Pokémon Day Care

File:Daycare 34.png

Inside the Day Care on Route 34

A Pokémon Day Care is a place for Pokémon Trainers to drop off their Pokémon to be raised in the care of other people, usually an old couple or an old man. Pokémon in the Day Care gain one experience point per step the player takes.

Overview

In the main series, it is free to put a Pokémon into the Day Care, and costs $100 plus an additional $100 for each level gained to take a Pokémon out.

Many Trainers regard Day Cares as an inferior method of raising Pokémon for several reasons. Aside from the cost, which can rack up quickly for lower-level Pokémon (as they require less experience to gain a level than a higher-leveled one), Pokémon will not evolve while in the Day Care, even if they meet the requirements to. The moves Pokémon learn while in the Day Care are also based solely on level-up: if a Pokémon is raised to a level at which a new move would be learned, the topmost move in its current moveset (unless it is an HM move, in which case the game will find the first move that is not) will be deleted, and the new move will be placed at the bottom of the moveset. This may result in a Pokémon learning unwanted moves, while forgetting ones which were carefully selected for it.

Day Cares do have their uses, however. Because of the way in which Pokémon are leveled up, a player can leave a low-level Pokémon that he or she needs to evolve for the Pokédex in the Day Care, journey around for a short while, and pick up the Pokémon, ready for evolution. Another prominent use, of course, is for breeding.

Aside from the Day Cares in Orre and Kanto, which raise only one Pokémon at a time, all Day Cares can raise two Pokémon at once, and if the Pokémon are of opposite genders (or are with a Ditto) and in the same egg group, an egg may be produced.

In Pokémon Colosseum, if a Shadow Pokémon is left at the Day Care, it will gradually be purified, however, this is not possible in Pokémon XD, as Shadow Pokémon are no longer allowed to be raised in the Day Care.

In Generations I and II, when a Pokémon is taken out of the Day Care, its experience will lower to the minimum value for its current level. Thus, a Pokémon which is very near to a level-up can actually lose experience if it is taken out before it gains a level. This is no longer the case as of Generation III.

In Generation I, the Day Care man will not accept any Pokémon that knows an HM move.

In Unova, the Day Care will only accept one Pokémon initially. Two Pokémon may be left after the player has received the Bicycle in Raimon City. This makes breeding Pokémon impossible until the player has obtained the first three badges.

Locations

File:R5 daycare.png

The Pokémon Day Care on Route 5 in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Pokémon Day Cares can be found in the following locations:

• Route 5 in Kanto (one Pokémon)
  • Four Island in the Sevii Islands (two Pokémon)
• Route 34 in Johto (two Pokémon)
• Route 117 in Hoenn (two Pokémon)
• Solaceon Town in Sinnoh (two Pokémon)
• Route 3 in Unova (two Pokémon)
• Agate Village in Orre (one Pokémon)

In the anime

A Pokémon Day Care near Shippou City

Several Pokémon Day Cares have been shown in the anime, in all five main regions.

• Eggseter in Johto
  • Appeared in Extreme Pokémon!. Races are held here; winners receive eggs as prizes.
• Near Dewford Town in Hoenn
  • This Day Care only has Mudkip eggs.
• Near Saffron City in Kanto
  • Appeared in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure; May received an egg from this Day Care center.
• Solaceon Town in Sinnoh
  • Appeared in If the Scarf Fits, Wear It!; owned by Angie's parents.
• Near Shippou City in Unova
  • Appeared in BW012; Ash received an egg from this Day Care center.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

The Day Care couple on Route 34 in Johto helped Gold, by letting him train on the Pokémon entrusted to them. This training helped Exbo evolve into Quilava, after which he perseveres harder and accumulates enough experience for Polibo to eventually evolve in Ecruteak City. They also taught him to battle without his billiards cue and goggles, as well as how to exploit type advantages.

In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga

In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, the Day Care couple are 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.

See also

• Day Care couple
• Pokémon breeding

This article is part of Project Locations, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every location in the Pokémon world.