Chapter 181: What? I'm Not a Dragon? What? You're a Dragon?
"Please, this way—"
Professor Oak led a hundred young wizards through the grand halls of the castle. The structure looked almost identical to Hogwarts, yet every subtle difference they spotted made the students' eyes widen in astonishment.
"Look at those portraits!" cried one of the wizards at the front, drawing everyone's attention to the paintings lining the corridor.
"That's a Dragonite!"
"And who's that red-haired guy in the flashy cape? He looks just as lame as the Weasleys!" Draco sneered, glaring at the wall.
That obnoxious red hair!
"Lame, you say? Hahaha!" Professor Oak burst out laughing, his voice echoing warmly through the corridor. "That gentleman there is one of the most powerful Pokémon Trainers in the world—the Dragon Pokémon Master himself, Lance! Not only is he a special investigator for the Pokémon League, he's also one of the Elite Four of the Indigo League and the Champion of the Johto Region!"
"Elite Four? Champion?" Hermione repeated curiously. "Is that like the Hogwarts Cup champion?"
"Of course not!" Professor Elm quickly shook his head, explaining, "He's the regional champion of Johto! In other words, he's the strongest trainer in the entire region—sort of like the most powerful wizard in all of Britain. The Elite Four are the four strongest trainers right below the Champion."
"The strongest wizard?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"Professor Charles?"
Different voices rose among the students.
"Dragon Master, huh!" Draco let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "He only has one dragon!"
In the portrait, the majestic Lance stood proudly, with six Pokémon behind him—Dragonite, Charizard, a red Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Kingdra, and an Altaria.
Wait, what?My Charizard isn't a dragon?
"Yeah, looks like another guy who only thinks he's got a dragon," Ron said immediately, unwilling to let Draco's jab slide. He was, of course, referring to Draco himself, whose only Pokémon was an Ekans—yet he called himself "Little Dragon."
"Shows how poorly you've read this year's new textbook," Hermione countered at once. "Altaria is Dragon-type!"
Draco/Ron: Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!!
"What—it's a dragon?!"
"That's right!" Hermione nodded proudly. "And so are Flygon, Goodra, Applin, and even a tree called Appletun—they're all Dragon-types! But Charizard, Ampharos, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl are not dragons."
"Pokémon are so complicated…" Many of the first-years were already dizzy-eyed.
"This young trainer certainly has a solid grasp of the basics!" Professor Sycamore from the Kalos Region said with an approving smile, his tone as refined as a French gentleman's. "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, mademoiselle?"
"Oh—my name's Hermione Granger." Hermione's cheeks flushed pink.
Seeing her getting praised made Draco seethe with jealousy.
But after the rise of Charles Gold, the pure-blood supremacy ideology had long lost much of its influence.
In this era, three of the greatest wizards of all time had stood atop the magical world—Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, and Charles Gold. They represented the three bloodlines: pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born(TL Note: Albus is a Half-blood, the author maybe thinks because both parents were magical he is a pureblood).
Their differing heritages hadn't stopped any of them from reaching the pinnacle of wizardry. In fact, Charles Gold had defeated Voldemort himself—proof enough that bloodline meant nothing.
Now, because of Charles's influence in Britain's magical society, many officials led by Cornelius Fudge were working to elevate the status of Muggle-born wizards and even began adopting a new, more respectful attitude toward ordinary Muggles.
Even Arthur Weasley's position in the Ministry had risen considerably.
"These portraits in the corridor depict past Champions and Elite Four members who've entered the Hall of Fame," Professor Kukui explained enthusiastically. "Alongside Lance here, we have the great Ghost-type specialist, Madam Agatha—"
"That's Poison-type, isn't it?" someone interrupted.
"Hahaha, true enough," Oak chuckled, picking up the explanation again. "But that's unavoidable—back in her day, there were very few known Ghost-type Pokémon. Anyway, next is Lorelei, an Ice-type master from the Orange Islands, and the large fellow here is Bruno, who specializes in Fighting-types."
"And lastly," Oak puffed up proudly, "we have the Champions of the Kanto Region! First of all, of course, myself!"
He gave a self-satisfied laugh. "Then my grandson, Blue, and his rival, Red—both truly extraordinary trainers!"
The other professors took turns introducing the Champions and Elite Four from their own regions.
Since the official records of Champions were relatively few, Charles had filled these galleries with images of game protagonists as well—such as Ethan and Lyra.
Whenever the professors mentioned these legendary trainers, at least one or two young wizards would stare at the portraits with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
"I've decided!" Ron declared to Harry with unshakable resolve. "I'm going to be a Fire-type Elite Four member someday! I already have Nimbus and Inferno—just four more Fire-types to go!"
Then his gaze turned toward Hermione. "Hermione!"
"What?"
"You have a Litleo!"
"That's right, good memory!" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Wanna trade your Litleo for my Roundy?" Ron asked eagerly—then immediately shook his head before Hermione could answer. "Never mind. I could never give up Roundy."
Though Sandshrew didn't often get to shine, Ron truly treasured it—he treated it like family. The idea of trading it away was unthinkable.
"You'd better not!" Hermione huffed.
The group continued walking through the corridor, where suits of armor were shaped like Skarmory and Corviknight.
"At night, this corridor is often visited by Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon," Oak explained. "They can be quite mischievous, so do be careful."
In fact, within this Pokémon Reserve, it was already nearing dusk—even though at the real Hogwarts, it was still noon.
"You hear that, George?" Fred's eyes gleamed.
"Loud and clear," George replied with a grin.
"Ghost-types and Dark-types—"
"Who love pranks!"
The mischievous twins could hardly contain themselves. They were already imagining catching every Ghost Pokémon in sight—and becoming the next Ghost-type Elite Four!
(End of Chapter)