Who called Jessie fishing up Bewear? Whoever you are, congratulations. That was one of the funniest scenes in this episode, IMHO. Also, since when did Bewear's legs turn into propellers?
I'm starting to hope that thing doesn't join Team Rocket's team, because it's a beast even among its own species!
I really enjoyed this episode. I loved seeing more of serious Lana ("Let's Get Dangerous" Lana?). She was hardly fazed by what was going on, even when she was almost dragged into the lake. She was just determined to win that "fishing battle" against the Lord of the Lake. Most of all, it was nice to see Popplio truly "get dangerous," once it was inspired by Lana's determination. It may not have evolved (a part of me was hoping it would), but it learned a new move, and that was satisfying enough for me.
(And that Aqua Jet was something else!) Both of them truly earned that Waterium-Z, and it was kind of cute that it was the Wishiwashi whom Lana had helped who gave her the Waterium-Z.
I'm a bit surprised, though, as I sort of expected Ash, as the official Island Challenger (and the owner of the electric mouse of death), to take the lead in battling Totem Wishiwashi. However, if I understood correctly, the old man said the one who fishes up the Lord of the Lake has to be the one to battle it, which is why Ash stayed out of the battle until the Ally Alomomola interfered.
This does make me wonder if the anime is forgoing the "three Trials before the Grand Trial" requirement. Unless aiding Lana by taking out Ally Alomomola counts, then Ash didn't complete this Trial. There's a chance, however, that if he loses to Olivia (which I'm predicting he will), then he might come back to Brooklet Hill to challenge Totem Wishiwashi himself.
I'm still wondering whether the Totem Wishiwashi wasn't that strong or just PIS that Popplio totally dispersed it? Most probably the latter.
Or perhaps
Popplio is stronger than we'd anticipated. It did learn a new move, Aqua Jet, and it was determined to defeat Totem Wishiwashi to help Lana. Besides, as Golden_Latias pointed out, School Form Wishiwashi is probably hollow inside, so it's not that surprising that Aqua Jet was able to cause it to disperse into Solo Form Wishiwashi.
One more thing I really liked. Ash having a Lapras rod now, that's a neat callback to the Orange Islands.
I noticed the Lapras rod, too, and that
was a nice callback to the Orange Islands. And since the rod was Lana's (Ash borrowed it), it was nice to see that she owns a Lapras rod in addition to her Popplio rod, since she does have a Ride Lapras.
So, we did get a reason for Kiawe, Mallow, Lillie, and Sophocles not being at the lake--they were visiting Kiawe's farm to try dairy products. When Ash visited Kiawe's farm, he volunteered to help out after he sampled ice cream. Lillie, Mallow, and Sophocles didn't bother helping out on the farm at all, not even when Kiawe asked. (Sophocles even asked for a second serving of ice cream.) It may be looking too deeply into things, since it's clear the scene at Kiawe's farm was meant for humor and nothing more, but it's an interesting difference in the students' characters. (Though, to be fair, Lillie and Sophocles would be totally useless around the farm--Lillie because of her upbringing and lack of experience and Sophocles because of his lack of athleticism. Mallow could have helped, though.)