Chapter 1 - Birth

John Hanfield was born again, except this time he rememberes every last second of it

By the time he gained consciousness, he was being squeezed out of his mother's womb and into the outside world.

His soft flesh was pressed on all sides, the immense pressure causing his thin body immeasurable pain and suffering.

His eyes felt like they would pop out of his sockets, his mouth turn inside out, his bones shattering, and his skin breaking and falling apart.

After what felt like hours, he was now born into a small family. His father, his mother, and himself.

He couldn't think about this, nor the fact he had seemingly reincarnated. Not when he felt so much pain. Pain burning through his skins as his neurons sent waves of information to his infant head that was scarily developed despite the fact he was just born. Despite his maturity, his infant brain simply couldn't handle the pain and couldn't process the information, nor handle the thoughts his adult mind was capable of.

And so he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The doctors gave him to his mother, which caused him to settle down as the touch of his mother's warm body seemed to calm down the nerves his body was currently feeling sensory overload with.

And thus began his journey through infanthood.

It was difficult, going through childhood with a barely cognizant mind, his brain being loaded with information from seemingly 2 sources, memories of a past life, and the blurry, unrecognizable visions of his current life.

He was a relatively quiet baby, never crying out and spending most of his time staring blankly at a wall, trying to process the massive info dump his brain was receiving daily.

His parents, worried as they were, brought him to multiple hospitals and consultants, but they could only tell his parents that his brain was maturing faster than a normal baby would and that he would eventually get better.

It took months before his thoughts could start rationalizing themselves, questions such as "Who am I?" or "Where am I?" being frequent contenders for being inside his head.

By the time he was a year old, his thoughts had collected themselves, and he was fully conscious. It was still hard to make out shapes, as his undeveloped eyes could not perceive the world the way he was used to. His ears could not pick up any discernible sounds, and his vocal cords lacked the muscles and strength to make out even the simplest of words.

He wasn't staring blankly at walls now, though, and that seemed to cheer his parents up.

It was a very, very long and agonizing year later that he had finally developed his body well enough to finally explore his new world.

Flocks of Pidgey and Spearows flew across the sky, and the occasional hooting from the Hoothoots late at night caused John to realize a simple but important fact.

'I've been reborn in the Pokemon world!'

He had done his best imitation of a wiggle dance at this fact, only to fall back down onto his butt.

'Out of all the worlds I could've been reincarnated in, Pokemon is definitely up there as one of the best choices.' he thought to himself in glee, already picturing his adventure with excruciating detail, planning out his entire team within mere moments upon his realization of where he was reincarnated in.

This, of course, led to many thoughts about the physics of the Pokemon world and how they worked, how certain abilities or moves worked within a more realistic setting, and how a Pokemon's base stats and their physique would impact fights.

It was difficult to know where he was, but he was most likely in Johto, as Hoothoot, Pidgey, and Rattatas were more native to Johto compared to anywhere else.

'I'll have to pick Cyndaquil as my starter. There aren't many good Fire Types in Johto, and Typlosion is a pretty cool Pokemon.' John thought before his brain suddenly thought of a conundrum.

'Where am I? No, which Pokemon world am I in?'

Never mind where his current position in his town was, was he in the anime? The manga? The games? The movies?

'On second thought, this has nothing to do with me. The protagonist of the series will solve it anyway.' He reasoned to himself, wanting to escape the responsibility that would come with trying to meddle with the plotline of the Pokemon world.

"Johnny, is there something you want to see?" His father asked him as he lifted him up, a childish giggle escaping his lips before he could even be aware of it.

He quickly pointed towards the TV, blabbing his baby mouth to pronounce "TV!" with as much effort as his undeveloped vocal cords could handle.

"Ee! We!" Was what came out instead.

Thankfully, his father understood after days of trying to tell him what exactly he wanted.

His father brought him to the couch and turned on the TV to the latest Pokemon Gym Challenge on the channels.

While he thought he was in Johto, the fact that most of the fights on TV were Kanto Gym Leaders didn't exactly bring him a lot of confidence on this idea.

But then why would Gen 2 Pokemon appear in Kanto?

His thoughts drifted away as his mind turned to analytical mode, his eyes burning through the screen as he tried to take in every little detail of the fight, the tactics Gym Leaders would use and the Pokemon and their fighting styles.

"-The battle will be 1 Pokemon on 1! Contestants may choose 2 Pokemon to fight! Standard league rules will be applied! And no switch ins! And here is our first contestant, Jeremy Fischer! A new trainer with 0 badges, this will be his first official League Battle! May our contestant please step into their designated position!" The announcer shouted, excitement clearly audible through his tone.

'Ah, a new announcer. I guess I can ignore his commentary for now, then.' John thought to himself, diverting his focus from his ears onto his eyes.

It took too much effort to hear and see at acceptable levels at the same time, his brain was not able to process information fast enough to do so.

"Jeremy sends out his Oddish! and Flint brings out his Geodude!" He vaguely heard.

'Huh. Flint? Wasn't it Brock? Isn't this his father? Is this the anime world, then?' he thought to himself, his brain racing through multiple thoughts and -

"-Jeremy's Oddish has been knocked out by Rock Throw! May the contestant withdraw and send in his other Pokemon!"

'Ah, I missed the first fight.' He thought, regret on his face. 'It's not easy to be awake in time to watch League Battles, especially a low-level one.'

His baby brain was quick to divert his focus onto another topic, making it hard to focus on a single task.

With a single-minded focus like never before, John stared at the screen with full focus.

It was difficult to perceive high-level battles, as the Pokemon moved too fast, and their tactics and seemingly impossibly powerful moves that covered the TV in nothing but dust made it difficult to truly gather anything from the fight.

Perhaps this was because of his yet to be developed brain, or perhaps this was something that would change as he understood more about Pokemon fights. Or perhaps he just simply needed a better TV.

The Geodude quickly scooped up a part of the terrain with its hand, before launching it at an insane speed that was comparable to that of an MLB pitcher.

The Gloom in the field ('Really? 2 Oddish lines?') dodged to the left but was still scratched by the rock. Its bulb started to expand as pores started to shoot out, coating the land in a yellow dust.

The Geodude shrugs it off before its body glows in a metal sheen, its body polished and sharp, before charging over to the Gloom to shoulder bash it.

The Gloom crashed onto a boulder on the edge of the arena before falling to the ground.

It slowly got up before a green light surrounded its bulb and shot off towards the Geodude.

The Geodude, still covered in a sheen of metal, dodged the light and proceeded to throw a nearby small boulder at the Gloom.

The Gloom was knocked out cold, and the fight ended.

'That was... anticlimactic. And boring.' He thought to himself.

'High-level battles are too difficult for me to understand, and low-level battles have nothing to gather information from. I would settle on Mid-level battles, but those are pretty rare.' He thought, eyes glaring at the TV, wanting to insult the seemingly useless Trainer.

'A Type advantage, and you still lost! How embarrassing.' He tutted, shaking his head left and right.

"Well, how was the fight? Johnny?" His father cooed, tickling his body.

Before he could reply, a loud cheering could be heard on the TV.

Both his father and himself turned to look at the TV. On screen was a trainer, with logs of data on the right he couldn't understand.

Focusing on his ears, he could understand why the stadium had erupted.

"May I introduce to you, Bruno! The Fighting Specialist with 4 Gym Badges! Currently considered a League candidate, we may be in for a great match, folks!" The announcer shouted out, his tone rather... Different?

'Did they switch the announcer out?' Was his first thought. His second was 'Wait, Bruno? Elite Four Bruno?'

His eyes focused as the form of Bruno appeared on screen.

'Yeah... That's definitely Bruno.' He thought, his eyes looking at the rather muscular figure with black hair tied into a thick ponytail, dangling down his back.

His eyes sparkled. 'Finally! A mid-level battle! I've been waiting for this!'

He focused on his eyes and ears as much as possible. The announcer was clearly a veteran, and he would be able to obtain crucial information through him.

"Bruno sends out his Machoke! And Flint sends out his Onix!" The announcer shouted.

The screen flashed as the red light of the Pokeball settled down. In its place was a massive, hulking figure, with 2 enormous arms and legs, its chest wide enough to use as a table for four.

Machoke pounds its chest, a wildly arrogant gaze in its face.

On the other side of the field, a massive Onix took its place, its eyes staring deep into the Machoke's, a grin on its face.

"-Onix fires off a Rock Blast!" He vaguely heard the announcer say.

Rocks formed seemingly out of thin air in the Onix's open mouth before firing off at a speed so quick John couldn't even see it move mid air.

His eyes widened just a bit. 'So fast! it's faster than the Geodude's attack!' his eyes quickly darted towards the Machoke's figure, which was weaving through the sporadic bullets of rock.

Quickly closing the distance, the Machoke stomped its feet onto the ground, and a massive boulder appeared on the place of the Machoke, propelling it towards the Onix at rapid speed.

"Machoke uses his signature move, Earthquake! We've seen this move used before, and it is still just as effective!"

The ground around the onix shattered, causing wide crevices that the Onix got stuck in, Its body trying to move to counter the Machoke in vein as its body got tangled on the various rock formations that had been formed after the attack.

The Onix suddenly shot towards the Machoke, making it seem like the previous act of being stuck against the debree was a joke as its body quickly binds itself against Machoke.

"Flint's Onix uses Bind! it used its act of being stuck from Bruno's Earthquake to catch the Machoke off guard! Clearly, Flint has been preparing for this move!"

Machoke, caught off guard, could only stare at the Onix as its body proceeded to constrict harder and harder until Machoke suddenly bulked up.

"Machoke uses Bulk Up in order to free himself from Onix's Bind! Flint is in trouble now!"

The Machoke, now bulked up, suddenly had a menacing facial expression that made John flinch back.

The Onix felt the same, as it hesitated in attacking the Machoke.

"Machoke uses Scary Face! Flint's Onix is wary of the Machoke now. What could Bruno be planning!?"

The Machoke once again darted towards the Onix, avoding streams of rocks falling towards it.

"Onix uses Rock Slide, but Bruno's Machoke expertly dodges it! It has reached Onix once again!"

The Machoke gripped its fist and leaned back, its feet spread apart before suddenly its muscles suddenly extended, forcing its feet forward as its body turned.

BANG!

After the first hit, the Machoke stomped its left foot backward, pushing its right foot forwards before striking again, twisting its torso as it dealt another fierce blow.

BANG!

Before John could comprehend the next move, another strike landed on the Onix.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The Onix was flung upwards with each strike, its body being lifted from the sheer force of the attack.

"Bruno shows off a move he has never used before! It's the Fighting Yype's specialty, Close Combat! How did Bruno teach his Machoke this move so quickly!?"

The Machoke's arm turned into a blur as it twisted its torso left and right, its feet pushing off the ground to extert as much force as possible as it used the Onix's body to make sure it wouldn't shoot off towards the air, causing it to extert even more force without the worry of losing its ground.

BANG!

The Machoke landed a final hit, and the Onix that was mid-air fell onto the ground.

"Onix has been knocked out! What a fight!"

Flint brings his Onix back into his Pokeball.

"Hey Bruno, not bad at all. What do you say we kick things up a notch?" Flint asked, a challenging smirk on his face.

Bruno smiled back. "Good, Machoke and I were getting a bit stiff in the shoulders. We'd love a warm-up." He said as he stretched his shoulder.

"Getting cocky there, huh? League star, " Flint teased as he brought an old, worn-out Pokeball.

"I think I did more than enough to prove my bite is more than my bark." Bruno talked back, his arms crossed as Machoke returned to its original position, crossing its arms like Bruno.

"Let's see how you deal with this, then. Steelix! Go!" Flint shouted, throwing his Pokeball towards the arena.

An even bigger red light flashed across the screen as the form slowly emerged within the light.

Rough, sharp spikes sprouted out as a massive jawline made its way through the light before the red light subsided.

In its place was a Steelix with many scars across its body, its jaw holding three ridges, one chipped off from old battles, a fracture taking its place.

The Steelix rose towards the air, its red eyes piercing through the Machoke.

The Machoke grinned at the challenge.

Steelix simply stared.

Tension was in the air as neither Trainer nor Pokemon made their move.

John felt his forehead sweat. 'This is so intense! So this is what a Pokemon Battle is like!'

John felt he had a better grasp on Pokemon Battles after this fight. He felt like he could try and start understanding those higher-level fights and even some of the League fights now.

The Machoke suddenly moved, throwing its body towards the right as a massive rock spike took its place.

"Steelix uses Stone Edge! Machoke barely dodges the attack!"

Before the Machoke could recover, another spike protruded from the ground, piercing the Machoke's left leg.

Smashing it with its hands, Machoke stumbles as it attempted to dash towards the Steelix with an injured leg, blood flowing down from the fresh wound.

Its legs suddenly bulked up and shot off faster than it had before, dodging another spike as it rushed towards the Steelix.

The Steelix only scoffed slightly as a massive wall of earth suddenly formed in front of the Machoke.

From the wall, another rock spike shot towards the Machoke.

"Machoke! Use Close Combat!" John heard from the TV, the first audible command in the fight despite the commotion the fight was causing. Every other command had been too quiet to be heard through the TV.

John wondered why Bruno had Machoke use Close Combat, when his eyes suddenly widened as multiple rock spikes suddenly shot towards the Machoke.

The Machoke, now in a desperate situation, quickly took a step back with its left foot before throwing out punches left and right.

The effect was clearly weakened, as the Machoke couldn't pivot to its right leg due to its inury, causing half the attacks to lose most of their effectiveness.

Machoke fended off the rock spikes as best as it could before it suddenly stomped on the ground, lurched forwards, and dug through the ground.

"Machoke uses dig! But it'll have to be careful, as Steelix's-"

Before the announcer can finish, a massive earthquake shakes the arena.

The Machoke hurriedly burst through the surface, injuries visible on its whole body.

Panting, the Machoke darted towards Steelix once again.

Suddenly, a silver light poured out of Steelix's mouth.

The beam of silver light silently made its way to Machoke.

No, it wasn't silent.

It had surpassed the speed of sound itself.

KWANG!

A dust cloud covered the arena as silence took the room.

Once the dust settled, all that was left was a Steelix that was untouched and a knocked out Machoke.

"Wh... What a powerful Flash Cannon! Machoke has been knocked out!"

Bruno scratched the back of his head as he took out his Pokeball. "You did great, Machoke!" He sighed, as the Pokeball shrunk and he hung it on his belt.

"Guess I'm still not strong enough to fight against a League ranked Pokemon, huh?" Bruno said as he approached Flint.

"You're not so bad, you know? I haven't had to use Flash Cannon in a while. Keep improving at this rate, and I'm sure you can easily get into the Indigo League." Flint said as he walked towards Bruno.

"Here's your badge. You earned it, kid." Flint says as he pats Bruno on the shoulder.

"I'll definitely have a rematch against you, you know that?" Bruno said as he took the badge from Flint's hand.

"I'll be looking forward to it."

Bruno smiled before leaving.

"Bruno has impressed Flint and has earned the Boulder Badge! This is now his 5th badge this League! Folks, I haven't seen such speed in progressing the League since Professor Oak himself had his run!" The announcer shouted out, the excitement from the previous battle still on his mind.

John could only stare at the screen.

'I'm... I'm going to become a Pokemon Trainer! The best there ever was!' He decided to himself then and there.

If only things were that simple.