One word: Great!
A great and marvelous Pokemon episode and a pure pleasure to watch (I watched it even twice!)
As there were countless amazing aspects which are worth being listed, I don´t even know where to start:
First of all, the sheer fact that Lucario appeared was fantastic. I utterly love this Pokemon, it belongs to one of my favorite ones!
Reggie as the friendly counterpart to Paul was really a sucessful new character whom I´d like to hear more about. Great job, writers!
The only thing which bothered me was that I didn´t quite understand how a guy of approximately 24 years was able to afford such a huge and comfortable house! Weird, wasn´t it?
Poor Dawn and Maylene! They both seem to be fair perfectionists as they are feeling so dejected after their defeats. Well, I have to admit that I´m sympathizing with them as I myself always try to give my best in all challenges of life, too.
A defeat makes you doubt your own abilities. These are hard times they are going through but they will surely get over it soon.
Let´s come to the highlight: Ash vs. Reggie
A flawless victory of Ash! Yes, I had my doubts if Ash would cope with that situation, but he mastered it with ease.
Turtwig: Good dodging and a powerful, impressive Energy Ball!
Staravia: This part of the battle kinda confused me: Staravia obviously lost, but why didn´t it have this typical "KO- circles" in its eyes and why did Reggie withdraw his Pokemon, although it would have been able to keep on battling. What do you think about this?
Pikachu: A flawless fight! Pikachu once more turned out to be Ash´s powerhouse. Despite being hit by a powerful and incredibly cool Brave Bird attack, Pikachu fired off a mighty Volttackle (I´m thrilled every time it uses this fantastically-animated, impressive attack!), KOed his opponent and finally was the well-deserved matchwinner.
Conclusion: Apart from one confusing detail during the battle, I´m totally glad of this great episode and almost can´t expect the promising sequel next week.