Harry and his friends followed Oliver Wood as they wandered through the Pokémon Reserve. Although failing to capture the Litleo was a bit of a disappointment for him, there were still plenty of Pokémon around to choose from.
"Honestly, I kind of want to catch a Charizard," Ron said.
His words immediately gained the others' agreement. Among the three Starter Pokémon species they had learned about so far, Charizard definitely looked the coolest.
"But we don't even know where Charizard's habitat is," said Wood, who was clearly tempted but recognized the practical problem.
"Oh, that's not hard to guess," Hermione suddenly spoke up. "Pokémon like Charizard wouldn't live somewhere lush or damp. There's a high chance they dwell in rocky or arid regions—like a desert or badlands."
"Fair point. But how do we even get there?"
Ron thought for a bit before offering a suggestion. "I've got an idea… though I'm not sure it'll work."
The others all looked at him curiously.
"Maybe we could ride the Ponyta herd there," Ron said as he released his Ponyta. "I mean, I don't know if it'll actually work—but it's worth a try, right?"
"You mean having your Ponyta convince the rest of its herd?" Hermione seemed genuinely surprised Ron could come up with such a clever plan.
"It's called Nimbus! Its name is Nimbus!" Ron immediately corrected her. Clearly, he was still obsessed with flying brooms.
He probably didn't realize that broom models got replaced faster than new iPhones—within a couple of years, even the Nimbus series would be obsolete.
"Alright then, let Nimbus give it a try. Even if that doesn't work, we can always catch a Pidgey. Its evolved form, Pidgeot, is a great flyer. Professor Gold has one, and honestly, it's faster than a Nimbus 2000."
Harry quickly forgot his earlier disappointment. With such a vast forest in the Reserve, why brood over one missed Litleo?
I, Harry Potter, have moved on like a true gentleman!
Before long, Ron's Ponyta returned—this time with two larger Ponyta and even a Rapidash in tow.
"They agreed?"
"Looks like it," Ron replied, still a bit stunned himself.
Hermione stepped forward and cautiously reached her hand toward one Ponyta's fiery mane.
"It's not hot at all! They accept us!"
Seeing this, Harry and the others quickly moved forward to stroke the Ponyta's smooth backs.
Wood, however, went straight for the Rapidash and swung himself onto its back.
"I've got an idea—why don't we just catch them instead?" he said eagerly.
That remark, however, thoroughly offended the Rapidash.
You brat! Letting you ride me is already generous—and now you want to capture me?Oh, hell no—get off!
The towering Rapidash reared angrily, hooves striking the air before slamming down hard. In one swift motion, it threw Wood off its back.
Wood hit the ground face-first, eating dirt. Thankfully, Quidditch players were built tough.
"You made it angry!"
"I'm sorry! I said I'm sorry!" Wood groaned, clutching his backside. "Can we please just move on to the badlands already?"
Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy, strutting arrogantly as usual, was searching for signs of Ekans.
Unfortunately, he didn't seem to understand much about Pokémon ecology. Ekans typically preyed on small Pokémon and occasionally on berries, rabbits, or rodents—so they were most commonly found in dense forests, not open grasslands.
The plains weren't devoid of them, but their numbers were much lower.
After searching for nearly half an hour without success, Draco was starting to lose his patience.
Still, it could've been worse—at least he hadn't gone around throwing Poké Balls at random Pokémon like some of the other Slytherins with him. Those poor idiots had wasted several balls with nothing to show for it.
A missed throw wasn't the end of the world, since they could retrieve the ball and reuse it. But once a Pokémon broke it, there was no saving it.
One particularly unlucky seventh-year Slytherin had thought he could handle a Purugly. He drew his wand to challenge it directly—and got absolutely demolished. In his panic, he threw out his Poké Ball, which the enraged Purugly promptly shredded with Fury Swipes.
Now that same unlucky student had been hired by Malfoy as his hired muscle—for the grand payment of one Poké Ball. After all, Draco, a spoiled young wizard who could barely cast a handful of spells, knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he ran into an Ekans alone.
"Over here, Barnard! I saw a purple shadow just now!"
Draco suddenly shouted, sprinting toward where he'd seen movement. He raised his wand and fired a weak flash of light—completely harmless.
"Stupefy!"
Barnard, the Slytherin he'd hired, reacted quickly. He swung his wand and released a streak of red light.
The Pokémon hit by the spell was sent tumbling through the air, rolling twice before landing on the ground.
However, the rushed Stunning Spell hadn't been strong enough to knock it out. The Pokémon shook its head, then glared at them with a fierce, angry expression.
It wasn't an Ekans—but a Purrloin, a Dark-type Pokémon from the Unova Region.
"Huh? Never seen this one before. Looks weak, though," Draco said, frowning.
He knew Professor Gold's Reserve housed many Pokémon not yet recorded in their textbooks, and he was curious about them. Owning one of those rare Pokémon would definitely earn him bragging rights back at Hogwarts.
Still, this Purrloin didn't look impressive.
"Forget it. Goyle and Crabbe haven't joined the club yet, so we might as well get them a Pokémon each. Barnard, handle it."
Barnard lifted his wand high, adopting a textbook casting stance.
But before the wand tip could even glow, the Purrloin darted forward like a bolt of lightning. Its small paw suddenly filled his vision before smacking straight across Barnard's face.
The surprise strike disrupted his casting completely.
And the Purrloin wasn't done. After slapping him silly, it noticed the wands in their hands. With a flick of its tail, it lashed Barnard's wrist, knocking the wand clean out of his grip.
Then, twisting its body midair with feline agility, it caught the wand in its mouth and leapt away.
Disarming Spell—Pokémon style.
The whole exchange happened in an instant. Draco didn't even register what happened—and neither did Barnard, aside from the burning pain in his cheek and wrist that screamed of humiliation.
"AAARGH!"
"You filthy beast, give me back my wand!" Barnard bellowed. Unlike the pure-blooded and wealthy Draco, Barnard was a half-blood from a poor family. Getting a new wand would cost a fortune.
But the Purrloin was even angrier than him. It had been peacefully eating berries and humming to itself, when suddenly these two shameless wizards had attacked it out of nowhere.
Two dishonorable creeps—ambushing a small, innocent Pokémon like it! Was that fair? No, it was not!
Fighting and ambushes were common in the Pokémon world—but calling it weak? That crossed the line!
(End of Chapter)