Day-Care Couple

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Day-Care Couple
屋夫婦 Day-Care Couple
Day-Care Couple Sugimori.png
Artwork by Ken Sugimori for the TCG
Age Unknown
Gender One male and one female
Eye color Varies
Hair color Varies
Hometown Varies
Region Kanto, Sevii Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Orre, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos
Relatives Four grandchildren (Hoenn),
one grandchild (Lyra/Ethan) (Johto),
one daughter (Unova)
Generation I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII
Counterpart(s) Nursery helpers
Games Red, Blue, and Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, and LeafGreen, Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver, Black and White, Black 2 and White 2, X and Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Colosseum, XD: Gale of Darkness
Anime series Pokémon the Series
Debut Extreme Pokémon! (Mr. Shellby)
If the Scarf Fits, Wear It! (Angie's parents)
Counterpart(s) Mr. Shellby, Angie's parents
English voice actor Dan Green (Mr. Shellby)
Marc Thompson (Angie's father)
Kayzie Rogers (Angie's mother)
Japanese voice actor Takashi Nagasako (Mr. Shellby)
Unshō Ishizuka (Angie's father)
Tomoko Kawakami (Angie's mother)
Manga series Pokémon Adventures
Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
Debut Gligar Glide (Adventures)
Let's Use Fighting Type Pokémon!! (GB)

The Day-Care Couple (Japanese: 屋夫婦 Day-Care Couple), known as the Day Care helpers in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, are a pair of non-player characters who offer Trainers the opportunity to raise the Trainer's Pokémon. They are known individually as the Day-Care Man (Japanese: そだてや じいさん Day-Care Old Man) and the Day-Care Lady (Japanese: そだてや ばあさん Day-Care Old Lady). In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, they are instead known as the Day Care Man and the Day Care Lady, respectively. Since the Day-Care Man's debut in Generation I and their combined debut in Generation II, a different couple have appeared at every Pokémon Day Care in each region. In most games, they are an elderly couple; they are Pokémon Breeders and much younger instead in X and Y.

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

In the core series games

The Day-Care Couple (or one member thereof) appear in every core 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.

Kanto

 
The first Day-Care Man, art by Ken Sugimori

The Day-Care Man debuted in Generation I. He can be found in the single house on Route 5. He can only take in one Pokémon at a time. In the remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, this remains true, meaning the player cannot breed their Pokémon at this location. Instead, once they enter the Hall of Fame, they can travel to Four Island of the Sevii Islands, where they'll find a proper Day-Care Couple. In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, he is replaced by the Day-Care Lady.

The Day-Care Man of Kanto is absent in Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver. In the house where he ran his business they can find a superstitious old woman who will give them a Cleanse Tag.

Johto

The Day-Care Lady, and the Day-Care Couple as a concept, debuted in Generation II. They are found on Route 34. In the international versions of Pokémon Crystal, the Day-Care Man will give the player an Odd Egg that contains one of seven baby Pokémon; the hatched Pokémon has an increased 14% chance of being Shiny in international versions. In the original Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, the Day-Care Man instead gives out an Egg Ticket, which can be traded in at the Pokémon Communication Center for the Odd Egg; the hatched Pokémon has a 50% chance of being Shiny in the Japanese version. In both versions, the hatched Pokémon will know the special move Dizzy Punch.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player's friend, Lyra/Ethan, is the Couple's grandchild. The Day-Care Man will also give his and the Day-Care Lady's number to the player. The player can call the Day-Care Lady to check their Pokémon's levels, while the Day-Care Man can tell whether two Pokémon like each other and whether they produced an Egg or not.

Hoenn

The Day Care Couple are found on Route 117. This couple has four unnamed grandchildren. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, in addition to the original Day Care run by the couple on Route 117, there is also a Day Care Annex at the Battle Resort, run by the Day Care Lad and his older sister, where an additional two Pokémon can be dropped off.

Sinnoh

The Day-Care Couple are found in Solaceon Town.

Unova

The Day-Care Couple are found on Route 3. They have a daughter who helps with their business, and work next to a kindergarten. In Black and White, the Day Care will only accept one Pokémon initially. Two Pokémon may be left after the player has received the Bicycle in Nimbasa City. This makes breeding Pokémon impossible until the player has obtained the first three Badges. When the player's Pokémon have made an Egg and there is an available party slot to receive it, the Day-Care Man will yell at the player to come over in order to notify the player that an Egg has been made. They stay in the same location in Black 2 and White 2, which makes breeding Pokémon impossible until after the end credits.

Kalos

The Day-Care Couple are found on Route 7.

Alola

Because Alola has a Pokémon Nursery as opposed to a Daycare, the Day-Care Couple do not appear in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon. The women who work at the Nursery are known as the Nursery helpers instead.

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

Pokémon Adventures

 
The Day-Care Couple in Pokémon Adventures

History

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

The Day-Care Couple from Route 34 appear as recurring characters in the Pokémon Adventures 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 "Boy and his Lapras" to try and make Pryce happy again after the loss of his two Lapras.

They debuted in Gligar Glide, where Gold met them after helping recapture some runaway baby Pokémon. The Day-Care Lady tricked Gold into helping out around the place by claiming to train him so that he could get stronger than Silver. The training worked, allowing Gold to get stronger and his Exbo evolved into a Quilava after fighting numerous Pokémon being kept there. When an earthquake damaged Ecruteak City, the couple sent Gold to find Jasmine, who had been traveling to the Day Care to see the child of her two Togetic.

Yellow and Fisherman Wilton were taken to the Day Care after an incident with Lugia left them washed up on a shore. The Day-Care Lady forced the two of them to do chores as compensation for letting them rest at the Day Care. Later, the Day Care is attacked by the Masked Man's mind-controlled Team Rocket Grunts, who attempt to steal the Rainbow and Silver Wings disguised as the feathers in Yellow's straw hat. After escaping, they met up with Gold again after his battle with the Masked Man. After Gold discovers his talent in hatching Pokémon Eggs, he leaves to face the Masked Man one last time.

After realizing the Masked Man's true identity is Pryce, the Day-Care Couple reveal that they were friends with Pryce in their youth. Due to a traumatic accident that cost the lives of his two beloved Lapras, the couple and their other friends wrote a song to try and lift his spirits. The song failed to work and Pryce eventually ended up a bitter old man trying to turn back time with Celebi's power. After Gold managed to defeat Pryce, Celebi used its powers to make Pryce hear the song his friends made for him. This time, the song managed to help Pryce realize the errors of his ways. At the end of this chapter, the Day-Care Couple were seen raising more Pokémon Eggs as Wilton is forced to continue to help around.

Emerald arc

In Epilogue, they make a cameo appearance in one of the ships heading to the Battle Frontier.

Platinum arc

It is revealed that the Day-Care Couple have moved to Sinnoh. They are seen at the end of this chapter at Solaceon Town, where they help Diamond and Pearl raise a Manaphy Egg and discuss with Platinum about its relation to Phione. When Platinum notes how mysterious Eggs are, the Day-Care Man tells her about a case when an owner was known affecting his Pokémon's personality before hatching.

HeartGold & SoulSilver arc

Gold is asked by them to help hatch an Egg laid by Red's Snor and Emerald's Snorlax before they move to Sinnoh.

Pokémon

Raised

These are the Pokémon raised by the Day-Care Couple, save for the ones with known Trainers.

 
Cleffa
Cleffa was first seen escaping from the Day Care, where it surprised Gold by jumping out of some bushes. Gold eventually helped retrieve it and the other escaped Pokémon.

None of Cleffa's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Igglybuff
Igglybuff was first seen escaping from the Day Care, where it surprised Gold by jumping out of some bushes. Gold eventually helped retrieve it and the other escaped Pokémon.

None of Igglybuff's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Magby
Magby was first seen escaping from the Day Care, where it surprised Gold by jumping out of some bushes. Gold eventually helped retrieve it and the other escaped Pokémon.

None of Magby's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Smoochum
Smoochum was first seen escaping from the Day Care, where she surprised Gold by jumping out of some bushes. Gold eventually helped retrieve her and the other escaped Pokémon.

None of Smoochum's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Nidoking
Nidoking appeared in a flashback along with Nidoqueen while the Day-Care Couple was reminiscing about the times they had raising Pokémon.

None of Nidoking's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Nidoqueen
Nidoqueen appeared in a flashback along with Nidoking while the Day-Care Couple was reminiscing about the times they had raising Pokémon.

None of Nidoqueen's moves are known.

Debut Gligar Glide
 
Tauros
Tauros was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. He attacked Gold by chasing him around before eventually being defeated.

None of Tauros's moves are known.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Donphan
Donphan was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. Gold attempted to take it down with Exbo's Ember, only to realize that a Fire-type attack doesn't work well on Ground-types. He then switched to Polibo, who sent Donphan flying with Water Gun.

None of Donphan's moves are known.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Girafarig
Girafarig was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. It attacked Gold by stomping down with its hooves before eventually being defeated.

None of Girafarig's moves are known.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Ekans
Ekans was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. It attacked Gold by smacking him with its tail before eventually being defeated.

None of Ekans's moves are known.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Primeape
Primeape was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. It faced Gold's Sudobo, only to have its Cross Chop copied via Mimic. Eventually it was defeated after being hit by Exbo's Ember powered up from Sunbo's Sunny Day.

Primeape's only known move is Cross Chop.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Kangaskhan
Kangaskhan was one of the elite Pokémon that the Day-Care Lady had Gold face. She faced Gold by preventing his escape before eventually being defeated.

None of Kangaskhan's moves are known.

Debut Quilava Quandary
 
Azurill (×3)
Some Azurill were seen with the Day-Care Couple in the end of the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc.

None of Azurill's moves are known.

Debut The Last Battle XIV
 
Wynaut (×2)
Some Wynaut were seen with the Day-Care Couple in the end of the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc.

None of Wynaut's moves are known.

Debut The Last Battle XIV

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

 
The Day-Care Couple in Golden Boys

In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, the Day-Care Couple is depicted as young, as opposed to the usual older couple. In Let's Use Fighting Type Pokémon!!, they invite Gold to a tournament run by the Day-Care Center, and in A Huge Mysterious Tree!!, they give him a Pokémon Egg.

In the TCG

The Day-Care Couple are featured on two cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. However, both had them named as Pokémon Breeders in the English translation. The following is a listing of cards featuring the Day-Care Couple.

Related cards
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Pokémon Breeder T Base Set   76/102 Expansion Pack    
Base Set 2   105/130      
Legendary Collection   102/110      
Pokémon Breeder Fields T Neo Revelation   62/64 Awakening Legends    
 



Trivia

  • The Day Care Lad's sister is only given a unique name in the Italian version. In Japanese, English, and Korean, she is left unnamed, while in German, French, and Spanish, she shares her name with the Day Care Lady.
    • Similarly, the Day Care Lad himself is only given a unique name in the English and Italian versions.

In other languages

Language Title
  French Couple de la Pension
  German Betreuerpärchen
  Italian Coppia Pensione
  Korean 키우미집부부 Day-Care Couple
  Brazilian Portuguese Casal da Creche
  Spanish Pareja guardería
  Vietnamese Hai vợ chồng ông lão ở Trung tâm Nuôi dưỡng

Day-Care Man

Language Title
  French Hôte de la Pension
  German Pensionsleiter
  Italian Proprietario della Pensione
  Korean 키우미집 할아버지 Day-Care Old Man
  Brazilian Portuguese Vovô da Creche
  Spanish Encargado de la Guardería Pokémon

Day-Care Lady

Language Title
  French Hôtesse de la Pension
  German Pensionsleiterin
  Italian Proprietaria della Pensione
  Korean 키우미집 할머니 Day-Care Old Lady
  Brazilian Portuguese Senhora da Creche
  Spanish Encargada de la Guardería Pokémon

Day Care Lad

Language Title
  French Hôte de la Pension
  German Pensionsleiter
  Italian Ragazzino della Pensione
  Spanish Encargado de la Guardería Pokémon

Day Care Lad's sister

Language Title
  French Hôtesse de la Pension
  German Pensionsleiterin
  Italian Ragazzina della Pensione
  Spanish Encargada de la Guardería Pokémon



Non-player characters in the core series games
Kanto Professor OakMom (Kanto)Mom (LGPE)RedBlueGreenTraceDaisyOld manBillCelioMr. FujiSafari Zone WardenCopycatPrimoKoichi
Pokémon Fan Club ChairmanErik and SaraLostelleTealaSelphyCalSteven StoneMayleneMinaCameronMr. GameMorimoto
Team RocketGym guideGym LeadersElite FourProfessors' aidesMagikarp salesmanName RaterDay-Care PersonMr. Hyper
Johto Professor ElmProfessor OakMomEthanLyraSilverMr. PokémonEusineLanceRedKiyoBaobaMagnusEarlKurtCarrieDude
MaryBuenaRadio DirectorHaircut brothersWebsterMasterLiWilmaPrimoMaximoJetCaitlinCynthiaCameronMr. GameFelicityTeala
Team RocketGym guideGym LeadersFrontier BrainsKimono GirlsWeek SiblingsName RaterPoké SeerDay-Care CoupleProfessors' aides
Hoenn Professor BirchMomMayBrendanWallyWandaSteven StoneWallaceScottMr. BrineyMr. StoneGabby and TyLanette
BrigetteProfessor CozmoPokémon Fan Club ChairmanRydelWinstrate familyCaptain SternTrick MasterTreasure HunterDock
ApprenticePokémon Center LadiesOld guysMr. BondingTealaAaruneLisiaZinniaLookerInverChazFossil ManiacKiriMemory Girl
Team AquaTeam MagmaGym LeadersElite FourFrontier BrainsBattle ChatelainesGym guideName RaterDay-Care CoupleStats judge
Sinnoh Professor RowanProfessor OakJohannaBarryLucasDawnCynthiaLookerStat Trainers (CherylRileyMiraBuckMarley)
BebeTealaFelicityRoxy and OliRoseanneRad RickshawEldritchWilmaJasmineCaitlinJuliaJordanDexterKeiraMr. BacklotMorimoto
Underground ManMr. GoodsMr. FuegoPokétch Co. PresidentDr. FootstepPokémon Fan Club ChairmanHelenaKetch Appy
Team GalacticGym guideGym LeadersElite FourFrontier BrainsName RaterDay-Care CoupleProfessors' aidesStats judge
Unova Professor JuniperMom (BW)Mom (B2W2)CherenBiancaBianca's fatherHughHugh's sisterCedric JuniperFennelAmanita
CilanChiliCressLenoraHawesLoblollyCharlesIrisDraydenAlderBengaCurtisYancyBrycenSabrinaPop Roxie
HilbertHildaNateRosaIngoEmmetCynthiaLookerNColressMorimotoNishinoPokémon Fan Club Chairman
CyranoBriarCarmineKieranKoraidonMiraidonGeetaRikaClavellPerrinSnacksworthSynclaire
Team PlasmaClydeGym Leaders • Elite Four (Unova · BB) • PWT participantsName RaterDay-Care CoupleJudgeMagikarp salesmanSpecial CoachesGuidance counselors
Kalos Professor SycamoreGraceCalemSerenaShaunaTiernoTrevorAlexaCassiusInverSinaDexioGurkinn
BonnieDianthaAZLookerEmmaMr. BondingPhil the Photo GuyMemory GirlPokémon Fan Club Chairman
Team FlareGym guideGym LeadersElite FourBattle ChatelainesName RaterDay-Care CoupleJudge


  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.