Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [471]

Gary had spent the entire night wracking his brains to find August’s weakness.

If it were Ash, he could list weaknesses off the top of his head without effort, but August…

Even though Gary hated to admit it, he had to acknowledge that August was essentially flawless.

“Ugh…” Gary sighed deeply.

This was already the umpteenth sigh of the day.

Sitting beside him, August couldn't help but find Gary’s frustrated expression amusing.

This guy loves setting up my anti-fan groups, huh?

...

VIP Viewing Area

After Sabrina and the girls exhausted themselves shopping all day yesterday, they simply couldn’t wake up early. So today, only August, Gary, and Gold came to watch the matches.

This was August’s first realization that even women had stamina bars when it came to shopping.

After sending Gold to line up for popcorn, August turned his attention back to the battle stage.

“Now, let's welcome both trainers to the battlefield!” the announcer's voice rang clearly.

With his announcement, two contestants entered the field.

One was a trainer August didn’t recognize, and the other…was also someone he didn't recognize.

Since neither caught his eye, August quickly lost interest.

He accepted the coffee handed to him by Meowstic standing beside him, casually giving its head a gentle rub.

Gary saw this scene and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Who said August had no weaknesses?

Thinking carefully about the Pokémon August recently captured, they all shared a common trait—they were all incredibly adorable!

If he encouraged August to catch lots of cute Pokémon and drown himself in fluff, wouldn’t that make him lose focus and motivation…?

As soon as this idea popped into Gary’s mind, a soft meow brought him back to reality.

Gary blinked and noticed Meowstic handing him a cup of coffee too.

“Thanks!” Gary replied instinctively, taking a sip.

Immediately, the rich aroma of coffee flooded his senses.

Gary exclaimed, “This tastes amazing!”

He’d never had coffee this delicious before.

However, Meowstic merely nodded slightly, its expression cold and indifferent.

But those familiar with Meowstic knew this aloofness was just surface-level.

Just then, August casually announced, “From now on, Meowstic will be the official barista for our Kanto branch!”

“A barista!?” Gary’s eyes widened in shock.

No wonder the coffee tasted so incredible!

But what shocked him even more was realizing that Meowstic wasn’t one of August’s captured Pokémon…

Dammit, he'd completely misjudged!

His newly formed plan collapsed before it could even begin.

August watched Gary’s expression shift abruptly from excitement to frustration, feeling thoroughly puzzled.

Did this guy get so rattled by my teasing yesterday that he's losing it?

Meanwhile, the battle onstage had reached its climax.

Both trainers had only one Pokémon left.

“This battle has reached a boiling point! Who will claim victory? Let’s watch closely!”

As the referee's voice fell, both trainers simultaneously released their Pokémon.

“Roar!”

From the left side, a trainer dressed like a mountaineer sent out a Steelix. Its imposing metallic body and fierce gaze made the surrounding spectators erupt into cheers.

But in the very next second…

The trainer opposite him threw their Poké Ball into the air.

With a dazzling flash of light, a Wailord appeared, instantly occupying nearly eighty percent of the arena.

Its colossal blue form was utterly stunning.

The previously intimidating Steelix was pushed pitifully into a corner by Wailord’s sheer size.

Before this enormous Pokémon, Steelix looked as small as an earthworm…

“Wooaaargh!”

Wailord released a low rumbling cry, yet even that muted roar was deafening enough to shake the spectators.

In the VIP section, August felt even the glass tremble sharply.

“To bring a Wailord into the stadium…this trainer is some kind of genius,” August muttered dryly.

Gary nodded in agreement.

Indeed, a 'genius' in his own right.

Considering the official League-standard battlefield and Wailord’s aquatic nature, it essentially had zero mobility on land. Bringing it onto the field basically turned it into a sitting duck.

Though its presence was impressive, any trainer with a bit of experience could easily defeat it… normally, anyway.

But to have advanced all the way to the quarterfinals and even to the final battle, this trainer definitely wasn’t clueless.

Then what was his secret strategy…?

Just as Gary was lost in thought, the Wailord trainer seized everyone's stunned silence to shout a decisive command:

“Wailord, use [Surf]!”

At his command, a thunderous sound of waves surged around Wailord.

Suddenly, a gigantic wave tens of meters high—practically a miniature tsunami—appeared, hurtling fiercely toward Steelix!

Gary couldn’t imagine how Steelix felt.

But witnessing the tsunami unfolding before his eyes, August was sure Lance, the organizer of the Silver Conference, was probably losing his mind right now.

Since the Silver Conference wasn't as high-tier as the World Championship and didn’t feature things like [Dynamax], the stadium wasn't equipped with an advanced defensive barrier system.

August wasn’t certain if the current defenses could withstand this incoming tsunami.

Better to play it safe…

He immediately took out Deoxys’s Poké Ball: “Create a [Light Screen] around the battlefield!”

Deoxys nodded and vanished instantly.

In the next moment, Deoxys reappeared on the field, now in Defense Forme.

Its eyes glowed blue.

A translucent [Light Screen] swiftly surrounded the entire arena.

The [Surf] attack smashed into Steelix first before striking Deoxys’s [Light Screen].

Amid shocked gasps from the spectators, the barrier…trembled slightly.

And that was it.

That’s it?

This was the collective thought of everyone present. They'd been expecting catastrophe from the sheer magnitude of the wave, yet it amounted to nothing…

The crowd shrugged it off, and even the Wailord trainer looked like he was questioning his life choices. But those familiar with August and Deoxys knew better. For a [Surf] to cause even the slightest ripple in Deoxys’s barrier meant this Wailord was already exceptionally strong among Silver Conference competitors.

As for breaking Deoxys’s barrier—

Even the previous Indigo Plateau Champion admitted he’d have to use his full strength to achieve that!

August, of course, had always remained skeptical of Gary’s self-congratulatory claims.

Returning to the field—

With the audience finally recovered from the spectacle, Steelix—whose special defense was already quite poor—fainted, granting Wailord’s trainer the victory.

Watching the triumphant trainer smiling onstage, August asked, “According to the schedule, who’ll face him next?”

“Unless there's a surprise, it should be Pearl,” Gary replied sympathetically. “I hope Pearl survives this…”

But August had a different view.

“He’ll be fine!”

“Hm?” Gary stared at August, puzzled. Could August possibly have some strategy against Wailord?

Seeing Gary’s confusion, August blinked in surprise: “Of course not. Do you really think I’d need a special strategy just to deal with a Wailord?”

Even when he was at his weakest, transitioning from a Pokémon Ranger to joining the International Police, a Pokémon like Wailord would’ve lasted at most two rounds against his Gardevoir.

“Then why’d you say Pearl would be fine…?” Gary grumbled.

“Believe in Pearl. Just trust him!” August said casually.

Gary still wasn’t convinced.

However…

It seemed like a chance to finally prove he was better than August—if he could predict more accurately, at least.

Though Gary felt slightly guilty toward Pearl for thinking this way, the prospect of finally surpassing August in something ignited a surge of excitement.

As Gary stewed in his anticipation, the modular arena completed its transformation, and Pearl—who had been eagerly waiting in the trainers' lounge—strode confidently onto the field.

Unlike the opposing trainer, who was still visibly rattled from Wailord’s earlier performance, Pearl was entirely unfazed, fully focused and ready for battle.

Such stark contrast gave Pearl a huge initial advantage right from the start!

“Infernape! [Flamethrower]!”

A fierce jet of flame burst from Infernape’s mouth, surging toward the opposing Noctowl.

“Quick, dodge it!”

Though the opposing trainer swiftly issued the command, his momentary distraction caused a crucial half-second delay.

But for Pearl and Infernape, that tiny hesitation was enough.

Despite Noctowl's desperate attempt to dodge, the searing [Flamethrower] clipped its wing.

“Noct—!”

Noctowl screeched in pain, wobbling precariously midair.

Without giving Noctowl any chance to recover, Infernape sprinted forward and swiftly ignited into a blazing wheel of fire.

[Flame Wheel]

Bang!

Unable to maneuver properly with its injured wing, Noctowl was knocked out of the air.

“Noctowl is unable to battle! Infernape wins!” declared the referee.

Losing the initiative in the first round, the opposing trainer now fully realized his mistake, regret written plainly on his face. Determined, he forced himself to refocus.

However, despite sending out a Feraligatr next, who had a type advantage, the agile Infernape never allowed it to exploit that strength.

Helplessly, Feraligatr watched as Infernape performed [Acrobatics], diving from above and overwhelming it completely.

A final [Thunder Punch] decisively ended the match.

“How can this be!?” The opposing trainer stared in disbelief at how quickly Feraligatr fell.

Yet, watching from the VIP booth, Gary and August saw nothing strange about this.

On paper, Pearl and his opponent were both quarterfinalists. But in reality, Pearl’s Pokémon were far stronger in every way. It would've been surprising if he hadn't won effortlessly.

Two crushing defeats in a row shattered what little confidence his opponent had left, leading to a string of clumsy mistakes.

At that moment, the door of the private box swung open.

Gold slipped inside, distributing popcorn. “How’s it going?”

“Pearl’s about to win,” Gary replied.

Looking down at Pearl dominating on the battlefield, Gold felt he'd missed the best part.

August accepted the popcorn bucket, immediately noticing it felt oddly heavy.

He casually reached up and touched the top of his head.

Mew was still there, snoozing comfortably.

Then, what was inside…?

August reached into the popcorn bucket—

And pulled up a sheepishly grinning Hoopa.

“Hehehe, surprised to see Hoopa, August!?”

August: “...”

Of all things to learn quickly, Hoopa sure picked up mischievous habits at lightning speed.

At that moment, Mew woke up atop August’s head, sleepily rubbing her eyes. Spotting the popcorn bucket, she let out a joyful cheer—but that instantly turned sour when she saw Hoopa inside.

Her tiny cheeks puffed up indignantly.

That’s my spot!

Only she could nap inside August’s popcorn bucket!

“Hoopa~!” Hoopa, completely unbothered by Mew’s glare, stuck out its tongue teasingly.

This wasn’t the old Hoopa—though much of its power remained sealed, after twice being possessed, it had absorbed enough residual energy to significantly boost its strength.

It wasn't afraid of Mew anymore!

Eyeing the rings in Hoopa’s hands, Mew knew she couldn't deal with Hoopa alone anymore.

But… no problem! She had backup!

Mew swiftly floated off August’s head, zipping toward Gengar—August’s traveling backpack—and rummaged around in Gengar’s belly until she triumphantly emerged with a Master Ball.

Hoopa’s eyes widened in panic.

Mew grabbed a Poké Ball—was she seriously planning to catch it?

Surely August wouldn’t allow that, right?

But Hoopa quickly realized it had misunderstood when Mew opened the Poké Ball instead.

Before Hoopa could even breathe a sigh of relief—

A Pokémon resembling Mew, but much larger and imposing, appeared before its eyes.

Mew immediately perched herself on Mewtwo’s shoulder, pointing accusingly at Hoopa.

“Mew!”

Mewtwo slowly turned his gaze onto Hoopa.

Hoopa shuddered, paralyzed by the chilling (or so Hoopa imagined) aura emanating from Mewtwo.

“Ho…Hoopa!”

Panicking, Hoopa frantically looked around for Meray, only to realize she wasn’t there.

Seeing Hoopa’s frightened expression, Mew proudly puffed up on Mewtwo’s shoulder, looking incredibly smug.

August: “…”

Somehow, he felt Mew was getting far too good at bullying others. Who exactly had taught her this?!

Observing Hoopa trembling helplessly, Mewtwo inwardly sighed.

With a mother like this, life is never peaceful.

---

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!