Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [476]

Observing Kurt’s serious expression, August couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

Just what kind of Poké Ball could cause such a reaction?

He watched as Kurt pushed aside the scattered components of a dismantled Poké Ball on the table, replacing it with a pristine, new one.

“This seems like an ordinary Poké Ball to me,” August remarked, eyeing it curiously.

“At first, I thought so too…” Kurt responded hesitantly.

With that, Kurt released his Slowpoke and handed the mysterious Poké Ball to August.

“August, try using this ball to capture my Slowpoke.”

August raised an eyebrow at the request, suspecting the ball’s nature, but he asked anyway, “Are you sure?”

Kurt nodded firmly.

“Mr. Kurt, stop joking around! How can a Poké Ball catch someone else’s Pokémon?” Gary questioned skeptically.

However, Koga, with his prior experience as a former Team Rocket Executive, merely furrowed his brow thoughtfully, saying nothing.

August didn’t hesitate any further. As Slowpoke stood idly by, still dazed, he threw the Poké Ball directly at it.

Instead of bouncing harmlessly off, the ball emitted a radiant burst of light, snatching Slowpoke up and absorbing it inside.

The ball shook briefly, finally clicking shut with a definitive ping!

Even having guessed the outcome, August couldn’t hide the surprise flickering across his face.

Gary stood frozen in shock.

Koga’s frown deepened considerably.

Kurt took the Poké Ball from August’s hand and showed everyone the original, now-empty ball that had previously housed his Slowpoke.

“This is what I wanted to show you... This Poké Ball was sent to me by a friend in the Orre Region.”

August confirmed carefully, “Orre?”

“Orre…” Koga repeated grimly.

Only Gary looked baffled. “Does the League even have a place called Orre?”

Koga explained patiently, “It’s a distant region far from Kanto, highly technologically advanced but untouched by League jurisdiction—a paradise for Pokémon hunters and black-market traders.”

“Tsk, sooner or later we’ll clean out all those Pokémon hunters.” August grimaced at the distasteful description, feeling Mew shift restlessly on his shoulder.

Back to the point.

Since Kurt mentioned Orre, August knew immediately.

It must be the Snag Ball, unique to the Orre Region.

A special Poké Ball capable of catching Pokémon already belonging to trainers as if they were wild.

These balls had a thriving market in Orre, popular for some time already, though strictly banned by the League, which closely monitored their smuggling into League regions.

“As long as these Poké Balls don’t enter League territory, we can’t do much about them…” August mused aloud.

He already had too much on his plate in League territory to travel halfway across the world to Orre right now.

Yet, hearing August’s remark, Kurt shook his head solemnly.

“Though my friend is indeed from Orre, he left there long ago. He currently resides in Unova.”

Hearing this, August exchanged a serious glance with Koga.

If Snag Balls appeared in Unova, they were facing a major problem.

“I need your friend’s contact information,” August stated firmly.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t August who needed it—it was the International Police.

Though smuggling was serious, unless he stumbled directly onto the criminals, August wasn’t required to personally intervene.

Kurt promptly provided a phone number.

Under Chie’s reluctant gaze, August bid farewell.

“August-oniisan, come back and visit again soon!” Chie called out cheerfully, waving energetically along with her Furret, whom she hugged like a plush doll.

August glanced back and smiled warmly, acknowledging her farewell.

Mew seemed the most reluctant to leave, missing the delicious snacks Chie had generously provided earlier.

Finally, August departed from Kurt’s residence, accompanied by Gary and Koga.

At Slowpoke Well, they found Malva teasing a wandering Slowpoke.

“What’s with those faces? Something serious happen?” Malva asked curiously.

Gary quickly recounted the situation.

“Snag Balls? Such things have actually entered League territory?” Malva’s expression darkened immediately.

The matter was serious enough to warrant immediate reporting and investigation to cut off the smuggling channel as swiftly as possible.

Otherwise, it would cause widespread panic.

August sighed softly, “Not many smugglers these days are reckless enough to try something like this.”

Smuggling ordinary Pokémon goods and daily items? The League typically turned a blind eye. But smuggling Poké Balls explicitly banned by the League…

Expect to be crushed.

As a member of the League himself, August understood clearly that everything left traces—even smuggling.

No matter how secretive, those criminals would be discovered eventually.

After sending the information to International Police Headquarters, all they had to do now was wait for the news of the smugglers’ capture.

Too bad Looker had just arrived in Unova—he’d probably be assigned to this smuggling case immediately.

Poor guy!

August quietly mourned for Looker’s impending workload for three seconds.

...

Silver Town | Lance’s Office

Koga summarized the entire event for Lance.

How to put it?

In nicer terms, despite some twists and turns, their ultimate goal—capturing Team Rocket and destroying it completely—had been accomplished.

In harsher terms…

“Koga… Haah!” Lance sighed heavily.

Without August’s involvement, the League would’ve suffered a massive embarrassment this time.

Koga lowered his head in shame.

In the end, Lance’s disciplinary action was to strip Koga of his entire yearly bonus and hand it over to August as compensation for his efforts.

August certainly wasn’t lacking money; the Kanto Division’s annual budget often struggled to be fully utilized by the end of the year. Normally, Lance’s extra funds were unnecessary.

But knowing this compensation came directly from Koga’s bonus gave August an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Seeing August’s smug expression, Koga internally seethed: “…”

Frustrating! Yet, August had just done him a huge favor, making it impossible to truly complain. He was stuck there, frustrated yet unable to vent.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. My subordinate has an important match today,” August said casually.

He could skip the Round of 16, even the quarterfinals, but the semifinals were a must-watch.

After all, three of the final four were people he knew personally: Pearl, Diamond, and Ash.

Especially the second match:

Diamond versus Ash.

Diamond had been acting mysteriously confident lately, claiming he was certain to win the championship. August was deeply curious about what new secret strategy Diamond had prepared, confident enough to defeat Ash’s formidable [Return] Bayleef.

...

After taking a quick shower, August arrived at the spectator box only to find it already filled to capacity.

Everyone from the Kanto Division stationed in Silver Town had shown up.

Fortunately, Lance had reserved a sufficiently large VIP box, or else it might not have accommodated this many people.

Not only were they watching live at the arena, but a simultaneous broadcast was also streaming to the group chat for those like Malva who couldn't make it in person.

The first trainer to enter was Pearl.

August still couldn’t quite recall the name of Pearl's opponent.

However, he vividly remembered the Pokémon that trainer used—a Wailord.

Having already revealed his trump card in the previous match, the Wailord trainer didn’t hold back, immediately sending Wailord into battle, intent on crushing Pearl outright.

Any ordinary trainer might panic facing this scenario.

But Pearl had already studied footage of his opponent's previous match, anticipating this exact strategy. Moreover, his father's training and advice were paying off greatly in this critical moment.

Without hesitation, Pearl swiftly recalled his Infernape, replacing it with his Electric-type Luxray.

At that moment, Wailord had already begun summoning a massive wave, aiming to drown Luxray with a powerful Surf attack.

Yet, rather than freezing up in terror as most Pokémon would upon confronting such a giant opponent, Luxray displayed remarkable courage and agility, instantly leaping onto Wailord’s enormous back, catching it completely off guard.

“Pearl’s Luxray shows no fear at all! It has leaped directly onto Wailord’s back!”

Against an enormous Pokémon like Wailord, trainers typically faced two primary challenges:

First, overcoming the innate fear instilled by such a colossal opponent.
It was widely known that fear of large creatures was deeply etched into every Pokémon’s genetic code.

In the previous match, the opposing trainer had been paralyzed by Wailord’s intimidating size, missing the chance to dodge and forcing his Steelix to endure a devastating Surf head-on, ultimately costing the match.

But Pearl had already conquered that fear.

Thus, the only remaining challenge was wearing down Wailord’s immense stamina.

Wailord’s massive size brought not just intimidating presence but also an incredibly abundant reserve of energy.

Exhausting such a beast was no easy feat.

Pearl's solution was—

“Luxray, attack Wailord’s weak spot!”

What exactly was Wailord’s weakness?

The answer: its blowhole.

Having prepared thoroughly, Pearl quickly issued the order.

Luxray’s body surged with electric energy upon hearing Pearl’s command, unleashing a dazzling [Thunderbolt] straight into Wailord’s vulnerable spot.

Golden sparks flashed brilliantly.

Wailord roared in pain as electricity surged through its body.

Instinctively, Wailord blasted streams of water from its blowhole, desperately trying to dislodge Luxray from its back.

Yet, just as a muscular strongman struggles to scratch his own back, Wailord, massive and limbless, was utterly helpless against Luxray’s position.

It rocked violently, shaking the entire battlefield, attempting to fling Luxray away.

But Luxray was both daring and extraordinarily nimble, effortlessly maintaining its balance atop the violently thrashing giant.

One should never underestimate a cat’s agility!

While dodging gracefully, Luxray began charging energy.

Its dark fur stood upright, and golden sparks illuminated its fierce yellow eyes.

The opposing trainer instantly sensed danger.

“Wailord—!”

But before the command could even reach Wailord’s ears, Luxray’s body erupted with a blinding surge of electricity.

Wild currents lashed out, striking Wailord directly.

With a deep groan, Wailord’s enormous body was immediately enveloped by crackling arcs of electricity.

Paralyzed!

Seeing his Wailord rendered helpless, the opposing trainer decisively recalled it, swiftly replacing it with his second Pokémon.

By now, Luxray was radiating confidence, standing proudly like a triumphant general.

As his opponent released Forretress, Luxray didn’t hesitate, immediately unleashing a ferocious [Wild Charge]—

—and swiftly followed it with [Crunch].

The Wailord trainer was utterly dumbfounded.

Who immediately fires off their most powerful moves like that?

Despite Forretress’s famously sturdy defense, boasting a base Defense stat of 140, it had already sustained severe damage from Luxray’s initial assault.

Enraged, Forretress glared intensely at Luxray, preparing to unleash [Explosion] once Luxray got close again!

But Luxray’s glowing golden eyes seemed to pierce through its plan entirely.

In sharp contrast to its earlier ferocious assault, Luxray suddenly changed tactics, calmly pacing at a cautious distance, acting like an entirely different Pokémon from the one that had just unleashed [Wild Charge] and [Crunch].

This strategic patience came directly from Gary’s earlier advice regarding his Infernape:

Stay patient, keep your distance, wait for an opening!

Seconds ticked by.

Luxray continued circling patiently, unhurried, whereas Forretress—already naturally impatient and prone to explosions—finally lost its cool.

Abruptly, Forretress charged toward Luxray, glowing white-hot, ready to explode and take Luxray down!

But Luxray had been waiting precisely for this moment and swiftly took a decisive step back, countering instantly with [Thunderbolt].

Forretress was blasted high into the air, glowing brilliantly.

Boom!

It detonated in a spectacular burst of dazzling light, like fireworks exploding overhead.

Thud!

Charred black, the defeated Forretress collapsed onto the ground, becoming the first Pokémon to faint in the semifinals.

“Yes!” Pearl clenched his fist in victory.

In the spectator box, Gary puffed out his chest proudly. “Did you see that? All thanks to me!”

August offered no comment.

Winning the first round decisively and severely weakening his opponent’s Wailord, Pearl had secured a strong start to the semifinals.

The opponent’s second Pokémon was also native to Johto.

A yellow-bodied Ampharos appeared on the battlefield, sporting its signature glowing red orb.

Sensing its trainer’s tension, Ampharos looked uncharacteristically serious.

Ampharos was undeniably cute, with an equally charming voice…

But to Luxray’s eyes, there was no such thing as cute—only an opponent to defeat!

“Luxray, use [Swift]!”

Star-shaped bursts of energy poured down toward Ampharos like rain.

---

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!