@satopi - I think the writers are aware of your existence and decided to pay homage to you in this episode.
This was a cute, funny episode. I wouldn't say it was the most entertaining non-plot episode we've had so far, but it was definitely entertaining. If I had any complaints, it would be everyone being forced to insert "-pika" at the end of their sentences. Verbal tics can be cute, but there should be a limit to them. IMHO, it would have been enough for Pikarla to use "-pika" at the end of her sentences. Ash, Kiawe, and Hoshi didn't need to do it, too. And Team Rocket
certainly didn't need to do it.
Speaking of Team Rocket... I dread when they resort to using their clichéd Pokémon kidnapping schemes, but this clichéd Pokémon kidnapping scheme was actually tolerable...and mostly because of Mimikyu and its Z-Move. It's hard
not to laugh at such a bloodthirsty Pokémon using a move with such a silly name, and Team Rocket doing that silly pose...even if Jessie cheated by holding the Z-Move pose. (That really felt like an *** pull, to be honest.)
The duel between Ash's Pikachu and Bancho actually surprised me a bit. For some reason, I expected Bancho to be a poor sport about losing, especially since they were competing over Kurin, to whom he was attracted, but he acknowledged Pikachu's superior strength and battle skills, and the two of them made amends. And in the end, Bancho got the girl, anyway, so I guess it all worked out.
Kiawe was the perfect person to accompany Ash to the Pikachu Valley—especially with Hoshi in tow. Kiawe's normal eccentricity is
electrified whenever he is with his little sister, since he finds everything she does adorable and overreacts accordingly. Case in point, his overreaction to his sister's knowledge of romance was funny. Seriously, Kiawe, Hoshi may be young, but she doesn't live under a rock.
I liked that the writers chose to show that, even though Kantonian Pikachu and Alolan Pikachu look the same, there are actually some differences between them, such as the texture of their fur and their way of greeting each other. It shows how different environments can affect a Pokémon species even when their outward appearances are more or less the same.