Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [553]

“So exciting, Hoopa~!”

Bounding back from the Diamond Kingdom, Hoopa patted its chest and giggled.

It truly hadn’t expected that after so many years, it could still be recognized!

Diancie caught the mood, a smile spreading across her face.

For the first time sneaking away from home, she felt the strange freedom of casting off her shackles…

“From now on, you’ll live here. If you want to return home, just tell Hoopa,” August said to Diancie.

“Mm!” Diancie nodded earnestly.

She turned to carefully look around—and then spotted a white-haired onee-san in black clothes, her aura warm and familiar, beckoning to her.

Diancie didn’t even know why, but she skipped forward to her.

“What an adorable child,” came the woman’s soft voice, gentle and intoxicating at her ear.

...

Galar Region.

The whole of Galar was divided into the Crown Tundra to the south, the mainland stretching across the north, and the Isle of Armor in the northeast.

Today was the first day of August’s journey into Galar.

“Well, August, are you nervous?” Sabrina asked.

August gave her a puzzled look. “What’s there to be nervous about?”

“The Galar League, the Macro Cosmos company, and Rose…” Before she could finish, Zinnia, from the back seat, started counting on her fingers.

Blue, sitting at August’s other side, nodded along.

“What do I have to be nervous for? The one who should be nervous is Rose. Standing before you is the nemesis of criminals, the strongest Champion in history… one juice, thanks!”

August raised his hand to a passing Indeedee acting as flight attendant.

They hadn’t even reached Galar yet, and there were already more of these Indeedee running about.

Indeedee poured juice for the group. Seeing Mew perched atop August’s head, eyes wide and sparkling with thirst, Indeedee was about to pour a glass for her as well—but August stopped her.

“Don’t give her juice. Just plain water will do. She’s on a diet.”

Hearing that, Indeedee turned a doubtful glance toward Mew.

Mew looked utterly unwilling, but still nodded.

She took the cup of mineral water. Watching August and the others sip their juice, her whole body wilted into gloom.

“Heehee~” Zinnia swirled her glass of juice right in front of Mew’s face.

Mew’s expression twisted with rage.

Just then—the plane jolted violently, the cabin rocking hard.

The PA system clicked on with the head attendant’s voice:

“The plane has encountered turbulence, some shaking may occur. Everything is under control. Please fasten your seatbelts, and do not panic.”

August listened, then looked down at his shirt, now drenched in juice. Then he turned to Zinnia—smiling weakly, refusing to meet his eyes.

“You’d better give me an answer that satisfies me.”

Zinnia scratched her head, muttering, “I didn’t mean to, really! Who could’ve guessed the turbulence would hit just then, and the juice would spill—”

“So you mean it had nothing to do with you?”

Feeling the murderous aura, Zinnia blurted, “N-not exactly…”

Mew, sprawled on August’s head, savored the sight of Zinnia’s awkwardness, her heart full of smug delight.

After all that flaunting earlier, now justice was sweet.

When the plane touched down, August’s group had officially arrived in the Galar Region.

“Shishou!”

At the airport, Bea and her Machamp holding a placard waved excitedly at August.

As a popular Gym Leader in Galar, her behavior immediately drew glances from bystanders.

Who was the person Bea was calling her master?

Following her gaze, everyone saw him: a man in loose casual wear—August.

Bea’s teacher… was August!?

No wonder! People had been baffled at her sudden leap in skill these past few months, her rapid climb through the Galar Gym Leader rankings.

Now the reason was clear.

Feeling the eyes of the crowd, August waved his hand. “I’m glad you came to meet me. But stop calling me shishou. I don’t really count as a proper teacher.”

After all, he had only guided Bea for a short period—back during the Hisui summer camp.

As far as master-disciple bonds went, he was utterly unqualified.

But Bea, hearing his words, only shook her head firmly—together with Machamp.

“Even though your guidance was brief, August-shishou, I gained so much!”

The lessons he’d shared with her in Hisui, the ideals he passed on, had been invaluable.

She could never agree with him belittling himself.

August saw her stubborn face, the crowd gathering thicker around them, and could only nod in the end.

“Fine. Let’s leave the airport first.”

...

Stow-on-Side.

In a café, August and his group sat around a table.

By now, it was practically a tradition for him—first thing in a new region, find a café.

An Alcremie floated up with coffee for him.

Looking at the cup, with its milk foam carefully drawn into a Pikachu face, August praised: “Beautiful!”

Alcremie beamed with pride.

But the very next second, Mew was sprawled across the table.

Slurp!

The foam Alcremie had labored over was sucked away in one breath.

Alcremie froze, wide-eyed.

Mew licked the last flecks of cream from her lips, then turned her big eyes back at Alcremie and blinked.

Sensing mortal danger, Alcremie bolted.

But waddling as she did, she was no match for Mew’s speed.

At the very last moment—

A righteous hand descended from above, snatching up the mischief-making Mew.

“Don’t eat the staff,” August scolded.

Alcremie finally exhaled, hurriedly thanking him.

Bea, slipping a bite of cake into her mouth and smiling at its sweetness, then asked:

“Speaking of which, August-shishou—you came crashing into Galar like this… is it because of that legend?”

“Legend? What legend?” August tilted his head in puzzlement.

“It’s that one!” Bea said. “The World Championships are changing their rules this time. Everyone’s saying the rumor is true—that shishou came to Galar to give Chairman Rose trouble!”

At her words, August’s face darkened. “And who exactly spread that rumor!?”

He had assumed his arrival in Galar, along with his purpose, was all strictly confidential. Yet here he was—barely off the plane—and the news was already everywhere.

Granted… the only ones he’d told were Lance, Steven, Koga, Geeta, the Chief, Cynthia, and the Kanto branch members…

Uh. Okay, maybe that was a few too many.

Seeing August’s expression, Bea froze. “So it’s fake after all?”

She knew it! Sensei wasn’t the kind of petty person who’d come all the way here just to pick a fight.

“Those rumor-spreading people are terrible—how dare they slander shishou like that!” Bea’s face was tight with outrage.

To insult her teacher like that—unforgivable.

August gave a slightly awkward cough. “Well, actually… it’s not entirely fake.”

“I really don’t like Rose’s way of doing things.”

At that, Bea’s eyes went wide.

She never imagined the rumor would be true.

Off to the side, Sabrina, Blue, and the others shook their heads.

Clearly Bea still didn’t understand August enough. If she knew even a little more of his style, she’d never think the rumor was slander.

In fact—it wasn’t slander at all. If anything, the rumor was conservative compared to what August was actually capable of.

Bea, still reeling from learning the “truth” from August himself, completely failed to notice her cake vanishing bite by bite in front of her.

By the time she looked down again, all that remained were crumbs.

“…!”

...

After sampling the coffee at the Stow-on-Side café—

August’s verdict was that it was a little better than Unova’s, but still not as good as the blends Espurr brewed back in Kalos.

The sweets, however, were excellent—thanks to Alcremie.

[Stow-on-Side]

Here stood Bea’s Fighting-type Gym, and Allister’s Ghost-type Gym as well.

“Two Gyms in one town? You two never fought over it?” Sabrina asked curiously.

She had plenty of experience with Gym rivalries.

In Saffron, even though the Fighting Dojo had deep ties with Bruno of the Elite Four, her Psychic Gym had crushed them so thoroughly they never raised their heads again.

Two tigers could never share one mountain.

If it had been her, she’d have driven the other Gym out long ago.

That was why she was so astonished at Stow-on-Side, where two Gyms coexisted peacefully.

Bea blinked at her. “Why would we fight?”

“With two Gyms, doesn’t that make things easier for us Gym Leaders?”

“And Allister’s a really good person!”

Sabrina could only chalk it up to different customs. Unlike Kanto’s obsession with zero-sum competition, Galar seemed to value cooperation.

“You just mentioned Allister…” August pointed ahead. “That him?”

Following his finger, the group spotted a boy in a mask watching from a street corner. The instant he realized he’d been seen, he vanished.

“That’s him. But Allister’s pretty shy…” Bea said. “I’ll just message him to come by later.”

She tapped out a text, and the group continued their stroll through town.

“Bea-san! Come take a look! Treasures passed down from ancient times!”

A vendor at the treasure market waved them over enthusiastically, holding up a rag. “These were all unearthed from ruins—high chance this is a [Reaper Cloth], the key to evolving Dusclops into Dusknoir!”

“[Reaper Cloth]?” Bea’s eyes lit up.

Seeing her waver, August stepped forward, smiling at the man. “And your [Reaper Cloth] is guaranteed authentic, is it?”

Something in his smile made a dangerous chill creep down the vendor’s spine.

He laughed nervously. “Ah, customer, you misunderstand. These all came from ruins, so we can only say there’s a good chance they’re the real thing…”

At that, Bea snapped out of it.

She’d nearly been taken in!

Realizing this, her cheeks flushed with anger.

The vendor forced a grin, but August was already crouched down, rummaging through the wares.

He picked up a teapot.

The vendor’s heart leapt with glee—though he hid it well. “Sir, you’ve got a keen eye. That’s the item to evolve Sinistea into Polteageist. If you’d like, you can have it for…”

He raised a hand, showing five fingers.

“Five hundred?” Zinnia asked.

His face darkened. First time he’d ever met someone blacker than he was.

“Of course not! Five hundred wouldn’t even cover my costs. Fifty thousand—just fifty thousand, and it’s yours!”

Zinnia opened her mouth to haggle—but August calmly pulled out his wallet and paid. “Not expensive.”

The vendor nearly burst out laughing as he pocketed the 50,000.

He’d only paid 2,000 for that teapot. A 25× profit!

And he’d already confirmed—it was a fake.

So this deal was foolproof.

But August looked at the grin he was trying to hide, and smiled as well.

He tapped Mew on the head.

“Mew!”

She grumbled, but obeyed, her psychic power peeling back a thin layer of lacquer.

Before the vendor’s stunned eyes, the blue surface of the teapot faded to a soft pink.

August chuckled. “Fake, yes. But a rare kind of fake—the [Pink Cracked Pot]. It lets Sinistea evolve into a shiny Polteageist.”

Blue slipped neatly into her role as foil. “And the market value of that would be…?”

August pretended to ponder. “Hard to say. There’s no precedent. But if you found a wealthy shiny collector… five million wouldn’t be a problem.”

The vendor was already glassy-eyed.

Muttering “five million” and “a hundred times” over and over.

August turned to Bea with a smile.

Her eyes were wide, full of sparkling admiration.

No doubt about it—her shishou was the real deal!

---

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!