Jessie: We spy, and what does it show us?
James: The twerp's a schoolboy?
Meowth: He doesn't strike me as studious...
James: The twerp's a schoolboy?
Meowth: He doesn't strike me as studious...
—Team Rocket, reacting to Ash going to Pokémon School
Japanese Title: Ashimari, Give it Your bALLoon!
Original Airdate: December 1, 2016
Canada Airdate: April 15, 2017
US Airdate: May 15, 2017
This is what happens when you call Pikachu "George".
As the kids at the Pokémon School prepare for a fishing trip, Lana helps Ash get set up with a fishing pole. What kind of Pokémon will the twerps encounter? Or will they just end up netting Team Rocket?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- And Call Him "George": Lana's younger twin sisters, Harper and Sarah, end up dragging Pikachu into their house and manhandling him. He tries to be patient with them, until they shove him into the ground while grilling Lana about Ash. As you can see from the picture above, it ends about as well as you'd expect when you start pushing Pikachu's buttons.
- Angry Cheek Puff: Lana tells her classmates the story of how she met her Popplio. In flashback, when Lana sees Popplio (then wild) being bullied by five Team Skull grunts, she puffs up her cheeks angrily before ordering Lapras to freeze the grunts solid with Ice Beam, then throwing out her fishing line to catch Popplio and bring it to safety.
- Animal Reaction Shot: Even Lana's personal Ride Lapras was stunned by Pikachu's reaction to And Call Him "George".
- Berserk Button: Pikachu, unintentionally, gets his pushed and goes off like a live wire.
- Big Damn Heroes: Popplio produces a massive Balloon to save the falling Ride Pokémon once they are freed from Team Rocket's nets.
- Color Failure: When Popplio jumps into Lillie's lap, she freezes.
- Didn't Think This Through: Ash gets Pikachu to break Team Rocket's net, but now leaves the freed Pokemon about to fall onto a bed of jagged rocks above the sea. Ash's face sells it.
- Does Not Compute: RotomDex sounds confused as it adds Bewear's Walk on Water moment to its data.
- Flashback: We get to see how Lana met Popplio.
- Everyone Has Standards: Though he shocks them all, Ash comes out the least shocked, implying that Pikachu made sure not to shock Ash too badly.
- Failed a Spot Check: James, Meowth and Lana all fail to spot Rowlet, sleeping on top of one of the Lapras that the Rocket trio steals, when Jessie comments on it, Jessie also fails to spot Luvdisc, Corsola & Finneon, which also are trapped in the net with Lapras & Wailmer.
- Frame Break: Ash and Mallow do not take kindly to RotomDex's critique of their fishing.
- Funny Background Event: A Slowpoke attracts the attention of a Sharpedo, which chews on its tail for half the episode.
- Pikachu sparks everyone. Outside the house, the Lapras looks horrified at what is occuring.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: It takes a while for Harper and Sarah to notice Ash. Once they do, they immediately ask Lana if he is her boyfriend, flustering her.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Even Team Rocket were questioning the idea of Ash being in school instead of wandering aimlessly around the Pokémon world. Bonus points for Meowth's genuine look of concern.
- Mythology Gag: Lana jokes about catching a Shiny Gyarados. Not only does this make reference to events in the Johto era, but she makes the same joke to the Player Character in the games.
- Shown Their Work: Pikachu is full of electricity - what happens when you rub something with a current across a carpet as Harper and Sarah do? Answer: you get static electricity which can go off - which is what happens when you get an electric shock when you touch metal or someone else's hand - which is exactly what Pikachu does.
- A Twinkle in the Sky: Averted! Even though the Meowth Balloon gets blown up, Team Rocket does not get blasted off. Instead...
- Walk on Water: ...Bewear, out of nowhere, runs across the water and catches them, carrying them off.
