Pokémon Center

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A screen shot of a Pokemon Center in the video game Pokemon Emerald

Within the fictional Pokémon World, Pokémon Centers are special places where Pokémon Trainers take their Pokémon to be healed free of charge. The Pokémon anime also shows they serve as an inn for Trainers to spend the night at before continuing their journey the next day.

Pokémon Centers in the real world are stores dedicated to selling Pokémon merchandise, exclusively.

1 In the Video Games
2 In the anime
3 Real-world Pokémon Centers
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] In the Video Games

In the video games, Pokémon centers serve a vital function; The player uses them to restore their Pokémon to full health (both HP and PP, the latter of which does not recover without using rare items or berries). Pokémon centers can usually only be found in towns and cities, but in Pokémon Red and Blue, and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, there are two notable instances of centers in relatively remote locations.

In the recent games, Pokémon Centers have red roofs with a Poké Ball design, with a sign by the door marked "P.C.".

They aren't only for healing Pokémon, though. Pokémon centers are also used to trade or battle with friends, as well as accessing the Pokémon/Item electronic storage network. In most games, a room can be found on the second floor of the center which houses the game-to-game connection utilities.

If all of a Trainer's Pokémon fall unconscious and are unable to continue the battle, they are taken urgently to the last Pokémon Center they visited. The trainer also loses half of his or her money, regardless of who he/she was battling at the time, even if it was a wild Pokémon. The only exception to this rule was in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, where the amount of money lost for losing a fight reflected on the overall strength of the player's Pokémon team (i.e. the stronger the team, the greater the penalty). Another exception in Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green is that when all of a trainer's Pokémon faint, a message is displayed saying the trainer had to run to the Pokémon Center, whilst "protecting their Pokémon from further harm"

In the new generation of Pokémon video games, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, a new level is introduced into the Pokémon Center. The protagonist may now venture into the basement to interact with friends online, via the Nintendo Wi-Fi feature. The roof color, historically red, is orange (similar to the Net Center), as marked by preview shots. The trademark blue roof of the Pokémart, remains however.

[edit] In the anime

In the anime, the Pokémon can also be recovered, but is also a place where Trainers can rest and eat. Anime Pokémon centers are all owned by Nurse Joy. Every time Brock sees Nurse Joy, he falls in love with her, but Misty (or Max in the newer episodes) always stops him before Nurse Joy says a word. However, this proves benficial when it is actually Team Rocket in disguise, because Brock doesn't automatically fall in love with Nurse Joy.

They have varying architectural designs, but always have a red P on or near them.

In the Anime, trainers also eat at Pokémon Centers and may stay over night in the lobby as well. Also, in the games, all Nurse Joy has to do is put your Pokeballs in a machine for 2 seconds and they are all healed. In the anime, it takes a few hours and some Pokémon have to rest in a bed.

In the animated series, every Pokémon Center is operated by a family of nurses, all named Joy (hence, the term Nurse Joy refers to one or all of these such nurses), as well as the Pokémon Chansey or Blissey.

[edit] Real-world Pokémon Centers

Outside of the Pokémon world, Pokémon Centers are stores that exclusively sell Pokémon merchandise. In Japan, there are currently five Pokémon Centers, found in Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. These stores are managed by The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン), a subsidiary formed by Pokémon's copyright holders for the purpose of managing the franchise.

There was only one Pokémon Center in the USA, located at Rockefeller Center in New York City. This store closed down in February 2005. The Nintendo World store opened in the same location, and continues to sell Pokémon merchandise on the bottom floor of the store, under the Pokémon Center brand.