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Chapter Text

Prologue

Wish I May

It was a dark and stormy night. The moon was full behind the ominous clouds, and lightning flashed, allowing brief glimpses of the graveyard that—Wait, what?

Stormy night? Graveyard?! What the heck?!

(Rustling paper noises)

Oh, oops! Wrong story, sorry!

(Clears throat)

It was a mildly cloudy day in mid-April in the year nineteen-ninety-one. The light wind brought with it the smell of the rain that promised to begin drizzling later in the afternoon, and all was calm in the little town of Surrey, England. Looking closer, we find ourselves on the street of Privet Drive. It's a neat, tidy little street, with houses so similar and boring that they practically invented the term "Cookie Cutter Houses".

Walking down this street, we come upon an anomaly! This anomaly appeared in the form of a rather flashy red sports car, sitting prettily in the driveway of a house with a large number four on its door. Curious, we venture closer, and peer in through the window.

…

Ah, yes.

The Dursley Family.

They were an ordinary family of four, focused on being as normal as possible and yet managing to stand out in the most… Unflattering ways. Take the Husband for example, hmm?

Vernon Dursley was a portly man, with an unfortunate likeness to a walrus, with his bristled mustache and small, wet eyes. He worked for a drill company called Grunnings, and it was his car that had caught our eye. He had straw-colored hair and, if you asked him, he was always willing to boast about just how normal he was, thank you very much! No, no, nothing bizarre or odd here… Unless, of course, his short temper is sparked, in which case you will find yourself witnessing the delightful spectacle of Mr. Dursley turning all manner of shades of purple and red.

Let's move on, shall we, to the Wife.

Petunia Dursley nee Evans was a tall, stick-thin woman with her dark blond hair always tied back in a severe bun and her blue eyes narrowed. She had an unnaturally long neck, most often used for peering over fences at her neighbors, and abnormally horse-like teeth. She may, at one point in the far, far distant past, been relatively alright looking, but years of squinting through blinds to spy on her neighbors, and a perpetually scrunched up nose, as if a nasty smell was in every corner, had left Mrs. Dursley with an incredibly unbecoming face. Not that her husband minded at all, of course, but, well…

Love is in the eye of the beholder, hmm?

Now, let's leave this… Lovely couple be, and focus on the third Dursley, the Son.

Dudley Dursley was an all around spherical boy, with his father's straw-colored hair and small, wet eyes—though, they were his mothers' shade of blue—as well as his unbecoming temper. However, where Vernon is more likely to bellow and roar and strut about like a territorial hippopotamus, Dudley is in possession of a far more physical temper. When outside the Dursley Home, it is well known for him to roam about with his gang of thug-like friends, terrorizing the younger and smaller children, while, at Home, he is the 'perfect angel' in his parents minds, sitting and staring at the screen like a blank-eyed turkey, while continuously putting food in his mouth (one would think that the School Nurse or Doctors would bring up his unhealthy weight and eating habits, but, then again, he does take after Vernon…).

Altogether, however, the Dursley Family isn't of much interest to us. Nothing strange or abnormal or curious about them, as long as you discount their ridiculous phobia of all things "Not Normal". No, the three of them weren't of any concern of ours…

What's this?

The Fourth member of the Household? Well, he's a bit different than his relatives but…

Well…

Hmm…

…

Oh, alright then! Come along! We might as well sate this curiosity of yours before we're on our way. After all, there are much more interesting things to see than this.

Come, come, around the back. Look, there, kneeling in the heat of the summer afternoon. Yes, the black-haired boy in the too-large clothes. That is the fourth and final member of the Dursley Family.

Harry Potter, the son of Mrs. Dursley's deceased sister Lilly, and Lilly's husband, James, both of whom were murdered on Halloween when Harry was barely fifteen-months-old. Poor lad has nothing but his looks and that scar on his forehead to remind him of them, however. His mother's bright green eyes, his father's wild black hair, and that scar.

(A sad sigh)

He hasn't had a good life since then, seeing as how Mrs. Dursley loathed her sweet sister, and when she'd found the lad on their doorstep on November First, like a bottle of milk? Well…

Let us just say that the Dursley Family is far from kind, and that Harry has had to suffer through many things young children ought not have to.

(Another sigh)

Come along, we should go. Let's leave the tale here and continue on. We have much to do before we head to—!

Wait.

What's that, there?

Oh… Oh!

Oh my!

Come, come! Finally, something interesting is about to happen.

Hush, now, just watch.

You're about to see the beginning of something amazing, just trust me.

Just watch…

With Harry…

Harry sighed unhappily as he wearily swiped an arm across his sweaty forehead, mopping away moisture and leaving dirt behind, not that he really cared. The ten-year-old boy wished he could be doing inside chores at the moment, or safely sequestered away inside his dark, cool cupboard bedroom, but he knew better. After all, it was always on the hottest and most miserable days that his Relatives assigned him Outside Chores.

Grunting as he tugged a stubborn dandelion out from the rosebushes under-side, Harry shoved his large, bottle-cap glasses back up his nose, though it didn't do much good as they slid back down almost immediately.

He wished he was somewhere else. Anywhere else would do! He just wanted to get away from this horrible place.

Away from his sneering, cold-eyed Aunt, with her pinching fingers and shrill voice.

Away from his snarling, angry Uncle, with his heavy hands and nasty words.

Away from his mean, spoiled Cousin, with his Harry Hunting and his tantrums.

Just… Away.

Away from all of it.

Sighing, he moved to shuffle along to the next rose bush, when there was a strange sound, like the sound sheets made when they caught in the wind while hanging up to dry, that whump sound of them flapping…

Looking around curiously, the young boy blinked his almond-shaped eyes at the only tree in the yard, which rose up over the small tool shed that was sometimes his bedroom as well. One of the branches was rustling, as if something heavy was settling on it and, cautiously curious, Harry got to his feet and shuffled over to peer up into the shadowy depths, wondering if one of Old Mrs. Figg's many cats had gotten stuck again.

What he found instead, was the most magnificent bird he had ever laid eyes on outside of the fairytales they sometimes read in class, and his mouth dropped open as he gaped at the massive thing.

It was as large as a swan, with thick feathers that were made up of different shades of red and gold, bright and gleaming in the sunlight the filtered through the tree leaves. It's tail feathers were as long as Harry's arm, and red, with little gold flecks throughout until it ended with an almost peacock-like "Eye" of gold at the end. The face that stared back at him from the shadows was the color of blacked woof, with a sharply curved black beak that reminded the boy of vultures, and large, round black eyes, that had no pupil or whites as far as he could tell. It crooned at him, a fluting noise that was similar to the sound that sometimes happened when you blew on the top of an open bottle or jug, and it shifted its body, drawing Harry's eyes to its feet, which were the same soot-black color, with dangerous-looking black talons.

A shimmer of metal caught the boys eye, and he blinked, noticing that, handing from the bird's claws, was a long, thin silver chain, and on that chain was a flat, silver coin about the size of Harry's palm, that was slowly spinning, showing off the bright green, thumbprint-sized gem in the very center of one side.

"You're amazing," Harry breathed, dragging his attention back to the bird; it cooed again, and seemed to preen, making Harry grin as it hopped down the branch a little, the strange medallion swinging in its grasp. "Where on earth did you come from?" He asked it, cautiously walking after the bird as it continued to hop and shuffle down the branch, towards the trunk of the tree. "I don't think any animals have escaped from the zoo, and you're definitely not a house pet," he mused, glancing quickly back towards the house to keep an eye out for his relatives.

However, the moment he looked away from the bird, it decided to do him a bit of mischief, and fluttered into the air, dropping its shiny, metal catch onto his head with a heavy thunk as it fluttered up into the higher branches, making Harry yelp at the unexpected pain. Clutching at the sore spot on his head and grimacing, Harry shot a sulky look up at the bird as he bent down to scoop the necklace up.

"Well, you're not getting this back then," he muttered, peering at the gem on its metal disk, before shrugging. Without much thought, the young boy slipped the chain around his head and let it drop, causing the medallion to smack gently against his chest, right over where his heart would be.

The result was instantaneous.

Harry had barely a second to yelp in surprise, before he felt as if he was being wrenched through a tube of ice and boiling water. In a plume of thick, greenish smoke, the boy disappeared from the lawn, leaving no trace behind.

High in the trees, the large bird crooned smugly, using its beak to tug a few of its feathers straight, before it spread its wings wide and burst into flames, disappearing as well.

And with that, no one knew what had happened to Harry Potter and, in the coming months, lives would be changed, some for better, some for worse, as the search for the ten-year-old boy spanned across the countryside.

Meanwhile, in a grassy field on the edge of a thick forest…

In a flash of deep green light, leaving a plume of greenish smoke to float away and disperse, Harry Potter's unconscious body dropped gently onto the thick grass, unknowing of just how drastically his life was about to change, nor the trials he was about to face.

And all because a Phoenix decided to interfere.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

Thoughts

"Pokémon Talking"

Chapter One

What Izzy Matter?

Harry woke to a pounding skull, the feel and smell of thick, soft grass underneath him, and the aching pain of sunburn against the back of his neck and his face. Moaning unhappily, he slowly and carefully rolled onto his back, grimacing as his burnt skin protested. Harry squinted up at the sky, his glasses skewed on his face, and stared up at the stars and the nearly-full moon, brows slowly furrowing in confusion.

'Funny,' he thought as he continued to blearily stare upwards. 'I could have sworn that it would be a new moon tonight…' With a groan, the young boy pulled himself painfully upright, gingerly dragging a hand through his messy hair, plucking out strands of grass as he used his other hand to rub at his eyes.

"Did I faint from the heat again?" he muttered, confused. He had done it before, after all, but Aunt Petunia usually threw some water on him and made him get back up and finish his chores. But, he was dry, and it was dark out…

And, after a quick glance around, somewhere completely different than where he should be.

"What?" He breathed, stunned, as he stared around, head turning almost frantically as he scrambled to his knees, and then got to his feet, wobbling slightly as his head continued to ache and hurt. There wasn't a house or fence or even roar in sight, and, with the light of the near-full moon so bright, Harry was able to see or a good distance.

"Where am I?!" He breathed, heart pounding. 'The last thing I remember is…' "The necklace!" He yelped, a hand darting to his chest, only to find the medallion resting right where he left it, directly over his heart. Something in Harry wanted nothing more than to yank the pretty thing off of his neck and throw it as hard as he could into the forest nearby…

But…

Something else in Harry, something stronger and more wild and curious, told him to keep it close. That it was important and that he'd need it.

So, instead of being rid of the shiny thing, the young boy found himself carefully tucking it away beneath his too-big shirt and glancing around himself again, uncertain. His head hurt terribly, his neck and face were badly sunburned, and he was somewhere in the middle of the countryside, lost and alone in the middle of the night.

…

Did England have wolves? Or bears? Something that wouldn't mind snacking on small ten-year-old boys that were so foolish as to wander at night? Harry had no idea, but he knew he wouldn't be getting anywhere at the moment. Turning warily towards the trees that loomed ominously nearby, the young boy took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, before picking one promising looking branch low enough that, if he ran and jumped, he could most-probably reach.

Maybe.

Well, it took him a good six tries, shoulder aching fiercely as his sunburn protested the movements while he pulled himself up onto the branch, panting but pleased with his success. He proceeded to climb up a few more branches, until he decided they were getting too thin for comfort.

Settling against the trunk of the tree, squirming in an attempt to get comfortable, Harry pulled his knees up close and stared silently up at the moon, listening to the nighttime songs of bugs and small animals, the occasional flap of wings and rustling of grass as nocturnal predators hunted adding a slightly dangerous note to the music.

He didn't know when, exactly, he drifted off to sleep. Just that he had, and he woke up groggy and with a crick in his neck from sleeping so strangely, and an unexpected guest cuddled up against his curled legs on his branch.

Mystified, Harry stared at the truly massive caterpillar that was snoring lightly in front of him, rubbing his eyes and wiping his glasses off in order to make sure he wasn't seeing anything, but, no, it was still there. It was a bright green, with golden, ring-shaped markings down its sides. Its head was decorated with a bright red, "Y" shaped antenna, and it had a yellow underbelly that matched an almost rattle-shaped bit on its tail.

All in all, it looked like a normal caterpillar except…

Well, Harry seriously doubted that England had caterpillars the size of cats.

"I don't think I'm in England any more," he muttered, staring at the bug as it started to roll around a bit, obviously beginning to wake up…

Was that a collar on it?

Someone had it as a pet?!

Caught in bewildered disbelief, Harry almost didn't react in time when, with a sleepy stretch, the caterpillar slipped right off the branch with a panicked "Peee!" sound.

"Whoa!" Harry yelped, lunging forward awkwardly to catch it, nearly overbalancing when he held the full weight of it, which had to be about three kilograms. With a grunt of effort, Harry heaved the two of them back into a less precarious position, sighing with relief as he slumped against the tree trunk, the caterpillar shivering in his lap and blinking large, gold-colored eyes tearfully. 'Caterpillars can't blink or cry,' Harry noted absently as he blinked down at the shivering bug, which had begun sniffling and making distressed little 'peee' sounds again.

"Hey, now," he started awkwardly, uncertainly petting the distressed bugs head like he would one of Mrs. Figg's twitchier cats. "You're okay, don't cry," he told it uncertainly, watching as the bug sniffled and cuddled close to his stomach, the little suckers on its, erm, feet sticking to his trousers as it scuttled along them. The action brought a soft tinkling sound from the collar he just remembered it had, and, carefully, he slowly lifted the bug up. "I just want to look at your collar, shh," he hushed it when it cried at him, and, quickly, the young boy plucked up the little heart-shaped pink tab that rested on the yellow collar.

Izzy

Breed: Caterpie

Owner: Mary Garretes

315 Night Way, Pallet Town, Kanto

'Definitely not in England anymore,' Harry thought with a thrill of grim excitement, stomach knotting unpleasantly even as he managed a strained smile for Izzy, who was watching him with large, watery eyes still.

"It's nice to meet you, Izzy," he told the, um, Caterpie? He had no idea what that was, but he couldn't keep calling it (her? Izzy was a feminine name…) a bug now that he knew her 'breed'. "My name's Harry. Are you lost?" The Caterpie sniffled and blinked up at him dolefully.

"Lost," a sweet, young girls voice chirped sadly in his head, and Harry twitched sharply, uncertainly glancing around before slowly focusing on Izzy again. "Miss my Mary. Lost, Harry, Lost."

No.

Way.

A talking, cat-sized pet caterpillar.

Seriously, where was he?!

"Well, I guess I'll just have to help you home, right, Miss Izzy?" He offered, stubbornly shoving away the slightly hysterical thoughts as the Caterpie gratefully wriggled about in his lap, happily thanking him in her oddly trilling voice. He would not freak out right now. No, he would focus on Izzy and help her home, and maybe ask whoever 'Mary Garretes" was, about where he was, what a Caterpie was, and how she could talk.

Whatever happened, however, he would not go back to the Dursleys.

In fact, he should probably change his name, just in case he was somewhere close enough to England that they could find him, or, well, that the Authorities could find Them (Because he seriously doubted his loving relatives were shedding a single tear over his disappearance). He'd have to keep his first name, however, because he seriously doubted that he'd be able to remember to answer to something besides Harry, Boy, or Freak.

"Hmm," he muttered as he carefully made his way down from his tree, Izzy clinging to his shoulder and snuggling into the side of his neck happily. "I like the sound of Martin, but 'Harry Martin' sounds weird," he muttered as he reached the bottom branch, which he carefully lowered himself down from, having to drop the last couple of feet with a grunt. "Maybe just a name that starts with an 'm'?" he mused, walking carefully along the edge of the forest, keeping the open field on his right, and the trees on his left. If there were giant caterpillars running around, he really didn't want to see how big other animals were.

"Martin's out," he muttered to Izzy, absently reaching up and petting the Caterpie on the head, making her trill happily. "Morton, Mutton, Malibu, Morning, Massive, Morris… Wait," he muttered, pausing briefly. Morning… Wasn't there a book character who had a name that sounded like that? Yeah, it was the name of some businessman who was actually the Devil in disguise*… Harry couldn't remember the book, but he remembered it had been pretty interesting. What had his name been? It was some play on the fact that one of Lucifer's alias names or titles or something, which was "Morning Star".

Mornistar?

Morrister?

Morsin… Morsinger!

"Harry Morsinger," he said out loud, tasting it. It wasn't very refined, but he could probably tell people that "Harry" was short for Hadrian or something. "I like it," he decided, nodding firmly as he continued walking.

He had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

Four Hours Later…

Hunger had long since earned the two companions a good long rest stop once they finally reached a road (Well, it was more of a wide dirt path, but, hey, Harry was calling it a road). Izzy had helpfully informed him that her Mary lived in the opposite direction of the trees, so the two would be walking that direction. At the moment, however, they were sitting beside a berry-filled bush that had obviously been planted there just for this sort of occasion, and Harry carefully eyed the odd blue berries Izzy was gleefully munching on as the rested.

The bush itself was a weird, pinkish color that reminded Harry of cooked salmon, with white flowers decorating its branches along with the blue berries.

"Eat, eat, Harry!" Izzy urged happily, nudging a berry over to him and trilling happily as she wriggled in place. "Oran help, Oran help!"

"Okay, okay," he muttered, uncertainly, picking it up. It was very hard, feeling sort of like a small cantaloupe and, dubious, the boy carefully bit into it, teeth managing to cut into the fruit with a surprising amount of ease. Immediately, an odd conglomeration of flavors all but exploded in his mouth, making his eyes go wide as he hummed, automatically savoring the delicious fruit.

"Is good, see, see?" Izzy told him, trilling smugly before she promptly dug back into her pile.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Harry mumbled around another mouthful of berry as he began to grab a little over a handful, stuffing them into the large pockets of his hand-me-down trousers, just in case there weren't anymore berries along the way to Pallet Town. By the time the two of them had eaten their fill and Harry had filled his pockets about halfway, Harry was surprised to notice that he felt invigorated, as if his energy had been returned, and shook his head in bewilderment as he lifted Izzy up onto his shoulder.

Shall we keep going, Miss Izzy?" he asked her; she cooed happily at him and nodded, scuttling up and onto his head, making him laugh and she snuggled into his thick, messy hair with a trilling giggle. "Well, let's go!" he announced, and happily began trotting down the road, hopefully towards Pallet Town, where he could find both Izzy's home and, hopefully, some answers.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokemon Talking"

'Thoughts'

Chapter Two

Home Sweet Harry

It was late afternoon by the time Pallet Town came into sight, and Harry sighed with relief, his feet aching and his sunburn hurting. Izzy had fallen asleep on his head, and, for the last hour or so, the ten-year-old had found himself nibbling on Oran berries to keep himself going. Sighing in relief, he carefully reached upward, patting around until he felt the strange antenna on Izzy's head beneath his palm, and he patted her head firmly, but gently.

"Look where we are, Izzy," He called gently, listening to the sleepy trills and odd not-yawns. After a few moments, however, she trilled rather loudly, more of a squeal, really, and Harry laughed as he was forced to catch her when she lunged off of his head, eyes starry with joy as she wriggled in the air, leaning her head forward, obviously knowing where to go from where the stood at the edge of the town.

"Alright, alright!" he laughed. "Calm down, you silly thing!" Reluctantly, she did, all but vibrating in place as he firmly held her close, walking through the town, eyeing street signs and smiling awkwardly at the friendly-looking townsfolk. As they walked, Harry noticed a pattern with the street names, most of them having to do something with resting, beds, and times people tended to nap*. So, finding Night Street was relatively easy. Walking down it, eying all the nice houses, some with gardens some without, Harry felt something uncomfortable relax in his gut. This was no Private Drive and, while all the houses were different, each one was unique to the family living in them.

And 315 Night Street was just as unique. It was one of the houses whose yard boasted a fine garden, flowers blooming in bright, colorful blossoms. Black-eyed Sarahs, lilies, dragon snaps, and marigolds, as well as flowers that looked similar to the berry bush in different colors, burst from their green bushes and beds, filling the air with a faintly sweet fragrance that had his shoulders relaxing even more as he smiled and opened the gate of the white picket fence that protected the yard.

"This is?" He asked Izzy, who nodded rapidly, trilling at him and leaning forward in excitement, making Harry grin. "Well, let's go then!" He declared, stepping through the yard and up to the door, pushing the butterfly-shaped doorbell (The actual button was the butterfly's body, the wings holding it to the wall).

"Coming!" A muffled, male voice called through the door, and Harry distracted himself but wiggling his fingers against Izzy's underbelly, grinning as she began to squeal and make odd giggling noises as she squirmed happily in his arms, trying to pull away from his tickling. She really was a cute little thing, whatever she was, and, idly, he wondered if more animals like her were common. He could have sworn he saw some sort of blue-turtle thing in someone's backyard while wandering through town earlier, so he guessed so.

The door opened, however, stopping their play and interrupting Harry's musings. The man standing in the doorway was about five-foot-ten, with light brown hair and warm, curious blue eyes. His jaw was sharp, his nose a little crooked, and his skin lightly tanned.

"Hello," the man greeted, before Izzy trilling and all but throwing herself at him made him make a startled noise, instinctively catching her.

"I think she's yours?" Harry offered with a grin as the man let out a surprised, happy laugh.

"Izzy, you scamp!" He laughed, lifting the Caterpie up with a grin. "Mary's been worried to death over you!" Izzy trilled and chirped at him in a mix of excitement and sadness.

"Sorry, sorry, Mark, Izzy sorry," she trilled in Harry's mind. "Where Mary, where?" Harry blinked.

"Yeah, where is this Mary you've told me so much about," Harry asked, peering around the tall form of Mark curiously, only to blink when the man just stared at him, bemused.

"Who are you talking to?" He asked; Harry frowned, brow furrowed.

"Izzy, there," he told him, pointing at her. "She's been going on and on all day about Mary this and Mary that. I wanted to meet the girl she's so happy to know."

"Izzy has?" Mark muttered thoughtfully, those blue eyes sharp and clever, but still kind, as he smiled faintly down at Harry. "Well, then, kiddo, why don't you go ahead and come in, hmm?" he offered, opening the door wide and stepping aside. "My wife, Sarah, will just love to see you! And you look like you could use a good meal or three, anyways!" He added with a short laugh, eying Harry's ragged, too-big clothes and sunburned face. "And maybe some Burn-Heal," he muttered, before closing the door behind the hesitant boy and starting to stalk down the hallway of the nicely-decorated house.

"Mary! Sarah!" he called clearly, easily. "Guess who's home!" There was a soft gasp, before the sound of running feet and, as Harry watched, a small girl of about seven, wearing a pale pink dress that had green and yellow butterflies on it, came running out of another room, blue eyes wide and bright and her slightly-curly, shoulder-length blond hair waving wildly behind her as she squealed and dove for Mark.

Or, more accurately, for Izzy, who was just as enthusiastically lunging out of the tall man's arms and into the little girls.

"Izzy!" The girl cried happily, spinning the two of them and hugging the little caterpillar close. "Oh, how I've missed you! So, so sososososo so much!" She cried out, stopping their spinning to pull the Caterpie back and frown sternly at her. "You know better than to run away!" She scolded, sounding very much like she was copying her parents as Izzy slumped sadly and trilled, her sweet voice apologizing, before the two of them were hugging once more.

It was a very sweet scene, and Harry couldn't help smiling as Mark grinned, and a pretty blond woman stepped out of what must have been the kitchen, wiping her hands off on a cloth as her gray-blue eyes watched them with a soft, relieved smile. She was a good couple of inches shorter than her husband, but very pretty and friendly looking in a pale lavender blouse and some jeans.

"You have this young lad to thank for her safe return, Mary," Mark informed his cuddling daughter, gesturing at Harry, who abruptly found himself catching the young girl and Caterpie both when little Marry threw herself into his arms, clutching him close with a deceptively strong grip, face buried in his chest.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed earnestly into his chest, and Harry awkwardly patted her back, smiling uncertainly over at Mark as the tall man slung one arm over his wife's shoulders.

"It wasn't a problem, really," he told the girl honestly. "She was good company, and had only good things to say about you, Mary." The little girl pulled back with a bright, if confused grin.

"Really?" She asked; Mark spoke up cheerfully from the side.

"It seems our young friend here is a bit of a psychic," he announced easily. "Able to understand Pokémon as if they're human and everything." Mary gasped, eyes sparkling in awe.

"Really?!" She yipped; uncomfortable, Harry managed a half-hearted shrug and nod, deciding that letting them think that was better than them thinking he was crazy, or a freak. "So cool!" Mary squealed, hugging him again, and making Harry laugh a bit, relieved and amused by her reaction.

"And just who is our Izzy's rescuer, hmm?" Sarah asked, smiling at him, and Harry flushed a bit even as he tried to keep Mary from climbing up his shoulders like a monkey, demanding that he show her a magic trick or play with her and Izzy.

"Harry Morsinger, ma'am," he told the woman uncertainly as her daughter finally managed to climb onto his back and cling there like a limpet, giggling into his shoulder and Izzy climbed onto his head and made a triumphant trilling noise, firmly declaring herself 'Queen of the Harry Hair'.

"Well, Harry, you look like you could do with a hot meal," the older woman told him easily, smiling. "The phone's through there, if you'd like to call your parents for permission or a lift, I'm sure we could spare the couch if you can't get one until tomorrow, however, don't worry," she reassured him kindly; Harry shifted, uncomfortable.

"Erm, my parents, um, passed away," he told the two adults, changing his usual 'they're dead' to something more kid-appropriate since Mary was there. Instantly, the two grown-ups looked at him pityingly.

"My condolences," Mark told the boy quietly; Harry shook his head, absently reaching up to steady Izzy as she gave a startled trill at the movement.

"Its fine, sir," Harry told him reassuringly with a weak smile. "It happened when I was very small. I used to live with my aunt and uncle, but they… well…" He trailed off, unsure about what he should say.

"You poor thing," Sarah told him, taking his silence on the matter as… well, Harry didn't know, but obviously something specific. "You can stay here as long as you need, okay, sweetie," she told him, bustling forward to hug him, making the ten-year-old squirm awkwardly as he peered over her arm at Mark, who nodded at him firmly, face serious.

"Thank you," he told the couple quietly, but sincerely, managing a hesitant smile as Sarah pulled back, blinking a little bit more than she had been before, as if something had gotten into her eye.

"It's not a problem, kiddo," Mark told him firmly, stepping forward to slap a hand onto his shoulder as Mary finally got bored and decided to rush back to the kitchen, Izzy crawling down Harry's body to happily follow after the girl, trilling excitedly in her wake.

Which reminded Harry.

"Sir?" He asked, peering up at Mark, who shook his head with a smile.

"Just Mark, Harry," he told the boy kindly. "None of this 'sir' or 'mister' stuff, alright?" Harry nodded carefully. "What did you want to know?" Harry sheepishly pointed after the disappearing Caterpie.

"What is Izzy?" He asked. "I mean, I know from her collar tag that she's a Caterpie, but what's that?" Mark blinked, bemused.

"It's a bug-type Pokémon, which will eventually evolve into a Metapod, and then a Butterfree," he explained, and Harry stared, more confused than before.

"What's a Pokémon?" He asked. When Sarah and Mark shared one of those looks that adults did when kids asked them certain questions, Harry bit back an annoyed sigh.

This was either going to end up as one of those "We'll tell you when you're older" conversations, or the very long explanation ones that have those "You must be responsible, this is serious" sort of vibes to it.

"Lets go sit down in the kitchen, and we'll explain it all to you, don't worry," Sarah told him, smiling tentatively as he nodded and the three of them moved towards the kitchen.

It looked like it was one of those Serious Discussion ones, then.

Joy.

A Few Hours Later…

Harry's head had been spinning by the time he was sent to bed, belly full from the beef stew Sarah had made and thoughts whirling. He was in the Island Region of Kanto, in a place where Pokémon, elemental creatures that worked, lived, and existed alongside humans and in the wild, were plentiful, with several hundred different species. There were other Regions, with Pokémon that were so vastly different than their neighbors, it was honestly amazing. And boys and girs from age ten and up were allowed to go on unsupervised Journey's with Pokémon as their partners, to travel and get into "battles" and try for a chance at taking on the League, where all the best "Pokémon Trainers" battled it out in order to become the Champion.

It was…

Amazing. Thrilling. Even scary.

Mark had given him his old Journey Journal, which was filled with all the information he'd learned first hand, as the man's Journey had been long before the creation of the 'PokéDex', which was a devise that Dudley no doubt would have boasted about owning, if they'd ever had it back in England, which Harry seriously doubted since the Map Mark had pulled out while explaining the Regions only had those specific areas on it, and the oceans and seas had named he'd never heard of before.

Harry didn't think he was even in his world anymore, to be honest, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Not when he learned that the Garretes had no problem welcoming him into their home, feeding him, and answering his questions. They asked some of their own, of course, but they tried to steer away from "Family" questions, sending him apologetic, pity-filled looks he could do without but, well.

At least he didn't have to explain the faded, yellowing bruises from the last game of Harry Hunting his cousin had given him a week before he "appeared".

But his lack of "common" knowledge had marked him as somehow an amnesiac, as far as the couple was concerned, and so, he found himself with a warm couch to sleep on for an indefinite amount of time, and several books to go with Mark's old Journal, so he could study and teach himself about the world at large.

Curling up beneath the quilt Sarah had given him, with the little bedside lamp in the shape of what looked like the blue turtle Pokémon only much larger and angrier looking, Harry settled in and flipped open the Journal to begin reading.

He had a lot to catch up on.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

Thoughts

"Pokémon Talking"

Chapter Three

Off To See The Professor!

Harry woke up to find that, sometime during the night after he'd fallen asleep reading the fascinating Journal, someone had not only laid him down into a comfortable position, but removed his glasses. Which probably explained the fact that the only thing he could make out about whoever was waking him up, was the fact that they were red.

"'Morning," he slurred out sleepily, rubbing at his sore eyes before blinking as the red-person handed him his glasses. "Cheers," he muttered, putting his glasses on one handed, using the other to cover his mouth as he yawned hugely. When he managed to open his eyes, he could only blink stupidly at the creatu-Pokémon. At the Pokémon in front of him. It was a red, dragon-like being, with a narrowed, sharp face and sharp green eyes, and…!

Was, was that fire on its tail?!

Harry could only stare, and the Pokémon rolled its eyes in an exasperated way.

"If you're going to stay here, you'll pull your weight," the Pokémon told him with a grumble, using one of its taloned hands (and they were hands, in a way, with only with three white claws instead of actual fingers, although they worked the same as far as Harry could tell.). "I won't have any lay-abouts taking up Miss Sarah's time."

"I'm not a lay-about!" Harry sputtered, offended, pulling his arm from the three-foot-tall lizards grip and stomping past the shocked Pokémon with a huff. He made his way determinedly to the kitchen, where the makings for eggs, bacon, and toast. Quickly, Harry moved towards the eggs as the Pokémon slipped past him and snatched up the bacon with a sharp look at the boy.

"So, you understand what I'm saying," he, and it was a boy from the sound of his voice, asked; Harry nodded as he began cracking eggs into a bowl to make a large batch of scrambled eggs.

"Yeah," Harry told him. "Mark says I'm psychic, but I dunno about that. I just know that I can understand what you Pokémon say, but that no one else can. Whether that makes me psychic or not…" He shrugged uncertainly, before shooting the Pokémon a hesitant smile. "My name's Harry, by the way," he offered; the Pokémon grunted, using his claws to neatly slice the bacon open.

"I'm Scorch," he offered blandly. "Sarah's Charmeleon. Nice to meet you, I guess," he added dubiously, before tossing a piece of bacon into the air and, as Harry watched, blew a thick gout of fire up at it.

"Whoa," Harry breathed gaping at the literal dragon as he nonchalantly fried bacon in what had to be the absolutely most brilliant way the young boy had ever witnessed. Scorch eyed him from the corner of one of his sharp, narrowed eyes, and smirked a bit, seeming to preen under the awed attention as he fried more and more bacon. After a few minutes, Harry quickly went back to the eggs, making up a large bowl filled with the fluffy, yellow food, lightly salted, before he turned to the toast.

"Something smells great," a hoarse, sleep-mumbled voice announced from the doorway just before Mark shuffled in, shirtless but wearing an open bathrobe, a set of loose sweatpants, and some brown slippers, hair mussed up badly on one side and what looked like a light shadow of a nights growth of scruff on his face, which he scratched at groggily as he blinked at Harry in confusion. Harry smiled hesitantly.

"Scorch and I are finishing up breakfast," he offered cautiously; Mark just blinked slowly, before grunting and shuffling his way over to the dinner table, where a rolled up newspaper sat waiting.

"Don't bother with that one," Scorch advised with a roll of his bright green eyes even as he poured coffee, black, into a massive blue mug. "He's absolutely useless in the mornings, even with his coffee." And, with that sage advise, the Charmeleon walked over and set the mug down with a thunk next to Mark, getting a mumbled 'thanks' from the man who dragged it close and cradled it between his hands with a slow sniff, sighing happily as he just breathed in the smell of the too-hot coffee. Harry shook his head, bemused, and went back to toasting the bread.

Soon, he'd made up a plate for the still groggy man, and set it before him just as Sarah wandered in, a yawning, pink-pajama clad Mary in her arms.

"Isn't this a nice sight," the woman asked, bright and chipper despite the fact that it was barely seven-thirty. Mary clapped her hands happily as Harry set a plate of food in front of her and Sarah shuffled him into place at the table before getting herself and the boy a plate, shaking her hed at his questioning look.

"I'm sorry if Scorch pressed you into helping him with breakfast, Harry," she told him kindly, shooting an exasperated look at the Charmeleon, who was ignoring her easily as he munched on a bowl of what looked like blackened marshmallow-shaped food pellets that Harry knew was a Fire-Type PokéFood (he'd asked after seeing Scorch pouring himself a bowl. Apparently, they were Charcoal Flavored, with some specific minerals that helped fire-type Pokémon's flames be more potent.).

"It wasn't a problem," Harry reassured her, smiling at the nice woman, a warm feeling at her earnestness swelling in his stomach. "I don't mind cooking, and, really, it wasn't a big deal. You welcomed me into your home," he reminded her, smiling. "Helping cook breakfast is the least I could do." Sarah glanced over at Mark, but he was half-asleep eating his eggs, blinking slowly as he cradled his coffee close.

"We don't want you to feel obligated to repay us or anything, Harry," she told him firmly, but gently. "You returned Izzy to us, and you're a good boy. You don't need to do anything at all you don't want to do, alright?" Harry stared at her for a moment, swallowing his bite of egg heavily.

A Good Boy.

When was the last time someone had called him that? He couldn't remember, but it made something hot and tight try to crawl up his throat, forcing him to swallow harshly a second time, and take a sip of the orange juice Sarah had poured for him without asking.

"…Okay," he whispered shyly, dropping his gaze to his plate as Sarah smiled at him, before they all focused on their food.

"Are you going to the Lab today, honey?" Sarah asked after they were all done, Mary having quickly disappeared back to her room to get dressed for the day and feed Izzy. Mark, much more awake with food and a second cup of coffee in hand, yawned lightly and nodded, stretching happily.

"Yes, I have to measure the Tanks for him, so that they can start displaying the larger Pokémon breeds," he told his wife easily. Yesterday, Mark had told Harry that he was a Glassman, someone who put in windows and such, and that his company specifically dealt with the type of glass most often used in laboratories, the kind of glass that adjusted very well to sudden temperature changes and was hard to break. These were also requested frequently for businesses, government buildings, and a couple of Pokémon Oriented building (The Pokémon Center, which was like a charity-ran Vet for Pokémon, Harry discovered, where travelers could rent out rooms and get decent meals and donations were welcome. The various Daycares, where Pokémon could be dropped off to be looked after, and where apparently they laid eggs sometimes on accident. And the Gym's, where Trainers could Battle the Gym Leader in order to collect one of the badges to move further along in the League. It was all rather complicated and interesting, honestly, and Harry loved learning as much as he could).

"Why are they displaying Pokémon at the Lab?" Harry asked, confused, and Mark blinked, before his face brightened.

"You should come along, and see for yourself!" He told the boy excitedly, grinning. "Professor Oak, the Regions most famous Pokémon Professor, can answer any and all questions you'll have on Pokémon! It's his job, too, so he'll actually enjoy it a lot, since the latest batch of New Trainers left over a month ago for their Journeys," he added with a laugh, smiling at Harry, who perked up eagerly, casting a glance at Sarah, who nodded warmly.

"I think you'll enjoy the Lab, Harry," she told him honestly, getting a curious look in return. "It's filled with all sorts of research and studies they've done with Pokémon, and you can even get to look at eggs and babies! Mary loves visiting every so often." Harry's interest was further perked at the idea of baby Pokémon. He honestly had a huge soft spot for baby anything, something his cousin had ruthlessly mocked him for in the past but, well…

Dudley wasn't exactly here, now, was he?

"I would really like that," he told the couple earnestly, before hesitating and shooting Mark an uncertain glance. "As long as it won't get you in trouble, of course," he added hurriedly, but Mark waved the fear away with a grin.

"I take Mary there all the time, don't worry, kiddo," he told the boy kindly. "Professor Oak loves having kids running about, as long as they don't mess with the things he or the Aides say not to touch, he doesn't mind if they climb all over the place. You'll be just fine, and we won't leave until a little after noon. You've got plenty of time to read, relax, maybe even play with Mary and Izzy for a little while," here, he winked, and laughed as Harry rolled his eyes at him. "Don't worry, kiddo," the man told him, still chuckling as he opened the newspaper and returned to idly scanning the articles, occasionally sipping from his drink while Sarah got up and started puttering about the room with a soft bit of humming.

Feeling oddly relaxed, Harry took Mark up on some of his advice, and returned to the small next he'd made for himself on the couch, pulling the borrowed Journal close, and settling in to continue reading. Who knew, maybe it would answer his questions, and he wouldn't have anything to ask the Professor.

Flipping through to the last page he'd been on, Harry snuggled into the comfortable cushions, and started to read.

Meanwhile, in England…

Severus Snape was a sneering, cantankerous, bitter old man, and he liked himself this way, thank you very much! How else could he get snot-nosed brats to pay attention while dealing with dangerous, corrosive, and often explosive chemicals?

He was a Dark Wizard by Nature, a Slytherin, and a man who liked a bit of bite to his intimate relations.

He was absolutely the last man who wanted to wake up one morning to find his bosses pet Phoenix perched on his headboard, staring at him with its large black eyes.

"What the bloody hell are you looking at?!" He snarled, swiping at the bird irritably, although he knew he wouldn't be able to even brush the bird from where he was laying. He was irritated, not suicidal, and striking a bloody Fire Bird was something a Gryffindor would do.

The bird crooned at him, ruffling its disgustingly Gryffindor colored plumage, before it hopped off of the headboard and landed awkwardly on the mattress beside him, making the dour man go still, lest he unseat the Immortal and make it take offense.

"…What?" He snapped at the Phoenix, which continued to stare at him with its mirror-like black eyes, much the same color as his own. It crooned again, and hobbled closer, making Severus' sneer grow even nastier as he eyed the sharp talons that were currently ripping holes in both his sheets and mattress, before he was forced to immediately refocus his attention on the curved, dagger-sharp beak which was leaning closer to his face. He grew tense, stiffening as his eyes darted to the bedside table where his wand rested, and he calculated whether or not he'd be able to turn and grab it before the dratted bird took its pound of flesh from his face.

He needn't have worried, however, for Fawkes was not there for violence.

He was there for Change.

And, leaning forward to press his beak against the dour Potions Professor, his ancient Wilde Magicks spiraling forward to cocoon this Wizard he'd Chosen, the Phoenix closed his eyes and welcomed the resulting explosion of Power as Wilde and Wizard Magic met and combined, his trilling cry of triumph mixing with the alarmed cry of the Wizard.

He came for Change, and he would have it.

Back with Harry and the Garretes…

It was nearly two o'clock by the time Mark declared that it was time to get moving, and, by then, Mary had found out they were going to the Lab and had insisted on going as well.

This meant that Harry was once-more carrying the girl piggy-back, with Izzy set up on his head, trilling wordlessly in happiness as she basked in the warm summer sunlight. Harry was honestly just relieved that he wasn't sunburned anymore—The weird medicine called "Burn-Heal", which was actually used mostly on Pokémon who'd gotten injured by heat or fire, had worked like a dream. He'd had the cinnamon-scented liquid sprayed onto his sunburn by Mark, and, though it stung and felt oddly too-cold for about thirty seconds, his burns had rapidly healed, and, an hour after application, he was happily burn-free.

"The Lab is only a little bit ahead, Harry, don't worry," Mark told him, grinning as Mary giggled and bounced on the skinny ten-year-olds back, her elbows digging into his bony collarbone and making him wince a little, although he didn't complain, just continued doggedly walking forward, a faint smile on his face as his eyes traced the beautiful, flowering meadows on either side of the bath, the occasional tree blocking their view of the distant woods. An occasional bird, and bird Pokémon flew this way or that, calling from the trees and grass and sky as the three humans passed, but, all together, it was quiet and peaceful but for Izzy's trilling and Mary's occasional hum or giggle.

As they topped the final hill, Harry couldn't stop the short, startled breath that escaped him if he'd wanted to, his eyes going wide with awe as he stared down at the sprawling expanse of land behind the large, silver-and-glass building awaiting them.

It was as if someone had gone through and taken pieces of land from all around the world and settled them in place behind the tall, metal fence that encircled the large amount of land the Lab owned. There were areas he could see that looked like desert, others like lava, ice, jungles, even a few deep pools of water and massive boulders that opened into caves. Areas where it was nothing but flowers and grass, and still other where tall, man-made monoliths homed what appeared to be different nests, all manner of Pokémon roaming, flying, swimming, and digging throughout the various areas. Even as he watched, a massive, snake-like Pokémon made of rocks reared up from where it was lounging near one of the cave-boulders, to roar in irritation after the car-sized orange-and-white, tiger-striped dog that had just used its head as a springboard while chasing after a smaller dog that looked like its puppy.

"Yeah," Mark announced, grinning gleefully at Harry's stunned face. It's pretty amazing, isn't it?" The boy could only nod dumbly, staring at the Pokémon and the beautifully transformed land as they slowly began to walk down the hill. "Professor Oak store all the Pokémon the Kanto Region Trainers can't carry with themselves, and he often finds himself with a fair amount of Pokémon Eggs which, with the Trainers permission, he's allowed to keep or give away as he likes. That's usually where the Replacement Starter's come from."

"The usual Starter Pokémon are Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, right?" Harry asked, struggling to focus even as his eyes latched onto what looked like a massive hornet with drills for 'hands' as it flew around a clump of flowers, before settling in to take a nap apparently, cuddling the large flowers with loud, clear buzzing.

"That's right," Mark agreed. "What's most interesting about Pokémon, in my opinion, is the fact that they all come from eggs, whether their mammalian in nature or not, which, while odd, is still very interesting. You can have two completely different Species of Pokémon, and they can have eggs together without crossbreeding!" The man shook his head. "I don't really understand the explanation for how, but Professor Oak knows. Maybe you can make better sense of it than I did!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his head without a hint of embarrassment as they neared the doors to the Lab, which loomed over them by five stories.

Waiting just before the doors was an older man with steel-gray hair and a warm smile, his equally gray eyes curious as they eyed Harry. His skin was deeply tanned, looking darker due to his white lab coat. Harry could clearly pick out not only laughter-lines, but faint, numerous scars as he pulled his hands from his pockets and spread his arms wide in welcome.

"Mark, wonderful to see you again!" The man (The Professor?) greeted happily, and Mark walked forward to take one of the man's hands in his own for a friendly, firm shake, grinning.

"Hello, Professor, it's good to see you as well!" Mark greeted in return, before turning sideways and gesturing back at Harry, Mary giggling happily as she waved at the Professor, Izzy waving her little yellow tail-tip as well. "I've brought a couple of troublemakers, as you can see." The Professor chuckled, giving the two children a friendly, closed-eye smile.

"Why yes you did, I see!" He replied, as he began walking over, hands once more slipping away into his coat pockets. "I see you've brought young Mary back, and her partner-in-crime, Izzy, hmm?" the two mentioned giggled together and nodded firmly, and the Professor turned warm, curious gray eyes on Harry. "But who's this young fellow, hmm?" Harry smiled tentatively at the man, offering him his hand to shake.

"Harry Morsinger, sir," he informed him simply; the Professor shook his hand.

"Professor Oak, a pleasure to meet you, Harry," he told the boy cheerfully; Mark spoke up from off to the side.

"Harry's memory's been a bit damaged, Professor," he told the older man seriously. "He doesn't know anything about Pokémon, the Regional Geography, Laws, or anything much else beyond the basics, and what he does know about any of those topics is just what he's gleaned from my old Journey books." The Professor hummed thoughtfully, standing straight as he rubbed his chin with one hand, his other cupping his elbow as he closed his eyes to think.

"That is a bit of a conundrum, isn't it?" he asked, before smiling down at Harry. "But don't worry, Harry, here at the Kanto Regions Pokémon Lab, we'll be able to answer all your questions regarding Pokémon and their Care! Why don't we go in and get started, shall we?" Harry smiled up at the older man, and eagerly followed him and Mark into the building.

He couldn't wait to learn more!

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokéDex Speaking"

Chapter Four

New Knowledge Now

"This first floor of the Lab is where guests and newer Trainers get to visit," Professor Oak informed Harry as they wandered through; the young boy curiously peered around the floor, which reminded him of the one doctor's office he'd been taken to after Dudley had broken his arm in front of a neighbor. There was functional blue-gray carpet covering the floors of the larger rooms, with blue and silver patterned tiled floors taking up the majority. There were several small offices, with metal tables that reminded the boy of a veterinarian's office. Several people carrying paperwork, bags of PokéFood, and even one memorable green-haired young man who, while carrying a box of red-and-white orbs the Professor called Pokéballs, dropped one, and had to take off running as the large, three-headed bird (A "Dodrio" the Professor told him) took offense, the cursing it shouted making Harry cringe as it chased the young man down.

Mark and Mary had long abandoned him to his Tour, the older man moving off to complete his job, and Mary running away to go see the baby Pokémon. The Professor hadn't minded a bit, happily chatting and explaining all sorts of things to Harry as they went along.

"This is the second floor," he was telling Harry as they finished climbing the stairs, having to squeeze past a large white seal-like Pokémon that the Professor called a Dewgong that was chasing after a bright red, rubber ball of all things. "This is where we keep the incubators, newly-hatched Pokémon, and the Evolution Items." Harry blinked at the unfamiliar term.

"Evolution Items?" He asked, peering through a doorway to watch an Aide set a couple of rather bizarrely colorful eggs carefully into a large glass box that was so hot, the air warped with the vapors. The sign on the door said "Fire Types" so Harry supposed that they needed such high heat to develop properly.

"Ah, yes," the Professor remarked, his tone the same as the teachers Harry had in primary, only settling in a far friendlier way that said the man enjoyed teaching. "Some species of Pokémon can only Evolve into their Second or Third, or even Fourth forms with the aid of specific Items or set conditions. Here, I'll show you what the most common ones look like," he told the boy, leading him into a room filled with shelves that seemed to be filled with all sorts of odd items, each item laying claim to a plaque that held its name, properties, and Pokémon that needed it to Evolve. Each item was behind the same type of glass Mark's company installed, and Harry idly wondered if the man had been the one to do it.

"This is a Thunder Stone," the Professor told him, pointing at a rock that looked almost like a sharp, hardened bit of clear Jade, with a gleaming golden streak in the center that was in the shape of a lightening bolt. "It's an Evolution Stone for certain Electric-Type Pokémon. These are very carefully harvested from stones called Geodes, where crystals form inside of a stone. It's very difficult to gather Stones of the right size and circumstances, and finding geodes in the wild that contain the right crystals, which, for this particular stone, are commonly called Chrysberyl and are used in jewelry, is incredibly rare, especially since the stone must first be electrocuted in order to sustain the properties of Lightning, which is what the Pokémon need. This particular Stone and its fellows here at the Lab were grown up on the third floor, and are often used by fully-evolved Pokémon as conductors for when they have too much electrical build-up, which, in turn, helps give the stones that special ingredient. The other Types of Stone," he added, gesturing down the line of the shelf, "Each require other specific acts, such as the Fire Stone requiring the heat of what amounts to volcanic magma, and the Water Stone requiring a long period of time beneath what amounts to a large waterfall."

"Furthermore," he continued as they wandered down, Harry peering in at all the Stones in fascination, "each Stone requires a specific gem in order to form correctly. Fire Stones require the hard-to-find Yellow Sapphire, which lends to its flame-like appearance but is difficult to grow into proper size and we often have to sell the failures to various jewelry stores. Water Stones require Blue Zircon, which isn't to be confused with the fake-diamonds known as Cubic Zirconia, and if there are no air-pockets within it, something often marked by jewelers as a defect, than it loses its power. These we sometimes receive from jewelry stores, actually, although they're never the right size, they do make pretty hands-on demonstrators we can show to the Trainers who take our three-week Pokémon Studies class."

"Wow," Harry breathed, stunned and slightly overwhelmed by the influx of information as the Professor smiled.

"It's a lot to take in, my boy, I know," he told Harry as he gently ushered the ten-year-old from the room and back down the hall leading towards the next staircase. "But I have faith that a clever young man such as yourself will retain the information to a generous degree." He smiled as Harry looked up at him shyly. "Come, then, Harry, and I'll show you the rest of the Floors." Eagerly, Harry followed him.

The next two hours was spent learning all about things that happened around the Lab. From Crystal Growth to Terraforming for the land outside for optimal Pokémon health and growth. From the breakdown of the ingredients in PokéFood in an attempt to make it better for Pokémon, to the classrooms on the top floor where the Aides and Interns and the odd Trainer were lectured on different Pokémon, different Regions, and Veterinary Science. There was so much information that Harry thought his head would split and his brain turned to mush, even as he eagerly tried to learn more.

By the time he was finally dropped off where Mark and Mary were on the first floor, the ten-year-old was mentally exhausted but in high spirits, which only became higher when he found out exactly what Mark was doing.

Which was helping install the glass aquarium-like boxes for the baby-Pokémon to be observed in. Baby Pokémon that had to be held outside their old boxes so the new ones could be installed, which meant that Harry quickly found himself with an armful of two curious, chittering purple mice-Pokémon as he sat on the ground.

"These are Rattata," the Nursery Aide, whose name was Jonathan, told him as he gently bottle-fed another Rattata while Mary cuddled the other eleven, already fed Pokémon, since, apparently, the mouse-like Pokémon bred like their non-Pokémon relatives. "They hatched a couple weeks ago, and are another two weeks from Release."

"Is it okay for them to be released into the wild, since you hand-raised them?" Harry asked, concerned even as he absently stopped the paler, female Rattata in his arms from chewing on his glasses, her dark plum brother nuzzling into his hair happily.

"It's perfectly fine," Jonathon reassured him kindly. "The baby Pokémon we take care of are all either released or given to a Trainer to be cared for, and those we do release, tend to linger around the fields surrounding Pallet Town until they either Evolve or decide themselves that it's time to move on. Next week, these little ones will be firmly off the bottle, and allowed into the Yard out back, to start learning how to hunt and scavenge for themselves with the help of the Captured Raticates and Rattata that live here with us." Harry nodded, laughing as the lavender Rattata stole his glasses clear of his face with a curious croon, licking at the glass with large, amber eyes staring from them to Harry, who just grinned as he squinted his eyes so he could see.

"Alright, come on now, sweetheart," he told her affectionately gently untangling her hold on his glasses and wiping the baby spit from them with the hem of his shirt. She cooed at him sadly, large ears drooping as she made her eyes as big as possible, painting a truly adorable picture, as she was, at the moment, the same size as an eight-week-old kitten with her too-big, round ears and long tail.

"Food?" A soft, little girl's voice, sounding slightly slurred like a toddlers, asked within his head, and Harry smiled softly down at her.

"These aren't food, sweetheart, but you'll get some soon, alright? I promise," he told her kindly; she whimpered at him, and snuggled in close to his chest, pulling the thick, curled end of her tail into her mouth with a sad little sniffle. Harry felt like his heart just melted and he couldn't help cuddling her closer with a coo.

"You're a natural," Jonathon told him as he gently set the Rattata he was feeding down and offered the bottle to Harry with a smile. "Do you want to try feeding her?" Harry nodded shyly, taking the bottle and awkwardly shifting the lavender baby around until he found a comfortable position, and then he could only stare in wonder as she latched onto the bottle, eyes going half-lidded with happiness as she just stared up at Harry and suckled. Her brother grew bored of his resting place on Harry's head, and scampered down to start chasing his brothers around, the thirteen of them chittering and laughing as they chased each other and Mary around happily, the little girl giggling up a storm as she tired herself, and them, out.

Jonathon spent a couple moments, making sure Harry was holding the baby Rattata and the bottle correctly, before turning his attention to the romping horde, satisfied with the ten-year-olds careful care. Harry, for the most part, couldn't stop staring at the baby in wonder, not even after she'd finished her meal and had fallen asleep, along with her siblings, being settled in the large glass case that had a thick nest of grass, leaves, some feathers, and what looked like tattered bits of cloth.

"Ready to head home for dinner, kiddo?" Mark asked quietly, the sleeping form of Mary on his back and Izzy asleep on his head, making Harry grin.

"Okay," Harry said, trotting over to walk out of the Lab with him. "Can… Can I come back again tomorrow?"

"Of course, Harry," Professor Oak's voice spoke up from behind him, startling the boy, but the kind older man just smiled. "You haven't even gotten to see the Yard yet, and Mark is far from finished with his installation, correct?" Mark nodded.

"That's right," he agreed easily, and Harry relaxed, smiling brightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then, sir," he told the older man firmly; Oak smiled and nodded.

"I look forward to it, my boy," the older man agreed, waving after the three of them as they walked away, Harry turning to wave back, a little sad that he'd had to leave, but looking forward to the next day despite that.

He was really enjoying this new world he was in, that was for sure!

~(Page Break)~

The next week, Harry spent hours at a time each day, running around the Lab. If he wasn't listening attentively to Professor Oak or one of the Aides explaining something, he could be found either in the Yard with the older Pokémon, or cuddling with the babies, especially a specific little lavender-furred Rattata. He spent several hours one day playing with the massive dog Pokémon he'd seen that first day, an Arcanine named Archer, who had taken a shine to him, calling him 'Pup' and making sure the more aggressive Pokémon didn't bother the boy.

Some days, he just sat in the lecture rooms and took notes, despite a good chunk of what was said going right over his head, he still wrote it down. After all, who knew when the knowledge on the chemical make-up of Charcoal and how it helped Fire-Types might come in handy?

Today, however, he was helping a couple Aides gather up a couple of escaped Spearows which were causing trouble, trying to claim the Meadow Zone of the Yard and attacking anyone and anything that came near. Harry, himself, already had several cuts and bruises after being knocked about by a trio of the bird-Pokémon who had cornered the smaller, pre-evolution of Archer, a Growlithe named Monty who had only been at the Lab for a few days before Harry showed up. Unfortunately, before he could get the injured Pokémon inside to be healed, another trio of the bird-Pokémon attacked, pecking and clawing and beating him with their wings as he curled himself over the injured canine with a grunt, grimacing.

"Back off, you flying rats!" Archer snarled, leaping over the cringing form of the ten-year-old and snapping his large jaws at the birds. The Spearows squawked in outrage as they flew away, the large, tiger-striped Pokémon growling at them as Harry grimaced and leaned against one of his legs with a relieved sigh, smiling up at him.

"Thanks, Archer," he told the Arcanine, before hefting the whining, lightly injured Monty higher in his arms. "Those Pokémon are a menace." The large Pokémon snorted in amusement, even as he escorted the two towards the Lab, eying the surrounding grass and skies with sharp blue eyes.

"They're worse in the wild," Archer told him, deep voice rumbling through Harry's head. "They always attack in large flocks, and, when overwhelmed, they call for help from their evolved form, Fearow, which will attack furiously to defend their Territory and Flock." He shook his massive head with a grumbling huff, and nudged Harry towards the door, eying him sternly. "Get yourself and Monty healed up, Pup. The last thing we need is one of those wounds getting infected." He then turned and stalked away, leaping over a bush and loping off in the direction of one of the ponds. Harry shook his head and used a shoulder to push a door open. In moments, an Aide with band-aides and bandages decorating her hands and face, had Monty out of his arms and whisked through a doorway, and Harry himself was ushered into a chair to be briskly taken care of by an unamused Intern who didn't say a single thing to him and just firmly shooed him off when he was done.

Peering around himself at the various Aides and Interns covered in bandages, shuffling along injured Pokémon or carrying re-captured Spearows off to their proper places, Harry couldn't help but smile softly even as he moved to help talk a particularly agitated purple cobra-like Pokémon called Arbok out of eating any of the Spearows. The ten-year-old knew, now, that he definitely wanted to be a Trainer. Working with Pokémon, travelling the world, learning all he could? It was going to be amazing, and he would have to inform Mark that night when the older man came to pick him up.

He was going to do everything he could in life, to make sure whatever Pokémon he came across were healthy, strong, and safe, and protect or help those that weren't. And, one day, when he'd seen his new world from top-to-bottom, when he'd gathered as much information as he could, who knows? Maybe then he could become a Professor himself, and help teach young Trainers all that had been taught to him.

For now, however, he focused on the present, and that would be enough.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokéDex Talking"

Chapter Five

Cry Havoc and Let Loose the Pokémon!

"Hello again, Harry," Professor Oak greeted the ten-year-old in the Atrium of the First Flood of the Lab, the boy grinning in excitement and bouncing a bit on his toes as Mark grinned beside him.

"Hello, Professor, how are you today?" Harry asked happily; the Professor chuckled warmly.

"I'm doing very well, thank you," he replied. "I've been told you're ready for your Starter Pokémon today, am I correct?" Harry nodded eagerly, all but vibrating in place even as he struggled not to, making Mark laugh and the Professor smile warmly down at him. "Well, the usual Starters are already all gone, so we have three of the back-up Pokémon for you to choose from, and then you and your new Partner may go to the Yard to start getting to know one another better, alright?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry responded happily following the older man as he lead the boy to the usual Starter Picking Room, where the three Pokéballs would be resting on a table for him to exam and consider without the pressure of anyone watching, besides the Professor. It was set up that way so that new Trainers couldn't pick the same Pokémon as their friends, or the opposite Pokémon of their Rivals, that way their decisions are relatively unbiased and the Pokémon are picked on their own merits…

For the most part, of course. According to what Harry had learned while at the Lab, the first ten Trainers always got to choose from the Main Three Kanto Starters, but, depending on how well breeding had gone after the last Starter Day, they sometimes ran out of one or more of the Starters, and other Pokémon were offered in their place, and the Trainers only learned of the change once they were in the Starter Room.

Harry fiddled with his glasses nervously as the door shut behind him, leaving him alone with the Professor, who smiled as he stepped behind the stainless-steel table in the middle of the room, where three Pokéballs sat waiting.

"Alright, my boy, are you ready?" the gray-haired man asked; Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving him a firm nod as he stepped forward. The Professor smiled and gestured at the Pokéballs. "Now, normally, I would open the Pokéballs and introduce you to each Pokémon, but, with your delightfully interesting psychic abilities, I would like to see if you can figure them out yourself, without opening them. Don't worry," he added seeing Harry's uncertain look. "I just want to see how far your Abilities concerning Pokémon have developed since you've been in a Pokémon-rich environment for such long periods of time." The intense curiosity in the older mans eyes was what had Harry relaxing, a faint smile curling his lips.

'One a Professor, always a Professor,' the boy thought fondly, before he focused on the Pokéballs, firmly making his thoughts calm and focus. Gently, he reached out and placed his fingertips on the Pokéball to the right, closing his eyes so he could concentrate. After a few moments, a foreign feeling began to make itself known in his mind. His brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what he was feeling.

"Um," he began, frowning a bit. "Female, about… One year old. A Fire-Type, and rather shy… Feels kinda fox-like? Hmm…" He opened his eyes and peered up at the Professor. "Vulpix?" The older man beamed, delighted.

"Exactly, good show!" He told Harry happily, making the boy sigh happily, beaming back at the man. "Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon, is a Fire-Type Pokémon that requires a Fire Stone to Evolve. This particular girl has the Ability called Flash Fire, which means that she's immune to Fire-Type moves, and will actually absorb the strength of the move to make her own Fire stronger.

"Neat," Harry murmured appreciatively, before turning to the center Pokéball with much more confidence. As soon as he touched it, he searched for that foreign feeling, finding it in half the time it took to find Vulpix's.

"Male, about eight months old, very cheerful," he murmured, concentrating. "Bug-Type… Kinda makes me think of wasps, so, Weedle?" A glance at the Professor had Harry grinning, pleased, as the older man nodded.

"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon, Evolves twice through Experience gained in battle," the Professor told him happily, smiling. "This one has the Ability Shield Dust, which means that status-affecting attacks won't work on him." Harry nodded thoughtfully, before turning to the final Pokéball, this time keeping his eyes open as he brushed it with his fingertips, eyes narrowing as he focused.

"Male, about ten months old, and very impatient," he mused, chewing on his bottom lip as he struggled slightly with this Pokémon's fidgeting feel. "A Normal-Type… With a very strange feeling?" He frowned, confused. "He kinda feels like he's got more than one direction to go in…?" Confused, Harry looked up at the Professor, was smiling warmly.

"That would be Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon," the Professor informed him, and Harry blinked, understanding now that the weird, many-direction feeling he was getting was due to the Pokémon's ability to Evolve into so many different Types. Disappointed that he hadn't figured it out, Harry's shoulders slumped, and he looked up again when Oak patted him on the head. "Don't worry, my boy," he soothed kindly. "I honestly wasn't expecting such a detailed grasp on your first few tries! The fact that you've met both a Weedle and a Vulpix in the past, as well as their Evolved Forms, just means that you already had a previous notion on their aspects. You've yet to meet an Eevee or any of their Evolutions before, so it's to be expected that you don't immediately recognize them. Besides that, however, you did simply wonderful, harry!" The man beamed and Harry straightened, smiling shyly in response.

"Now, this particular Eevee, has the Ability called Adaptability, which means that, when he uses Normal-Type moves, they automatically get a power-up. There's a seventy-thirty chance in favor of him keeping this Ability when he Evolves, thus making any moves he learns later, that match whatever Type he Evolves into, more powerful." Harry nodded, remembering the one particular Lecture he sat in on that detailed exactly how versatile this Pokémon's Evolutionary gene was. He didn't understand some of it, to be honest, but he'd kept all the notes and made sure to look up the larger words when he could, and he knew that Eevee was able to Evolve into eight specific Types through various means, and that every major Lab in all the Regions had an Evolution Division which studied the hows and whys of Pokémon Evolution, and that Eevee tended to be their mascot.

"Now that you've identified the Pokémon, their Natures, Types, and Abilities," the Professor told the boy, interrupting his thoughts and making him focus on the here-and-now. "Which Pokémon do you choose?" Harry thought it over carefully.

Vulpix was a Fire-Type, an admittedly powerful, and popular, Type that evolves rather quickly and learned quickly as well. However, from what he'd learned, Fire-Types tended to have very picky and possessive, as well as arrogant, attitudes when they Evolved, unless raised specifically a certain way. This little girl may be shy right now, but the fact was that it could all change when she eventually chose to Evolve.

The Weedle had a good Nature, but Bug-Types were some of the fastest Evolving Pokémon out there, and its final form, Beedrill, were well-known to be violent-tempered and belligerent to non-Bug-Type Pokémon, something Harry didn't think he would be ready to deal with so soon in his Journey.

That left the Eevee, which was Impatient and fidgety, but had the most versatile Ability as well as would be the easiest to Train, being old enough to have certain, set habits as well as young enough to train out of bad ones.

Nodding firmly, Harry reached out and picked up the Eevee's Pokéball, looking up at the Professor with a determined expression. The Professor smiled warmly.

"A do believe that the two of you will be great friends," he informed the boy, whose determined expression broke into a bright grin as he nodded, clutching the Pokéball closer.

"I hope so, Professor," he told the man, before heading out of the room when the Professor shooed him away. Mark and a few of the Aides were busy putting the final touches on the pens he'd helped install, but the older man paused long enough to ruffled Harry's hair and congratulate him on his partner, before he, too, shooed the ten-year-old off to the Yard, which wasn't much of a problem for Harry. He wanted to spend some time with his new Pokémon, after all!

Once he was in the Yard, Harry quickly found an unoccupied section of the Field Zone and took a deep breath, before tapping the button on his Pokéball, causing it to open. In a zap of red light, his Pokémon appeared, shaking his brown fur out firmly and peering around with bright, eager brown eyes, his bushy, cream-tipped tail wagging a bit as his matching, cream neck ruff fluffed up a bit in interest.

"Hello, Eevee," Harry greeted warmly as he knelt down, drawing the Pokémon's attention to him. Harry offered a warm smile. "My name's Harry, and I'm your new Trainer." The Eevee smiled happily up at him, prancing a bit in place.

"Awesome, I've finally got a Trainer!" the Eevee crowd, his voice sounding like any boy Harry's own age as he pranced about. "I can't wait to start Battling!" Harry laughed as the Pokémon bound forward and leaped up onto Harry's shoulder.

"Well, lucky for you, there are plenty of strong Pokémon around here that can help us practice," he told the eager Pokémon, affectionately reaching up and scratching his fingers into Eevee's chest ruff. "First things first, however, how about a name for you?" Eevee nodded eagerly, bouncing a bit on Harry's shoulder, his small, cat-like paws digging in a bit.

"Ooh, ooh, I want an awesome name!" Eevee told him eagerly. "Something fierce! Maybe Fang, or, or, Hero, or something else, but it has to be awesome, just like me!" Harry laughed as he stood, grinning at the eager, silly Pokémon who grinned right back at him.

"I don't think Fang or Hero fit you just yet, little guy," he laughed, making the Eevee blink slightly, before seemingly accepting his psychic ability with ease. "You're a chaotic little Pokémon, how about Chaos? Or Havoc or something like that?" Eevee thought it over for all of a minute, before bouncing a bit again and nodding.

"I like Havoc! It's what I'll bring upon my enemies!" he declared, leaping onto the ground, falling into a ready-to-fight stance and growling adorably as he looked around eagerly for these 'enemies', making Harry laugh again.

"Alright, then!" The Boy laughed, immensely pleased that, so far, his choice in partner had been spot on. "Havoc it is!" The Eevee cheered before flinging himself into some nearby bushes in an attempt to find another Pokémon to Battle, making Harry laugh as he trotted after the impatient Pokémon, ready to start off their first Training session.

He had no doubt that the two of them were going to be the best of friends in no time at all.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokéDex Talking"

Chapter Six

Training Troubles

"Havoc, use Tackle!" Harry called; the Eevee obeyed, lunging forward and smashing into their target, forcing the other Pokémon to grunt and stumble back a bit, before a flare of their wings sent the smaller Pokémon tumbling in a gust of wind.

"Better," Pidgeot informed them, fluffing his feathers up as he eyed the two with amused amber eyes. "But still not good enough." Havoc growled and shook himself, sending a glare that was more of a pout towards the older Pokémon, who's Trainer, an Intern named Matthew, was reading one of the chemistry textbooks that were plentiful in the Lab.

"Try a combination move," he suggested, his brown eyes remaining locked on the book as he waved one hand at the younger pair, before said hand dragged through his spiky, dark purple hair. "It's simple enough, but not a lot of people think to do it. Silly, really. Then again, some Pokémon just don't like to do that either." He shrugged, brows furrowing as he apparently read over one of the more complicated formulas, silently mouthing the words. Harry sighed, and tried to bite back his frustration. He and Havoc had been practicing with the Yard Pokémon for nearly a week, now, and, while they'd improved, there was still a lot of growing room.

"Okay, Havoc," Harry called, shaking his head a bit. "Let's try combining Sand-Attack with Tackle, okay?" Havoc blink, shifting his weight, and glanced back at Harry.

"But Pidgeot has Keen Eye, so wouldn't Sand-Attack be useless?" he asked; Harry smiled proudly at him. At the beginning of the week, Havoc had thought he could take on the world, with his three Attacks (Tackle, Tail-Whip, and Sand-Attack), but the uppity, impatient Eevee had been quickly beaten nearly every time by the various older, properly-Trained Pokémon. Now, he was thinking things through, asking questions, and being more cautious. He still tended to be an Action-First kind of thinker, but he was getting better, and Harry couldn't be prouder at the moment.

"We're just practicing the Combination," he reminded his Starter. "This way you can get used to using them and performing them together. So, while Pidgeot's Keen-Eye Ability protects him from Sand-Attack, other Pokémon won't be prepared for it." Havoc brightened, nodding firmly and falling into his Ready stance. "Ready?" Harry asked Pidgeot, who nodded and seemed to roll his shoulders a bit, bracing himself, sharp amber eyes on Havoc. "Havoc, use Sand-Tackle!" Harry ordered.

"Got it, Boss!" Havoc agreed, darting forward. Halfway to Pidgeot, he spun, his tail scraping the ground. At the end of his spin, his tail lashed out, flinging a cloud of dust and sand into Pidgeot's face. Using the momentum of his spin to launch into a strong tackle, Havoc managed to knock the large bird-Pokémon into a heavy stumble, thanks to the fact that Pidgeot was already off balance from automatically raising a wing to protect his face from the Sand-Attack. Pidgeot recovered quickly, however, lashing out at the smaller Pokémon with a wing, which Havoc just barely dodged.

"Again!" Harry called sharply, flinging a hand out and clenching the other into a determined fist. Havoc didn't pause, dodging another Wing-Attack and darting into the larger Pokémon's Guard, using Tackle against Pidgeot's chin before twisting around and smacking him in the face with a tail still coated in dust and small debris, causing Pidgeot to hiss and stagger, shaking his head firmly. Harry cheered as Havoc landed back in front of him, fur fluffed with glee as he growled challengingly at the older Pokémon.

"Much better," Pidgeot informed them, swiping a wing over his face with a low chuckle, eying the two consideringly. "I expect great things from you two." Recognizing that he was calling an end to the training spar, Harry and Havoc both relaxed, nodding firmly at the Pokémon as Matthew heaved himself to his feet, his long, lanky body stretching as he yawned.

"Keep up your Training, Harry, Havoc," he told the two as he turned to wander off, waving absently over his shoulder as he stuffed his book into his satchel and rifled around in the bag, while Pidgeot bobbed his head farewell and took to the air to glide easily high above his Trainer. As the pair grew further and further away, Harry turned his attention to Havoc, grinning widely.

"That was awesome, Havoc!" He told the Eevee enthusiastically, making his Starter bounce about gleefully in agreement, his bushy tail wagging, neatly ridding it of the remaining dirt and dust before Havoc leaped up onto Harry's shoulder.

"That's because I'm awesome, Boss!" Havoc cheerfully declared, grinning brightly and making Harry laugh.

"Once we've got a good set of Combinations, and you're stronger, than we'll be the most awesome," Harry told the Pokémon, who cheered happily. "For now, though, let's head back to the Lab and get something to eat, right?"

"Right!" Havoc agreed, grinning as Harry started trotting towards the Lab, waving at Archer when they passed the large Fire-Type as he lounged sleepily on a huge, platform-like sunning stone. He nodded at them with a yawn, Monty the Growlithe fast asleep on his back, along with the Vulpix Starter Harry had turned down, and the Arbok from the Spearow Incident, who was curled up and happily hissing as his flared hood absorbed the heat of the noon-time sun.

Overhead, a trio of Pidgeys fluttered by, chattering about the Oran bush they'd found on the edge of one of the smaller ponds. A group of Mankeys and Primeapes shouted insults from a nearby tree at a group of sparring Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan in a clearing close by. Harry laughed as he almost tripped over a familiar lavender Rattata when she darted out of a bush to rub against his leg, giggling as she hid behind him from one of her brothers when he ran out after her, the two running around Harry in circles before darting off again with a brief call of "Bye-bye, Harry!" and a wave of their curled tails.

Harry had never felt as at home as he did when he was surrounded by Pokémon. Sure, he thought of the Garretes as family now, how could he not with how kind and welcoming they'd been? But, well, Pokémon were different. They were new and bright and filled with life, and they mostly welcomed him and made him feel like he wasn't a freak, but merely a human-shaped Pokémon himself. Sure, not all of them liked him, but he had yet to meet a Pokémon that loathed him. Even the Spearows didn't hate him, they were just ornery and didn't like anyone much. So, really, they just treated him like they treated everyone, something he still marveled at, that strange feeling of belonging to something, of not being singled out.

As the Lab came into view, Harry couldn't stop from smiling, spotting Mary as she lay on her stomach on the ground, coloring a picture as Izzy rolled around her giggling.

"You two Ladies having fun?" He asked, smiling as Havoc leaped from his shoulder with a playful war-cry, gently tackling Izzy and sending the two of them rolling through the grass in a mess of giggling trills and gleeful yips.

"Harry!" Mary cried, happily scrambling to her feet to leap full-bodied at him, scrambling around his torso onto his back, where she clung tightly, like a little monkey as she rubbed their cheeks together with a giggle, a bright grin showing off her recently lost front tooth. "Are you and Havoc done training today? Huh, huh?" Harry smiled and shifted his weight so he didn't kill his lower back while carrying her towards the door, Izzy and Havoc running after them, with the Eevee grabbing up the coloring book and Izzy carrying her crayons.

"We're taking a break for a while, Mary, just to eat and rest," Harry told her easily. "Then we're probably going to sit in on one of the lectures, or maybe go talk with some of the older Pokémon. What about you, hmm?" He asked her, reaching back and tickling her, making her writhe and giggle and almost strangle him as she tightened her arms. "What are you and Izzy doing today?" He gasped out, letting out a sigh of relief when the seven-year-old shifted and relaxed her stranglehold.

"We're coloring pictures for Uncle Gio!" She declared happily. "He's 'sposed to visit soon, and we wanna make sure he has a new picture for his office!" She nodded happily, and Harry's forehead furrowed in confused.

"Who's Uncle Gio?" He asked her; Mary giggled and wiggled off of his back to take her crayons and coloring book from their Pokémon before skipping ahead of Harry towards the cafeteria.

"He's Mommy's big brother!" She called, before waving goodbye and skipping away, Izzy happily wiggling after her, singing a song about sunshine and flowers as she disappeared after her Owner. Harry and Havoc shared a look as the Eevee returned to his usual perch on the ten-year-olds shoulder. Finally, the two of them shrugged and headed for the cafeteria themselves, where Harry quickly found himself with a tray of fruit and a ham sandwich, and a tall glass of strawberry milk, while Havoc got a small bowl of Normal-Type PokéFood mixed with some dried Berries, which he dove into without much grace or manners at all, all but inside the bowl, his bushy tail wagging furiously as he munched. The female Interns a table over from them giggled and cooed, and Harry felt his ears heat up as they turned red, but he diligently continued to munch slowly, enjoying his lunch.

"What lectures are scheduled for today?" He asked after finishing, turning to the trio of female Interns curiously.

"Well, I know that at 2, there's a lecture on the different Egg Types for those interested in Pokémon Breeding, with the Head of the Breeding Institution, Jerome Brood," one offered, her blond hair up in a neat bun as she adjusted her teal-colored glasses over her bright pink eyes, a small mole standing out just below the far corner of her right eye.

"There's a Debate scheduled at 4 about Inter-Region Politics and Their Affect on Pokémon Migration with Kiana LaBou," one of her companions told him, her own blue eyes cheerful as she tucked her short, pixie-cut black hair behind one many-pierced ears, smiling and cooing at Havoc who had rolled out of his bowl with a slightly bulging tummy and deliriously happy look on his face.

"And in fifteen minutes, there's a Lecture with the Head Aide, Mariah Bonnet, about Shiny Pokémon and various color mutations that can happen due to Egg Interaction," the final Intern chirped, her curly orange hair matching her equally bright orange eyes as her dark caramel skin gleamed from the lotion she was applying, a bright pink Band-Aid on her cheek.

"Hmm," Harry acknowledged, mildly disappointed. Debates were interesting, but he wasn't one for Politics (It was all ridiculous and tended to annoy him a great deal, all that back-stabbing, sideways-talking). He'd sat in on the Shiny Pokémon Lecture before, with a different Lecturer, and the Pokémon Egg Types, while interesting, wasn't of much interest to him when he had a generic chart on the combinations and Types from a different Lecture a few days previous. So, it looked like it was either the Yard or back to home for him and Havoc today then. He sent the three Interns a smile.

"Thank you, Ladies," he told him, scooping his happily snoring Pokémon up to cradle in his arm like a baby, earning a new round of giggles and coos from the Interns as they bid him farewell and began to leave themselves. Harry hummed under his breath as he carried his dishes and Havoc's empty bowl to the dish-washing area, dropping them off with a polite thank-you to the worker there before wandering off.

Wandering amiably through the First Floor, Harry eventually decided that, since Havoc fast asleep already and probably going to stay out for a good while, Home was the place to go. Poking his head into the room with Baby Pokémon to tell Mark and Mary, and saying goodbye to the Professor, Harry left the Lab and started the long trek back to the Garretes, Havoc snoring adorably against his shoulder, making the ten-year-old smile softly. As he walked, Harry found his gaze drifting to the sky, watching the clouds and listening to the soft sounds of distant Pokémon and insects as the sun shown warmly down on them all.

He'd been in this world since mid-April, and it was just going into the second week of May, and Harry honestly couldn't find it in himself to be either angry or upset with how it all happened. Sure, there were certain things he missed about Private Drive, like Old Miss Figg and her cats, and the nice old man who lived in Number Seven who sometimes made a show of getting him to do yard work when the Dursley's had him out, but always slipped him a few candy bars and a gentle pat on the head. And sometimes, he even missed his Primary school, where everything was explained in a way he could easily understand, unlike the Lab, where everything was complicated and advanced and he often felt like an idiot for having to ask so many questions… Not that anyone there was bothered. In fact, he was pretty sure that they enjoyed trying to find new things to explain just so they could come up with new ways to talk about all the stuff they liked, but that was all beside the point!

The point was that, while Harry did miss some aspects of his old world, this one more than made up for it. There were people who were kind to him and encouraged him to learn and grow and be happy. There were Pokémon, fantastic, wonderful creatures who were amazing and treated him like he wasn't a freak. Here, the strange things that happened to and around him were interesting instead of disgusting, and he was fed and encouraged to eat and all the things he'd been beaten and mocked and scolded for back at Number Four!

The Garretes, while not exactly Family, were still so nice and welcoming, and dear, dear friends, and Harry was happier than he'd ever been with them.

Smiling brightly, Harry waved at Mr. Wenlock, who, as usual, was tending to his brightly colored garden with his ridiculous bright yellow sunhat, a gift from his late wife, sitting over his dark purple hair. Beside him was his mushroom-like Pokémon, Parasect, which was happily using its hermit crab-like claws to tug and pull weeds.

"Short day today, Harry?" Mr. Wenlock called, purple eyes kind as he smile, his white teeth standing out against his dark-colored skin.

"Yes sir!" Harry called in reply, making the older man chuckle and wave him on, his new wife, Rebecca, smiling as she carried out a glass of lemonade for her husband, her bright blond hair shining in the sunlight against her tan skin and pink sundress.

"Don't have too much fun, young man!" She called teasingly; Harry laughed and waved at her as well, shifting the snoring Havoc into a more secure position on his other arm as he disappeared from their sight, rounding the corner onto Night Street, only to pause and stare, blinking, at the sight that awaited him.

For some reason, parked in from of the Garretes house, was a long black limousine, with two large, entwined red 'R's on the doors, hood, and on the little white flags at the corners of the hood and trunk. Harry wasn't sure who it was that was visiting what amounted to his Foster Family, but they were obviously important. Swallowing nervously, Harry cautiously approached.

Hopefully, this mystery visitor had nothing to do with Harry's mysterious appearance, and was just stopping by for tea.

…

Hopefully.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokéDex Talking"

Chapter Seven

Big Bad Brother

Harry's nerves were only slightly calmed by the apparent driver of the limousine, an older, white-haired gentleman with a warm smile and kind gray eyes named Max. The older man had been relaxing in the car when Harry had tentatively knocked on the window to ask why he was there and if he was waiting for the Garretes. Max had smiled and told him that his Boss was visiting his Sister, and had offered Harry some mints, which Harry politely declined.

Now, the ten-year-old was cautiously making his way through the yard and to the door, cuddling Havoc to his chest as he opened it.

"Sarah, I'm home!" He called into the house clearly, kicking off his shoes and walking towards the kitchen.

"Harry?" Sarah's voice asked, surprised as she appeared in the kitchen doorway directly in front of him. She was beaming, eyes bright with happiness as she swept him into a tender hug, which Harry accepted with honest relief. "You're home early, sweetie, is everything alright?" She asked, leaning back to peer down at him in concern; Harry quickly shook his head, smiling up at this wonderful woman who was like a mother to him.

"Not at all," he reassured her earnestly. "But I've heard all the lectures they're having this afternoon, and the only debate going on is about Politics, so, since Havoc worked really hard in Training and ate himself into a bit of a Food-Coma, I decided that home was the best bet."

"I see," She said, smiling in amusement at the still-bulging belly of the softly-snoring Eevee. "Well, since you're here, you can meet my brother before the fireworks go off!" She told him brightly, quickly ushering the boy into the kitchen.

"Fireworks?" he asked, confused, before he turned his focus onto the man sitting calmly at the kitchen table, sipping what looked like a Mark-Sized cup of coffee and watching Harry with jewel-bright sapphire-colored eyes that were sharp with interest. His skin was evenly tanned, standing out against his black suit, and his black hair was neat and shiny, firmly held in check by what looked like a super-strong gel. His jaw was square, his mouth firm, and his hands, which were lowering his cup of coffee to the table, shared the same sorts of small scars that Harry had seen on the hands of the many people at the Lab.

"So, this is the infamous Harry Morsinger you've told me so much about," the man stated, voice cool and easy, the smooth sort of baritone Harry recalled hearing from politicians on the telly. He smiled, showing off straight white teeth, and stood at a little over six feet tall, his slightly-broad shoulders leading down to a narrow waist.

"Be nice, Gio," Sarah scolded half-heartedly, beaming up at the man. "Harry, meet my brother, Giovanni," she told the ten-year-old, who eyed the man cautiously even as he offered his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir," he told the man simply, earning a slightly less-sharp smile as one of those large, scarred hands curled around his small, equally-scarred one, the lime green bandage around his thumb standing out against the older man's tan skin.

"The pleasure's all mine, Harry," Giovanni corrected easily. "After all, anyone who can put up with my little sister's spouse for so long has to have a good head on his shoulders," he told him, earning an annoyed swat and eye-roll from Sarah as she slipped past them to sit back down at the table, where her own glass of lemonade sat.

"Don't listen to him, Harry," she told the boy easily as the two males moved to join her in sitting. "He hasn't gotten along with Mark since they first met when I brought him home twenty years ago."

"He was a temperamental fool than, he's no doubt one now, and he will continue to be one thirty years from now," Giovanni told her with a huff, and Harry got to witness an unknowingly rare sight, that of Giovanni relaxing, slouching back into his chair and rolling his eyes at his sister, who was smirking knowingly at him, and, suddenly, Harry could see the resemblance in that smirk, the shape of their noses, even the way the two moved their eyebrows.

"You're just sore about the fact that his company refuses to sell out and you'll never get a foothold in the PokéGlass business," she told him, making the man straighten up again in offense, but she turned to Harry before the businessman could do more than open his mouth. "Gio is the owner and CEO of Rocket Corporation, a multibillion-dollar franchise that tends to deal with most things Pokémon related," she informed the ten-year-old cheerfully, making Harry stare, wide-eyed, at the frowning man across from him. He was a multibillionaire?! "And, since Gio here is a bit of a control freak, he can't stand not having any say over how anything Pokémon-related is used, so Mark's business being outside his influence upsets him."

"That's not the reason I dislike him and you know it, Sarah," Giovanni groused, pulling his coffee close and shooting the unrepentantly smirking woman a glare. "And I am not a control freak," he huffed. "I am a businessman and I enjoy perusing the various aspects of multiple possible-assets at any given time," he sniffed, taking a sip from his drink.

"That's what I said," Sarah agreed mischievously. "A control freak!" Giovanni let out a disgusted noise as Sarah laughed at him, and Harry couldn't help but grin, even if he did feel a little awkward just sort of sitting there and acting as a sound-board between the two.

"At least your spouse wasn't so foolish as to sign over to that Ginostashi prick," Giovanni muttered, and Sarah scoffed at him, arching an eyebrow.

"Is anyone idiotic enough to sign over anything to that vile creature?" She demanded; Giovanni hummed low in his throat while Harry looked between the two curiously, shifting so that Havoc was sprawled across his thighs.

"Who's Ginostashi?" Harry asked curiously, gaining the adults attention once more.

"Ginostashi is the owner and CEO of GinoCorp, a rival company of Gio's," Sarah explained, grimacing as her brother snorted.

"Not much of a rival, but still, he manages to scrape by and stay within the millions," Giovanni added derisively. "His Pokémon-related products are said to assist in what they call 'Training', but it's just a cover for inhumane acts of animal abuse that is protected from the law." Harry's eyes widened, and he instinctively curled his arms around Havoc.

"Some of his products are decent," Sarah reassured him kindly. "The Experience Bow, for example, is a GinoCorp product that helps make natural Evolution through battle experience faster. Things like that, they tend to overshadow the bad products with their popularity, you see?" Slowly, Harry nodded. "Gio's own corporation might have been doing even better if his situation hadn't been reversed." Here, for the first time, Harry got to witness something frosty and sharp cross the usually kind and warm woman's face, and Giovanni's shoulders tightened in a straight line as he made a show of slowly sipping his cooling coffee and making steady eye-contact with his sister.

"We've been over this, Sarah," he told her seriously, and Harry shifted, abruptly uncomfortable in the now tension-laden atmosphere of the kitchen.

"And we'll continue going over it until it's no longer an issue, Giovanni," Sarah snapped back, making Harry cringe down in his seat, eyes wide as the two adults glared at one another.

"Erm… Should I leave?" Harry asked tentatively, making Sarah look over at him, slightly startled.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I got completely distracted and almost forgot you were even in the room," Sarah apologized, looking honestly upset with herself. She offered the boy a smile and, if it was a little tight in the corners, Harry chose not to mention it. "I'm guessing you had lunch at the Lab?" Harry nodded. "How about a glass of lemonade, then, and we'll talk about something less upsetting, alright?"

"Yes, please," Harry agreed simply, and watched as the short woman got to her feet and bustled away to get his drink, before Harry dragged his emerald eyes slowly back to Giovanni, who had only half-relaxed from his tightly coiled position just moments before, his bright eyes half-lidded as he offered Harry a small, tired-looking smile.

"So, Sarah has told me all about the fact that you basically living at the local Lab," he offered, in a mildly teasing tone that had Harry giving him a tentative grin. "May I ask why you spend so much time there?" Harry nodded.

"Mostly it's just learning about the different Pokémon, Pokémon products, proper Trainer behavior and paperwork, and just learning as much as possible, you know?" Harry told the man, quickly falling into the eager chatter that he'd slowly developed since appeared in his new world, something encouraged by those around him. "I didn't know anything about Pokémon at all until I came here, and the Professor and others at the Lab have really liked explaining everything to me, you know? Like, do you know how an Elemental Stone is created?" Giovanni was smiling slightly at the boys enthusiasm, Sarah smiling as well as she sat a tall glass of lemonade in front of the ten-year-old.

"Why don't you tell me, alright?" Giovanni offered, and, like a shot, Harry was off, eager to show off his culmination of information to the indulgently willing adults, all but vibrating in place.

In his lap, Havoc remained unaware and uncaring, snoring his Food-Coma away into the afternoon.

With Dumbledore…

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was smiling genially the students as they enjoyed their Leaving Feast, expertly hiding his irritation. Over a week ago, he had felt the Bond between himself and Fawkes break, something that could only be done if one of them had either died, or another Phoenix had claimed the Territory. Usually, that would mean that Albus would have gotten a new Phoenix, because, as the strongest Magically-Inclined Being in the Territory, the bird should have been drawn to him, and then he would have been able to once more cast the Familiarous Curse to force its compliance, thereby giving himself a magic boost as well as enhancing his natural healing abilities.

But, for some reason, the bird had not come, which could only mean that, one, it was already someone's Familiar (Highly improbable due to the Familiarous Curse being a category 5 banned spell, just a single, small step below the Unforgivables, and resulting in Life in Azkaban or the Kiss, depending on the "victim"), two, that there was someone else more magically-inclined than him (Again, highly, unlikely, he was Albus Dumbledore after all!), or three, that the new bird was a Dark Phoenix, something he had only read briefly about in his search for the perfect familiar, because it was so incredibly rare that it was believed that, in the last ten thousand years, only one had been recorded, and it has thrown itself into the sea to die.

After all, a Dark Phoenix could only be created if a Phoenix had been so horribly betrayed that it had twisted its own Magic to get away. These birds were also called Furies, because their sole purpose once Twisted were to take vengeance on those that had betrayed them, afterwards usually choosing to die rather than continue as Twists of themselves.

But, like he thought before, all of that was incredibly unlikely. What probably had happened was that this new bird had been injured in the Territorial Dispute between itself and Fawkes, and was healing before it would come to him.

Nodding easily to himself, Albus took a bite of his lemon-drop flavored ice cream, smiling benignly down at the obnoxious little pawns chattering beneath him, and turned his thoughts to better things.

Down the table, unknown to the old, manipulative wizard, Severus Snape was tiredly drinking a mug of thick, dark hot chocolate, and nursing the migraine that came with being the newly minded Bond-mate of a newly Twisted Dark Phoenix while, in his quarters, the Immortal once known as Fawkes, crooned to himself as he gently, smugly, preened his black, silver, and green plumage, acid-green eyes gleaming in the light of the fire burning nearby.

Everything was going according to plan for the bird, and it would soon be time to up the ante.

He would have his Vengeance, and he would have his Change, or the world would burn.

With Harry…

Harry's enthusiasm had eventually calmed in the two hours he'd all but chattered Giovanni and Sarah to death, much to his embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Harry," Giovanni chuckled, ruffling the ten-year-olds hair as the boy sheepishly ducked his head to sip his lemonade. "It's wonderful to see a Trainer taking their new responsibilities seriously for once. You'd be surprised how many lose their Pokémon to my Teams simply due to their own incompetence," the man informed him, rolling his eyes easily.

"Teams?" Harry asked, curious, as Havoc (who had woken sometime between Harry explaining the difference in Egg-Type and his theories on the mutation of the Shiny Gene due to Egg Interaction) cocked his head cutely while resting on Harry's shoulder. Sarah's smile grew tight and she climbed to her feet.

"I'll leave you to explain your little Teams, Gio," she told her brother tightly as she took his empty mug and her own empty glass and put them into the sink before stalking out of the room. Giovanni's mouth tightened even as he let out a slow, deliberate breath, and rubbed a hand briefly over his face. Harry looked between him and the doorway uncertainly.

"Is… Is something wrong?" Harry asked cautiously; Giovanni offered him a small smile.

"My sister and I have never seen eye-to-eye on the… Less than legal aspects of the Rocket Corporation." Harry blinked, and Havoc sat down on his Trainers shoulder, curious. "I have several Teams of employee's whose job it is to… Acquire, uncommon and rare Pokémon from idiot Trainers, whenever and wherever they can."

"…Acquire, how?" Harry asked him cautiously; Giovanni opened his mouth to answer, when a hard, cold voice spoke up from the doorway.

"By stealing Pokémon from their Trainers for his own greed, like the selfish bastard he is," Mark stated, glaring viciously at the businessman, a sleeping Mary on his shoulder, and Izzy trilling nervously on the opposite side. Harry, wide-eyed and tense, nervously stared from the frigid, angry face of Mark, to the coldly smiling mask of Giovanni, and sank silently lower into his chair as sparks seemed to fly between the two.

He had a very bad feeling about this meeting.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokemon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokeDex Talking"

Chapter Eight

Confrontations

Sarah had taken Mary and Izzy to their room, leaving the two men and the boy sitting in the kitchen, Harry slowly sinking deeper into his chair and cuddling a tense Havoc as the tension grew thicker and thicker. Giovanni had transformed from the calm, indulgent man Harry had gotten to know over the last few hours, into a frigid, coldly smiling businessman who, like a cat, was smugly watching as Mark grew quietly angrier and angrier at his mere presence.

"...Maybe we should leave?" Havoc offered cautiously, ears twitching as his gaze flicked from one man to the other. Harry shook his head slightly, his own eyes following along with his Pokemon's in near-perfect sync.

"I assume you're in good health, Mark?" Giovanni asked mildly; Mark's eyes flashed and his jaw clenched.

"As well as any other law-abiding citizen can be, not that you'd understand that, of course," he replied tersely; Harry winced and stroked a hand nervously down Havoc's back.

"Oh dear," Giovanni murmured, lifting his drink to his mouth. "Someone woke on the wrong side of the bed today. What's wrong, Mark? Work not doing well lately?"

"My work is just fine, Giovanni," Mark snapped, glaring. Then, he smirked. "Which you would know, but, oh yeah, you don't own PokéGlass, do you?" Mark leaned back as Giovanni sipped his drink, his eyes a shade colder than before. "You know, it's surprising, really. You're so quick to steal Pokémon, that I'm frankly amazed you haven't tried anything about it yet. What, does the idea of stealing from adults bother your Teams?" Giovanni st his cup down with a chink that rang with finality. Harry's shoulders were so tight and tense his muscles hurt.

"Erm, Mark? Giovanni?" the ten-year-old tried; he was ignored.

"If I'd actually thought your business was worth the effort, Mark," Giovanni informed him coolly, "I would already own it, and, by extension, you. I wonder what Sarah would say about that." Mark slammed his hands down on the tabletop and leaned forward sharply, making Harry flinch and Havoc growl nervously.

"Oh, you'd just love that, wouldn't you, Gio," he hissed mockingly. "You always have loved hoarding any minuscule fragment of power you've managed to get over other people. Well, you don't have anything over me, and your sister? Well, she'll always choose me and Mary, and you know that, don't you," He hissed leaning forward even more, making Harry slide down further, half under the table by now, eyes wide and breathing shallow as he clung to Havoc.

"Harry?" Havoc asked nervously; Harry swallowed.

"My sister isn't exactly known for her good life choices," Giovanni remarked coldly. "Just look at you, hmm?" The glacier cold eyes flicked over Mark's looming form with derision. "Thirty-six, working on commissions alone while your wife and child live on the money my sister has from the accounts I made for her years ago. Tell me again, exactly, how that job is going for you?" Mark snarled, lunging forward and knocking the table over. Harry cried out and threw himself away as Mark and Giovanni glared eye-to-eye, the glassman's fists curled into the lapels of the businessman's suit.

For a second, everything froze, Harry's breaths coming in sharp pants, clinging to Havoc fearfully.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Sarah's voice hissed from the doorway, breaking the tableau; Mark let go of Giovanni in a sharp motion that had Harry cringing against the wall, hunched over and silent, even as Havoc stared up at him with wide, concerned eyes.

"Vee?" the Eevee called, not actually saying anything but drawing the rooms attention to the silently hyperventilating boy, whose eyes were still flicking between the two men. Their eyes widened and they both shifted towards him, Mark taking a step forward, lifting one of his hands.

"Harry?" He asked, but Harry didn't hear him. All he heard was angry snarls and lunging bodies and, suddenly, he was running, darting past Mark and out the back door, the following shout just spurring him on further, vaulting over the fence and unknowingly letting Havoc go. Not that it mattered, because the Eevee just shook himself off and leapt after his Trainer, keeping up with ease as the ran, leaping over fences and past people and Pokemon alike as they went.

He didn't know how long he ran, but, by the time he finally stumbled to a stop, he was a good way away from Pallet, collapsing to his knees as he gasped, a heavy, painful stitch in his side.

"Harry?!" Havoc gasped, sprawled on the ground next to him, and Harry could only lean forward and put his forehead against the dirt, his glasses sliding down his nose as his eyes burned with tears while he gasped. "Are you... Okay?" his Starter asked; Harry could only weakly shake his head, his panting breaths turning into short sobs as he struggled to breath and tears began to slide down his face. Slowly, he slumped to the side, and Havoc stumbled over to curl up under his chin, ears pinned down. Harry stayed there, curled up in the dirt and grass next to a decently sized rock.

He stayed there for a while, cuddling his Pokemon closely, emotionally and physically exhausted.

"...Are you okay?" Havoc asked again, voice quiet and subdued; Harry didn't open his eyes, just shifting so he could slowly pet his partner's soft fur.

"...Before I came here," he muttered softly, voice hoarse and tired. "I lived with my Aunt and Uncle, and their son... They hated me, and, well, the feeling was mutual, I guess." He shrugged moodily, opening his eyes finally, swollen and red as they were. Havoc didn't say anything, just shifting so he could peer up at Harry silently, brown eyes worried. "When I... Got here, the Garretes took me in," he murmured. "They're very kind and gentle and, well, everything I've always thought a family should be... Seeing Mark like that, angry and hateful and ready to beat Giovanni just because they don't like one another... It reminded me of my uncle, is all, and I... Panicked, I guess..." He sighed and slowly heaved himself up into a sitting position, Havoc quickly hopping into his lap and snuggling in.

"Well, you don't have to worry about any of that anymore," Havoc told him firmly, brown eyes determined and tail flicking. "Now that I'm here, anyone who wants to bully you has to go through me! Don't worry," he declared, grinning up at Harry, who couldn't help but laugh softly and hug his Pokemon with a warm smile.

"You should listen to your Pokemon," a soothing feminine voice interrupted kindly, making Harry and Havoc turn sharply. Walking placidly towards them was a cream-colored cat Pokemon that looked similar to the panthers Harry remembered seeing in books at school. Kind, crimson eyes stared at the duo, the same color as the round gem embedded in her forehead, black-edged, round ears twitching slightly back toward the way she came before she sat regally, her tail, which ended in a large curl, settled around her paws and her thick whiskers lifted as she smiled at the two.

"Oh, you're a Persian!" Havoc exclaimed in interest, and Harry tried to smile, his eyes still sore and swollen. The Persian nodded her head calmly.

"Indeed, and you are an Eevee," she replied easily, looking the two of them over with rising concern. "My Trainer sent me out to find you two," she told them gently.

"Your Trainer?" Harry asked, getting yet another nod as she rose once more and padded closer, settling next to him and begging to lick his hair, occasionally feathering her whiskers against him, making him smile a little easier at the ticklish sensation. Harry vaguely remembered reading that Persians whiskers were incredibly sensitive and able to find injuries and hidden objects, and that they were made of mostly skin and nerves, which was why you could grab onto them and get an immediate submission, kind of like making a dog show its belly.

"Giovanni," she answered him simply, rubbing her whiskers against Havoc and huffing in amusement as he fluffed up in annoyance. "When he sent me out, his sister and her husband were already trying to find you two, but then again, Sarah was a little busy tearing into the two of them and crying," she mused, and Harry flinched, eyes wide.

"Sarah was crying?" He asked softly; Persian nodded, snuffling at his shoulder as she wrapped her tail around his waist, settling her side against his as he absently stroked a hand through Havoc's ruff as his Starter pouted in his lap.

"She was very upset with them, and very worried for you," Persian told him quietly. "Giovanni doesn't usually have too much of a temper. He gets riled and frustrated with his employees, and with the stocks and paperwork, but he's usually very patient, but, well... Mark has always been a sore point for him," she admitted, ears twitching as she finally sat up a bit and stopped searching him for injuries. "You see, when Sarah introduced Mark to the family, she was barely eighteen, and he was twenty-four, unemployed, and an Academy drop-out, while Sarah was a Honor's Graduate from their relatively well-off family. I was still a Meowth back then, and Giovanni was running the Family Business, barely twenty-five himself, over stressed and overworked... Well, you can imagine his reaction to his baby sister bring home Mark and telling her brother all about how they were dating." Harry winced at that, and he could honestly understand some of the aggression between the two men now, at least, to a degree.

"Well, when Giovanni doesn't like someone, he tends to just let them know in the most contemptuously condescending way possible," Persian told him with dry amusement, shaking he head nostalgically. "And Mark has always had a chip on his shoulder, wanting to rise up from the image of his upbringing as some no-good street rat. Well, the two got into a fist-fight and Sarah told them both to grow up or never bother with her again. It took the two men nearly a year, each, to earn her forgiveness again, and the result was her and Mark getting even closer than ever and her and Giovanni getting more distant than they ever had, though that was more of his fault than her." Harry nodded and continued to listen, his interest well and truly caught.

"Giovanni threw himself into the Corporation, realized that the company was dying and fixed it pretty much single-handedly. A rival business, GinoCorp, had started paying for underhanded tricks, things like destroying products on the way to the company, buying up anything Giovanni showed interest in, sending moles in to steal the ideas in the Research and Development areas. It got to the point that Giovanni had to start sending his own groups out to do the same. That's how Team Rocket began, you know," she told him calmly. "At first, it was just a way to hold guerrilla war with GinoCorp, but then it escalated, and Giovanni discovered that his Teams excelled at theft but lacked power. And so, orders went out to get stronger Pokemon, which became stealing stronger Pokemon, and it all escalated from there."

"That sounds like it could go really bad," Harry muttered; Persian nodded seriously.

"It did," she replied quietly. "It got to the point where people hear 'Rocket' and, instead of thinking about the business Giovanni scraped and fought and sacrificed for, they only think of the criminals that he now orders. He's very bitter about it, and it's a sore point, but Giovanni's a very proud man and, with GinoCorp getting more ruthless and more underhanded every year, he has no choice but to cultivate his assets. It's made a very large gap between him and his sister, and he only gets to see her every other year or so, and then only for a week or two, before he has to return to work. This is doubly hard on him since Mary was born." Harry's brows furrowed in confusion as Havoc wiggled out of his lap to begin poking around the grass surrounding them, growing quickly bored with the story now that Harry was calmer and clearly distracted from his memories.

"What does Mary have to do with anything?" He asked; Persians whiskers and ears flicked at the same time, her eyes flicking to the side where Havoc accidentally spooked a couple of Pidgey's into the air, laughing as they squawked at the Eevee indignantly.

"...A year before Mary was born," the cat-Pokemon told Harry quietly, "Giovanni was in the lab at the Rocket Headquarters. He had been working on creating what's now known as the Hyper-Potion, going over the scientists notes and making sure nothing was being tampered with..." She fell silent for a moment, looking off into the distance with sad eyes. "...An unknown intruder let a crate of Electrodes and Voltorbs loose in the Labs, over twenty of them. They all used Self-Destruct at the same time and... While the Labs were made to contain explosions of such magnitude and even greater than that, the chemicals and vials were not... Giovanni was in a coma for three months, and, when he finally woke, he was told he could never have children and, for a man raised on the tradition of passing the business on to family only..." Harry winced slightly.

"It left Mary as his only heir," he murmured. "Mary, whose Dad would never let it happen."

"Exactly," Persian confirmed with a sigh. "It's also why he is using everything at his current expense to find you two. He really does feel horribly guilty, especially once Sarah tore into him. Mark is, also, feeling particularly horrible about losing his temper in front of you." Harry winced at the reminder that the Garretes were searching for him. "I think that they've worried enough, don't you, Cub?" Persian urged gently; he nodded guiltily and pushed himself to his feet. Persian pressed herself against his hip comfortingly, before Harry whistled.

"Are we heading back now?" Havoc chirped, leaping out of some grass and getting into a playful fighting stance, making Persian roll her crimson eyes with amusement. Harry smiled halfheartedly at his partner.

"Yeah," he murmured, and started walking, Persian at his side and Havoc prancing about, lunging at grass tufts and growling adorably.

It was time to face the music.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokemon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokeDex Talking"

Chapter Nine

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

By the time Harry, Persian, and Havoc made it to Night Street, the ten-year-old had already worked himself into a heavy amount of guilt. He shouldn't have over-reacted, he knew that! He knew Mark wasn't anything like his Uncle, and he could tell Giovanni was a good man even if he seemed to hide it behind the sharp, cold businessman outlook. He knew this, but he'd still panicked and over-reacted and ran, and now everyone was worrying about him. Sarah was crying!

Approaching the house, his steps stated to drag as the guilt continued to eat at him, and only Persian steadily nudging him along kept him from stopping completely. Max the Limo Driver was gone, which just made him feel worse because, obviously they were all out looking for him and he'd be here and they'd get angry and frustrated when they couldn't find him and then when they came back and found him here they'd-

"Harry?!" Mark's voice called; Harry flinched, looking up sharply with wide eyes as the ashen-faced man rounded the corner of the other end of the street. Harry froze, staring at the man, who broke into a run, all but throwing himself at the boy. Harry couldn't help his flinch, but he froze as Mark fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around the boy, one large hand cupping the back of his head and pressing it to his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, kiddo," Mark whispered fiercely. "I'm so, so sorry. I swear, I will never, ever scare you like that again, I swear Harry, I promise," he whispered hoarsely, clinging to the frozen boy and hiding his face into the wild black hair. Eyes huge, Harry hesitantly lifted his arms, uncertainly hugging the man back.

"I'm sorry for running away," Harry muttered, Mark took a shaky breath, shaking his head.

"No," he said firmly, pulling back and gently cupping Harry's face with one hand, staring directly into his eyes. "You did nothing wrong, Harry, okay? It was my fault, I shouldn't have gotten so angry, especially with you in the room. You did nothing wrong," he reiterated fiercely, and Harry could only hesitantly nod back.

"Mark is right, Harry," Giovanni's voice stated quietly from the side, and Harry jumped a bit, looking over at the businessman who was walking towards them with a serious expression, Persian at his side. As soon as he reached the two, the man knelt, holding Harry's eyes firmly, reaching out and settling his own hand on Harry's head, Mark pulling back enough that his brother-in-law could see Harry clearly.

"We are the adults, we know better and should have been able to maturely react or at least be polite. We should not have argued with you in the room, let alone egg each other on to such a degree. We may not get along, we may never get along," he admitted simply, honestly, without so much as glancing at Mark. "But that doesn't excuse us. It will not happen again, Harry. Understand?" Harry held those jewel bright eyes, and saw the hard steel of the man's determination, and something in his chest relaxed.

This was a vow he could tell that Giovanni would never break, and that, more than anything, both calmed and reassured him.

"Okay," the boy murmured, and offered the two men a small smile. "Can we go back to the house now?" he asked softly; Mark and Giovanni nodded together and both got up, Persian returning to Harry's side and Havoc leaping up onto his Trainer's shoulder with a cheerful grin.

"Let's go," Mark agreed with a warm, relieved smile. "Sarah hasn't gotten her hug yet, anyways," he teased, and Harry laughed as they entered the yard, feeling lighter than he'd felt since that morning.

With Snape...

"Don't look so smug, you over-sized cockatoo," the dour Potions' Master growled, glowering at his 'Familiar' as he nursed a tumbler of Firewhiskey in one hand and an ice pack in the other for his aching headache. The Dark Phoenix in quested trilled smugly back, and Snape grimaced as he felt the Bond neatly poke through his Occlumency shields, which he stubbornly continued to put up despite the headaches it caused.

"Why shouldn't I be smug, Severus?" the bird asked in a cheerful tenor. "I've gotten exactly what I wanted. And you'll get what you want as well, working with me."

"You haven't explained what it is you bloody want!" The Professor snarled, slamming his tumbler down and surging to his feet to stalk over toward the Phoenix's perch. Fawkes continued to stare at him, although he settled onto a more serene expression than his previously smug one.

"I want what I've always wanted," he informed he glowering Wizard calmly. "I wanted a Choice, and I have gotten it. I will have my Change, next, and so will you if you want it."

"Change what?!" Snape growled through gritted teeth; Fawkes cocked his head to the side.

"The World," the Immortal answered simply. "I have been around for centuries. I have seen the rise and fall of Empires, of Dark and Light Lords and Ladies, of armies and rebels and regimes. I was around when the world was Wilde, when beasts and man wandered through one another's life without so much as a glance, and I am still around to see Magic begin to fall. And it is falling, Severus," he told him calmly, the full power of his ancient mind pressing gently against the man's own, making him grimace unhappily. The feeling quickly retreated, however.

"What I want, more than anything, is for a chance to be happy, and the chance to change just one, single thing that could effect everything for the better," Fawkes told him calmly, shrugging his shoulders. "I've already started on that Change and that Chance. One lonely little boy is out of the clutches of people who would use and sacrifice him, and one delusional old man has lost the one connection to Magic that was stabilizing his mind. Change is coming, Severus, and you are a part of it. Why not aim for happiness, for once?" Fawkes asked softly; Snape stared at him, black eyes holding acid green, before he finally looked away, face carefully neutral as Fawkes pulled his mind back in order to offer the proud man some privacy. Snape turned and stalked back to his settee, sitting down and picking his drink back up.

He spent several moments just staring into the shimmering, flame-like flickers of amber and gold, before letting out a slow breath and tossing back the tumbler like a shot, grimacing at the fiery burn of the strong alcohol.

"I've always liked the name Saber," he muttered; the newly named Dark Phoenix sang out a few notes in approval, and fluttered over to settle on the back of the man's seat, his black tail-feathers draping over his shoulder so that the silver-and-green 'eye's glittered against his dark robes. Severus Snape leaned back and tilted his face upward, closing his eyes and slowly, almost reluctantly, surrendered to the idea of Change.

Saber knew he would.

It was why he chose the man, after all.

With Harry...

Harry looked around himself, smiling warmly at the sight that met him. Sarah and Scorch were cooking dinner, while Mary chatted Giovanni's ear off and showed him the drawing she made for him. Mark and Max were discussing having PokéGlass windows put into the Limo due to some incident with an angry Machamp months before. Persian was curled up at Harry's feet, and Havoc was playing Tag with Izzy, chasing the giggling Caterpie around the dining room with playful battle cries and showy jumps. Mark's own Pokemon, an Ivysaur named Flora, was talking about the weather with Max's Tangela over a bowl of Berries.

It was a warm, friendly scene.

It was like... A Family.

Sarah had greeted Harry with a tight, tearful hug, all but babbling as she switched between making sure he was okay and scolding him halfheartedly about scaring her, and then she had ushered him into the kitchen and made him a cup of cocoa and told the men to firmly get busy setting up for dinner. Max had returned a few minutes after thanks to a quick call from Giovanni's phone, and had ruffled Harry's hair gently and just smiled and waved away his apologies.

"You're a good kid, Harry," he'd told the boy easily. "Of course I'd worry about you and offer to help. Now, drink your cocoa before it gets too cold!" and then he'd wandered over to help out a bit.

Watching it all, Harry couldn't help his smile. Despite the rockiness of the day and how tired he was from his panic earlier, he was happy here.

"Dinner's ready!" Sarah called, smiling as she got the men to get up and start carrying everything to the table, Mary clapping her hands happily as she sat in the chair between to Giovanni's and Mark's, grinning brightly. She had no idea of what had happened earlier, she was just happy that her Daddy and Uncle were getting along for once and that no one was glaring. She'd given Harry a hug earlier, because "You look like you were sad! Now you're happy though, right?" and that had been that.

Dinner was baked potatoes, chicken, green beans (with crumbled bacon, of course, thank you Scorch), and rolls, with peach cobbler for dessert. Scorch set bowls of Berries and PokeFood out for the Pokemon, to their pleasure as they all settled in their own circle off to the side of the table and out of the way.

"Everyone, dig in!" Sarah urged, smiling. With a bright grin, Harry did just that, basking in the sense of Family that surrounded him.

It was a good night.

The Next Day...

Harry woke up with a mouthful of Havoc's tail, the Eevee snoring softly, belly-up on the boy's chest. Groggy and in need of the bathroom, the ten-year-old awkwardly rolled onto his side so that Havoc rolled off him and onto the sleeping bag he'd used the night, having slept on the living room floor while Giovanni took the chair and Max took the couch. They'd both tried to get Harry to take the couch, but he'd refused and stubbornly laid on the floor until Sarah had thrown the sleeping bag at him with a roll of her eyes. (He'd learned a few minutes later that it used to actually be Giovanni's, and she'd taken it on her Journey with her.)

After using the bathroom, Harry staggered back into the living room, only to find Scotch rolling up his sleeping bag and pointing towards the kitchen. Grumbling under his breath before yawning, Harry obediently made his way into the kitchen, where Flora and Persian were already helping out. Flora was using Vine Whip to whisk pancake batter, while Persian was helping pour the powdered mix into the bowl, powder coating her sensitive whiskers, making her nose wrinkle uncomfortably.

Scorch tossed Harry a roll of refrigerated biscuits to get ready. Shrugging, Harry started moving and, soon, the smell of cooking food filled the house. Giovanni was the first to step into the kitchen, his hair mussed and almost as messy as Harry's own hair, his dress shirt wrinkled as he yawned, suit-jacket and tie over one arm as he took a seat at the table and absently accepted the cup of coffee Harry offered him, taking it black with a single teaspoon of sugar. Max and Mark stumbled in at almost the same time and in the exact same mental state. Scorch handed the both of them a massive mug of coffee, Mark taking it as black and hot as he could, while Max proceeded to add enough sugar and creamer to make it a pale tan syrup that had Harry wincing.

As the three men settled at the table in groggy silence, Harry and Flora set plates of food in front of them and then returned to their work. Harry started cleaning everything up while the Pokemon settled bowls and plates of food on the table before standing still long enough for the ten-year-old to carefully wipe them clean as well.

"Mr. Giovanni?" Harry spoke up as he very gently cleaned the pancake powder from Persians whiskers, making he purr softly.

"Just Giovanni is fine, Harry," the man told him, systematically destroying his plate of food.

"Giovanni, then," Harry agreed awkwardly, before pushing the minor discomfort away. After all, he called Mark and Sarah by their names. "Persian explained Team Rocket to me yesterday, and I have a question." Giovanni paused, and calmly, deliberately, set his silverware down and laced his fingers under his chin, making eye contact with Harry when the boy looked up. His blue eyes were calm, assessing, but there wasn't anything defensive or aggressive. Only calm intelligence.

"Ask away, Harry," he told the boy; Harry shifted slightly, absently stroking a hand down Persians spine when she rubbed against his side.

"Well, the main issue you seem to be having with them is that they're stealing Pokemon in the name of the Rocket Company, right?" Slowly, Giovanni nodded, face unchanging. "Well, what if they didn't do it for the company? Like, there are people who hurt and mistreat their Pokemon," he pointed out, having seen such a case at the Lab when a badly abused Lickitung had been taken from its Trainer, who had cut a large piece out of its tongue just so that it would be forked an 'look cooler'. It still made Harry nauseous, the vision of the cowering, terrified Pokemon trying to eat but unable to do so as easily as before, small blue eyes darting around nervously.

"Unfortunately," Giovanni agreed calmly; Harry took a deep breath, straightening his shoulders.

"Why don't they steal those Pokemon instead?" Harry asked carefully; Giovanni arched a brow and Harry was quick to continue. "If you rescue mistreated Pokemon, than not only are you doing something good, but those Pokemon will be more likely to help you. I mean," Harry tried to explain, "if you take a happy, loved Pokemon from their Trainer, than you're going to have a Pokemon who hates it's captures and will always try to return to its Trainer, but abused Pokemon would rather stay with those that care for it than go back to the one who hurt them. And, if you start working with the Police on it, than they ones who hurt the Pokemon will lose their liscence to catch Pokemon and won't be able to hurt any more, well, not without serious repercussions, at least," he muttered, awkwardly shifting as Giovanni leaned back, resting his left ankle on his right knee and his laced fingers covering his mouth and nose in contemplation.

"...Harry," the Businessman started slowly; Harry straightened up and looked at him, feeling slightly defiant. He knew it was a sound argument, just like the Debates at the Lab, and that there wasn't any way to really argue against his idea, he knew that but, well... He was nervous, anyways. "I have no idea why I've never considered this at all," Giovanni told him frankly; Harry blinked and unconsciously relaxed, his limp hand landing on Persians head as she smiled, pleased. Giovanni sighjed and covered his face with his hands for a moment, slowly dragging them down to see an exasperated amusements edging his expression, lips twitching and blue eyes tired but warm.

"It would fix nearly all the issues that have been cropping up," Max pointed out with a yawn, Mark diligently chewing on a biscuit as he watched them with not-quite-awake eyes but still understanding. "And the good PR would bring more customers into the company."

"Other businesses would be more likely to contact you for business as well," Mark grumbled, absently accepting his second cup of coffee. Giovanni hummed in agreement and sipped his own coffee as a bright and chipper Sarah walked in, a exhaustedly stumbling Mary shuffling into the kitchen with a humming Izzy and cheerful Havoc at her heels.

"What are we talking about?" Sarah asked easily; Giovanni smiled at her.

"Harry has, quite possibly, solved several important problems for me," the man told her honestly; Sarah grinned and ruffled Harry's hair, making him blush.

"He's brilliant like that," she told her brother. pleased. "Just make sure you give credit where it's due, Gio!" The man nodded, still smiling faintly as he was forced to set his mug down as Mary wriggled her sleepy way onto his lap for a cuddle, yawning hugely in her lavender butterfly pajamas, rubbing her eyes with both fists and being frankly rather adorable. Harry all but melted as he took in the picture of the little, messy-haired blond girl half-asleep in the gentle hold of the now soft-faced businessman. He was distracted by Sarah pushing a plate into his hands and ordered him to the table, where Havoc was already half inside a bowl of PokeFood and berries.

"I'll be sure to credit young Mr. Morsinger on the reformation of my employees, then," Giovanni stated, nodding at Harry, before his phone rang loudly from his breast pocket. "Excuse me," he murmured, pulling out the high-tech black phone with the Rocket symbol on the back.

"Giovanni," he answered it, listening intently to whoever was on the other side, arching one brow as he leaned back in his chair. "I see," he continued, eyes narrowing. "I hope you called to do more than interrupt my breakfast, James," he continued coolly; after listening for a moment, he blinked sharply, looking startled. "What?" He demanded, leaning forward and absently shifting Mary from his lap into his chair, scooping up his mug and stalking from the room. "Do clarify, James, and noen of this complaining about that ridiculous Pikachu fixation of your Teams," he ordered as he disappeared from hearing range. Harry turned a confused look to Persian who was chuckling in amusement.

"That was one of our less successful Teams, containing members James, Jessie, and a human-speaking Meowth," she explained to the boy as she absently munched on a berry. "They are constantly trying to capture a single Pikachu from a boy who continues to beat them. They've even followed him to the other Regions, and they have yet to ever succeed in capturing it for any decent amount of time. Personally, I think its good experience for them. They get to travel and there has been marked improvement in their tactics and power levels ever since they began this crusade of theirs."

"That's good, then," he decided, munching on his pancakes easily. As he was finishing his plate, Giovanni returned, firmly sliding his phone back into his pocket and plucking his mug off the table before May could accidentally knock it over as she was enthusiastically chattering at Max about the dream she'd had where she'd been riding on a massive Butterfree and they went to the moon.

"One of my Teams has happened upon a truly impressive prize and will be bringing it directly to me so that I can examine it myself," he informed the room as he settled in the chair next to Harry. "While they were investigating an old ruin in a forest in Hoenn, they discovered a hidden room where they found what appears to be some ancient version of the Pokeball. Ten of them, to be exact, and the all seem to be occupied. As the likelihood of old, powerful Pokemon from ancient times is rather high, and incredibly profitable, depending on their type, level, and abilities, the Team will be generously rewarded." Harry perked up.

"Can I help?" He asked hopefully; at Giovanni's raised eyebrow, he smiled. "I can feel the Pokemon inside Pokeballs, it's how I chose Havoc out of the trio offered," he informed the older man, the Eevee leaping up onto his shoulder with a smile, bushy tail wagging playfully. Interest flashed in Giovanni's eyes, and he offered a small smile.

"I would like to see that, I think," the Businessman told him, making Harry brighten. He always did like to feel useful. "They won't get here until about two o'clock tomorrow, barring any accidents or weather issues." His expression turned wry. "They travel by hot-air balloon, after all.

Eyes wide with interest, Harry began to ask the man questions about the coming trio as Sarah and Scorch started to clean up.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokemon Talking"

'Thoughts'

"PokeDex Talking"

Chapter Ten

Ode to Ancient Times

The arrival of the Rocket Team was delayed, unfortunately, for two days, due to a freak storm brought on by a flock of angry dual Water/Flying-type Pokemon off of Kanto's coast. Apparently, fishermen had interfered in the mating migration of some Unova-specific Pokemon called Swanna, who flew over Kanto in order to get to some mysterious Island once every three years to lay their eggs. According to the Professor, the White Bird Pokemon had become overly aggressive and had used an attack called Hurricane, which they only learn at a high level, and, in fact, often used during mating season as only those Swanna of a certain level or higher joined in the Flight. Because of this, the entire coastline and several of the cities and towns close to them, were being swamped with horrible storms and heavy rain. No one had gotten hurt yet, but people were understandably upset at the group of fishermen, who were claiming ignorance despite their home town (A small village called Oystera which was famous for their collection of pearls, shellfish, and Cloyster) have posted notices at every dock.

It was a fascinating but disappointing subject, as Harry was eagerly awaiting the Hot-Air Balloon's arrival.

Thankfully, those two days didn't go by wasted. Harry spent a majority of the time split between his lessons and training at the Lab, and helping Giovanni hammer out different ideas on how he could change the nature of his Teams while not giving the far more ruthless GinoCorp a foot in the door.

This included using Harry's many, many notes from lectures, discussing creating new lines and ideas of Pokemon- and Journey-friendly items, promoting charities and seminars for abuse victims and how to help them. He'd even managed to get Mark and Giovanni to cordially discuss a contract with PokéGlass on a few projects, although Mark's boss (his maternal grandfather, apparently) would have to be the one to sign it.

Altogether, the two days waiting had not only been rather productive and busy, but had brought the ten-year-old closer to Giovanni as the businessman would make a point of listening to him and actually talking about things instead of just humoring Harry's little tangents. Hours upon hours of just talking, of discussing and debating, and Giovanni explaining some of the things Harry was lost on, or Harry explaining why something would work better a different way, well, it had made a very good impression on Harry

So, on the day the Rocket Team was supposed to show up, Harry found himself hurrying back towards the Garettes house, Havoc trotting at his side, snickering at his Trainer.

"He's still going to be there, you know," the Eevee told him, amused; Harry rolled his eyes, absently waving at Mrs. Howels Roselia as the flower-handed Pokemon used Aromatherapy to fix up her Trainer's garden after a couple of Rattata's had chewed on a good chunk of them the night before.

"I know that, but I wanted to ask him what he thought about the incident at that Hoenn Daycare," Harry told his Starter absently as they padded along the street.

"The one where the Daycare Owner was selling Eggs without consulting the Pokemon's Trainers?" the Eevee questioned, leaping up onto Harry's shoulder and curling his bushy tail across the back of the boy's neck.

"Exactly... What?" Harry blurted, gaping at the house-sized hot-air balloon that was "parked" in front of the Garettes house. It looked like a massive Meowth's head, and the large basket was chained to Max's limo.

"...When Persian told me that they had taken their Meowth as a sort of Mascot Pokemon... I didn't think it was like this..." Havoc told him, eyes wide and almost sparkling, not that Harry was much better.

"That's so cool," he murmured; Havoc nodding. "Really impractical for most things, but so cool." Walking forward, staring at the Balloon.

"Quite a sight, isn't it, lad?" Max asked, chuckling from where he was using a rag to slowly wash the Limo's windows. "The Team is already inside with Mr. Giovanni and his sister." Harry nodded, casting one last look at the Balloon, before trotting through the yard and into the house.

"I'm back!" He called in; Sarah poked her head around the corner leading to the living room.

"Welcome back!" She chirped, only to burst out laughing as Persian lunged around her and performed a flying tackle, sending Harry to the floor. Fortunately, she'd taken to doing this every time Harry came back from the Lab, so Havoc was ready and able to leap to safety and Harry managed to aim his fall so that he landed on the thick, fluffy mat Sarah had set down just for these "greetings".

Grunting under the seventy-pound cat-Pokemon, Harry could only huff out a laugh as Persian began to purposefully rub her whiskers all over his face.

"I'm fine, Persian!" He laughed; she purred at him but didn't stop her search.

"Don't think I didn't notice those bandages, Cub," the maternal Pokemon warned him, voice amused, and Harry held up his hand with a sheepish smile. Three of his fingers were wrapped in bright green bandages, and he made a point in wiggling them into the cat-Pokemon's whiskers, making her snort and huff at him in amusement.

"A Dewgong's toy ball rolled into a hole in the Yard, so I stuck my hand down it to get it back," he told her wryly. "The Krabby sleeping in the hole took exception of my fumbling. Nothings broken, just badly bruised and a couple small cuts. Nothing else," he reassured her, scratching behind one of her black-lined ears, making her purr.

"Alright, alright," she huffed, pulling away. Harry sat up, only to yelp as Havoc used his face as a springboard in order to jump over Persian, the Eevee laughing at him as he darted away.

"Havoc!" Harry shouted, rolling off the mat and scrambling to his feet to run after his laughing Pokemon. The Eevee swerved into the living room, Harry fast on his heels, the two of them leaping over the napping form of Flora the Ivysaur, skidding across the floor while trying to turn into the kitchen, only for Havoc to yelp as he was plucked out of the air mid-jump by an amused-looking Giovanni as the businessman stepped out of the kitchen.

"That's enough, you two," He told them calmly as Harry straightened up with a sheepish smile and Havoc wiggled until Harry took him from the older man. The Eevee quickly hopped from his Trainer's arms to his shoulder, sticking his tongue out at Giovanni with a pout.

"Party pooper," he complained, making Harry rolled his eyes.

"So, are your Employee's here?" He asked hopefully, and grinned as Giovanni nodded and gestured into the kitchen. "Wicked," he cheered, darting past the businessman and into the kitchen, where he found two strangers dressed in white outfits that had gray sleeves and pant-legs, with large red 'R's on their chests, sitting at the table and holding different drinks. One was a pretty woman with long, dark magenta hair pulled back into what looked almost like a comet's tail, and narrowed blue eyes that were watching Harry with interest while she held her mug of coffee. Her teammate was a blue haired male, also rather pretty, with equally blue eyes that were wide and curious as he sipped from his lemonade with a bright pink swirly straw that Harry had only ever seen Mary use before.

Harry hesitated, shifting nervously under their combined staring, and awkwardly waved at them with a half-smile.

"Hi?" He greeted; the two blinked and shared a look, before the football-shaped head of a Meowth popped up from between them, holding his own glass of milk with a curious look, black ears shivering faintly as his dark, dark blue eyes locked on Harry.

"Say, whatsa pipsqueak dat ain't your sis's pipsqueak doin' here, Boss?" He asked in a heavily accented voice, sounding almost like those cartoon gangsters Harry vaguely recalled seeing on the telly when Dudley was in the living room while he cleaned. It was a rather telling accent.

"I'm staying here for now," Harry answered him, shrugging. "Sarah and Mark are lending me their couch for a tick. My name's Harry Morsinger, nice to meet you," he told the feline-Pokemon easily, stepping forward as Meowth hopped out from behind the table after setting his drink down.

"Nice ta meetcha, Pipsqueak!" The Pokemon offered one of his paws, and Harry shook it, bemused as he eyed the way the cat-Pokemon stood on his hind-legs.

"Nice to meet you too," he replied, then pointed at the Pokemon's legs. "Isn't that uncomfortable?" He asked; Meowth shook his head with a grin.

"Nah, I been walkin' like dis since I was younger den you, Pipsqueak! I'm a gen-u-ine expert on walkin' like a human!" he boasted, emphasizing each syllable in genuine and making Harry grin.

"I'll take your word for it, then," Harry said agreeably, before turning his focus back onto the two strangers at the table. The woman had relaxed, leaning her head against her hand with her elbow on the table, eyes closed and looking as uninterested as possible, with a faint smirk as if she knew something Harry didn't. Her partner continued to sip his lemonade and stare, blue eyes big and interested now. He pulled away from his drink and offered a pleased smile.

"I don't think I've seen Meowth warm up to anyone so fast before," he announced easily; his partner gave a short scoff.

"It's probably just the milk going to his head, as usual," she retorted; Meowth's eye twitched at that, ears flicking back towards the two.

"Maybe the twerp has catnip on him or something," the man mused, fiddling with his straw and turning thoughtful eyes up to the ceiling. The woman sat her steaming mug on the table and sat back, crossing her arms and legs as she nodded, eyes closed still.

"That seems likely." Meowth turned his head slowly, expression deadpan as Harry looked between him and the two Rocket members, Havoc's head following his Trainers.

"Maybe all dat t'in air has finally sank into your empty heads while I wasn't payin' any attention, huh?" the Pokemon said faux-sweetly. Both humans twitched, but before they could do more then glare at the Pokemon, Giovanni spoke up.

"If you three are done playing," he drawled with an arched brow, immediately getting meek, sheepish looks from his employees, the businessman gestured at Harry. "As my young friend introduced himself earlier, I'll explain why he's here. Harry is a young psychic who is going to assist us in identifying the Pokemon within the artifacts you've brought with you. Harry, these are my employees, Jessie, James, and, of course, Meowth."

"Nice to meet you!" The boy told them honestly, smiling. "Your Hot-Air Balloon is so cool, do you really travel around all the Regions in it?!" He asked excitedly, Havoc bouncing a bit on his shoulders and squeaking excitedly as well. James and Jessie shared a startled look.

"Of course we do," James replied, the two adults turning pleased looks back to Harry, all but poofing up even as they both crossed their arms and tried to affect a cool look. "It's the best way to travel, you know. You get to see the sights, there's no traffic laws or back ups, and you can really just park it anywhere as long as you've got an anchor." Harry stared at them with large eyes that all but sparkled, Havoc mirroring his expression.

"So Cool," the two of them said together, making Jessie and James smile at him brightly, Meowth hopping up onto the table with a smug smile as he returned to drinking his milk.

"And dontcha forget it, Pipsqueak!" The Pokemon told him with a wink, gulping down the last of his drink and letting out a satisfied sigh.

"Well, back to business then, hmm?" James asked.

"No rest for the wicked, you know," Jessie agreed, scooping up her mug and rising with surprising grace. "We left the artifacts in a box in the Balloon. Meowth, go grab it!" She ordered; the cat Pokemon nodded and hopped down from his perch to trot out of the room.

"We'll take this to the backyard, just in case," Giovanni told Harry, nodding at his employees and settling a gentle hand on the ten-year-old's shoulder so that he could be guided out. "The last thing my sister needs is her home being destroyed by an unknown Pokemon." Harry winced, imagining the trouble they'd get in with Sarah.

"Let's go then!" Havoc ordered, leaping forward off of Harry's should with a battle cry and darting out of the house through the open back door. Apparently, Mary had taken Izzy out to play in the garden while Sarah and Mark sat on their swinging garden seat together and watched. The Caterpie in question was wriggling like a happy puppy in a patch of clovers, trilling sweetly and laughing as Havoc pounced on her and rolled as well. Harry smiled at the two Pokemon softly.

"Ooh~" James said softly, and Harry looked over at the tall, older man, taking in his enthralled expression as he held his fists under his chin, blue eyes all but sparkling in the sunlight. "Those two are so cute!" Jessie rolled her eyes with a fond expression, but offered Harry a wink when the boy glanced at her, smirking faintly.

"Don't mind this numbskull, twerp," she ordered him as James flounced over to crouch next to Mary, who was struggling to make a flower crown out of dandelions. "He's all fun and games until it's time to work, then he gets the job done." Harry nodded, turning to look up at Giovanni as the businessman had yet to let go of his shoulder, and catching the fond smirk on his face. Sapphire eyes met emerald, and the smirk widened a bit.

"I got 'em!" Meowth's voice, oddly strained and muffled, called, and everyone looked over to see the humorous sight of the two-foot tall Pokemon trying to carry a box that was nearly twice his size, every step shaky and strained.

"Oh!" Harry blurted, hurrying over to help, lifting the admittedly heavy box out of the Pokemon's arms and offering a smile.

"Whew!" Meowth breathed, swiping a paw over his forehead and offering a grin right back. "T'anks for dat, Pipsqueak! Dem artifacts is heavier den dey look!" Harry nodded and followed the feline towards the others, where James, wearing a disheveled flower crown without an ounce of concern, pulled a red and blue checkered picnic blanket out of seemingly nowhere to spread it out on the grass with an extravagant flare.

"Just drop 'em dere, an' den do your psychic schtick, Pipsqueak!" Meowth ordered bossily, padding over to stand between the Rocket members. Persian sauntered out of the house with a bored look on her face, although the faint shivering in her whiskers gave away her interest as she came to a stop next to Giovanni, sitting at his side and send a smug look at Meowth when the businessman set his hand automatically on her head. Harry shook his head, amused, as Meowth immediately sent his evolved form a dirty look, all but hissing. Instead, the ten-year-old knelt down on the blanket's edge and carefully turned the box on its side, sending the items within rolling out.

They looked almost like pokeballs made of crystal, only twice as big. There were ten of them, each one shimmering strangely with flickering colors. Reds and pinks and blues and greens, all the colors of the rainbow, different in each, and Harry winced as a sense of age pressed down on him, making his temples ache oddly.

"Ow," he muttered, reaching up to rub his aching forehead even as he tentatively reached towards the closest of the crystal pokeballs, fingertips brushing over the pulsating pink and yellow ball, a soft crackle of static sparking between the two of them. The ten-year-old closed his eyes and focused on the feelings he was getting, slipping cautiously into the trance-like state Professor Oak had helped him learn.

"It feels feminine," he started, eyes closed as he focused harder. "Feminine and patient and weirdly motherly. Static on the back of my tongue, an Electric-Type. She make's me think of... Cheese?" He asked uncertainly, opening his eyes to blink in confusion down at the ball. "Electric Pokemon," he muttered, trying to figure out why hw was connecting the seemingly odd thought to the Pokemon. "Cheese. Electric... Mice?" He muttered.

"A Pikachu?!" Jessie, James, and Meowth all cried out excitedly, and Harry blinked.

"Hmm," he muttered, closing his eyes and thinking.

One of the Aides at the Lab had a Pikachu, a female one named Kiki that liked to dress up as a witch. This Pokemon felt kinda like Kiki did but... Bigger?

"Perhaps a Pichu, or a Raichu?" Giovanni suggested, and it clicked.

"Raichu," Harry agreed firmly, feeling pleased as he sent the businessman a thankful smile. "I've only ever seen them in books, so I couldn't figure out what it was. Thanks." Giovanni nodded his head and pulled out a small, pocket-sized notebook to write down which Pokemon where which. Harry carefully set the Raichu off to the side and reached for the next ball, feeling his fingers tingle at the heat that it seemed to radiate.

"Fire-Type," he announced confidently. "Aggressive and impatient, not quite mean, male... Kinda feels like Scorch but decidedly stronger, so, Charizard," He decided, glancing at Giovanni as the man nodded and wrote it down. Harry set it aside and went to the next, feeling the cold surface of the crystal.

"I taste salt," he muttered, rubbing his tongue against his teeth with a grimace. "Salt and cold and water. Female, calm, with a weirdly... Rubbery... Feel?" He asked, confused, before sending Giovanni an apologetic look. "I don't think I can guess this one."

"That's alright, Harry," the businessman assured him, making note of it. "Just go ahead and move on, we'll come back to it, alright?" Harry nodded and reluctantly set it aside. It was not the last of the Pokemon he couldn't identify, however. The next two he also couldn't guess, only knowing one was female and the other male, that the female was very mischievous and some sort of Flying/Rock-Type and the male was a very serious, distant Dragon-Type.

Before he could get too disheartened, however, he was able to identify the next two as a male Venusaur (Impatient and aggressive) and a female Blastoise (Lazy and easily bored). He also managed to identify one of the Pokemon as a shy-natured Fearrow before landing on the second-to-last Pokemon.

"Female Fire-Type but... Off?" He told the listening people, brow furrowing. "I don't... She feels very relaxed and kinda amused, but there's something else, like there are two Pokemon or something, but the other one isn't all there?"

"What, like someone managed to catch half a Pokemon or something?" Jessie asked, looking mildly disturbed.

"Or that she'd pregnant," Sarah remarked absently from her seat off to the side, flipping through a magazine on gardens. "I remember when I was able to first feel Mary inside me while I was pregnant. Up until then, she hadn't seemed like a real person, you know, just a sort of ideal. But, then, suddenly, she was real and it was sort of strange, knowing I suddenly had a little human in my stomach." She looked bemused, settling one hand on said stomach and shaking her head; Harry breathed out a relieved sigh, nodding.

"That's probably it," he agreed, focusing on the crystal again. "A mischievous, Fire-Type Pokemon, who makes me think of Foxes, so it's pretty safe to assume its most likely a Ninetales or something similar. One of the Starter Pokemon I almost got was a Vulpix that makes me think of this one, so I'm saying Ninetales." Nodding, he set the crystal off to the side, next to the Pokemon he'd been able to identify, and reached for the last one, this one pulsing a soothing cream color with black streaks flickering in and out of being. It didn't give off any particular feel, at first, but, once he concentrated, Harry closed his eyes.

"Male, calm and regal and patient, and..." He smiled suddenly, opening his eyes. "A Persian." Turning the crystal in his hand, Harry found the 'latch', an indented portion of the crystal that, when he put pressure on it, split the crystal with a crack. A swirl of almost aurora-level brightness and color erupted from the split ball, shooting forward and coalescing into a a massive form. With a gleaming mist of sparkling light, the bright wave of color dissipated, leaving the massive form of the Ancient Pokemon behind.

The Persian was massive, shoulders alone reaching six feet high, body long and thick with heavy muscle, dark cream fur wild and shaggy and marked with thick, black stripes, looking a lot like the tigers Harry saw on the telly when commercials for the London Zoo came on. The jewel on his forehead was large and smooth, a deep, dark crimson that gleamed oddly and, protruding from his mouth, foot-long, curved fangs, saber-teeth that brought to mind the ancient Smilodons of the Dinosaurs age. Gleaming red eyes peered down at the gathered humans.

"Wow," Harry breathed, staring at the massive Pokemon and immediately getting his attention. The Ancient Persian's whiskers lifted in the exact same way Giovanni's Persians did when she was amused, and he slowly lowered his head, a head that was as big as the tires on the Limo. Red eyes met and held Harry's bright green, and the massive feline slowly blinked.

"Hello, Cub."

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokemon Talking"

Thoughts

"PokeDex Talking"

Chapter Eleven

Preparedness is Next to Persian

"Er, hullo," Harry greeted back faintly, staring up into the Pokemon's face with nervous awe. The only Pokemon he'd been this close to who was as big, was Archer, and he was an Arcanine and therefore meant to be about six feet tall.* The Persian eyed him with consideration, before he slowly nodded and pulled back, sitting up tall and regal, whiskers lifted in that amused way.

"You shall do." He announced with a smile; Harry blinked slowly.

"Er... What?" But the Persian only continued to smile, a Cheshire grin coated with smug superiority.

Harry had a feeling that he was going to get annoyingly familiar with that expression.

With Dumbledore...

With the end of the school year and the abrupt dissolving of the Familiar Bond, Albus felt he was justified in the fact he didn't notice at first. After all, with these things taking his immediate attention, as well as the strange disappearance of his personal potion-laced lemon drops, how could he have possibly been able to pay attention to the monitoring devices he had lining the shelves in his office?

Specifically, the ones connected to one specific child.

The ones that noted his health and location.

The ones that, for years now, had told him that the boy was alive and miserable, being properly molded at his relatives home.

The very same ones which told him now that he was healthier and happier than ever and decidedly not where he was meant to be. According to the Location Monitor, he was, in fact, no where. Alive and happy and healthy, but not in existence.

Someone had taken his little Savior and hidden the brat awy, and he would find out who, and they would rue the day that they dared to challenge Albus Dumbledore.

As the old Wizard fumed and ranted under his breath, Saber watched from the shadows outside the slightly ajar window, and observed the steady decay of what had once been a sharp and cunning mind. In the grip of his talons, an innocent-appearing box of lemon drops sat. The yellow candies all laced with several different addictive potions that were meant for temporary use. Potions that were meant for bringing about a sharper mind, better focus, good health, and to raise natural magic levels, all things that, when used for a long period of time, would, once stopped, cause a rapid deterioration in a persons over all health, from mental and physical to magical and spiritual.

Already, Albus's mind was beginning to rot, paranoia and emotions running rampant. Soon, he would see enemies everywhere, see conspiracies everywhere, blame everyone else for his health and magic and plans failing, even as the residue of the potions began eating holes into his brain, both literally and metaphorically, the need he would develop for his laced candies driving him to distraction alongside the slowly persisting headache that would come.

Grimly pleased, the Twisted Phoenix spread his wings and lifted away, flying out over the Black Lake before bursting into flames, a trail of slowly spiraling ashes the only remains of the lemon drops.

One more nail in the coffin of Albus Dumbledore.

With Harry...

Apparently, Harry was now the proud Trainer of a saber-tooth Persian who had gone so far as to break his Crystal Pokeball and stare at Harry for over twenty minutes, without blinking, until the ten-year-old had reluctantly used a borrowed pokeball from James to catch him.

The smug cat was now lounging in the living room and being used as a couch by Mary, Havoc, and Izzy as everyone else settled in the kitchen, the Crystal Pokeballs returned to their box for cautions sake.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Jessie asked Harry absently, accepting a new cup of coffee that James handed her as he happily sipped his new glass of lemonade; the ten-year-old shrugged uncertainly.

"Well, I've kinda been putting off my Journey, so that I can learn as much as possible at the Lab, because I want to be prepared, you know?" He informed them, thanking Sarah immediately when the woman handed him a glass of strawberry milk. "But, now that I've got two Pokemon, and I've already sat in on all the usual debates and lectures scheduled for the next month or so, I don't really have a reason not to go, you know? Well," He muttered, pulling his milk close. "Outside of needing Journey gear and stuff..."

"Easily handled," Giovanni told him as he typed something out on his phone. "I shall escort you to Pewter City and will fund your shopping." He held up a hand when Harry sputtered, sending the boy an amused glance. "Consider it a loan, if you wish. You can always pay me back later, if you want. It's not required, or even particularly needed, but I understand your need to not owe someone like that." The knowing expression that appeared on his face had Harry shifting uncomfortably, ears heating as he turned his focus back to his milk.

"Thanks," he muttered bashfully; Giovanni simply nodded and returned to his phone, pausing to take a picture of the Crystal Pokeballs.

"Ooh, shopping trip!" James said, looking thrilled, and even Jessie and Meowth perked up, looking eager and sparkly-eyed. Giovanni sent the trio a deadpan stare.

"Anything you want is being taken out of your paychecks, to a point," he told them, tacking on the last bit without blinking when Sarah sent the back of his head a disapproving look.

"Yes, Boss!" The trio agreed eagerly, and Harry grinned as he took a drink of his milk.

It took a little over half an hour to work out the details. Mary, of course, heard about the trip and wanted to go, but Mark had work and Susan didn't want the seven-year-old anywhere near a City without her or her husband. Giovanni's Limo could only hold so many people, and the Rocket Balloon wasn't exactly unknown in most circles so it wasn't a viable option for anyone.

Finally, it was decided that Mark would leave the keys to his work truck with Sarah so that she, Mary, and Izzy (Of course), could follow Giovanni's Limo, while their neighbor, Mr. Green, agreed to help Mark drive several sheets of PokéGlass to the Lab for a fitting. In the Limo, Giovanni, Harry, Persian, Jessie and James would ride in the back, while Havoc and Meowth agreed to ride up front with Max.

Lord Persian had benevolently accepted the return to his pokeball, deciding that taking a nap would be a good idea, and the group of people piled into their respective cars to head out. It was an hour-long drive along roads that only allowed cars, a much faster route than either walking or bicycling, but still a long ways to go. Harry peered out the window in fascination as the forms of Bicycle Roads began to pop up, ramps and trails of sleek steel, some going over their road like oddly looping bridges.

"Why do they have seperate roads for bicycles?" the boy asked curiously. "Why not just add a walkway-section to the road so that they can travel the same routes as the cars?" Jessie snorted.

"And have idiots jumping into traffic or cars running twerps off the road? Not likely." James nodded cheerfully.

"I heard that there were paths like that years ago, but too many people were ignoring the street laws and too much damage was being done.

"They know all this because they were in bicycle gang in their teens," Giovanni added with purposeful nonchalance, making Jessie and Jame's eyes go wide as Harry's head snapped around, eyes wide for a completely different reason.

"Really?!" He asked eagerly; James clears his throat as the two Rockets looked out opposite windows, a faint blush on both of their faces.

"Oh yes," Giovanni agreed with a smirk as Persian purred happily as the businessman slowly stroked her head, watching his flustered employees with amusement. "Jessie herself was a high-ranking member of the gang. What did they call you again?" He asked slyly; Jessie's flush deepened and she muttered, eye twitching. "Hmm?" The Rocket Agent cleared her throat and spoke louder, arms crossed.

"Chainer. Jessie," She stated stiffly.

"Oh yes," Giovanni agreed, as if he'd forgotten. "Because you wee an enforcer in the gang, correct? She was known for whirling a large chain over her head for intimidation," he told the fascinated ten-year-old. "James didn't have as big of a figure in the gang. He was called Cover-Up James, if I remember correctly," A glance at the flushing bluenette gained a halfhearted nod. "Because when stolen bikes were brought in, or when members were being chased, he could come up with disguises and cover stories on the fly. It is an actually rather useful ability, which, from the reports I've gotten, he's continued to use as one of my employees." James's blush darkened and he ducked his head with an embarrassed smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I have to keep up my hobbies in sewing, travelling around can get pretty boring, you know!" Giovanni sent him a calm look.

"It wasn't a chastisement, James," he told the man, but didn't add anything else.

"Oh..." James murmured, and Jessie sent him a fond smirk, already resettled into his confidence with the distraction.

"That's so cool," Harry breathed, looking between the two Rockets and getting startled looks, that instantly shifted to preening smugness.

"Of course," Jessie agreed easily, leaning back comfortably, while James spread his right arm over the back of the seat and crossed one leg over the other with a smirk.

"We do our best, you know, but, well, natural talent will shine," he told the boy easily, the two partners sharing a look.

"And we always shine," they finished together, and Harry grinned brightly and started shooting off questions, about the gang, their travels, the Pokemon they've caught or seen or worked with. Giovanni occasionally offered up an anecdote from his reports that usually embarrassed the duo, but Harry just told them it made them cooler and that tended to perk them right back up.

Because of this conversation (During which, Harry got to show off some of his own knowledge, and explain why several different Pokemon across the Regions seemed to act so similar in certain instances), the hour-long ride seemed to fly by.

"You should ask Meowth about how he taught himself to speak like a human," James told the boy cheerfully as they climbed out of the Limo. "It's an interesting story!" Harry paused, blinking up at the older man, bewildered.

"Wait, he speaks like a human?" He asked, shocked; Jessie and James gave him a weird look, and he quickly explained. "I can speak to and understand Pokemon, so I just thought he was speaking normally!" The boy flushed in embarrassment as the two looked at him, amused.

"So, you had no idea he was speaking human, none at all?" James asked; Harry shook his head.

"I'd think it would sound different than a normal Pokemon," Jessie mused; Harry shrugged.

"Not really, I mean," His brow furrowed. "His accent kind of threw me for a minute there, but every Pokemon seems to have their own way of speaking, so I just kind of brushed it off."

"Well, now you know," Jessie told him, before nodding towards the front of the car, where Meowth was starting to hop out, only to end up face-planting into the ground when Havoc used the back of his head as a springboard to leap towards Harry, laughing as the furious Meowth began chasing him around with a bright red lump showing through the fur of his forehead, right beside his gold charm.

"Havoc, leave Meowth alone and behave or you'll go back in your pokeball for the trip!" Harry called, exasperated as his Eevee darted under Persian, Meowth sprinting around her with a growl, only to yelp as the larger feline scooped him up by the scruff and Havoc leaped up onto Harry's shoulder, snickering.

"I'll be good," the Eevee assured cheerfully, settling down and sending the struggling Meowth a smug look. Harry sighed as the cat Pokemon growled angrily.

"It's okay, Persian," he sighed. "You can let him go. We've got shopping to do, right, Giovanni?" He asked, peering up at the businessman, who was messaging someone with his phone; the older man sent him half-smirk and a nod.

"That's why I had Max take us here, to the only major shopping center in Pewter City. Harry," Giovanni used his unoccupied hand to turn the boy gently around, as Max pulled the Limo away to go park. As he pulled away, Harry was able to see the front doors of the four-story building the long car had been hiding. "Welcome to the Pewter City Journey Mall, where you can find anything you might need on your Journey."

"Whoa," the boy murmured, staring at the large, pale blue building, the words "Journey Mall" standing out in large white letters, the 'o' in Journey in the shape of a pokeball. People were walking in and out of the open doors, and Harry felt excitement thrill through him.

He'd never been shopping for himself before!

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Mary's voice shouted as the little girl all but tackled Harry, making him stumble as she grabbed his arm with both hands and began to pull him with her toward the store, Izzy trilling excitedly on her head as Havoc leaped over Harry's head to settle on his other shoulder, which wasn't attached to his captured arm.

"Mary, wait for us!" Sarah demanded firmly; Mary pouted and bounced in place impatiently as the adults wandered over, Persian trotting ahead so that she stayed close to Harry's side.

"Harry, you and I are going to the Travel Gear section on the second floor," Giovanni told the boy, tucking his phone away. "After that, we'll go to the fourth floor, which holds Pokemon Items, and then we'll look over the third floor for the Miscellaneous Travel Items. First floor is mostly travel souvenirs and we'll save that to browse for last, alright?"

"Yes, sir," the ten-year-old agreed easily, all but vibrating in place. A half-smile curled the businessman's mouth as he nodded towards the store.

"Let's go, then," he stated, and lead the way into the store. Harry and Mary immediately followed, and the young psychic was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer amount of color and movement on the First Floor. Stuffed animals, posters, books, flags, the floor was filled with bright colors and movement, groups of families and teens clustering around different displays.

"Hi!" A perky young man with pale lavender hair and gray eyes greeted them, wearing a pale blue uniform with a white, stylized "JM" on the front. "Welcome to the Journey Mall! My name's Liam, and, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me or one of my co-workers!"

"Thank you, Liam," Harry and Mary both replied, even as Giovanni offered a sharp nod and continued on to the elevator. Sarah wondered after them with a smile, while Jessie, James, and Meowth disappeared into the crowd with bright-eyed expressions.

The Second Floor was less bright and less crowded, but racks upon racks of clothing, backpacks, gear, and camping supplies cluttered the entire floor space. An older woman with gray hair and gray eyes smiled in a motherly way from her seat behind the counter. The name tag on her JM Uniform Shirt read "Tabitha".

"Take your time, dearies," She told them warmly. "The changing rooms are right beside me, and know that you can only take three items at a time. Alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Harry and Mary, again, said together, before the seven-year-old darted away, an exasperated Sarah padding along after her as Harry and Giovanni went straight for the boys section of clothing.

"You'll need sturdy clothes for every type of weather," the older man told him firmly as Harry poked through the jeans. "Most Trainers find one outfit for everyday use that works well, and buy a few sets of it. This tends to give off the impression that Trainer's only ever wear one set of clothes. However, I don't think that will work for you," He mused, fingering a black t-shirt with a green leaf on the front of it. "You'll need clothes that will stay at Sarah's, as well as things you can have mailed to you if you find yourself without spares, or if you are robbed, so, a full wardrobe is needed." He nodded, and sent the boy a firm look. "No complaints, Harry. Pick what you like, try it all on, and then we will continue. The Mall has Currier Pokemon on sight, that will take any large purchases to your home directly after payment, so don't worry about loading us down." Meekly, Harry agreed, swallowing down any complaints.

The boy just wasn't used to all this. It just seemed to be going by too fast, too much happening at once, but he could tell that, if he tried to hold back, Giovanni would get what he thought would work best anyways. Like, when Harry picked a single pair of dark gray jeans, he noticed the businessman pluck up three more pairs of the same ones, in different colors (A black pair, a blue pair, and a green pair). So, Harry just decided to go along with it, and the two of them quickly filled a cart with clothes and made their way to the Changing Room.

"Room Three is free, dearies," Tabitha told them, handing Giovanni the large, red key with a plastic three attached to it and pointing at a basket-and-rack combination next to the door. "Anything that doesn't fit or you decide you don't like goes there, and it'll be cleaned and returned to the proper shelf, alright?"

"Thank you, Madam," Giovanni told her, setting the cart on the other side of the door and handing Harry three pairs of jeans. Tabitha nodded and returned to her post while Harry entered the room. The next thirty minutes were spent trying on clothes and nothing more, and Harry was frankly sick of looking at himself in a mirror, to be honest.

"Let's collect the rest of your travel gear now," Giovanni told the boy as he pushed the still rather full cart towards the bags and backpacks section. "You'll need a sturdy, strong bag to carry your things with." Harry opened his mouth to ask for his recommendation, but Persian calling to him distracted him, and the boy turned to find the feline sitting behind him, holding a large, dark gold backpack with a white outline of a pokeball on the front and brass hooks and buttons.

"That one looks perfect, Persian," Harry told her honestly, grinning brightly as he accepted the bag from the Pokemon; Persian lifted her whiskers in a pleased smile and disappeared into the racks again, her curled tail flicking playfully once before it disappeared through some hanging jackets. Turning to the cart, Harry plopped the bag into the cart and looked up at Giovanni with a smile, getting a half-smirk in return.

"Shall we continue, then?" he asked, and Harry nodded before following him through the rest of the aisles.

He couldn't wait to see what else he and the others could find.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

Thoughts

"PokeDex Talking"

Chapter Twelve

The First Battle

Harry had never known that shopping could be so expensive and exhausting. Slumped in a chair, the ten-year-old sighed as his feet ached, rubbing Persians head as Giovanni paid for a Currier Pokémon (A Psychic-Type Pokémon named Alakazam who would use Teleport) to carry the many bags of clothes the billionaire had insisted on buying for him. His new backpack stayed by him, however, and he was wearing one of the new sets of clothes. A pair of dark blue jeans that were a little long in the leg and had to be rolled up a little, and a dark-blue t-shirt with a silver outline of a Pokeball on it. He was also wearing a vest-hoodie mix-up that was black with two silver v-stripes on the shoulders and hood, and brand-new black sneakers that were almost uncomfortable after so-long wearing the hole-filled, two-big hand-me-down high-tops from Dudley.

He was now the proud owner of over twenty jeans, thirty shirts, twelve jackets of various type, five pairs of sneakers, three full suits (in black, charcoal gray, and dark green) with dress shoes, twenty pairs of underwear, countless bags of bland socks, a couple of sets of 'sleeping wear' and three different kinds of swim trunks. All of which, besides the socks, he'd spent the last hour and a half trying on. Not counting the countless amounts of clothes that hadn't fit or been too uncomfortable, of course. He also now owned a single-person, water-proof tent and sleeping bag, and some bandannas and hats of random coloring and patterns.

And they hadn't even left the second floor yet.

"Ready to go?" Giovanni asked as he re-appeared next to the tired boy, an amused expression on his face as Persian purred happily under Harry's hand.

"I guess," Harry said sulkily, sighing as he heaved himself to his feet, hauling his backpack over one shoulder absently. "Where am I even going to put all that stuff, though?" He asked, bewildered, as Giovanni set his hand on his shoulder and began to lead him towards the elevator.

"My sister has several air-tight containers for storing such things in a closet somewhere that you can use, I'm sure," he told the boy calmly, punching the button for the Fourth Floor once the doors closed. Harry couldn't help but sigh as he shifted his bag again, wishing he could pull a Havoc and slip into a pokeball for a nap.

His whole body was starting to hurt!

He'd only ever felt this achy from cleaning Dudley's room before! Sure, yard-work usually wore him out even worse, but there wasn't many chores he'd done at the Dursley House that were all that exhaustive.

If just shopping for a Journey was this annoying and hard, it wasn't any wonder that the average Journey in the Kanto Region alone usually lasted two years, and that was just for the Indigo League. Kanto also, technically, hosted the Orange League, which was a lot harder to get into, if he remembered correctly...

"Welcome!" A cheerful voice greeted them, startling Harry out of his thoughts as the three of them stepped out of the elevator. The JM Employee waiting was a perky-looking blond teen with caramel-colored eyes and braces, with a name tag that read 'Kip'. "My name's Kip, and I'm the Helper of this floor today. If you need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, okay? I'm usually right here at the Help Desk, but if I'm not, just hit the bell and I'll come to you as soon as I can!" The teenager chirped, pointing at the small desk nearby, placed next to a shelf of different lengths and colors of Escape Ropes.

"Thank you, Kip," Giovanni told him simply, neatly steering Harry past him and into the nearest aisle, which held pokeballs. At the beginning of the aisle was a stack of shopping baskets, which the billionaire grabbed two of, handing one to Harry. Harry couldn't help but grin as Persian primly grabbed her own basket, and then promptly abandoned the two of them with a mischievous smile and a flick of her tail. Before she'd even fully disappeared, Giovanni started dropping things into Harry's and his own basket, a focused expression on his face as he moved swiftly down the aisle.

Staring in dismay at his already half-full basket, Harry looked up at the businessman.

"Er, Mr. Giovanni?" He called; the man hummed.

"Just Giovanni, Harry," he corrected as he squinted at the two bags of Heal Balls in his hands, before dropping them both in his own basket.

"Right," the boy agreed carefully. "Um, where am I going to put all this stuff?" He asked uncertainly. "I mean, I won't be able to take it all on my Journey, and we still have to get a bunch of other things, right?" Giovanni paused, and blinked slowly, blankly, at the bag of Net Ball's he'd been about to drop in his full basket. "I mean, I'm really grateful for you helping me out and buying the stuff and everything," the boy muttered, looking down at his feet and shuffling a bit, wiggling his toes uncomfortably. "But... Isn't this supposed to be about learning self-sufficiency and independence and... stuff?" He finished lamely, wincing a bit as he shifted the heavy basket a little, fiddling with the strap of his backpack.

Slowly, Giovanni set the packet down, and then sighed, looking consternated.

"You're right, I apologize," he told Harry simply, grimacing a little as he began to replace most of the items. "I tend to over-complicate shopping, according to my sister and associates. It's one of the tasks I have my PA do for me, when it's not something small or personal." Harry blinked as he carefully sat a large Ultra Ball down on it's shelf.

"PA?" He asked curiously; Giovanni nodded.

"My Personal Assistant, Sita Virk. She's currently keeping my affairs and meetings in order while I'm visiting Sarah, and will contact me only if something urgent comes up, such as a big deal falling through or a supplier backing out of a deal, something that requires my immediate attention." Harry nodded, since that made sense. No doubt, Giovanni had scores of employees who would be constantly trying to get his attention, like Uncle Vernon usually did, kissing up to his bosses for even a hint of an inch above his co-workers at a chance for promotion or a raise. And since Giovanni was so rich, and had such a large enterprise, there wasn't any doubt in Harry's mind that the man knew exactly how to avoid or deal with those Vernon-like employees.

(Harry seriously doubted it had anything to do with family dinners and a lot more to do with hated-tasks being assigned or out-right firing. Maybe a couple of demotions or pay-cuts.)

It took longer putting most of the pokeballs back on the shelves than Giovanni took picking them up, but, in the end, Harry was left with fifteen regular pokeballs, three Great Balls, and two Heal Balls, since their restorative effects out-shown the fact that the two of them each cost the same as all three Great Balls combined.

"Lets go to the next aisle," Giovanni said, before offering a faint smile. "And you choose this time." Grinning, Harry lead the way to the Healing Section, which was several degrees cooler than the pokeball aisle. One side of the aisle had refrigerators, while the other was simple shelves.

"I think a handful of most of the lower-priced items would work best," he mused as he eyed the fridges. "And a few packets of mixed Berries, too..." Giovanni just smiled a bit and gestured Harry on, and the two continued. Harry ended up with five Potions, two Antidotes, two Burn Heals, and one of each Freeze Heal and Paralyze Heal, as well as three small bags of dried Mixed Beginner's Berries (each bag held fifteen of the most common and easily found berries, dried in nutrient-rich herbs and spices that naturally raised the berries affects by twenty-five percent at the cost of loosing half the taste).

After that, they moved on to the next aisle, where they found Persian glaring at a smug-looking Bulbasaur who was holding what looked like the very last Experience Bow, its Trainer congratulating it as she sniffed condescendingly at Persian. Harry frowned and trotted forward.

"-Trainer must be so irresponsible, letting you just wander around the store without them," the girl was saying, tossing her dark red, wavy hair over one shoulder. "And, really, you're already evolved, so it's not like you actually needed an Experience Bow!"

"Excuse me," Harry interrupted, setting a cautionary hand on Persians head as she growled lowly, teeth clenching in around the handle of her half-filled basket. "Is there a problem?" The girl turned orange eyes on him and gave him a quick once over, eyeing the two pokeballs settled on his waist.

"You really need to keep a better hold on your Pokémon," she told him sternly, crossing her arms and making her dark green dress flare a little bit. "Your Persian tried to take the last Experience Bow practically out of my poor Bulbasaur's hold! He had it first, and I want an apology for such rude behavior!" Harry blinked at the girl slowly, and then looked at Persian.

"That little brat came up and used Vine-Whip to pull the Bow out of my basket, Cub," the Classy-Pokémon growled, tail flicking in annoyance and whiskers shivering. "And his Trainer told him to do it, too!" The Bulbasaur growled and rustled his extended vines mockingly.

"Snooze you lose, old lady!" he jeered, pale blue eyes smug as he pointedly wrapped the Bow around his neck.

"Old lady!?" Persian snarled, and Harry frowned tightly, stroking down the cat-Pokémon's back and shooting the girl a sharp glare.

"The only apologizing that's going to be happening is from you and your Pokémon, Miss," he told the girl firmly, crossing his arms over his chest. "After all, your Bulbasaur used Vine-Whip to steal that Bow out of Persians basket, and is even now taunting her, and, from what I've seen and heard here, the only rude ones in this aisle are the two of you." The girl flushed and Bulbasaur hissed.

"How dare you!" She shouted at him, immediately gaining the attention of not only a couple of other shoppers, but Kip as well. "That's it, you little brat! I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!" She declared; Harry glared back at her.

"Fine," he agreed brusquely, scowling. "Winner gets the Bow, and the Loser has to apologize to the wronged party."

"And the Loser has to pay twenty dollars to the Winner!" the girl tacked on, sneering; Harry hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at the blank-faced and cold-eyed form of Giovanni, before straightening his shoulders and nodding at the girl stiffly.

"Agreed," he told her; immediately, Kip stepped between the two.

"We have a sectioned off area just for this sort of problem," he told them easily, still smiling cheerfully. "It's especially popular during holidays! Please, follow me so we can get the two of you set up!" The girl made a little 'hmph!' noise and stalked past Harry after the older boy, purposefully bumping into his shoulder. Her Bulbasaur stuck his tongue out at Persian, who snarled at him, hackles up and growling low in her throat. Harry gently pet her, calming her down quickly as he turned and glanced uncertainly up at Giovanni.

"I have no doubt you'll do well, Harry," the billionaire told him calmly, sapphire-eyes glinting like steel as he set his own hand on Persians head. "From what you've told me, you've been training with Havoc for this sort of situation, and everyone needs real-life experience. Do your best," he told the boy, and Harry nodded, straightening his shoulders and hurrying after Kip and the rude girl. A small crowd wandered after them all, as Kip lead them to a side-room where a small arena waited. One half of a large, oval-shaped area was marked with red flooring, while the other was marked with blue, and the arena had bleachers cordoned off to the sides. There was also a man in a white-and-black referee's outfit who was waiting. He had black hair and black eyes and seemed surprisingly average, with a name tag that said 'Joe'.

"Names, ages, and number of Pokémon you're battling with?" He asked the two of them as Harry and the Girl stepped forward. The girl made that 'hmph!' noise again.

"Garnet Clancy," she announced. "Thirteen, with one Pokémon." She shot Harry another sneer. "Bulbasaur is going to be more than enough!"

"That's right!" said Pokémon declared at her side, hissing at Harry challengingly; the boy frowned at him, annoyed.

At least when Havoc was eager for a fight, he wasn't rude about it.

"And you?" Joe asked; Harry focused.

"Harry Morsinger, age ten, with one Pokémon," he informed the referee. Joe nodded and shuffled through a couple of papers.

"So a single-Pokémon battle to knock-out or surrender, with agreed-upon stipulations for prizes," he stated, writing something down with a bright pink, sparkly pen that has a little pink Pokémon on the tip that Harry recognized as a Clefairy. "Miss Clancy is fighting with her Bulbasaur, and you're using...?"

"An Eevee," Harry answered. "Named Havoc." Joe wrote that down with a nod while Garnet blinked, and then sneered.

"You gave your Pokémon a nickname? How childish can you be?!" She sneered; Harry gave her the same bland stare he'd seen Giovanni use on Jessie and James when they did something particularly stupid according to him.

"Apparently not so childish as to resort to name-calling, Miss Clancy," he responded, coolly polite, and the girl flushed brightly and grit her teeth.

"Alright, please separate to the specified sides of the arena," Joe told the two of them calmly, and they did, Garnet stalking over to the red half while Harry thanked Joe and padded over to the blue. There was a small, two-by-two foot box of white that he recognized as the Trainer Square, where he was supposed to remain unless he needed to dodge or he wanted to forfeit the match. Determinedly, Harry stepped into the box, which made a soft clicking noise.

Instantly, the box and all the out-lining white on his side of the arena lit up in pale white light. On the other side, Garnet stepped into her own square, and the same thing happened. Joe stepped up to the edge of the area onto his own square, making the lights dim, and holding two flags, one red, the other blue.

"This is a Single Pokémon Battle between Trainer's Harry Morsinger and Garnet Clancy," he declared clearly, and Harry shifted on his feet, one hand dropping to touch Havoc's pokeball warily. Joe lifted the red flag. "Garnet Clancy will be battling with her Bulbasaur!" He called; instantly, Bulbasaur trotted forward to stand directly in front of his Trainer, glaring at Harry. Joe lifted the blue flag. "Harry Morsinger will be battling with his Eevee, Havoc!" Harry nodded and plucked the ball from his waist.

"Come on out, Havoc," he called; in a flash of red, the Eevee appeared, shaking out his fur and glancing around, before his whole face lit up.

"We're battling?!" He shouted gleefully, squealing as he threw himself in front of Harry, grinning in delight as he dropped into a ready-stance. "This is going to be awesome!" He glared determinedly, all but shivering with anticipation, and Harry hoped he didn't get over excited and forget about their training.

"Focus, Havoc," he cautioned, just in case.

"Right!" The Eevee agreed, shaking himself once before re-settling, the shivering coming almost to a stop.

"This Battle ends when one or both Pokémon are unable to continue or their Trainer forfeits," Joe announced. "Are the Trainers ready?"

"Yes," Harry and Garnet agreed firmly, staring at one another across the arena. Joe nodded.

"Begin!" He shouted, dropping both flags; instantly, the two Trainers reacted.

"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf!" Garnet shouted; Bulbasaur nodded.

"Havoc, dodge his attack and use Sand Attack!" Harry ordered; immediately, Havoc obeyed, leaping nimbly over several of the rapidly spinning leaves and rolling under the rest, using his momentum to not only to gain ground on the Grass-Type, but to also scoop a fine layer of almost negligible dust from the ground with his tail. With a loud cry, the Eevee lunged to his feet and spun sharply, his tail all but smacking Bulbasaur in the face as the slower Pokémon tried to dodge, only to cry out as he was temporarily blinded.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine-Whip!" Garnet shouted, furious; Havoc leaped out of reach, taking only a minor hit to the side from a thrashing vine.

"Havoc, use Tackle!" Harry called; the Eevee obeyed, lunging over a flailing vine and smashing into the Bulbasaur, sending him staggering. "Keep it up!" Havoc continued; for the next several moments, it looked like the battle would end quickly, Havoc keeping up a near-constant barrage of Tackles on the stumbling, struggling Bulbasaur, the Eevee growing overly-confidant as he performed unnecessary leaps and rolls around the Vine-Whips that were still lashing out, laughing as he did so.

But then, one of those vines managed to trip him, and, as he cried out, they all converged, viciously slapping the Eevee down the field and away as Bulbasaur finally managed to get his eyes clear.

"Vee!" the Eevee cried out as he tumbled harshly back across the arena, making Harry flinch and stare worriedly.

"Havoc, are you okay?!" He called, kneeling as the Eevee skidded to a stop nearby. Havoc groaned and staggered to his feet, covered in scrapes and bruises as he shook his head with a wince.

"For such a slow Pokémon, he sure does pack a mean punch," he muttered back; Harry sighed with relief.

"Remember all of our Training, Havoc," he reminded the Eevee firmly. "Don't get cocky." Havoc frowned an nodded firmly, watching Bulbasaur blink and shake his head a few times before growling.

"Don't let that rat push you around, Bulbasaur!" Garnet ordered sharply, angry at the way the battle had been going so far. "Use Vine-Whip and then Razor Leaf!"

"Right!" Bulbasaur agreed, lashing out towards Havoc, who leaped over the vines only to cry out as several sharp leaves cut him. He landed with a stumble.

"Havoc!" Harry cried, worried, before shaking his head and clenching his fists tightly. "Use Sand-Tackle!" He shouted.

"Stop making up moves!" Garnet shouted back at him. "Bulbasaur, use those moves again, only hit him harder! Knock him out!" Havoc was running forward, throwing himself into a messy roll in order to dodge several vines and then zigzagging around the next barrage of leaves.

"Take this!" he shouted as he Tackled the Bulbasaur, smacking the staggered Pokémon in the face with his tail as he leaped out of reach, once more temporarily blinding him.

"Quick, use Tackle as many times as you can!" Harry shouted; Havoc obeyed as Garnet let out a frustrated yell.

"Bulbasaur, stop letting it hit you!" She shouted furiously as the Eevee Tackled her Starter again and again, leaving the Bulbasaur battered and bruised, before Havoc was forced to dodge away as the Bulbasaur finally got the dirt out of his eyes.

The two Pokémon glared at one another, both panting heavily. Havoc had taken some extra damage from the repeated hits and a few grazes from thrashing vines, but Bulbasaur was definitely worse off.

"Bulba...sa-aur," the Pokémon growled out, staggering one, unsteady step forward, before collapsing slowly to the ground and passing out. Immediately, Joe lifted the blue flag high.

"Bulbasaur is unable to Battle!" He shouted. "The winner is Harry Morsinger with Havoc the Eevee!" Harry and Havoc both blinked, before the Eevee cheered as Harry let out a low, relieved sigh and grinned.

"I did it!" Havoc shouted, spinning swiftly and leaping up and into his Trainers arms. "We did it! We did it, Harry!" Harry laughed and cuddled his Pokémon close, grinning widely.

"You were fantastic, Havoc!" He told the Pokémon happily. "All that practicing really worked out!" He declared, kissing his wildly grinning Pokémon on the head as they cuddled, Havoc rubbing his cheek against Harry's neck.

"Whatever," Garnet muttered as she recalled her Bulbasaur, stalking across the arena with a deeply annoyed expression. "I don't get what all the fuss was about, anyways," she sneered, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she pulled a wallet out of a small, half-hidden pocket on her dress. "But here's the twenty bucks, as promised, and I'll go get you that stupid Bow," she huffed; Giovanni's voice spoke up.

"No need," he stated calmly, standing next to not only Joe and Kip, but a frowning, blue-haired man who had a manager-tag on his uniform shirt, over his name tag which read 'Neal'. "But you could, perhaps, explain why you and your Pokémon have been stealing items from other shoppers baskets, as well as shoplifting from the Mall?" Garnet sputtered, wide-eyed, as Neal the Manager lifted a small remote and hit a button, making a large TV lower from the ceiling. It flicked on and, as the murmuring crowd and confused Harry watched, several different, black-and-white images began to play.

The whole room got to watch as Garnet and Bulbasaur stole items out of baskets, almost always the last ones of whatever it was. They also got to watch her and her Pokémon neatly remove Security tags and bar-codes from smaller items, which the girl hid in her pockets and Bulbasaur's mouth, over what looked like several days.

The last clip, was that of the scene that started the whole battle. Harry and Havoc glared at the girl as they watched her send Bulbasaur out to steal the Experience Bow from Persians basket, and then flounce out to start a scene, something they'd seen her do several times before.

"Well?" Neal asked in a low, forceful voice, gray eyes sharp as he clicked another button and the screen disappeared again. "Would you like to explain?" Garnet was pale and sputtering.

"I... I... That was totally edited!" She shouted desperately as Neal shook his head and a pair of Security Guards stepped out from behind the Bleachers to come over and take the girl by the arms. "I'm being framed! I've never stolen anything in my life! This is all that brat's fault, he's framing me!" The Security Guards remained unnamused; seeing this, Garnet immediately threw herself into a screaming, thrashing fit, huge, wracking sobs and loud wails included, and Harry grimaced in disgust.

Dudley used to do the exact same thing, after all.

"Harry Morsinger," Neal the Manager called calmly; Harry turned toward the older man, Havoc's ears almost smacking him in the face as the Eevee turned in his arms. Neal smiled a little down at him as he offered the Bow, as well as what looked like a red-and-white striped bandanna. "For winning the Battle, you get the last Experience Bow currently in the store," he told him, handing him the pale lavender bow. "For helping bring this thief to our attention, you also get this Shield Bandanna, which will help raise your Pokémon's defense." Handing the bandanna over as well, Neal nodded to him and Giovanni as well when the businessman wandered over, a smug-looking Persian at his side as Kip trotted over carrying the basket of ill-gotten items. "If you'll excuse me, now, I have some paperwork to fill out on this incident. Please, enjoy your day, and if you need any help finding anything, know that the Journey Mall's Employees will be more than happy to help." Smiling gently, showing off a small dimple in his cheek, Neal walked away, Kip following after chirping a quick 'Good Battle!' at Harry.

Harry blinked slowly, before looking up at Giovanni with a befuddled expression.

"That just happened?" He asked, confused, and the older man chuckled, reaching forward and gently ruffling Harry's mess of hair.

"It did," he agreed easily, smiling faintly. "The two of you did very well. You should be proud of yourselves." Harry flushed a little, but couldn't help but grin as Havoc wriggled out his arms to leap to the ground, grinning brightly.

"We were awesome," he told Persian smugly; the cat-Pokémon lifted her whiskers in a smile.

"You were," she agreed, rubbing her whiskers against the Eevee teasingly, making the Eevee squirm with a laugh. "Just don't forget to keep focused, and you may even end up unharmed next time," she added wryly, making Havoc laugh sheepishly and flick his ears in embarrassment.

"Right," he agreed, and Harry laughed a little, looking down at the items in his hands consideringly, before kneeling.

"I think that this would suit you better at the moment, Havoc," he told the Eevee as he gently tied the Bandanna onto the battered Pokémon's head, his ears popping neatly through two strategically placed slits that hadn't been immediately noticeable before. "Now you look sort of like a pirate!" Harry laughed, and Havoc grinned up at him happily, tail wagging.

"Vee!" he growled playfully, leaping up onto Harry's should to snuggle against his neck. Harry laughed again as he stood, grinning up at Giovanni as the businessman set his hand on the boys free shoulder, still smiling faintly, eyes much softer than they'd been before.

"Shall we continue our shopping, finally?" He asked gently, teasingly, and the two nodded back at him, both of them still grinning widely as the older man began to steer him back into the main shopping area.

It was the victorious end of, hopefully, many battles, and the taste of victory had never been sweeter.

Chapter Text

"Talking"

"Pokémon Talking"

Thoughts

"PokéDex Talking"

Chapter Thirteen

One Small Step for Harry

Harry couldn't help rubbing his eyes as he walked beside Mark on their way to the Lab.

"Harry, don't touch your eyes," the Glassman chided fondly, ruffling a hand through the boys hair. "You know the ophthalmologist said that excessive rubbing could cause an infection." Immediately, Harry dropped his hands, blinking the mild blurriness away so he could smile sheepishly up at Mark, his green eyes large and uncovered. The day Giovanni had taken them shopping, after the fight with Garnet the Shoplifter, the billionaire had taken the ten-year-old down the street to the eye doctor and he'd paid to get Harry's eyes fixed.

It had required a bit of surgery, which was pretty daunting to be honest, but now, a week later, Harry was happily glasses-free and, baring any infections or issues within the next six-months, he would remain so until at least thirty, according to Doctor Lyell, at least.

"Sorry, Mark," Harry said, smiling up at him; the man chuckled and shrugged easily.

"I know, it has to feel weird to not have your glasses anymore," he reassured the boy. "But just remember to keep taking your antibiotics when you leave tomorrow." The boy nodded, nibbling his lower lip uncertainly at the reminder. Mark drew them to a stop on the top of the hill that led down to the Lab, kneeling there so that he and Harry were eye-to-eye.

"Hey, kiddo," he murmured gently, smiling. "You're going to be just fine, alright? You're much better prepared than most kids these days are, definitely more than Sarah and I were when we went on our Journeys. You've got two Pokémon at your side already who will keep you safe and who adore you to bits. Just remember to follow you're heart and listen to common sense, and to call us up every once in a while, okay?" Harry nodded, looking down at his shoes in embarrassment.

"I'm going to miss you guys, is all," he muttered; Mark chuckled and pulled him into a hug.

"And we'll miss you," he reassured the boy simply. "I also have no doubt that Giovanni will be keeping an eye on you, especially after you all but handed him that Ancient Charizard on a platter since their personalities matched," he remarked dryly; Harry grinned a little at the reminder as Mark pulled away.

Two days after his Eye Surgery, Mary had demanded that she get to open one of the Crystal Pokeballs because they were far too pretty to just sit around. As a result, everyone had moved to the backyard and Harry had systematically gone through the 'balls, known Pokémon first.

The Ancient Raichu had been the one to go to Mary. She had been a surprisingly sweet, excitable Pokémon, who had actually seemed to be and Ancient version of the newly discovered Alolan Raichu. She had been far larger than the normal two-foot-four, reaching four-foot-six easily, and had had pink eyes to match the pink-and-purple lighting-bolt-like stripes on her cheeks and back. Her paws had been pale gray and her fur had been more dark, burnt orange than the pale brown of the Alolan breed. She and Mary had taken to one another like glitter and glue, however, and had spent nearly every morning surfing on the newly named Kiara's tail through the house and in the backyard, with Izzy on the Raichu's head or stuck to Mary's back.

The aggressive, impatient Charizard had, as Mark said, gone straight to Giovanni, with its bright red and gold-yellow cheek and wing markings and its blue-white tail-flame and ice-blue eyes. The impatient, aggressive Venusaur had taken one look at Flora and declared himself Mark's Pokémon, if only so he could keep an eye on the unusually small (to him) Ivysaur (Mark had named him Padmesh and the two were constantly arguing). Padmesh was only about two feet bigger than the average Venusaur and had yellow eyes, and the flower on his back was purple instead of pink. The spots on the flower were a matching turquoise to his skin, as well.

The lazy Blastoise was re-named Bella after deciding she liked Max the most (Or, well, he apparently 'looked like the least amount of work' according to her). She had sea-foam-green and cream spots and an oddly spiky shell. The Ninetails, who was actually pregnant and would be laying her egg any day now, had been highly amused by them all and chose Sarah as her Trainer, flicking her black-tipped tails and winking one ominously black eye at Harry, the black, flame-like socks on her paws as well as her tail-tips glinting with purple will-o'-wisp flames when Jessie complained. Sarah had named her Felicity.

Of course, the Team Rocket member had quieted when the shy-natured Fearow, with his orange arrow-like feather markings and large gold eyes, had seemingly become infatuated with her comet-shaped hair and chosen her. Jessie had smugly named the large bird-Pokémon Devlin and left it at that.

Once that was all decided, Harry had turned his attention to the unknown Pokémon.

The rubbery-feeling Pokémon that left Harry tasting salt had turned out to be a fierce looking Lapras with black and green markings and a dark-gray, overly spiky shell. She had hissed and chirped at them all warily, but had taken one look at James' hair and fallen in love, preening the bright blue locks affectionately. James had promptly named her Shelly and spent the day cuddling and petting and cooing at her happily, much to everyone else's amusement.

It was the last two Ancient Pokémon that were one of the reasons for this particular visit to the Lab, however. Them, and the fact that Harry's personalized PokéDex was finally ready.

"Come on, Harry," Mark told him, getting to his feet again and settling a hand on the ten-year-old's shoulder. "We don't want to keep the Professor waiting after calling ahead about a surprise for him, do we?" Mark winked, and Harry couldn't help but grin back.

"Let's go, then!" the boy declared, and trotted ahead, leaving Mark to chuckle and wander after him down the hill. The Professor was waiting in his usual place at the doors of the Lab, waving cheerfully with a warm smile.

"Harry, my dear boy, what took you so long?" He asked teasingly; Harry grinned.

"I just wanted to keep you in some suspense, Professor," he joked back; the older man grinned in delight.

"How cruel, my boy, to keep an old man waiting," he laughed, before shaking his head and tapping the side of his nose in a mischievous way. "But you're not the only one with a surprise in the wings!" He chuckled as Harry peered up at him curiously.

"A surprise?" He asked; Professor Oak chuckled and neatly began to herd the boy into the Lab, nodding cheerfully at Mark who was already wandering off to take measurements for another installation.

"Yes indeed, my boy, I do have a surprise for you," he declared cheerfully, leading the boy down the hall towards one of the vet-like rooms, the only one that had a closed door, actually... "Well?" He asked, grinning boyishly down at Harry, gesturing at the door. "Aren't you curious?" And Harry nodded, reaching forward and opening the door.

And there, sitting on the metal examination table, was a bright green, advanced-stage PokéDex...

And a familiar lavender-furred Rattata.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked her, confused but happy enough as he caught the little mouse-Pokémon when she threw herself at him.

"I wanna come too!" she shouted happily, nuzzling under his chin before pulling away to glare determinedly up at him, nose twitching a little. "You were just gonna leave me behind! But no way am I just gonna let you go with only that big cat and that scatterbrained fox! Someone has to keep you all on track and that's just gonna have to be me!" Her piece said, the Rattata snuggled back in, crooning smugly as Harry blinked, bemused, and glanced back at Professor Oak, who was smiling brightly.

"Our little friend there has been trying to slip out of the Yard and follow you home for several days now, after you announced the day you were leaving," he told the boy cheerfully. "She only stayed today once I told her my idea for surprising you!" From his pocket, the Professor pulled out a pokeball, and handed it to the boy with a soft smile. "You have quite the friend there, you know." Touched, Harry cuddled the Rattata close, and offered a slightly overwhelmed smile.

"Yeah," he whispered, burying his face between her ears as she cooed. "Yeah, I do." In response, the Rattata pulled back and smile sweetly up at him, licking his cin affectionately, and making Harry give a soft, choked laugh, shaking his head and smiling helplessly back. "What do you say than, girl?" he asked, offering her the pokeball. "Come with me?"

"Like there was any doubt!" she declared, and playfully pushed the button with her nose. In a glowing flash of red, she was Caught.

"I think the name Harmony fits her perfectly," Harry murmured, smiling down at the pokeball in his hand before he tenderly shrunk it down and attached it onto his Pokeball Belt so that it was sitting beside Havoc and Lord Persians.

"That's an excellent name, Harry," the Professor declared, smiling warmly. "And now that you have your PokéDex, you can register your Pokémon and check on their moves and stats, and what level their experience is at, as well as their emotional health." Harry nodded and picked up the bright green device, pressing the button that sat in the pokeball-symbol.

"Greetings," the PokéDex started, the voice a soothing female tone. "I am Data, a Pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Harry Morsinger of Pallet Town, in the Region of Kanto. My function is to provide Harry with information and advice regarding Pokémon, their training, and their care. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced. All information stored within me is protected by Property and Information Laws, and is downloaded daily to remote locations for back-up in case of viral infections or tampering."

"Cute," Harry mused, smiling, as the PokéDex had pronounced 'her' name as day-ta with a small emphasis on the ta so that it had a slightly harder stop. Day-TA.

"I have personally installed a larger memory hard-drive so that she holds the information on all currently known Pokémon, including the few Legendary Pokémon that have been re-discovered, as it were, and those that have been, unfortunately, man-made," the Professor informed him cheerfully as Harry carefully tapped into his Pokémon Registry and quickly named all of his Pokémon as well as glancing through their moves and levels.

Havoc was level seven, now, almost level eight, and knew only Tackle, Sand-Attack, and Tail Whip. Harmony was level four and only knew Tackle and Tail Whip. And Lord Persian...

"Why is Lord Persian level fifty-two and what are these moves?" The Boy asked, mystified, as he stared at the four moves shown before turning the 'Dex around to show the Professor, who blinked.

"Let's see," he mused, poking through it. "King's Command, seems to be a psychic-type Special Attack, like the ability Intimidate, and is a 'tough' move. Ninety-five percent accuracy with a high chance of causing the opponent to flinch. Basically, your Persian emits a very loud roar that frightens others into flinching," the Professor informed the boy cheerfully. "The Move called Side-Swipe is a physical, Normal-Dark Type move that has a ninety percent accuracy and will hit rather hard, and is a 'cool' move. Persian uses feints to blindside their opponent to deal a hard hit. Power Gem is a move most Persian of a certain level or higher are capable of using, a Rock-Type move that is one hundred percent accurate and hits rather hard, and is a 'beautiful' move. Persian uses the power stored within the gem on their foreheads to shoot a beam of glittering light at an opponent to do physical damage. And the last move, Play Rough, is actually a Fairy-Type Move most Meowth's know at level one. It's usually forgotten for a more powerful attack, but it is ninety-percent accurate with a nice level of damage in fight, and is a 'cute' move. Your Persian essentially plays or bats at his opponents, and does damage to them in a playful display."

"Why those four moves?" Harry asked, confused. "I've never even heard of King's Command or Side-Swipe, and why keep a move that he'd have learned as a baby?" Staring down at the screen, still boggling over the high level of his Persian, Harry could only wonder about the life his Pokémon had lived before being left in that Crystal Pokeball.

"Some moves and attacks have changed or adapted throughout the years," the Professor told the boy gently, rubbing his chin with one hand thoughtfully. "Like some Pokémon have evolved in different ways than others."

"Like how Kiara and other Alolan Raichu have adapted to being Electric-Psychic types?" Harry asked; the Professor smiled brightly.

"Exactly, my boy!" He agreed, before rubbing his hands together hopefully. "Speaking of the lovely Kiara and your Lord Persian, you said you had a surprise for me, as well?" Blinking, Harry made a startled 'oh!' noise and tucked Data away in his pocket, grinning up at the Professor and nodding.

"We'll probably have to go to the Yard, or else an accident might happen, you know?" He declared; the Professor bobbed his head excitedly and quickly left the way, a couple of curious Aides following the two of them outside.

"Are you ready, Professor?" Harry asked, bouncing a little on his toes as he held up a pokeball; the Professor nodded eagerly, leaning forward a little as Harry tossed the pokeball. In a flash of red light, the Ancient Pokémon appeared.

The Dragonair stretched with a low sigh, the abnormally-large white 'wings' on his head lifting a little and then falling back into place as they stretched themselves. Harry couldn't help but grin a little as the Professor and his Aides all started ooh-ing and ah-ing at the large Dragon-Type. Dragonair was a staggering twenty-feet long, almost double the usual size of his species now-a-days, with mottled blues and whites making a surprisingly effective camouflage that worked for water and sky, because he could fly, rather easily from what Harry had seen the first time he'd called the Dragonair from his Crystal Pokeball. The large orb under his chin was a pearl, rather than the dark blue orb he'd seen on the Dragonair's in his studies, and the two orbs on his tail were the same.

"How remarkable!" The Professor declared, padding up to the Pokémon with a bright, boyish grin of delight. "Truly remarkable! The differences between Pokémon now and the Pokémon of Ancient Times, truly remarkable!" Dragonair blink green-blue eyes at the man, and trilled softly at him.

"My thanks for the compliments, Elder One," the Dragonair murmured, pleased, and Harry grinned as he translated.

"Dragonair didn't want to go travelling with anyone, but he didn't want to stay in one place for too long, either," Harry told the Professor once finished. "He wants to learn all he can about the new age he's living in, so I thought, as the Pokémon Professor and with your connections to the other Professors, you could learn from one another!" The Professor and Dragonair both smiled, first at Harry, and then at one another.

"That is a fantastic idea, Harry, and I would be honored to house such a magnificent specimen of his species," the Professor declared; Dragonair trilled, pleased, as Harry handed his new pokeball (Donated by Sarah so that Harry didn't have to use his Journey Supplies) to the older man.

"Can we name him Neil?!" One of the Aides, a young blond man with brown eyes and a heavy dose of freckles, blurted from off to the side; Dragonair and the Professor blinked at him, then eyed one another, before the Dragonair nodded his head.

"Acceptable," Harry translated, and so, Neil the Dragonair was re-called into his pokeball by his new Trainer/caregiver. As the Professor pocketed the pokeball, Harry pulled another from his pocket. "This one I thought you wouldn't mind sending on to your Grandson, Gary," he told the Professor honestly, tapping the button with a small smile.

In a flash of red and a thundering roar, the final Ancient Pokémon appeared, flapping her massive wings once and sending dust and small bits of debris flying. Once it was settled, she stood their in all her glory, smirking down at them all with glittering pale gold eyes.

The Ancient Aerodactyl was, if Harry was honest, both the most intimidating and the most fascinating out of the entire batch, because, not only was she essentially a kind of dinosaur, which was awesome, but she was also the only one out of the lot whose natural form was the recorded form of her species Mega Evolution.

"My word!" The Professor exclaimed, enthralled as the massive Pokémon shook her head before pausing to gnaw at one of the spiky, stone-like growths on her left wing, chipping off what looked like an unwanted spike on the largest growth, which she ate contentedly while eyeing them all with amusement.

"So, Professor?" Harry asked, grinning cheekily. "What do you think of my surprises?" The Professor actually swatted his hands in the air with an almost trilling noise of excitement, fluttering around the Aerodactyl with sparkling eyes.

"What do I think?! Harry, my boy, this fine lady is beautiful! My Grandson and his friends are going to be ecstatic to be allowed even the chance to see a picture of her, let alone witness her in her full, living glory!" Aerodactyl chuckled, a low, rumbling sound in her chest as her tail flicked like a cats on the ground, the spade tip twisting this way and that.

"You old charmer, you," she purred, grinning in amusement down at him, lowering her head so that one large gold eye was practically in his face. "If your Hatchling's Hatchling has gotten any of his charm from you, why I might just be in trouble, hmm?" Still chuckling, the Ancient Aerodactyl nodded at Harry, who obligingly returned her to the pokeball, still grinning, and handed her to the Professor, laughing as the older man made eager 'grabby hands' at him and then cradled the 'ball close.

"They're going to be ecstatic," he gushed again, and darted away, moving surprisingly quickly for a man his age as he darted back into the Lab to send the pokeball off. Laughing to himself, Harry wandered into the Yard to visit a few of his Pokémon Friends one last time before heading back to the Garettes house.

He started his Journey the next day, after all, and wanted to spend as much time with his favorite people as he could.

It helped that Sarah was cooking roast beef and mashed potatoes.

The Next Morning...

"And you've got your Escape Rope?" Sarah asked Harry as she straightened his blue jacket...

For the seventh time.

"Yes, Sarah," the ten-year-old answered patiently, smiling and a little flushed under the worried attention. Mary was pouting off to the side next to Mark while Giovanni and Persian just watched, wearing identically amused expressions. Jessie, James, and Meowth had left after dinner the night before, saying that they'd given the 'Twerp' too much leeway as it was and needed to get back to hunting down rare and powerful Pokémon, with a few playful complaints about having to be 'goody-two-shoes' about it now. Harry already kind of missed his unofficial 'aunt' and 'uncles'.

"You'll remember to call us as soon as you reach Viridian City, right?" The woman fussed again; Harry nodded. "And you'll send us mail whenever you can?"

"Yes, Sarah," he told her again, smiling.

"Let the boy leave already, Sarah," Giovanni sighed, smirking faintly. "Before you smother him to death."

"Oh, hush, Gio," Sarah told her brother, but she did, reluctantly, step away, letting Mark wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her close.

"Stay safe, kiddo," Mark told him simply; Harry nodded. Mary pouted at him, lower lip trembling and tears shining in her eyes.

"If, if you don't send me at least three presents, I'll never forgive you!" she declared; Harry laughed.

"How about one present for every badge I get?" He offered; sniffling, the seven-year-old nodded. "And I'll come back for my birthday at the end of July, or we can meet up wherever for it, okay?"

"Fine," she muttered sulkily while Mark and Sarah nodded in agreement. Harry looked at them all for a moment, taking in their faces, heart beginning to pound anxiously in his chest as he hesitated. Persian stood up and padded forward before anyone else could begin to.

"You will be just fine, Cub," she told him gently, but firmly, as she rubbed her whiskers gently over his face. "Deep breaths, now, that's it," she murmured as Harry obediently took a few slow, deep breaths. "Now, you are going to say goodbye, and you are going to turn around and walk down that road, because that is what you said you would do. You may turn back and wave, yes. But, stop? Don't even think about it." Harry let out a weak laugh and nodded, throwing his arms around the cat-Pokémon's neck in a hug as she purred against him. Slowly pulling back, the ten-year-old took another slow, deep breath and straightened up, squaring his shoulders as best as he could as he stared back at his... Family.

"I'll call once I'm safely in Viridian," he told them all firmly; the adults all nodded, Persian included. "Take care of yourselves," he told them, before doing exactly as Persian said, turning around and beginning to walk down the path towards Route One, the road that would lead him, relatively safely, towards Viridian City.

"Bye, Harry!" Sarah called, making the boy look back and offer a wave; those watching all waved back.

"I want that present soon, Harry!" Mary shouted, making the boy laugh. Giovanni didn't wave, only smirked, and rested a hand on Persians head as they watched him walk.

Turning back to face the path he was on, Harry continued to move forward, toward his new adventures beginning. His fingers trailed along the three occupied pokeball's on his waist, and he could keenly feel the three empty ones on the opposite side, more in a side-pocket on his bag. Taking one last deep breath as he came to the top of a hill that would let him overlook Pallet Town, the boy took one last moment to look back, to see his Family watching, before turning away.

Harry breathed out slowly, and walked forward.