Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [582]

“So, his first Pokémon is Kangaskhan, huh?”

Larry had taken this battle seriously from the start.

Although his understanding of Giovanni was limited to news reports, he knew about August. And since Giovanni was someone even August had struggled so hard to arrest, he didn't even need to think—this opponent was unquestionably tough.

I just hope Geeta-san won’t chew me out too badly when I lose…

With that thought, Larry’s expression hardened as he prepared to give Staraptor its first command.

But before he could even speak, he saw Giovanni pressing a brooch pinned to his chest.

Then, under Larry’s incredulous gaze, the Kangaskhan standing before Giovanni erupted in a brilliant glow of evolution.

The Kangaskhan baby leapt from its pouch, mother and child standing side-by-side on the battlefield.

“[Mega Evolution]!”

The rules of this World Championship held in Galar restricted Legendary Pokémon, but otherwise, the rules had not changed much.

In every battle, trainers could choose to use one among [Mega Evolution], [Dynamax], [Z-Move], or [Terastallization].

But Larry hadn't expected Giovanni to go straight into [Mega Evolution] without even bothering to test him out first.

Just as that thought flashed across Larry’s mind, Kangaskhan and her child were already attacking.

Both mother and child’s fists crackled simultaneously with electric sparks.

As a Flying-type Elite Four member who also happened to be a Normal-type Gym Leader, Larry was very clear on [Mega Kangaskhan’s] special ability.

[Parental Bond].

Mother and child attacking together, doubling the move’s impact.

[Thunder Punch] already held a type advantage, and with Kangaskhan’s significantly increased attack after [Mega Evolution], getting hit would be certain doom!

“Staraptor, ascend quickly!” Larry swiftly commanded.

Staraptor flapped its wings hard, rapidly climbing upward to escape [Mega Kangaskhan’s] attack range.

But before Larry could breathe a sigh of relief…

An even more shocking scene unfolded. Mother and child Kangaskhan didn’t hesitate or lose focus just because Staraptor had flown out of reach. Instead, the baby Kangaskhan jumped up onto its mother’s palm, and then…

Whoosh—!

The baby Kangaskhan shot skyward like a cannonball.

Kangaskhan—who normally would do anything to protect her child—had unexpectedly thrown her own baby just like a Dragapult launching its Dreepy.

Caught completely off guard in the sky where it had assumed itself safe, Staraptor took the [Thunder Punch] directly, letting out a miserable cry. Its whole body trembling, it plummeted from the air like a kite with its string cut.

Yet Staraptor hadn’t given up the fight.

The damage dealt by baby Kangaskhan wasn’t enough to finish it completely. As long as it regained control before hitting the ground…

The instant that thought crossed its mind, Staraptor heard a sudden roar by its ear.

Before it could react, a stone grew rapidly in its field of vision, filling its entire sight.

“[Rock Tomb],” Giovanni said softly.

Boom!

Struck by the [Rock Tomb], Staraptor lost all control and immediately took another [Thunder Punch] from Kangaskhan—this one delivered by the mother, who had still been awaiting her chance.

Boom!

Staraptor crashed to the ground, arcs of electricity flickering across its scorched feathers.

Meanwhile, baby Kangaskhan elegantly flipped midair and landed safely back into its mother’s waiting arms.

The referee, utterly stunned that an Elite Four-level battle had been settled in just two moves, took a long while before coming back to his senses and finally announced the result:

—[Staraptor is unable to battle! Kangaskhan wins!]

Without turning back, Giovanni simply raised one finger.

In the stands, August punched the seat angrily upon seeing Giovanni’s gesture. “Damn it, he got to show off!”

Rose, what are you even doing?! Can’t you rig matches properly and just put Giovanni against someone like Ryuki instead!?

Gold and Gary exchanged glances beside him, wisely choosing not to speak up.

On stage, Larry didn't get angry at Giovanni’s taunting gesture.

After years of soul-crushing overtime, this tiny provocation meant nothing to him. But more importantly, his mind was preoccupied with another terrifying thought:

Getting instantly defeated in the first round…Geeta-san will absolutely slash my performance bonus again when I get back.

Larry’s already dispirited appearance now looked even gloomier.

Though aware now of Giovanni’s terrifying strength, Larry—fueled entirely by fear of Geeta-san’s performance reviews—collected himself once again and sent out his second Pokémon:

“Please, Flamigo. My bonus is counting on you—at least win me one round!”

In a flash of white, a flamingo-like Pokémon appeared on the field, standing on one leg with its long neck tied in a knot.

Fighting/Flying-type Flamigo was the best Pokémon Larry had to handle this scenario.

After all, Kangaskhan only had one weakness: Fighting-type moves.

Seeing Flamigo, Kangaskhan and her child immediately launched another coordinated attack.

[Fake Out]!

Mother and child Kangaskhan clapped their hands simultaneously, releasing two energy shockwaves in succession toward Flamigo.

Flamigo, having just appeared, hadn’t even gotten the chance to react and stumbled back under the impact of the energy beams.

“[Thunder Punch]!”

Once again, electric sparks crackled around the Kangaskhan duo’s fists.

But this time Larry was fully prepared, Flamigo’s eyes flashing sharply.

[Detect]!

Every movement by Kangaskhan and her child appeared vividly in Flamigo’s vision.

With a slight leap, Flamigo soared gracefully into the air, spread its wings wide, and swiftly dodged the baby Kangaskhan launched at it once again, neatly evading the strike.

“Now’s your chance—[Double Kick]!”

Take advantage of Kangaskhan mother and child separating, and defeat them one by one!

If Kangaskhan falls, her child naturally loses its ability to fight.

Flamigo, receiving its orders, accelerated by flapping its wings and swiftly struck from behind with a [Double Kick].

Thud! Thud!

Both kicks landed firmly on Kangaskhan’s body.

Kangaskhan staggered forward from Flamigo’s kick, visibly pained.

Just when Larry and Flamigo believed they had the upper hand and prepared to press their advantage…

A shadow suddenly shot forward from behind, fist crackling with electricity—

[Thunder Punch]!

Baby Kangaskhan slammed a [Thunder Punch] straight into Flamigo.

At that very moment, Kangaskhan, who had just been pinned down by Flamigo, abruptly shed all previous clumsiness and, together with her child—who had somehow circled behind Flamigo—executed a perfect pincer attack.

“This is bad…”

The words slipped unconsciously from Larry’s lips. In the next instant, mother and child exchanged a quick glance, then charged simultaneously at Flamigo, fists blazing with electricity.

Bang! Bang!

Kangaskhan and her child dashed past Flamigo from opposite sides, switching positions.

Flamigo, struggling desperately to flap its wings and rise back into the air, swayed slightly on the spot, still yearning for the sky, then collapsed unconscious to the ground.

—[Flamigo is unable to battle! Kangaskhan wins!]

Giovanni calmly raised his hand, back still facing August, and lifted two fingers.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

August was so annoyed he directly activated telepathic communication with Larry:

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Larry, you’re seriously letting Giovanni show off right in your face like this? You’re just gonna take it?

Larry felt bitter inside.

Did August think he didn't want to win? He was already drowning under Geeta-san’s crushing performance targets; he’d given it everything he had. It was just impossible to win!

Taking a deep breath, Larry sent out his third Pokémon.

With a flash of white, Altaria appeared on the field.

Larry then revealed the [Tera Orb] in his hand, activating [Terastallization].

Brilliant light enveloped Altaria’s body, and when it faded, Altaria sparkled with a dazzling crystalline glow.

“[Tera Type—Flying]!”

The three balloons above Altaria’s head clearly indicated its [Terastallized] attribute.

No sooner had Altaria completed its transformation than Kangaskhan mother and child once again greeted it with a [Fake Out].

Two immediate slaps right off the bat.

Followed instantly by yet another [Thunder Punch].

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Giovanni, do you seriously know only these two moves?

Hearing the voice echo in his mind, Giovanni’s mouth curved upward.

[Giovanni]: You seem awfully anxious, August.

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Who’s anxious?

[Giovanni]: Whoever’s anxious knows best.

The next second, Giovanni found that August had abruptly cut off their telepathic link.

If not for maintaining his image, Giovanni would have burst into loud laughter right there.

As for Altaria on the battlefield—even having learned from the defeat of its predecessors—it still couldn’t find an effective way to deal with [Mega Kangaskhan].

Two-against-one was simply too unfair!

Giovanni’s Kangaskhan, trained almost flawlessly, revealed virtually no openings.

Particularly the baby Kangaskhan—raised and trained from birth with perfect coordination alongside its mother. Their combined attack was utterly unsolvable.

In the end, Kangaskhan deliberately offered herself as bait, enduring a full-powered [Brave Bird] from Altaria using [Endure], then finished Altaria off with one final [Thunder Punch].

—[Altaria is unable to battle! Kangaskhan wins!]

—[Larry has no Pokémon left able to fight. The final winner is Giovanni from Kanto!]

The referee announced the outcome.

At that moment, Giovanni turned toward August, raising a third finger in his direction to show off his victory.

August clicked his tongue irritably.

Gary exchanged a quick glance with Gold. Gold cautiously spoke up first: “Boss, are you alright?”

“What could be wrong with me?” August replied, puzzled. “Giovanni winning just wrecked Rose’s scheme against our Kanto branch, right? I should be thrilled. This is great news!”

As he spoke, he casually petted Mew, who was comfortably lounging inside a bucket of popcorn.

Gold and Gary exchanged another meaningful glance.

They could both clearly see the same conclusion reflected in each other's eyes.

It seems things had gotten even worse than they thought. August’s irritation had already evolved into full-blown delusion.

...

After Giovanni’s match, none of the remaining battles were worth watching.

On their way back, the atmosphere in the group was exceedingly strange.

August hugged Mew, staring straight ahead.

Giovanni wore a faint smirk on his lips.

Gold and Gary whispered in the corner, occasionally casting wary glances toward August and Giovanni.

Black looked around cluelessly.

In the end, it was Malva who finally broke the awkward silence:

“Has Lysandre’s match schedule been announced yet? I’m really curious to see how my ‘former boss’ performs in the World Championship.”

Malva had long wanted to see Lysandre’s performance firsthand. Before his arrest by August, Lysandre had been constantly absorbed in business, research, or creating a new world—never having spare time for tournaments.

“Lysandre...” Silver checked the match schedule. “It’s the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is Pryce versus Alder-san.”

“?”

Everyone showed bewildered expressions.

Was this really just Ultra Ball Rank? Pryce’s opponent was directly a former champion—this couldn’t simply be rigged; they weren’t even bothering to hide it anymore!

Black, who joined the Kanto branch late and wasn't familiar with Pryce, asked tentatively: “Can Pryce beat Alder?”

“I’d say 70-30,” someone responded.

“I think it’s more like 80-20.”

“That’s way too unfair. They clearly want our Kanto branch to lose,” Black concluded.

“You misunderstood. They're saying 80-20 in favor of Pryce,” August corrected calmly. “In fact, I’d personally put it at 90-10. After all, Giovanni once fought Pryce before, and he got beaten so badly that he barely escaped.”

Saying this, August turned deliberately toward Giovanni.

Giovanni: “?”

I only lost to Pryce once—do you seriously need to bring it up again and again?

Giovanni once more witnessed August’s petty grudge-holding nature firsthand.

Black contemplated carefully.

Giovanni had crushed Larry, Paldea’s Elite Four, using only a single Pokémon. Pryce had thoroughly dominated Giovanni, and now even August himself was declaring Pryce had a 90-10 advantage over Alder.

In that case, wasn’t Pryce basically the top contender for this World Championship?

He never imagined the old man who sat around carving ice sculptures with his Lapras would actually be so incredibly powerful!

Just at that moment, loud cheering erupted from up ahead.

Hearing the commotion, August turned instinctively and saw a group of familiar faces holding signs and banners, enthusiastically parading Marnie through the streets.

Team Yell!

August reflexively moved to hide, but at the critical moment, Giovanni casually took one step sideways, fully exposing him.

Spotting August, Team Yell's members lit up with excitement:

“Advisor Gary!!”

Hearing that nickname, Marnie, whose eyes had glazed over from the humiliation of being paraded by Team Yell, suddenly snapped to attention, gaze sharpening immediately.

She followed Team Yell’s excited gazes and noticed a familiar face among the crowd.

“Mr. August?”

Meanwhile, Gary was pointing at himself, utterly confused: “Wait, are you talking about me?”

Why were these people acting like they knew him really well? And why were they calling him ‘advisor’?

Had he somehow become famous in the Galar region without even realizing it?

As Gary prepared himself to modestly greet them, Team Yell surged forward past him entirely, surrounding August instead, enthusiastically bombarding him with warm greetings.

---

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!