The first chapter of Ash's Johto journey is a fun one. We get to meet 2 of the Johto starter Pokemon (Chikorita is only mentioned), and Ash catches a brief glimpse of Suicune. This is a nice callback to the Season 1 premiere, and gives the viewers a glimpse of the awesomeness to come. Suicune isn't quite as cool as Ho-Oh was back at the start, as we didn't have any idea what Ho-Oh was at the time, whereas info about Suicune was pretty accessible at the time of airing.
Professor Elm has a great introduction here, and I wish he was a bigger part of this episode. There's probably more Team Rocket in this episode then there needs to be, but what can ya do? Overall, a good start to Gen II.
P.S: The new theme song rules and is probably one of the last good ones
P.S: The new theme song rules and is probably one of the last good ones