This episode was... oh my gosh!
It was just as adorable as I'd hoped it would be! Watching the two Vulpix play with the other Pokémon was just all kinds of adorable. I found it amusing that Kanto Vulpix was so much friendlier than Alolan Vulpix at first, and it was so cute that Kanto Vulpix kept trying to get Alolan Vulpix--excuse me, Shiron to join in on the fun.
My predictions didn't
quite come true, at least not in the way I'd originally predicted. But Vulpix did use Powder Snow to freeze Team Rocket and stall them. (It was also clever of Lillie to command Vulpix to use Powder Snow to freeze the ground). And Bewear did appear out of nowhere and cart off the Team Rocket icicles before Ash had a chance to battle them.
And Lillie was able to touch Shiron! *cheers* It seems the key to getting Lillie to overcome her fear is to put the Pokémon she loves in danger; then she'll touch it without thinking about it, only to realize it minutes later. (Ash, I think you have found a comrade to join your "Recklessness to Save Pokémon" club.
)
I had a feeling Ash would show up as the knight in shining armor, but I like the way it was done. He showed up just in time to command Rowlet to use Leafage to break Lillie's fall, but he didn't actually get to battle Team Rocket. (The looks on his and Mallow's faces when Bewear showed up! ^O^ )
I don't know about you, but I'm hoping for a Lillie vs Gladion in the future.
That...would be
awesome! Now I'm going to start hoping for that, too. It would be interesting if there's still that fond sibling relationship on top of the rivalry--unless the anime makes Gladion more of an antagonist.
This is by far the best 'funniest' face of 'funny face syndrome' of the anime:
That's nightmare fuel right there, dude. I'll need to rewatch the adorable Lillie and Vulpix scenes to get that horrific Jessie face out of my head.
On another note, this episode proved that Mimikyu only obeys Jessie when Pikachu is involved (at least, that's how it appears so far). Though I'm not too sure how I feel about the hinted idea that Jessie may catch Bewear. I was hoping James would get it, but I suppose the man doesn't need
two Pokémon unintentionally trying to kill him with love.