Pokémon
Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!
TV Flash files “Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!” as hour 978 of 1220 in the TV Flash guide — Pokémon (1998–present (U.S.)) on Kids' WB/Syndication, season 20, episode 40, aired 2017-08-31, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S20E40: listed hour 978 of 1220 in the Pokémon guide, hour 40 of 43 in season 20. It aired 2017-08-31 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Mallow and the Forest Teacher!” (S20E39). Next is “Mounting an Electrifying Charge!” (S20E41). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Despite her recently obtained Z-Ring and Waterium Z, Lana is still having difficulty mastering Z-Moves. However, she soon meets a trainer with Popplio's evolution, Brionne, who has mastered the Water Z Move. Lana asks for their help and learns that they are around hunting for sunken treasure, and they start training together. When they receive information about the treasure, they learn it is protected by a Dhelmise. Will they be able to obtain it and master the Z-Move?
Viewer FAQ
Where does Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence! sit in the Pokémon guide?
S20E40 is listed hour 978 of 1220 — hour 40 of 43 in season 20, season 20 episode 40.
When did Pokémon S20E40 air?
Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence! aired 2017-08-31 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need the games first?
The TV series is one engine with the games and cards, not a homework prerequisite. U.S. breakthrough is 1998 anime syndication as childhood OS.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, and a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime lands in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards — catch, train, argue about types. Kids’ TV as collection ritual, gym-badge serialization, and the rare cartoon that still prints money because the adventure never quite finishes.
The work, first: a young trainer, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Based on Game Freak/Nintendo games, the anime's U.S. TV breakthrough in 1998 (Kids' WB and syndication) detonated a multi-platform kids' empire: games, cards, films, toys, one engine. Satoshi Tajiri and Kunihiko Yuyama's world turned anime into mainstream American children's programming. Rica Matsumoto and Veronica Taylor as Ash across languages; Ikue Otani's Pikachu. Catch, train, argue about…
Filed against
- Rica Matsumoto as Ash Ketchum (JP)
Rica Matsumoto voices Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — the ten-year-old whose globetrotting checklist became a childhood operating system in Japanese, then a syndication engine abroad. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s…
- Veronica Taylor as Ash Ketchum (US early)
Veronica Taylor was early U.S. Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime landed in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards:…
- Ikue Otani as Pikachu
Ikue Otani voiced Pikachu as a childhood operating system — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, anime landing in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s kids-TV…