Japanese Title: Happinas the Happy Nurse!
Original Airdate: January 6th, 2000
US Airdate: December 9th 2000
Team Rocket can't believe their luck when the Blissey employed in a Pokémon Center willingly gives them the centers entire food supply. As they abscond with the grub, however, an collective pang of conscience tells them to return their ill-gotten booty. However, they are ashamed lest this act of decency ruin their carefully cultivated reputation as troublemakers.Tropes
- Bad "Bad Acting": Team Rocket's Evil Gloating act though characteristically hammy, screams of this. Even their Pokemon do hilariously fake attacks. The heroes still buy it.
- James: (through a megaphone) "Oh look, Jessie, we dropped all the food we stole from the Pokémon Center."
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Blissey befriended Jessie during their training as nurse. In the present, seeing Blissey Taking the Heat for them is enough for James and Meowth to also succinctly agree to a bail out plan.
- Berserk Button: Ash gets quite antsy about being deprived of a meal, and in this episode, Ash had feasted the day before Team Rocket stole the food. The trio manipulate this to get him to battle instead of Blissey, along with making a half hearted attempt at snagging Pikachu just to rub salt in.Misty: *creeped out* Ash doesn't usually get this angry.Brock: Ash doesn't usually get this hungry.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Jessie has to drive Blissey away to save her nursing career. Even then, Blissey's Undying Loyalty to Jessie because of the kindness she showed her in nursing school causes her to rush towards Team Rocket even after they have to attack her to keep the charade going, all the while not caring if Jessie's reptuation would sink her own. Luckily, Blissey is able to finally comprehend Jessie's ruse and silently agrees to keep up the charade just before Team Rocket goes blasting off, saving her career as Jessie intended while keeping their friendship secretly intact.
- Butt-Monkey: Poor Ash is a victim of Blissey's clumsy antics.
- Curbstomp Battle: Team Rocket set themselves up for one against the heroes to save Blissey.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Blissey is very cute and very well intentioned, though she gets too excited in helping others that she becomes The Klutz by accidentally dropping or not thinking through things. She gets better by the end though when she is able to help make and bring food safely, averting everyone's fears.
- Do Wrong, Right: Realizing Blissey may be in trouble for giving them the Pokémon Center's food, Team Rocket return and have a faux battle with the twerps to return the food, claiming they tricked the Blissey into giving it to them.
- Dumb Is Good: The Blissey of the episode clearly isn't the brightest, though she's certainly very kind hearted. Her Establishing Character Moment has her accidentally hit Ash with the door when greeting him, and then does various things to treat him which make him feel worse to the point where he needs to be wrapped in bandages. When Jessie discusses her history with Blissey it's shown that when she was a Chancey attending nursing school with Jessie, she needed her help wrapping bandages, accidentally knocked food on Jessie and even found a book hard because she was reading it upside down. Even her desire to help Team Rocket out of her Undying Loyalty to them by giving them all of the Center's food was an ignorant decision even if it was well meaning, and she doesn't comprehend Team Rocket's attempt to take the fall for her for quite a bit. Regardless, she's still a very nice Pokemon and the ending has her finally overcome clumsiness, paving her way.
- Establishing Character Moment: Blissey accidentally slams the door on Ash when greeting him, setting her up as a well meaning though Dumb Is Good type.
- Evil Gloating: Exploited. Team Rocket set up a fake gloating session about stealing all the Pokemon Center's berries. This, being perfectly in character for the trio, is believed by the heroes.
- Friendship Trinket: When Blissey was a Chancey, she gave Jessie half of her pendant that she received when graduating nursing school to make Jessie feel better about not graduating and so that they could always remember each other. When they meet years after, Jessie is able to identify the Blissey as the one she befriended thanks to the half necklace pendant.
- Good Feels Good: Zigzagged. After their defeat, the trio lament that, as much as this is true, they wish they weren't stranded in the ocean with no food.
- Hidden Depths: Jessie went to Pokémon Nurse school, although she didn't graduate.
- Idiot Ball: The teacher accuses Jessie of sleeping during class, even though it was because of the singing from the other Chansey during that lesson. This results her not being able to graduate.
- The Klutz: Blissey really wants to be a good Pokemon Nurse and is very eager to help care for her friends and patients, but she gets so excited that she often ends up tripping and dropping things, not to mention not think through her actions that can make things worse. Luckily the ending has her avert everyone's fears and let her cook and bring food properly, hinting she's on her way to overcoming this.
- Large Ham: Team Rocket up their usual dramatic performance in their fake invasion.
- Jerkass Has a Point: James calls out Ash and crew for standing by and letting Blissey battle when the pokemon is clearly unwilling (from their POV, unable) to fight. It's a faux battle, but James still has a point, especially since Jessie's pokemon did initially hurt Blissey because they didn't realize the plan.
- Manly Tears: James and Meowth shed these when they hear Jessie's back story of wanting to become a Pokemon nurse only to flunk, but not before she made good friends with Blissey (Who was still a Chancey back then).
- Morality Pet: Blissey is this to Jessie. As Jessie helped out Blissey (then a Chancey) at nursing school, Blissey returned the favor by giving Team Rocket all of the Center's food even though it would get her in trouble. Rather than letting Blissey take the fall, Jessie and the rest of Team Rocket decide instead to bail her out by putting on a charade that they tricked Blissey into stealing the food for them, knowing that they'd face retribution from an angry and hungry Ash.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Team Rocket goes out of their way to cover for Blissey by pretending they planned the whole ordeal all along. (Yes, even stealing Pikachu was part of the plan.) This results in Ash kicking their asses and them being stranded in the ocean with no food.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Ash is quite irritable and quick to anger in this episode moreso than others, and it's justified since he's starving, which causes him to be more aggressive in dealing with Team Rocket to retrieve the food they took. Lampshaded when Brock and Misty point out that Ash never gets this angry, but also never gets this hungry.
- Pet the Dog: One of the trio's most defining examples, Taking the Heat for Blissey after an act of generosity towards them gets her in trouble.
- Quit Your Whining: Misty and Brock angrily tell Ash to stop complaining about going to bed on an empty stomach when the two didn't have any food either.
- Taking the Heat: Blissey attempts to do this first, refusing to expose Team Rocket even when her career is at risk. The trio however realise this and beat her to it, gloating they stole the food to clear her.
- Token Human: Jessie was this when she attended a nursing school meant to train Chanceys. Sadly her instructor grabbed the Idiot Ball and didn't realize Jessie wouldn't fit in until after she instructed the Chancey class to sing their sleep song which obviously is going to affect the human Jessie, who herself cannot use Pokemon moves like the sleeping song.
- Undying Loyalty: Blissey to Jessie, and by association, James and Meowth. The trio return the sentiment.
