19 My SI Stash #19 - Dance, Dragon Dance by Locksoli (Pokemon)

-I'm really reading these Pokemon SI fics just cause of the new female characters ngl

Sypnosis: On one hand, I died and probably left a bunch of grieving relatives in my old world. Everybody I loved was gone, and I was never gonna see them again… On the other hand? DRAGONITE! I'M GETTING A DRAGONITE! WOOHOOOOOOOOO! (SI/OC, reincarnation fic)

Rated: T

Words: 77K

Posted on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13360050/1/Dance-Dragon-Dance (Locksoli)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Chapter 1

The day I died had started out pretty much like any normal day. After getting back home from working the graveyard shift, I decided I'd go down to a local convenience store for a bottle of coke, a bag of chips, and maybe some skittles. Yeah it was raining, but I brought an umbrella, so I should have been fine since it was just a light rainstorm.

The last thing I could think about was my granny, specifically a memory I had of her telling 6-year-old me that lightning never strikes the same place twice.

That knowledge really didn't mean anything as parts of my skin were charred to a crisp, my heart practically stopped, my brain jolted at the onset of a seizure, and my blood turned so hot that I was boiled alive from the inside. But it was nice that the last thing that went through my head was the sweet old woman that practically raised me for a couple of years. I guess that's my only peace of mind as I die huh?

Oh, I guess I find out whether or not the afterlife is real, or if I go to heaven. That's really the only explanation to why everything is literally going white...or maybe that's just a side-effect of being struck by lightning.

When the white faded, I was greeted by the sight of gold instead. Golden everything, gold grass, golden tree bark and leaves, a gilded sky that reflected into the water and a bright golden sun. On one hand, I was definitely in heaven...then again, I was an atheist, so no idea how long that was gonna stick.

I flinched at the sound of loud honking and looked around for the source, finding the large golden marsh filled with a great flock of flamingos. Despite being bright red, I could see the gold where there should have been white feathers. I know this is heaven and all, but they're going a bit too far with all the gold.

"Well this is a surprise" a voice called out from nearby. "I don't really get to speak to people moving through here too often."

That voice! I know that voice, it's been one of the many that became ingrained into my head since 2012 started.

"I mean, Jojo is a little on the fence about me, and Riley just thinks I'm another figment of his imagination" the familiar voice said. "It gets kind of boring, regardless of the harem and all."

I turned around to see a 17-year old dressed in a green school uniform from late 80s Japan, red hair ending in a twisting bang that hung over his face. Behind him, an athletic humanoid in robotic armor just as golden as its surroundings floated, holding its hands in a prayer-like pose.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. "Are you...Noriaki Kakyoin?!"

The redhead smirked as he held a thumbs up and drew it across his chin. "YES!" he cried out, thrusting the hand downward. "I AM!"

"...Holy shit!" I gasped out. "This is all some weird mindscrew I'm having as I die, isn't it?"

"Oh right, you were struck by lightning huh?" the redhead pulled a cherry from literal thin air and broke off the stem. "Pretty...shocking, that turn of events."

I hate that I laughed at that, but I was a sucker for puns. "That was in bad taste, all things considered...it really hertz."

Kakyoin snickered hard at this, nearly squishing the cherry he held. "That was a good one...I really could do this all day, but you're not wrong about it being in bad taste" the stand-user rolled the fruit in between his fingers. "I'm more interested in getting you through the whole process."

"Process?"

"I am an angel after all" the redhead said, snapping his fingers to summon his golden wings and halo.

"Ah, I see...So how does this work then?" I asked. "Is it like in Supernatural, where I get my own personal heaven based on my memories, or do I dance in the field with angels all day and smoke blunts, or what? Give me something!"

The redhead guffawed in response. "Goodness, maybe I should have been clearer...you're not passing on to the afterlife. As it turns out, dying before your scheduled time while being completely unfulfilled, as well as having no attachments to the living world, means you qualify for reincarnation."

"...Reincarnation?"

"Yes, of the other world variety. The way it works is that your new life will have lived without any memories of your previous, until somebody up here jolts the memories from your old mind into your new one," then he popped the cherry in his mouth. "ReroReroReroReroReroReroReroReroReroReroReroReroRero-"

"Hold on a sec!" I growled nervously. "Reincarnation...into another world...Are you saying I'm gonna be Isekaied?!"

The redhead pulled the cherry from his tongue and smiled mutely at me. "Pretty much, yeah. Don't feel too bad, you could be lucky and be reincarnated into some generic fantasy world where you can live with a harem of sexy elf girls."

"...Continue please."

"Or you could be reincarnated into an Anime world, like this boy I know who was reincarnated into the world of Naruto. The bonus for him was getting a Stand, but still," Kakyoin waved his hand in a "so-so" motion. "You might get the raw deal on stuff, who knows."

"Oh goodie, I either get reincarnated into a shitty world but with cool powers, or into a cool world with shitty powers," I grumbled. "What could be worse than that?"

"Fate!" the stand-user said simply. "I can assure you, I know very much about it, since I was fated to die the way I did. In some worlds, you can't fight fate, though depending on the severity of certain changes, fate may rearrange what happens and how it'll happen to fit them. What I'm telling you now is…" Kakyoin gave me a fierce look. "Don't try to change fate, even if she's a fickle mistress. If something has to happen, don't try to stop it! Even if somebody is going to die, saving them will just be a bigger mess. Do you understand?"

"Yeah…" I said lowly. "If I get reincarnated into the world of Re:Zero, then I have to let Rem go into that coma and shit...if I get reincarnated into the world of Tokyo Ghoul, then my green-haired waifu has to be turned into a decapitated zombie, and if I get reincarnated into Doki Doki literature club...well, I don't think I need to go into detail there" I sighed tiredly. "That's all really hard to think about...combined with the whole dying thing, I'm already starting to feel pretty overwhelmed."

"It's alright...I get it, being thrust into this and hearing that you have a chance like that" the stand-user cupped his chin in thought. "You have a few more minutes before I have to transport you to your new body, so I won't impose on you before-"

*BEEP*

"Hmm?" the redhead pulled a fucking tablet from his coat, turned it on and scrutinized it for a good minute. "Huh...well, now I feel like a dumbass."

"Eh?"

"Well, I just gave you that whole speech about not messing with fate and trying to change things," Kakyoin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But I just got a message from my superiors, and apparently you're going to a world where that doesn't even matter?"

"What?!" I cried out. "Dafuq you mean it doesn't matter? You said fighting fate and changing how things go was a bad idea!"

"Well, for any of the worlds we both mentioned, yeah that would apply" the stand-user shrugged blithely. "But you're being reborn into a world where one of the inhabitants used its powers over time to prevent something from happening to that world's god in the past, and even though that should have been against the rules, said god did nothing about it even after he stopped being pissed over something that happened in the destroyed past."

"So then just do whatever the hell I want?"

"Yeah, go to town! Balls to the wall, whatever you feel like, it isn't gonna matter in that world anyway…" then Kakyoin chuckled nervously. "Well, maybe try not to use Payday too much."

"...Payday? What the hell does that even-"

"Oh, my apologies" the redhead gave me a sad look. "It's time for you to get a move on" the stand-user huffed lowly. "This is probably the last time we'll speak...it was nice talking to you."

"Wait! I have so many questions! Why do I exist? What is the meaning of lif-"

"Haierofanto In Hebun!"

*CRAAAASSSHHHHHHCCCCCKKKKKKKKKVVVVVVVRRRrrrrrrrrr*

Son of a-really, you couldn't have let me get something in?

Well, at least I'm waking up on a nice bed, and in some PJs...that's something to thank Kakyoin for. Guess I gotta go and check out whether or not I'm some mutated monster or something.

I pulled myself up and walked into what I immediately assumed was my bathroom (thank fuck I was right, otherwise I'd have faceplanted into a closet) so that I could hopefully get a better look at myself. I already noticed that I seemed shorter when I got up, but it was after turning on the bathroom light and looked in the mirror that I froze.

Well, now I knew I was in an Anime world at least.

The most obvious change was that I was now nine years old. Which certainly explained why everything was suddenly smaller. Another thing was my now olive skin, a far cry from how white I had been previously. Of course, my hair and eyes were now both dark purple...but my hair…

I looked like the Goblin King from Labyrinth.

No joke, my hair was a big poofy hair-metal mullet with several locks trailing from the side of my head down to my chest, just like David Bowie's character from the labyrinth. Only difference was that it was all dark purple, but still... I looked like I played for the Mötley Crue from way back in the 80s.

Ok, focus on your crazy hair later...find out everything about new world first.

I walked back to my bedroom, spying another door not too far from my bed. Judging by how there was only the bathroom door and that one, that could be an exit. The next room was a small but livable kitchen, with a single door to lead outside and one big sliding door leading to a balcony.

So I lived in an apartment...well, at least I didn't lose my slight neatfreak tendencies in my new life. If I want to figure out what kind of world I was reborn in, then the balcony is the best bet-

And there's a giant green bird there.

Giant is a stretch, it was under 5 feet in length from head to tail, but considering I was nine years old now that was still pretty big. The wings too, they had to be at least four or five meters long if that thing needed to get off the ground. The thing was probably predatory, seeing as how it had a stooped neck, a pointy beak, and large talons. The only odd thing about it was the comb on its head...wait a minute.

That's...that's a fucking Fearow! As in, a REAL POKEMON, laying right there on my balcony. I've been reincarnated into the world of Pokémon...

On one hand, I died and probably left a bunch of grieving relatives in my old world. My old coworker was probably bemoaning the fact that his favorite conversation partner and backup on the night shift wasn't gonna come back. Everybody I loved was gone, and I was never gonna see them again…

On the other hand? DRAGONITE! I'M GETTING A DRAGONITE! WOOHOOOOOOOOO!

*RINGRINGRINGRINGRING*

Oh hey, I have a phone. Funny that, even in my old life, I hadn't seen a landline since I was 9 years old...guess this is the cut off point then.

"Hello?" I called groggily into the line as I picked up.

"JARETH!"

"Gaah!" I reeled back at the loud girlish voice. "It's early in the morning and you just tried to break my eardrums, who dis?"

"It's Caitlyn…"

"Ah yes...Caitlyn...who?"

"Your social worker," the voice groaned from the other side of the line. "Yeah, you definitely woke up late...I sent Fearow to check on you, is he there?"

I turned to see the shiny Fearow in my balcony, now fully alert due to it's trainers scream. "Yeah, he's here...he was also asleep."

"That doofus...anyway, how are you doing Jareth?"

...Wait, was that my name? "I'm fine...I guess, considering it's pretty early in the morning" and there was the unspoken 'why is my name the same as the weirdo who waved his glass balls around and stole babies?'

"Jareth, it's 11 AM, you just slept in."

"Ah...well then…" old habits die hard. "Sorry bout that, I hope you weren't calling me for like, four hours and getting worried."

"I kinda have to check on you, remember?" the girl groaned. "Of course you don't remember, you're that forgetful...I'll come by on Togekiss in a bit," there was a short pause. "Drat, I forgot if Fearow ate or not!"

"You forgot if your flying type, which you sent to check on me, was fed?"

"Well, he could have eaten on the flight over, but you know how he is, he gets pretty focused on stuff."

A memory flashed through me, most likely one from this life before remembering my old one. "I have some food for the big guy, remember? The bag is around here somewhere…"

"Thank you so much Jareth!" Caitlyn said happily. "With Togekiss, I should be there in about an hour, so hang tight!"

The moment the line clicked and went silent, I put the phone back and walked over to my balcony. Sure enough, just next to the sliding door was a bag of food with a bird symbol, the label clearly stating that it was meant for predatory flying types like Fearow and Pidgeot, alongside it a bowl. I grabbed the bowl and hauled the bag onto my back as I slid the door open.

Fearow's reaction was instant. He immediately interrupted his preening to stare at me expectantly. "FEEEEEEEE?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha big guy" I opened the bag and dumped a sizable amount of what looked like cured and processed meat into the bowl. I could tell that at least some of it was from Magikarp, based on the appearance. "Alright, go ahead and dig in then!"

I didn't need to ask him twice, the bird jumped up happily and speared as much meat onto his beak as he could. I know it should have been terrifying, but in my old life I've had one or two reptiles and insects as old pets, and I've parrotsat once or twice, so I wasn't as creeped out as I probably should have been. Fearow let out a satisfied cawing when he finished and hunkered down a few feet away from me with a content look.

A sharp pain pierced through my skull, prompting me to walk back inside. I was seeing flashes of memories that, while they didn't seem like they were mine, were way too familiar for me to write off. The oncoming migraine made me feel like my head was going to explode, and I had to do something to take my mind off of it.

...Hey, I live in an apartment right? That means that I have a mailbox somewhere in the lobby or something. I just had to get both the key to that and the one to my flat, or else I'd be locked out and I wouldn't have my mail. Thankfully, my new self hadn't been completely oblivious, because right next to my door were two seperate keyrings, one for the apartment key and one for the mailbox key.

Both of them were labelled 'take this key to get back into the apartment, dumbass' and 'take this key for your mailbox, dumbass' respectively. Yeah, that sounded a lot like me…

"Hey, Fearow! I'm gonna grab my mail real quick, I'll be back" I called to the shiny bird, getting a few tired warbles in response as I left.

After a bit of wandering around in the hallway and a tentative walk down the stairwell, I found the mailboxes. I singled out the one that matched my suite number, and unloaded the contents...and it was all telemarketer bullshit, ads for bogus steroids and a letter from a nigerian prince. Because all of those would be a thing no matter what world you were in.

Funny thought I was having as I walked back to my suite, I still had no idea which iteration of the Pokémon world I was in. Was it the anime, with Ash Ketchum as the only protag without crazy hair? Was it the games, and there was a secret level system that you could view with the pokedex or something? Or was I in the generations or manga versions, which were like the first version I mentioned but with enough edge to cut your vegetables with.

Considering the stripper ads I spied in my mail, I was leaning towards the latter. Or maybe it was a mashup between all three, who knows?

"Hmm? The fuck is this?" I murmured at a piece of mail that I dropped by accident. It was a pamphlet with a few pictures of children playing around with Pokémon, with more than enough adult supervision. "Well how 'bout that, maybe Kakyoin wasn't talking bullshit about fate after all."

Caitlyn had arrived nearly an hour and a half after our phone call. I knew it was definitely her because she said she was coming in on a Togekiss, and said Togekiss crashed into my balcony comically, startling a sleeping shiny Fearow and knocking over the rocking chair I had. The fairy-type's unceremonious landing was followed by a loud groan and a string of curses.

My social worker was a petite young woman with a soft face and long brown hair that went down to her waist, topped off by her wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Most people would assume that child services would be overly professional and cold looking, but since they have to work with children that isn't meant to be the case. Caitlyn seemed like any other nice lady, barring the intimidating green bird that was nuzzling her leg.

"Took you awhile, huh?" I called over from my small couch as she invited herself in. By now, I had begun to remember enough of my new life that I could still act the part of myself (not that there would be much to act).

"Annual Beedrill migration, skies were packed," the woman said tiredly. "It was so serious that the air traffic cops had to be out...maybe I should have come in on Skarmory" she mumbled angrily.

"I bet it would have been just like last time," I said, turning to another page of the pamphlet I heald. "I wonder what color I could replace everything with? Cause last time you told me baby blue looked like a nice touch, but you can see it now and…" I trailed off, motioning to the entire room around us. "It looks like a gulpin ate some rawst berries while it was under hypnosis and used Spit Up all over the place."

"Very descriptive," Caitlyn huffed, then tilted her head when she noticed the pamphlet in my hands. "What do you have there?"

"...A pamphlet for a summer camp, run by one Professor Oak."

Caitlyn stared at me for several seconds before sighing. "Oh boy...we're gonna have to have this talk again huh?" the woman sat next to me, eyeing the leaflet over my shoulder. "I get it, you're enamored with the world of Pokémon and you wanna connect with them like everybody else, you've been saying you want to be a trainer since you could talk...but it isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"You say that from experience."

"Because I have the experience," the short woman said. "I've told you dozens of times, I went through every gym to get to the Indigo League, and I didn't even get to the first actual round. Becoming a Pokémon Master isn't something you just do, it requires blood, sweat, and tears. People who can't measure up, they live with that for the rest of their lives."

...Pokémon Master? Hold up!

"You think I want to become a Pokémon Master?" I asked flatly, glancing at the lady from the corner of my eye. "Cait, what is a Pokémon Master?"

The brunette looked at me owlishly before rubbing the back of her head. "It's somebody who...huh...I don't really know...I mean, you need to have won all 8 gym badges in your home region, and usually winning the Pokémon League is the first step to becoming one, but-"

"SO, the title 'Pokémon Master' is completely arbitrary, and practically has no meaning, is that right?"

Caitlyn gaped at me for almost half a minute. "I mean...yeah, I guess that's how it is, but there are people who are called Pokémon Masters and...I…" the woman put a finger to her chin in thought. "I never really thought it through that much."

"I see…" I lowered the pamphlet down and closed my eyes. "Caitlyn, I do not want to become a Pokémon Master!"

"What?!" the brunette stared at me like I had grown a second head. "But you said you wanted that, what changed your-"

"I said I wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer, not a Pokémon Master," I wagged a finger in front of her face. "There's a big difference between the two titles. A Pokémon Trainer is a title which actually makes sense, you train Pokémon and fight with them. You can't even tell me what a Pokémon Master is, and you tried to become one. So no, I don't want to be something that isn't even properly defined."

Caitlyn stared at me nervously for a few seconds. "So you just want to be a trainer?"

"Yeah...well, maybe a type specialist."

"Type specialist?" the woman scoffed. "What, you wanna be a gym leader, or a member of the Elite Four? Type-specialists are just some gimmick for tournaments and leagues."

"Name one of your Pokémon that isn't a flying-type" I responded.

I saw Fearow and Togekiss sharing an 'oooh snap' expression between them as their trainer reeled back in shock. She stood still for several seconds before taking a deep breath.

"I've got Farfetch'd, he's-"

"A flying type," I cut her off. "You have at least a dozen flying types, and you've admitted that you could never stop gushing over flying types. Ergo, you are a flying-type specialist."

"Alright, I get it!" the short woman held her hands up defensively. "So you wanna be a type specialist, convince me then! what type do you want to specialize in?"

"...Dragons" I said simply.

Caitlyn leaned back anxiously as she pinned me with a blank stare. "I'm sorry, could you maybe repeat that? Cause it kinda sounded like you said you wanted to specialize in-"

"Dragon-types, yeah that's what I said...though that'd be a bit rigid, since I'm gonna try to get anything that looks like a dragon or is in the egg-group," I leveled a confused gaze at the woman. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why dragon-types?" the brunette croaked. "They're one of the most dangerous types there is, they only have two type weaknesses aside from their own, and most of them are nearly impossible to train."

"Yessss," I hissed maniacally. "It'll be a challenge, but I'm not one to give up so easily."

"Ok genius, what dragon would you get first?"

"Well, if I were going by easiest to find, then I'd probably get a Magikarp or a Horsea," I said blithely. "Pallet town isn't far from the ocean, I'd just need a fishing rod."

"Ok I guess you're...wait, Magikarp? How is that a dragon?"

"Egg-group," I explained quickly. "And I'm gonna evolve it into Gyarados anyway, so-"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

I rubbed the inside of my left ear for a second time today. "Sitting right next to me, by the way. Maybe keep your volume down?"

"Gyarados?! The Atrocious Pokémon?! As in 'destroys everything it sees when it's mad' Gyarados? The things that go on rampages that can last for months?! That thing?!"

"Yeah, I was gonna get one of those" I said cheerfully.

"Are you insane?! I never even went near one of those things!"

"It'll all be part of the plan..." I said devilishly. "First the Gyarados, then the Dragonite!"

There was the unspoken 'then the bitches' to go along with it. I saw Caitlyn giving me a stern look from the corner of my vision, and I turned a page in the pamphlet in a bid to ignore her. Hopefully she didn't notice I was just rereading the entire thing.

"Oh, I see what's going on...explains why you slept in too," the brunette pointed an accusatory finger at me. "You were staying up late last night, and you saw that dirty commercial, is that it?"

"Dirty commercial?" I lowered the leaflet and thought to myself for a bit. What dirty commercial would I have seen last night-

"Sweet semen of Baby Helix! Get yourself a Dragonite! That's right, a Dragonite! The OD of the OG!"

"Oh, you mean the one where the guy says that Lance gets his cock sucked for every-"

"Language!" the woman growled. "Also, you're nine years old, you shouldn't be thinking about that stuff!"

"...I shouldn't think about getting one of the coolest Pokémon ever?" I said dumbly.

"No, that's not...ugh!" the brunette groaned. "You have been more interested in dragons than anything else...are you sure about becoming a trainer, kiddo?" Caitlyn pinned me with a gaze that was equal parts firm and questioning, but I could see the worry just lying beneath it.

I sighed as I closed the pamphlet and turned to her. "It's not like I've made the decision on the fly. You said it yourself, I've been all about being a trainer since I was...5 maybe?" I stared into space absentmindedly before shaking my head clear. "That's why I was thinking about this summer camp! I don't wanna jump into being a trainer without having any idea of what I'm doing, so this camp will be the perfect chance to learn the stuff I'd need to get by!"

The brunette sighed tiredly. "My bosses usually want to steer kids under our jurisdiction away from being trainers, considering how many end up failing and getting all disappointed, but since you're so keen on it I can try and convince my superior," then she let out a small giggle. "Considering how much you have in your savings accounts, four years at this camp wouldn't be a problem."

...Wait, what?"

"I remember when I first started, when you had to be 15 instead of 13 to become a trainer."

WAIT WHAT?!

"I guess the whole 'island challenge' events in Alola being televised made voters think, huh?"

"13…" I said quietly. "Yeah...four years at camp will be great!"

FOUR YEARS?! Ash and Red both started when they were 10, why did I have to wait four years to finally get a Dragonite?! This system is so unfair dammit!

"You sound really sure about that, Jer" the woman gave me a bright smile. "You've always been a pretty patient kid, even when you were really young. In my opinion, I think you'd be a great trainer."

[INTERNALIZED SCREAMING]

TIME SKIP

Funny enough, Caitlyn's boss was on the fence about me going to Pokémon summer camp, or being a trainer in general. It wasn't exactly because I could give so much more to society by being something else, not even close. They were just worried due to the circumstances that brought me under their jurisdiction.

At least I can go and get a "World's Deadest Parents" mug from a novelty shop. Apparently my parents were either both experienced trainers, or only one of them was, because I was found in a baby carrier at the scene of what looked like an intense battle...starting to lean more towards generations every second.

Thankfully, I was allowed to apply, and the ensuing months were filled with me doing odd jobs around Pallet Town, going over my new memories, and exercising my body. I was still a stick, but I wasn't gonna be a skinny stick this time around.

All that led to this moment, the trip to the camp itself. Oh sure, I could've taken a bus or called a taxi. I could have even carpooled...but Caitlyn wasn't gonna have that. Once I was ready and I had everything I needed packed, she pulled me along and we left in style.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRR!"

"WOOOHOOOO!"

Charizard, the best starter evolution. Don't care if you like Venusaur or Blastoise, and I don't give a damn about Pikachu, miss me with all that gay shit. Charizard is where it is, and this flight was the best experience of either of my lives.

"WOOOOHOOO!"

Apparently it was the same with Caitlyn...even though she probably flew everywhere she went. Yeah, I loved flying on Charizard, but I had gotten everything out of it after the first 3 hours. The little brunette, on the other hand, couldn't go 5 minutes without squealing in joy at the wonders of flight.

"Weeeeee!" as if to illustrate the point, she cried out again. "I bet there are a bunch of dragons you could fly on, huh Jareth?!"

At least 18 proper dragon types...which led me to the question that had burned through my mind for the past few months. Aside from studying everything Pokémon and Dragon-type related, and going over the memories I had from my new life, I was also crunching the exact numbers for my long term goal.

Just how was I going to get every Dragon?

Obviously, I counted the egg group as well, so I included Arbok and Seviper in there. Plus, I was gonna go after anything that was remotely dragon-like, so that included Aerodactyl and Archeops (Pterosaur wyvern and proto-birb with alotta dragon moves) and Lugia (favorite Legendary, and plesiosaur wyvern). But, after taking everything into account and crunching all the numbers, the best I could hope for was to get a Latias and maybe one or two of the Ultra Beasts if I was lucky.

Probably a good thing, I'd never be able to feed a Rayquaza, nor was I heroic enough to be worthy of Reshiram...and I don't think it'd be a good idea to even try to bring the masters of time, space, and anti-matter/gravity to heel, that's just asking for a good round of smiting. And don't even get me started on Necrozma, mister "bippity boppity, your Nuzlocke gonna stoppity" wasn't ever gonna be a possibility at any point in time.

Best to just start with the basics, go for a charmander, capture a horsea and magikarp, and maybe get a revived Aerodactyl. Once I'm far enough along, getting the Dratini will be a cake walk.

"WOOOHOOOO-Oh shit!" the woman cursed. "Ehehe...sorry Jareth, I hope you don't mind a little bit of a rough landing."

The hell did she-Oh no!

"Caitlyn, please don't tell me we're going to crash!" I cried out over the winds. "Charizard, please don't tell me you're crashing, please!"

The poor dragon just gave me a sheepish look in response, and I immediately knew how much this was gonna suck.

One crash later, Caitlyn and I stood in front of a slightly scuffed up Charizard, all while several parents who had brought their kids to the camp stared at us. Obviously the really young kids were ecstatic to see a live Charizard, and even some of the kids that were around my (new) age were staring in awe. I only realized people were looking after I had finished dusting myself off, to which I shied away slightly.

"Alright, I'm gonna go to the front desk and get you set up," the woman said, heaving my backpack and her briefcase off of the lizard. I flinched when she nearly fell back at the weight and sped over to help her with our combined luggage. "Ah, thanks! Anway, I'm putting you on Charizardsitting duty" the woman surveyed our surroundings. "Judging by our entrance, I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends."

Once Cait left to get my semester at camp figured out, I honestly expected a bunch of kids to crowd me and Charizard. Strangely enough, most of the kids were too shy to even go near us, which wasn't so odd considering that Charizard had finally got his bearings and stood with a confident, folded arm stance. Two kids did actually walk away from their parents, two that anybody would be familiar with.

Two kids with spiky anime hair, one with dark hair, brown eyes, and lightning bolt marks on his cheeks, and the other with auburn hair and very dark green eyes. The dark-haired boy walked towards us shyly while the redhead was flashing us a confident smirk.

Ash "can't win a league to save his life" Ketchum, and Gary Motherfucking Oak. I hadn't actually seen them in the few months after the whole past life memory thing, but I had heard about them in passing. Obviously I had seen Delia when she was running her restaurant, since I'd deliver supplies there from my part-time job, and the same went for Gary's sister Daisy and the Pokémon grooming business she worked for.

"Hey, you're that big kid that delivers stuff to my mom, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, that'd be me," I said while holding my hand out, which the boy thankfully understood was to be shaken. "You must be Ash then? Your mom may have mentioned you a few times."

"Yeah, I'm Ash Ketchum...Oh, and this is-"

"I heard you didn't have any parents!" Gary said happily, cutting Ash off and causing a horrified look to spread across the dark-haired boy's face.

...Must...resist urge...to strangle six-year old.

"Yeah...that's not incorrect..." I said through gritted teeth and an extremely forced smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch your name. You are…?"

"I'm Gary Oak, I'm the professor's grandson! And I'm gonna ace this camp!" the redhead smirked and jabbed a thumb towards himself.

I just stared mutely at the boy, before a devious grin spread across my face. "Oh, you're Daisy's brother! It makes so much sense now."

"Yeah, that's me! And once I'm done with this camp, I'll be the best trainer in the entire-"

"Yeah, sounds about right," I cut him off. "Daisy told me a lot of stuff about her little brother, even showed me a bunch of pictures. With you here now, I can sort of see it all playing out."

"Wait what?! That's not fair!" the boy cried indignantly. "Daisy said she wouldn't show off my baby pictures like that!"

"Baby pictures? No, she showed me pictures of this thing from an ice rink-"

"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" the redhead shrieked hotly, face beet-red.

I chuckled slightly at Gary's reaction. I was only gonna do some harmless teasing for the next four years as revenge anyway, so I wasn't gonna go overboard. Plus, he gets like 6 cheerleaders after becoming a trainer, I'll mess with him all I want.

"So you really came in on Charizard?" Ash asked quickly, excitement glinting in his eyes.

"Well, you saw the crash after all…"

"That's so cool!" the dark-haired boy cried in awe while looking up at Charizard. Said fire dragon smirked at the attention he was getting.

"Well...we kinda crashed, which isn't as cool as you think" I said sheepishly, causing Charizard to deflate.

"Still, your sister is a really cool trainer," the dark-haired boy gushed. "When I'm finally ready to be a trainer, I'm gonna try and get a Charizard too, just like her."

"Sister...Oh, you mean Caitlyn? No, she isn't my sister" I rubbed the back of my head anxiously. "Cait is my social worker."

The two boys looked at me dumbly, and I realized these kids didn't know what that was. Because they had non-dead parents/biological relatives to take care of them, and they probably never had to work since they could pick up their own body weight.

"A social worker is...ok, lemme explain it," I held my hands up and thought to myself. "Ok, remember how I don't have parents? That means I'm a ward of the state, which means the government has to take care of me. A social worker is a government worker who is assigned to specific kids who are wards of the state, so their job is to make sure kids under the government's care. Cait is my social worker, so she checks up on me a lot, and she flew me to this camp on Charizard."

Ash and Gary stared at me blankly, before the redhead's eyes lit up. "So you work for the government?"

"Wait, no I-"

"Are you a secret agent?!" Gary cried out. "You ride on a Charizard and you're a secret agent?! That's so cool!"

Honestly, I should have realized this would happen, since I was talking to two six year olds. I remember when I was that age, when I thought "gluteus maximus" was one of the muscles in your arms, so I loudly announced how big mine was to my 1st grade class. So obviously Gary heard "government worker" and his six-year old mind went through the only mental gymnastics it was capable of to come to the conclusion that I was in fact a secret agent.

I noticed Daisy and Delia walking towards us, and smiled sheepishly at them. "So, I made your boys think I'm a Secret Agent by accident…"

Delia laughed at this. "Oh, we heard that. Don't worry, I think you explained it pretty well, all things considered."

"I think your main problem is that they're six," Daisy said with a giggle, motioning to the two as the crowded Charizard. "Most of what you said probably computed into all sorts of things. Be glad they're stuck on the secret agent thing."

"Secret agent Charizard!" Ash cried out happily. "He takes names and kicks butt!"

"Raaaawww!" said dragon beamed and struck a flashy pose, eliciting excited cries from many of the kids around us.

Good thing about Charizard, as long as Caitlyn isn't around then he won't attack anything. Charizard are a proud warrior race, they don't go after anything weaker than they are unless ordered to do so, and even then they'll be pretty reluctant about it.

It was just as the big guy was performing his own Jojo pose that I spotted Caitlyn coming back towards us, eyes closed and a bright smile on her face. "Alright, I'm back! Now you just need to go to orien…ta...tion…" the brunette blinked at her posing dragon and the children calling out the words 'Secret Agent Charizard' before turning to me.

"Sorry Cait, I was trying to explain what a social worker was and now everybody thinks you're a secret agent," I said nervously, looking back at Charizard. "They're like six, so I have no idea how to correct them on it..." I flinched as Caitlyn stood there with a blank stare, to which I waved a hand in front of her. "Cait? You ok Cait? Helloooo~? Miss social worker-"

"Agent," she said lowly, looking down at me with a fierce glare and playful grin. "Miss secret agent! That's me!"

Oh Helix damn it!

"Charizard!" the small woman called out, causing the fire-type to look up. "Come, we have a mission! A...secret agent mission, one that has a lot of secret secrets to un-secret...I'm a secret agent!" the woman cried out happily, causing the kids to cheer. "Come Jareth, I do believe we must continue with our assignment from MI6."

Oh goodie, she's even using the whole british accent...wait, MI6? Was britain a thi-Oh wait, Galar region. Alright, guess I should figure out why she's pulling me along to some random building a bit aways from the reception desk.

"So, where are we going to Miss secret agent?" I asked flatly.

"We're heading to see an old friend, she's working here," the short woman noticed my concerned look. "Relax, orientation isn't for another hour or so. Besides, Sara is great...and she might have something that interests you."

I was about to ask if this 'Sara' was a hot teacher, but stopped when I realized that would open up a whole bunch of questions from Cait that I wasn't ready to answer. After a few minutes, we finally arrived at what was probably the camp mess hall. Inside was a tall blue-haired woman cleaning the floor behind the counters, and a huge fluffy white bean-bag chair nearby.

"Hey, Sara!" Cait called out, causing the bluenette to look up. "Here, this is the kid I was telling you about last month. Jareth, this is my old friend and rival Sara, she's one of your camp counselors."

"You're Jareth?" the woman looked at me owlishly. "You're the munchkin that made her have an existential crisis?"

How are munchkins a thing in this world?!

"I guess I am," I shrugged. "So you guys were rivals? I can't imagine why."

"It's because we both wanted to be the best flying-type masters in the Indigo Conference" the bluenette smirked and put a hand to her chin. "It would have been me, but Cait beat me in the preliminaries."

"And…" I trailed off, looking towards the short brunette. Caitlyn sweatdropped and rubbed the back of her head.

"I didn't even get into the top 64. I barely got into the top 128...and it totally wouldn't have been me" the short woman sneered at her friend/rival.

"Yeah, as if!" the bluenette smirked evilly. "My Crobat could have easily beaten your Togekiss if it weren't for that lucky shot with psychic!"

"Oh yeah? Charizard nearly turned your Yanmega into char, it was an easy win!"

"HA! Mantyne brought him down easily, you're kidding yourself if you thought that was an early sign for your win."

Maybe it was a good time to back away just a bit before the fireworks really started. As I backed up, I accidentally fell backward...right into the fluffiest thing I had ever touched. If you're thinking 'Air Foam' or 'Tempur-Pedic' soft, you're nowhere close to how soft this was. The only thing I could see of the soft thing I laid on was the white, cotton-like fuzz dotting the entire thing.

Oh, and the blue head peeking down at me with beady eyes and white cheek patches.

"RiRiRiRi?"

"Eh?" Sara looked over and saw us. "Oh, Altaria! Jareth, please be careful with him, he hasn't-"

"How did you capture a cloud?" I said absently, still looking at the fluff monster. Said being of softness trilled happily as I lifted myself up. "So...Cool…" I trailed off, to which Altaria nuzzled its head against my chest.

"Ah right, I forgot...Altaria" Cait chuckled at Sara's confusion. "He wants to be a dragon specialist, so obviously he'll get his own."

"I'd get one even if I wanted to be a fire specialist! It's so flippin fluffy, nothing in the entire known universe could measure up."

"He's right, that's actually been scientifically proven," the bluenette smirked at me. "So, dragon specialist huh? That'd certainly get you to the status of Pokémon Master really quick."

"Hmm? Oh, I don't wanna be a Pokémon Master, that's just stupid" I said dumbly.

"...Wait, what?" Sara gaped at me in shock. "Why don't you wanna be a Pokémon Master?"

"Oh shit!" Cait hissed lowly. "Sara, cover your ears, quick! If he starts talking, then you're gonna start questioning your existence-"

"I don't wanna be a Pokémon Master because the title is completely arbitrary and meaningless," I said, all while giving the floof monster a perfect neck rub. "I've asked a bunch of trainers and former trainers like Cait what a Pokémon Master is, and they can't even tell me. It's so vague and improperly defined, yet somehow people all over the world are aspiring to become one. I think it's a sham, a sham to show off the underdogs who couldn't possibly win a full league while glorifying the people who obviously had a better shot at the whole kerfluff-"

"Jareth!" Caitlyn's cry finally took my attention away from giving the fluff dragon his headpats and neck rubs, and back to the two women. "I think you should stop, you already broke her" the brunette motioned to Sara, who sported an absent look on her face like she was trying to unravel the secrets of the universe.

"...Oops," I said, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. "Sorry for making you have an existential crisis over your trying to be a Pokémon Master."

"...Huh? Oh, it's fine" the bluenette shook her head clear.

I looked back to the floofy dragon just as an idea hit me. "Hey, you raised Altaria right? Think you could give me some pointers for the next few years?"

"Eh? You sure you don't wanna ask Cait?"

"Cait's been having me hang around Charizard, she thinks its the same thing as a Dragonite," I said, waving away the brunette's protests. "I think I'd get a better idea of what I'm doing if I asked somebody who raised an actual dragon-type."

I really hated to put Charizard on the spot like that, not just Cait's but the species as a whole. Sure, they got the typing when they mega evolved, but that was years away from me.

Sara put a hand to her chin in thought and looked at her watch. "Hmm...well, we have maybe 40 minutes before orientation, so I guess I could tell you about the basics."

I gave the bluenette a bright smile as Altaria nudged my arm playfully. "Thanks Miss Sara, I'd really appreciate it."

Orientation was exactly how I expected it to go, what with Professor Oak getting up on stage and giving a speech. He started with 'Welcome to the world of Pokemon' for it, so I had already figured out how it was gonna go. Of course, he and the camp organizers definitely hammered home that you had to be 13 to be a trainer.

Four years...so damn painful!

It was what I saw out near the woods an hour or so after orientation that was interesting. By interesting, I also mean very infuriating, because it was a little girl being bullied by some guy probably a year older than I was. The boy was on the chubby side, and he obviously had no problem throwing his weight around. The girl on the other hand…

"L-Leave me alone!"

"Awww, is the baby gonna start crying again?"

The girl was incredibly lithe and short long-haired brunette clad in a t-shirt and jeans, and she had great blue tareme eyes dripping with tears. There was some serious cry cute going on, which only made everything more sad and infuriating. By the time I had heard them speak, I had already made my decision on this.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" I cried out, trying to sound as calm as possible.

The fat kid turned his head towards me slightly and sneered at me. "Nothing you need to butt into punk, move along."

Obviously the best course of action was to try and intimidate the guy...and the only way I knew how? Act as crazy as I really was.

"Nothing? Nothing?!" I growled, storming forward and grabbing the boy by the shoulder hard, turning him around to face my deranged snarl. "Nothing, Tra La La?!"

Hey, I had the same name as the guy, I'll run it into the ground.

"W-What's your problem dummy!" the chubby kid growled as he tried to wrench his shoulder free. "Lemme go!"

I acquiesced to his demand by pushing him back. Of course, the kid decided to take a swing at me, a futile effort considering his girth. The first few punches, I dodged, and the fourth punch was redirected straight into the ground, causing the boy to fall flat on his face.

"If you want to pick on girls, then I'll turn you into a prince" I growled at the kid as he stood up.

"...A prince?"

"Prince of the Land of Stench!" I cried madly.

Didn't sound as funny as the movie made it out to be when I put a crazy voice on it.

Chubs once again made for another swing, to which I once again dodged. This time however, my hand flew towards his throat and I pulled him up by the neck as best as I could. I made sure he got a good view of my creepy dead-fish eye stare.

"Beware," I said lowly, leveling a deadly glare at him. "I have been generous up 'til now. I can be cruel."

"Eeep!"

I released the punk from my grip and pushed him back onto the grass. Thankfully, the kid had gotten the memo and ran away from me as fast as his fat little legs could carry him. I looked on as he fled, and let out a mad Goblin King laugh.

Funny enough, I forgot I had an audience.

"That was so weird," the girl said from her spot on the ground. "You were dancing around like a clown, and talking crazy."

"That does sound a lot like me," I said, putting a finger to my chin before looking back to the girl and holding a hand out to her. "So, you wanna get off the ground? Or do you like having jeans that smell like cut grass?"

"Getting off the ground would be nice," the girl grabbed my hand and allowed me to help her up. "T-Thank you...for making that mean guy go away."

"Don't mention it!" I said happily. "My name is Jareth, by the way, in case you were wondering."

"Just Jareth?"

"Yeah...what, what's wrong?"

"Don't you have a surname?" the girl asked me owlishly.

"You mean the last name of your parents?" I asked, to which she nodded. "Oh, I don't have a surname...or parents."

"Eh?!" the girl stared at me in shock. "You don't have any parents?"

"Well, yeah, I am an orphan," I said, anxiously rubbing the back of my neck.

The girl stared at me for a few more seconds before bursting out into a tearful laughter. "I feel like a butt...I'm only crying because I'm four countries away from Unova and I can't be with my mom like I wanted."

"You're from Unova?" I asked.

"Yeah, I live in Aspertia City," the girl rubbed her nose as she sniffled. "My best friend Hugh lives next door, but sometimes he's busy brooding...and mom is always busy because she works at the Pokémon Center."

"So you're sad that you don't get time with your mom, and you're scared because you're in an unfamiliar place?"

"Yeah...but it seems so...so…" the girl stared off in thought. "Trivial! That, it seems so trivial, because I was just saved by a boy who doesn't have parents."

"I try not to let the whole 'no parents' thing bother me," I said blithely. "I'm gonna be a Trainer in four years, so I'll make a name for myself. Then I won't need to worry about being the kid with no parents, because nobody will even remember that when they look at me and my awesome team."

The girl giggled happily. "Its kinda unfair that people in Kanto have to wait till they're 13...in Unova, the age is 16," then she flashed me a kind smile. "Still...if you become a trainer, then you'll probably be in one of those tournaments, so I can't wait to watch."

"Then I'll be glad to know that somebody is gonna root for me" I smirked, then looked back to the main campgrounds. "Maybe we should get back...I'm pretty sure that chubby kid might tattle on us, so I might need you as my witness."

"...Can you carry me?" the girl asked shyly.

I simply smirked and pulled her off the ground as best I could and slung her over my back, eliciting a happy squeal from her. After walking her through it, the girl hooked her arms under mine and wrapped her legs around my waist.

"Hey, I definitely remember telling you my name, but I didn't get yours."

The girl hitching a piggyback ride on me giggled again. "Sorry, I should have told you when you told me yours. My name is Rosa, Rosa Blanco" Rosa then nuzzled the crook of my neck cheerfully.

Sure, maybe I had to wait 4 whole years to become a Pokémon Trainer, finally get a badass Dragonite and try as hard as possible to get a Lugia. But, if I got to spend time with a cute girl for the next four years who didn't mind if I acted crazy while saying 'Tra La La', then maybe…

Maybe four years wasn't as bad as I had made it out.

Don't worry, I won't spend 5 chapters stuck on Oak's summer camp like I did with the academy in 'In Another World'. Jareth's Pokémon journey starts next chapter, alongside the reveal of his starter.

As always, lease leave any thoughts, questions, and constructive criticism in your reviews.