Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [453]

No—there was a change!

After Lysandre activated the Ultimate Weapon, August’s smile actually became brighter.

Why is August smiling? How can he possibly smile right now?

Lysandre couldn’t understand it.

Seeming to sense Lysandre’s confusion, August quickly composed himself and grinned broadly: “Honestly, without your cooperation, gathering enough evidence to put you away would’ve been much harder.”

Whether it was their earlier battles or Lysandre’s attempts to capture Yveltal and Xerneas, none constituted truly severe crimes.

With Lysandre’s influence, he could’ve easily used his connections in Kalos and posted a hefty bail to get out quickly. At worst, he might’ve received house arrest instead of prison time.

But now that he’d activated the Ultimate Weapon, everything was different.

“Lysandre, I hereby arrest you for threatening the safety of the Kalos region and attempted destruction. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say can and will be used against you in court,” August declared righteously.

“If you think you can capture me, then come and try!” Lysandre snarled, pressing a button on his remote.

In an instant, the Ultimate Weapon surged with light, aiming directly at August as it gathered energy.

Having absorbed only a small amount of energy from Yveltal’s cocoon form, the light appeared weak, even feeble. Yet everyone present still felt the deadly threat it posed!

“August!” Sabrina shouted anxiously.

But she quickly realized she'd worried unnecessarily. Even though the weapon had activated, it was still slowly charging.

August calmly eyed the weapon, casually remarking, “After absorbing energy from Yveltal, it still needs this long to charge? Even Devon Corp’s knockoff 'Flower' would perform better.”

If Devon’s Flower had required this long, forget capturing Rayquaza—they’d have been pummeled into the ground.

Lysandre’s face turned livid at August’s criticism.

How dare he compare the Ultimate Weapon to some cheap imitation!

If only he’d had a better energy source instead of Yveltal’s cocoon state, the weapon wouldn't take nearly this long to power up…

Lysandre inwardly cursed, but finally, the weapon finished charging.

His heart raced in anticipation as he prepared to witness August vanish from existence.

However, in the next instant…

With a sudden series of crackling pops and the acrid scent of burning wires, the glowing Ultimate Weapon flickered like a faulty bulb, then abruptly went dark.

Under Lysandre’s disbelieving gaze, the weapon reverted to its inactive state.

What happened!?

Why did it shut down!?

Lysandre turned toward the source of the disturbance just in time to see a Gengar casually peeking out from behind the machinery, whistling innocently. It wore a hard hat, wielded a wrench in one hand, and a suspiciously critical part in the other.

Gengar!?

In an instant, Lysandre understood. This meddling ghost was responsible for disabling the weapon halfway through its activation.

He finally grasped the reason for August’s absolute confidence earlier—he’d planned for Gengar to sabotage the Ultimate Weapon from the very start.

They didn’t even have to damage the weapon itself; just removing some of Team Flare’s added components had rendered it useless with its limited energy supply.

Realizing all this, Lysandre swayed slightly, his face crumbling into utter despair.

From the very beginning, he’d danced perfectly to August’s tune.

The so-called desperate reversal had only ever been self-delusion…

Seeing Lysandre completely lose his will to fight, August gestured to Deoxys to swiftly dispatch Pyroar, then stepped forward and personally apprehended Lysandre.

[You’ve masterfully deceived Lysandre, capturing him after carefully orchestrating his defeat. By deliberately baiting him, you collected decisive criminal evidence. Title earned: "Justice’s Deceiver."]

[Reward temporarily withheld as you have not yet selected your previous reward.]

August’s expression turned sour.

What do you mean, "baiting"? I simply encouraged Lysandre to show his true colors ahead of schedule!

Moreover…

August eyed the last sentence warily. Cogita was clearly forcing his hand. But those options she’d given earlier were so obviously suspicious, who’d dare choose?

The remaining Team Flare members anxiously observed August’s shifting expression, terrified they'd accidentally provoke him further.

Thankfully, August quickly regained his usual composure, easing their tension somewhat.

August scoffed quietly to himself. It’s just a reward—what’s the big deal? Fine, I’ll pick when I get back!

He was curious to see what exactly Cogita was scheming.

August glanced up at Sabrina, intending to ask her to tie up the remaining Team Flare grunts, only to see her staring intently at Gengar. Under her gaze, Gengar squirmed nervously, casting pleading looks toward August.

“What’s wrong?” August asked curiously.

Sabrina tilted her head thoughtfully: “I was just wondering—when Gengar dismantled that equipment earlier, wouldn’t that count as live electrical work?”

August: “…”

What goes on in your head all day?

Even Sabrina’s gone off the deep end now. Are there even any normal people left in the Kanto branch…?

…

Handling the remaining Team Flare grunts took no time at all.

Soon enough, every single one was restrained by Sabrina’s psychic powers.

After alerting Diantha and Looker, August approached Xerosic.

At that moment, Xerosic still hadn’t quite processed that the Team Rocket "friend" he'd been chatting so amiably with had actually been August all along…

Seeing Xerosic’s stunned expression, August patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. “Weren’t you interested in discussing cooperation on the E-battle suits? Since we’ve got time now, let’s chat in detail.”

Xerosic: “…”

He wanted to declare proudly that as a Team Flare scientist, he’d never associate with an Alliance trainer. But seeing August’s gentle smile, Xerosic suddenly had the terrifying suspicion that saying something like that would land him in an even worse fate than Lysandre.

The words remained stubbornly stuck in his throat.

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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!