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

”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 s_e_m_e_n 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 c_o_c_k s_u_c_k_e_d 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 g_r_o_a_n_e_d. ”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 circ_u_mstances 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 ill_u_s_trate 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 Motherf_u_c_k_i_n_g 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!”

”Raaaaing 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 c_h_e_s_t.

”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!”

”Ae 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.