Two Fire-type Pokémon faced off, sparks of heat shimmering between them. Harry took a deep breath—then, to everyone's surprise, pulled out his wand.
"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron exclaimed.
"I'm going to use a bit of magic to help Houndour," Harry said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Although first-year wizards weren't allowed to join battles directly, it wasn't forbidden for them to cast a few spells from afar.
Charles had always advocated integrating Pokémon training into wizarding life, but that didn't mean abandoning magic entirely.
If one possessed magical power—why not use it?
"Good idea!" Ron said, quickly pulling out his brand-new wand.
Judging by the gleam, he'd been taking good care of it. He couldn't afford wand-maintenance polish, but that didn't stop him—he simply borrowed some without paying.
In truth, though, neither of them knew any particularly strong spells.
For first-year students, the only offensive spell they might manage was the Fire-Making Spell.
Hermione had mastered it last term. For Harry and Ron, however, it wasn't so easy.
So the two decided to try something simpler—their most familiar charm.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
A flick of magic struck Magby's body. Its toes lifted ever so slightly—then thudded right back down.
"No effect?"
"Most Pokémon have strong resistance to magic," Charles said with a chuckle. "For wizards like you, whose magical reserves are still weak, your spells won't have much impact on them."
If it were an offensive spell, that might be different—strong intent to attack could amplify magical force and increase the chance of damaging a Pokémon. But charms like the Levitation Charm required stable, abundant magic to succeed—and these two hardly met that standard.
As Charles explained, Harry and Ron grew visibly anxious. Unfortunately, the enemy wasn't going to wait for them to figure things out.
"Magby, use Smog! Elekid, Swift!"
The two Pokémon moved in perfect sync—poisonous fumes burst forth while golden stars shot across the battlefield!
"Houndour, dodge it!"
"Dodge, Roundy!"
Houndour snarled and leapt back, retreating into clearer air. But the thick mist continued to spread.
Ron and his Sandshrew had it even harder.
Sandshrew rolled its body to dodge, spinning rapidly across the ground—but the golden stars from Swift followed like guided missiles.
"How's that possible?" Ron shouted.
Even Hermione, acting as referee, grew tense. "Idiot! Don't you know Swift never misses?"
Never misses?
What kind of move was that?
Ron froze.
"I told you to read more!" Hermione huffed.
Ron refused to take the scolding quietly. "Nobody but you reads those books over and over!"
"Oh yeah? Percy does!" Hermione retorted.
"Can you two not argue right now?" Harry snapped, irritated.
As the smog spread, Houndour's range of movement shrank further.
At the same time, Sandshrew was having an even harder time dodging in the murky air.
It risked a glance backward mid-roll—only to find the golden stars still closing in.
Bloody hell!
The Swift attack was still chasing it!
"Wait!" Ron suddenly had an idea.
"Roundy, dig underground!"
Sandshrew hadn't learned the move Dig, but digging was second nature to its species. It might not deal damage, but it could still burrow.
It was like Flying-types using their wings to soar through the air—anyone could do that (right, Teracrystal Groudon?)—but unless the move contained Flying-type energy, it wasn't really Fly.
Obeying Ron's order, Sandshrew slashed its claws into the earth, quickly carving out a tunnel and vanishing belowground.
The Swift attack lost its target and began spinning aimlessly in the air.
Ron smirked and arched his brow at Hermione.
"Sure-hit move? Yeah, right!"
There's no such thing as an absolutely accurate move!
And for once—Ron was right.
True, Swift was guaranteed to hit under normal conditions, but if the target escaped too far away or underground, the move naturally dissipated.
However, that wasn't the case this time.
The stars whirled midair, as if sensing their target's location—then dove straight into Sandshrew's burrow!
Ron's confidence crumbled. "Roundy! Get out of there!"
But shouting through solid earth did little good.
Boom!
A dull thud followed as the ground caved in, collapsing the tunnel.
Ron winced helplessly.
"I told you so," Hermione said, fuming at his foolishness.
If it were her, she would've known exactly how to deal with both problems.
Swift might be a sure-hit move—like the effect of Lock-On—but if you intercepted it mid-flight, you could block it.
She would've fired a concentrated burst of magic from her wand, not even needing a full incantation.
And as for Harry's problem—the smog—easy.
A simple Scouring Charm could clear it away. Magic was a power of will; clearing mist to make the air fresh was exactly what the Scouring Charm could accomplish. Pokémon might resist spells directly, but that didn't apply to their attacks!
But other attempts—like treating an enemy's attack itself as "filth" to cleanse—rarely worked. Subconscious limits got in the way.
She knew the methods but kept silent—she was the referee, after all. It wouldn't be fair to interfere.
So she said nothing.
If Harry and Ron paid half as much attention in class as she did, they'd have figured something out by now.
Magic was so useful—
"Magic is so useless!"
Harry fumed inwardly.
Without enough power, his spells barely worked on Pokémon. Magic was such an inconvenient thing!
If magic had limits, then fine—Harry Potter would abandon it!
He holstered his wand, eyes blazing like a lion's as he glared at Charles's Magby.
"Ron, we'll have to work together!" he shouted.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Ron nodded.
His Sandshrew hadn't resurfaced, likely fainted underground.
Charles ordered Mr. Mime to locate it with psychic power and pull it out.
Ron returned Sandshrew to its ball and sent out his Ponyta instead.
The smog had already dispersed in the open air of the training reserve, and the battle resumed as it began.
But Ron had already lost one Pokémon, and Harry's Pikachu was poisoned.
"The professor's really incredible—way beyond the other teachers," Harry admitted.
In terms of battle command, Charles left the rest of Hogwarts staff far behind.
Still, those professors were veterans from wartime—they knew timing and tactics well enough not to be completely outclassed by their students.
"Harry, I've got an idea," Ron said calmly. "One of us should distract him while the other attacks."
A classic chess strategy—one piece to bait, one to strike.
"Easier said than done. The professor has two Pokémon," Harry frowned—but then, an idea struck him.
"What about Double Team?"
Among his three Pokémon, only Pikachu knew that move.
But Pikachu wasn't in good shape...
Before he could decide, Ron spoke firmly.
"I'll be the bait." He looked at his Ponyta seriously. "Your Houndour knows Howl, right? Mine can use Agility."
"But—"
"No buts. That's the plan. Ponyta, Agility!"
The Fire Horse bolted forward, mane blazing like a comet trail of orange light.
Seeing that, Harry immediately ordered, "Houndour, Howl!"
Their teamwork finally started to look a little better.
Still, they were far too green. Were it not for the level restrictions, Charles might've given them a true taste of a double battle.
Even so, he decided to take them seriously.
"Oh? Speed boost, huh?"
"Elekid, Thunder Wave!"
Elekid thrust out its arm—arcs of golden electricity shot forward, striking the charging Ponyta!
Even with boosted speed, paralysis was a nightmare.
The fire horse froze mid-stride, small jolts of current crackling across its body.
"Thunder Punch!"
Elekid grinned, slamming its fists together as lightning flared between them—the plug-like horns atop its head sparking with intense current.
Its fists shimmered with energy, crackling like a Chidori from a ninja manga—before slamming straight into Ponyta!
The impact sent the Fire-type flying.
"Ponyta!" Ron cried out in panic.
Harry hesitated, considering joining the fight—only for Magby to launch another attack.
"Clear Smog!"
Two purple projectiles shot forward, striking both Ponyta and Houndour.
Instantly, a blue aura rippled over them.
"Their stat boosts have been reset…" Hermione said, sounding utterly deflated.
All that effort—nullified in seconds. Worse, Ponyta was now paralyzed.
The gap between sides was enormous—not in Pokémon level, but in trainer experience.
But that was only natural. Expecting Harry and Ron to rival a professor was absurd.
"Ron, got any other plans?" Harry asked helplessly.
"Nope. Guess we're done for," Ron sighed.
Still, they didn't give up until the end.
Ten minutes later, both their Pokémon lay fainted.
"Pikachu and Houndour are unable to battle. The professor wins!"
"Well done, Inferno. You fought bravely."
"You too, Pikachu—you did your best," Harry said softly.
Their gentle encouragement mirrored exactly what Charles had taught them.
Positive words after defeat helped build confidence and strengthen bonds. It was even written in Charles's "Pokémon Battle Manual," an appendix of the Pokémon Encyclopedia.
The manual also included instructions on throwing Poké Balls, etiquette, and classic commands like "Dodge it!" and "Hang in there!"—the so-called sacred phrases of battle.
"Professor, you're amazing," Harry sighed. "We couldn't even beat your Elekid and Magby."
It wasn't just a loss—it was a total rout.
Even with six Pokémon combined, they hadn't forced him to reveal a third.
"If you'd studied harder, you wouldn't be struggling like this," Hermione scolded.
"Don't look so gloomy," Charles said with a grin. "I was using my full strength against you."(That was a lie.)
Humans and Pokémon were alike—arrogance required humbling, but defeat required encouragement.
"Honestly, you were just a hair's breadth away from beating me," he said, flashing them a finger-gun gesture and handing each of them a badge.
Naïve as ever, Harry and Ron took them happily.
Once they left Charles's office, Ron was practically glowing.
"From today onward, we're the trainers who almost beat the professor! Just wait till we wipe the floor with Snape next time!"
Hermione rolled her eyes.
Even an idiot could tell the professor had gone easy on them—but of course, those two believed every word.
Beat the professor?
They could start by getting past his first two Pokémon!
(End of Chapter)