Chapter 2: Reality

Harry sat on the Hogwarts express, crying. When he got his letter, he had been the happiest boy in the world. He was eager to begin his Pokémon adventure and make a ton of new friends. Now he sat alone in his compartment, dreading the year before him.

A few days before, a large hairy man named Hagrid had taken him to Diagon Alley, where he bought all of his school supplies and learned about the Pokémon/Wizarding world. Hagrid had informed Harry that he was actually a celebrity, because he had unknowingly defeated a dark wizard when he was a baby. His parents, who were tragically murdered by that dark wizard, had been great Pokémon trainers and left him a lot of money. Harry's first thought was that he could buy all the Pokémon cards in the world with this new money, so he could finally play with the other kids at school. Ten he remembered that he was a real Pokémon trainer. His former classmates could keep their stupid card game, the Pokémon he collected would be the real thing.

He got a wand from Mr. Ollivander, who reminded him of the guy in the movie Alien who had the alien burst out of his chest. Harry's wand was made of wood from a holly tree and had a phoenix feather core, which apparently meant he was special. The wand had chosen him because he had a destiny.

After getting his books and cauldron, he was fitted for his robes. While the shopkeeper measured him, he met a bratty blond boy who reminded him of Joffrey on Game of Thrones. The kid introduced himself as Draco Malfoy and claimed to come from a famous family of Slytherins who trained bug-type Pokemon. He seemed very proud of his Caterpie, he bragged that it was already at level six and knew how to use string shot. Harry pretended to be impressed, but secretly hoped that he would not get stuck with such a lame starter Pokémon.

His final task at Diagon Alley was to choose his companion. He went to Professor Oak's laboratory to obtain his first Pokémon. He prayed that he would be able to get his favorite Pokémon, he had his heart set on training a Clefairy. However, when he arrived at the lab, he learned that he had to select a Pokéball without knowing what Pokémon was inside. Sweat dripped from his brow as he searched through the identical balls, trying to determine which one contained a Clefairy.

Harry was overwhelmed, he was terrified that he would end up with a stupid Caterpie. Professor Oak said that his Pokémon would call to him, that he should look within himself in order to make the right choice. The Pokémon would choose the trainer, just as the wand chooses the wizard, Oak insisted. He thought that was dumb, all the balls were the same and there was no way to tell which one had a Clefairy. He only had a 1/150 chance of getting what he wanted.

Harry sighed and picked up the ball that was closest to him. That one seemed just as good as any other. When clicked it open, the light blinded him. A moment later he heard his new friend speak for the first time.

"Ghastly!" the creature exclaimed, grinning at its new trainer.

As he gazed at his ghost-type Pokémon, tears of bitter disappointment formed in Harry's eyes. Ghosts scared him. This was worse than getting a Caterpie.

James sat in a compartment with Jessie and Meowth. They used magic to make themselves look like they were eleven years old, so they blended in flawlessly. James had his Koffing with him, and Jessie had her Ekans. Meowth was not allowed to enroll in the school, since talking Pokémon did not have the same rights as humans, so he pretended to be James's Pokémon. James got special permission to let Meowth follow him around rather than stay in a Pokéball, as that would have been beneath his dignity. Jessie and Meowth were not absolutely thrilled with the idea of spending an indefinite amount of time in a school for children, but James could not have been more excited.

James's 14 inch wand was made of hazel with a unicorn hair core. Jessie and Meowth both laughed at James for getting a unicorn wand, as theirs had dragon heartstring cores. Apparently unicorn hairs were not as inclined towards dark magic. That worried James, since he aspired to be a dark wizard, but he was still very happy with his wand's impressive length. As long as he got sorted into Slytherin, he would be fine. It would be beyond embarrassing if he was put in Gryffindor, or worse, Hufflepuff.

James was more nervous about the sorting than he was about the actual mission. They had to steal the headmaster's legendary Pokémon, and that did not sound too difficult. They had never successfully stolen a Pokémon before, but this time they had a lot of time to prepare. Meowth wanted to make a plan so they could get it done as quickly as possible, but James intended to draw this out as long as possible. Meowth spent the train ride coming up with ideas, while James stared out the window, daydreaming about his future as a dark wizard. Meowth talked about releasing a giant snake, rigging an elaborate tournament, or creating a house-elf rebellion as a distraction while they snuck into the headmaster's office. Jessie told him that these ideas were all stupid. They didn't even know if the coveted Pokémon was in Dumbledore's office.

"What if Jessie seduced the headmaster?" Meowth suggested.

That brought James back to reality. He did not like the idea of his beloved Jessie seducing anyone. "No, Dumbledore is gay. Have you seen how he dresses?"

"I think you're right," Meowth agreed. "Maybe you should seduce him." Meowth refused to believe that James was straight, in spite of his obvious crush on Jessie.

James whined. He didn't want to do anything bad, unless it made him a dark wizard. He had done a lot of online research on the subject. He planned to kill a few people in order to make horcruxes. Apparently the process of making a horcrux was a big secret in the wizarding world, but James googled it and got all the information he needed.

"I will use my magic powers to steal the legendary Pokémon and take over Hogwarts," James thought out loud.

It was then that a boy with a Pikachu on his shoulder walked by their compartment. Jessie and James stared at it in awe. Meowth climbed on Jessie's hair so he could get a better view of the yellow mouse. Something drew them all to that Pokémon, as if they could sense its great power.

James knew that he had to have it. Only then could he be the most powerful wizard.