Without Pokémon Centers (let’s say PokéCenters for short) we’d be somewhere in Ilex Forest bowing to that ruddy Weedle and pleading him for mercy and not to poison poor old Chikorita, since you don’t have that Antidote with you. Or the possibilities go to old school running away from Beedril. Whenever she says, “We hope to see you again!”, it’s as if she knows you’re going to come back to heal that wounded Piplup. She also sweetly informs you when a double EV intake virus known as “Pokérus” is affecting your Pokémon. And also Brock. Him and his Nurse Joy flirting may have caught you. Nice, isn’t she? But she never gets any attention… so we think. Who is this nice lady in person…? Let’s go to a PokéCenter (I’m not telling you where on request of Nurse Joy) and clear the rumours.
The PokéCenter is a cool room (are there air conditioners? Or none of the occupants release hot air?) filled with bustling people, trainers or not, some eyeing the map on the corner, a long queue for using that PC (as if they’re going to get money out of that box) and a lot of graffiti on the walls. Some fellow wants us to suggest a catch phrase for him, but unfortunately, we don’t have the time. Ty, get that camera rolling!
Gabby: Hello, nice day, isn’t it?
Nurse Joy: Oh joy! What a nice camera! Where did you get it?
Gabby: This big *Ouch* (Don’t shake it like that!) camera? It’s from the Devon Corporation.
Nurse Joy: Golly! How does it work, I wonder… are Audino and Chansey looking well? How do I look?
Gabby: Looking great! Anyway, may I-
Nurse Joy: Look at that camera! Oh, what a nice, big camera!
… looks like we aren’t going so hot-on-the-spot right now, so we’ll take a short break!
Just remember that the PokéCenters come in different shapes and sizes… even flavors, I take it.
See that? The Centers range from a dull blackberry (really dull) to butterscotch and strawberry! Let’s skim over them all.
The first one is… not interesting. Too many window-ventilators on the top, and well… encouraging us to “Poke” people.
Second one is worse, as well as better. Colors are splashed in, but seems like Team Rocket would have a field day with the smoke, no ventilators. Yay for Poke!
Third one is basically a coloured first PokéCenter. Again, the idea of the colours don’t seem to pull off any oomph.
Fourth up is just way better. Electric doors and a styled roof! No windows, though. And death to the Poke!
Fifth goes back to a box. However, the good side is that it’s much bigger now, and the door is even more stylish with the crest. And a few ventilators to spice it up.
Sixth takes back the unique roof! Say no to boxes! Windows and the crest too, that’s what sucks. But better choice of red and blue, I must say. Even better door.
Seventh one anchors the box again… CAN’T THEY JUST GET OVER WITH IT? Apparently, everything else is fixed. The crest and the windows are back once again.
Eight one is on the dark side… but no disappearance of the wicked box.
Ninth PokéCenter for the win! Styled roof, cool windows AND A DOOR THAT GETS EVERYTHING. Everyone, vote for the ninth!
This just shows the modernization put into the PokéCenters.
… and back!
Gabby: So how does working here feel like, for you?
Nurse Joy: Oh, not much actually. I feel happy that I can help Pokémon and help others. It’s true that I have to work every hour in the day, but sometimes I like to take a break and let Chansey manage, and Audino help.
Gabby: Right… that’s nice to know! But don’t you ever feel that you aren’t appreciated enough? It’s always the same old routine, right? Don’t you ever feel you deserve more?
Nurse Joy: I can’t deny I feel like that sometimes, but I don’t really see what kind of special attention I want. I don’t really think I want to see something else in my life, this is my dream job, after all! But well… there’s this one thing. I’d really like to have some colleague working with me, it does feel lonely for my Pokémon, you know. And some cute guys who I like to frequently visit this place!
At least, I do! Don’t know about the “we”, though.
Yeah… *cough* *wheeze* sure…*ahem* … excuse me… *ahem* I seem to have picked up a contagious *wheeze* allergy…
Nurse Joy: But of course, I would do without another worker, too! It’s not a big problem, you know.
Seriously? I wouldn’t think of what to do next without my camera, career and the mic… alright, maybe not the camera. Without the camera, I could be a journalist! (Oh, shut up, Ty, I’m the interviewer here.)
Gabby: That’s fine! Next question – How is the PokéCenter always functioning, and always so perfect?
Nurse Joy: Actually, there’s nothing much that ever goes wrong. Occasionally some thugs break in, but that’s it. Plus, the Pokémon Center is neat and tidy. Audino does clean up nicely!
Gabby: Err… so does anything funny happen around when you work?
Nurse Joy: I should say a plenty! Sometimes, people want their Pokémon healed again right after I healed them. And you know what, they always seem to be in a hurry, too! What funny people. There is this fellow, he came in with Rayquaza once, and wanted Rayquaza healed… my word, a legendary Pokémon! And Rayquaza seemed to have been caught in a Pokéball, which was good news, because our PokéCenter is too small to accommodate such large requests. Some people stare at me blankly for some time, and bend down awkwardly for a while, then get up and run along. I asked someone about this once, he said that he had to save the game! Absurd.
Gabby: What about the graffiti on the walls?
Nurse Joy: For the life of me, I couldn’t bring them down, so we placed blank posters on the wall. We can always take them down when we want to clean up the PokéCenter. Once a person marked a few scribbles on the region map on the corner, said he wanted to sort out the Berries he planted. Needless to say, I had to teach him not to use that particular map for his own purposes.
Gabby: Which is the most common Pokémon that you encounter while you heal Pokémon?
Nurse Joy: The list is long… so long! So many trainers, so many Pokémon! But I have to say the fisherman horde… sorry, Fisherman Club, usually come about with a dream Pokémon, Magikarp. I suppose there’s not much magical amiss, but they all rave on how amazing their Magikarp are. Some make a tidy sum by selling them off to trainers. Selling Magikarp! How awful! They even state stringent rules. Mostly they only point out “no refunds”, that’s all. I once saw a Roughneck trying to rough up a fisherman on the Magikarp deal, said he wanted his three hundred thousand Pokédollars back, but he had to give up, because of the “no refunds” rule. Needless to say, the Magikarp was the real loser in the deal… poor thing. And oh, yes! Some of them insist on taking care of their specially coloured Pokémon, or “shiny”, as they describe it. I try to tell them it might have been a skin disease, but they never listen! I’ve met a trainer telling me to take care of his red Gyarados… they all are very peculiar in their attitude, that’s all I can say.
Gabby: How is it that in every PokéCenter, there’s a Nurse Joy? Aren’t there anyone else other than your family?
Nurse Joy: Well, of course there is! There’s Audino and Chansey!
Gabby: Well, I meant working for the PokéCenter, not working for you.
Nurse Joy: They work with me, not for me.
Gabby: Alright, other than Pokémon.
Nurse Joy: I don’t think so. Actually, I wanted to be a doctor, but they stuffed me in here! I can’t say I’m sad, but I wonder how being a Pokémon Doctor would feel like! I think the problem arises about when it comes to withstanding Chansey’s singing. Nobody hears the full thing! I suppose they think it’s too boring. I don’t know, but I would give them the special tea I used to drink with my sisters! That’d wake them up.
Gabby: Speaking of Pokémon doctors, do you know anything about a man named Brock?
Nurse Joy: I hear from my sisters that he is quite the nice person! I’d surely like to meet him some day!
Well, the gist is that they don’t want to meet him, right?
Gabby: Has anyone refused your hospitality?
Nurse Joy: Yes, some people go about in fits telling me to stop wishing them good bye. They also inquire on what basis do I hope to see them on a later date. I don’t know why, but it seems to get on their nerves often.
Get on their nerves, my foot.
Gabby: Last question, may we take a look at Audino and Chansey for a sec?
Nurse Joy: Sure, they are also part of the PokéCenter, after all. Ignoring them would be offending them.
Ah, here are Chansey and Audino. Let’s see… Chansey first!
Gabby: How does it feel to be working for Nurse Joy?
Chansey: Chansey! Chansey-Chansey! Chan-Chan-Chansey!
Gabby: Erm… what does that mean?
Nurse Joy: Chansey means to say that she works with me, not work for me. She also said that it’s wonderful to see so many happy Pokémon and trainers!
Gabby: Wonderful, wonderful. What was your favourite moment in the PokéCenter?
Chansey: Chan-Chan… Chansey-Chansey! Chan-Chan-Chansey!
Nurse Joy: Oh you-
Chansey: Chansey… Chansey-Chansey!
Nurse Joy: She meant to say that… uh… that everyday is a special moment! That’s all!
Chansey: Chansey… Chan-Chansey…
Nurse Joy: Oh, alright, alright, fine! She really said that the day when Professor Oak came for a checkup and gave Chansey some Pokéfood was her favourite moment. She says it was way better than my food…
Now let’s go to Audino!
Gabby: Isn’t it nice to be working for Nurse Joy, and meeting all these Pokémon?
Audino: Audino! Audino! Audino!
Nurse Joy: Audino means to say that she works with me, not works for me. She also said that it’s wonderful to see so many happy Pokémon and trainers!
…deja vu?
Gabby: Then what is your favourite aspect of this PokéCenter?
Audino: Audino! Audino! Audino-Audino!
Nurse Joy: She says that the healing machine right there. It spares her a lot of works and time, apparently.
So there it is. Those are the main reasons behind this logic. We could never get out of her how the healing machine worked, so we left it at that. It is supposed that Nurse Joy continuously and rhythmically taps the on and off button and get the poor things electrocuted. But this also seems to be their main source of energy. Now I’m beginning to understand why a Pokémon doesn’t ask for food much…
Or maybe, incinerators also have relevance to the topic, as suggested by this comic.
In any case, it’s not possible to survive without PokéCenters more than surviving with permanent stamps on your face and wearing a barrel for clothing. They’ve become a staple in every region, like Gyms, and because of the “free forever” part, they are probably the best indicative of Pokémon’s motto, “Gotta mooch ’em all!” Or… was it “Gotta heal ’em all!”? I forgot which… and next time, remember the offer from Team Aqua’s leader regarding his interest on working with Nurse Joy. This was Gabby and Ty’s Special Nurse Joy Interview, stay tuned for more interesting news!
Written by Hoenn.
Edited by An-chan, bobandbill, and Richard Fightmaster.
