Another favorite of mine from my childhood. This gym battle episode I feel was much better than with Brock's, if only because it was a straightforward battle, and Ash did use his other Pokémon and showed what they could do. It probably was a good thing Pikachu refused to battle as it would've all been one-sided much like how her sisters pointed out. It's rather interesting to see that Misty did not hesitate to challenge Ash if only because of her grudge. You'd think his reaction to learning she was one of the gym leaders of Cerulean would be more in awe, but eh. On a meta-example, as a kid, I hadn't played the games yet, so Misty being a gym leader was a twist to me that made it up for Ash's reaction.
So the character who had development the most here was Misty, which makes since given it's pretty much her episode. (Is it just me, or was she a bit of a romantic in these early episodes? Unless it's just the dub?) She really must not like her sisters very much to have never hinted at them before, let alone her status as a gym leader. The reveal of Goldeen in the second episode I feel doesn't really cut it for me since we never saw her battle. Though it's possible she's not that great of a battler, which is why she left home to go train, if her sisters are anything to go by. They said she has the most talent out of the four of them, so something tells me the Cerulean Gym isn't a difficult challenge for trainers if the sisters are like that. As for the Sensational Sisters, they are interesting characters, and I'm glad we get to see them again from time to time, but I do wish we got to know about them a little bit more. I can't remember who played the sisters (as familiar as their voices sound), but the whole “valley girl” attitude they gave them wasn't as annoying as how the fandom seemed to have made it out to be. Or I just didn't remember it that well. Also, Rachel Lillis sounded really good here as Misty, probably because of how energetic she was to begin with.
Team Rocket's break-in is similar to that in the games, I've noticed. However, their idea was... not well-thought out. Their plan was to suck up water for Water Pokémon? Was there any proof that there were Water Pokémon in that pool prior to the “Misty Mermaid” episode? And even then, I think they set up the pool prior to the shows anyway, Pokémon included, so their idea sunk. (They also apparently didn't hook it up properly since Seel was outside.) And yes, I'm aware of James' comment, but I'm not commenting on it like everyone else did. It's too redundant.
We meet another Officer Jenny, who has a distinct personality of her own (though maybe as ditzy as Viridian City's Jenny). I have to do a double take at her saying she an Viridian!Jenny are sister-in-laws. Sister-in-law??? That makes me really tilt my head even though that mystery is kinda answered later on in the show (like way later on). However, I have found a little bit of detail that helps tell these Jennies apart a little bit: the sigmas on their hats. Viridian City's Jenny as a five-pointed star, while Cerulean's Jenny is a pentagon. Also, though it may just be me, but their hair colors are also slightly different. Viridian's has more green in her hair than Cerulean's, which is more blue. Forgot to check back with Joy, but most often than not, I've noticed the cross' color differs on the hat, so... yeah.
Also, lol at Brock getting turned down with a burn when he asked her out. “I'm not off duty until past your bedtime.” XD
I'm noticing a pattern when it comes to the badges. The reason Ash gets badges the way he does is because they insist he take the badges, even though he clearly refuses to accept them so easily, but they talk him into it. ASH, STOP GIVING IN TO PRESSURE. They apparently give him the badges because even though he does have the upper-hand, and can finish the fight with one last attack, they don't allow him to finish the fight correctly. Thank goodness Lt. Surge's battle went normally, meanwhile I have a feeling I'm gonna have a bone to pick with Erika if I remember correctly.
I swear, this episode was probably where 4KIDS started to hint at Pokéshipping. I wonder what Daisy really said in the original when she teased Misty about Ash being her boyfriend, which appears to be a running gag in the dub. But the argument during the battle and even afterwards was really great, they bounced off each other pretty well. It kinda reminds me of my brothers and I whenever we have our dumb arguments, but it feels realistic to how ten-year-olds argue with each other, especially those between boys and girls. While I doubt it was as noticeable in the original, is it any wonder the two were teased as a couple in the dub? I doubt 4KIDS planned that out at first.
Now if only we knew where Brock went to. Unless he went back to Officer Jenny for some reason, Brock basically snuck out of the episode for the most part. Pretty weird.
So while I think the pacing felt a bit weird, what happened in the episode was what we basically wanted to see, and it was enjoyable. It won't be until we reach Lt. Surge before we learn just how brutal gym battles can be (Brock's first battle with Ash is tame compared to Surge and Sabrina's). But for now, the next six episodes will be nothing but a trip down memory lane, and possibly even a question as to whether I did the math right in my head or not, because I swear it took Ash and friends forever to get to Vermilion.