Hello there everyone! Remember little old me? Yeah, look who's back with a brand new story! Before I go any further, let me assure you that I have not given up on "A Father's Duty" or "The Pallet Boys". It's just that a mixture of procrastination, college, upcoming finals, upcoming MCATs, home life, and other stuff has kept me from working on them. Hopefully, this story will help me get back into the spirit of things.

Now, the person behind this Pokémon AU story idea is a wonderful person named Tifamex, who you can find both on deviantArt and Tumblr. Tifamex made up the idea of Ash running a daycare. With Tifamex's permission, I decided to try making a fanfic based on the idea. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, due to the abovementioned reasons I haven't updated my other two stories, but I hope to update again soon!

There's still stuff that I'm not too certain on concerning this story and other stuff I have in mind might change. The biggest thing is the universe this will take place in. It's an AU, but I plan to write it mostly based off of the anime universe, unlike "The Pallet Boys", which takes place in a combined anime/game universe. But that may be subject to change. Also, this story doesn't really have a "plot". It's another series of drabbles I suppose, except I'm going to do my best to keep it in chronological order…Anyways, I hope you stick around and join me on this adventure!

Oh, and by the way, whenever I mention currency in this story, the currency is based on the Japanese yen, since Kanto is based on Japan. Just want to make that clear.

So let's get right into this!

Disclaimer: Still not owning any Pokémon series…That hasn't changed a bit.

It was the start of a perfect summer morning in Pallet Town. The sun was shining, the sky was bright blue and clear. It was comfortably warm, a light breeze blowing through the town. The Pidgeys were chirping as they flew through the neighborhood. People of all ages were strolling about, some hanging out with their Pokémon. All in all, it was a lovely day to play, do some errands, get some work done…

Or even start a business…

At the Ketchum residence, there was one young man who had exactly that in mind.

"Alright, buddy! How do I look?"

Pikachu, who had been waiting patiently atop his trainer's bed, turned in the direction of the voice.

Ash Ketchum stood proudly before Pikachu. He was dressed rather simply in a red t-shirt, dark blue jeans, black and red fingerless gloves, and blue and black sneakers. He also wore a light blue apron, something that people in the job he was entering into usually wear, with a small and adorable picture of a smiling Pikachu sewn into it right over his heart.

Pikachu jumped off the bed and circled Ash a couple times, looking over how his trainer looked. Pikachu then noticed that Ash hadn't tied his apron properly in the back. Instead, he had just created a disastrous looking knot.

"Yeah, I know," Ash chuckled sheepishly when Pikachu pointed at it, "I'll ask Mom to fix it up for me. But I look good, right?"

Pikachu tilted his head and stared at Ash, a small frown on his face. Ash recognized that look anywhere.

"Something's off, isn't it?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded slowly, "I think so too."

As Ash took a look in a nearby mirror, trying to figure out just what was missing from his outfit, Pikachu let out a cry and went over to the nearby dresser. Ash dodged this way and that as Pikachu went through the drawers, tossing out clothes in all directions.

"Hey, Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he ducked to avoid a pair of jeans, "What're you-?"

Ash was cut off as a pair of underwear hit him in the face. As he flung the garment off, Pikachu called his attention over to the bed.

There, sitting in a neat row, were all the hats that Ash had worn during his travels to regions around the world. Ash looked at the hats fondly, memories of places he had visited and people he had met washing over him.

"You're right, buddy," Ash grinned, patting his messy as ever hair, "I won't look right without a hat. But which one?"

"Ash, are you-? Oh my!"

Delia Ketchum stood in the doorway, staring at the mess in Ash's room with surprise.

"I'll fix it up before I leave," Ash promised.

Mrs. Ketchum shook her head, a smile on her face, as she entered the room. She gently turned Ash around.

"Not before I fix this," she said as she got to work undoing the massive knot Ash had tied. Mrs. Ketchum glanced over to the corner of the room where a couple of bags sat, "…To think that you're actually moving out…"

"I'm not going far away, Mom," Ash assured her, recognizing that tone in her voice, "I'll just be on the other end of town. It's better for me to live there, you know."

"I know that," Mrs. Ketchum replied, as she tied a neat ribbon to replace the knot. She nodded, satisfied with the ribbon, before noticing the hats on the bed, "Are you trying to choose one?"

"Well, I'm not me without a hat," Ash said, thanking his mom for the help before going back to staring at the hats.

Mrs. Ketchum grabbed the red and white hat Ash had worn during his journey in Kalos and placed it atop his head.

"This one will work," she smiled, "It works the best with your clothes. And a young man has to look good to attract customers."

Ash adjusted his hat, enjoying the familiar feeling of wearing it, as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder. Mrs. Ketchum felt her eyes starting to water as she remembered that excited little ten year old who had left Pallet Town with a grumpy Pikachu by his side.

"To think my baby boy has grown up so much," she said wistfully.

"Mom, I'm twenty years old," Ash laughed, "I'm not a baby anymore."

"But you'll always be my baby…Right?"

Ash saw the tears welling up in his mother's eyes. He smiled gently before walking over to her and giving her a tight hug, Pikachu joining in by patting Mrs. Ketchum's hair.

"Always, Mom…"

After fixing his hat once more and giving his mother one more hug to ease her worries, Ash grabbed his bags and, with Pikachu on his shoulder, set off down the road. Ash couldn't stop himself from smiling widely and occasionally laughing.

He had waited quite a while for this moment, after all.

As Ash set off towards his destination on the other end of town, he would wave and greet some of the people he knew, who wished him luck. He also noticed a few other whispering about him and pointing in his direction. These people looked confused and sometimes shocked. Ash could understand that.

After all, if someone had told him a few years ago that he would be doing what he was planning to do, he probably would have died laughing.

You see, several years back, Ash done it…He had managed to win a major League Championship. Ash quickly realized that being a Champion of a major League was quite different than being the Champion of the Orange League or the Battle Frontier. He had finally become qualified to face off against the regional Elite Four and the current Champion.

Ash used a lot of hard work, training, strategy, practice, and a healthy dose of his patented luck and creativity against those guys…Ah, but that's a story for another time.

For the next few years, Ash traveled to many more regions and revisited some of the old ones he had been to. He took part in many competitions and battled against all kinds of trainers, Elite Four members, and the occasional Champion or two, experiencing varying degrees of success in those battles.

Then, when Ash was sixteen years old, he had quite an interesting encounter in a certain region. What that encounter was, no one ever knew. Ash insisted on keeping it a secret for some reason. All anyone knew was that this encounter really affected Ash. The young Champion made his way back to Pallet Town and announced that he had a new goal in mind.

Ash Ketchum was going to run his own Pokémon daycare center.

The absolutely flabbergasted reactions from everyone he told, the reactions from a couple of his old rivals, Gary especially, being the greatest, did nothing to deter Ash from his newfound dream. In fact, the only reasons it took Ash four years to get the daycare running were two very important things.

Money and education.

Money for the land, money to build the center, money for the furniture and equipment, money for painting, money for one of those Pokémon Transfer machines you usually find in the average Pokémon Center, money for food, medicine, toys…Just getting his daycare center started was going to cost Ash quite a sum, an amount that his earnings as a Champion alone couldn't handle. Ash had to do several odd jobs, competitions, and other tasks to get the amount needed…

He also spent those four years going through the classes he needed to in order to get the license to run a daycare. After all, not just anyone can be trusted to take care of Pokémon, especially baby Pokémon, who were the most common guests at daycares. One had to learn about different types of food preferred by certain Pokémon, different medicines for different illnesses, certain Pokémon had to be handled in a particular way, what to do concerning Pokémon Eggs. Then, there was also stuff to be learned on dealing with trainers, running a daycare, rules and regulations, codes…

Ash, who had never been book smart, found this obstacle in his path to getting his own daycare to be an utter nightmare. If it wasn't for the help of several of his old friends, particularly Brock, Cilan, Serena, several of his friends from the Contest field, primarily May and Dawn, and the occasional advice from the Nurse Joys in the nearby cities, Ash probably would've lost his chance of fulfilling his dream within the first couple weeks of the classes. Although he could have done without all the teasing Gary put him through "for old time's sake" whenever the guy helped Ash out with studying for tests…But what was done was done, and Ash had received his license.

"We worked really hard to get here," Ash told Pikachu as the pair got to the part of Pallet Town where the houses were few and far between, "But starting today, the Pallet Pokécare Center will be up and running!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried excitedly.

The cry got Ash energized as well. Gripping his bags extra tightly, the trainer took off running, the center that he would now call home rather close. He sprinted down the road…The center would be in sight any second now…

The second Ash spotted his daycare center, he came to a sudden halt, the bags slipping out of his hands and Pikachu nearly falling off his shoulder. Ash barely noticed this, his eyes trained forward, his jaw having dropped open.

There it was…The Pallet Pokécare Center…The place he had worked tirelessly for the past four years for…

The place that looked nowhere near ready to open.

The mailbox was lying on the ground near the pathway that was only partially done. Most of the building, which was a bit smaller than Professor Oak's lab, was constructed. But there were some parts that weren't finished, none of the roof tiles were in place, a couple of the windows weren't put in, The sign that was supposed to go above the doorway was lying on the ground unfinished, and none of it was painted. Only half of the fence that was supposed to surround the house and the large play area in the back was built. In fact, from what Ash could see of the backyard, none of the play equipment was set up, the pool was dug but not filled, and the trees that he had ordered were not planted. Off to the side of the road, all of the furniture he ordered was sitting on the grass, along with pots of the flowers his mother had suggested to be planted around the center.

There was no way this place could open yet.

Ash saw that, just a few feet away from the unfinished building, was a group of men, the workers who had assured Ash the center would be ready. Next to the group was a man dressed in a suit and holding a clipboard, the man who was supposed to inspect the building and give Ash the okay to open the daycare.

"Hey!" Ash called as he marched to the leader of the workers, "What's going on? You guys promised me you'd be done today!"

"And we would be," the leader said, before adding with a crooked smirk, "If you had paid us in full. We made a bargain, you pay us the full amount and we'll finish the place."

"I did pay you guys!" Ash said angrily, remembering the whole discussion.

"You paid us for most of the work," the leader continued, pulling out a packet and flipping through the pages, "But, according to our contract, you still owe us this much."

The leader held out the contract, which Ash took nervously. He and Pikachu both glanced at the number that was circled in red at the bottom of the page.

"Six million?" Ash yelled in shock, Pikachu covering his ears from the loud yell, "There's no way I owe you guys that much! This wasn't in the contract you showed me!"

"Do you have proof this wasn't there before?"

Ash gritted his teeth. He knew for sure he didn't owe the workers any money. He knew for a fact that this extra sum wasn't in the contract they had shown him all those months ago. It was precisely to avoid a situation like this that Ash had dragged Gary, who had been visiting Pallet at the time and who had a tendency for spotting the little details, with him to the contract discussion. Gary had told Ash to take the contract but the workers had managed to convince Ash it was safer that they hold onto it…

"Well, no money means no work," the leader said as he took the contract and turned to his workers, "Alright, we're leaving."

As the group left, leaving Ash glaring after them, Pikachu jumped off his trainer's shoulder, his cheeks sparking.

"Don't bother, Pikachu," Ash told the Pokémon, "Those jerks aren't worth it."

"Mr. Ketchum?"

Ash turned to face the building inspector, who was staring at him sternly.

"You do realize there's no way I can clear this building with the condition it's in, don't you?" he asked.

"I know," Ash groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Pika-pi…" Pikachu muttered as Ash stared at the unfinished building.

Ash had no idea how much finishing the building would cost if he hired another company. There was definitely no way he would be raising six million any time soon…Ash could just hold off on his grand opening for a few more weeks…

Or…

"Well, Mr. Ketchum, whenever this building is ready to go, you can call-"

"Wait!" Ash interrupted, "Can you come back in a few hours?"

"A-a few hours?" the inspector repeated.

"I said that I would open this center today!" Ash insisted determinedly, "So I'll definitely get it ready to open today! Or my name isn't Ash Ketchum!"

"Pikachu!" the Electric Mouse Pokémon cried out, giving the inspector the same fiery look that his trainer was.

The inspector looked back and forth between the two before letting out a sigh.

"I've got a couple other buildings to inspect," he said, glancing at his watch, "It's 8:30…If you can get this place ready by seven, I'll check it out. Otherwise, we'll have to reschedule."

After the inspector left, Ash and Pikachu went in to check out how the inside of the center looked. To Ash's amazement, the inside looked much better than the outside.

"At least they set up the Pokémon Transfer machine," Ash said, spotting the machine against the wall next to the counter. Ash tested the light switch, surprised when the lights flickered on, "And we've got electricity, there's that…"

"Pika-pi!"

Ash jumped over the counter and went to the back room, the kitchen. Pikachu was turning the faucets on, the water flowing smoothly from them.

"We've got running water too," Ash sighed in relief, "Alright Pikachu, keep an eye on things for a minute…I'm gonna get some reinforcements."

"My, we have a lot of work to do…"

"Don't remind me, Mom…"

Mrs. Ketchum, her hands full of her gardening tools, stared at the unfinished center with a mixture of nervousness and amusement. Her Mr. Mime was already heading for the place, broom in hand. Ash, his own hands holding various other tools, turned to the rest of his reinforcements, namely a good number of the Pokémon he had caught, all of whom were carrying some kind of tool.

"Alright guys, we have until seven to get this place ready!" he informed them, "Let's do this!"

The group let out a loud cheer and got to work.

"Ow!" Ash yelled as he accidentally hit his thumb with the hammer for the fifth time.

Ash felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see his Kingler raising its giant claw.

"No, Kingler!" Ash cried, grabbing the claw, "You'll break it if you use that!"

Kingler paused for a moment before lifting the smaller claw and tapping it against the nail, driving it in with one hit.

"…That'll work…"

Corphish suddenly came up to Ash, jumping excitedly. Ash chuckled at the Water type's eagerness as he picked up a couple nails.

"Alright, Corphish, you can join in too."

Gliscor and Donphan were making quick work of the pathway in the front of the house. Gliscor would pour the cement and place the stones on the pathway. Donphan's job was to stomp the stones properly into place.

Near them, Bulbasaur and Snivy were painting the fence that Ash had finished building earlier. The pair was having an easy time with it with the help of their Vine Whip attacks.

Unfortunately, Donphan, who wanted to make things go faster, tried to do so by using Rollout. It worked…but Donphan didn't notice Snivy placing a paint can near its path.

For those who are wondering, white is definitely not Donphan's color…

"You guys be careful up there!" Ash called up to the Pokémon that were on the roof.

Noctowl and Staraptor were bringing the tiles up to the roof, where Buizel and Infernape were securing them in place. The Pokémon yelled back to Ash to reassure him that they were fine.

"No, Heracross!"

Ash headed to the backyard upon hearing his mother's yell. He took a quick look over to where Sceptile, Pignite, and Torkoal were arranging the play equipment before making his way over to his mother, who was glaring up at one of the berry trees he and Torterra had planted before.

"Heracross," Ash groaned, seeing the Pokémon up in the tree holding several of the flowers Mrs. Ketchum was supposed to be planting, "You're supposed to be helping to plant to the flowers, not hoarding them…"

Heracross looked a little disappointed as it slowly came down from the tree.

"Tell you what," Ash chuckled, patting the Pokémon's head, "I'll take you to the flower fields near this place if you do a good job helping my mom with these flowers. How about that?"

Heracross immediately perked up at that and rushed to do its job.

"Ah, I remember when I used to promise you I'd take you to visit Professor Oak's lab if you ate all your vegetables," Mrs. Ketchum sighed.

"Bayleef, are you sure you can lift me?" Ash asked, paint can in one hand and a brush in the other as Bayleef wrapped her vines around Ash's waist, "I'm not as little as I used to be."

"Bay!" the Pokémon cried out as, with just a bit of effort, she lifted Ash up towards the top of the house.

"I should've known better than to doubt you!" Ash shouted down, "You're really strong, Bayleef!"

Bayleef, happy at the compliment, began to dance.

"Huh? No, wait a min-"

At the sound of a splash, Bayleef stopped and looked up. Ash stared down at her, his body covered in red paint.

"Think you can save the dancing for later?"

"Hey, nice job, Boldore. You too, Unfezant," Ash said, patting the pair as he looked into the pool.

Boldore's job had been to set up the stones at the bottom of the pool so that different parts of the pool were at different depths. Unfezant placed the nets between these different sections so that Pokémon wouldn't accidentally swim into a part that was too deep for them.

"Alright, you two know what to do," Ash told Totodile and Oshawott.

The two Water types proceeded to use Water Gun in order to fill the pool up. Within a couple minutes, the pool was filled with crystal clear water.

"Nice work!" Ash praised.

Oshawott puffed up at that, while Totodile started to dance, getting slightly carried away and accidentally knocking Oshawott into the pool.

"Leavanny, you okay in here?" Ash asked, taking a break from helping his mom and the other Pokémon move in furniture to check on the nursery room.

Ash spotted his Leavanny carefully rearranging a bunch of pillows and blankets in one part of the room. He looked over and saw just how neat everything was.

"Wow, you did a great job," Ash said, impressed. He spotted a bunch of leaf hoods that Leavanny had a tendency to make sitting on a shelf, "Hey, did you make these for the baby Pokémon that'll come?"

Leavanny nodded at that, picking up a rather large leaf that Ash wasn't sure where the Pokémon had gotten from.

"I'll make sure to have them wear these!" Ash told the Pokémon with a smile, imagining how adorable the little ones would look with the leaf hoods on.

Suddenly, Leavanny put the large leaf around Ash's head. After a few snips, Leavanny stepped back, looking pleased at the leaf hood he had made for Ash. The Champion laughed as he felt the hood.

"Does it suit me?"

Ash peeked into the kitchen, where Pikachu was rearranging the food in their proper cabinets and in the fridge.

"Hey, buddy," Ash greeted, "I've barely seen you all day. Hard at work, huh?"

"Pikachu…" the Pokémon yawned.

"We're almost done here," Ash said with his own yawn, rubbing Pikachu's head, "Hang on a little while longer."

At 6:59PM, the group managed to put the finishing touches on the center. At seven o' clock sharp, the inspector showed up. The absolutely exhausted humans and Pokémon waited outside for the inspector's verdict.

After about an hour, the man came out and approached Ash.

"I don't think I've ever seen a building go from a disaster to practically spotless in less than a day," he said with a somewhat disbelieving tone. The man handed Ash a framed certificate, "Well, Mr. Ketchum, it looks like you guys are all set."

"We did it, guys!" Ash cheered as the inspector left, "The Pallet Pokécare Center is open for business!"

The Pokémon all let out a cry…before promptly collapsing in a pile, fast asleep.

"Did I work them too hard?" Ash wondered worriedly, gently petting Pikachu, who had also fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"Honey, they wouldn't work that hard if you weren't doing so too," Mrs. Ketchum reassured her son, "I have half a mind to join them…It's been quite a long day."

"Tell me about it," Ash sighed as he slowly placed Pikachu atop Torterra. The trainer picked up a hammer that was covered in red paint, "My muscles are all sore…Man, it's day one and things already went wrong."

"Ash Ketchum, that better not be a giving up tone I'm hearing," Mrs. Ketchum warned him.

"Of course not," Ash answered, "It's just that we've only just opened and I already needed so much help."

"Nothing wrong with that. You were in trouble and you immediately asked for help. I think that's an excellent quality for someone who's running a daycare."

"…Thanks, Mom."

"Well," Mrs. Ketchum said as she carefully woke up Mr. Mime, "I guess we should head back. Should I wake the others too?"

"No, let them rest," Ash said with a wave of his hand, "I'll take care of them."

"You'd also better take care of yourself, young man…And make sure to wash up!"

Ash looked over all the red paint he was covered in and chuckled. He waved farewell to his mother before looking at his resting Pokémon affectionately.

"You guys always help me when I need you…Thanks…"

At the sound of a crunch, Ash looked over and saw a young girl walking down the road, a female Nidoran by her side.

"Hi there!" Ash greeted with a wave.

The girl took one look at Ash and froze in place, her face becoming white. What Ash didn't realize was how things looked from the girl's perspective.

To the girl, there was a man wearing a strange thing around his head, covered in red stains, holding a hammer that also had red stains. To the side was a pile of Pokémon, lying motionless on the ground, some of whom were also covered in stains.

With an ear shattering scream, the girl picked up her Nidoran and sprinted in the direction she had come from. Ash slowly put down his hand, staring after the girl in utter confusion.

"…Was it something I said?"

And done! And so the Pallet Pokécare Center is open for business! Now all Ash needs to do is to get himself a customer…and not scare that customer off…

It's a bit longer than I had planned. But I wanted to get this out of the way so we can really get into things starting next chapter. What more misadventures await our eager young daycare owner? We shall see soon enough! I'm trying to make very few references to the Kalos series, since that series only just started. Also, you can definitely expect some appearances by familiar faces here and there. And you can also expect a couple of OCs to become part of the story later on, just to help Ash. Because let's face it…The boy can only handle a daycare on his own for so long.

Oh, and by the way, this is how the daycare looks like. I don't know if I'll describe it in story later, but I might as well talk about it here.

Like I said in story, the place is a bit smaller than Oak's lab. When you first see it, there's a mailbox beside the road and a stone path leading to the front door. Above the front door is a large and colorful sign that reads "Pallet Pokécare Center", along with a picture of a smiling Pikachu, the same picture Ash has sewn onto his apron. The outside of the building is painted in red and gold, and the place is surrounded by a white fence.

When you go inside, the room has a couple couches and potted plants. There's a counter, much like you'd see at a doctor's office, opposite the door. Next to the counter, against the wall, is the Pokémon Transfer machine (real name I don't know). On the counter are a register and a computer that is used for signing in guests. On the wall is a framed picture of the building inspection certificate as well as a certificate saying Ash is licensed to run the place and another plaque saying the occupancy limit of the building. As said in the story, the door behind the counter leads to the kitchen, where all the food is stored of course. While Ash's cooking skills still lave much to be desired, Brock, Cilan, and Serena have helped to at least do a decent job at making food for Pokémon. There are two doors to the right. One leads to the nursery, which is set up a lot like how you'd expect a room at a daycare center for little kids to be set up. There're toys and a sleeping area and other stuff. The other leads to the Egg room, where you keep Pokémon Eggs, of course. There are two doors to the left. One leads to a larger room where some of the bigger Pokémon can sleep. The other door leads to the backyard. The backyard is quite a large area, with flowers and trees of varying types planted here and there. Some of those trees are berry trees. There's a pool with different sections for different depths. There are play equipment set up all around. This is also where the big Pokémon that can't fit inside the center can sleep, though there is special equipment in those cases, which are also used in case of bad weather, although if there is really bad weather that no one should be out in, the rule is that large Pokémon will have to stay in Pokéballs or the center cannot care for them.

Back inside, there's a staircase to the left of the counter. Upstairs is the sick bay, where all the medicine is stored and where Pokémon can be treated. Brock and several Nurse Joys have given Ash a good amount of training in caring for sick/injured Pokémon. Ash also has years of experience regarding injuries. The sick bay makes up most of the floor. Other than that, there is Ash and Pikachu's room. It's a decently sized room, with its own bathroom. It has a safe for keeping money at the end of the day. The bed is comfy. Ash keeps a lot of the stuff he's won and collected over the years in the room. There's a desk for him to do a lot of his work in the books and on the computer (something that Gary and Misty spent a good year working with him on). It has a TV. It's a pretty nice room.

Well, that should be all. Please read and review everyone!