Meowth Captured in a Pokéball?

Big spoilers for an upcoming episode of the Pokémon anime. It looks like Iris is going to be capturing Meowth in a Pokéball. This of course raises interesting moral questions about whether or not it’s right to capture a clearly intelligent being able to carry on intelligent conversations, but then the whole practice of acquiring and battling Pokémon is sketchy at best.

This scene is from an upcoming episode set to air on August 18th. It will be the 700th episode of the Pokémon anime, the 45th episode of the Best Wishes series, known as Pokémon Black and White in the dub. This episode will likely air in North America in a few months. In this episode Meowth is said to be quitting Team Rocket! Why is he leaving? Is this a trick? What kind of limitations will being caught in a Pokéball impose on him? Is anyone still watching this show? I checked out some time during the Johto Journeys, around episode 150. There have been over 500 episodes since then!

Source: PokéCommunity Forums