Nurse Joy
- For the nurse who appears in Pokémon Centers in the games, see Nurse (game) or Teala.
| Nurse Joy ジョーイ Joy | |
 A Nurse Joy from the Isshu region | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Isshu |
| Relatives | Other Nurse Joys, Marnie and Paige |
| Trainer class | none |
| Generation | I |
| Games | Yellow |
| Anime debut | Pokémon Emergency! |
| English voice actor | Megan Hollingshead (OS) Bella Hudson (AG) Diane Stillwell (MMoP Michele Knotz (TPCi) |
| Japanese voice actor | Ayako Shiraishi Yuriko Yamaguchi Kikuko Inoue (temp.) Chika Fujimura (BW) |
Nurse Joy (Japanese: ジョーイ Joy) is (or are) kind nurses who take care of Pokémon. As revealed in Drifloon in the Wind!, Joy is not the first name of these women, but actually the family name. Her Japanese name is a play on 女医 joi, woman doctor. They are based on the game Nurses.
In the anime
There is not one Nurse Joy. Rather, there are countless Joys working at Pokémon Centers across the country.
As a rule, Nurse Joys are kind, earnest, honest Pokémon nurses who take care of sick and injured Pokémon, but will confront a Pokémon Trainer if they are not properly caring for their Pokémon.
They are not entirely identical, though aside from themselves, it seems that Brock is the only one who can tell them apart. However, each Nurse Joy will have a different color cross on her hat that indicates which location she works at.
Supposedly, they are all extremely similar-looking relatives— cousins, sisters, etc. However, fans have proposed various other theories has been suggested for the strange phenomenon— everything from time travel, to cloning, to the Nurse Joys being Pokémon themselves.
There are some notable Nurse Joys that are very different from the others: the muscle-bound kayak-riding Nurse Joy in the Orange Archipelago, for example. On top of that, all the Nurse Joys of the Orange Archipelago have a darker skin tone than the ones found in any other region, probably an effect of living in such sunny weather. Then, there is the Nurse Joy in Shell Shock! who led an excavation team made up of Machoke, Rhydon and archaeologists to find Kabuto fossils to revive them. There is even a Nurse Joy in the Kanto region in The Joy of Water Pokémon who is afraid of Water-type Pokémon, but runs a Water-type specialty Pokémon Center that has its beginnings with her grandmother and mother. The Isshu region also have different looking Nurse Joys. Their hair is styled slightly different and appear to be younger. Completely unlike any Nurse Joy in other regions, they are the only ones that do not use Chansey due to the fact that they are not native to Isshu. Instead they use Tabunne as their assistants.
Although there are many exceptions, Nurse Joy will generally have Chansey to assist her. In fact, Chansey's evolution added in Generation II, Blissey, appears physically similar to Nurse Joy. Further driving home the connection, Blissey's Japanese name can be taken to mean "Happy Nurse".
There is a very distinct parallel between the families of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. This may indicate some sort of relation or deeper connection, and fans have sometimes speculated about such. However, the only thing known about the two families is that they are apparently on good terms.
In addition, Nurse Joys give out starter Pokémon to trainers in towns or cities without Pokémon Professors. Slateport City is one such town. Adhering to their role as government workers, they are also inspectors for the Pokémon Inspection Agency grading Pokémon gyms.
Nurse Joys also judge Pokémon Contests and the Grand Festivals.
Pokémon
This listing is for Nurse Joy's usual Pokémon in the anime.
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Almost every Nurse Joy has been seen owning Chansey functioning as nurses. | ||
| Debut | Pokémon Emergency! | |
|---|---|---|
In the Isshu region, Nurse Joys have Tabunne functioning as nurses. | ||
| Debut | BW006 | |
|---|---|---|
Other
This listing is for Pokémon various individual Nurse Joys have had during the course of the anime.
| Nurse Joy's Pikachu | ||
| Many Pikachu were seen in the Viridian City Pokémon Center.
Pikachu's only known move is ThunderShock. | ||
| Debut | Pokémon Emergency! | |
|---|---|---|
| When Ash, Misty and Tracey were crossing Mandarin Island, they visited a Pokémon Center that owned a Magnemite.
None of Magnemite's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Get Along, Little Pokémon | |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Joy's Bulbasaur | ||
| Later on, still on Mandarin Island, an unknown Pokémon was hiding in the sewers of Trovitopolis. The Pokémon turned out to be a giant Bulbasaur that was once abandoned by the Mayor of Trovitopolis, and was eventually adopted by Nurse Joy.
Bulbasaur's only known move is Vine Whip. | ||
| Debut | The Mystery Menace | |
|---|---|---|
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The Nurse Joy of Happy Town owns a Blissey that is an old friend of Jessie. This Blissey was a very clumsy Pokémon - the more it tried to help, the more problems it caused. | ||
| Debut | Ignorance is Blissey | |
|---|---|---|
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| Like all residents of Bloomingvale, Nurse Joy owns a Sunflora that she received in a trade from Cyrus. Sonrisa's Sunflora, Sunny, used to play with Gwendela when it was with Cyrus, but became gloomy after it was traded. Sunny was led to Gwendela and soon started to dance.
None of Sunflora's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Grin to Win! | |
|---|---|---|
| Like all residents of Wobbuffet Village, Nurse Joy owns a Wobbuffet.
None of Wobbuffet's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Wobbu-Palooza! | |
|---|---|---|
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| The Nurse Joy that lives inside the Ice Path owns several Template:Type2 Pokémon - a Jynx, a Piloswine and two Swinub.
Jynx's known moves are Blizzard, Powder Snow and Lovely Kiss. | ||
| Debut | EP250 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Ritchie rode Nurse Joy's Ponyta from Marion City, successfully changing the past by preventing Nick's death.
None of Ponyta's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Celebi and Joy | |
|---|---|---|
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| A Torchic that was supposed to be given to a beginning Trainer in Hoenn by one Nurse Joy evolved into Combusken before the Trainer's arrival. Once it evolved, it could no longer be given away, and stayed in the Pokémon Center.
Combusken's known moves are Peck, Ember, Flamethrower and Double Kick. | ||
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time | |
|---|---|---|
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| An Oddish was owned by the Nurse Joy who participated in the Pokémon Orienteering competition.
None of Oddish's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Off the Unbeaten Path | |
|---|---|---|
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| The Nurse Joy of Camomile Island owns a Meganium that is in love with a wild Tropius. Ash's Grovyle was in love with Meganium, and battled Tropius for her.
Meganium's known moves are Aromatherapy, Vine Whip and Growl. | ||
| Debut | Odd Pokémon Out! | |
|---|---|---|
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| Marnie and Paige, two young daughters of a Nurse Joy, own four Drifloon.
None of Drifloon's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Drifloon On the Wind! | |
|---|---|---|
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| Nurse Joy of Pastoria City owns a Croagunk named Chrissy (Jp: グレミ Guremi).
Chrissy's only known move is Vacuum Wave. | ||
| Debut | Cream of the Croagunk Crop! | |
|---|---|---|
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| The Nurse Joy near Lake Acuity owns a Blissey.
None of Blissey's moves are known. | ||
| Debut | Uncrushing Defeat! | |
|---|---|---|
Temporary
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| Squirtle is one of the Pokémon owned by the Pokémon League entrance exam instructor. It appeared under Nurse Joy's command, battling the instructor's Charmander it put up a good fight, it is unknown who won.
Squirtle's known moves are Water Gun and Skull Bash. | ||
| Debut | The Ultimate Test | |
|---|---|---|
Befriended
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| Nurse Joy befriended a Gyarados when it was a giant Magikarp. It first appeared as a Magikarp when it jumped out of the water in front of Ash and his friends. Nurse Joy appears and feeds it tablets saying the Pokémon that live on the islands are too small for a Pokémon Center and need medicine if sick. It was later revealed that Nurse Joy has known Magikarp since she was small and found it washed up on the shore, she later cared for it as it grew and grew. It later appeared when Team Rocket captured Ash and his friends including Nurse Joy, stopping them from helping a very sick Seel. Magikarp appeared ramming Team Rocket's sub, it then suddenly evolved into a Gyarados and sent Team Rocket blasting off and freeing the group. | ||
| Debut | The Joy of Pokémon | |
|---|---|---|
Given away
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| Stephanie's Mudkip was looked after by Ash, Brock and Max. It was later picked by Stephanie as her starter Pokémon. | ||
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time | |
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| Stephanie's father's Treecko was looked after Ash, Brock and Max. It was later picked by Stephanie's father because she had nowhere to go. | ||
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time | |
|---|---|---|
Voice actors
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In the manga
Nurse Joy makes a cameo appearance in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga series, which is based on the Pokémon anime. She appears in You Gotta Have Friends, where she recommends that Ash take Pikachu on a trip to the countryside to relieve stress, as it has been battling too hard. Brock is the only character that can tell the many Nurse Joys apart.
Generic nurses appear at various points in the manga as well.
Trivia
Name
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ジョーイ Joy | From 女医 joi (woman doctor). |
| English | Nurse Joy | Same as the Japanese name. |
| French | Infirmière Joëlle | |
| German | Schwester Joy | |
| Korean | 간호순 Ganhosun | |
| Chinese | 喬伊 Qiáoyī | Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
External links
- Joy's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
| Nurse Joy's Pokémon | ||||||
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| Recurring: | ||||||
| Other: | ||||||
| Given away: | ||||||
| Temporary: | ||||||
| Befriended: | ||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |