This episode establishes that Cilan is the cook of the group, much like his predecessor Brock.
Giovanni informs Team Rocket of the presence of another villainous team.
This episode marks the third time Ash has caught all of the starter Pokémon of a region. He did so for the first time in Kanto, then again in Johto. However, for the other regions, he didn't, only getting one starter in Hoenn and Kalos, and two in Sinnoh and Alola.
This episode also marks the first time in the anime that Ash has had more than one confirmed female Pokémon on hand.
This episode marks the largest number of instances in one episode where a main character's Pokémon's gender is revealed, with a total of four. While Pidove and Snivy were revealed to be female, Oshawott and Tepig are both revealed to be male.