Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [574]

As August continued gently scratching Mew’s chin, Mew comfortably sprawled across his lap, humming happily and flicking its tail lazily back and forth.

Seeing this, Giovanni also released his Persian.

Watching both August and Giovanni casually petting their Pokémon, Gary's fingers began to itch. He desperately wanted a Pokémon to pet too, but as he looked over his current team…

The smallest Pokémon he had—the only one remotely suitable for petting—was Volcarona. Nidoking and Iron Thorns were obviously out. Landorus was definitely unsuitable. As for Suicune… he suspected that if he ever tried petting Suicune, it would immediately turn hostile.

And as for Volcarona… just thinking about Volcarona made Gary unconsciously reach up and touch his hair. Ever since the Kanto branch incident, his hair had been permanently curled from Volcarona’s heat, forcing him to apply ridiculous amounts of styling gel daily just to keep it straight. And even then, it never fully regained its former softness and elegance.

I think I'll pass.

While Gary was caught up in these painful memories, Gloria on the battlefield had already withdrawn her Toxtricity and summoned her second Pokémon.

A penguin Pokémon appeared, sporting a huge, square block of ice as its head. Its tiny raised flippers, white belly, and slightly curved hair-tuft protruding from the icy blue cube gave it an adorably goofy appearance.

Gary stared blankly. “And…what Pokémon is this?”

“It's an Eiscue,” August patiently explained. “This Pokémon likes freezing its head inside ice and drifting across oceans using the buoyancy of the ice block.”

“Such a Pokémon exists?!” Gary was utterly astonished.

He had quite liked Gloria’s Toxtricity before—it felt just as cool as himself—but this Eiscue was entirely unexpected and bizarre.

As they spoke, Eiscue had already launched an attack against Hitmontop.

Due to the massive ice cube atop its head, Eiscue waddled forward, swaying comically as if it would topple over at any moment.

Watching its awkward movements, Hitmontop’s first thought was: Can this clumsy guy really battle me?

It quickly realized its mistake.

“Eiscue, use [Icy Wind]!”

The tuft atop Eiscue’s ice-cube head suddenly stood straight, releasing an icy chill into the surroundings.

Whoosh!

A freezing gust blew forth, immediately frosting the battlefield.

“Dodge it, Hitmontop!” Bea ordered urgently.

She tried to command Hitmontop to evade the attack, but Hitmontop’s legs had already been injured by Toxtricity’s earlier [Acid Spray]. Even though Toxtricity had fainted, Hitmontop’s injury hadn’t magically vanished.

The pain in its legs severely limited its mobility.

Just as Hitmontop attempted another spinning dodge, the [Icy Wind] reached it.

Hitmontop managed to twist most of its body away at the last second, but one side was instantly covered in frost, heavily disrupting its balance. Unable to maintain its spinning stance, it crashed heavily to the ground.

“Hitmontop!” Bea cried.

Gloria refused to let this chance slip. “Eiscue, keep using [Icy Wind]!”

As Eiscue’s tuft vibrated again, another freezing gale blew forth. This time, Hitmontop had no strength left to evade.

“Hitmontop is unable to battle! Gloria wins this round!” announced the referee.

“We did it!” Gloria happily high-fived Eiscue.

They’d finally tied things up!

But Gloria’s joy lasted only a brief moment.

Bea gently recalled Hitmontop, softly whispering a thank-you before raising her head, a serious look in her eyes. “Looks like I’ll have to show a bit more of my real strength now!”

Under Gloria’s anxious gaze, Bea unleashed her next Pokémon.

With a flash of white light, a proud Pokémon appeared, wielding a green leek three times its body length like a lance in one wing, and holding a leafy shield in the other.

Sirfetch’d!

Though it hadn’t appeared during Bea’s sparring match with August, this Sirfetch’d was still far from her top-tier roster. Nevertheless, from its piercing eyes alone, one could tell this Pokémon was formidable!

Gary’s stomach growled instinctively the moment he saw Sirfetch’d.

It wasn’t really his fault. Back at the Kanto branch, whenever he’d seen Sirfetch’d, it was usually either commanding Farfetch’d to cook or serving meals with Farfetch’d’s help.

He’d developed a Pavlovian response. Seeing Sirfetch’d immediately made him hungry. Really, you couldn’t blame him for that.

Even Mew, lounging on August’s lap, stared at Sirfetch’d, drooling slightly.

Mew suddenly craved Sirfetch’d’s pastries.

August: “…”

You two really don’t mind embarrassing yourselves, huh…

Giovanni laughed quietly at this scene, but soon his own expression darkened into awkward silence.

...

Sirfetch’d vs. Eiscue.

Sirfetch’d was purely Fighting-type without Flying-type advantages, which meant Eiscue was currently at a disadvantage.

Eyes narrowed sharply, Sirfetch’d raised its lance, pointing directly at Eiscue.

“Eiscue, you can do it!” Gloria cheered.

Eiscue wobbled its ice cube head uncertainly, seemingly not hearing at all.

At that exact moment, Bea gave her order: “Sirfetch’d, use [Rock Smash]!”

Sirfetch’d quickly repositioned its leek lance, stepping back two paces before charging forward fiercely, shield raised, leek pointed straight at Eiscue.

Its momentum was so fierce, the tip of the leek glowed red-hot from friction with the air.

Seeing Bea’s powerful strike, Gloria had no intention of letting Eiscue face it head-on.

“Eiscue, dodge it!”

At the critical moment, Eiscue flopped ungracefully forward onto its belly.

Whoosh!

The leek lance grazed past Eiscue’s ice cube head, narrowly missing it by mere inches.

Sirfetch’d had almost shattered Eiscue’s icy head.

But not quite…

“Eiscue, [Powder Snow]!” Gloria shouted quickly.

Still lying flat on its stomach, Eiscue didn’t bother getting up, instead raising its tuft again. Fine snowflakes blew fiercely toward Sirfetch’d.

Sirfetch’d reacted swiftly, immediately shielding itself from the icy assault. A thin layer of frost quickly coated the leafy shield.

Bea, seeing the danger, realized dragging this out was a bad idea.

“Sirfetch’d, [Brick Break]!”

Sirfetch’d’s eyes flashed sharply as it raised its leek lance high, striking downward at the grounded Eiscue.

Swoosh—!

The sharp sound of splitting air forced Eiscue to abandon [Powder Snow], rolling frantically to one side.

Crash!

[Brick Break] struck empty ground, splitting open a crack in the floor and causing Gloria to shiver at the sight.

But before she could even feel relieved at Eiscue’s narrow escape, Sirfetch’d pivoted immediately into a sweeping strike toward the helpless Pokémon.

Eiscue, having barely dodged [Brick Break] with great effort—it wasn’t built for speed—now had no chance to avoid the horizontal strike.

Crash!

The leek smashed down on Eiscue’s head.

Crack… Crack!

Gary stared in horror. “Its—its head cracked?!”

Is Pokémon battling in Galar always this ruthless? Not just battling, but killing as well?!

Seeing Gary’s shocked face, August replied dryly, “Don’t overreact—it’s just the [Ice Face] ability.”

Gary paused blankly. [Ice Face]? What’s that?

“I mentioned before that Eiscue freezes its head in ice. Think of the ice cube as its helmet.”

Just as August finished speaking, the ice cube atop Eiscue’s head fully shattered, falling away completely.

Beneath it was a small oval-shaped head wearing a mournful expression.

Gary stared blankly, stunned by the sharp contrast between Eiscue’s huge ice head and its current tiny, mournful-looking face.

But Eiscue itself had no time to be stunned.

With its ice head shattered, Eiscue had shifted from [Ice Face] to [Noice Face] form, drastically reducing its defenses but greatly boosting its speed.

As Sirfetch’d swung its leek lance again, Eiscue still waddled away with tiny, wobbly steps—but now, in its [Noice Face] form, its movements blurred into afterimages.

Clearly caught off guard by this sudden burst of speed, Sirfetch’d’s attack landed on empty air.

By the time Sirfetch’d regained its footing, Eiscue had already launched its counterattack.

An icy wind howled fiercely across the field, rushing straight toward Sirfetch’d.

But Sirfetch’d was no injured Hitmontop. It easily dodged the assault, swiftly shifting to guerilla tactics against Eiscue.

At this point, Eiscue’s glaring weakness surfaced.

Its moveset was far too limited. Facing a fast-moving, shield-bearing opponent like Sirfetch’d, Eiscue—with only [Powder Snow] and [Icy Wind] as effective moves—struggled to land meaningful hits.

Bea quickly grasped this and ordered Sirfetch’d to continually circle and drain Eiscue’s stamina.

“Bea’s caught onto the weakness,” August commented.

Gloria was still suffering the common disadvantage of being a rookie trainer.

She hadn’t trained her Pokémon long enough; their levels were low. Even basic weather-changing moves like [Snowscape], which would’ve reactivated Eiscue’s ability and rebuilt its ice helmet, were beyond her grasp.

Sirfetch’d patiently stalked Eiscue, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Finally, seizing a moment when Eiscue briefly paused after repeatedly using [Icy Wind], Sirfetch’d dashed forward at astonishing speed.

“[Rock Smash]!”

Crash!

Struck squarely by Sirfetch’d’s lance, Eiscue flew through the air.

“[Brick Break]!” Bea pressed her advantage.

Swish!

A decisive downward strike immediately followed, sealing the match.

“Eiscue is unable to battle! Sirfetch’d wins!” announced the referee.

“Sirfetch’d! Sirfetch’d!” the crowd roared enthusiastically.

Though Sirfetch’d maintained a solemn expression, the way it subtly waved its leek at the crowd clearly showed it quite enjoyed the cheers.

In contrast, Gloria was crestfallen.

She hadn’t expected Bea to be this strong. She’d prepared thoroughly for this Gym challenge, fully confident she’d earn the badge easily, yet the match had become so difficult.

A sense of discouragement lingered within her.

But…

“I won’t give up!” Gloria gazed resolutely at Bea, encouraging herself silently.

I can’t lose to Marnie!

With this determination, Gloria sent out her third Pokémon.

“Inteleon?”

August had been somewhat surprised by Toxtricity and Eiscue—but seeing Gloria’s Inteleon outright shocked him.

If his memory was correct, the last time they met, Gloria’s companion was still a timid little Sobble…

How much time had even passed?

She’d skipped right past Drizzile, evolving straight into Inteleon?

Do all rookie trainers nowadays enjoy playing speedruns?

Or is this just the privilege of Galar’s chosen protagonist?

Glancing at Gary beside him, August sighed deeply and shook his head.

Gary: “?”

What now? Why the disappointed look? I haven’t even done anything wrong this time!

But Inteleon’s appearance was only the beginning. Soon, Gloria activated her [Dynamax Band], causing Inteleon’s body to rapidly expand amidst intense red light.

By the time it stopped growing, Inteleon towered over forty meters tall.

Its long, coiled tail formed a massive pillar, supporting Inteleon high above. At the very top, Inteleon poised itself precisely, raising its hand like a sniper rifle, calmly locking onto the small target below—Sirfetch’d.

Temperature, air pressure, humidity, distance… Every detail was instantly calculated.

“They say [Gigantamax Inteleon’s] water bullets reach speeds of Mach 7…” Gary finally found the relevant info.

Mach 7—what exactly did that even mean?

Gary didn’t quite understand at first, but as [Gigantamax Inteleon] launched its attack—

BOOM!

Though merely water, the shot sounded like artillery. A powerful shockwave rippled outward from the barrel as the water bullet instantly tore through the air, covering the entire battlefield.

[G-Max Hydrosnipe]!

Gary barely registered a flash of motion. The next moment, following a thunderous roar, the battlefield exploded into a massive crater—with Sirfetch’d lying unconscious at its center, completely soaked.

The referee stood frozen in shock before belatedly raising his flag:

“Sirfetch’d is unable to battle! Inteleon wins!”

“Woooo!!!”

“Gloria! Gloria!”

The crowd erupted in cheers.

For many spectators, deciding whom to support was rather Schrödinger-esque:

As August would put it—they cheered whoever won.

Only now did Bea finally look up, gazing seriously at [Gigantamax Inteleon], and then at Gloria herself.

This time, Gloria’s strength genuinely surpassed her expectations.

But…

Which Pokémon should she choose to face Gloria now?

Picking anything other than Machamp would disrespect Gloria’s impressive fighting spirit. Yet, choosing Machamp seemed a bit unfair.

Uncertain, Bea glanced toward August at the sidelines, silently asking for her teacher’s advice.

August noticed Bea’s hesitation and request for guidance. Smiling, he gently squeezed Mew’s face, transmitting his thoughts to Bea via Mew’s psychic power.

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Don’t overthink it—just follow your heart.

Bea’s resolve instantly solidified.

She looked up confidently at Gloria. “Now, I’ll show you my true strength!”

With this declaration, Bea activated her [Dynamax Band], throwing her Poké Ball into the air.

The stadium music roared. Machamp appeared, rapidly expanding until it matched Inteleon’s enormous stature.

[Gigantamax Machamp]!

Its four massive, magma-like fists radiated overwhelming power, standing tall against [Gigantamax Inteleon], perched high upon its coiled tail.

Two [Gigantamax] Pokémon now faced off.

The crowd’s excitement surged.

They’d expected a routine Gym challenge, yet now they witnessed a spectacular clash of [Gigantamax] Pokémon—a match that normally required expensive tickets!

Gary stood slack-jawed, utterly awestruck.

He’d seen [Dynamax] battles online before, sure—but seeing it live, at such close range, was an entirely different experience.

Unconsciously, he wondered how his own Pokémon might look [Dynamaxed].

August turned leisurely toward Giovanni. “So, Giovanni, who do you think will win now?”

Earlier, lacking information, Giovanni had refused to guess. But now, both trainers had revealed all their strength openly.

Who would win?

Gary snapped out of his thoughts, blurting out first, “Definitely Gloria!”

He’d seen firsthand how Inteleon took down Sirfetch’d in a single devastating blow. Even his own Nidoking might not withstand an attack like that head-on.

Giovanni quietly studied [Gigantamax Machamp] and [Gigantamax Inteleon]. This time, instead of dodging the question, he replied after careful consideration:

“Machamp will win.”

“Oh?” August feigned curiosity. “Why do you say that?”

Giovanni glanced at August, deliberately emphasizing each word, “Because she has a ‘good’ teacher like you.”

August smiled lightly, enjoying the sarcasm.

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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!