Einar didn't remember much of his life before being born again. His old name, his past family, friends, or important events in his life; he remembered none of them. But what he did remember was a childhood playing games and watching cartoons such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh. As a young adult devouring various animated media such as How to Train Your Dragon 1-3 and a multitude of various anime, including some of the later seasons of Pokémon. His childhood days of watching and playing Pokémon avidly only extended to seasons 1-10 of the anime and up to Black 2/White 2 of the games. The other games and seasons after that, he only saw clips or mentions online.
He supposed that whatever power allowed him to be reborn, whether it be God or the shiny llama of creation Arceus, only deemed his knowledge and memories of being a nerd to remain. While it was a bit annoying to hardly remember anything from his past life, he was definitely grateful for the meta-knowledge and the second chance at life.
Now finding out this was a crossover world definitely wasn't on his bingo card of life. His initial belief that he was in the How to Train Your Dragon universe was shattered as soon as someone rescued him from the lifeboat his mom put him in, that someone being none other than Prof. Oak. The fact that not only was he suddenly an orphan at only a couple months old, but his world had suddenly gotten so much more complicated with the sheer amount of near world-ending events in the anime of Pokémon.
Looking up at the woman with dark reddish-brown hair who now held him close after Prof. Oak explained my circumstances, it was an odd twist of fate that he was being adopted by Delia Ketchum. His thoughts drifted into dreams as the exhaustion of the past day or two set in and the rocking motion of Delia's embrace put him into a deep sleep.
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Four years had come and gone. Einar had, for the most part, acted the part of an infant and toddler without much difficulty, other than the boredom and the humiliation of being unable to control his bladder and bowel movements until he turned two. He and Ash were close, and Einar took it upon himself to look after his adventurous, oftentimes reckless younger brother.
It was the afternoon after they're first day at the local school where they learned the basic four subjects: reading, writing, math, and of course Pokémon. Einar and Ash had ventured out behind Professor Oak's lab, where the grassland and woods were filled with friendly Pokémon who were used to interactions with humans and didn't mind their intrusion.
Ash ran ahead with an excited grin as Einar followed behind at a more measured pace, making sure to keep an eye on the surrounding bushes and trees. Just as he was about to call Ash back before he went too far ahead, Ash called over his shoulder, "Hey, Ein, I think I see a Pidgey! Let's catch it!"
Eyes widening in horror, Einar sees what exactly Ash is pointing to. It was a Pidgey, but it was dead. Probably from Ash's point of view, the Pidgey seemed to be lying down asleep, its head the only thing visible, with everything else obscured by a bush. Wriggling across its form were several Weedle, and a couple of Kakuna hung from the tree above. In a frantic whisper, Einar called out as he ran towards his brother, "Ash, wait!"
A droning, buzz filled the air, and several Beedrill emerged from the surrounding trees. They hovered protectively around the bush that hid the Weedle from Ash's view. The largest one, probably their queen, hissed in protective fury, her stingers at the ready.
Einar made careful strides forward, pulling Ash back slowly, as he raised his hand towards the queen. He could feel the volatile cocktail of emotions radiating from the Queen: her fear, her protectiveness of her young, and her resolve to die if necessary to keep them from harming them. His eyes met her own protective and furious gaze as he said in a reassuring tone, "We're sorry. We mean no harm."
The Beedrill queen looked at the small human in front of her, and yet she couldn't help but feel as if she was looking at a Dragonite's offspring. Underneath the feelings of apology and calm she could feel being projected was a savage pride and resolve, and a shudder of unexpected fear ran down the queen's carapace.
The queen stilled as she slowly lowered her stingers, and taking the obvious cue, Einar began pulling his brother away, whose shoulders were shaking from frightened sobs. Ash eventually quieted as they walked, and Einar hoped this wouldn't become too bad a trauma for the young Ash.
When they made it back to their house, Delia greeted them at the door. As soon as she came into view, Ash ran forward and hugged her tightly, his face buried into her shirt, and Einar thought he was going to cry again and began blaming himself for not being more responsible.
But Ash broke away and launched into a tirade, trying to explain everything that happened all at once. Delia eventually held up her hand for silence after getting the gist of what happened, cutting off Ash, "Ash Ketchum! You went into the forest behind Oak's lab without telling an adult?! What if you'd gotten hurt?"
"But Mom, Ein was there and he saved me from the Beedrill! I was fine." Ash said in protest, as he gave his older brother a glance of admiration and wonder.
Delia turned the death stare that every mom seems to learn on Einar. "And what do you have to say for yourself, young man?"
"She was scared, Mom. The queen wanted to protect her kids. I just told her we weren't going to hurt them." Einar said with a serene smile before dropping his gaze as he clenched his fists. "I'm sorry for putting us in that danger. I should've known better."
Delia knelt quickly, pulling the trembling four-year-old into a tight hug. "It's okay, sweetie. You are safe, that's all that matters." Her voice was soft, her attention entirely on the child's tiny, shaking shoulders, who seemed to bear a sense of responsibility far too heavy for him. But how did he know what the queen wanted? He didn't just understand her. He talked to her. She closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to settle the impossible thought before pressing a kiss to the child's head. I'll ask the professor later, she thought, before continuing to ease her boys' nerves.
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-Prof. Oak's Lab-
Unbeknownst to Einar and family, a certain egg, at about the same time Einar confronted the Beedrill, began to shake, and cracking could be heard from within. But as his encounter came to an end, the egg settled down as if the creature within gave a sigh of relief.
Of course, Oak himself noticed nothing as he sat with his back to it, slurping on cup noodles in between research papers. Oak gave an "Ahh..." as he finished his food, satisfied.