So in my quest for motivation, I was randomly inspired to write Arthur running a Pokemon daycare and chose Aleksandr (Russia) to run it with him. I have made some adjustments to the world of Pokemon as it fits the way I think it would be if it were real, but nothing too drastic. Just imagine the world that matches the Adventures mangas rather than the games or the shows. Any major changes will be mentioned in notes as they are relevant!
Please read and enjoy!
"Arthur! Can you please come out back and help with this Dragonite?" Aleksandr called from outside the building.
It was never good if Aleksandr needed help with a Pokémon. After a few years of working the daycare, he had most issues managed. Then again, dragons were a special case and famously stubborn at times. Arthur leaned out the open half-door with a raised eyebrow. "The Dragonite? It's so calm, though."
Looking tired, Aleksandr could only sigh and hold a syringe out to Arthur. "It refuses to take the medication. Even with Flygon around. Seems like one for your special touch."
Arthur sighed as well and took the medicine, pulling the door open the rest of the way. "Just stubborn, probably. Any other problem children today? I don't think we're getting any visitors." And if they did, Aleksandr's Noctowl would let them know as always.
"No, the rest of them have been cooperative and nice enough. Some a little too nice for their sizes," he said with a slight laugh. They both had bruises from overly affectionate and oversized Pokémon, so that was nothing new.
"Oh, I'm sure." Arthur was still sporting bruises on his legs from Gilbert's Lairon. It may not have been very tall, but it was still 250 pounds and steel. Its affection was painful. "At least they've settled down from last week…"
Aleksandr could only grimace at the thought. Despite the number of Pokémon they regularly had at the daycare, it wasn't normally hectic. But when a Zangoose snuck in to pick a fight with one of their Sevipers, chaos erupted for the end of the week. It was safe to say, security was updated after that nightmare.
While Arthur went over to treat the Dragonite, Aleksandr was distracted by a pack of Houndooms. They probably had too many Pokémon there for two people, but their own Pokémon made an effort to help and wrangle them as well.
A perfect example was Arthur's Flygon―usually an attraction for passerby, due to being "shiny"―taking charge of the other dragons. With a natural protective and caring disposition, it became the de facto leader of the daycare.
"So what's going on over here? You know you need to take this to get better, Dragonite," Arthur said as he walked over to the Dragonite. It was lying down, curled up in fatigue. It hurt him to see Pokémon sick, even after running the daycare for so long.
The Dragonite groaned and lifted its head up to look at Arthur. When dealing with sick Pokémon, there was always the concern of them lashing out―especially dragons―but Arthur wasn't worried in the least. It certainly helped having Flygon there.
"Don't give me that." Patting Dragonite's nose, Arthur idly spun the syringe in his hand. "Would you rather be sick or have a little bit of pain for just a moment?" When he got a sigh in response, he smiled a little bit. "It won't hurt that much, I promise."
The problem with treating dragons was the scales. With the best medicine being administered by a needle, the thick scales really posed an issue. Not every dragon had scales, fortunately, but Dragonite still had thick skin. It was a pain the first time to find a "soft" spot.
Now, though, it was pretty simple for Dragonite to simply stretch its arm out for him. After administering the shot, Arthur made sure to sit down and spend some time comforting the sick Pokémon.
He ended up sighing when Flygon moved over and rested its head in his lap. "Yes, you big child… Feel free to join in." Some large Pokémon had the weight to back up the height. It was good for Arthur's sake that Flygon wasn't one of them. With a full foot over him, it could've easily had the weight to crush him, but it didn't.
It was only ten minutes later, though, that Noctowl called out to them. It was the benefit of having a Pokémon with such high hearing; it could be in the far back of the garden and still hear people coming down the road.
Arthur had to nudge Flygon's head off of him before standing. It was his turn to check people in and manage the front desk. Never his favorite task by far, but it was only fair. Neither of them were social butterflies with other people. Pokémon were completely different.
The bell was already ringing when Arthur had walked back to the front room. He rolled his eyes and briefly patted Aleksandr's Mareep in passing. "Yes, Marshall, I bloody hear you. What is it this time?" he asked.
"Hey, Arthur, nice to see you too," Marshall snickered. He wasn't a bad person; just too hyper and buddy-buddy for Arthur. Even after having him come by for so long.
"I suppose…"
"You know, I really hope you're just messing with me," he snorted, raising an eyebrow.
After a moment, Arthur shrugged with a faint smile. "Well, it's always something with you. And you don't look injured, so I'm not sure what to expect of your Pokémon."
"Nah. Nothing bad this time. We're all good," Marshall stated with a grin. "Just got a weird one for you."
Arthur scoffed and crossed his arms. "You're fine, but you have something weird. I'm not sure I like how that sounds."
Shaking his head, Marshall started rummaging around in a much bigger bag than he normally brought. "Dude, I'm serious. Look at this," he said, setting something out on the counter.
Arthur wasn't sure what he had expected, but an egg wasn't the first thing that came to mind. "You have an egg… I sincerely hope you didn't pluck that out of the wild somewhere…" It sounded like a dumb thing Marshall would do. Completely disregarding the world around him like that―innocently, but stupid nonetheless.
"No! I'm not that dumb," Marshall scoffed. "I got it from my mom when she came to visit. But, uh… I know there's no way I can take care of an egg, so… I was hoping you guys could?"
After thinking it over―eggs were not as simple to care for as people thought―Arthur sighed and leaned on the counter. "I suppose we could… It'll cost you a lot of money, though. Do you have any idea what Pokémon it is?"
"None. Like zip. She just handed it over and refused to tell me. It could be a freaking Mankey for all I know."
That was the last thing they needed; a baby Mankey terrorizing the daycare in three or four months. "Oh, god… Alright, it's going to cost you ₽50 a day. So probably… ₽6,000 by the time it's hatched. Think you can afford that?"
Marshall grimaced and hesitated, but nodded. "Ah, yeah… That's… pretty steep, but I'll save up for it."
Normally, he'd ask for at least half up front, but… Marshall was a good enough person that Arthur was going to give him the credit. "Alright. Just make sure you keep in touch with me. Got it?" he asked, running a hand over the egg to check for damage. He didn't even blink at the sudden appearance of his Banette.
Marshall flinched, however, and stalled. He never was a fan of ghosts. Yet he loved all other "scary" Pokémon. "Erm… Y-yeah… No problem, Arthur. So… are we good…? I gotta run to the Pokémon Center to meet up with Kiku."
Arthur snorted a little bit. His "little" crush couldn't be more obvious. Even to Arthur―which was sad. "Yeah, yeah. Go on and have fun on your date," he teased, picking the egg up to leave, smiling as Banette waves to Marshall.
"It's not a date!" he groaned, rolling his eyes and promptly making his exit. His ridiculously red face spoke to the contrary, though. At least the possibility that it could end up being something more.
Passing Aleksandr in the hall, Arthur went to place the egg in a special incubator they set up last year. It didn't get much use, since most people let the Pokémon hatch the eggs, but it did what it was meant to.
"He brought us an egg?" Aleksandr asked, confusion evident on his face. He couldn't wrap his head around how Marshall would get his hands on an egg. It wasn't like finding some stray change on the street.
Arthur shrugged while preparing the incubator and egg. "Apparently it's a gift from his mother. A mystery gift. So we can only wait and see what ends up hatching."
"That sounds like a disaster. Can you imagine if it's another Taurus? I'm concerned enough with him having one out of control Pokémon," Aleksandr sighed. Not necessarily for Marshall, but the people around him. Especially since he wasn't very good at keeping his Pokémon calm.
"I can only hope it's a Happiny or something equally harmless," Arthur snorted. Though a Blissey could fuck someone up, despite appearances. The memory of a Blissey bitch slapping a biker would forever be ingrained in his brain for a good laugh.
"Or maybe a Slowpoke." After helping Arthur get the egg settled in and safe, Aleksandr asked him, "So the Dragonite let you treat it?"
"Yes. It didn't take much convincing," Arthur said, leaning against the wall in the hallway. Catching Banette was a passive action and he didn't think much of the clingy ghost in his arms. "Are you sure you didn't just give up too soon?"
"No, of course not. You just still have a way with them―dragons especially―that I don't," Aleksandr chuckled. "Case in point that Banette won't let anyone touch it but us. And you're the only one allowed to actually hold it."
But, all things brought into consideration, that wasn't surprising. At least to Arthur. "That's different. I grew up with Banette. That Dragonite was tired and a little grumpy, maybe, but not throwing a fit." Thank god for that. There was nothing more destructive than a dragon going on a rampage. Except for a Gyrados… They still had weird patches on their roof from the repairs.
Aleksandr shook his head. "No, but trust me. It wasn't having any part of me giving it the shot. I wouldn't have bothered you if it was cooperating."
Which was a given. It just caught him odd after treating the Dragonite. But Pokémon were fickle enough that he wasn't going to worry about it. "Right, of course… It just caught me odd. So what's the plan for the day, then? That's all the treatments, right?"
"Mhh-hmm. Everyone's fed, treated, and generally happy. I think today's going to be just keeping an eye on them all," Aleksandr said. "They've been pretty well behaved except for the Pawniard. But that's…"
"A given," Arthur sighed. Some things were just natural for Pokémon. And sometimes that included picking fights. It just meant that they had to keep an eye on certain ones and prepare mediators.
"Mh… I have Mawile keeping an eye on it for now. That should be fine until it's picked up Thursday." It was a fight started, but not necessarily a major problem. There were some things that were bound to happen. Fights, accidents, bonding… There was never any way to predict what would happen with such a large group of Pokémon.
And then there were times when a client's Skuntank decided it didn't want to be there anymore and fouled up half the garden. Hearing the various cries of offended Pokémon, Arthur stalled and looked out the window. "Oh, God… Okay, I think it's your turn to bathe the Luxio. I'll get the Cubone and Golbat…"
Aleksandr grimaced and groaned a sigh. There was no worse smell he could think of, or such hell as bathing an electric Pokémon. But it had to be done or the entire daycare would turn disgusting.