"I thought the first day of classes were suppose to be easy," Ron mumbled, resting his head on his table. "Everyone knows that."

Hermione rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat so she could more easily look at Ron. They'd decided to have Harry and Ron pair up for Pokémon Battle Class and Neville stick with Hermione; other than Harry, who excelled at the class, their group managed well and didn't need to pair up based on strength/weakness like they did in Ball crafting or Potions. Even Ron's Battle grades had improved at the end of the previous year, what with him getting a Pokémon that actually listened to him. "Ron, if it were up to you we wouldn't do anything the first day of school... or the second, or the third..."

Ron just waved her off. "And if it were up to you we'd never leave school. You'd have us taking classes all year round, without breaks... probably strap us to chairs with metal clamps holding our eyes open so we wouldn't accidently fall asleep. Have diapers too… and feeding tubes."

"You've put an awful lot of thought into this," Harry said.

The busy haired girl huffed in annoyance. "That is not true in the slightest! I would never suggest we spend every waking moment in a classroom."

"Wait for it..." Ron whispered to Harry.

"Learning out in the field, on your own, can be quite beneficial! In July, for example, I spent a week studying different long grass to determine-"

"Called it," Ron muttered.

"What was that, Ron?"

"Nothing," Ron said, lifting his head up and giving her a smile. He instantly regretted it, as the sharp headache he had been battling made its presence known the moment he did so.

Harry couldn't exactly blame Ron for being grouchy; while he didn't have a headache his muscles did ache from that morning's marathon of classes.

First up had been Tracking with Prof. Sprout. She had explained that while first year had been about learning the basics, this year would be about the Key Three: Stalk, Wait and Chase. She had told them that tracking Pokémon wasn't all about stealth; at times one needed speed to catch up with an escaping Pokémon or strength to reach places where stronger, rarer Pokémon lived.

"You think a Ursaring is just going to come strolling down a path between towns? Or maybe Honedge will be waiting for you in the doorway of an abandoned castle, passing the time before you to walk by and catch it? No... while there are Pokémon all around us if you have any hope of encountering rare or unusual Pokémon you have to be willing to go the extra mile... and that is what you are going to do today!"

She'd pointed towards the castle and told the students they needed to run around the castle perimeter three times. Sprout had then informed them that if they could do a lap in under 5 minutes they could reduce their remaining laps by one. She'd also told them that if they took longer than ten minutes on a lap it wouldn't count and they'd have to run it again. Most of the class hadn't heard her though, as they took off in a dead run the moment she suggested them getting out of some work.

Harry had noticed that Neville was only jogging, keeping a nice even pace and refusing to give into the taunts of the other students as they passed him by. Harry had shrugged this off and joined the others, letting out a whoop of delight as he completed the first lap in 4 minutes. He had thanked his Gauntlet training for making him better prepared for such a task.

His joy had died the second lap when he'd hit the wall and found himself gasping for air and clutching his side in pain. His speed reduced to barely that of walking speed, he'd plummeted from delight to despair as his second lap's time of 11 minutes flashed on the scoreboard Sprout had set up.

"Humans and Pokémon are different in many ways!" Sprout had called out as she walked over to Harry and Hermione. The two of them had realized that iwith the way they were going it would be useless to try and run until they caught their breath. Better to take it easy and start their second lap over for the 4th time with a second wind. Harry had found himself gasping for air and unable to keep going. He was use to running fast, yes, but only for short bursts followed by moments of waiting. He'd made a stupid mistake and it had cost him some pain. "But one of the key differences is that we lack their stamina. Even a Golem or a Hippowdon can keep moving far longer than a human can. The trick to tracking down a fleeing Pokémon is using your brain." She had gestured towards Neville, who had finished his three laps 15 minutes ago. He had been enjoying a drink of much-earned water with Flora, watching the rest of the class struggle through their laps. "Tell me, what do you think Neville realized that allowed him to be done before the rest of you?"

Harry watched as a Ernie Macmillan, one of the Hufflepuffs, stumbled by on his now 'unofficial' 5th lap. "He realized that he could do all the laps in the allocated time but not in the shortened time," Hermione had said.

"Yes, but what else?" Sprout had pressed. When the teens didn't answer she had shook her head and called for the rest of the class to stop and gather around. Icy cold water bottles had been quickly provided and students either gulped them down or had just laid down on the grass, resting them on their foreheads. "Today's lesson was not just about endurance but about a fundamental fact of life: there are no true shortcuts. Neville here is the only one to complete the challenge I set forth... 20 points to Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom... and that is because he put in the work." Prof. Sprout had began to pace before them. "If you want to track down Pokémon, you can't cut corners. Yes, you can make things easier on yourself, like using better Pokeballs or coming up with strategies... I am not discouraging you from using your heads.

"But you must put in the work. Mr. Longbottom decided that he would just put in his three laps instead of attempting to cut them down and be done. The rest of you tried to take advantage of a shortcut and it blew up in your face. In the fields and in the forests that might allow a Pokémon to flee... or put your life at risk." Sprout had let her eyes roam along the line of students, trying to get her message to soak in. "You all know about the battle between Alder and Raikou."

Harry had not heard the story and had later at lunch asked Hermione about it. Apparently 4 years ago Alder, one of the Top 3 Trackers in the world, had been traveling through Johto when he encountered a Raikou and battled it. He'd failed to catch it, as it had fled after Alder had managed to get in a hit, but he had returned with a broken tip of one of its fangs, which he wore to this day around his neck.

Sprout had informed them that most people forgot to mention when telling the story that Alder had chased after the legendary Pokémon for 3 hours before finally managing to corner it and have a quick battle. He'd ran through fields, swam across a fast moving river and leapt from treetop to treetop in his pursuit. The lesson, she'd told them, was that if you wanted to achieve greatness you couldn't expect it to just be laid in your lap.

It had been a good lesson but one that left the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors sore for the rest of the day. Even Prof. McGonagall's class, which Harry normally found quite interesting, couldn't hold his attention. Lunch had been a chance to recover but for some students (like Ron) they were still achy, grumpy, and in no mood for any further education.

"Neville," Harry said, leaning across the table towards his friend, "have you heard anything about our new Battle Instructor?" Harry had been expecting Prof. Dumbledore to introduce Prof. Quirrell's replacement at the welcoming feast but had been disappointed when the only thing the headmaster declared was the normal warnings about the Forbidden Island and Filch's Ban List. Of course, there was a chance he had missed it all, as he had glanced over at the Ravenclaw table when Luna had been sorted and been shaken out of the gaze-induced coma 15 minutes later by a laughing Ron.

"You haven't heard?" Neville asked in surprise.

"Bulba!" Flora snapped in frustration, kicking at Neville's pencil.

"Heard what?"

"Well-"

"I'm just saying, why do extra work when a C is good enough?" Ron said loudly, drawing attention to himself.

Hermione found such an attitude to be blasphemous and was in the middle of trying to convince Ron that doing extra credit was worth it not just for boost in one's grade but for the educational value when Gilderoy Lockhart burst into the classroom. He was wearing black trainer jacket with pointed coattails that nearly touched his ankles and an overly fancy pokéball belt was swung around his designer jeans. His shirt looked to have a higher thread count than most bed sheets and the earpiece he wore could have feed a family of four for a year.

"Greetings, future trainers!" Lockhart said, breezing past the tables and tossing his bag on the desk. "Please, I ask that you hold all your questions and requests for autographs till the end of class."

"Wonderful," Harry muttered, fighting the urge to bang his head against his desk. Most of the girls in the Gryffindor/Slytherin class were letting out little sighs of delight at the sight of Lockhart while a good 2/3rds of the boys were secretly hoping that Lockhart would bring out one of his super-rare Pokémon. It seemed only Harry and Neville were immune to the charms of Gilderoy Lockhart. Even Ron looked a touch star-struck.

Seeing the reception he was getting, Prof. Lockhart rubbed his hands together, a playful smile on his lips. "Now, from what I have gathered you spent much of last year watching a stuttering man in a bad hat show you some mock battles and have you fire on a few targets. Bor-ing!" Lockhart paced back and forth, one hand clasped behind his back while the other waved about. Harry instantly got the strange impression that Lockhart was only doing this because he thought it looked cool. "Do you know how you best learn? By doing! Yes, you could spend the next 6 years studying every book in the library on dueling strategy and famous battles... you could research Lance Blackthorn, Drayden Arkenstone or Delilha Ketchum and examine all the facets of their different battles. But let me tell you a little secret... you could do that and you'd still lose." He threw his arms out wide. "Open your Battle App and select section 3... then delete the entire app and forget all about it!"

Harry's brow furrowed as he watched the rest of his class do what they were told. Some, such as Ron, went with the seemingly insane plan mostly because they'd wanted to always do something like it since beginning at Hogwarts. Others, such as Hermione, struggled for a moment but finally gave in to the charms of Prof. Lockhart... even if it looked to the boy as if Hermione had been asked to sacrifice her first born. Neville glanced back and Harry, who shook his head slightly and motioned for his friend to leave his dex alone.

"In this class we will learn by doing! We will learn through trial and error and through self-education. I will not be teaching you, children... you will be teaching each other!" Lockhart began to pace down the rows of desks, pointing at the children. "In my classroom you will be the teachers! You and you and you! Your homework will be to aid your fellow students and your grades will be determined by your ability to teach one another!" The boastful professor seemed to dance along the room as he spoke, all but one set of eyes trained upon him; those eyes belonged to Harry, who was too busy rolling them skyward. "You will each pair with your deskmate. You will then be assigned a chapter from your Battle App and, on your assigned day, present the information you have found to the class. You will be graded on showmanship, your ability to wow the crowd, and dazzle!"

"Uh, sir?" Neville said.

"Yes, you... by Merlin you don't stand out much, young man. You need to work on that. You blend in and don't do much to catch people's attention. You'll never make it as a trainer… maybe try a different shampoo."

Neville fidgeted. "Sir... how are we supposed to present a chapter from the Second Year Battle App when you had us delete the guide from our dex?"

Lockhart blinked. "Did I have you delete it?" All the kids nodded. "Well... reupload it! Yes... yes, just upload it again! Purchase it again if you must... purchase a backup too, just in case."

Harry watched as the rest of the class went about doing this. He and Neville had been the only one not to follow Lockhart's suggestion and he was now thankful for following his gut. Skimming through the Details section of the app, Harry's brow furrowed and he glanced up at Lockhart, who was looking at the other students with greed-filled eyes. It was only when he noticed Harry's hard stare that he stepped back, his hand subconsciously going to his throat.

"Well..." Lockhart said, a slight quiver in his voice, "it seems that is all I have for you today. Why don't you all make it an early day... I know you'll want to get started prepping your lesson plans!" He turned his back to them and made a big show of studying some random papers on his desk.

"Alright!" Ron whooped, motioning for the others to follow him. "Come on, let's hit the common room and snag a good seat before anyone else!"

Harry spared one final look at Lockhart before following his friends out the door.

~MC~MC~MC~

Hermione appeared on the teleporter, a pensive look on her face. Neville, Harry and Ron were seated on the best couch in the common room (or it was according to Ron), their dexes opened. Flora was seated beside Neville, nursing on a bottle of pain medicine. Her evolution spasms still hadn't stopped and Neville was fearful that she would do damage to herself soon if they continued. Togepi snuggled up on Harry's lap, babbling to herself while Ludwig floated around the group nervously, making sure they were ok. Seeing Hermione, the candle Pokemon darted towards her and inspected her with a critical eye.

"I'm fine, Ludwig, but thank you," Hermione said, taking out her pokeballs and sending out Snorunt and Ralts. The psychic type and the ice type stayed close to her, politely refusing Eevee, Snover, and Cubchoo's offer to join them in playing with a sparkly ball Neville had brought out. "I don't think you can help me with my problem."

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked, shutting his dex.

"I can't find one of my bags," Hermione said sadly.

"What was in it?" Neville asked.

"Probably books," Ron said. "All of Hermione's bags are full of books."

"They are not, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione snapped, stomping her foot. "And even if they were, better to feed my brain that feed my stomach... like you do with all the food you pack!"

Ron glared at her. "At least what I pack is practical! If the Express had crashed you would have thanked me for a Twinkie! No one would have been lining up to get one of your smelly books!"

"They might have lined up but they wouldn't have gotten any Twinkies from you!" Hermione fired back.

"Are you saying I'm greedy?" Ron shouted, leaping off the couch and stomping towards the busy-haired girl.

"No, I was saying you ate them all before we left the station... but greedy works too!"

"Guys!" Harry called out. Ron and Hermione whipped around to glare at him but Harry held his ground. "Just... knock it off, ok? This is our first full day and I'd like to make it through it without a Ron/Hermione screaming match."

The two looked away, clearly embarrassed, before moving to sit with Neville and Harry. It wasn't missed by either boy that Hermione and Ron sat on opposite ends of the couch and avoided each other's line of sight. Ralts and Snorunt curled up next to Hermione while Ron watched Cubchoo wipe his nose before going after the ball.

"So Hermione... what is missing?" Neville finally asked.

Hermione shifted uneasily.

"...it's books, isn't it?" Harry said dryly, elbowing Ron when he began to snort.

Hermione let out a huff, ignoring Ron completely and addressing Neville. "I can't find Prof. Lockhart's books. I wanted to read up on some of his findings..."

Harry scoffed.

"Still don't trust him, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Today only strengthened my conviction that he's a tosser," Harry stated.

Ron stared at Harry as if the boy had grown three heads. "How could ya not like him, mate? No homework! No textbooks!"

"Yes textbooks," Harry reminded him. "And yes homework. We are going to have to put a lot of effort into our sections, Ron. More work then we might normally put in, since now the entire CLASS will be witness to our mistakes."

"Well," Hermione said, defending the Professor, "it is a bit unorthodox but Prof. Lockhart's not the first teacher to suggest that students learn better teaching themselves."

"But he is the first to use students to line his pocket," harry countered. "None of you noticed just who wrote that app, did you?" When the others looked at him in confusion Harry sighed. "Prof. Lockhart. He wrote that app."

"So?" Ron asked.

"So? Don't you think it is weird that he would write our textbook then decide to have us delete it? Why?"

"He was passionate," Hermione reasoned, even though it was clear from the way she was running her teeth over her bottom lip that she didn't quite believe her own words. "He was caught up in the moment."

"He was trying to bloody double dip," Harry stated. "Everyone who deleted that app had to rebuy it. I bet you he did the same thing in every class, just so all the students would pay him twice." He glanced at Neville. "You heard Remus... don't you think all of this is a little shifty?"

Neville looked down. "Well... yes, it is weird..."

"But isn't it possible that Harry is letting his mistrust of Prof. Lockhart color is views?" Hermione challenged.

"That's... also possible… can't we agree to disagree?"

Everyone looked at Ron, who shrugged. "Hey, I'm just glad there is only one homework assignment."

Harry shook his head in frustration. He knew that Hermione had issues when it came to authority figures; she was always so quick to agree with them and follow their word, treating it as law. He knew this but that didn't make it any less frustrating. While Harry did his best to follow the rules and not act up, years with the Dursleys had wiped away any naive belief that adults always had his best interest at heart. There was a difference between obeying the rules and following them blindly.

Hermione though still viewed the world through rose-tinted glasses... or, at the very least, she view her interactions with adults as such. The only reason she had actually broken the rules and gone along with Harry, Ron, and Neville last year had been her stubborn refusal to abandon her friends. Still, there were times where Harry couldn't help but wonder if, during a moment of true need, Hermione Granger wouldn't turn her back on him in favor of a teacher.

"Forget it," Harry finally said, deciding it just wasn't worth the effort. He fought the desire to fire off one more retort at the sight of Hermione's smug little smile; it would only make the fight blow back up. Better to let things go... there would be plenty of time to bask in victory when Lockhart was proven a fraud and Hermione was forced to see him as he truly was.

Their conversation turned to other things, such as their homework for McGonagall's class; they had to work on getting one of their Pokemon to select a certain colored ball from a ball pit without actually calling out the color. Harry had already ruled out Togepi (no offense to the little one but she would be too distracted by the balls to do more than play with them) and was trying to decide between Ludwig and Eevee.

"I think Eevee might be the best bet," Neville said. "You've had him the longest so your connection is going to be stronger."

Hermione shook her head, reaching over to tickle Togepi, earning a squeal of laughter for her efforts. "But Ludwig is a Ghost-Type. I read an article a few weeks back where Prof. Juniper theorized that certain Pokémon types are actually the same; they merely splintered off at one point and ended up focusing on two different parts of the same power base. She believes that, for example, the Dark Type and the Fighting Type were once one and the same but Darks, to counter Psychic attacks, began to focus on quick, distracting moves rather than powerful assaults. She also theorized that Psychic and Ghost Types are related."

"So?" Harry said, not following her.

"So, Psychic types are able to bond much closer with their trainers due to neural links. Ghost types might be able to do something similar, which would make this task easier... we can do some research-"

Ron's dex began to ring and the redhead thankfully opened it, glad for the distraction and the chance to avoid an unnecessary trip to the library. "Ginny? What-"

"Ron, please!" Ginny whispered, the dex's speaker barely able to transmit her words. "Please come here."

"Ginny? Ginny, what's wrong?" Ron said, cranking up the volume on his dex. Harry, Neville and Hermione all circled around him, staring down at the frightened face of the youngest Weasley. "Ginny?"

"Luna... I tried to stand up for her but now they are coming after us both... Ron please..." There was a loud noise that made the four Gryffindors cringe and Ginny let out a yelp as the sound of laughter came out of the dex's speakers. "RON!"

"Ginny!" Ron screamed as the transmission cut off. "Ginny..." he redialed but got only a ringtone. "Bloody hell... bloody hell, what do we..."

Harry recalled Togepi while Ludwig and Eevee moved to stand with him. "Come on, we have to find her! Ron, send me her phone number now and then go find your brothers! Neville, you go get Prof. McGonagall-"

"I'm coming with you," Neville said sternly, shocking his friends. Harry opened his mouth to protest but one look at Neville's face, which was so fierce and stern it nearly knocked him back, had the words dying on his tongue.

"I'll find Prof. McGonagall," Hermione offered.

Harry gave her a tight nod. "I'll send you our location as soon as we find her." Flora leapt into Neville's arms as Snover returned to his ball. Harry glanced at Hermione and Ron one more time before racing out of the common room, Neville on his heels.

"How are we going to find them?" Neville called out. "She didn't tell us where Luna and her were!"

"I know where they are," Harry said, pulling out his dex.

"How?"

Harry gave his friend a slight smile. "A little something called The Maurauder's App."

~MC~MC~MC~

Author's Notes:

I realized that I never discussed what Ralt's Moon Mirror held item would do. I hate that the Psychic Power-Up item is Twisted Spoons, as that feels like a Abra-Line exclusive item. As such, I decided to create a Ralts Exclusive item. Moon Mirror, when held by a Psychic or Fairy Type, increases special attack.

Stalk, Wait and Chase is a phrase I coined to describe the three main methods of hunting: Stalking refers to the idea that you have to actively hunt your prey. Wait is to set up places where prey will come to you. And chase is to run them down. None of these are really done in the games so I wanted to focus on them in the Tracking class. As the characters go out and catch new Pokémon (and yes, many of the characters will catch at least one new Pokémon this year… no gift Pokémon this year, at least) we will see these strategies come into play.

Lockhart's method of teaching is a real one. I had a Business Communication class when I went for my degree where we broke into groups and had to present 4 lesson plans over the course of a term. Now, for a class about giving meetings that is a wonderful idea… but in this class… well…

Harry continues to develop as I write this. He is getting a bit more sarcastic and a bit more open. The scared Harry still lurks and he will have cases of the jitters at times, but with a guardian who loves him, a core group of friends, teammates who support him, and Pokémon to teach him responsibility… Harry is going to develop into a well-rounded person.

As I mentioned in a previous chapter, this story is forcing me to give names to MANY Pokémon characters. Some had issues with my giving Alder no last name… I point out to them that in many areas this isn't uncommon. In Renaissance Italy it was common for people to be known by their town name… such as a painter from the village of Vinci… you know him as Leonardo de Vinci.

Lance Blackthorn is of course the Elite Four trainer Lance from red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Silver and Gold. I chose his name with the theory that his family founded the town of Blackthorn in Johto and named it after themselves (much like the Penn family created Pennsylvania). Drayden's name is related to dragons… it was the Arken Stone that drew Smaug the great to the Lonely Mountain.

I knew, as these books went on, that I would need to change things up. This next subplot is a MASSIVE change that will see Luna and Ginny get more to do, while also allowing for more action.

And a final note… when I work on stories, I try and pick out pieces of music that can work as the themes for the characters. Obviously most of the Harry Potter themes will remain, but for many new characters and Pokémon characters, they will need new themes.

As of now, I have settled on three for upcoming characters/places:

-Hikari Kingdom Orchestra's Kingdom Heart's Theme would be the "The House of Kenway" theme (aka Jack Kenway's theme, as well as his wife Clair Blackthorn-Kenway, his brother Jonas Kenway, and his adopted daughter Jasmine). The beginning half would play during any mention of Jack Kenway in these books while the last half (aka the March Section) would begin in Book 4 and continue through to Book 7 as their war theme.

-Howard Shore's 'Over Hill'/'Misty Mountains Cold' theme would be 'The Sons of Johto' theme (especially the final 'The dwarves attack' section), and be used when the Sons or those connected to them are in the middle of a tense situation.

-To continue with the theme of Johto and the dwarves, the opening of Howard Shore's 'Balin's Tomb' (aka 'Gandalf Reveals the Stone Pillars') would be the 'Johto' theme and be used for any characters or Pokémon from that region.

As always, Pokémon suggestions, as well as Pokémon battles you'd like to see, are always encouraged.