@Kraco

Ichigo and Renji didn't actually train at all they just beat each other up for a bit to "restore ichigo's resolve". So the results of that affecting anything here are subject at best. Reguardless I agree the fights were weak but the fact at the start of the episode at breakfast it felt a lot more in the spirit of a real nonfiller bleach episode and as you stated the fact the plot was moved forward as far as it was simply allowed this episode to flow nicely and actually be somewhat enjoyable overall. Its a very welcome change of pace.