Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [616]

In that instant, Leon fully grasped Giovanni’s intentions.

In perfect sync with Leon’s thoughts, Charizard made a startling decision.

With a fierce flap of its wings, Charizard rushed headlong into the incoming stones launched by Rhyperior. At the very instant before impact, Charizard sharply folded its wings, then snapped them open again, executing a breathtaking aerial maneuver to evade the Stone Edge completely. The rocks, robbed of their target, shattered uselessly across the battlefield.

Although Rhyperior had failed to exchange damage with Charizard, it had successfully disrupted Charizard's Dragon Pulse.

On the surface, the exchange appeared even.

Yet, the raging sandstorm and lingering Grassy Terrain continuously drained Charizard’s health, while gradually restoring Rhyperior’s vitality.

The longer this battle dragged on, the worse it would be for Charizard.

“Charizard, return! Your turn again, Rillaboom!”

Leon recalled Charizard and sent out Rillaboom once more.

But the moment Rillaboom entered, its face twisted in pain.

Sharp stones had suddenly stabbed deeply into Rillaboom’s body.

“Stealth Rock?! Giovanni’s Rhyperior had already laid down Stealth Rock beforehand!” Ball Guy shouted in disbelief.

Leon stood stunned.

When? How could I not have noticed...?

Giovanni’s lips curled up slightly.

Finally fell for it!

Throughout this match, Giovanni himself had changed Pokémon multiple times. How could he not anticipate Leon doing the same?

During its previous Stone Edge attack, Rhyperior had secretly set up Stealth Rock.

For Leon, this spelled disaster. Not only did Stealth Rock injure Rillaboom, but it also meant that when Charizard returned, it would instantly lose a massive chunk of its health due to the quadruple rock-type weakness.

Yet Giovanni’s schemes were far from over.

Right before Leon’s eyes, Giovanni casually recalled Rhyperior, swapping Pokémon yet again.

Rhyperior → Beedrill

Staring at the Beedrill now facing him, Leon felt as though everything had returned to square one—no, this situation was even worse.

If he switched back to Charizard now, Giovanni would simply recall Beedrill again. Giovanni could freely swap Pokémon without penalty, but Leon couldn’t.

Just repeating this twice would mean Charizard, without Giovanni even lifting a finger, would collapse from Stealth Rock alone.

And it all stemmed from losing his Aegislash to Kangaskhan earlier, prematurely exposing his team’s strategy to Giovanni!

A massive crisis.

Leon was now plunged into a hopeless predicament.

Worse yet, no matter how hard he thought, Leon realized Rillaboom didn’t even know a move to clear the rocks.

He had no other choice but to force Rillaboom to fight Beedrill head-on.

Maybe… just maybe we can win?

“[Grassy Glide]!” Leon shouted.

Sliding rapidly across the grassy field, Rillaboom aimed a fierce tackle at Beedrill.

Watching Rillaboom rushing straight towards it, Beedrill tilted its head slightly and vanished instantly.

Rillaboom completely missed its mark.

Before it could react, Beedrill reappeared right behind Rillaboom.

[Fell Stinger]!

The sharp needle mercilessly stabbed toward Rillaboom’s exposed back.

Sensing the threat behind, Rillaboom reacted incredibly fast—dropping its drumsticks, it instantly launched into an Acrobatics move, its large body leaping into the air at an impossible angle, maneuvering rapidly in mid-air, then diving straight back toward Beedrill.

This time, Beedrill didn't evade. Instead, it raised one arm, aiming directly at Rillaboom.

[Pin Missile]!

Volley after volley of needle missiles shot upward, leaving no room for Rillaboom to dodge mid-dive.

But as long as Acrobatics lands, everything will still be fine!

Holding onto this last sliver of hope, Rillaboom charged straight into the hailstorm of needles.

A final desperate Acrobatics vs. Pin Missile.

One round, two rounds, three, four, five—

After enduring five relentless rounds of Pin Missile, Rillaboom, now resembling a pincushion, finally reached its limit and crashed heavily onto the ground, stopping just inches from Beedrill.

“Rillaboom is unable to battle. Beedrill wins!” the referee declared.

After multiple exchanges of Pokémon, Giovanni and Leon’s third match had finally concluded.

The score was now 2:1. Giovanni two points, Leon one.

Leon’s remaining Charizard still faced the lurking threat of Stealth Rock.

“No way… Leon lost?!”

“No, Leon!”

“Boss Giovanni is too awesome, nya~!”

For the third time already, Team Rocket’s trio, mixed among Leon’s supporters, cheered excitedly.

But the trio had clearly forgotten their surroundings in their excitement—soon, hostile stares from nearby spectators converged on them.

“W-wait, we meant Leon is awesome!” James hurriedly tried to salvage things.

Yet his words were instantly seen as mockery by Leon’s fans, whose anger intensified even further.

Amid angry shouts and threats, the trio fled from the stands in disgrace.

Giovanni still had no idea these three had just embarrassed him again.

The sandstorm had already ceased on the battlefield. Giovanni watched Leon with interest, awaiting Leon’s final Pokémon—Charizard.

“Trainer Leon, please send out your last Pokémon.”

Snapped out of his desperate tactical calculations by the referee’s prompt, Leon silently took out Charizard’s Poké Ball.

Had he come up with any effective strategy to counter Giovanni’s situation?

Of course not.

All he could hope for now was a miracle…

Leon sent out Charizard.

The moment Charizard reappeared, Stealth Rock violently stabbed into its body, causing Charizard to let out an agonized roar.

The same Stealth Rock that had hurt Rillaboom inflicted four times the damage to Charizard.

To make matters worse, Giovanni had withdrawn Beedrill yet again, sending Rhyperior back onto the field.

“...”

Giovanni was being unbearably cautious. He wasn’t leaving even the slightest chance open for Leon.

With no miracle forthcoming, Charizard, already severely weakened by Stealth Rock, inevitably fell before the patiently waiting Rhyperior.

“I’ve lost…” Leon sighed deeply.

Had I known, I shouldn’t have switched out Charizard…

But it was far too late for such regrets.

The referee raised his flag:

“Charizard is unable to battle. Rhyperior wins!”

“Trainer Leon has no remaining Pokémon able to battle. The final winner is Giovanni!”

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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!