Harry Potter and the Monsters in his Pocket.
Customary disclaimer: The author of this self-indulgent cattle faeces has no claim to the various featured commercial franchises(harry potter, pokemon, ect) ,they are the property of which ever entities that legally own them.
Chapter 1: the journey begins.
"Welcome to the world of pokémon. I am Professor Eucalypt and this is what we call a pokémon."
The pokémon Professor threw a red and white ball in the air and in a flash of light and a large pink animal appeared.
"This vast world is inhabited by these creatures known as pokémon, we humans live alongside them as friendly playmates and stalwart companions. Sometimes we form strong relationships by grouping together and battling others and you all are here to do just that by competing in the Britannia Pokémon League Tournament!"
Dudley looked as though he could hardly contain his excitement, he was actually bouncing in his seat. Harry couldn't blame him, they were about to embark on the greatest quest of their ten year long lives.
They were going to become pokémon trainers, travel the world,earn the admiration of their peers and, Harry hoped make some friends.
"Today you will be receiving your first pokemon and taking the initial steps at forming a lasting bond that will carry you both through the countless trials ahead of you. Your pokemon is more than a tool of competition, they are your companions and friends and will stick by you no matter what. You had better do the same for them."
Harry wondered what pokémon he would get. Typically new trainers got to choose between a fire, water or grass type and Harry had no idea which he preferred, fire types tended to be offensively powerful but also tended to set things on fire, water types also had high offensive strength but their attacks often involved water and aunt petunia wouldn't appreciate her carpet being ruined and grass types... Harry wasn't good at gardening.
"You will also be meeting your mentors for the first time although technically you won't be assigned to one until tomorrow, these veteran and ace trainers will do their best to guide you. They will teach you how to catch and care for your pokémon. Be sure to listen to them even if you don't follow their advice, it may prove useful to you later on.
You can see behind me that there are a series of pens in the arena that currently hold your future partners and dispersed amongst them are the members of the mentor program who are there to distribute the pokémon, help you make your selection and help me record said choice. Tomorrow we'll be having a series of battles so that you can show off your abilities to any prospective mentors."
The woman that was addressing the amassed new trainers stopped talking and Harry was too engrossed in his contemplations to notice. He still didn't know what he was going to choose, even if he finally decided on what type to get he still had to decide on the species. The British league tournament rules allowed for rookie trainers to begin their journey with any pokémon that conformed with the internationally agreed rules for starter pokémon, most other leagues simplified the choice by only allowing for one species of each type for beginners.
"That means that you can pick your partners now!"
The pokémon professor's shout led to the crowd of soon to be pokemon trainers surging out of the stadium stands and towards the field in the centre that housed a grouping of pokémon enclosures with many mid/late teenagers and a few adults tending to the detained pokémon.
Harry followed his cousin, Dudley down the stairs that lead out of the stands and into the main entrance of the stadium where Dudley stopped, looked around and asked "Where's a map?"
In order to answer his cousin's question Harry too combed the immediate area with his eyes and did not locate a map of any description, but he did notice that throngs of his peers were migrating down a corridor that had signage indicating that it lead to the competitors entrance and thus the competition field of the stadium.
"No map, but I think we can get to the arena through there." Harry said using his index finger to indicate the intended passage.
"That's where everyone else is going."
SCENEBREAKER
The stadium looked quite different from the playing field, the field itself was about the size and shape of a tennis pitch but felt much larger when standing upon it. The empty stands felt like they were both far away and close by. The morning sun shining through the open roof illuminated the three temporary partitions that served to separate the various starter pokemon by type with the grass types inhabiting the closest enclosure, naturally Harry skipped it.
Harry decided that he would see if he was compatible with any of the water type pokemon as they were the least likely to cause serious damage to an entire house or die while under his care... but none of them liked him. After the blue frog like pokémon he initially encountered spat bubbles in his face, the others of it's species followed suit and shortly after all of the pokemon in the pen used him as target practice for their 'bubble' or 'water gun' attacks which in turn caused the older trainers present to release their more mature pokemon to rescue him from the overexcited younglings. Soaking wet and sporting a few welts from powerfully bursting bubbles, Harry moved towards the fire pen in the hopes that the slightly higher temperature in that area would help him dry off faster.
The fire pokémon's enclosure was situated at the opposite end from where harry entered the arena and it's population consisted of pokémon who's colouration resembled fire or they literally were on fire.
As Harry entered, he searched for a good place to sit down and dry off and eventually opted to sit in the far corner with his back against the arena wall above which stood the spectator seating.
He sat with his back against the wall and contemplated his present situation, wet, in pain and surrounded by fire breathing fox-thingies. If only Dudley hadn't insisted that harry be his rival and didn't badger Uncle Vernon into making Harry get his pokémon trainers licence or signing up for this crazy tournament... One of the foxes was nudging his hand, it probably wanted have it's head scratched... He could be safe, at home, in his cupboard, starving, neglected and alone... With that weird purple shadow thing that whispers to him at night... Was it a pokemon? And what was it trying to say to him?
"I think she likes you."
The voice cut off Harry's tangent.
Reality spawning around him, Harry managed to look up with a polite " I'm sorry?"
Above him stood a boy with long reddish blonde hair, wearing a blue hooded jumper and a smile.
"That fennekin in your lap, she likes you."
Harry looked back down at the critter who's ear he was playing with.
"How do you know?"
"Fennekin vent hot air out their ears, the fact that she hasn't burnt you yet says it all."
The other boy held a clipboard with his left hand and in his right held a pen.
" so, what ya gunna name 'er?"
He'd just assumed that harry would take the fennekin in question and Harry couldn't think of a good reason not to, she had after all made no attempt to harm him so... why not?
Harry said the first name that came to his head "Eve."
"Eve it is. And your name?"
"Harry Potter" supplied Harry
"Alrighty Harry, I'll just get Eve's pokèball and something for her to nibble on and ya can both be on ya way." The teen-aged boy said before making his way to where ever the starter pokémon's portable containment devices were, leaving Harry and his new friend Eve the fennekin alone for a short period.
Harry continued to pet the fox pokémon and resumed his musings, however he abandoned his thoughts about the purple shadow thing in his cupboard and returned to his original thoughts of how he came to be a rookie trainer in the pokémon league. Harry, along with his cousin Dudley were the two best pokemon battlers in their class at school back in Little Whinging. Both he and his cousin often found themselves in the top tiers of the school's in house competitions(using the school owned pokemon) but often had behavioural problems, Dudley was a regular distraction in class, Harry often didn't complete his school work, both had been caught on the roof of school buildings and neither were very good academically. It was the school principal that originally proposed the idea that they become pokemon trainers in an interview with Dudleys parents(who also happened to be Harry's guardians), Vernon and Petunia proclaimed their son the next pokémon master and locked their nephew in his cupboard with the purple thing for being a no good lout.
Harry would never have been a pokémon trainer if it weren't for his cousin, who insisted that Harry was the only person worthy of being his rival, threatened to become a hairdresser if harry weren't allowed to fulfil that role and pestered his father incessantly. Eventually Uncle Vernon crumbled and took both Harry and Dudley to the stadium that was pokemon league headquarters in London where they passed their trainers exam, were issued licenses and where Harry was currently sitting with his newly acquired companion.
The boy in the blue hoodie swiftly returned and handed Harry a red and white spheric capsule and a bag of small twig like treats labelled 'Poké-Schmackies' before declaring that Harry was 'all-set' and heading off to 'attend to another newbie trainer'.
Harry stored Eve in her pokèball and went to find Dudley.
SCENEBREAKER
Dudley had a chespin named Chester. Chester the chespin was a happy little brown and green mammalian Pocket monster of the grass persuasion with an excitable disposition and a habit of mimicking his trainers gestures. He was the antithesis of Harry's fennekin , Eve was content to just be near Harry rather than emulate him and liked to sleep in as had been discovered when she repeatedly tried to go back to sleep the morrow after the day that harry first received her and ultimately thwarted her trainers efforts to rouse her.
Harry left the room that he shared with his cousin at the pokemon centre that sat across the road from the league's Stadium HQ where they attended their orientation with the Pokémon League. He walked down the heavily windowed hallway feeling rather triumphant at having discovered that a pokémon did not need to be awake to be recalled into their pokèball and hoping that Eve would rouse herself in time for them to have their first battle as partners. He wanted to attract a good mentor and was certain that meant that he had to make a spectacle of himself by showing talent rather than a dozing fennekin.
Harry also hoped that his first battle wouldn't be against Dudley so that he actually could try to win... and not cause his aunt and uncle to accuse him of cheating or some other form of misconduct.
Why did they favour Dudley any way? Surely, having raised him since his fathers demise and his mothers subsequent nervous breakdown they would be proud of Harry and his achievements as well but the closest thing he got to praise from them was a casual comment about his agility when Vernon's sister, 'Aunt' Marge had set her poochyena on him. Dudley on the other hand had an almost divine status to them, the only flaw that he had from his parents point of view was that he had respect for Harry and that meant that Harry had to endure accusations of being a corrupting influence and punishments that stemmed from that whenever Dudley was caught engaging in mischief.
Harry turned at the end of a hallway and proceeded down another towards a set of stairs.
Was it something Harry did to earn their ire or did it have to do with his Parents and their apparent wealth? At least Harry thought that the Potters were wealthy given that the few times that Uncle Vernon mentioned Harry's father he called him a 'pampered layabout that never worked a day in his life!' amongst other varying insults concerning laziness. Yes, that was it! Harry's uncle was jealous that Harry's dad was born into wealth and Aunt Petunia was jealous that her sister managed to marry a man with financial stature and they both took it out on Harry by treating him like he was worthless!
With that Harry descended the stairs into the pokémon centre main lobby, turned right and entered an open doorway to access the cafeteria.
The pokémon centre cafeteria was full of trainers, those that weren't in line at the buffet were congregated in groups around the various tables that furnished the vast room conversing as they broke their overnight fasting.
Harry joined the buffet line and collected a plate, today he was going to have a big breakfast so that he had enough energy to do his best!. He filled his plate with scrambled eggs, three rashers of bacon and a large mushroom than found a seat at an empty table.
He was halfway through his bacon and eggs when he was joined by Dudley who had an enormous amount of food on his plate .
"what was that desperate pleading about this morning?" he asked as he sat opposite Harry.
"Eve didn't want to get up this morning," Harry replied "Why do you have so much food?"
"Chester needs to eat too you know, besides we have a very inportant battle today and we need to keep up our energy reserves" Dudley answered Harry's counter question simultaneously with Chester appearing on the table top and plunging his little chipmunky face into Dudley's pile of scrambled eggs.
"fair enough" Harry acknowledged and went back to his own meal...
"It's about time you woke up." he said despondently to the orange fennec that was lapping up the last dregs of his eggs. Harry had to look up what fennekin usually ate, it couldn't be healthy for her to eat human food all of the time and it couldn't be good for him to share his meals especially considering all of the other pokémon that would undoubtedly join them over the course of the coming journey.
Harry was a pokémon trainer, he had his own pokémon and would soon be competing in the largest, most publicised and prestigious pokémon related sporting event in the United Kingdom. He would gain friends, respect, honour, money, friends, a fan-base of rampaging screaming girls and be a role-model for small children to look up to. Most importantly Harry was going to make friends. Friends who will back him up when confronted by bullies like Pierce Polkiss who had made a game of mocking Harry's glasses or his lightning bolt shaped scar, or dead/unsuitable parents. Friends who would be there for him no matter what. Friends that would see him as more than a worthless burden, who care for him and who will protect him from the vicious gossip reporters after he becomes famous.
"Harry?" Dudley wanted to talk to him again.
"yes, Dudley?" Harry guessed that he could call Dudley his friend but they were cousins and that was a completely different relationship, they were family and families were supposed to like each other.
"If we have to battle each other today, please don't hold back?"
"I'm sorry?"
"I know you, I know your scared that Mum and Dad will do something if you beat me but you don't have to worry about that. Please, just promise me that you won't hold back." Did Dudley even now what would happen if Harry did as he asked?
"They could say I cheated and get me kicked out of the tournament! Or hurt Eve in some horrible fashion! I can't take the risk!"Harry tried to convey the threat to him.
"You can't get booted if you don't actually cheat and they won't hurt her in public so please, if we are opponents don't throw the battle" Dudley still didn't get it.
"What about after the tournament? they could still get her then!" Harry pleaded.
"By then she'd be strong enough to protect herself and you! They would never be able to harm you again! And if they're still insufferable we could just go to France and compete in the Kalos League!" Dudley aggressively countered "we're no longer shackled to them! If we wanted to, we could travel the world and never see them again!."
Dudley had a point, being pokémon trainers meant that they could go anywhere and most would assume that they had parental permission to do so, that they would have their own money and thus not be dependant on Uncle Vernon for travel fairs and that they would be kept safe by their pokémon companions.
"I'll think about it Dudley." Harry conceded. He looked at his beaten old digital watch, stood and scooped up Eve. "you better hurry up, we've got ten minutes before we need to be in the stadium."
SCENEBREAKER
Professor Eucalypt stood out in front of the amassed public in the stands and the young trainers seated on benches at the sides of the newly painted court of battle.
Professor Eucalypt was the generic embodiment of a female scientist, her long dark hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, she had thick square glasses and wore a grey woollen jumper and cheap grey slacks underneath her long white lab coat. She was at this point in time wearing a bizarre smile that in conjunction with her glasses made her look a bit mad.
"Welcome to the annual Pokémon League pre-tournament showcase, where we show you that latest batch of new trainers and their budding skills!"
She rotated herself to face the other half of the audience that was seated opposite.
"The rules of this exhibition are quite simple, the participants of each battle are chosen randomly which will be displayed on the jumbo screen to my left!"
Harry turned his head right and quickly located the large screen hanging off of the wall opposite the entrance to the battle field. It was depicting a zoomed in image of the professor.
"Each trainer will only battle once! So we won't have any out right winners! But the three most impressive trainers as chosen by myself as well as you, the spectators will be gifted with a pack of six useful heal balls to help them on their journey!"
She returned to her initial orientation.
"Get ready trainers! Your about to make your grand debut!..."
The Professor stayed quiet for a moment, looking as though something should have happened...
"Start the random trainer picker program already!"
She eventually shouted before wandering off to the side of the field and the oversized television began to display a large 'V.S.' in the middle of the screen with two lines of randomly changing letters above and below.
After a brief interlude, the letters eventually formed two coherent names-'Sally-Anne Perks' and 'Hermione Granger'.
How do you pronounce Hermione? Is it Hermi-own, Herm-eye-onee, or Herm-ioh-ni? Such a weird name.
Harry's question was answered when Professor Eucalypt called out the displayed names and asked their owners to take places at opposing ends of the painted field.
On the right side of the field stood a girl with strawberry blonde hair in a ponytail and to the left stood another girl with bushy brown locks, both girls seemed eager for their first bout.
Professor Eucalypt began to speak again.
"I will be acting as referee," she announced. "as each of you have only one pokémon there will be no substitutions and your pokemon will battle until either one or both of them are unable to continue. Please present your pokémon!"
Both trainers unleashed their respective pokémon.
"Ottie!" The brunette threw her monster capsule in the air and with a flash of light a blue and white mammal called oshawott(according to the jumbo screen) emerged.
Her opponent duplicated her actions with a shout of "Manda!", resulting in an orange bipedal lizard with a flaming tail called charmander appearing on the field.
"Are both contestants ready?" The professor asked and announced "Begin!" when she received an affirming nod from both trainers and their pokémon.
"Manda! scratch!"
"Ottie, use tackle!"
Both pokemon began running towards each other, the charmander raising it's claw in preparation to... get knocked to the ground by the oshawott's full body tackle.
Now on the ground with an oshawatt on top of it the charmander was ordered to try another scratch, this one managed to land and resulted in the oshawott retreating with a sharp cry and it's left eye tightly closed.
"well done Manda, scratch 'em again!"
"Don't let it phase you Ottie, go for another tackle"
The two pokemon rushed at each other again and this time the oshawott's tackle was slightly to the side resulting in the charmander remaining standing as well as a long pink line down oshawott's side where the last attack from it's opposition struck.
"Tackle!"
"Scratch!"
The oshawott bowled the charmander over and deflected the incoming claws with the scallop it hastily retrieved from it's belly.
"Scratch!"
"Tackle"
The battle continued in this vein until finally...
"Charmander is unable to battle, Oshawott is the winner!" professor Eucalypt announced.
The two competing trainers returned their respective pokémon to their pokéballs and returned to their seats at the edge of the field.
"Now who's battling next?!"
TIMELAPSSCENEBREAKER
Most of the battles following the first were rather boring, with the same attacks being used over and over again without any strategy or tactics. Harry often found that his eyes were wandering to the group of strangely dressed people in the crowd opposite himself, one was a middle aged man wearing a tuxedo and a sombrero and next to him was a girl of six to eight years who's eyes never left Harry like she was only here to specifically see him battle. Harry was so unnerved by this that he felt obliged to stare back when he wasn't distracted by the announcement of another winner and the subsequent beginning of the next match.
"Chikorita is unable to battle, Torchic is the winner!" speaking of which...
The random trainer picker program was running again and this time it was going to be...
'Dudley Dursley V.S. Harry Potter'
Great, He had to take a dive.
Harry stood up and began moving towards the centre of the stadium where he met his cousin.
"Good luck Dudley" Harry offered.
"I hope I'll need it" Dudley replied with a cold tone before stalking off to the right end of the field, leaving Harry with the left.
Once both contestants were in position Professor Eucalypt asked them to present their pokémon.
"Eve!" Harry called out and tossed his pokèball, Eve bursting into existence and sitting demurely on the battle field.
Dudley called out "Chester! Have at 'em!" before unleashing his excitable chespin from it's protective capsule. The green hooded critter was bouncing in anticipation.
"Are you ready?!" The professor/referee asked.
Eve and Dudley nodded while Chester answered with an excited cry and Harry a sharp "Yes!"
"Than you may... Begin!" and the battle did just that.
"Chester let's go first and hit 'em with a tackle!"
The chespin let out another excited cry and began barrelling towards Harry's fennekin who stood waiting for her trainers orders.
Harry waited until the last moment to give his command; "tail whip! And get some distance!"
Eve sprang to her left, leaving Chester to land head first in the dirt then slapped his face with her tail and skipped away.
"Chester, get up and tackle again!"
Chester picked himself up and ran towards his foe... and landed in the dirt a second time.
"Eve scratch" The fox pokémon swatted her paw at the chespin as he was getting up, allowing for one of her toenails to make contact with Chester's cheek and pranced away.
Harry may have to let Dudley win but that didn't mean that he couldn't make a show of it, he would evade the next tackle then let Eve get hit.
"Chester this time try to anticipate where she'll move to! Now Again!"
"Eve, dodge and scratch"
This time Chester jumped to the same place that Eve did and the two collided, knocking Eve two feet down the field and causing her to scrape her snout against the ground briefly.
"Good boy, do it again!" Dudley seemed pleased with his new buddy's efforts.
Chester repeated his previous attack... "back up!" The fennekin jumped backwards as the spiny nut got in reach of her causing him to eat dirt once more.
"Good! Tail whip and get away!" Harry ordered.
For two more rounds Chester tried to tackle his opponent, ate dirt and got a face full of orange tipped tail.
"Come on Harry, Get serious!" Dudley shouted obviously getting angry, indicated by the pink colouring that was appearing on his cheeks.
"Yeah, Harry, crush him already! Crush him like a Reliant Robin under a Gigalith!"
That came from the girl who was sitting next to the man in the sombrero, she was quickly followed by an elderly lady wearing a puce jumpsuit.
"Show them who the superior battler is! Put your foot right up his arse!"
Half way through his first battle and he already had fans? If garnering respect was this easy then if he were to win... He'd be too famous for His Aunt and Uncle to mistreat him without consequences!
"Chester don't let her escape again! Do what ever you can to immobilise her!"
Dudley's chespin responded to this by flexing one of the leaf like spikes on his head which turned into a long vine-like appendage that lashed at Eve and ensnared her front right leg.
Both Harry and Dudley's jaws dropped. A grass Type Move? At this level? Then they started to smile, That means...
"Well done Chester, now reel her in for a tackle!" Dudley's plan was straight forward, but Harry had one too.
Chester used his vine to lift Eve in to the air and pull her towards himself at the same time as he started to move towards her to maximise the impact of the next tackle.
Eve was facing Chester, good.
Just before the chespin was about to leave the ground for his tackle, Harry shouted.
"Eve, Ember!"
And just as Harry had envisioned, his fennekin opened her mouth and spewed forth a small volley of glowing embers that made contact with Chester's face, causing him to cry in pain, stop and release eve from his vine's grasp which in turn allowed for her to use the remaining momentum to land on Chester's head and propel herself to safety. This act elicited a great cheer from the spectators.
Throughout the applause Harry noticed that Dudley was still smiling, he was probably happy that Harry was Actually trying and Chester appeared to have a large red sore on his left cheek.
"Chester, let's end this! Clamp her mouth closed with vine whip and tackle her!"
The chespin attempted just that but failed when his vine whip was easily swatted away with a scratch attack and his Tackle was countered with a well timed tail whip, sending him once more into the dirt.
Harry ordered one last Ember attack and the battle was over.
"Chespin is unable to battle Fennekin is the winner!"