The world of Pokémon can seem a bit idyllic at times, especially when you think about free, universal health care via magical healing machines provided to all Pokémon at any Pokémon Center. Since the first games, these Pokémon Centers have been staffed by a group of completely identical women (skin, hair, eyes, facial expressions, everything!), all known in the anime as Nurse Joy.
But in Pokémon Legends: ZA, for the first time, Nurse Joy’s job may look a little different.
Pokémon Legends: ZA introduces unique Nurse Joys in each Pokémon Center for the first time in a Pokémon game. Although the first one you’re likely to meet looks like a fairly standard Joy, each woman working at the Center has slightly different features: different skin tone, different eyes, different lips, and different eyebrows. They’re all still wearing the same uniforms and the same red pigtails, but now sport a much less pre-80s Rockette look.
This goes in line with one of the things I’ve really liked about ZA so far: the variety of characters. In previous Pokemon games, cities could start to look a bit the same, as each character from one trainer class would have the exact same features pasted on. This started to change in the newer games, but Scarlet and Violet took a step back by dressing most of the cast in the same uniforms, again creating the illusion that each character looked the same.
However, in ZA, not only do all NPCs have different facial features, but their outfits can also change things up a bit. You may still see a few matching characters here and there, but I noticed athletes running around town in various colorful training outfits and entertainers in various colored aprons. It’s a miniature touch, but it goes a long way to adding to the feeling that Lumiose City is inhabited by real people rather than a lot of weird clones.
Congratulations to every woman who didn’t look exactly like the original Nurse Joy from Pokémon Red and Blue (read: every woman), this job is now open to you if you want it! But I’m sorry, gentlemen, because I still haven’t seen any men in this profession. Let’s hope that in the next match we will enter the 21st century in this respect.
My review of Pokémon Legends: ZA is already underway if you want to check out my impressions of the first 24 hours, and the full review will be up next week. If you jump into Pokemon Legends ZA, select your starting Pokemon, then check out our Pokemon Legends: ZA in progress guide and our list of side missions to make sure you don’t miss anything. We also have the Pokemon Legends: ZA Pokedex and, most importantly, a guide to all the clothing stores and clothes in Pokemon Legends: ZA, so you can catch them all in style.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Her posts can be found on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
