Hello! We're back for another adventure/misadventure with Ash as he's trying to get his daycare center running! Will Ash manage to get himself a customer today? Or will there be yet another troublesome hurdle in our young hero's path to fulfilling his dream?
Sorry about that, guys. I was channeling my inner narrator for that part. But seriously, what lies in store for Ash? Well, you guys have to read on to find out, don't you? To be honest, this part was also supposed to be a part of yesterday's chapter. But I decided to make a separate thing with it.
Unfortunately, I don't know when I'll be able to update after today. I have a lot of final related stuff for college I need to get ready for, and I'll have guests this weekend so I can't spend the good few hours I need to use to write a chapter…Oh well, I'll find a way somehow.
Disclaimer: Pokémon is not and never shall be mine to own. I only own the occasional OC that appears over the course of this story.
A ten year old girl adjusted the green headband, which matched her eyes, that sat atop her wavy brown hair as she walked down the empty road. Walking beside her was her female Nidoran who she had known her whole life, an adorable red ribbon tied around the Pokémon's neck. The girl, named Charlotte, and her Nidoran, Posy, had set out just a couple days earlier from the girl's home in Pewter City to begin Charlotte's Pokémon journey.
Charlotte had high hopes for making it through the Gyms and taking on the League Tournament, with Posy and the Pokémon she would catch in the future by her side.
"We'll make it to the top, won't we, Posy?" Charlotte told her partner as they made their way to Pallet Town to stay for the night and also to obtain a Pokédex from the esteemed Professor Oak.
The Nidoran jumped and chirped in agreement, wanting to help her beloved trainer on their road to being Champions.
"Hi there!"
Charlotte and Posy both looked in the direction the cheerful voice had come from. The sight before them caused the pair to stop dead in their tracks.
There was a man wearing a strange thing around his head, holding a hammer and waving at them. The man and the hammer were covered in something red. Charlotte noticed that, to the side of the road, lay several Pokémon, none of whom were moving…And some of whom were covered in suspicious stains.
Oh no…Charlotte thought. This is…This is…He's a-
"GYAAAAA!" Charlotte shrieked, scooping up Posy and shooting off in the direction she had come from, far away from that monster.
Charlotte kept running as fast as she could, breathing heavily and clutching Posy tightly against her chest. She didn't dare to look over her shoulder, terrified of what might happen is she saw that monster chasing after her with that hammer.
"What do…we do, Posy?" Charlotte asked, her voice coming out in gasps, "That man…those poor Pokémon…This is…horrifying!"
Posy started shaking in Charlotte arms, causing the young trainer to hold her Pokémon even closer to ease the poor thing's fears.
Suddenly, Charlotte noticed a pair of headlights down the road, coming straight for her. As the headlights, which belonged to a motorcycle, came closer, she noticed the greenish-blue hair color of the motorcycle rider…That rider was…
"Officer Jenny!" the ten year old yelled, running even faster, if that were even possible, to meet up with the police officer.
Officer Jenny stopped her bike as Charlotte and Posy, both practically in tears, made their way towards the officer.
"It's getting late," Jenny told the pair when they stopped in front of her, Charlotte gasping for air and sweating profusely, "You guys should find a place to stay."
The second Charlotte managed to catch her breath, she started to explain about the man and those poor Pokémon, though Charlotte figure that, based on Jenny's face, she wasn't making much sense.
"Let me see if I got this," Jenny said after a moment, "You say there's a man who attacked a bunch of Pokémon?"
"Yes!" Charlotte replied, both she and Posy nodding vigorously, "Just down the road at the edge of Pallet Town. Please, you gotta get him!"
"…Okay…"
Jenny still looked uncertain as she drove off in the direction Charlotte had run from. As soon as Jenny went out of sight, Charlotte fell to her knees, Posy jumping out of her arms and landing right beside her.
"That was a close one, Posy…"
Charlotte stood up after a moment, brushing the dirt off her white shorts and black shirt. She and her Nidoran stayed put, wanting to know for sure that Officer Jenny had caught that monster. After a few minutes, the pair saw the headlights of Jenny's motorcycle coming towards them.
"W-where's that guy?" Charlotte asked once Jenny stopped by her and Posy.
"Don't worry yourselves," Jenny chuckled, "It was just a little misunderstanding, that's all."
"A misunderstanding!" Charlotte repeated in disbelief.
Jenny was about to explain when she got a call over her radio about a robbery in a nearby town. Charlotte and Posy could only watch as Jenny rode off after ordering the pair to find a place to stay for the night.
"There's no way that was a misunderstanding," Charlotte muttered, Posy chirping her agreement. The two looked back in the direction Pallet Town lay in, "…I think we'll head back to Kester Town for tonight, Posy…"
The morning after getting the all clear from the building inspector, Ash was using a towel to wipe the wooden plaque that was affixed to the outside wall right next to the front door, shivering from the unusually cold breeze blowing through town. The plaque explained the hourly rates for Eggs (350 Pokédollars), baby Pokémon (400), large Pokémon that were too big for the inside of the center (250), other Pokémon that didn't fit the other three categories (100), and that special conditions were to be negotiated with the owner, as well as showing that the center was open from eight in the morning to ten at night on all days.
When Ash went back inside, he saw Pikachu using a towel to wipe down the Pokémon Transfer machine. Ash followed the Pokémon's lead and cleaned up the video phone that was fixed to the wall near the door to the Egg room.
"Alright, buddy, get in position," Ash said, checking the clock on the wall. As Pikachu jumped onto the counter, Ash went to the door and turned the sign on the door window from "Closed" to "Open" before making his way behind the counter, "We're open!"
"Pikachu!" the Electric Mouse cried excitedly.
Ash twiddled his thumbs, occasionally hopping from excitement as the minutes ticked by. Pikachu passed the time by sitting on the chair behind the counter and redoing the ribbon of Ash's apron, as he had seen his trainer's mother do the day before, so that it was neat and proper.
Occasionally, the pair would look through the window by the front door and spot a trainer or two strolling by. Ash and Pikachu would sigh when those trainers would either walk by the daycare without a second glance or pause to give the center a curious look before continuing on their way.
As nine o' clock came and went, and no trainer had come to the daycare, Ash took a seat on his chair and placed his chin on the counter. Pikachu fiddled with the buttons of the register, making the device ring and causing the drawer to shoot out over and over.
Then, at ten on the dot, the front door opened, causing the bell attached on top to ring. Pikachu hopped onto the counter and Ash jumped to his feet, eyes shining excitedly as, finally, someone stepped in.
"Welcome to the Pallet Pokécare Center! How may I-? …Oh…"
Ash's shoulders drooped and Pikachu let out a moan of disappointment as they saw that the man entering the center was simply the mailman, Mr. Carrier, and not a potential customer.
"Well, don't sound too excited to see me," Mr. Carrier said sarcastically, placing a couple large boxes and a bunch of letters on the counter, "These boxes were too big for your mailbox, so I thought I'd bring them inside with the rest of your letters."
"Thanks," Ash sighed as he opened the two boxes.
One box contained several copies of the standard form all trainers had to fill when dropping off a Pokémon/Egg at a daycare. The second box contained just as many copies of a form that trainers who were leaving a Pokémon that was too big for the daycare building had to fill out.
"You don't sound too chipper, Mr. Ketchum," Mr. Carrier noted as Ash put away the forms in compartments under the counter.
"No one's come to the center yet," Ash explained as he opened up the other letters. The Champion smiled as he saw that they were congratulatory letters and cards from several of his friends, "I want my first customer already…"
"Well, how have you been advertising?" Mr. Carrier asked.
"Advertising?"
"Yeah, I mean, maybe you guys need to step up your advertising game."
Ash and Pikachu both stared at the mailman silently. Mr. Carrier watched as realization washed over trainer and Pokémon simultaneously and the two stared at each other, laughing nervously.
"We forgot to do something important, didn't we, Pikachu?"
"Pika-pika…"
Ash patted the pockets of his apron and jeans, making sure his wallet, license, and other important belongings were in place. He jumped over the counter and led Mr. Carrier out the front door, Pikachu close behind. Ash switched the sign to "Closed" and locked the door behind him.
"Well, let's take care of that advertising stuff now," Ash said as he put the keys in the pocket of his apron. He crossed his arms in front of him and thought hard, "Hmm…If I remember, there's supposed to an advertising place in…What was that place called?"
"Kester Town?" Mr. Carrier suggested, pointing down the road in the direction leading away from Pallet, "It's the closest town with an advertising agency."
"Yeah! Thanks!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu hopped onto his trainer's shoulder and the pair took off towards Kester Town.
"Thank you for your patience, Mr. Ketchum," Mr. Board, the owner of the advertising agency, said.
When Ash had arrived at the agency and explained that he needed his daycare advertised, Mr. Board had insisted that several pictures be taken of the Champion first. The man had then disappeared with those photos, not listening to what Ash said, before finally coming back a couple hours later.
"Why'd you take pictures of me?" Ash asked, Pikachu sitting on his lap and also grumbling at the man.
"So that we could create some fabulous examples that I'm sure you will love!" Mr. Board answered in a musical tone as he handed Ash a stack of different advertisement posters.
Ash couldn't help but cringe at how he looked in the many posters. All the posters seemed to pay more focus to Ash himself rather than the daycare.
"Look…" Ash groaned, "I want people to come to the daycare for the daycare, not because of me."
Ash pointed at the Pikachu symbol on his apron.
"This is my daycare's symbol. Can you make something up based on that? And don't include me in it."
Mr. Board let out a disappointed sigh before assuring Ash that he'd whip something up but that Ash would have to return the next day. Mr. Board also insisted that Ash take the other advertisements with him.
"No way are we using these," Ash mumbled as he and Pikachu made their way back to the daycare. Ash flipped through the advertisements and came across one that was particularly annoying, "I mean, look at this one!"
This advertisement was designed like a wanted poster, with a black and white photo of Ash in the center. Above the picture was the word "WANTED!" Below the photo were the words "ASH KETCHUM! Crime: Excellent Pokémon care at good prices!" Pikachu started laughing at the poster, particularly at the unflattering picture of his trainer, only stopping when Ash gave the Pokémon a look.
"This one's plain stupid," Ash said, ripping the poster in half. Suddenly, the wind blew strongly, one half of the torn poster slipping from Ash's hand and blowing out of reach and out of sight, "Oops…I hope we don't get in trouble for littering…"
Back in Kester Town, Charlotte and Posy, after a long day of training in the fields near the town, headed back to the inn they were staying in after noticing the dark rain clouds rolling in.
"Man, I really wanted to get that Pokédex!" Charlotte complained. She shivered as the wind blew, glad she remembered to put on her orange cardigan but wishing she had a pair of jeans, "But what if we run into that man again? I don't care what Officer Jenny says, I know what I saw!"
Charlotte looked down when she felt Posy rub against her leg. Posy let out a series of chirps and jumped a couple times. Charlotte giggled at her partner.
"I know you'll protect me, Posy."
The two paused when they saw a torn piece of paper float down and land a couple feet away. Posy went over and checked out the paper. Charlotte saw the Nidoran jump in shock before grabbing the paper in her mouth and bringing it to Charlotte.
"What is it?" Charlotte asked as she checked out the paper. She nearly dropped it in surprise, "No way!"
There, clear as day, was a picture of that same man from the night before. And right above his picture was the word "WANTED!"
"I k-k-knew it," Charlotte stuttered, "I knew h-h-he was no good!"
Trainer and Pokémon stared off in the direction Pallet Town was in. Charlotte gulped, wondering what she should do. After all, that man had somehow convinced Officer Jenny that nothing was wrong. And he looked so scary. And what was Charlotte going to do with only Posy by her side?
But when Charlotte remembered the sight of that pile of Pokémon, she took a deep breath and furrowed her eyebrows.
"We have to do it…"
"Why are we doing this?"
Charlotte trembled as she and Posy hid behind a tree near the place they had seen that man the night before. There was no guarantee that they would see that man in this place again. But it was the only lead that Charlotte had.
"We have to do it, Posy," Charlotte swore, clutching her fist tightly to give herself more confidence, "To make sure no other Pokémon or human suffers."
Just as her Nidoran chirped, as determined as Charlotte was, the rain came pouring down…hard…
Charlotte let out a gasp as she became thoroughly soaked within seconds. She spit some rainwater out of her mouth and stomped her foot.
"We're trying to catch a murderer here…" she growled.
Just then, Charlotte heard the sound of a door opening and closing. She turned back to the building she had been keeping an eye on and saw a figure standing by the door of the building, holding an umbrella. Charlotte squinted, trying to make out the figure through the heavy rain.
"It's him!" she hissed to Posy, recognizing that face from the previous night, "That's the-"
Charlotte was cut off by a low roll of thunder. She glanced down at Posy, who had gone rigid from the noise. Posy had an intense fear of thunder for as long as Charlotte could remember. The ten year old considered ending the little capture mission right there and trying to sneak away with Posy back to Kester Town. But, before Charlotte could do anything, an intense clap of thunder boomed.
"Posy! Wait!" Charlotte shouted as Posy let out a cry of fright and darted into the forest.
"Hey!"
Charlotte's head snapped to the side at the sound of that very familiar voice. The man had spotted her, obviously hearing her shout, and was walking in her direction. Charlotte ran into the forest, both to escape the man and try to find her beloved Nidoran.
"Wait up!" Ash yelled as the girl ran into the forest.
That was definitely the girl from the night before. The girl who had run away screaming with her Nidoran. The girl who Officer Jenny had said thought he was a Pokémon murderer.
"She shouldn't be in the forest in this weather," Ash said to himself, running back to front door of the daycare, "Pikachu!"
The Pokémon ran towards his trainer and jumped onto his shoulder. Ash closed the door behind him and ran into the forest.
"Can you see her, buddy?" Ash asked as he and Pikachu searched for the girl.
Pikachu shook his head as he turned his head this way and that, his ears twitching. Ash dodged a couple falling branches and nearly slipped on some wet ground. This forest was not the place to be during such a heavy rainstorm.
"Especially a thunderstorm," Ash murmured as lightning flashed across the sky.
"Pika-pi!"
Ash followed where Pikachu was pointing and saw a female Nidoran cowering beneath a bush. He saw a red ribbon tied around the Pokémon's neck.
"That girl's Nidoran…" Ash slowly approached the bush and crouched down before it, "Hey…"
The Nidoran opened her eyes and looked at Ash. The Pokémon flinched and let out a warning growl.
"It's okay," Ash said in a gentle voice, smiling softly and showing that he had nothing in his hands, "I won't hurt you. You must be scared, right?"
Pikachu jumped to the ground and also tried to coax the Nidoran out from under the bush.
"C'mon…I'll take you over to my daycare. It's pretty warm in there. And then I'll go get your trainer for you…"
Nidoran seemed unconvinced by Ash's words. Without warning, the Poison type let loose a Poison Sting attack that hit Ash directly. Ash winced as the attack hit him…It seemed that this Nidoran's poison was rather potent, as Ash was already starting to feel a little ill.
"Pika!" Pikachu growled, standing defensively in front of Ash.
"Pikachu, don't," Ash ordered. He kept smiling as he reached a hand out to the Nidoran, "See? No one's gonna hurt you, Nido-"
"Get away from Posy!"
"What?" was all Ash could say as a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind.
It was the girl from before, currently holding him tightly with one arm and hitting him with the other.
"Stop that!" Ash shouted, though the girl didn't listen, "Ow! Hold on a sec, I just-Ow!"
The Nidoran used her trainer's attack as a signal to launch her own attack. The Pokémon rammed Ash and then clamped down on his hand.
Ash let out a cry as he felt the teeth break through his skin. He also started to feel incredibly woozy. And he knew just why too.
Nidoran's Poison Point ability.
Ash gritted his teeth, knowing that he'd probably collapse from the poison soon. He wanted to make sure the girl and her Nidoran were safely out of the forest before that. Figuring that neither of them would listen to reason, Ash suddenly stood up. This took the girl off guard long enough for Ash to reach back and grab her so that he could carry her under his arm. He didn't bother to grab the Nidoran, who was still chomping on his hand. He knew that so long as he had a tight grip on her trainer, the Nidoran would stick around.
"Let me go!" the girl screamed, flailing her limbs.
"I'm not gonna do anything," Ash tried to tell her, Pikachu watching him worriedly as he kept swaying as they made their way out of the forest.
"Let go of me and Posy!"
"Would you listen?"
The group of four managed to make it onto the road, the girl still yelling and the Nidoran, who the girl kept calling Posy, keeping a tight grip on Ash's hand all the while. The girl slipped from Ash's grasp, causing Posy to finally release him and go over to her trainer. Before Ash could say anything to the pair, the poison finally got to him and he fell to the ground, the girl letting out a yell of shock.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried anxiously as Ash lay on the ground with his eyes closed.
Ash felt too sick to open his mouth and comfort his partner, who was gently nuzzling his face. Ash heard a rumbling of a motorcycle coming closer and closer before stopping near him. He forced his eyes open and saw a very familiar face atop the motorcycle.
"Officer Jenny!" the girl exclaimed, "This man…"
"Isn't this…Champion Ash?" Jenny wondered.
As Ash's consciousness faded and he felt a pair of hands on him, he heard the girl speak once more.
"Champion?"
The first thing Ash noticed when he woke up was that he was warm…not sickly warm, but a comfy warm. Ash slowly opened his eyes and turned his head.
He let out a sigh when he recognized his bedroom. Ash tried to sit up, only to notice a weight on his stomach.
Pikachu and the girl's Nidoran, Posy, were both fast asleep on top of Ash. The trainer smiled and pet Pikachu's head slowly. This action woke up the Electric Mouse Pokémon.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu exclaimed happily as he nuzzled Ash's face.
"Sorry I worried you, Pikachu," Ash apologized as he pet his partner.
This ended up waking Posy, who stared at the scene a little apprehensively. Ash noticed this and gave the Poison type a smile.
"You're alright, aren't you?" he asked. Ash made a move to get up, only to be stopped by a sharp pain shooting through his other hand. The hand was heavily bandaged. Ash saw Posy staring at it guiltily, "Hey, it's fine. You were just worried about your trainer. And I've gone through way worse over the years..."
Ash used his good hand to pet the Nidoran's head. Posy let out a cheerful cry, licking the trainer's hand.
"Nice to see you awake, Mr. Ketchum."
Ash looked to the doorway of his room, where Officer Jenny, Pallet Town's local doctor, Dr. Wright, and the young girl stood. The doctor made his way over to Ash and did a quick check up.
"You gave us a bit of a scare last night, Ash. We took care of most of the poison then," Dr. Wright explained, retrieving a cup and vial from the bedside table, "But it'd be best if you take one more dose of the medicine to make sure you're good."
Ash took the cup full of purple liquid and gulped. He shuddered from the foul taste, glad that he had been unconscious when it was given to him the night before.
"As for your hand," Dr. Wright continued, "Well, it was a rather deep bite wound. You should take it easy with that hand for the next couple days, but it should heal nicely. I expect you in my office in two days so I can check on it."
"Thanks, Dr. Wright," Ash said before looking over at Pikachu and Posy. He specifically directed his next few words at Posy, "See? Nothing too bad."
"Umm…Mr. Ketchum? the girl started in a small voice.
"Call me Ash," he told her, "All this 'Mr. Ketchum' stuff is making me feel old…I'm only twenty…"
"I'm Charlotte and that's my Nidoran, Posy…" Charlotte bowed, "I'm so, so, so sorry! This is my fault! I was such an idiot!"
"Well, part of the blame is mine…I should've explained things to you better," Jenny sighed before saying strictly, "But you're right. This was incredibly foolish. What if Mr. Ketchum was a criminal? What were you thinking confronting him by yourself?"
"Hey now, don't be too hard on her. It wasn't that bad," Ash said when he saw Charlotte's expression, remembering all the stupidly reckless things he himself had done at her age. He flinched at the sharp gaze Jenny directed at him, "I mean, yeah, it was stupid…But she did it because she was worried I might hurt someone, right?"
Charlotte smiled shyly at him, seemingly grateful that he wasn't mad about the major misunderstanding.
"Oh man," Ash groaned when he saw the time on his bedside clock, "I have to go check on those advertisements I ordered. If they're good, I'll probably get a couple boxes worth of stuff…"
"And how do you think you'll carry those boxes with only one arm?" Dr. Wright asked.
"I can go with him," Charlotte suggested, "It's the least I can do after everything…Right, Posy?"
"And here you go, Mr. Ketchum!" Mr. Board said as he showed Ash, Pikachu, Charlotte, and Posy the examples of the advertisements.
The four smiled excitedly as they looked over the posters, pamphlets, and business cards. Ash was glad that his face was nowhere in sight on the advertisements. Instead, there was a picture of his daycare logo, along with contact information, his business hours, prices, and some phrases that encouraged people to use his services.
"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Ash exclaimed, "Alright, I'll take them!"
After paying for a couple boxes worth of the cards, pamphlets, and posters, and getting Mr. Board to agree to running an ad in the paper, the group of four headed back to the daycare, Ash carrying one box with his good arm while Charlotte carried the other, Pikachu and Posy running around and playing along the way.
"So, Charlotte, what're you planning to do after we drop this stuff off?" Ash asked.
"Well, I want to get a Pokédex from Professor Oak," Charlotte replied, reaching into the pocket of her shorts and pulling out a badge case, "I'm gonna take on the Gym Leaders and become a Champion! I'll win with Posy and all the other Pokémon I catch by my side."
"Good luck with that," Ash said, recalling that he was just like that when he was her age, "It's a tough road, and a long one, but it's a lot of fun."
"Which reminds me…" Charlotte began in a curious tone, "You are a Champion. What made you want to run a daycare?"
"Well…You'd be surprised what a little inspiration can do…"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow at the vague answer but didn't question it further.
"By the way," Ash started enthusiastically, "If you plan on catching lots of Pokémon, you can always drop a couple off at my daycare."
"Sorry, but I don't plan on catching too many. And I want to raise the ones I catch by myself."
"It was worth a shot…"
Done! And so, after clearing up one major misunderstanding, Ash and Charlotte are now on friendly terms. However, the young Champion has still yet to find himself a customer. But Ash has managed to get himself a nice amount of advertisements that could possibly help. Will our hero soon be able to get his first customer? Stay tuned to find out.
I'm really having fun with acting as a narrator here. But seriously, will Ash's luck be turning around soon? Or does he have a few more disasters ahead? You have to keep reading to find out! Also, expect dear Charlotte and Posy to make reappearances sometime in the future. Anyways, please keep reading and reviewing!
