Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [591]

The snowflakes drifting through the air didn't merely conceal Swinub's figure; they were also its best cover for launching attacks.

Pryce's cane tapped softly on the ground.

[Powder Snow]!

Swinub exhaled a fine flurry of snow, blending seamlessly with the ongoing blizzard, hurtling toward Escavalier.

Escavalier sensed nothing.

By the time it realized danger was approaching, it was already too late!

Though it was merely tiny snowflakes, when they struck Escavalier's armor, they produced a series of sharp, clinking impacts.

Glancing down, Escavalier saw that its previously pristine armor had now become dented and uneven wherever Powder Snow had hit.

Alder, seeing this scene, felt his heart tighten.

At the same time, he couldn't help grumbling internally...

Just how strong is this Pryce guy?! August, if you've already captured Pryce, why didn't you just lock him up—why'd you let him out?!

On the sidelines, even Iris couldn't help but worry for her teacher.

But the battle continued.

With its Snow Cloak ability, Swinub melted into the snowstorm, its evasion drastically improved.

Escavalier launched attack after attack, each one missing. And when it tried to strike with Fell Stinger, Swinub—already prepared—effortlessly blocked it with Protect.

After playing hide-and-seek for a while, Pryce checked the time, then gently tapped his cane again.

Receiving the instruction, Swinub drew in a deep breath.

Seeing Swinub’s movement, Alder's heart skipped. He immediately recalled the scene of his Bouffalant being frozen earlier and hastily ordered, “Escavalier, [Protect]!”

An energy barrier wrapped tightly around Escavalier's body.

Alder was confident. Even a Blizzard wouldn't harm Escavalier in the slightest under Protect’s shield.

And yet...

To Alder’s shock, Swinub didn't unleash Blizzard at all. It merely exhaled softly, quietly staring at Escavalier.

Tricked!

Alder instantly understood everything.

Pryce had used his fear of Swinub's Blizzard to bait out Escavalier's Protect.

Protect couldn’t last forever.

As Escavalier’s protective barrier gradually dissipated...

“Escavalier—” Alder was about to give another order.

A beam of icy-blue light burst forth from Swinub, striking Escavalier in a flash, freezing the impact point instantly.

Already battered from Swinub’s earlier attacks, Escavalier collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

“Escavalier is unable to battle. Swinub wins!” declared the referee, looking at the downed Escavalier.

A wave of cheers erupted from the crowd, chanting Pryce’s name.

Facing Unova’s Champion, Pryce had achieved a remarkable 2-0 victory using nothing but a Swinub, leaving countless spectators stunned.

“August, do you think my teacher still has any chance of winning?” Iris asked nervously.

Before August could speak, Zinnia immediately chimed in from behind, “August said earlier that Pryce and Alder’s odds were ninety-ten!”

Hearing this, Iris instantly froze, the worry in her expression deepening.

August shot Zinnia a glare, ignoring her murmuring, and tried comforting Iris, “Well, you can't really say that. What if Alder wins?”

“So it’s a one-in-ten-thousand chance now?!” Iris's despair intensified.

“Cough...” August, who’d just taken a sip of water, nearly choked.

When did my ‘what if’ become a one-in-ten-thousand probability?

Your imagination is a little too rich...

August quickly switched tactics to reassure her, “Don’t underestimate Pryce just because he doesn’t look very strong. You've seen Giovanni’s strength before, right? Giovanni was nearly defeated when he fought Pryce—he barely managed to escape!”

Giovanni, who had been watching the match from nearby: “?”

Would it kill you not to drag me into this?!

After closely observing Pryce’s Swinub, even Calyrex spoke up earnestly, “That Swinub truly is powerful... It’s astonishing that a Swinub could wield such strength under a human trainer!”

Calyrex had understated its assessment.

Observing the power of Swinub's moves, Calyrex felt that Pryce’s Swinub was already comparable to its own strength when fused with Glastrier.

Hearing Calyrex speak, Iris exclaimed in shock, “It spoke! The big-headed rabbit talked!”

Calyrex: “......”

Meanwhile, Mew had finished devouring its lollipop. Losing interest without candy, it decisively abandoned Iris, floating back onto August’s head.

Then it cheerfully waved at Team Rocket’s trio, who appeared to be selling popcorn nearby but were actually scouting for an opportunity to rescue Boss Giovanni—though in reality, they were just trying to earn funds for the organization.

Being discovered, Team Rocket’s trio panicked inwardly.

We've been spotted!

Facing Mew, they knew running away was impossible. Resigned, they nervously pushed their cart over.

But Mew completely ignored the three of them.

It simply grabbed a jumbo-sized bucket of popcorn and a bottle of juice, then waved them away casually.

As if pardoned, the trio hurriedly fled.

Only once they'd hidden in the employee break room and rejoiced for some time did they suddenly realize something.

“Did she just take our popcorn without paying, meow?” Meowth asked, holding up one paw.

Jessie and James froze.

“Seems like it!”

“It’s not ‘seems’—she definitely didn't pay!” Jessie confirmed.

But exchanging glances, the trio hung their heads in defeat.

So what if she hadn’t paid? It's not like they’d dare ask Mew for money anyway.

Meanwhile, Mew blissfully enjoyed its free popcorn.

Perhaps it was just imagination, but somehow free popcorn tasted far better than the paid kind.

Giovanni watched Mew, feeling somewhat astonished—this was the first time anyone had dared to openly dine-and-dash against Team Rocket.

Indeed, trainers and their Pokémon matched each other perfectly!

...

Meanwhile, at Rose Tower…

Rose, as the event organizer, was also watching the match.

When he saw Pryce take down Alder with a mere Swinub, his expression instantly darkened.

“Damn it...”

Even Alder couldn't stop Pryce? The League might joke that Alder slacked off frequently, but he was still a Champion. Yet he’d just lost two rounds in a row to a mere Swinub.

Rose couldn't help but suspect Alder was colluding with August, fixing the match.

After all, it was no longer news that August had recently led a team to save Unova from Team Plasma’s clutches.

“Should I really manipulate things behind the scenes, making August’s Kanto Branch fight each other internally?” Rose pondered deeply.

But soon after, he shook his head.

Doing that would be too obvious—too easily giving August leverage.

Besides, aside from those qualifying through normal challenges, even counting Steven Stone’s withdrawal, only two spots were left in this Masters Eight.

Even if August’s Kanto Branch members all reached the top of the Ultra Ball tier, they'd ultimately have to battle each other for those two spots anyway—why should he bother interfering?

Thinking about this, Rose’s mood finally improved slightly.

Shutting off the aggravating broadcast, Rose initiated a video conference, urgently beginning preparations for Eternatus’s revival.

...

As Rose plotted the secret revival of Eternatus, the battle on the field had already entered its third round.

Facing Pryce and his Swinub, Alder scratched his head.

He’d originally come to the World Championship hoping to reclaim Unova’s glory—but how had he suddenly become someone else's stepping stone instead?

If things went on like this, Unova’s reputation would be completely lost by him alone.

“This really is troublesome…”

Thinking this, Alder glanced down at the team he’d brought to the tournament.

“I choose you—Chandelure!”

In a flash of light, a Chandelure appeared, purple flames flickering eerily around its body, creating a dizzying sensation just by looking at it.

“Alder has sent out Chandelure! How will Pryce respond?” the referee shouted.

How would Pryce respond?

By sitting in his chair, naturally.

Seeing the Chandelure Alder had sent out, Pryce still didn’t stand or even consider changing Pokémon.

He chose to continue battling with Swinub.

The instant Chandelure appeared, Alder gave an immediate order: “[Fire Spin]!”

Chandelure’s body rapidly rotated, spewing flames that soon formed into a fiery tornado, roaring straight toward Swinub.

In terms of raw power, Fire Spin wasn’t much—but its spectacle was stunning!

The towering column of fire, over ten meters high, melted both the falling snow and the snow blanketing the ground, turning the battlefield into a muddy quagmire, further hindering Swinub’s already sluggish movement.

Facing the fire tornado sweeping toward them, Pryce made no move to have Swinub dodge. Instead, for the first time since the match began, he issued a verbal command.

“[Icy Wind]!”

Swinub blew out a freezing gale, directly meeting the incoming Fire Spin head-on.

Whoosh—!

Before Swinub’s Icy Wind, the roaring Fire Spin trembled like a candle flame caught in a draft, seeming ready to flicker out at any moment.

It appeared Chandelure was immediately at a disadvantage.

But...

“[Astonish]!”

From behind, a twisted phantom abruptly appeared on Chandelure’s body, accompanied by a terrifying screech.

Startled by the sudden noise, Swinub quickly glanced over, visibly jolted.

Its perpetually squinted eyes even widened a fraction in shock.

Taking advantage of this brief opening, Chandelure unleashed a cloud of violet flames drifting towards Swinub.

[Will-O-Wisp]!

The floating embers sought to attach themselves to Swinub.

This was Alder’s strategy: first distract Swinub with Fire Spin, then use Astonish to dull its reactions, and finally, burn it with Will-O-Wisp.

Once Swinub was burned, Alder could stall, waiting until Swinub’s stamina inevitably wore out.

He refused to believe Swinub, which had already endured a direct Fell Stinger from Escavalier, still had the strength left to overcome a burn and defeat his Chandelure!

One had to admit, though Alder’s strength had regressed significantly, he still retained a Champion’s tactical insight.

Pryce’s Swinub had surpassed its species’ limits offensively, but it hadn't transcended its stamina restrictions.

Though Swinub hadn't shown any visible signs, after being struck by Escavalier’s Fell Stinger, its actual stamina was already down to less than half its peak.

Only because Swinub constantly squinted and hid in the blizzard had it concealed this weakness well.

If Alder’s strategy succeeded, Chandelure might truly defeat Swinub.

However... all of this hinged on whether Swinub would actually get burned.

Facing the incoming flames, Swinub released an energy wave downward, pulsing through the ground.

Instantly, walls of rock and earth rose up around Swinub, shielding it entirely.

[Earth Power]!

The Will-O-Wisp flames gently landed against the earthen barriers, harmlessly blocked.

“Chandelure, [Shadow Ball]!”

A deep, shadowy sphere shot out, striking the earth barrier head-on. With an explosion, the walls created by Earth Power shattered, leaving broken rock and rubble scattered across the field.

Caught in the blast, Swinub was flung backward.

“Great!” cheered Iris from the sidelines.

But August’s perspective differed—he felt Iris had opened the champagne too soon.

Would Pryce really expose such an obvious opening?

Indeed, Alder had barely begun celebrating before he saw Swinub's airborne body dissolve into shimmering fragments of light.

[Substitute]!

“Not good—underground!” Alder urgently warned Chandelure.

Just as Chandelure registered Alder’s warning, the earth trembled. A muddy brown figure burst upward, chunks of earth and stone flying around it, its body coated in a muddy slurry of melted snow and soil, slamming directly into Chandelure!

[Dig]!

Bang!

Chandelure was knocked flying.

Yet, the instant Chandelure was sent airborne, the flames on its body reached out toward Swinub.

Flame Body ability.

Upon receiving physical contact, there was a chance of inflicting a burn.

However, as flames reached Swinub’s body, the muddy layer coating its fur perfectly blocked the spreading embers, neutralizing the attempt effortlessly.

“[Blizzard]!”

A howling snowstorm erupted.

Chandelure’s body wavered within the raging blizzard, its flames flickering precariously, seemingly on the verge of being snuffed out.

But Alder hadn't given up. Chandelure desperately maintained its posture, fighting not to be buried by the fierce snowstorm.

It was time for a final gamble!

Reason told Alder clearly: he needed a final desperate move to stand any chance of defeating Swinub.

Yet just as Alder was about to command Chandelure to unleash Overheat—

The memory of the Volcarona incident from the past surged irresistibly into his mind, causing his command to hesitate for a split second.

And it was precisely this hesitation—

That allowed Pryce’s Swinub to fire an Ice Beam, striking Chandelure squarely and extinguishing Alder’s final hopes of turning the battle around.

---

This is a fan translation of 我，宝可梦称号大师！ by 落唯 白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!