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Johnny is grooming an Eevee set to be picked up later that day. Its trainer had sent a message to the Pokémon Day-Care in the morning saying that she was in the area and would be stopping by earlier than expected.
Grooming Pokémon before they got picked up was not a regular occurance, it just so happened that Johnny had found himself with a few minutes to spare after doing his midday rounds. It could be therapeutic for Pokémon and trainer alike, though not always. Johnny shudders thinking about that one time he had tried to groom a Zigzagoon that was not having it.
He is about ready to finish up when Kun walks in, Chansey following behind with Johnny’s Aipom on its shoulder. Kun is always all over the place, being a Pokémon breeder there are many things he has to take care of, like monitoring the Pokémon eggs, but maybe more importantly caring for the Pokémon babies that hatch at the daycare. Johnny used to think it was a chill job. He knows better now. Kun keeps walking, headed towards the room in the back, Aipom jumps from Chansey to the floor and runs towards Johnny where it crawls up to sit on his left shoulder, its favorite spot.
“Okay Eevee, I think you’re good to go!” It jumps to the floor and runs towards the playroom. It probably wants to play with the Seedot that was dropped off a few days ago as the Eevee had immediately taking a liking to it. Johnny starts cleaning the grooming set while Aipom uses its tail to help him gather it together. Kun comes back and Johnny spots the egg in his arms, “Oh! Is that–”
“Yeah!” Kun interrupts him, excited. “I need to get an Egg case, I’ll be right back.” He hands the egg to Chansey, Johnny walking up to get a closer look at it. He has been working at the daycare for quite some time now, but he has never seen an egg like it before, white with a pattern of red and blue shapes. He is just about to yell after Kun to ask him about it, but is interrupted when Kun speed-walks into the room with an Egg case in his hands and a big smile on his face. He always gets excited when he finds new Pokémon Eggs, but not quite like this.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Johnny asks, following behind Kun and Chansey to the back room. “I’ve never seen you this excited about finding an egg before.”
“That’s because it’s my first time seeing an egg like this .”
They enter the back room, which is also the biggest room of the Pokémon Day-Care. Kun told Johnny he had it renovated back when he took over the the daycare center. One side works as an office while the other side looks more like a lab. It’s also where he stores the Pokémon Eggs he finds around the daycare.
Johnny usually keeps away from the lab, too afraid of accidentally sabotaging one of Kun’s projects, ruining expensive equipment, or – even worse – somehow compromising the well-being of any of the eggs stored in the cases. Kun spends most of his time in the lab and Johnny wishes he could help out more, but the truth is that he is only good at taking care of Pokémon after they hatch from their eggs, watching them in the play or outdoor areas. It is okay, though. Even if Johnny can’t help out much, Doyoung stops by once in a while to observe the Pokémon in the daycare and often helps Kun out in the lab too. …. Though Johnny could swear he has heard them talk about Winwin multiple times now. What interest they have in the famous coordinator, Johnny has no idea, maybe they gossip about Yuta’s big gay crush on him.
He keeps his distance in the lab, it’s probably for the best as Aipom is still sitting on his shoulder and is generally unable to keep its tail still for more than five seconds at a time. Chansey gets the egg placed in the case and Kun wakes his computer from its sleep and starts running scans on it.
Sometimes Johnny wonders why Kun is managing a small daycare in the wild when he obviously has the drive and wit to do bigger things. Then Johnny thinks about how happy Kun is at the daycare center, and he selfishly thinks he’s glad Kun is here.
“Where’d you find it?” Johnny asks.
“That’s the weird thing…” Kun is looking over the data, his eyes running over the screen. He turns towards Johnny, looking confused. “I mean I’ve been working here for a while, and usually i have a feeling if there’s an egg on the way, but this was completely unexpected?” He holds up his wrist and activates his Pokétch, pulling up a copy of his journal that is synced across all his devices. He always said it was easier to take notes on the Pokétch than carrying around journals and research papers like Doyoung does. Kun flicks through the holographic journal, finding the page he was looking for.
“I’ve been waiting for Magikarp, Igglybuff and Dratini eggs.” he lists, while scrolling down the page, then he closes the app and looks back on the still ongoing scan. “I’ve been suspecting we might see a Lapras egg too, if it doesn’t get picked up by it’s trainer too soon. I was actually on my way to take a look at Lapras when I found this egg in the middle of the field. There weren’t any Pokémon around it, it was just…. left there?”
Johnny feels just as puzzled as Kun looks. “Well then, what does your scan say?”
Kun turns back towards the computer, “I don’t know yet? It doesn’t match any of my data.” He opens a new window on the screen where he types in some command that starts a new scan. “I’ll try to cross-reference it with data Doyoung has shared with me. If it doesn’t give me any results we may have to ask him to come by earlier than expected.”
Johnny snorts, “As if he would mind that. I’m starting to think we should pay him for helping out.”
“I’d have to cut your pay to afford it.”
“You know what? Forget what I said. Doyoung can stay a volunteer.”
Kun laughs just as both of their Pokétchs beep, signaling a person waiting at the daycare reception. “I’ll take care of it, I should probably go back to work anyway.” Johnny says, already moving out the door. “Let me know if you find anything!” He doesn’t hear if Kun replies.
—
Aipom is already sitting on the desk when Johnny makes it to the reception, the Pokémon having jumped off his shoulder and run ahead. The boy who rang the bell is standing on the other side of the desk and Johnny recognizes him. Not a difficult task given how the boy was here just a few days ago. He doesn’t remember his name, but he definitely remembers the Cubchoo he left at the daycare. It had shown clear signs of having been raised well by its trainer and had fun with the other Pokémon, particularly the Lapras Kun had just mentioned.
“Hi,” the boy says, his voice so quiet Johnny barely hears it. Right.
“Hey.”
“I, uh. I’m here to pick up my Pokémon?” the boy asks.
“Are you sure about that?” Johnny asks back. The boy seems confused and doesn’t reply. It quickly becomes awkward. “Don’t worry kid, I was kidding. You just seemed a bit uncertain,” he walks up towards the computer and gets the files ready. “A Chubchoo, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool. I’ll need your Trainer Card, please.” The boy hands the card over to Johnny who takes a look at it before he puts it in the scanner next to the computer screen, the boy’s profile gets pulled up. “So, Kim Jungwoo. Is it okay if I call you Jungwoo?”
“I don’t mind.” Jungwoo says, shrugging. Johnny still thinks he looks uncomfortable.
“Nice. Hi Jungwoo.” Johnny waves and Jungwoo waves back, looking like he would prefer not to be in Johnny’s presence. Okay. “It’ll be a moment while I go get your Pokémon. Aipom can keep you company while I’m gone,” Johnny sends him a smile, trying to seem reassuring. He is not sure it work and decides it’s for the best if he leaves before he makes the situation worse.
He goes to the Pokémon storage room, typing in the password at the door and scanning his own Trainer Card before entering the room which only has the purpose of storing the Poké Balls of the Pokémon at the daycare center when the Pokémon are not in any of the play areas. Being the only daycare center in the region while also being placed pretty much in the middle and not too far from the biggest city makes it a popular place for trainers to drop off their Pokémon.
Johnny hasn’t been working here as long as Kun has, but he is a fast learner and was quick to figure out the storage system. He easily makes his way between the shelves to get Jungwoo’s Cubchoo, not that it was difficult because even though he knows his way around the storage room, he remembers Cubchoo’s Poké Ball for being decorated with a Ball Capsule – not something you see often in this region.
He leaves the storage room, making sure the door is properly locked and the security measures in order, because following security protocols in a place like this where he is trusted by trainers to take care of their Pokémon means that Johnny will not be reckless.
When he gets back to the reception Aipom is balancing on its tail while juggling two Sitrus Berries with its hands.
“Hey buddy! What did I tell you about playing around in the reception area?” Johnny tries to sound stern, but going by the way Aipom shamelessly sticks it tongue out at him, it didn’t work. It does make Jungwoo giggle though, he pretends he doesn’t hear it. “Aipom. Please go to the playroom if you wanna play around. We have a visitor and you are being rude.”
“It’s really fine, I-”
“I’m sorry about this. Please ignore him,” Johnny says, sending a sideways glare at Aipom. Where did he even get the berries from?
“Anyway, here is your Cubchoo,” he hands Jungwoo the Poké Ball. “It’s a happy and healthy Pokémon. It didn’t stay here for long, so I don’t know just how much it grew… But it’s always nice to meet new Pokemon friends that are obviously well raised by their trainer!”
“I just caught it though…”
“Sorry what was that?”
“Uh. It’s nothing.”
Johnny shrugs. “Anyway… Cubchoo made good friends with a Lapras while it was here.” He tries to recall other important details he feels like Jungwoo should know about his Pokémon's stay at the daycare. “Oh! I think it might’ve learned Blizzard too? I’m not sure though.”
“Oh. Thank you for taking good care of my Pokémon.” Jungwoo says while bowing slightly.
“No problem! Do come again.”
What a weird guy. Johnny thinks as he watches Jungwoo leave. Wouldn’t most trainers get excited if their Pokémon learned Blizzard? That’s like a really strong move. He turns, ready to scold Aipom for going against the deal they had about acting nice in front of visitors, when he notices Jungwoo’s Trainer Card still placed in the scanner. Oh no.
“Aipom, stay here and watch the reception, I’ll return this to Jungwoo. Hopefully he’s not too far!” Johnny grabs the card and slides over the reception desk landing on the other side and runs out the door.
He was right. Jungwoo is not too far away. He has stopped up a distance down the road that leads towards the center of the forest that surrounds the daycare. “Jungwoo!” Johnny yells. As he runs up to him he notices he is calling his Cubchoo out of its Poké Ball. By the time he has made it up to them, Cubchoo is exiting the ball.
Except it doesn’t appear.
Johnny is stunned for a second, ready to panic thinking he might have made a mistake. That’s when he realizes what is happening. The bright light coming from where the Pokémon should’ve been standing.
The Cubchoo is evolving.
What?
The tiny Cubchoo emits light and changes shape as it grows bigger. And bigger. And bigger. The light dims and a Beartic is standing where the Cubchoo should have been. Johnny is confused. He has never seen anything like this before. A Pokémon evolving immediately after being taken out of a daycare? He looks towards Jungwoo who looks terrified. He’s not even looking at the Beartic, squatting on the ground, his face resting in his hands.
The Beartic roars and Jungwoo flinches. He looks up and makes eye-contact with Johnny. Jungwoo doesn’t seem too thrilled about his Pokémon having evolved with no training whatsoever… Johnny isn’t sure what to do in this situation so he says the first and best thing that comes to mind.
“Congra……………..tulations?”