This episode is hysterical. Not only is it the first appearance of Purin, who has yet to get old in my eyes (downplaying her throughout Houen probably helped in that respect), but it features some absolutely wonderful animation. It's the same type of bouncy, stretchy, smear animation that shows up in episodes like "The Pokémon Ensured Victory Manual", "The Battle of the St. Anne", "The Big Race of Blazing Pokémon", and most memorably in "Gardie and Kojirou". Visually, you rarely see that kind of animation on the show anymore (save for episodes that get farmed out to the Team Ota animation studio, such as "The New Gym Leader Asuna! The Hole-Filled Battlefield", ""Explosive Situation! Bakuongu VS. Juputoru", "Showdown! Giant Namazun and the Fishing Master", and "Hiwamaki Gym! The Battle in the Heavens"). Though most fans often accentuate the writing in the classic episodes, I also look at the animation as a major factor. For instance, watch when Koduck first pops out of its ball against Kasumi's wishes in this episode - Kasumi's angry, screaming head immediately fills the screen beside a dwarfed Koduck with tiny wriggly eyes, as if he's about to cry. That kind of visual stuff is rare nowadays. Observe also the Rocket-Dan's musical number - wonderfully animated in addition to being wonderfully performed. And furthermore, you can't help but laugh at the animation drawings in the scene where Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyasu realize that they've only got a recording of their own snoring. They don't direct 'em like this anymore.