Hearing Snape's words, Charles froze on the spot.
He had only been thinking about how he could use Voldemort's body for some experiments—and completely forgot that the guy was bald.
"No hair… maybe I could use some of the mushrooms growing on him instead?" he muttered uncertainly.
"Who knows," Snape sneered.
"Forget it. I'll just buy some of the Potters' hair-growth potion and hope it works."
"Oh, please," Snape snapped instantly, as though someone had ignited his temper. "If that rubbish actually worked, half the wizarding world wouldn't be bald!"
He had originally wanted to just sit back and watch, but the moment he heard Charles mention buying a Potter product, he couldn't keep still.
Pay the Potters money?Over my dead body.
Charles halted mid-step.
Snape wasn't wrong—Potter's hair tonic was never particularly effective. Not that there was a flaw in the potion itself; the issue lay in wizards' inherent magical resistance. Technically, the tonic was just a shampoo infused with a bit of magic, which worked fairly well on Muggles, but was far less effective on witches and wizards. Not to mention Voldemort's body had undergone countless magical experiments; his magical resistance was comparable to that of a dragon.
If Charles wanted real results, the cost would skyrocket—and how many wizards could actually afford that kind of potion?
Seeing Charles's troubled look, Snape smirked proudly. "Even if the Potters' trash is useless, you're lucky to have a master potion-maker before you."
"You?" Charles looked up at Snape's greasy, nearly clumped-together hair and shook his head. "No thanks. I'd rather spend more money and get something that works."
Snape: ???
Excuse me, who are you looking down on?!
Sure, his hair was oily—fine, very oily—but could Charles not see how thick and full it was?
"Stop right there!" Snape snarled. A moment ago, he'd planned to humble Charles with his newly invented hair-growth potion, but now, preventing him from funding the Potters had become a matter of honor.
"I invented a new potion! Hair tonic was merely a side product!" Snape declared, dramatically pulling out a small brown bottle. "I won't bore you with the ingredients, but one of them—comes from a Jynx's hair."
At the mention of Jynx, he shuddered, as if recalling some particularly traumatic memory.
But he quickly regained composure.
"Jynx's hair? You actually found one in the snowy region?" Charles asked, surprised.
Indeed, ever since the nature reserve had expanded—and with so many Pokémon released there after hatching—most species now lived independently. Apart from rare Pokémon that Charles personally tracked, he had little idea where the others were anymore.
By now, the reserve was practically a self-contained ecosystem, though still fragile and small in scale.
Without hesitation, Charles poured Snape's potion directly onto Voldemort's head.
The effect was immediate. Within seconds, black shapes sprouted from the scalp like bamboo shoots after spring rain. Except—
"Why are those mushrooms?" Snape blurted, dumbfounded.
"Probably because his scalp was already infested with mushroom spores," Charles sighed. "Oh well. Send your 'not-so-hair-growing' potion to Hufflepuff later; I bet Professor Sprout will love it."
He plucked one of the mushrooms, staring at it in silence.
They said magic was the power of the mind—wish it, and it shall be so.
Well, if he imagined the mushrooms as hair, then technically, they were hair… right?
"Maybe I'll just use the mushrooms."
"I'd advise against that," Snape warned. "What if you damage Voldemort's body? You were planning to impersonate him, weren't you?"
"If it's ruined, I'll just revive him again," Charles said casually. "We've still got plenty of Riddle bones lying around."
"It's not that simple! Do you think Dumbledore would let you kill another innocent baby for it?"
"Oh, right—I forgot about that," Charles chuckled. "No matter. I'll just use Human Transfiguration. It's easier anyway. Hmm… I wonder if a Substitute could absorb the failure backlash."
Before Snape could stop him, Charles slipped into Voldemort's shadow, controlling his body to perform a Substitute.
A tiny toy monster appeared before them—and promptly transformed into a perfect duplicate of Voldemort.
"Let's wait until tonight to see," Charles said, placing the mushrooms in a jar. He then summoned several Water- and Electric-type Pokémon to stand guard nearby. According to the forecast, there would be no natural thunderstorms today—but Animagus transformation required lightning and rain. If nature wouldn't provide it, they'd simply make their own.
For the record, magically conjured storms didn't count.
Though Snape grumbled about wasted time, he conjured a sofa and sat down to wait.
If Charles succeeded, Snape would have witnessed the birth of an entirely new branch of magic. If he failed, he'd at least see Voldemort's body mutate into something hideous. Either way, not a waste of an afternoon.
And to be fair, Charles's lab was filled with delicious food and rare potion ingredients.
If the rest of the world ever discovered how effective Pokémon parts were in potion-making, Charles would instantly become the richest man alive.
Wait—what was that Pokémon?
Snape rose to his feet, squinting into the distance at a tall, long-necked creature.
"That's a Tropius," Charles explained. "The bananas around its neck are delicious when ripe. But they're not ready yet."
Snape didn't seem to hear him. He grabbed his Golbat's legs and took off into the sky.
New Pokémon!New potion ingredients!
I'm coming for you!
Charles shook his head, watching Snape vanish into the distance. There was still plenty of time.
Ever since the International Confederation of Wizards had spread the fame of Pokémon throughout the wizarding world, Charles had received numerous rewards—and even more benefits besides.
After all, completing the Pokédex itself granted rewards. Having unlocked two regional Pokédexes in one go—excluding the legendaries and a few previously obtained species—he now had around two hundred new entries.
[Current Pokédex Entries: 458]
[Rewards Earned: Full Mega Stone Set, Full Z-Crystal Set, 1× Master Ball, 3× Ability Capsules, Intelligence on the Kanto Legendary Birds]
[Additional Rewards: TMs – Triple Punch (Electric, Fire, Ice), Aurora Beam, Aurora Veil, Abyssal Roll, Thunderbolt, Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Perish Song, Sacred Fire, Dragon Claw, Dragon Pulse, Blast Burn]
[New Abilities: Anticipation, Cursed Body, Regenerator, Justified]
[Note: Dynamax Dens and Tera Crystals have been unlocked within the Reserve. Current Den/Tera Rank: ★1–3.]
The sheer list of rewards left Charles speechless. A complete Mega Stone and Z-Crystal set alone was astonishing—never mind intelligence on the three Legendary Birds.
Among the TMs, Blast Burn was a 150-power ultimate move, while Sacred Fire—Ho-Oh's signature—was even stronger than Moltres's flame.
He had once considered the International Confederation a nuisance, but now? He almost wanted to send them a thank-you letter. Thanks to them, his overall strength had just skyrocketed again.
Those new abilities would all prove invaluable in battle. Justified alone nearly nullified the threat of Dark Magic. Anticipation worked like a spider-sense, Cursed Body could disable enemy moves, and Regenerator would greatly extend his endurance in drawn-out fights.
"I didn't expect the system to even generate Dynamax and Tera systems… but without the proper wristbands or crystals, I can ignore those for now."
Time passed; dawn became morning, morning slipped into afternoon, and the sun dipped toward the horizon.
When Snape finally returned, he looked worse than ever—his filthy robes now adorned with feathers, probably from a Pelipper.
"Went to the seaside, did you?"
"How did you know?" Snape blinked in surprise.
Charles pointed at his head.
Snape immediately cast cleaning charms on himself, collecting the loose feather as a trophy. "I honestly have no idea how you keep getting new Pokémon."
He shook his head but didn't press further. "Next time, tell me when you discover a new one!"
"Just one Pokémon's biology could occupy you for a lifetime," Charles said, gazing up at the sky where a yellow moon had begun to rise. "All right—prepare Rain Dance and Thunder simultaneously."
Dozens of Pokémon turned skyward, releasing spheres of light. Thick clouds began to swirl and spread until they covered the entire plain.
Rumble—!
Pikachu, Electabuzz, Electrode, Ampharos, and Magneton all unleashed torrents of lightning into the heavens.
Soon, other Electric-types joined in—Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu, Shinx—each contributing their small sparks to the growing tempest.
In moments, the entire grassland was engulfed in a roaring thunderstorm.
Water-types and other Pokémon scrambled for cover, unwilling to risk electrocution.
Charles retrieved a vial containing the molted shell of a Ninjask. As he exposed it to the storm, the potion within turned an uncanny shade of color.
"Will this work?" Snape frowned. "Usually, thunderstorms and full moons rarely coincide. The potion must be stored for months in darkness, and the successful Animagus brew should be blood-red."
He might have been a potion master, but Animagus transformation was far from his specialty.
"Perhaps for an Animagus. But a Pokémon Magus may be different," Charles replied without hesitation.
When he'd tampered with the potion used in Voldemort's resurrection, its color had also turned strange.
"Besides—it's not me drinking it."
With that, Charles's consciousness entered Voldemort's body.
The skeletal hand lifted a wand, pointing at his own chest."Amado, Animo, Anima, Animagus!"
Finishing the incantation, he raised the potion and drank it all in one gulp.
Instantly, agony struck.
Of course, Charles felt none of it himself. The only visible reaction was the flame-form Voldemort trapped in Dumbledore's possession—twisting violently, curling into a spiny sea-urchin shape, flickering as though on the verge of extinction.
But Charles could distinctly hear it—another heartbeat, pounding in unison.
Then an image burst into his mind—a tall, serpentine monster with a green body.
Zygarde?!
Charles stared in astonishment.
Zygarde—the third deity of Kalos, the Pokémon of Order and Balance.
It watched over the ecosystem and punished any who disrupted it. When Kalos's ecosystem faced collapse, Zygarde would appear, unleashing its hidden power to eradicate all threats.
And the vision before him was unmistakably Zygarde's 50% Forme.
But how—how could Voldemort's Pokémon Magus form be Zygarde?
He couldn't comprehend it.
Before he could think further, the transformation halted mid-process.
Instead, Voldemort's Substitute began to swell grotesquely, morphing into a disgusting fleshy lump.
Its body sprouted five uneven legs—part Oddish, part Ninjask—with crimson tufts bristling across its surface.
"That's a Five-Legged Monster," Snape exclaimed. "Looks like it mutated."
But Charles wasn't listening.
He was staring at the system's latest alert, heart skipping a beat.
[Warning: Zygarde has taken notice of your existence.]
(End of Chapter)