Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [547]

When Geeta arrived with her people to take custody of Lawrence, she was met with a scene that stopped her in her tracks.

The forest and grasslands that her intel had reported as withered and dead had not only been restored, but were now even more lush and vibrant than before.

And when her gaze found August, she saw him surrounded by a crowd of wild Pokémon, all gathered around him and a majestic Pokémon crowned with rainbow antlers—faces full of gratitude and awe.

“This is…”

“Oh, let me introduce you—Xerneas, the Legendary Pokémon of Kalos.” August turned toward Xerneas.

Xerneas regarded Geeta and, dropping the warm demeanor it sometimes showed August, merely inclined its head in a cool, aloof greeting.

Geeta didn’t think this was odd at all. In her view, this was exactly how a Legendary Pokémon should be. If anything, August’s Mew was the strange one.

As she silently made this comparison, the Mew perched atop August’s head suddenly raised its head and scanned the surroundings warily.

Her bad-mouth radar was telling her someone was talking about her.

She floated over to the four Treasures of Ruin, scrutinizing each in turn as if to sniff out the culprit.

The four exchanged confused looks.

Then Mew suddenly reached out a tiny paw and plucked a leaf from Wo-Chien’s body.

Wo-Chien: “???”

Fine, I can’t beat August… but now even you’re going to bully me, Mew?

It was just about to square off with her when its three brothers quickly held it back.

Especially Chien-Pao—though Mewtwo had apologized to it earlier, as the injured party it knew exactly what kind of being Mew was.

You saw that guy who yanked an entire airship out of the sky? Yeah—he listens to her.

Forget it. We’re not picking that fight…

With his brothers’ persuasion, Wo-Chien swallowed his anger.
It wasn’t that he was scared or couldn’t win—he’d just joined August’s team, after all. Best to leave a good first impression.

Failing to find the culprit who’d spoken ill of her, Mew drifted back to August’s side, perched on his shoulder, set the leaf atop her head, and began blowing at it, trying to keep it floating in the air. She was utterly absorbed in the game.

August glanced at her, surprised she hadn’t caused trouble this time—he’d been ready to clean up after her already.

By now, Geeta had finished processing Lawrence.

“I now place you under arrest for illegal Pokémon poaching and causing ecological damage to the Paldea region.”

Lawrence nodded rapidly.

His only thought now was to get into prison as fast as possible—every extra minute near August was an extra minute of danger.

Geeta was taken aback at his eagerness; she’d never seen a suspect react like this.

The thought crossed her mind—the same one August had had earlier—This guy’s got a screw loose.

She didn’t dwell on it; a prisoner was a prisoner.

Glancing toward the smoke-belching airship nearby, she figured that counted as August’s spoils of battle.

“Want me to have someone fix it for you?” Geeta asked. “The Paldea League’s repair specialists are top-notch.”

“Free?” Sabrina quipped, then added curiously, “Are they really that good?”

“Of course!” Geeta smiled. “Tinkaton is a Pokémon you can only find in Paldea!”

“Oh, I see… wait. Tinkaton?” August blinked.

He pictured that hammer—bigger than its whole body.

You’re telling me you’re sending a Tinkaton to repair an airship? Are you sure it won’t just smash it into scrap?

Geeta looked puzzled at his suspicion.

In the end, August handed the airship over to Geeta for repairs.

Even if he doubted a Tinkaton could restore it, Geeta had promised that if they couldn’t fix it, they’d replace it with a brand-new one. August decided to take her at her word.

Meanwhile...

On a hillside not far from the airship, the Rocket trio lay prone with binoculars, watching the Paldea League’s repair workers and their Tinkaton at work.

“What do we do? Looks like that guy got caught!” James said.

Jessie clutched her hair. “He should’ve been caught after we got paid! We haven’t even seen the rest of our fee yet!”

“It’s so unfair, meow~” Meowth slumped, dejected.

The trouble had started a week ago.

After stealing the Plasma airship, they’d poured a fortune into modifications. Watching their funds dwindle, they’d realized they couldn’t just sit and burn through the budget—so they decided to pick up a job.

After scouring the net, they’d landed a gig in Paldea: pulling up some “weird pillars.”

They’d finished the job, but before payday, their employer got nabbed.

Meeting each other’s eyes, they all saw the same thought.

It’s too hard!

But… with the important mission of rebuilding Team Rocket, giving up wasn’t an option!

After some whispered plotting, they decided to go back to their roots—selling “souvenirs”!

The World Championships were coming up in Galar, after all.

Who knows—they might even run into the twerp in Paldea!

“It’s decided!” They all agreed.

“What about these metal poles?” Meowth pointed to the nearby sealing stakes for the Treasures of Ruin.

“Who’d want these rusty bits? Just leave ’em here!” Jessie scoffed.

Thinking of Galar’s fashion boutiques, Jessie could hardly wait.

James, for his part, was already daydreaming about buying better parts for the Plasma—no, Rocket Airship No. 2. He was just as eager.

Meowth shook his head.

The other two turned to him.

With one paw behind his back, he raised the other and held up a single claw.

“These things might be useless, but we can spin ’em into a gimmick—make them into special souvenirs, meow!”

“Souvenirs made from stakes that once sealed Legendary Pokémon? Those’ll fetch a high price! Even Giovanni would praise our business sense, meow~!”

Jessie and James’s eyes lit up, and they quickly agreed.

The three trudged off, each burdened with a load of stakes.

One of the nearby Tinkaton paused in its work to scratch its head at the strange sight, but as the trio disappeared, it thought no more of it—

—and hefted its enormous hammer to bring it crashing down on the warped airship hull.

BANG!

With a deafening clang and a spray of sparks, the twisted metal straightened under the blow.

Tinkaton beamed in satisfaction.

---

Nacli & Garganacl Themed Restaurant, Levincia.

“These chargrilled Klawf legs are amazing!” Iono’s face lit up.

August looked toward the Klawf chef behind the counter.

The sight was… a little hellish.

With every plate of crab legs served, another Klawf lost a claw. (Not really.)

Just kidding—Klawf claws regrow naturally, and even if they weren’t made into food, other Pokémon would eat the shed claws anyway.
In fact, one of Paldea’s major industries was harvesting dropped Klawf claws from their habitats, cleaning, processing, and packaging them as a regional specialty.

Nearby, a Garganacl lifted an arm, rubbed its fingertips together, and let a sprinkle of pure, clean salt fall onto a plate of Cheri Berries that had already been seasoned with other spices. The result: a fresh dish of salted Cheri Berries.

August tasted one, nodded in approval, then speared another with his fork and offered it to Gardevoir.

She blinked, then smiled with eyes curved like crescent moons, taking a delicate bite.

“Garde~!”

Sabrina, curious at her reaction, tried one herself—and her eyes lit up too. She called Blue, Cynthia, and Iono over to taste.

In both flavor and the theatrical flourish of live cooking, the experience was flawless. No wonder this was Levincia’s No. 1 restaurant.

Seeing their pleased expressions, Garganacl looked equally pleased.

Wild Garganacl often provided salt to other Pokémon, sometimes sprinkling it over them to heal. Even as a chef now, that instinct hadn’t gone away—it had just been channeled into cooking.

Lost in the joy of praise, Garganacl didn’t notice a certain Pokémon sneak up, scratch at its body with a paw, and then lick the salt from her claws.

"Mew—!"

Mew’s smug little grin froze instantly.

She spat repeatedly, grimacing, and seized the juice on the table, gulping down the whole glass before she recovered.

Shaky and woozy, she drifted to August’s head and collapsed atop it, looking utterly defeated.

No one offered sympathy—only smiles.

Mew, who loved to taste everything, had finally met her match.

August laughed hardest of all—until Mew snagged his hair in her claws, and he had to stop.

The meal lasted two hours, and even as they left, Mew still looked hollow and lifeless.

Do you have any idea how traumatic it is for a delicate, adorable Mew to taste pure salt?

“Who can you blame for that?” August spread his hands.

Then his freshly combed hair fell victim to her again.

Only when Gardevoir plucked her off did he sigh in relief.

This trip to Paldea had been, aside from Lusamine’s “surprise” during the promo shoot, a thoroughly pleasant one—especially since he’d finally caught the snow leopard he’d been yearning for.

August glanced at Chien-Pao, who was grooming its fur. Feeling his gaze, it looked up in puzzlement.

He waved it off, and it went back to playing chess with its brothers.

Meanwhile, Mew—apparently having forgotten her earlier trauma—was tearing into a giant bag of chips, scattering crumbs everywhere as she zoomed around the room.

August’s blood pressure spiked.

“Mew…!”

She looked back at him innocently. What? I’m just eating chips!

At that moment, Sabrina emerged in pajamas.

Seeing the scene, she poured herself some milk and sat on the couch, calmly enjoying the show.

Three minutes later...

With a feigned stumble and the lure of Pokéblocks, August trapped her again, grabbed her by the scruff, and made her use [Psychic] to deep-clean the entire place.

Sabrina finished breakfast just as the cleaning ended.

“Do we have plans today?” she asked, dabbing her mouth.

“Area Zero officially opens today, and there’s a bit of follow-up promo…”

“With Cynthia?” she said, a teasing smile playing at her lips.

“Ahem. This is work… work!”

“Mhm.” She nodded, the look in her eyes saying, Sure it is.

“…Sigh.” August really had Lusamine to thank for this mess—though she’d meant well.

Then came a knock at the door. Thump, thump, thump!

Before he could speak, Chien-Pao rose, went to the door, and stood tall, pulling the handle with two white paws.

Iono stood outside, eyes wide.

He’d only just caught Chien-Pao—yet it could already open doors on its own.

The gap between him and a top-tier trainer had never felt so wide.

Soon after Iono arrived, Blue also emerged. But when Cynthia entered, her nose twitched, and her expression shifted.

August didn’t react, but Blue and Sabrina both looked… awkward.

“Today’s the grand opening of Area Zero. There’ll be lots of visitors, so I’ll need you to help with the promo run, Cynthia,” August said.

She nodded—then broke into a bright smile. “So… is this our official announcement?”

Two murderous auras flared behind him.

“…?”

A chill ran down August’s scalp.

This wasn’t just a trick question anymore—

No matter what he said, he had the feeling it wouldn’t end well.

---

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!