Nessa
ルリナ Rurina
"The raging wave!"
Sword Shield Nessa.png
Artwork from Sword and Shield by take[1]
Age Unknown
Gender Female
Eye color Blue
Hair color Blue
Hometown Hulbury
Region Galar
Relatives Unnamed mother and father
Trainer class Gym Leader
Generation VIII, IX
Counterpart(s) Nessa (Masters)
Games Sword and Shield, Masters EX
English voice actor Tiana Camacho[2] (Masters EX)
Japanese voice actor Sora Amamiya[3] (Masters EX)
Member of Galar League
Rank Gym Leader
Leader of Hulbury Stadium
Badge Water Badge
Specializes in Water-types
Anime series Pokémon: Twilight Wings
Debut Letter
English voice actor Anairis Quinones
Japanese voice actor Sora Amamiya
Manga series Pokémon Adventures
Debut Chomp!! Defeat Drednaw

Nessa (Japanese: ルリナ Rurina) is a model who is the Gym Leader of Hulbury's Gym, known officially as Hulbury Stadium. She specializes in Water-type Pokémon. She gives the Water Badge to Trainers who defeat her.

In the core series games

Nessa is the second Gym Leader Galarian Trainers face in their Gym Challenge. Like most of the other Gym Leaders, she's initially introduced during the Gym Challenge opening ceremony at the Motostoke Stadium. When the player first arrives in Hulbury, Nessa is not at her Gym. Instead, she's near the town's lighthouse, and the player must talk to her there for her to return to her Gym, where she can be battled. Once the player has defeated Kabu, he, Nessa, and Milo appear to wish the player and Hop good luck in the remainder of their Gym Challenge. Later, Nessa also faces the player in the first round of the Champion Cup Finals.

Nessa's interest in Water-type Pokémon may have been influenced by her parents: her father is a fisher and her mother works in the marketplace. Eventually, she became the Gym Leader of Hulbury Gym and a successful model. She also became close friends with Sonia during the Gym Challenge, and often gives her fresh seafood from Hulbury whenever the two meet up. She claims to be the rival of Milo, the Turffield Gym Leader, but the latter only sees himself as his own rival. Nessa is known to be a very popular Gym Leader and model. Many people believe she acts differently depending on her role. She is known to be calm and collected, but her competitive spirit and indomitable will lurk just beneath the surface.[4] Given her personality and modeling career, fans were concerned with how Nessa would react to her loss against the player in the first round of the Champion Cup. Though she still gave the fans a perfect smile, things were not as peaceful within the Gym.

After Nessa's initial defeat, the player is awarded with the Water Badge, TM36 (Whirlpool), and the Water Uniform.

League Cards

This is a transcript of the back of Nessa's League Cards in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Normal League Card
"Her father is a fisher, and her mother works in the marketplace. Perhaps because of her parents, she grew up playing with Water-type Pokémon and eventually made it all the way to being a Gym Leader. She met Sonia during their Gym Challenge, and they continue to be close friends. Nessa often gives Sonia fresh seafood from Hulbury. She has declared that Milo of Turffield is her rival, but Milo responded by saying that his rival is himself."
Rare League Card
"Nessa is incredibly popular, both as a Gym Leader and as a model. Many people even think the Gym Leader Nessa and the model Nessa are two different people, since she shows a completely different attitude in each role. She had the misfortune of being defeated in the first match of the Finals, and those who knew of her indomitable nature worried that this would impact her work as a model. Despite her loss, she was still able to give her fans a perfect smile. Things were not nearly as peaceful with her Gym, however... "

Pokémon

Nessa keeps her Pokémon in Dive Balls.

Pokémon Sword and Shield

Gym battle

Nessa will Dynamax her Drednaw at the first opportunity.



Second battle

Nessa will Gigantamax her Drednaw at the first opportunity.



Max Raid Battle partner

Nessa teams up with the player, Hop, and Piers to face a Dynamax Gyarados in a Max Raid Battle.



Champion tournament

Nessa will Gigantamax her Drednaw at the first opportunity.



Galarian Star Tournament



In the spin-off games

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Nessa (Masters)

Nessa forms a sync pair with Drednaw and Eiscue in Pokémon Masters EX. Nessa became a playable sync pair on May 13, 2021.

Sync Dex Trainer NDex Pokémon Type Weakness Role Base Potential Availability
#125   Nessa #0834   Drednaw
Water
 
Grass
 
  ★★★★★☆EX Sync Pair Scout
#125   Holiday 2021
Nessa
#0875   Eiscue
Ice Face ↔ Noice Face
Ice
 
Fire
 
  ★★★★★☆EX Seasonal Sync Pair Scout

Gallery

Artwork

   
Concept art from Sword and Shield Artwork of Nessa
from Pokémon: Twilight Wings

Sprites

 
Icon from the
Galarian Star Tournament menu

League Cards

   
Nessa's League Card in
Sword and Shield
Nessa's rare League Card in
Sword and Shield

Quotes

Main article: Nessa/Quotes

In the anime

 
Nessa modeling in Pokémon: Twilight Wings
 
Young Nessa in Pokémon: Twilight Wings

Pokémon: Twilight Wings

Nessa made a cameo appearance in Letter. She reappeared in another cameo in Buddy, where she was seen in the water alongside a Qwilfish.

Nessa appeared more prominently in Early-Evening Waves, where she suffered a defeat in the Champion Cup at the hands of Milo. Afterwards, she was approached by Rose, who implied the loss happened because she was distracted by her simultaneous modeling career. This agitated her, and she vented her frustrations to Sonia. Later, during a photo shoot, Nessa was reunited with a Feebas she had met as a child, which was now a Milotic. Afterwards, she decided to disregard Rose's words and continue being both a Gym Leader and a model.

In Sky, she gave her thoughts about Leon in an interview.

In The Gathering of Stars, she was seen resting at a modeling photoshoot studio when she received an invitation letter for the Galarian Star Tournament. She was later seen at Wyndon Stadium, walking out onto the field for the tournament's opening ceremony.

Character

During the time following her defeat in battle, Nessa felt very concerned about juggling between her dual careers as a Gym Leader and a model. This conflict was amplified by Rose's implication that her modeling career was distracting her from her Gym Leader duties. She has a great friendship with Sonia.






Pokémon

This listing is of Nessa's known Pokémon in Pokémon: Twilight Wings:

On hand
 
Drednaw
Drednaw was seen being defeated by Milo's Dynamax Eldegoss during Nessa's Champion Cup battle against him.

Drednaw's only known move is Crunch*.

Debut Early-Evening Waves
Befriended
 

 
Feebas → Milotic
As a child, Nessa encountered a Feebas, and encouraged it to grow bigger. She also requested if she could ride on it once it evolved. Years later, Feebas returned as a Milotic, who fulfilled the request from earlier and let Nessa ride on it. This encounter prompted her to move forward with her goal to be both a Gym Leader and a model at the same time.

None of Milotic's moves are known.

Debut Early-Evening Waves

GOTCHA!

Nessa briefly appeared in GOTCHA!.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Nessa debuted in Chomp!! Defeat Drednaw. She, along with various other Gym Leaders, was first seen reacting to the news that Leon had endorsed two Trainers for the Gym Challenge.

In Toasty!! Battle Against Toxapex, Nessa faced Henry in a Gym battle at Hulbury Stadium and lost. She later battled Casey as well, but the injuries her Pokémon sustained in the battle with Henry led to Nessa losing a second time, much to her frustration. After Casey and Hop completed the first three Galar Gyms, Nessa, Milo, and Kabu personally congratulated the two for their accomplishment.

In Rumble!! The Horrific Darkest Day, the Gym Leaders gathered at Rose Tower to find out if Rose intended on bringing harm to Galar. Nessa went to Hammerlocke to meet with Sonia, Leon, and Raihan. They planned to join the others in Wyndon, only for Rose to unleash Eternatus and restart the Darkest Day. Power Spot lights began appearing all over the region, causing Pokémon to start Dynamaxing at random. Nessa's group and Henry's group later reunited at the Energy Plant, where they found Rose ecstatic that his plan was a success.

In PASS27, Rose explained he meant no harm to Galar and sent Sordward and Shielbert to defeat Eternatus and prevent the Darkest Day from spiraling out of control. Despite their claims of being descendants of the heroes that once stopped the Darkest Day, Sordward and Shielbert were unable to win, forcing Rose to take their place. Oleana explained that Rose's actions were for the benefit of Galar and requested that everyone help stop Eternatus. The group agreed and made their way to the summit, where they found Rose had already been defeated. Nessa, Leon, Piers, Hop, Marnie, Raihan, and Melony managed to take Eternatus down, only for it to get back up and unleash its Eternamax form.

In PASS29, Eternatus quickly overwhelmed Raihan and the others, only for Zacian and Zamazenta to appear and assist in the battle against the Gigantic Pokémon. They attempted to wield the Rusted Sword and Shield, but the items and Henry were snatched out of the air by Eternatus. Zacian and Zamazenta struck Eternatus at the same time, creating a massive blast of light. By the time the light cleared, Henry, Zacian, Zamazenta, Eternatus had vanished. Nessa and everyone injured during the battle were taken to a hospital to recover from the effects of Eternatus's poison.

In PASS35, after taking special medicine, Nessa and the others began to recover from the effects of the poison.

Pokémon

 
Toxapex
Toxapex is Nessa's first known Pokémon. It was first seen participating in a photo shoot with Nessa. Later, it was used in a battle against Henry's Twiggy. Though it poisoned its opponent with Baneful Bunker, Toxapex was defeated when its body was heated up by Twiggy's Sunny Day, leaving it wide open for Twiggy's next attack.

Toxapex's only known move is Baneful Bunker.

Debut Toasty!! Battle Against Toxapex
 

 
Drednaw ↔ Gigantamax Drednaw
Drednaw is Nessa's second known Pokémon. It was first used in Nessa's Gym battle against Henry, but it was defeated by Henry's Twiggy. It is housed in a Dive Ball.

None of Drednaw's moves are known*.
As a Gigantamax Drednaw, it can use Max Strike and G-Max Stonesurge.

Debut Toasty!! Battle Against Toxapex
 
Quagsire
Quagsire is Nessa's third known Pokémon. It was first seen being used to battle Eternatus on the Tower Summit.

None of Quagsire's moves are known.

Debut PASS28
 
Barraskewda
Barraskewda is Nessa's fourth known Pokémon. It was first seen being used to battle Eternamax Eternatus on the Tower Summit.

None of Barraskewda's moves are known.

Debut PASS29

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Nessa or her Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Nessa's Pokémon
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Drednaw   Vivid Voltage   039/185 Amazing Volt Tackle   026/100
Other related cards
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Nessa Su Vivid Voltage   157/185 Amazing Volt Tackle   096/100
Vivid Voltage   183/185 Amazing Volt Tackle   111/100
Vivid Voltage   196/185 Amazing Volt Tackle   118/100
      VMAX Climax   164/184
Lost Origin   TG27/TG30 VMAX Climax   277/184
Crown Zenith   136/159 S-P Promotional cards   231/S-P
 


Trivia

Names

Language Name Origin
Japanese ルリナ Rurina From 瑠璃苦菜 ruri-nigana (cupid's dart)
English Nessa Possibly from ness or Loch Ness; Greek Nerissa, meaning "from the sea"; or Cornish nessa, meaning second
German Kate From Catananche caerulea (cupid's dart)
Spanish Cathy From Catananche caerulea (cupid's dart)
French Donna From cupidone bleue (cupid's dart)
Italian Azzurra From cupidone azzurro (cupid's dart)
Korean 야청 Yacheong From 야청 yacheong (dark blue)
Chinese (Mandarin) 露璃娜 Lùlínà Transcription of her Japanese name. Contains 露 lù / louh (dew) and 璃 lí / lèih from 玻璃菊 bōlijú / bōlēigūk (cupid's dart).
Chinese (Cantonese) 露璃娜 Louhlèihnàh
Brazilian Portuguese Vanessa From her English name
Russian Несса Nessa Transcription of her English name
Thai รูรินะ Rurina Transcription of her Japanese name

Related articles

References


Gym Leaders of the Galar region
Turffield Stadium  
 
Milo
Hulbury Stadium  
 
Nessa
Motostoke Stadium  
 
Kabu
Stow-on-Side Stadium  
   
 
Bea Allister
Ballonlea Stadium  
   
Opal Bede
Circhester Stadium  
   
 
Gordie Melony
Spikemuth Gym  
   
Piers Marnie
Hammerlocke Stadium  
 
Raihan


  This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.