Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Beedrills were actually ridiculously fuzzy. Nina never knew because in the games, the poison bee Pokemon was depicted as smooth and shiny. But in real life, there was a thin layer of fuzz that coats a Beedrill’s body.

“Alright Beedrill, see that fence over there? You’re not allowed to wander beyond that point,” warned Nina. The girl was currently settling the newest occupant of the Lunar Mountain Daycare.

“There are flower fields around for you to suckle on if you’re feeling peckish, and feel free to claim any of the surrounding trees. Just make sure they’re not already occupied, okay?”

The Beedrill made a low buzzing and clicking noise in affirmation.

Beedrill that were trainer-raised from infancy as a Weedle, like the one that Nina was dealing with, were friendly around humans. But wild Beedril were not as tame. There were often advisories against approaching known Beedrill hives in the area, so the fully evolved Pokemon weren’t very popular capture targets. And in fact, their population needed to be frequently culled by the local Rangers to prevent any accidents.

“Oh, just be careful around the flower fields,” Added Nina. “I’m pretty sure grandma’s Vileplum is lurking in there somewhere, and that guy is definitely not friendly.”

Beedrill tilted her head in confusion, but ultimately nodded.

Nina was unsure if the bee pokemon understood the severity of the warning, so just in case, she beckoned over a nearby Butterfree. “Hey Butterfree, this is Beedrill’s first time in the daycare. Do you mind looking after her for a bit?”

Butterfree did a twirl in the sky, her wings briefly flashing a multitude of colors to signal her agreement. Then she cried out to Beedrill and fluttered to tell her junior to follow along.

After seeing the two Bug Pokemon off, Nina headed over to the next item on her to-do list which was to feed the Water Pokemon.

The life of a daycare worker was actually quite agreeable to Nina. She could see herself doing this in her later years, once she’s had enough of adventure. It was a slow and simple routine completely dedicated to the care of various Pokemon.

After a visit to the pantry, Nina pushed a trolley full of Pokechow and Berries to the daycare’s pond where all the Water Types hung out. “Alright everyone, time for breakfast! Not you, Tanky. I fed you already. Nurse Joy set you on a diet, remember?”

The elderly Blastois gave a sad moan and laid back down, while the other amphibious Water Pokemon came close to Nina. The girl flicked a switch on the trolley’s handle and stepped on a pedal to unfurl a trough at the bottom of the trolley.

Nina then began scooping Pokechow from a container into the trough mixed in with the appropriate amount of Berries in accordance with the instructions she was given. “Alright everyone, don’t just eat the Berries, okay? Make sure to eat your fill of Pokechow as well, otherwise you’re gonna get hungry real quick.”

The next step was feeding the water bound Pokemon who have trouble getting on land. Nina unfastened a special cage with two holes on one side for the entry and exit of any Pokemon. Then proceeded to fill the cage with the same mix of Pokechow and Berries before tossing them into the water. She watched as a couple of Goldeens, a Seaking, and a Horsea swam into the cage to feed.

“Let’s see here…” Nina took out a clipboard and began taking the attendance of all the Pokemon present. “Squirtle, Wooper, Seel, Marill, other Marill… Wait, we’re missing another Marill, and Azumarill. Does anyone know where they are?”

“Woop woop~” cried the Wooper, before wiggling his tail to lead Nina.

“Man, Woopers are so dang cute. Maybe I should catch one in the future. Question is, Quagsire or Clodsire? Which derpy blob is the superior blob?”

The place that Wooper led Nina to was a little nest built into the hollow of a tree that was half sunken into the pond due to the mud bank having partially collapsed. When Nina attempted to approach, a fairly aggravated Azumarill stepped out and confronted her, huffing his chest out as a form of intimidation.

“Hey, hey… Easy there, buddy. I’m just here to feed you guys. Are you not hungry? Why don’t you come and join the others?” Nina lowered her body and carefully approached the Azumarill with Wooper by her side.

“Woop~” echoed Nina’s escort.

“Azu azumarill. Rill.” Responded the aquatic rabbit.

“Wooper woop woop~”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“What’s wrong, are you sick?” Asked Nina, unable to comprehend the two Pokemon’s conversation.

Azumarill sighed, then with an authoritative “Azu!” he stepped aside and allowed Nina to peek into the hollow.

Nina craned her neck, and what she saw was a Marill, the other missing Pokemon she was searching for. And that Marill was eyeing Nina warily while hugging what appears to be an egg with blue polka dot patterns.

“Oh. Oh… I see now. You guys just had a baby…” Nina swooned, holding back a screech from how cute the two Pokemon were. “Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know. Wait one moment, I know you guys don’t wanna leave the egg undefended so I’m going to bring food over to you. Is that okay?”

Azumarill looked back at his mate who nodded her head in return. After receiving the couple’s approval, Nina hurried back to her trolley and filled out two bowls of Pokechow with an extra large helping of Berries.

Nina handed the bowls over to Azumarill who tried to balance the load with his two stubby hands before gingerly taking the food back into the nest. Meanwhile, Nina just squatted outside the hollow’s entrance and watched as the two Pokemon ate.

Azumarill, being the ever dutiful husband, moved some berries away from his bowl into Marill’s bowl. Only for Marill to swat at him for being so fussy. Nina’s face practically melted at the cute scene. “Oh Arceus, being hit by a truck might be the best thing to have ever happened to me. Thank you.”

***

“An egg eh? What a headache,” whined Melina.

Nina had naturally reported her discovery of the egg to her grandmother, only to receive an unexpected response. “Why? Isn’t it a happy occasion? I’m sure their trainers would be delighted.”

“That’s the problem,” chimed Aunt Seki. “It’s trainers. Plural. That Azumarill and Marill each belong to different people. So there’ll likely be some debate on the custody of the egg.”

“Oh…” Nina had not thought of that issue. “But surely, you guys would have dealt with situations like this in the past, right? How does it normally go?”

“It depends,” answered Sekimori. “In most cases, there’ll be at least one party who can’t be bothered with raising a hatchling, so they’ll give up their claim. This is the best case scenario.”

Nina nodded in understanding. It made sense, raising a baby Pokemon requires a lot of care and attention, which not everyone can provide. There were also laws in place to protect domestically raised Pokemon, preventing trainers from releasing them willy-nilly since they won’t be equipped with the necessary survival instincts to survive in the wild.

This was why Eeevees in the wild were so rare. After generations of captive breeding, most of them were no longer equipped to survive without human intervention, they simply don’t have those instincts anymore.

“What happens if both parties want the egg?”

Sekimori shrugged “Then either they talk it out like civilized people or they go for arbitration. Sometimes you have the more muscle headed sorts that settle it through a battle.”

Nina frowned. “But what about the parents? Surely they should have a say on what to do with their child.”

“That’s why this is a headache,” said Melina. “From what you’re telling me, those two rabbits are really attached to their egg. No way they’ll let their trainers separate the family. Worst case scenario, both Pokemons will be released and we’ll be left to deal with the mess!”

Nina’s grandmother explained that in those sorts of situations, it’s usually up to the daycare to act as an interim guardian for the Pokemon involved until the Pokemon Rangers can figure out a solution. Resettling wasn’t always feasible if one or both of the parents were domesticated from eggs.

Nina hummed. “I never thought that a simple egg would cause so many issues. So what’s next, I’m assuming we’ll need to contact the trainers?”

“Yeah, Seki will handle it,” said Melina, swiftly kicking the ball over to her employee's court. Earning her an exasperated sigh from the poor woman. “In the meantime, you and I have plans out in the city. Come on, I booked us a table over at a friend’s place.”

Nina shot Aunt Seki a guilty look, but the middle-aged woman just gave her a reassuring smile and waved her off, seeming already used to her employer’s unreasonable whims.

***

Pewter City was a maze full of winding paths and twisting turns. Were it not for her grandmother guiding her, Nina would have gotten lost ten times over.

The girl walked behind Melina’s reassuring back, eyes wandering about to take in the sights of the city. Most of the buildings they went past were simple brick constructions, their paint weathered away over time to reveal the raw material hidden beneath.

Clothes lines could be seen tied between buildings with the residents' laundry left hanging out in the sun, uncaring for thieves and sheltered from any harsh winds by the neighboring mountain.

The streets sloped up and down, rustic looking shops and stalls lined the ground level. The whole place felt very intimate, like the sort of small town where everyone knew everyone even though it was a large city.

One thing that Nina did notice as well was that most of the older generation had scars or were injured in some way. And pretty much all of these veterans, when they caught sight of her grandmother, would give her a nod or a greeting. Some even nervously saluted the former drill sergeant.

The place that they ended up going for lunch was run by one of Melina’s old army buddies. He introduced himself as Zeff and was a peg legged man with a ridiculously long and twirly mustache.

“How do you maintain a mustache like that?” Asked Nina. If there was one thing she remembered from her past life as a man, it was that men with facial hair loved talking about their facial hair, especially those with mustaches.

Sure enough, Zeff let out a boisterous laugh and started going off about waxes and trimmers, much to Melina’s annoyance.

“Enough, Zeff!” exclaimed the old woman. “We’re here to eat, not talk about your Rattata whiskers.”

“Bahaha!” Laughed the old man. “I’ll have you know, Mels. This is a work of art styled after a Dragonite’s antennae, not some crude Rattata whisker. Not that I expect someone as boorish as you would understand.” Zeff then gave Nina a gentle pat on the head.

“Your granddaughter on the other hand, what a remarkably cultured young lady. As expected of someone raised in the City of Water and Arts. Your mother did right by you by raising you away from this brute.”

Nina simply giggled at the compliment while Melina scoffed before demanding to be served.

Zeff’s restaurant was a seafood restaurant, surprisingly enough. The man had his ingredients flown in fresh from Pallet Town every single day. And needless to say, his skills were top notch, an absolute hidden gem in a rough and tumble city like Pewter. His lobster thermidor in particular was to die for.

When Nina asked why he chose to set up in this place. Zeff simply laughed and said: “Well, someone has to keep the youngsters in line.” It was a non-answer, but the girl chose not to pry any further. In this city full of history and spirit, everyone had their own story.

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Author's note:

Thank you so much for everyone who cared to read this far. I will be releasing 10 chapters daily until we reach Chapter 70.

Why Chapter 70 you ask? It's because Chapter 71 marks the end of the prologue. So after that, I will be releasing maybe 2-3 chapter per week.

If you're feeling impatient, you can check out my Patreon where I've uploaded up til Chapter 40. Going forwards all my patrons will be able to enjoy 10 advance chapters as well.

Note: My Patreon is mostly just there for people who appreciate my work to send me some tips and donations every now and again. So don't expect anything too elaborate. Any additional perks will likely be discussed with my patrons if I ever get any.

Once again, thank you so much for spending the time to read my shoddy writing. I'll endeavour to take in whatever criticism you might have and improve myself in the future.