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Rocky sighed. It’s not like the Drowzee disliked the Daycare, but to be away from Kurt left the Pokemon uneasy. Not that Kurt was too fond of it either, the sailor rarely finding himself apart from Rocky, but apparently a client didn’t trust his trainer having a Pokemon known for hypnosis on board. It was the angriest Rocky had seen Kurt in a while, the outburst causing him to break quite a few bottles before the client could calm him down. Offering to pay for the daycare was likely the only thing keeping Kurt from knocking the guy’s head off.

It seemed that Rocky wasn’t the only one who wasn’t immediately enthralled with the idea of being dumped off at a day care, noticing an on edge fox-like creature nearby. He wasn’t exactly too sure what it was, it resembled the Zorua that were once on the ship, except its fur was a ghostly white. “Don’t worry kid, no one’s gonna bite,” Rocky would joke, hoping to put them at ease.

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Hmm, it seemed a joke about biting wasn’t exactly something to put the timid tyke at ease, Rocky realized in retrospect. The kid was still shivering, it’s voice hardly audible as it introduced itself. So he was right, it was a Zorua, just unlike any the Drowzee had seen before. Was it one of those shinies that Kurt has had to transport before? As valuable as they seemed to be, Rocky was surprised that one would be dumped off at a daycare like this.

“The name’s Rocky,” he would introduce himself, “at least that’s what my trainer calls me. I’m a Drowzee, if that’s not clear. The pleasure’s mine.” He couldn’t exactly explain why he was drawn to the scared pup, but there was something about how pitiful it looked, like it needed protection. For some reason, the idea of being a protector was alluring to Rocky, probably because it implied that he’d get to fight. Not that the idea of a scuffle seemed enticing to Zorua, as the thought of getting bitten seemed to increase its anxiety.

“Look, don’t worry about it,” Rocky would say, trying to calm its fears. “See how everyone’s out and about? First sight of a scuffle, it's back to their Pokeballs. At least, I guess so.” It was best he had to offer, considering that Rocky hadn’t exactly been there long enough to know what would happen if a fight broke out. After all, he hadn’t been much longer than the Zorua. But it made enough sense, it had to be true, right? “Besides, if anyone gives you trouble, I gotcha. I know most psychic types don't like to get their hands dirty, but Kurt says I’m built different,” Rocky would assert, cracking his knuckles.

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Rocky’s trunk darted up in the air as the aroma of food wafted through the air, the thought of eating becoming more important to him than Zorua’s thanks. “Yeah, yeah, don’t mention it,” Rocky would mutter, obviously distracted by the trays of sustenance making their arrival. “Yeah, can’t say I’ve been to a daycare either, Kurt usually doesn’t let me out of his sight. But a client of his doesn’t trust psychic Pokémon, something about hypnosis. You know how it goes, Kurt got pissed, he offered to pay for this, badda bing bada boom everyone’s close enough to bring happy.”

Rocky would mosey on along as he picked up his tray, the large tapir brushing aside the much smaller Pokémon trying to bumrush their lunch. ”So, you’re not li- He’d stop mid sentence, now noticing Zorua was still stuck anxiously in the same spot as before. ”You weren’t kidding about fights, were you?” Drowzee would sigh, the Zorua was truly a timid thing, considering even the thought of being crowded for food was too much for him to handle. Must’ve been a bred Pokémon, he thought to himself, there’s no way he would’ve had those instincts if he were from the wild.

”Here, don’t worry the crowd,” Rocky would assure him, quickly and firmly hoisting Zorua on his head in one swift motion. ”Just hang on.” Without much hesitation, Rocky would once again wade through the crowd of starving Pokémon, scarfing down his tray as he waddled along. ”Here,” Rocky would state, grabbing another tray from the ground before balancing it on the edge of his trunk so Zorua could reach whilst still riding on top his head.

Yet it seemed that Ricky’s aloofness wouldn’t spare him from trouble, as the moment he picked up the tray a scuttling Rattata came flying through. Hey lardass, I was about to eat that!” The Rattata would shout, growling menacingly at Rocky. Not that Rocky would care, as the Drowzee shrugged his shoulders and turned the other way. Not taking too kindly to being ignored, the Rattata would narrow his eyes before skidding back in front of Rocky. ”Hey asshole, I was talking to you!” The purple rat would keep angrily chattering, but Rocky continued to pay him no mind.

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Somehow the Rattata didn’t seem to get the memo, which was quite annoying. Rocky would narrow his eyes as the little cretin decided to continue its tirade, turning its attention to the much smaller Zorua. Who, to Rocky’s surprise, managed to grow a backbone while the Drowzee was getting cussed at. It was still quiet, unsure, and lacking in confidence, but a stark improvement from a few seconds ago, where they were too timid to grab a bite to eat.

It didn’t take much for the Rattata to realize that confidence wasn’t exactly Zorua’s m.o., laughing in response to the shaking Pokémon. ”Be nice? Be nice? Tell me what to do again and I’ll gnaw a fucking hole in your head mate,” he’d chirp, taking another step forward to further establish his dominance.

This step forward, of course, was one too far for Rocky. While he was at first content with ignoring the rat, Rocky just assumed that he’d get bored and leave after a bit of harassment. But the daft bully wanted to test his luck, foolhardily believing that he could get away with threatening the much smaller Zorua due to Rocky’s seeming indifference. Perhaps he felt safe in his antics, believing that the threat of being Pokéballed would keep the Drowzee from retaliating, or that he was ignoring the Rattata because he wanted to avoid conflict.

He was wrong.

The moment the Rattata took his second step forward, Rocky would whip around and palm his head like a basketball. ”You really need to learn how to talk to people. You’re talking to my buddy here all wrong,” Drowzee would chastise, before his eyes would glow a light blue. ”Sleep. And in an instant, the Rattata’s body would go limp, collapsing onto the grass amidst heavy snoring.

”You did good, kid. Next time, try being a bit louder, don’t stammer as much. You might trick them into thinking you’re confident, ahaha.” Drowzee would chuckle, before waddling away from the crowd.

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Rocky could tell Zorua was finally getting a bit more comfortable as the day progressed, no doubt having someone protecting them from the riff-raff that they initially feared calming them. That, and the fact it was nice to have a friend in a sea of unknown folks. It was sure helping Rocky, as having the tyke had caused him to forget about his own unease.

It was a quiet walk from the hubbub of chow time, Rocky forgoing the usual chitchat to keep his ears open, just in case the Rattata had a friend or two that had grievances with how things were handled. Last thing Rocky wanted was to start another fight, especially if he was outnumbered. But so far, no one had taken up for the easily irritated pest, with the silence being broken by Zorua asking how the Drowzee became so tough. It was such a cute question, Rocky couldn’t help but smile.

”I dunno, never really thought about it, just watched Kurt I guess,” he’d laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. ”We’re always at sea, and he doesn’t hire anyone to help, so it’s just us. It’s sink or swim, literally. But don’t think of it being tough, it’s just doing what has to be done, you know? It was just a Rattata, he’s lucky he didn’t try that with someone else. Kid could’ve gotten hurt with an attitude like that.”

With a sigh, Rocky would sit down, leaning against a tree, making sure not to bonk Zorua against the bark.

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