I disagree. I think the flashback/recap is necessary to give some backstory to Eevee and let the audience know where it came from. Of course we've seen the Eevee shorts up until now, but the Eevee shorts weren't really part of the actual episodes, we still have no idea if they're going to even show up in the dubs. The dubs also skip the episode questions after all. For those that only follow the dubs it'd be helpful to get a bit of backstory exposition for it.
Anyway, I really like this episode. Eevee is way too curious for its own good and is brimming with personality. Its tendency to get itself into trouble can contrast well with Popplio and can pull Lana a bit more into the action. It's a pokémon that can quickly get plots going. I'm not convinced yet that it's going to evolve into Vaporeon, that just seems too obvious and predictable of an answer. I can totally see the gang visiting Kiawe's house, Eevee going to explore like Eevee does, and just happening to stumble upon a Fire Stone that was once an heirloom from Kiawe's grandfather (or something like that, or maybe Kiawe found it once at Wela Volcano or something), and Eevee just evolving into Flareon because it's just way too curious for its own good. A Flareon that loves the sea and can surf, that'd be super-awesome, and it'd be interesting to see Lana work with a fire type.
Another thing I liked about this episode is the interactions with Team Skull. Popplio remembering Team Skull makes sense, it was bullied by them and badly injured before Lana saved it and captured it, so it makes sense that Popplio would try to stop Eevee from greeting Team Skull's pokémon. The continuity of Team Skull with Ilima's Eevee was also nice.