Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [619]

As soon as the referee announced the battle’s start, Cynthia and Pryce sent out their Pokémon simultaneously.

Pryce’s first choice was the Swinub that had previously defeated many of Alder’s ace Pokémon, clearly showing he had no intention of holding back.

And Cynthia’s Pokémon was…

“Lucario!” Iono exclaimed.

“Targeting Pryce’s Ice-type specialty, huh? Lucario makes perfect sense,” Gary analyzed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

August sighed lightly. “There's no need to state the obvious…”

Lucario’s Steel-type advantage against Ice Pokémon was evident at a glance. However, Cynthia’s luck wasn't great—Pryce had chosen Swinub, not Delibird or something else. With its secondary Ground-type, Swinub could equally threaten Lucario.

August turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

Lucario emerged in a surge of intimidating aura. From August’s perspective, with his finely honed aura sense, he could clearly see the pulsating waves of power rippling off Lucario’s body.

But unlike Lucario’s battle-ready posture, Swinub remained lying lazily on the ground, eyes still squinted, making one question whether it was even awake.

Yet Cynthia did not dare underestimate Pryce’s Swinub.

Under her command, Lucario launched a probing strike first.

Aura swiftly gathered in Lucario’s palm, forming a glowing blue sphere that shot straight toward Swinub—

“[Aura Sphere]!”

Though just a probing attack, Lucario still gave it full strength.

The radiant blue sphere streaked across the battlefield, and Swinub, still lying flat, finally sensed the threat, jolting in fright.

“Hum-ji!” Swinub squeaked urgently.

Instantly, a wild gale rose out of nowhere beneath the previously clear skies, followed by a fierce, howling blizzard.

[Blizzard]!

Despite seeming as delicate as feathers, the snowflakes caused rippling distortions upon contact with the Aura Sphere’s surface. Soon, overwhelmed by a torrent of snowflakes, the Aura Sphere exploded midair, scattering the blizzard momentarily.

Yet, almost instantly, more snow rushed in to fill the void, sweeping toward Lucario again.

Cynthia’s expression grew stern: “Lucario, [Extreme Speed]!”

At her command, Lucario blurred into an afterimage, vanishing from its spot and instantly reappearing directly before Swinub, braving through Blizzard’s chilling damage, its fist slamming downward mercilessly.

“Hum-ji—!”

Startled mid-Blizzard, Swinub panicked, attempting to burrow underground, but Lucario was unquestionably faster.

Bang!

With a heavy blow, Swinub was hurled violently through the air.

Losing Swinub as its source, the Blizzard abruptly ceased.

Pryce, seated calmly in his wheelchair, merely squinted as usual and lightly tapped the ground several times with his cane.

And those seemingly insignificant taps had immediate results.

In midair, Swinub reacted instantly as though receiving hidden orders—its tiny body twisted slightly, and in the next second, a column of ice suddenly erupted from the ground below.

Clack!

The ice pillar’s broad tip caught Swinub neatly.

Swinub released a relieved sigh, as though grateful for its second chance at life.

Still, it appeared quite dazed and silly.

Yet Lucario had no intention of letting Swinub rest. Gathering strength in its legs, it lunged forward again, shattering the base of Swinub’s pillar with one powerful punch.

But right before falling, Swinub deftly jumped onto another freshly summoned ice pillar.

Again and again—

Lucario soon realized that each time it attacked, Swinub anticipated perfectly, always crafting new ice pillars ahead of Lucario’s arrival, evading flawlessly.

At first, Lucario assumed it coincidence—but repeated occurrences confirmed something was very wrong.

Cynthia also noticed this anomaly.

Observing closely, she discovered that every time Swinub moved, Pryce had subtly tapped his cane on the ground beforehand.

In that instant, she recalled something August had mentioned previously regarding Pryce’s hidden tricks.

So, Pryce-san’s been directing Swinub through his cane...?

Now fully understanding Pryce’s secret, Cynthia immediately called out:

“Lucario, disrupt its hearing—[Metal Sound]!”

Lucario instantly understood.

It raised both arms, scraping the metal spikes on the backs of its paws together sharply, creating a painfully high-pitched screech that echoed across the entire battlefield.

Swinub, perched on an ice pillar, carefully listening for Pryce’s subtle cues, suddenly flinched as the piercing noise struck it head-on, momentarily stunned.

This time, Lucario’s relentless follow-up attack clearly rattled Swinub—without Pryce’s precise guidance, Swinub became flustered and overwhelmed, forced onto the back foot repeatedly.

My judgment was right!

Cynthia felt her confidence surge, excitement flashing briefly in her eyes.

In the stands, August smiled faintly, watching approvingly.

Beside him, Gary stared in disbelief, completely stunned.

What had he just witnessed?

Cynthia’s Lucario was actually pushing Pryce’s Swinub into a corner?

Impossible… absolutely impossible!

He pinched himself sharply on the thigh, wincing in pain and jumping up slightly, but was forced to accept the truth.

It was real.

Oh no... Did I pick wrong again?

While Gary was consumed by doubt, Pryce’s expression remained unchanged, calmly watching Swinub struggle on the battlefield.

Ah, was I found out?

Though, Pryce wasn’t particularly surprised. Constantly tapping his cane from his wheelchair was suspicious indeed.

In that case…

Pryce glanced casually at the shards of ice Lucario’s earlier attacks had scattered across the battlefield.

“Swinub.” Pryce spoke aloud for the first time since the battle began.

His gentle voice instantly commanded the attention of everyone present.

Amid their watchful gazes, Pryce smiled softly. “[Ice Shard].”

“Hum-ji!”

Hearing Pryce’s command, Swinub’s panic instantly disappeared, replaced by renewed determination. Without hesitation, it unleashed its move.

In the next instant—

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

All around Lucario, fragments of shattered ice suddenly sprang to life, rising off the ground and flying directly toward Lucario from every direction!

“What the—!” Ball Guy gasped loudly.

Cynthia’s face paled instantly: “Lucario, watch out! It’s a trap—get away!”

But it was too late.

The shards of ice Lucario had so confidently shattered earlier had now become Swinub’s hidden weapons—every single one racing relentlessly toward Lucario.

---

T/N: WHAT HOW IS IT GONNA END IN A CHAPTER!?!?!

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!