Chansey
Encyclopedia
Chansey, known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
and Game Freak
Game Freak
is a Japanese video game developer that currently creates games exclusively for Nintendo. It has developed the Pokémon series of role-playing games and several other games.-History:...
's Pokémon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori
Ken Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
, Chansey first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
and subsequent sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise.
Design and characteristics
Chansey was one of several different designs conceived by Game Freak's character development team and finalized by Ken SugimoriKen Sugimori
is a Japanese video game designer, illustrator, manga artist, and director. He is most famous as the character designer and art director for the Pokémon franchise. Sugimori is also credited with the art direction for other titles, including Pulseman. Sugimori drew all of the original 151 Pokémon...
for the first generation of Pocket Monsters games Red and Green, which were localized outside of Japan as Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
. Originally called "Lucky" in Japanese, Nintendo decided to give the various Pokémon species "clever and descriptive names" related to their appearance or features when translating the game for western audiences as a means to make the characters more relatable to American children. While her name was originally to be "Lucky" in English, it was changed to "Chansey", which takes from the word "chance".
Chansey, known as the Egg Pokémon, have pink, egg-shaped bodies. They have hair-like outgrowths on the side of their heads. Chansey have stubby limbs, a short tail, and a pouch that holds an egg. Chansey is a female-only species with no male counterpart. Extremely rare in the wild, Chansey is said to bring happiness to those who are lucky enough to capture it. Chansey lays a new egg every day. The egg is extremely nutritious and tasty. A kind-hearted and charitable Pokémon, Chansey will share its eggs with injured Pokémon it may come across. Chansey walks carefully to protect its egg from damage but can be startlingly fast when it must run from danger.
In video games
Chansey first appears in Pokémon Red and BluePokémon Red and Blue
Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version, originally released in Japan as , are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. They are the first installments to the Pokémon series. They were first released in Japan in 1996 as Red and Green, with Blue being...
, where it can be found in the Safari Zone, and is considered a rare Pokémon. Because of Pokémon Yellow being based on the anime, Chansey appear in Pokémon Centers. It later appears in several sequels, including Pokémon Gold and Silver
Pokémon Gold and Silver
are the second installments of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color. The games have dual-mode capabilities allowing them to also be played on earlier Game Boy models. They were first released in Japan in 1999 and to...
, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
are enhanced remakes of the original Pokémon Red and Blue video games, which were released in 1996. The new titles were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance and have compatibility with the Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, which originally came bundled with...
, Pokémon Diamond
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
are role-playing games developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. With the enhanced remake Pokémon Platinum, the games comprise the fifth installment and fourth generation of the Pokémon series of RPGs...
, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS...
. In Gold and Silver, Chansey gains an evolution called Blissey, while it gains a pre-evolution in Diamond and Pearl called Happiny.
Outside of the main series, Chansey has appeared in Pokémon Pinball
Pokémon Pinball
is a pinball-based Pokémon spin-off video game for the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on April 14, 1999, and in North America on June 28, 1999. In it, the ball is a Poké Ball, and most of the objects on the table are Pokémon-related....
, Pokémon Snap
Pokémon Snap
is a first-person rail shooter and simulation video game developed by HAL Laboratory with Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is part of the Pokémon series, and one of the first console games based on the Pokémon series...
, and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
- Manga :*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Ginji's Rescue Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and Red Rescue Team*Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blazing Exploration Team, manga adaption of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Explorers of Darkness, and Explorers of Sky.-...
games. In Pokémon Stadium 2, Chansey stars in its own minigame called "Egg Emergency". Players get points for catching eggs in their pouch, while having to avoid bombs. In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness
and are a matched pair of Pokémon games for the Nintendo DS. The two games were released in Japan on September 13, 2007, and were released in North America on April 20, 2008...
, Chansey runs the Chansey Day Care where the player can hatch their eggs received as a reward from missions. In Super Smash Bros, Chansey will sometimes appear from the Silph Co. Building in Saffron City. In Super Smash Bros Melee, Chansey appears as a float in the Pokéfloats stages. In both games, Chansey can appear from a Poké Ball and throw eggs which either heal the player or contain items.
In other media
Throughout the anime, Chansey is mainly seen working at Pokémon Centers. The first instance was in Pokémon Emergency!. In Overjoyed! a Nurse Joy uses a Chansey to defeat Ash's Corphish in battle. In DP190, Brock's Happiny evolves into Chansey in order to help sick Pokémon. In Pokémon AdventuresPokémon Adventures
Pokémon Adventures, released in Japan as , is a Pokémon-related manga based on the video games. Satoshi Tajiri once stated that the Pocket Monsters Special series is closest to what he imagined the Pokémon world to be:...
, Chansey is seen as a Pokémon under the ownership of Daisy Oak, Blue's sister. Plum owns a Chansey in Magical Pokémon Journey
Magical Pokémon Journey
Magical Pokémon Journey, known in Japan as , is a shōjo manga series set in the fictional universe of the Pokémon franchise. The manga is by Yumi Tsukirino and serialized by Shogakukan in the manga magazine Ciao, and collected in ten bound volumes.The main character, Hazel , sets off to catch...
.
Critical reception
Since appearing in the PokémonPokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
series, Chansey has received generally positive reception. It has been featured in several pieces of merchandise, including figures, plush toys, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Trading Card Game
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game based on the Pokémon video game series, first introduced in Japan in October 1996, then North America in December 1998...
. Its design was used for Pop Tarts along with three other Pokémon.
Author Paolo Taggi described Chansey as a rare Pokémon, while The San Diego Union editor Chris Morgan called it a coveted Pokémon. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
described Chansey as a "vaguely dinosauric pinkish cloud". Irish Independent News editor Sarah Chalmers described Chansey as "cute and cuddly", commenting that she would fit in well in My Little Pony
My Little Pony
My Little Pony is a brand of toy ponies marketed primarily to girls produced by the toy manufacturer Hasbro. These ponies can be identified by their colorful bodies and manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks...
. GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
editor Carolyn Gudmundson listed the "huggable pink blob" type Pokémon as one of the most overused Pokémon designs, citing Chansey as an example. She described it as frustrating to obtain due to her rarity and low catch rate, but ultimately saying that it was the most useful of this type of Pokémon, Fellow GamesRadar editor Raymond Padilla criticized the Safari Zone due to how difficult it is to capture rarer Pokémon, citing Chansey specifically. Fellow GamesRadar editor Brett Elston described it as "semi-iconic" to the series, describing it as a "meat shield". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
described Chansey as odd in both appearance and nature, citing its high health but low defense for the latter. They comment that it's hard to recommend Chansey unless the player is intending on annoying their opponent. IGN editor "Pokémon of the Day Chick" commented that she was surprised by its popularity in Red and Blue.