I wasn't expecting Ash to actually catch Poipole in this episode—I figured he would at least meet Poipole, but I thought the actual capture (if Ash were to actually capture it) would be reserved for a later episode—so that was a very pleasant surprise.
Pikachu and Poipole's interactions were kind of cute. So, far, I like Poipole's playful personality, and I think it will be a fun addition to Ash's team. Its fondness for Pikachu—or, rather, for Pikachu's lightning—isn't annoying (yet); let's hope the writers keep it that way.
Kudos to Rowlet for being proactive
and proving that it's more than the gag Pokémon some fans seem to think it is. It thought Pikachu was being attacked and immediately swooped in to defend its teammate. I appreciated how many emotions and reactions were gotten across without a single bit of intelligible dialogue—Pikachu getting angry with Poipole for poisoning Rowlet; Poipole apologizing profusely.
The battle with Team Rocket lasted a little longer than I anticipated. I actually wish Bewear had not interrupted and Pikachu's Thunderbolt had actually hit. I'm getting a little tired of the bear swooping in to collect Team Rocket whenever they are about to lose or are in trouble.
If what i understood was right, Lusamine told Ash to capture and treat it as his partner Pokemon until they can find out the Ultra Wormhole which Poipole used to cross-over. The Ash capturing Poipole also helps out in understand its biology as no info is there on it yet, so in a way its under observation as well.
I was wondering what Lusamine said to Ash regarding catching Poipole (I was unable to understand most of what she said), so thank you for clarifying that. It makes sense for Ash and the Ultra Guardians to keep Poipole with them until they can find the Ultra Wormhole Poipole used to cross over to Ash's world—even if that means Poipole will be a temporary member of Ash's team.
Also, I'm pleased to see that there's a really good chance we might get to see Molayne in the anime after all. I guess this means a school trip to the Hokulani Observatory is in our students' future.