that the group visit her friend when Brock says there is no Pokemon center nearby. When they do go there, though, she becomes way more bold, which is neat since most people do act differently depending upon who they are around. At first, Dawn is in serious conversation with her friend, completely forgetting that she should introduce Ash and Brock until Ash reminds her. But you know, I found that okay. Because Dawn is so involved with her friend, this is one of the few episodes where Ash and Brock really talk together, and you feel that they are friends who have know each other for a long time and don't mind sharing their semi-private thoughts (as Dawn is doing with her friend right now). Once Dawn's friend remarks how busy she is, Dawn takes command, directing Ash and Brock to follow her to the hot spring, which she's confident she can find, and ignoring her friend's stammers of protest. Again, this is a much more bold Dawn than is normally shown. Later on, when Dawn and her friend have a tag battle with Ash and Brock, a flashback shows that the girls once beat up a bully boy. That's right. Dawn went from crying in the flashback b/c of the bully boy to beating him up once her friend came. That's an amazing influence Dawn's friend has on her.
This tag battles is one of the few times Dawn gets the upper hand on Ash. Fortunately for him, Brock (!) supports him really well with Sudowoodo, ending the battle in a tie with all of the pokemon frozen. You know, even though last episode really focused on Brock for the most part, I think he shines through better here b/c of his performance in the battle.
Side-note: One strange thing about this episode is that there are two cute scenes where Pikachu jumps into Ash's arms.