Chapter Text
I should have expected something like this to happen. That's the risk you take walking home at night. Sooner or later you get mugged and end up being left bleeding out behind the bodega. I didn't even have time to process what happened. At most the flash of a knife before colliding roughly with the wall. A searing pain in my back, concerningly close to my spine, and a whole lot of yelling. I might have blacked out for a while as I'm not sure how long I was laying there. It took a few attempts to push myself up and even more to shake off the dizziness and drag my happy ass over to where the bastard had dropped my stuff to take inventory of what I lost.
Motherfucker wasn't even competent, just nabbed my wallet and dipped. Didn't even take my satchel or camera case. Don't get me wrong, I don't want any of that stuff to go to some run-of-the-mill bitch ass mugger, there were some pretty expensive items there. I don't think my Dad would forgive me for losing my late grandfather's camera but damn I'd like to think my life is worth more than 13 dollars in ones and an empty bank card.
“Jackass.” I cough out sardonically, leaning back to look up at the night sky. It was a little cloudy and my vision was starting to blur but I could still piece together a few constellations.
“Not the worst way to go” I lament before my breathing gets cut off by a series of painful hacking coughs. Yep, that was blood. Guess I should add a punctured Lung to the list.
Things started getting fuzzy from there. It was hard to describe. I remember things happening around me. There was something that sounded like an ambulance siren, the flashing lights certainly backed it up. As I slip away I can't help but hope that whichever poor bastard found me called me in doesn't end up too traumatized. Unless the asshole who stole my shit felt guilty, which… yeah no, he can still fuck right the hell off.
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It's safe to say that I didn't expect too much to happen after joining the Great Majority. I kinda thought it would just be like falling asleep, and for a while, it was. Until it wasn't.
My hearing was the first sense that came back online followed by vision. I was still in a different alleyway from the one before. That was the first clue.
The second was the little girl sitting way too close and much larger than a six year old should be. I bolted up with a yelp, paws scrambling for traction against the stone bricks.
Wait?
PAWS?!
“ What? ” frantically looking around to get my bearings, I decided to ignore the now frightened girl bolting back to her mother. Normally, I'd feel more guilty over scaring a child. Normally I don't WAKE UP AS A FUCKING DOG. Not an average dog either, no, if the stone collar didn't give it away, the unnaturally deep gouges my claws had dug into the stone bricks certainly did.
Rockruff. A Pokemon. Fuck.
“Okay, okay, This is fine” I whine. It wasn't fine “ I'm sure this is fixable” I continued, like a liar.
“First, priorities,” I start again as my brain finally decides to reboot. “ Where the hell am I?”
There wasn't anything else in the alley aside from my bags, propped neatly against the wall, and a few trash bags. I decided to check my messenger bag again now that I was no longer actively dying. The buckles were a hassle without the use of opposable thumbs as was the task of removing everything from the pockets. Eventually I decided to simply fish out all the fragile items and upend everything else onto the ground. Everything was still there. The camera case’s zipper was much easier to work with and after checking that everything was there and undamaged as well as confirming that the GoPro was still in the extra pocket, I turned back to sorting through the random assortment of items. Sketchbooks in one pile. Phone laptop and other electronics inspected and put right back in the bag. Snacks in another separate pile. Pencils and pen put with the sketchbook. Eventually I was able to sort out and rearrange enough to stuff the camera case into the satchel and sling it over my back. It was bulky and awkward but at the very least nothing was dragging on the ground. This was all done without the use of thumbs mind you. Just puppy paws and the zero standards I have in terms of things I'm willing to hold in my mouth.
I was almost ready to go when I spotted a flash of blue in the pile of discarded papers and other garbage that, on closer inspection, turned out to be eleven Pokemon Cards. One of which was labeled Rockruff with what looked like more of a summary page than an actual pokemon card
“Curious, I thought I removed all of these” I muttered absently, as things started clicking into place. With a shrug I scooped them up and deposited them in the bag with everything else.
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It was dark by the time I finally left the alleyway. All the better for me, it just meant the streets were empty and I could travel without getting spotted. Eventually I ran into the docks. Deciding to camp out in an old run down little shed nearby, judging by the tarps and bundles of rope, probably an unused supply shed. I tuck my belongings in the corner and cover it with one of the tarps. Just in case someone happened to look in. After a glance at the rest of the tarps, I eventually decided to just pile those on as well, arranging them into a sort of nest. I flop down with a heavy sigh.
Objective 1: find shelter was accomplished.
With all that sorted, I nudged my head into the side pocket I had stashed the cards. As I had originally guessed, there were eleven cards in total: Espeon, Riolu, Alolan Vulpix, Oshawott, Scorbunny, Deerling, Taillow, Alolan Rattata, Zorua, and Grubbin plus the strange Rockruff card. Working on some sort of instinct, I place one paw on the Rattata card. For a moment nothing happened before there was a flash and suddenly I'm several inches shorter and balancing on two legs instead of four. Naturally I immediately face plant onto the wood floor.
I giggle deliriously. It quickly transitioned to hysterical as I finally stopped and let the events of the day catch up with me.
“Fuck, man.” I died. To put it bluntly, I was murdered. It wasn't quick, it wasn't some easy Isekai car crash or head injury where you get knocked out quickly and wake up somewhere interesting. It wasn't an accident. Someone went out of their way to cause me harm and, yeah, I woke up somewhere new but something went wrong in transit. I'm stuck god knows where and all I have to my name is whatever random shit I had stuffed in a single bag I can barely even carry.
“Fuck This,” I snarl. The grief skips past denial straight to anger as I start pacing around my hut. “Fuck. This. If I get hit with ONE MORE FUCKING CURVEBALL, I'M GOING TO CLAW MY WAY UP THERE AND FIGHT YOU MYSELF! DON'T TEST ME, OLD MAN!”
Does threatening God with violence count as bargaining?
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“Yep, I'm fighting God.” I concluded the next morning, Blankly staring at the sign in front of me from an adjacent building. Taillow, it turns out, is a great way to explore without looking out of place. Not that it really matters in a place like this.
Loguetown. Of course out of all the places to be, out of everything thing I've read, watched and listen to it had to be fucking Loguetown. It had to be One Piece, a manga I had just started reading . Sure, I knew the broad overview of how things play out but nothing concrete and even that stops at the beginning of Sabaody. That said, at least it opens up some options. If the Strawhats haven't already passed through, I could at least hitch a ride to another island. I figured I'd draw a little less attention on the Grand Line. Or I could just find a dream and hype it up enough that they let me come with. That would probably be the ideal option, especially if I can get this Pokemon situation figured out.
That decided, I start the short flight towards the town square. I figured the best way to check if that lot has been here would be the execution platform. Still standing. That plus a quick check of the town News Board confirmed a handful of semi familiar bounties. It wasn't much information but it was enough to form a plan.
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Okay so the plan was, admittedly, a bit monotonous. It primarily consisted of me, as a Rockruff, sitting out of the way but still in full view of the docks for about 6 hours. Usually the ADHD would kick in around noon and I'd wander off to find something else to do. It only took about 3 days before the dock workers noticed my presence. Judging by the conversations I overheard, I'm pretty sure they assumed it was a Hachikō situation. Frankly I'm just glad no one questioned the rocks around my neck.
I only ever left my shed as either a Rockruff, Rattata or Taillow. Those were the ones that wouldn't raise too many eyebrows. I'd experimented with the other forms too, mainly on days I just didn't feel up to wandering around after my morning vigil. I liked Espeon, as psychic powers were a godsend in terms of making up for the lack of hands. I couldn't pick up much. At most, my bag and that's if I'm willing to deal with the migraine that follows. I had tried to use Zorua’s illusions to help me look more human but my first few attempts were… unsettling. To say the least.
It was midmorning on day 10 when things changed. I had been there for a while and was starting to drift off to the sound of the city and everyone going about their business. Because I this I hadn't noticed the arrival of a new, very familiar, ram-headed ship pull in until-
“Ok, if you see a tall white haired half naked guy smoking a minimum of two cigars at once tell him I think he’s cool,”
My head shot up. I recognized that line it was never said in any canon version of One Piece but
I knew that line.
I turned my head and, lo and behold, standing there on the deck of the Going Merry was one E. D. Domino. This called for a slight change in plans