Pokémon Season 4 Episode 49

The Joy of Water Pokémon

The Nurse Joy at Lake Lucid’s Pokémon Center is famous among Water-type Pokémon Trainers, so Misty is thrilled when our heroes’ travels take them to the lake. Lake Lucid’s Nurse Joy is the third generation of Nurse Joys who have turned Lake Lucid from a toxic pool to a crystal-clear lake where Water-type Pokémon come to rest and recuperate, and she’s one of Misty’s long-time heroes.

Everything goes swimmingly until Misty asks Nurse Joy to examine her Water-type Pokémon. This Nurse Joy actually hates Water-type Pokémon, and she’s hated them ever since some Remoraid frightened her when she was a child! Even though Nurse Joy says she still understands Water-type Pokémon and doesn’t let personal feelings impair her ability to do her job, Misty refuses to believe a word of it. She’s angry and distraught that her idol doesn’t even want to touch Water-type Pokémon without putting on a special protective suit.

Misty’s tour of the Pokémon Center is interrupted by Team Rocket, who burst in with a beat-up Tentacruel submarine and try to steal the Center’s Pokémon. They’re soon defeated, but Nurse Joy’s protective suit is lost and a Gyarados becomes agitated when its tank is destroyed. As the only one with the training and experience to handle the situation, Nurse Joy steps up and calms Gyarados down, suit or no suit—she may hate Water-type Pokémon, but her duty takes precedence over fear. Even though Nurse Joy isn’t magically cured of her hatred for Water Pokémon, Misty realizes she may have judged too harshly and leaves with a newfound respect for Nurse Joy’s dedication.