"You're Ande Slytherin?" Draco called out instinctively as he saw the figure standing ahead of him.
But the person didn't respond.
Just as Draco was about to step forward and greet him, the Ekans coiled around his neck suddenly hissed warily, its tongue flicking out. Startled, Draco immediately crouched down and covered his head.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
"No one's trying to kill you," came Riddle's voice from behind him. The moment he saw the boy, he recognized him immediately—Lucius Malfoy's son!
Draco slowly raised his head, twisting his neck in astonishment.
"Two of you?"
"That one's just my memory," Riddle replied. The one speaking now was the fragment of Voldemort's soul preserved in the diary. Yet, interestingly, Riddle wasn't wearing wizard robes but the outfit of a Pokémon Trainer.
He had altered his appearance to match his current "role," though he couldn't quite recall who exactly he was imitating. Somewhere in his memories, there had once been a man dressed like this—but those recollections were now hazy and uncertain.
Still, he hadn't noticed the oddity himself. Too many shocking revelations had already left him uneasy.
He feared death.And now, Voldemort had not only died once but been utterly defeated.
If the Dark Lord could fall, then Riddle would have to take matters into his own hands.
"Watch closely," Riddle said softly. "The legendary Pokémon will appear soon."
A dense mist crept along the forest floor. The fog thickened until visibility dropped to nothing, and out of that veil came a towering, four-legged silhouette moving gracefully through the shallow water.
"What is that?" Draco whispered, though he knew he couldn't affect a memory—it had already happened.
"The North Wind's embodiment—the legendary Pokémon, Suicune!" Riddle declared solemnly. "This was the closest I ever came to capturing a legendary Pokémon. If only that Bug Catcher's net hadn't been so flimsy…"
He spoke with a tone of deep regret, like a fisherman watching his prized catch snap the line right as he reeled it in.
"What the—? A Bug Net?" Draco blinked in disbelief. But before he could question it further, the Riddle inside the memory pulled a bamboo pole from his backpack—its tip tied with a worn-out net.
Then he charged straight at Suicune, slamming it to the ground in one strike. The majestic Suicune struggled and flailed, looking more like a stray dog than a creature of legend.
Even a stray dog wouldn't be caught with a net like that!If this was a legendary Pokémon, then legends were overrated.
Riddle himself looked a little embarrassed.
Even he had to admit it was absurd—like saying the infamous Dark Lord Voldemort had been defeated by a baby, or that the great wizard Dumbledore had been disarmed by a schoolboy.
But what else could he do?
Everything he knew about legendary Pokémon came from Dumbledore's old stories.Naturally, Suicune's tale was one of them.
Thankfully, Charles Gold had still given Suicune a shred of dignity.
The Suicune in the image shook off the blow, tearing through the net, then threw back its head and howled furiously.
Ripples spread across the lake as the water rose into surging waves, layer after layer coiling into rings.
"That's Water Pulse!" Draco blurted out.
But the move's power far exceeded his imagination. What should've been a move with only 60 base power now looked like a devastating Water-type ultimate attack.
Whoosh!The crashing waves swept toward Riddle like a wall of water, snapping thick tree trunks in half.
Draco's heart pounded. Then he heard Riddle shout—
"Seviper, Protect!"
A massive serpent of black and gold appeared, its scales gleaming with hexagonal patterns of armor. Its twin fangs were longer than wands, and its bladed red tail gleamed like a weapon forged in blood.
Cool.Draco was awestruck. Compared to this Seviper, his Ekans looked like an overgrown worm.
If only it could evolve…
Ekans: ???
You do remember I'm on your neck, right? Want me to strangle you?
Thanks to Protect, Riddle emerged unscathed. He quickly followed up—Seviper glared, its tail slicing through the water in a venomous red arc.
A crescent-shaped wave of poison shot forth—
But instead of cutting through Suicune, it split through an illusion.
"Double Team?" Draco guessed.
"No—Extreme Speed," Riddle corrected.
Suicune moved faster than sight, striking Seviper before Draco could blink.
Icy Wind!
A frigid storm roared through the clearing, freezing everything in white. By the time it ended, the lake and shore were coated in solid ice, and both Riddle and Seviper were trapped within it.
Draco was stunned.
That's Icy Wind?!
Even though he wasn't supposed to feel anything in a memory, the cold bit into him.
"This is the power of a legendary Pokémon," Riddle said solemnly. "Luckily, my Seviper knew Flamethrower—otherwise, I would've perished in that frozen tomb."
The scene shifted again.
Now they stood on a rocky desert plateau. A proud Pokémon stood atop a crimson boulder, gazing down at Riddle and his team with disdain.
"Raikou!"
Thunderclouds churned endlessly behind it.
"The Lightning Pokémon—it carries thunder upon its back," Riddle narrated, pointing to Raikou's flowing, cape-like mane.
"Even with a Ground-type partner, I couldn't win. My Onix was reduced to a pile of charred rubble after the battle."
"Next came the Crystal Tower battle!"
Draco then saw the third member of Ho-Oh's trio—Entei.
This time, Riddle used a Gyarados, only to be utterly defeated again.
And then came more… Legendary after legendary filled his visions. Though many scenes were flawed or inconsistent, Draco—just a second-year student—was too captivated by the sheer grandeur to notice.
"The Three Legendary Birds, the Three Beasts, the Eternals, the Swords of Justice, the Gods of Land and Harvest, the Pokémon of Ruin…"
Riddle listed them as if reading scripture, though most of what Draco saw were only illusions. But to him, it all looked real.
"And after that? Did you find Slytherin's legendary Pokémon?" Draco asked eagerly.
"I followed my ancestor's clues through storms and thunder until I finally found Yveltal—the Pokémon of Destruction!"
The memory shifted again.
"When Yveltal spreads its crimson wings and tail, it absorbs all life around it!" Riddle recited from the Pokédex. A monstrous Pokémon with red, talon-like wings unfurled before them.
"Uh… isn't that a Salamence?" Draco blinked, flipping open his new textbook. "…Okay, maybe not exactly."
Indeed, it looked closer to a Roaring Moon, but the red glow did match Yveltal's legend.
Still, Draco frowned.
"You sure that's Yveltal?"
"It must be!" Riddle insisted.
"Fine. And then?"
"I lost. But it didn't win either. It still sleeps somewhere in this world. I can help you find it—I can sense its presence."
"You'll help me?" Draco narrowed his eyes. "Why? Don't you want to capture it yourself?"
He was no fool.
A supposed heir of Slytherin offering to share such power? Suspicious.
"Do you not see my condition?" Riddle gave a bitter laugh. "I'm already dead."
"Dead?"
"Yveltal represents death itself. When I lost, it consumed my life force."
"But meeting you gave me hope," he continued smoothly. "You have great potential, Draco. Perhaps you can finish what I couldn't."
"No thanks!" Draco blurted before he could finish. "If it kills people, I'm out! Let me go!"
Typical Malfoy cowardice.
Riddle swore under his breath but forced a charming smile.
"Wait, don't leave yet! I can see it—your aura shines brilliantly! Such innate talent… you're destined to be a top-tier Trainer. Your Ekans is just too weak now, that's all. But imagine—one day, when you meet a mighty Pokémon, you'll soar above the skies! Help me fulfill my dream, and I'll tell you where my Pokémon are hidden."
"Really?" Draco's eyes gleamed.
He'd seen that Seviper—it was powerful and stylish. Sure, it lost to Suicune, but so what?
He wasn't planning to fight a Suicune.
As for the whole "legendary Pokémon" thing, he could just pretend to agree, take the Seviper, and ditch him later.
Genius, Draco thought smugly.
"Not bad. I like the sound of that. Keep talking!" he said with a smirk.
Riddle's gaze darkened.
Draco Malfoy… I'll keep you alive for now. But once I'm done, you'll die—and so will your father, for ever crossing me.
He smiled sweetly while thinking murder. Manipulating fools like this was second nature to him—he'd once charmed countless witches the same way.
And Draco's tiny scheming mind? Riddle saw right through it. But that didn't matter. He had no real clue where any "legendary" was anyway. All he needed was Draco's trust—enough to drain his energy and return to life.
"Very well," Riddle said. "I'll take you to my Pokémon. You want the Seviper, don't you? It's inside that stone pedestal."
That Seviper had been prepared by Dumbledore—one of the two snake Pokémon Charles had once given Voldemort for study.
Riddle had been quite satisfied with it. His plan was simple: drain Draco's life, reclaim Seviper, and then hunt down Harry Potter.
Once that was done, even Charles Gold wouldn't be able to stand against him.
Sure enough, when Draco left the memory, he found a Poké Ball inside the stone pedestal that once held the diary.
"Come out, Seviper!"
The serpent emerged, obedient and calm, programmed not to harm the first wizard who released it.
Draco's eyes sparkled with joy.
"Let's see who dares challenge me in this year's tournament!"
He grinned proudly.
In his mind, he was already the champion.
(End of Chapter)