Although the Death Eaters had agreed to the war and were prepared to face it head-on, it was absurd to let the Ministry of Magic decide the battlefield's location.
Thus, "Voldemort" led his followers on a surprise midnight assault on Godric's Hollow.
The once-peaceful wizarding village endured a whole night of relentless curses and was now reduced to ruins. Exhausted Death Eaters moved through the shattered houses, searching for any sign of life. But there wasn't a single living soul.
Or rather—
"Master, there's no one here!" Bellatrix said grimly, approaching the silent Voldemort.
Her eyes flicked to the two masked figures standing at his sides—Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape—and she immediately sneered inwardly.
Cowards. Too afraid to even show their faces before the Dark Lord? And he still tolerates them!Then again, Lucius's long platinum hair and Snape's greasy mid-length black hair were so distinctive that the masks were pointless. Who did they think they were fooling—the Ministry?
Bellatrix didn't ponder long. The other Death Eaters were gathering again, while her husband crawled forward like a dog, groveling before Voldemort. After all, the idea to attack Godric's Hollow had been his.
But after all that effort, there wasn't even a ghost to be found. The liveliest place in the valley was probably the graveyard.
"Master—there may be a spy among us. The villagers evacuated beforehand…"
"I see…" Voldemort murmured, stepping forward and pressing his boot on Rodolphus Lestrange's head. "Then tell me—who do you think the traitor is, Rodolphus Lestrange?"
"I think it's—it's… Snape!" he stammered in terror.
Snape, unjustly accused, rolled his eyes and replied coolly, "I have no reason to do such a thing. If I meant to betray you, why wouldn't I simply reveal the location of Malfoy Manor? Moreover, during our last operation, the Ministry demonstrated an uncanny ability to foresee our moves. We're most likely walking into an ambush."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the night air erupted with a series of sharp cracks—like a chain of fireworks going off at once.
Nearly a hundred Aurors appeared along the edge of the town, encircling the Death Eaters completely.
Each Auror had a Pokémon partner at their side—Fears or Koffing hovering in the air, ready for battle.
"You're surrounded, Voldemort!" boomed Cornelius Fudge, marching bravely to the front with a large green bird at his side. "Surrender now! Azkaban has plenty of room!"
His grand declaration stunned even his own Aurors.
Talking to the Dark Lord like that—was he mad?
"Has he always been this brave?" Tonks whispered to a senior Auror beside her.
"Since he's not the one actually fighting Voldemort, he can say whatever he likes," Mad-Eye Moody growled, his magical eye spinning wildly until it focused on the Dark Lord. His expression hardened. "His magic's stronger than before. There's something under his robes. Charles—can you handle this alone?"
Moody's eye could pierce most illusions, but his expertise didn't extend to Pokémon. All he could tell was that Voldemort's magical power had grown more intense.
"Don't worry," Charles replied softly. "I'm not fighting alone."
He shifted his focus entirely to Voldemort. Controlling two bodies at once was harder than any double battle.
"They should all show me respect," Voldemort sneered, "yet now some nameless upstart dares to speak my name so casually? Who will kill him for me?"
"Let me!"
"Let me, Master!"
Rodolphus shouted eagerly, desperate to redeem himself. It was clear the Dark Lord was not in a pleasant mood.
(Charles: I feel perfectly fine, actually.)
"Very well, I'll grant you one more chance," Voldemort said coldly, lifting his foot from Rodolphus's head.
"Don't worry, my Lord—I'll kill him for sure!" Rodolphus snarled, raising his wand as he charged forward. Before he even closed the distance, he shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"
The killing curse's sickly green light shot straight for Fudge's chest. Even though Fudge was somewhat prepared, fear froze him on the spot.
But at that moment, Xatu swooped in front of him, spreading its cloak-like wings to conjure a shimmering barrier. The green curse struck and dissolved like mud sinking into deep water.
"W-What?!" Rodolphus gasped. The other Death Eaters—freshly escaped from Azkaban—stared in shock. The Killing Curse… blocked?
"Hmph. Still using that outdated spell?" Snape sneered. "It's long obsolete."
"Oh, and you've got something better?"
"You'll learn soon enough," Snape retorted, darting forward.
The rest of the Death Eaters followed suit. Once Fudge was attacked, the Aurors naturally responded, and chaos broke loose.
Lucius ducked into a ruined house for cover. Outside, curses flew like fireworks—the green flashes terrifyingly bright. Obsolete or not, the Killing Curse was still lethal on contact, and Lucius wasn't about to risk his life in what wasn't even a real war.
"Stay sharp!" Kingsley Shacklebolt warned the younger Aurors behind him.
"Don't worry, Mr. Shacklebolt," said Barnard with a grin. "My Persian and I make a great team!"
Barnard was the former seventh-year who'd once helped Malfoy capture a Pokémon. As a half-blood with few family connections, he'd joined the Auror Corps right after graduation.
He hadn't expected his first mission to be this huge—but fear wasn't in his vocabulary.
He knew better than anyone how strong his Persian was. Together, they could handle even a Death Eater—and besides, Professor Gold was here.
That thought alone steadied him. Spotting a Death Eater aiming a curse at him, he shouted, "Persian, Fake Out!"
The sleek feline sprang forward, striking its target squarely in the chest and breaking their concentration.
Barnard's wand flicked. "Diffindo!"
One down.
Nearby, Tonks crouched low, firing spells rapidly while her Mightyena guarded her flank—blocking curses, lunging at enemies, and tearing them down.
The battlefield dissolved into chaos. Hundreds of Death Eaters and Aurors clashed, spells and attacks flying in every direction. Snape fought alongside his Golbat, unleashing Sectumsempra and razor-sharp Air Slashes that wounded many Aurors—though their medics quickly healed the injuries.
The Death Eaters, unaware of this, thought Snape was racking up kills and fought harder.
"Their Pokémon's defensive moves have limits," Snape called out. "They can't block the Killing Curse indefinitely, so they avoid using barriers on lesser spells!"
That revelation reinvigorated the Death Eaters, who abandoned Avada Kedavra and turned to other dark curses. Yet on the Aurors' side, veterans were firing rapid-fire green jets like machine guns—forcing the Death Eaters into retreat.
As for Fudge—after his grand entrance, he'd already withdrawn to safety.
Voldemort still hadn't moved. He watched silently as his followers fell one after another, his fury simmering.
At last, of the hundreds who had attacked, only a dozen remained. Rodolphus Lestrange lay dead among them.
Bellatrix was furious—not because her husband was gone, but because he'd died before doing anything useful for the Dark Lord.
The Aurors had losses too, but they still vastly outnumbered the enemy—and few had fallen.
"Master—"
Snape, retreating step by step, was under immense pressure.
Not everyone knew he was a double agent, and he'd nearly been hit by several Killing Curses himself. Only the abundance of Pokémon using Protect in rotation had kept him alive.
"Enough. Stand aside, all of you—worthless," Voldemort said disdainfully.
At once, the fighting in the valley stopped. Even the Aurors lowered their wands.
Everyone knew—the Death Eaters didn't matter. Voldemort did.
Only by killing him could the war truly end.
Voldemort's crimson eyes fixed on Charles.
"Charles Gold—my defeated foe," he said with a smirk. "Let's see what you and your little creatures can do."
"My thoughts exactly," Charles replied. "Go, Charizard!"
"Roooar!"
The orange dragon soared out, roaring as a column of blazing fire shot skyward. The searing heat made everyone flinch.
"Charizard, Fire Blast!"
A giant kanji-shaped flame formed before bursting toward Voldemort. The power it radiated was staggering—terrifying even to watch.
"Is that Fiendfyre?" Tonks gasped.
"No, that's Fire Blast," Barnard said smugly. "Only the strongest Pokémon can learn it. You didn't know that? Guess proper Aurors aren't as educated as I thought. Maybe you should borrow a first-year Pokémon textbook."
"You—what did you just—"
BOOM!
The massive blast engulfed Voldemort in an inferno, five blazing streams curling around him into a blazing sphere. The intense heat triggered a second explosion—the shockwave tearing the flames apart.
When the smoke cleared, a blackened figure stood amidst scorched earth.
"The Dark Lord!"
"He's still alive!"
"Well of course he is," Moody muttered. "He used Levitation and Transfiguration, turned the ground into a shield. Unless it's a sustained fire spell, you won't burn him that easily."
"Is that all you've got?" Voldemort hissed. His wand flared, releasing waves of black magic that swirled together into a colossal serpent rushing straight for Charles.
The snake-shaped curse struck like a tidal wave—but Charles remained calm.
"Charizard, Dragon Pulse!"
Charizard gathered the draconic energy within its core, unleashing a silvery-blue burst that shaped itself into a spectral dragon.
The silver dragon roared silently as it clashed with the shadowy serpent above.
At that same instant, Charles charged forward himself—without even drawing a wand. Ghost-type energy enveloped his right arm, forming a massive violet claw.
"Shadow Claw!"
The blow ripped through the air, catching Voldemort completely off guard. He barely escaped by transforming into shadow, yet the claw still tore open his chest, spilling non-human blood.
Without hesitation, Charles hurled a pulsing orb of darkness.
"Shadow Ball!"
The projectile streaked through the air, compressed by its own speed into an oval shape. Voldemort raised a shield with Protego just in time, the orb exploding against it.
Enraged now, the Dark Lord unleashed volley after volley of curses, his power flaring as he ascended higher into the sky.
"Gengar! Pidgeot! With me! Venusaur, stay below and assist!"
Charles deflected a curse, releasing more Poké Balls. As his partners appeared, he too rose from the ground, chasing Voldemort into the night sky.
(End of Chapter)