Nurse Joy
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- For the nurse who appears in Pokémon Centers in the games, see Pokémon Center Nurse or Teala.
| Nurse Joy ジョーイ Joy | |
 Art of Nurse Joy from the Best Wishes series | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Kanto, Orange Archipelago, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova |
| Relatives | Other Nurse Joys, Marnie and Paige |
| Trainer class | Nurse |
| Generation | I |
| Games | Yellow |
| Anime debut | Pokémon Emergency! |
| English voice actor | Megan Hollingshead (EP002-AG042) Bella Hudson (AG049-AG144) Michele Knotz (MoMP-DP190) Alyson Rosenfeld (BW002-Present) |
| Japanese voice actor | Ayako Shiraishi (EP002-EP229) Yuriko Yamaguchi (EP245-DP190, SS025)* Chika Fujimura (BW002-present) |
Nurse Joy (Japanese: ジョーイ Joy, referred to as ジョーイさん Joy-san by most characters) 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 in-game Pokémon Center Nurses.
In the anime
Nurse Joy is not a single entity. Rather, there are many Joys working as nurses across the various regions of the Pokémon world.
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 several notable Nurse Joys who appear vastly different from the others. A Nurse Joy acts as the Pokémon League inspector in Showdown at Dark City, her first appearance as anything but an ordinary Nurse Joy. Another Nurse Joy living in the Orange Archipelago has made her career instead be as an archaeologist, leading an expedition to a deserted island in Shell Shock. A muscle-bound, kayak-riding Nurse Joy who also lives in the archipelago was featured, along with her befriended giant Magikarp, in The Joy of Pokémon. Other Nurse Joys living on the islands have a noticeably darker skin tone than their mainland counterparts, likely due to living in a more tropical region.
A Nurse Joy who appeared in The Joy of Water Pokémon was in charge of a Pokémon Center which specialized in Water-type Pokémon, despite being afraid of them herself. Two young Joys, named Marnie and Paige, appeared in Drifloon on the Wind, where it was revealed that Joy is the surname of the family, rather than the given name of each individual woman. Their mother, of course, was an ordinary Nurse Joy.
Nurse Joy, like Ash, received a redesign when the Best Wishes series began, as well as a change of clothes. All Nurse Joys in Unova have this new design.
Although there are many exceptions, Nurse Joy will generally have Chansey in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and the Orange Archipelago, and Audino in Unova to assist her. Chansey's evolution introduced in Generation II, Blissey, also appears on occasion.
There is a similarity between the families of Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Don George. Fans have speculated about some sort of relation or deeper connection; however, the only thing known for sure about the three families is that they are on good terms.
Nurse Joys give out starter Pokémon to Trainers in towns or cities without Pokémon Professors, such as Slateport City. 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. This makes them not just good nurses, but good judges as well.
Pokémon
This listing is for Nurse Joy's usual Pokémon in the anime.
Other
This listing is for Pokémon various individual Nurse Joys have had during the course of the anime.
| Debut | Pokémon Emergency! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Ikue Ohtani |
| English | Ikue Ohtani Rachael Lillis |
Many Pikachu were seen in the Viridian City Pokémon Center. They were used to generate electricity and run the Pokémon Center's back-up generator.
Pikachu's only known move is ThunderShock.
| Debut | Get Along, Little Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Eric Stuart Addie Blaustein |
Many Magnemite were seen on the telephone screen while Ash, Misty, Tracey, and Ethan were talking to Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in a nearby town. They were used to generate electricity and run the Pokémon Center.
None of Magnemite's moves are known.
| Debut | The Mystery Menace |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English | Tara Jayne |
On Mandarin Island, an unknown Pokémon hiding in the sewers of Trovitopolis was "menacing" the town. 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 | Ignorance is Blissey |
|---|
- Main article: Nurse Joy's Blissey
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 | Grin to Win! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Rachael Lillis |
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 | EP250 |
|---|
The Nurse Joy that lives inside the Ice Path runs a Pokémon Center that takes care of several Ice-type Pokémon—a Jynx being one of them. Jynx is Nurse Joy's main helper in the center, much like the Chansey of most other centers.
Jynx's known moves are Blizzard, Powder Snow, and Lovely Kiss.
| Debut | EP250 |
|---|
The Nurse Joy that lives inside the Ice Path runs a Pokémon Center that takes care of several Ice-type Pokémon—many of them being Swinub.
Swinub's only known move is Powder Snow.
| Debut | EP250 |
|---|
The Nurse Joy that lives inside the Ice Path runs a Pokémon Center that takes care of several Ice-type Pokémon—some of them being Piloswine. Piloswine is used for sledding, similar to sled dogs in the real world.
Piloswine's known moves are Powder Snow and Blizzard.
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Chinami Nishimura |
| English | Rachael Lillis (as Torchic) Darren Dunstan (as Combusken) |
A Torchic that was supposed to be given to a beginning Trainer in Hoenn. It was a crafty Torchic and quite strong, by pretending to cry in front of Pikachu and managing to defeat Corphish. It gained so much experience it evolved into a Combusken. Once it evolved, it could no longer be given away, and so it stayed in the Pokémon Center.
Combusken's known moves are Scratch, Peck, Ember, and Flamethrower.
| Debut | Celebi and Joy |
|---|
Ritchie rode Nurse Joy's Ponyta from Marion Town, successfully changing the past by preventing Nick's death.
None of Ponyta's moves are known.
| Debut | Off the Unbeaten Path |
|---|
An Oddish was owned by the Nurse Joy who participated in the Pokémon Orienteering competition.
None of Oddish's moves are known.
| Debut | Odd Pokémon Out! |
|---|
The Nurse Joy of Camomile Island owns a Meganium that is in love with a wild Tropius. Grovyle was, in turn, in love with Meganium; Grovyle battled with Tropius for Meganium.
Meganium's known moves are Aromatherapy, Vine Whip, and Growl.
| Debut | Drifloon On the Wind! |
|---|
Marnie and Paige, two young daughters of a Nurse Joy, own four Drifloon.
None of Drifloon's moves are known.
Nurse Joy of Pastoria City owns a Croagunk named Chrissy (Jp: グレミ Guremi). Hamilton proposed his Croagunk, Craig, to Chrissy, but Brock broke into the argument, proposing his Croagunk to Chrissy. Later on, when Team Rocket invaded, Chrissy defeated their mecha and was pronounced winner of the Pastoria Croagunk Festival because of this act.
Chrissy's only known move is Vacuum Wave.
| Debut | Uncrushing Defeat! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | |
| English | Emily Jenness |
The Nurse Joy near Lake Acuity owns a Blissey, a different Blissey than the Blissey owned by the Nurse Joy of Happy Town.
None of Blissey's moves are known.
| Debut | SS025 |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Megumi Hayashibara |
A Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Inspection Agency owns a Latias. It was used to battle against Forrest's Rhyperior in the Pewter Gym, in order to determine whether the Gym should be closed or not. Although Latias won the battle, Nurse Joy was impressed by Forrest's skill and spared the Pewter Gym.
Latias's known moves are Dragon Pulse, Recover, Ice Beam, and Steel Wing.
Befriended
| Debut | The Joy of Pokémon |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Addie Blaustein (as Magikarp) Unshō Ishizuka (as Gyarados) |
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 appeared and fed 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 had known Magikarp since she was small and found it washed up on the shore; she later cared for it as it grew and grew. The Magikarp later appeared when Team Rocket captured Ash and his friends, including Nurse Joy, stopping them from helping a very sick Seel. Magikarp appeared and rammed Team Rocket's submarine, then suddenly evolved into a Gyarados and defeated Team Rocket.
Gyarados's only known move is Tackle.
Given away
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Megumi Hayashibara |
| English | Lindsey Warner |
Stephanie's Mudkip was looked after by Ash and Max. At first it seemed to be a crybaby, but after being looked after by Brock's Mudkip, everything turned out fine and it was picked by Stephanie as her Starter Pokémon.
None of Mudkip's moves are known.
| Debut | Having a Wailord of a Time |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Yuji Ueda |
| English | Dan Green |
Stephanie's father's Treecko was looked after by Ash and Max. She seemed to take a liking to Ash's Treecko in that she held something in her mouth, in her case a flower. She was picked by Stephanie's father because she had nowhere to go.
None of Treecko's moves are known.
Temporary
| Debut | The Ultimate Test |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Eric Stuart |
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 is unknown who won.
Squirtle's known moves are Water Gun and Skull Bash.
Voice actors
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In the games
Nurse Joy, like many anime characters, has a game counterpart. Nurse Joy does appear, however in Pokémon Yellow, she replaces the Pokémon Center Nurse and is accompanied by a Chansey in every Pokémon Center. Furthermore, an old news page from Game Freak on Pokémon Yellow suggests that her name is in fact Joy (ジョーイ).
In the manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu 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
- Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Don George all have Japanese names that begin with the kana ジ, while their English names all start with the same sound, dʒ. They also all happen to be part of a large, extended family.
Names
| 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 | Direct translation of English name. |
| German | Schwester Joy | Translation of English name. |
| Korean | 간호순 Ganhosun | From 간호사 ganhosa (nurse). |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 喬伊 / 乔伊 Qiáoyī | Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 祖兒 Jóuyìh 喬伊 Kìuhyī |
Transliteration of her Japanese name. |
| Brazilian | Enfermeira Joy | Translation of English name. |
| Romanian | Sora Joy | Translation of English name. |
| Nurse Joy's Pokémon | ||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
