Chapter 1
When Lily and James Potter died because of a tornado, their son Harry was sent to live with his maternal aunt, uncle and cousin. He moved from Celestic Town in Sinnoh to Panolia Town in Alola when he was five years old. It was suspected at the time that the legendary dragon Rayquaza was the one to create the tornado, but it was never proven.
Harry was not welcomed by his relatives, as was hoped by the authorities and himself. He didn’t understand it, but his relatives hated what he was. He had a natural connection to the Pokemon around him. His aunt Petunia had an Alolan Meowth, which took a liking to Harry. When Petunia noticed this, the small Meowth didn’t see the outside of his pokeball again.
For five long years, Harry was basically their slave for everything. While his aunt and uncle had a few Pokemon each, they never used them, especially not when Harry was close by. His cousin Dudley got his first Pokemon on his tenth birthday and that gave Harry a bit of hope. It was a privilege, that when you got your first Pokemon you could start travelling the region, to meet more Pokemon and be able to challenge the Island Trials. Dudley had already started his Island Trials, but he was mostly still home in Panolia Town. He said that living at home was better than living on the street.
When Harry’s birthday was nearing, there was a letter from professor Kukui, inviting Harry to pick out his very first Pokemon, but before he could see the date that he was to meet with the professor, his uncle Vernon already burned the letter. The next day, a Delibird also delivered a letter for Harry, but this one was already burned before Harry could even grab it. Harry was angry enough with his uncle, that he subconsciously was able to free his uncle's Pokemon. It was the first time Harry saw his uncle’s pokemon, an Arcanine and a Gyarados. Harry tried to make a run for it, but the only thing that happened was that the Arcanine began to ask for attention. Harry, having had a soft spot for any kind of pokemon, soon gave in. Suddenly, while Harry was full on hugging the big fire pokemon, Arcanine was called back into his pokeball. Before Harry could even react, he was thrown into the cupboard under the stairs, which was his bedroom.
Harry was not let out again, until a few days later, when professor Kukui himself stood in front of the house, wanting to speak with him and only him. He took Harry to a nearby park to speak without interruption.
“You didn’t come to my lab yesterday.” the professor started.
“I didn’t even know the date that I was meant to meet with you, professor.” Harry said sincerely.
“Oh, and why was that? I made sure it was notified in the letter I sent.”
“Uncle Vernon burned the letter before I could read that part. I also don’t know which pokemon you offer.”
“Well, that is not correct.” the professor mused. “We can do two things right now. Number one is that I take you to my lab and you can live there with me and my wife, until you are ready to start your journey. Number two is that I let you pick out your first pokemon right now and send you back to your relatives. To be honest, I wouldn’t be happy if you picked number two.”
“Why not?”
“Because those people are not right for you. No one should be denied the chance of having a pokemon partner. And by burning the letter I sent you, they took that chance from you if I didn’t come to talk with you. If you agree, we will leave right now. We won’t even go back to tell them.”
“But my stuff? And won’t you get in trouble if you just take me?” Harry looked concerned.
“I won’t get in trouble. I have a duty to all new trainers to make sure they are safe and ready to start their journey. That even means I have the power to take away any of the new trainers from their guardians if I see it is necessary, and I believe it is in this case. Is there something important in that house? If so, I can ask my wife to pick it up later for you, and whatever you may need we will buy for you.”
“Okay, how are we going to your lab?”
“Well, I used a Charizard to come here, but it would be better if we used a boat. Charizards are not known for being kind to new trainers.”
It took the professor and Harry a full day to travel to the lab. While they were travelling, the professor explained about the three pokemon that he gave to new trainers. The grass quill pokemon, Rowlet, was a small owl that was able to turn their head almost 180 degrees. The fire cat pokemon, Litten, was a black and red cat, able to use the oil in their fur to set ablaze in defence. The seal lion pokemon, Popplio, was a small blue sea lion, which liked to play with the bubbles they created out of their nose. They are all perfect to start with as they are just born, meaning they are not yet exposed to the nature of some of the wild pokemon, and are able to grow together with their trainer. Beside talking about the starter pokemon, the professor also explained how the Island Trials worked. Each island had a kahuna, which was the legendary chosen one of that island. Each island also had a different number of trial captains. These were chosen by the Kahuna’s to test new trainers before they were allowed to challenge the kahuna of that island.
In other regions, instead of an Island Trial, there was the League challenge. You could journey through the entire region, and battle gym leaders for their badges. If you had collected eight of those badges, you could challenge the Pokemon League. Everyone who had eight badges came together to battle, and whoever won had the chance to beat the Elite Four and Champion of the region. If they were able to beat the champion, they would be the new champion of the region. Harry then asked if there was an age limit, on which Kukui answered there wasn’t, but you could only challenge every league once.
When they arrived at Kukui’s lab, they were greeted by his wife. Professor Burnet, while not being a professor that gave out pokemon to new trainers, was well versed in the relationships between pokemon and other dimensions. She also took it upon herself to make sure Harry had a nice wardrobe and personally picked up his personal items from his relatives. The first week was for Harry to settle in. He was also told that when he started his journey, he could always come back and even leave his pokemon with them to make sure they were safe.
After the first week, it was time to pick out a pokemon for Harry. Before he made his choice, he played with all three of them. Like the Meowth and Arcanine of his relatives, the starter pokemon were quick to trust him and wanted his attention. Kukui told him that it was normal for them to do so, as they were hoping to be chosen as a pokemon partner. He didn’t train them at all, so they wanted a trainer that would train them.
“So, did you decide who will be your partner?” the professor asked.
“I was thinking about Rowlet, she is nice.” Harry said shyly.
“Okay, well I know you already played with all of them, but I make the trainers do one final thing before I let them go with their pokemon. And that is to look your new partner in the eyes and really look at them.” the professor said, while returning Popplio and Litten to their pokeballs. Harry slowly picked up Rowlet and looked her in the eyes.
What he saw was not something he suspected. He saw a multitude of colours, and felt a tug on his heart when he noticed that the colours looked like what he remembered his parents looked like. While this was happening, Kukui kept silent but smiled all the way through. He just knew Harry would be an amazing trainer and partner to the shy owl. Before Kukui could ask if Harry wanted to name the Rowlet, someone knocked on the door. Professor Burnet opened the door, because she didn’t want Harry or Kukui to be interrupted, as this was an important moment for both pokemon and trainer. In front of the door stood a tall and strict looking woman with a shiny eevee on her shoulder.
“Professor McGonagall, what are you doing here?” Burnet asked in a soft voice.
“Good afternoon, Miss Burnet, I’m looking for young Harry Potter. We sent a letter about a week ago to invite him to Hogwarts, but he never answered. Our tracking spells led us here. Please tell me I’m right that you have taken him in.” the strict woman said.