Sorry for the posting delay on this one, guys, but I hope it's worth it!
It was cool to see Valerie and the Furisode Girls in action in the anime. She's my favourite Gym Leader from Kalos, and I love the Furisode Girls, too.

Shota seems like a real beginner trainer to me. I mean, sure, we saw him lose against Clemont earlier, but losing that battle to Valerie so easily (and not even knowing about Dragon-/Fairy-type interaction) is a real rookie move. I wonder if we'll actually see him serious improve as the show goes on, or if he'll just kind of stay a noob.
Admittedly, the fashion was my favourite part of this episode. >_> I love those dressed Valerie designed!

I really hoped that we would get some Furisode clothing options in X/Y, but we never did, though maybe that'll be added with Z/XY2.