A Chansey Operation – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 47

Filler / stand-alone episodeFillerIvysaur debut

A Chansey Operation is the 47th episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 47th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 49, Bulbapedia code EP047). It first aired in Japan on 4 June 1998 and in the United States on 6 March 1999. It falls within the season’s The comeback, Charizard & the Egg stretch (EP39–EP51).

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

After getting knocked out of a tree while looking for apples Pikachu doesn’t look right, it’s voice is funny and its face is red. Ash and co try to work out whats wrong with him and decide they need to go to the nearest Pokemon Center, but unfortunately there isn’t one for miles so they head to a hospital in the hopes someone there can help. They beg the doctor (who thinks Misty is the patient) for help, and Ash reveals that its Pikachu whose sick. The doctor says he can’t help because it’s a hospital not a Pokemon Center, after some begging Doctor Proctor agrees to help and does his best to diagnose Pikachu, finding that something is stuck in Pikachu’s throat. The doctor realises there is low electric pressure in Pikachu’s body and charges him with electricity, the doctor then reaches into it’s mouth and retrieves a whole, unchewed apple and Pikachu seems OK. The doctor angrily tells Ash he was irresponsible for letting Pikachu eat the apple, meanwhile theres a phonecall taking place in the hospital but Doctor Proctor refuses to answer because he’s off duty, and Ash answers instead, apparently theres been a big Pokemon emergency (which happened to involve Team Rocket), the Pokemon Center is completely full and many of the victims of the accident need to come to the Hospital.

The Doctor grudgingly agrees to help and asks Nurse Joy out, she angrily declines and Doctor Proctor gets Ash, Misty and Brock some uniforms ready so they can help out. The injured Pokemon begin arriving and the Doctor, Ash and Co and some Chanseys begin trying to treat Pokemon, with Misty appearing to be quite a natural. Team Rocket are also there while Arbok is being treated and Doctor Proctor immediately asks Jessie out for Pizza. Arbok is pretty sick, but Doctor Proctor manages to save it, and also charms Jessie (and err James?) into helping with the other Poképatients who just arrived. With Doctor Proctor, Team Rocket, Ash and friends all working together they manage to help lots of patients. Ash and Brock are trying to treat a particularly troubled, angry Dodrio with the help of Dr. Proctor when he is inadvertantly put under anaesethic and knocked out, leaving the treatment of patients in Ash’s hands, he proceeds to viciously attack the Dodrio with Squirtle and Pikachu, knocking it out and untying its neck, then proceeding to use similar tactics to treat the other Pokemon.

Team Rocket then have a change of heart and decide that it should be easy to capture all the weak and injured Pokemon. They attack Ash, Misty and Brock with Robotic stretchers. Jessie and James are about to sedate our heroes when Chansey gets in the way, they order Arbok and Weezing to attack, but they won’t do it, because Chansey helped them get better. Dr. Proctor then returns, Jessie throws something at him and he blocks it with lightning reflexes, the Chanseys rescue Ash and co from the stretchers and they then fire the stretches at Team Rocket, James has managed to steal one Pokemon however, a voltorb which self destructs and sends them blasting off once more. With the Pokemon treated, Ash and friends say goodbye to Dr. Proctor and are back on the road to adventure.

Major Events

• Debuts: Ivysaur, Nidoking
• Porygon’s only dub appearance (a transition card).

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Ivysaur#0002 · EP047
• Nidoking#0034 · EP047
• Porygon#0137 · EP047

Trivia

• The English title plays on a chancy operation.
• The screenplay is by Hideki Sonoda.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto story.

Changes in the English Dub

• Kids’ WB! froze/pixelated the needle shot
• 小判 erased from Meowth’s coins
• Door and yellow signs
• Dub ending: the Kanto Pokérap (Tuesday segment)

Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.