Nurse Joy
- For the nurse who appears in Pokémon Center in the games, see Nurse (game) or Teala.
| Nurse Joy ジョーイ Joy | |
| File:Nurse Joy HD.png A Nurse Joy | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh |
| 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) Michele Knotz (TPCi) |
| Japanese voice actor | Yuriko Yamaguchi Kikuko Inoue (temp.) |
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 beginings with her grandmother and mother.
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.
| Nurse Joy's Chansey | ||
Almost every Nurse Joy has been seen owning Chansey functioning as nurses. | ||
| Debut | Pokémon Emergency! | |
|---|---|---|
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. | ||
| Debut | Pokémon Emergency! | |
|---|---|---|
| When Ash, Misty and Tracey were crossing Mandarin Island, they visited a Pokémon Center that owned a Magnemite. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Like all residents of Bloomingvale, Nurse Joy owns a Sunflora that she received in a trade from Cyrus. | ||
| Debut | Grin to Win! | |
|---|---|---|
| Like all residents of Wobbuffet Village, Nurse Joy owns a Wobbuffet. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Debut | EP250 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ritchie rode Nurse Joy's Ponyta from Marion City, successfully changing the past by preventing Nick's death. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Debut | Odd Pokémon Out! | |
|---|---|---|
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| Marnie and Paige, two young daughters of a Nurse Joy, own four Drifloon. | ||
| Debut | Drifloon On the Wind! | |
|---|---|---|
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| Nurse Joy of Pastoria City owns a Croagunk named Chrissy (グレミ Guremi). | ||
| Debut | Cream of the Croagunk Crop! | |
|---|---|---|
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| The Nurse Joy near Lake Acuity owns a Blissey. | ||
| Debut | Uncrushing Defeat! | |
|---|---|---|
Temporary
 Squirtle (EP056) (used during a Pokémon League exam) |
Befriended
 → Magikarp → Gyarados (EP092) (giant) |
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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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 | |
| Korean | 간호순 Ganhosun | |
| Chinese | 喬伊 Qiáoyī | Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
External links
- Joy's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime. |