Blissey
Self-Name: Happinas
Blissey are round, pink creatures shorter than the average humanoid. They are a sort of marsupial, who always hold an egg proudly in the pouch on their chest—the moment the egg hatches, the Blissey will start to produce a new one, and a few days later a new smooth, white shape will be incubating. They do this without any genetic material from a male to speak of, making them a monogendered race (though they are usually labeled as female given the constant egg-rearing). Their demeanor is usually cheery and empathetic. They are capable of speech and have many languages among their people, but are incapable of speaking Pokérinian tongues.
Despite reproducing so quickly and readily (though the incubation period of an egg can be up to a year) Blissey are almost never found in the wild. That is because they have integrated almost seamlessly into Pokérinian society as a fundamental part of it: nurses for pokémon. Virtually every nurse in a pokémon Center has at least one Blissey with them, perhaps more. As naturally nurturing and caring creatures, Blissey are well suited to this line of work. Admittedly, in most regions, they don’t get paid for their work and instead the check goes to the Nurse “in charge” of them, but their placement as universal caregivers is not an uncomfortable position. They are already often respected as the healers of pokémon, even when their patients take damage beyond what is to be expected in a battle. Naturally, they can also treat Pokérinians.
I had known of the Blissey long before we arrived in Sinnoh, because they are common in many regions, but were notably absent from Hoenn pokémon Centers and aren’t traditionally used for battles. (Although, I did see one used in the Championship, and despite being a nurturing mother she seemed able to take more hits than virtually anything else competing). In many regions, even those actively pushing against the idea that pokémon are equal, the Blissey are respected and given great honor.
As far as I can tell they are exactly what everyone thinks they are. Nurturing healers who are happy most of the time. A few work on other things, but even then it’s almost always with a Nurse Joy.
...Nurse Joy.
All right, this needs some explanation. Some time in the past, there was a family of doctors called the Joys. For some reason not fully understood, the genetic markers in that family became exceedingly dominant—to the point at which almost every child in the family was born as a girl had pink hair and a body structure nearly identical to those of all other Joys that came before and after. The desire to be a Doctor and heal was almost universal for each of the Joys, so they went out to do just that. In the modern age, virtually every pokémon Center has at least one nurse Joy in it, though over time their “dominant genes” have drifted slightly so ones from different regions look a little different. However, it’s common for people not to be able to tell them apart without looking at their uniforms.
It doesn’t help that they almost all act the same too. The vast majority are in the same line of work and have the same attitude. I was sure they were clones at first, but apparently, it’s just a genetic fluke. Or, at least, that’s what I thought until I learned that the Joy family is not the only one of its type. There is a family of Jennys that tend to take law-enforcement duties, as well as a handful of other examples across the world. I’m not sure why but Pokérinians seem to stumble across “dominant genes” that pass down almost like cloning to their offspring, despite still needing both a father and mother to perpetuate the line.
I do not pretend to understand this and, to be honest, neither do the Joys—despite being the very people who do research on biological oddities in Pokérinians and pokémon. It just is what it is, to them. As for me, I took samples from a few volunteer Joys and Jennys but will leave the investigation to other specialists.
E: Genetics are far from the only thing that influences development, even within the womb. The doctor had to unlearn much on his journey. And still so much foolishness left to shed…
How powerful the mind of genius, even in their idiocy.
I had this all fully explained to me for the first time in the cold frozen north of the Sinnoh Region in the pokémon Center of Snowpoint City. The Nurse Joy on staff there seemed to find my baffled reaction amusing. She made a note to tell the story of the Joys more often to visiting “aliens,” it might be more fun.
Regardless, I was there with my team and Cynthia to learn about Regigigas. It was no small secret that the Snowpoint Temple even further north was the “resting place” of Regigigas—and the term “resting” was literal, Regigigas was rumored to sleep there since he never aged. His legends are many and varied, but no doubt I will talk of them later. The Nurse Joy gave us instructions and supplies to trek through the thick snow until we arrived. She warned us that only the “worthy” would be let in. She found the thought that we planned to find a way in regardless quite amusing, but she wished us luck anyway.
Siren made use of her writing skills, taking a few tries to write a snarky comment along the lines of “we’ll show her.”
In conclusion, Blissey are one of the most common races on Pokérin, but it is all but impossible to separate them from Pokérinian society, they’ve integrated so well.