"Don't get too close to those Electabuzz—their energy levels are high, and their bodies constantly discharge electricity." Hermione spoke with the authority of a seasoned Pokémon expert.
"All right, let's focus on cleaning these babies," she continued. "They've all gotten rather dirty."
"Maybe the Scourgify spell will work," Ron suggested, drawing his somewhat battered wand. "Scourgify!"
The Mudkip playing in the mud looked up at him, blinked, and promptly went back to playing.
In short—Magikarp (Ron) used Splash (Scourgify), but nothing happened.
"Are you sure you've even learned that spell?" Hermione asked, her tone sharp and her eyes scrutinizing. "You couldn't cast a single spell properly on the train two weeks ago either."
"Shut it, Hermione. No one asked you," Ron snapped, flushing red. By now, he—like Harry—had abandoned any notion of treating Hermione as 'one of the lads.'
Ron's failure wasn't entirely his fault. The newly hatched Mudkip's Special Defense wasn't the best, but Ron's own magic reserves were still low, and his wand didn't help either. It was no surprise his spells lacked power.
So the group had to clean the Pokémon by hand.
The Water-types were delighted, splashing around happily. But the Fire-type starters were much less cooperative—especially Charmander and Chimchar, who refused to let even a drop of water touch them.
After half a day of work, Hermione finally took matters into her own hands and cast Scourgify herself. Of course, she succeeded on the first try.
By evening, Charles brought out some cake and milk for everyone, along with freshly cooked fried eggs. The eggs, he explained, came from Chansey—one of the rarer Pokémon in the Reserve.
Generally speaking, the eggs that Chansey lays are unfertilized and no different from regular edible eggs. They can't hatch Pokémon, but they're extremely nutritious—and delicious.
When the group finally left Charles's office, they were still reminiscing about the taste.
"Hagrid was right. If this is detention, we should get into trouble more often! Nothing's better than Professor Gold's Pokémon Reserve!" Ron said enthusiastically.
For them, the afternoon hadn't been punishment at all—it was pure joy. Caring for Pokémon felt more like playing with a bunch of cute kittens and puppies, and on top of that, the food was incredible.
Detention?This was paradise!
"I wonder if detentions from other professors are this fun," Ron mused.
"I can tell you right now, Professor Snape's won't be," Harry said firmly. Perhaps because the term had only just begun, he still respectfully called Snape "Professor."
"Honestly, you two should take this more seriously," Hermione scolded. "The professor was far too lenient with you as it is!"
"Oh, come on," Ron grumbled. "It's not like this was all my fault! Malfoy started it! Besides, you enjoyed those fried eggs just as much as we did! If you're that righteous, next time you can skip eating them!"
"That's not the point at all—and Professor said—"
"Save it, Hermione," Ron cut her off. "Professor Gold did way worse when he was our age—took down hundreds of Slytherin students in his second year, didn't he? We just had an unfinished duel!"
With that, Ron grabbed Harry by the arm and stormed off.
Hermione glared at their backs, her frustration bubbling over—and turned it on Neville instead.
"So, what about you? Do you think the same?"
Neville blinked. What? Me? How did I get dragged into this?"Uh… I—I…"
Hermione sighed. "Never mind. This has nothing to do with you. You're the only innocent one here."
——
After the trio left, Charles finally remembered something important—he hadn't yet claimed the reward for setting up the security system around the Philosopher's Stone. Although he hadn't completely finished the defenses, it seemed the system had already marked the task as complete.
Well, fair enough. Aside from Hagrid's three-headed dog, the other obstacles were laughably weak. Including Devil's Snare in the lineup was practically an act of surrender.
"Ten Great Ball-tier gacha draws… That's a generous reward," Charles muttered, rubbing his hands together.
The system's reward tiers were divided into Poké Ball, Great Ball, Ultra Ball, and the highest—Master Ball level. The Master Ball-tier rewards could even include Legendary or Mythical Pokémon-related prizes.
Though the Great Ball level was only one step above Poké Ball, it still had a good chance of yielding valuable items.
Without hesitation, Charles initiated a tenfold pull.
Ten Great Balls dropped from the gacha machine with a clatter.
[Congratulations! You've obtained: TM—Giga Drain! Drains the target's energy to attack and restores HP equal to half the damage dealt.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: TM—Ancient Power! Attacks with ancient energy; may raise all stats.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: TM—Swift! Launches star-shaped rays that never miss.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Ability—Overcoat! Prevents damage from sandstorms and powder or spore-based moves.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: TM—Overheat! Unleashes all-out firepower to attack; sharply lowers user's Special Attack afterward.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Item—Berserk Gene! Boosts the user's Attack but causes confusion.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Pokédex—Johto Region Complete Unlock (excluding Legendary and Mythical Pokémon).]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Item—Dragon Fang! A sharp, hard fang that boosts the power of Dragon-type moves.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Item—Full Fertilizer Set! Greatly accelerates Berry growth speed.]
[Congratulations! You've obtained: Item—Jaw Fossil! A fossil from an ancient Pokémon that once lived on land—appears to be part of a massive jaw.]
When the ten draws were over, Charles couldn't help but smile in surprise.
The only Ability—Overcoat—wasn't particularly useful, but it wasn't bad either.
The TMs, however, were excellent. Giga Drain allowed him to sap opponents' strength to heal himself; Ancient Power had the potential to boost all his stats; even Swift had the invaluable trait of never missing.
Their power levels weren't high, but their utility was immense.
As for Overheat—despite its formidable 130 base power—Charles wasn't too impressed.
What truly excited him were the Johto Pokédex unlock and the Jaw Fossil.
"This means I can expand the Reserve's Pokémon roster again. Although there's quite a bit of overlap between the Johto and Kanto Pokédex, and I've already unlocked parts of other regions, it still adds a good number of new species."
(End of Chapter)