The moment Harry and the others appeared, Litleo, Ponyta, and Pichu immediately broke away from their groups and dashed toward them.
The sight made the other students — especially those jealous Slytherins — grind their teeth in envy. Some even raised their Poké Balls, eager to snatch the Pokémon before Harry's group could.
Ordinarily, Draco Malfoy would've been the first to join in such mischief. But surprisingly, he didn't. In fact, his next words stopped several Slytherins mid-throw.
"Spare me," he sneered. "Don't tell me you're actually planning to waste one of your six precious Poké Balls on that? A mangy lion cub, a yellow electric rat, and a stubby pony that's literally on fire? You'd embarrass the entire House just walking around with those."
He flicked his robes arrogantly. "As for me, I'm going after an Ekans. Any extra Poké Balls I've got are for Dragon-types only."
Draco strutted away, looking utterly self-satisfied. Despite being a first-year, his essay 'My Godfather the Head of House and My Father the School Governor' had already made him popular among the older Slytherins.
After his remark, no one else from Slytherin dared to approach the small Pokémon. Really — the thought of a Slytherin parading around with a lion cub was almost nauseating.
As for the other Houses, none of them would dream of stealing someone else's Pokémon. So, the three little Pokémon quickly reached Harry and his friends.
Litleo and Pichu leapt straight into Harry's and Hermione's arms respectively, while the slightly larger Ponyta barreled into Ron, knocking him to the ground before affectionately rubbing its flaming head against him.
Hermione carefully stroked Pichu's soft ears, taking care to avoid its electric sacs — the last thing she wanted was to end up paralyzed.
"How have you been these past two days?" she asked gently. "I never got the chance to thank you for helping us. Without you three, we might not have survived that fight with the troll."
"Pichu! Pichu!" the little Pokémon squeaked, waving its tiny limbs energetically. Even though Hermione couldn't understand its words, its joy was plain to see.
"So," she said with a smile, taking out a Poké Ball, "would you like to come with me?"
Hermione didn't force it — if Pichu preferred life in the reserve, she'd let it stay.
But Pichu didn't hesitate for a second. It reached out, pressed the Poké Ball's button, and disappeared inside in a flash of red light.
Meanwhile, Ponyta had fished out a Poké Ball from Ron's backpack and captured itself without waiting for an invitation. It hadn't forgotten how Ron's magical surge and quick thinking had saved it from the troll's hammer days ago. This trainer — it approved of.
"Yes! I caught Ponyta!" Ron exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "See that, Harry? I was first!"
"Sorry, I beat you to it," Hermione said smugly, releasing Pichu, who perched proudly on her shoulder.
Harry was genuinely happy for both of them — but he couldn't let himself fall behind.
He lifted Litleo high, then set it down again, gazing at it with all the earnestness in his heart.
"Litleo," he said softly, "we've fought side by side. Would you be my Pokémon?"
Litleo tilted its head, clearly puzzled by his serious tone.
"If you agree," Harry continued, "don't resist." He tossed his Poké Ball gently toward it.
But just as he expected the capture beam to work — Litleo twisted midair, kicked its hind legs out, and launched the Poké Ball right back at him.
The ball spun in the air and smacked Harry square in the face, bending his glasses and making his nose sting.
"Ow—! What was that for, Litleo? Don't you want to be my partner?" he groaned, rubbing his nose.
Ron and Hermione looked over.
"Maybe it thought you were playing catch?" Hermione suggested. "Cats do that sort of thing all the time."
But her theory didn't hold up for long — because right after punting Harry's Poké Ball away, Litleo bounded up to Hermione, tail wagging, and voluntarily jumped into one of her spare Poké Balls.
Harry: …
For a moment, Harry couldn't process what had just happened. His Litleo… had just become Hermione's Pokémon.
But I was first! he thought desperately. I was the one who made contact with the Pyroar pride! I was the one who befriended Litleo! Even the chapter about Litleo was supposed to be mine!
So why…?
For the first time, Harry had found both a Pokémon he truly liked and a person he wanted to share happiness with — and somehow, both of those joys had overlapped. It should've been a dream come true… but instead, it hurt.
Why had it turned out like this?
This… this felt like emotional betrayal — a true cuckolding by Pokémon.
Harry couldn't understand it, but Charles, who had been watching from a distance, certainly could.
"Looks like Litleo favors Hermione's command skills," Charles mused.
"During the troll fight, she coordinated Pichu to paralyze it, then had Litleo strike the finishing blow. That image of her leading the charge probably left a deep impression. So while Litleo may be closer to you personally, as a trainer... it prefers Hermione."
"But I'm the top student in our year!" Harry protested.
Hermione immediately looked guilty. "I'm so sorry, Harry, I didn't mean—"
"It's fine. I'm not angry," Harry said, shaking his head.
He was still just a first-year, but far more mature than he'd be in his teenage years. It wasn't Hermione's fault — if anything, he owed her his life.
"Maybe we can find you another Pokémon," Ron suggested quickly. "How about a Charmander? Its evolution's Charizard — that'd be so cool!"
Harry smiled faintly and nodded, shaking off his gloom.
"What about you, Wood?" he asked. "Any plans?"
Oliver Wood scratched his chin. "Not sure yet. How about a Pidgey? If only I could get its Keen Eye ability, finding the Golden Snitch would be easy."
Harry laughed. "You seriously think I could have Pokémon abilities?"
"Fair point," Wood conceded.
"Maybe we should head farther out," said Fred and George eagerly, eyes gleaming.
The plains stretched endlessly, but the distant snow-capped mountains and the desert beyond looked far more enticing.
"Not today," Wood sighed. "We don't have brooms, remember? On foot, we'd never make it before nightfall."
At that, the twins instantly abandoned Wood like two opportunistic rogues and went to tag along with a seventh-year student instead.
(End of Chapter)