Day-Care Couple: Difference between revisions

The Day Care couple (Japanese: そだてやふうふ Day Care couple) are an elderly pair of non-player characters who offer Trainers the opportunity to raise their Pokémon on their behalf. Since their debut in Generation II, a different couple have appeared at every Pokémon Day Care in each game. They are known individually as the Day Care Man and the Day Care Lady.

The Day Care couple have also appeared in several non-game media.

In the games

The Day Care couple (or one member thereof) appear in every main series Pokémon game. They will (for a small fee) take up to two of a Trainer's Pokémon and raise their levels for them. This effectively allows players to train up to eight Pokémon at one time. Pokémon under their care will not evolve, even if they meet the criteria.

The couple offer the player the only method of breeding Pokémon, which has been an important aspect of the games ever since Generation II. The Day Care Man will usually stand outside to alert the Trainer if an egg has been laid, while his wife will deal with all transactions indoors.

Some of the Day Care couples have relatives, both named and unnamed. The Hoenn couple are known to have four grandchildren, while the Johto couple are revealed to be the grandparents of the player's friend from New Bark Town, Kotone/Hibiki.

The only region in which a Day Care couple is not present is the Kanto region. Breeding was not a mechanic of the Generation I games when Kanto was introduced, so only one person, the Day Care Man, was included in the games. He and his wife have been in every game since Generation II, including the Red and Green remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In these games the couple is present in the Sevii Islands; the lone Day Care man remains in the original Kanto Day Care center.

In the anime

Several characters based indirectly on the Day Care couple have appeared in the anime.

Mr. Shellby and his wife run a daycare center in the anime-exclusive town of Eggseter, Johto. While no mention of training others' Pokémon is made during the only episode they appeared in, they do care for and hatch Pokémon eggs. Ash was given one as a prize for winning the Extreme Pokémon Race.

Angie's parents run a daycare center in Solaceon Town. While they are not as aged as the Day Care couple, they do raise other Trainers' Pokémon. Unlike the couple in the games, Pokémon in their care have been known to evolve.

In the manga

The Day Care couple from Goldenrod City are important characters in the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc of the Pokémon Special manga. When they were young, they were good friends with Professor Oak, Agatha, Kurt, and Pryce. The Day Care Lady was also a great singer, and she sang the song "Riding On The Stars" to cheer Pryce up when his Lapras died. Gold did chores under her supervision when he was at the Day Care.

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.