"Bloody hell, this is wicked cool!"
Ron exclaimed, holding a tiny Pichu in his hands, his face full of excitement.
"It's way cuter than Scabbers! And it's yellow! Hermione, do you know what kind of Pokémon this is?"
"I don't," Hermione said as she walked over and crouched in front of him, studying the small Pokémon clutched in Ron's hands. "Actually, this species isn't listed in Pokémon Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition yet."
"But I'd suggest you let it go. Based on the identification principles for unknown Pokémon, judging from its appearance, it's very likely an Electric-type. And by the look on its face, you're holding it too tightly, so there's a chance—"
"Pichu!"
"Ahhh—!"
Before Hermione could finish her sentence, the little Pichu, unable to endure Ron's rough grip any longer, angrily released all the tiny sparks it had been storing up. The sudden jolt shocked Ron badly.
"—there's a chance it might electrocute you," Hermione finished calmly.
"You could've warned me earlier!" Ron complained, frantically shaking his numb hand. Meanwhile, the Pichu used the chance to leap free.
Hermione's reflexes were quick—she caught it gently in her arms.
"I never told you to grab them at random," she said, stroking Pichu's fur.
"Hey, that's not fair! Why doesn't it shock you?" Ron grumbled. Seriously? Even a tiny Pokémon's playing favorites now?
"Maybe because it already discharged all its stored electricity on you? The Professor said these are all newborns."
She was right, of course. Pichu weren't good at storing electricity. Even older ones often leaked small electric charges unconsciously.
"What are you all doing? Look over there—there's a unicorn!" Harry suddenly shouted. "But… I didn't know unicorns could catch fire!"
"Do you ever read your books? That's not a unicorn, that's a Rapidash!" Hermione said sharply, exasperated. She really couldn't understand how her two friends could be so indifferent to all that fascinating knowledge in their textbooks.
"How could anyone ignore such interesting things?" she muttered to herself.
"But—they're horses! And that one has a horn!" Harry protested.
"If you'd look closely, you'd see that only the fully grown Rapidash have horns. The smaller ones—Ponyta—don't. And when unicorns mature, they turn completely white, whereas Rapidash are golden-yellow. Honestly, Harry, your textbooks include both Pokémon Encyclopedia and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Can't you at least read them properly?"
Hermione's tone made Harry flush with embarrassment and irritation, reminding him of how Snape had mocked him last week. How was he supposed to memorize everything from just one read-through?
At that moment, Harry decided Hermione was definitely not his confidant.
Thankfully, Ron broke the tension. "So… you're saying their backs are literally on fire. If someone tries to ride one, won't their bum get burned off?"
"Not if the Rapidash accepts you. Those it recognizes won't feel the heat of its flames," Hermione explained.
"Did you memorize the entire book or something?" Ron stared at her like she was some sort of creature herself. Before she could respond, he looked around. "Hey, where's Neville?"
"Over there—tied up like a pretzel," Harry said helplessly, pointing toward Neville, who hung upside down, tangled tightly in vines.
"Help—help me!" Neville wailed.
"That's a Tangela! Quick, we need to save him!" Hermione cried, rushing over. Harry and Ron scrambled after her.
The three of them tugged at Tangela's vines, but of course, with their strength, they couldn't tear them apart. Their frantic shouting, however, startled the Pokémon, and it released Neville and slithered away into the grass.
They hurried to free Neville from the broken vines.
"Whew—thank you," Neville panted, looking utterly traumatized. "I thought it was stuck in those vines, so I tried to help, and then—"
"Stuck? Hardly. Those vines are part of its body. Tangela's a rather eerie Pokémon, actually," Hermione said, glancing aside uneasily. The Professor—Charles—had included even urban legends in the textbook.
One of those legends told of a Tangela connected to a little girl in red shoes…
"Anyway, let's keep these vines. They might come in handy," Hermione added briskly.
They quickly gathered up the broken tendrils, and Hermione cautioned, "Let's not stray too far. High-level Pokémon could be dangerous for us."
The baby Pokémon under their care included Pichu, Vulpix, Dratini, several generations of Starter Pokémon, and a few others.
These particular species were rare in the reserve and hadn't yet formed stable populations—they were all hatched through incubators, requiring human care.
Pokémon like Rapidash, which already had established herds, could reproduce naturally, and their young were raised by parents.
Of course, this wasn't like the games. The reserve had only been founded a month ago, and no Pokémon had yet been born naturally within it.
"It's amazing," Hermione murmured, still cradling Pichu. "The Professor said most Pokémon develop enough to survive on their own within a week of hatching." She clearly adored the little creature.
Ron, on the other hand, had lost all affection for it after getting zapped.
He gazed dreamily toward the grazing Rapidash herd, imagining himself galloping across the plains on one.
Riding a flaming horse—now that would be bloody hell-level cool.
"Hey, Harry, look! That Pokémon's got a lightning bolt pattern on its belly. That's awesome! You should totally catch one!"
"That's an Electabuzz," Hermione said.
Harry looked at it—and instantly recoiled. Its abstract, zigzag-striped body was frankly bizarre, and its face screamed "no." Worse, it reminded him of the lightning-shaped scar on his own forehead.
He now hated that scar.
Just imagining people seeing him with such a Pokémon and connecting the two made him shudder. He could only thank Merlin that Charles had been the one to discover Pokémon and name them—otherwise, someone might've called it "Harry Potter-mon."
(End of Chapter)