Turns out, thinking and doing are worlds apart.
It wasn't even that they had expected creating a Poké Ball to be a walk in the park… it's just that they hadn't expected it to be this complex either.
Just like Fred had predicted, the fact that they were creating something to house a living creature added a deeper layer of complexity.
The biggest challenge among them was the aspect of recreating a replica of a natural atmosphere within the ball.
Most of the environment inside the Poké Ball could be achieved through illusions—not that it was easy—but it was at least achievable.
The atmosphere, however, could not be faked. The Pokémon had to breathe, which meant the air inside the ball had to be real and unlimited; otherwise, the ball would just suck in the Pokémon only to suffocate it.
"You know, we could try limiting the space and refreshing the air manually," Lee suggested.
The week had flown by, and it was already the first Sunday since the term resumed. The four of them were seated under the same tree, watching Fred and the three Pokémon play.
Now that they had understood the preferences of both Eevees, the twins had begun to regulate their environment.
They would let Ruffy and Fred's Eevee play in the sun for some time before encouraging them to play with Goj in the shade.
The delay in the completion of the Poké Ball had also delayed the magnus plan for a complete conditioning .
He had however instructed the twins to start showing more attention to both Eevees, including taking time to feed them by hand instead of simply placing berries and other food in their feeding trough.
For Fred, whose Eevee he had decided to condition for an Espeon, Magnus insisted that he spend those evening hours playing with it in the sunny parts of the field. He hadn't observed much change yet, but if he had to wager, he would place his bet on Fred's Eevee evolving before Goj.
"That is all good until you get pulled by a professor or you're someplace where you can't release the Pokémon or refresh the air," Fred said as he came back to the shade panting. His Eevee, however, seemed quite fresh and unexhausted, and it jumped off to join the other two under the shade.
"Maybe we should just give up and buy some invisible cloaks for them," Fred said, slumping down next to Magnus.
"You got that much Galleon?" Magnus asked.
Fred remained silent.
"That's what I thought. So, in other words, you want us to give up?"
Fred sat up, and Magnus could see the frustration on his face.
"What I don't understand, mate, is what a ball has anything to do with training. I mean, we have them right here—you could begin training them if you really wanted to."
The silence from the others told Magnus that they agreed with Fred.
He did not blame them. He hadn't shared many details about what exactly he was doing, yet he was expecting full cooperation from them. It was kind of a big ask.
"I can't..." he said curtly. Then, on second thought, he decided to share as much as he could.
"Right now, your Eevees are Normal-type. Even if I were to begin training, what exactly would I aim for?"
They still looked at him like he had been hit by a malfunctioning Obliviate spell.
"What I mean is, Fred's Eevee will likely evolve into a Psychic-type Espeon. Its training will have to focus on mental strength. On the other hand, yours, George, could become a Dark-type Umbreon. So, you get my point? Training depends on type, and an Eevee's type depends on evolution."
If Magnus had thought his explanation would simplify matters, he was dead wrong.
By the time he was done, the three were staring at him like he was detailing a plan to successfully rob Gringotts.
"Is it just me, or did anyone else not get a thing he said?" Fred asked, scanning the faces of Lee and his brother.
"What is this 'type' thing you keep mentioning, mate?" George asked. "I heard you mention it during the Gyarados battle with Charizard... remember, Fred?"
Fred looked up. "Yeah... you said that Gryffins had a Water-type? Something like that?"
Magnus was amazed.
He actually hadn't thought anyone had heard him over the crowd's noise. He, however, smiled. This would make things easier to explain.
"Great..." he said excitedly. "Do you guys recall Gyarados' final attack? The one that froze Charizard?"
"Of course, mate… how can I forget them robbing us of the trophy?" Fred said.
"Well, that move was Ice Beam, and—"
Lee cut him off. "Hold up, I think you mean Ice Attack. That's what the handler said."
Magnus wanted to tell him that the Gryffins' handler had made it up, but that would be biting off too much, unless he was planning on using the entire evening telling tales.
"Well, call it whatever you want, but the main point is that it was a Water-type move."
Fred was about to ask something, but Magnus was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
"Forget understanding the whole lot for now, guys..." Magnus implored. "I will explain things over time... just—"
"Magnus."
He trailed off as he turned to see Edgar walking toward them.
'Now what the hell have I done this time?' he wondered.
"Head over there and wait for the rest to arrive."
The prefect was pointing toward Hagrid's cabin, where he could see several students gathering. He noticed that they weren't just from Ravenclaw—they were all first-years.
He turned to ask what was going on, but the prefect had already moved toward another group further across the field.
"I bet it's your eggs, mate… they hatched," George said in mild excitement.
"They have?" Magnus exclaimed, getting up in haste.
He wanted to ask George if he was serious, but he already knew the answer.
Despite being told numerous times that their eggs would take a week to hatch, in his mind, he had been expecting it to be Monday at the soonest.
He began to run toward the group but suddenly stopped and turned toward his three friends.
"The ball… please."
"Leave it to us, mate," Fred called. "Just don't bring back another Eevee."
"And no Rockruff either!" Lee yelled as Magnus ran off.
Hagrid came out of his cabin almost at the same time Magnus joined the group. He could see that most first-years were already there, though it was hard to tell for sure.
"Is that everyone?" Hagrid asked, towering over them.
They all looked around uncertainly at each other; no one seemed to have the answer.
"Alright, the prefects will bring the rest," Hagrid boomed. "Come with me."
Magnus was lost in thought as they followed the half-giant toward the Daycare.
The day was finally here. It felt just like yesterday when he was pleading with the Sorting Hat, and now their Pokémon were hatching?
What would his be?
His choice would be something exotic and rare… something that could evolve into a formidable Pokémon.
However, he knew all too well that was not what the school had in mind when selecting the eggs.
There was no doubt that each of them would end up with some tiny Pokémon whose full size couldn't even compete with Hagrid's troll, but that was fine.
Size didn't matter in Pokémon… even tiny ones could learn devastating type moves. So, type was the key thing here.
If all else failed, he hoped—at the very least—that he wouldn't end up with an Eevee or a Rockruff.
"Please, let it be something unique."