Childhood is such a wonderful time of ones life. It's a time of wonder, joy, curiosity and dreams. Fantastical as they may be, dreams are what shape your imagination and take you to places that you never visit in your life.
I, as a child, dreamt of going on a journey catching various pokemons, having epic battles and screaming for hours to power up and defeat the enemy thus saving the universe. Or, perhaps having spinning tops that had amazing animal spirits in them.
In the end, that's all they were.. dreams.
As I grew up, that child got left behind the social issues of teenage and the responsibilities of adulthood. Life became monotonous.
I had a paying job.. A retired military doctor with a degree in emergency medicine, I was always on call. I devoted myself to my job. But, I was not content.
I liked what I was doing and I was great at it. But, it lacked something and left me wanting for more.
And then, one day the city faced the biggest blackout in the history. From the darkness emerged the evil in humans hungry for flesh, blood and money.
The hospital was being flooded by patients in desperate need for medical care. From stabbing victims to mutilated bodies.. it was like a scene from a horror story.
As if the night couldn't get any worse, a street gang barged into the emergency and demanded to be escorted to one of the patient's bed who had escaped from their grasp.
With a gun pointed at my face, they threatened to kill me if the patient wasn't handed over. I could not do it. I was oath bound to save my patient's life.
As I was brainstorming on what to do, the man pointing his gun at my face lost his cool and shot me in the abdomen.
Down on my knees I gasped in pain as blood gushed out of my wound. I knew I was going to die. The bullet had pierced my liver and I was already feeling the signs of hypoxia. My limbs were getting colder.
I glared at the assailant and jumped at him. I then struck my elbow to his nose and took his gun. It was a bloodbath after that. I shot at the gang members and before they could register what had happened, the gun was emptied out and all of them were incapacitated.
Last thing I remember was the face of a beautiful nurse telling that I'll be fine. Her skin so pure and unblemished, the tears rolled down her cheeks like the pearls of the ocean.
She was a newly hired nurse. I didn't know her at all but I died smiling. Maybe she was angel or maybe she was the reaper. She felt ethereal and in my last moments, she brought me peace.
I saw my childhood.. I remembered the times I ran around playing games with my siblings, stealing yogurt from the refrigerator when mom wasn't looking, finishing the jam with a spoon so that I could get more pokemon cards that came free with the bottle...
I remembered the day we moved... the day I lost my grandma.. the day I developed a crush.. my first kiss.. my break up.. the day my brother died.. the day my grandpa died.. the day I became a doctor..
The last memory was of me as a small kid watching pokemon for the first time on the television.
I lived a life with its ups and downs but I was happy. I died trying to protect my patient.
I was content.
I was at peace...
(MonPoke)
*Gasp*
"Waaaah!!"
Wails of a new born echoed in the halls as the doctors wiped the babe clean and handed him to his father.
'Wha... huh?'
The baby stopped crying soon after and opened his eyes a little.
'I'm alive? But how? I clearly remember my extremities turning blue when I fell down after killing those gang members. And all that blood.. there is no way I could be saved after so much loss.'
His vision was blurry. He wanted to try and rub his eyes but his arms were too weak. It felt as if he had no control.
'Did my brain get damaged from hypoxia?'
He could hear voices, vague as they were but he could tell that a young man and a woman were close by, whispering to each other.
He tried to speak when..
"Aah.."
'Huh?!' "Aah?!"
'What the hell is happening?! Am I hallucinating?! Hmmm.. possible.'
"Chansey."
'Huh?'
"Chan Chansey!"
'Oook.. I am either hallucinating about something unreal.. Or I was thrown in a psychiatry ward next to a patient who thinks of themselves as a pokemon.'
It took the baby two years to come to terms with the fact that he transmigrated in the world of Pokemon.
Two long years of denial and living with the mindset of having gone crazy, he finally accepted it. Although, it helped that he was neighbors with the beautiful Delia Ketchum. But, he could live without her annoying son around.
While his mother, Julia, was a house wife, his father was a pokemon ranger who protected the wildlife from poachers. It was a noble job and the babe, now a toddler named Thomas, admired his father. His admiration was boosted by the fact that Bill Shelby had a team of amazing pokemons and had the family name Shelby.
Thomas would sometimes daydream about slowly walking through the mist as 'Red Right Hand' played in the background. Although, he could live without smoking his lungs away to an early death.
His life as a toddler was filled with joy and wonder and he couldn't be happier. He got to grow up again which, let's be real, is a dream of every other person.
Tommy got along well with pokemons. For a man reborn in a world with fantastical creatures, it was just fascinating to see how their powers worked. At a budding age of four, Tommy began helping around at professor Oak's lab, doing menial work like passing around papers and pokeballs all the while observing how the professor did his job.
He learnt how to care for pokemons, how to treat their injuries if there was no healer pokemon around and how to approach different types of pokemons and interact with them. Oak's lab was a treasure trough of knowledge and research and Tommy took in everything he could.
On the night of his fifth birthday, Tommy was coming back from Oak's lab when he heard a rustle in the nearby bush.
He was immediately on guard. Pallet town did not have many predatory pokemons in the wilderness around it but every once in a while a dangerous pokemon would sneak in to cause trouble.
Tommy gulped down a nervous blob of saliva as he slowly took a step away from the bush. But, his worry was unwarranted as out came a Growlithe pup.
Tommy sighed and was just about to walk away when the pup whimpered.
Tommy took careful steps towards the pup while observing it. The small pokemon had many wounds on its body, from scratches to shallow stabs, its body was a mess.
Cradling the pup in his arms, Tommy ran back to Oak's lab. He could immediately tell that the pokemon was attacked by spearrows.
*BANG* *BANG*
"Professor Oak!" Tommy banged on the door of the lab.
Sensing the urgency in the boy's voice, Oak rushed to the door and when he opened and was shocked to see the bleeding pup in Tommy's hands.
The pokemon needed intensive care and Tommy would stay at its side from morning to late in the night. He knew how to read all the reports and the machines so he closely monitored his condition.
It took an entire week for the pup to wake up from its coma. The professor said that it was a miracle that the pokemon survived.
When Growlithe woke up, he panicked upon seeing the unfamiliar surroundings. He wanted to run away but was too weak to move. He could see the face of a human child resting beside him. He immediately recognized Tommy as his rescuer.
The pup whined slightly which was enough to wakr Tommy up.
Eyes wide in surprise and elation, Tommy jumped and ran out to call the Professor.
The two stared at each other in fascination the entire time Oak was checking up on the pokemon.
Ever since then, Growlithe, now named Alfie, made his home at Tommy's side.
He was Tommy's first pokemon.
(MIMP)
Sigh...
'Here I thought I'd get to travel upon turning ten.'
Sad, Tommy and Alfie spent their day moping. They were really looking forward to kicking some pokemon butt.
Seeing him and Alfie sitting on the grass with such a sad expression broke Julia's heart. She called her husband, Bill, and said, "I don't know how to cheer him up. He was so excited about turning ten. I wish I had told him they changed the minimum travelling age after that horrible accident..."
On the other side of the phone, Bill sighed and said, "Don't worry. I'll prepare a gift he'll certainly like. Also, Charizard needs some time off. Take Tommy to meet him with his Growlithe. Charizard will help the pup learn some moves."
Julia dragged the sullen Tommy and Alfie all the way to Oak's lab.
"Oh! Tommy! Julia! I was expecting you two. Come, follow me."
Oak led the three to a shelf and looking at Tommy, he said, "Tommy, your father is travelling through Unova region and sent this egg for me to safeguard. He asked me today to hand it over to you. Whatever pokemon hatches out of it will be yours."
The egg was inconspicuous and Tommy couldn't remember ever seeing such an egg. Suddenly, his mood took a 180 degree turn and everyone could see stars in his eyes.
"Really?! A pokemon egg to take care of? Wow! Thank you, professor!"
Oak and Julia sighed at the boy's antics. Meanwhile, Alfie was busy glaring at the Charizard that had scoffed at the pup earlier when they had arrived at the lab.
Tommy noticed that and asked Alfie, "Hey, that's dad's Charizard. Why are you picking a fight with him?"
The Charizard scoffed again that induced loud growling and barking from Alfie.
Tommy picked the pup up and tried to calm him down.
"Woah! Hey! Chill! What's gotten you so riled up? You really wanna fight him?"
Alfie barked in reply.
Tommy looked at Charizard and said, "I do want to see how we'll fare against a veteran pokemon like you."
Tommy and Alfie grinned at each other like a cheshire cat. Then, Tommy exclaimed, "Alright! Prepare to get your butt kicked!"
"Tommy!"
Despite the rebuttal from Julia, Tommy giggled and ran out of the lab with Alfie by his side.
Outside, Oak decided to be the refree and said, "Alright, this is just a spar. Don't take it too far. Since Charizard's trainer isn't here, he will attack as he sees fit. I hope you know what the two of you are up against."
Julia stood at the sidelines with the egg incubator in her arms.
"Enough chit-chat! Let's start the battle! We can't wait to kick some pokemon butt! Right, Alfie?!"
The pup barked in agreement.
Their behavior and confidence hit the Charizard right into his pride. He roared and let out a stream of fire, signalling that he was ready.
"Alright then, start!"
Tommy pointed ahead and commanded, "Alfie, use agility!"
Oak and Julia were surprised that the pup knew such an advanced move.
Alfie crouched and made his move. Tommy got a rush upon finally being able to battle. His buddy dashed around at speeds so high that all anyone could see was a blur.
"Now! Thunder fang!"
Alfie attacked Charizard from behind and aimed right towards his nape. But, the big lizard was too experienced. He immediately creadted distance between himself and Alfie by using his wings and flapped them with strength.
'A wing attack!'
"Alfie! Brace and hit the incoming attack with your move!"
The collision was loud. Alfie barely overpowered the wing attack despite having used a move that was more effective against a flying move.
"Agility again! Then use thunder fang on his legs."
Alfie was much faster due to the stacked effect of agility. But, no matter how fast, he could do nothing when Charizard flew out of his range.
Then, it happened.
Charizard roared, scaring all the pokemons into hiding. Then, he breathed out a massive flamethrower that was almost as wide as the entire field.
Tommy watched on and dreaded his dexision to delay teaching Alfie the move dig.
Although hopeless, Tommy wanted to go down fighting. He commanded, "Alfie, we can't dodge this. Full power, flare blitz!"
"What?!" Oak and Julia exclaimed, blown away by Tommy and Alfie. Flare bitz was a move that was very hard to learn. But, Tommy as a mere ten year had managed to teach his Growlithe such a powerful attack.
It also showed that Alfie was a very hard working and talented pokemon to have such a skill set.
The Growlithe roared and charged up with intense flames before launching himself head on towards the incoming flamethrower.
The attacks met with a magnificent explosion of energy. For a mere moment, it seemed that Alfie was able to push towards Charizard. But, it didn't last.
When the heat and smoke dissipated, Tommy watched in amazement as Alfie stood in the middle of the field, with minor scratches on him.
Everyone except Alfie was shocked. Then realization dawned upon Tommy.
"Alfie! You have flash fire ability?!"
The pup barked back happily in agreement.
Charizard seemed to have had enough and charged towards Alfie with the move, steel wing.
"Use thunder fang!"
Once again, the pokemons collided with a bang. This time, Alfie managed to inflict damage to Charizard but at the cost of getting heavily injured.
Wasting no time, Charizard grabbed Alfie and flew high up in the sky.
Tommy knew that it was over.
The battle was ended moments later when Charizard sent Alfie crashing towards the ground with a Seismic toss.
Tommy thanked Charizard and gently cradled the fainted pup in his arms. He was pround of his friend.
'We're going to turn the world upside down.'
But, first he had to deal with the disapproving Oak and an angry Julia.
'My butt is gonna be sooo red by tonight... Getting spanked as a brat is not fun, at all!'