Chapter 19 - My SI Stash #19 - Dance, Dragon Dance by Locksoli (Pokemon) (1/2)

-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: 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 ch_i_p_s, 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.

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 s_e_xy 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 f_u_c_k_i_n_g 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!”

*CRAAAA_S_SSHHHHHHCCCCCKKKKKKKKKVVVVVVVRRRrrrrrrrrr*

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 f_u_c_k 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 c_h_e_s_t, 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.

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 f_u_c_k_i_n_g 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 bem_o_a_ning 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 g_r_o_a_n_e_d 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 g_r_o_a_n_e_d. ”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 f_u_c_k 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 a_d_u_l_t 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?!”