Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [579]

Unexpectedly, Blue, Sabrina, and Cynthia actually managed to come up with a solution.

After hearing their incredibly absurd proposal, August was left full of question marks. “Are you all serious?”

He had thought himself already abstract enough, but now it seemed he wasn’t even the most abstract one in the Kanto branch.

“You refused to make a decision, so we had no choice!” Sabrina smiled sweetly.

The subtle tension between Blue and Cynthia had completely vanished, replaced by an amused, united front against August.

“So your so-called solution is just to find ways to torture me, right...?” August could feel their deep-seated malice.

When will men finally stand up for themselves!?

While August shivered in helpless anger, everyone else cheerfully divided into the “Dessert Team” and the “Curry Team,” each lining up behind Blue and Cynthia.

Hoopa promptly tossed out two golden rings.

August helplessly stretched his arms into the rings.

Then, Blue, Sabrina, and Cynthia each grabbed hold of one of August’s arms and happily dragged them off to their dinners.

In the hotel lobby, only a “missing-his-arms” August remained, along with Giovanni, whose face bore a complicated look.

“It’s truly hard to believe I lost to someone like you,” Giovanni remarked dryly, eyes fixed on August’s two arms, which had vanished into Hoopa’s rings.

August: “...Giovanni, don't get cocky.”

“Hmph,” Giovanni responded fearlessly.

Back when he’d been the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni might have worried about provoking August into venting anger on his subordinates.

But now?

He had nothing left to lose.

...

Later, in the hotel room.

Gardevoir sat quietly in meditation on a yoga mat, hands neatly folded in front of her. Occasionally, subtle but powerful psychic pulses radiated from her.

Eevee waddled energetically about the room on four short legs, fluffy tail swishing as she gathered every pillow and cushion she could find, carefully stacking them near August’s pillow on the bed to build herself a cozy nest.

Mew sprawled over a desk, scribbling something intently with a pencil, occasionally emitting mysterious, incomprehensible giggles.

Overall, aside from August lying on the bed with a hopeless, lifeless expression, the scene was surprisingly harmonious.

“No way, I can’t just let things end like this!”

August suddenly sat bolt upright, startling Eevee—who was just behind him with a pillow—so badly she literally jumped into the air.

Gardevoir also woke from meditation, looking at August helplessly.

“Ahem...sorry, Gardevoir. Continue your meditation,” August quickly apologized.

After comforting Gardevoir, he picked up Eevee, who was pawing insistently at his clothes with her soft paws, and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

He felt like something was missing.

Looking around the room, his eyes fell upon Mew, who was still drawing intensely, completely unaffected by the chaos.

Signaling Eevee to remain quiet, August silently approached Mew from behind and leaned down. “Mew, what’re you drawing?”

From his angle, August saw Mew—who’d just been laughing strangely—instantly panic, fur bristling wildly.

At lightning speed, Mew flung away her pencil, hurriedly crumpled her drawing into a tight ball, and desperately tried to shove it into her mouth.

Fortunately, August snatched it away just in time.

“Since when did you start eating paper? I barely got to eat dinner tonight since you devoured everything. People might think I'm starving you...”

But Mew didn’t listen at all.

Staring at the crumpled drawing in August’s hand, Mew panicked.

She desperately stretched out her tiny hands, trying to snatch the paper back.

Unfortunately, her stubby paws couldn't reach.

“Hmm?”

Seeing Mew’s frantic appearance, August, who’d originally intended only to tease her a bit, was now genuinely curious about what she’d drawn.

He quickly called Gardevoir over to hold Mew in place and unfolded the paper carefully.

Then…

On the page appeared an utterly abstract, vaguely humanoid figure drawn in a style August found oddly familiar.

He felt he’d seen something similar before—in fact, it was exactly like the ancient mural Mew had drawn on New Island.

Fully unfolding the paper, August noticed a name scribbled crookedly beneath the figure. He stared for a long time before finally deciphering the wobbly handwriting.

[August]

Having struggled fruitlessly against Gardevoir’s grip, Mew now hung limply, utterly hopeless upon seeing August completely unfold her drawing. She stopped resisting entirely, accepting her inevitable doom.

Caught red-handed by August himself, she knew no excuses could save her now.

But contrary to Mew’s expectations, August wasn’t angry at seeing himself depicted this way. Rather, he found it somewhat amusing.

Under Mew’s panicked stare, August carried the drawing over to Gardevoir.

Holding the paper beside his face for comparison, he asked seriously, “Tell me honestly, does this look like me?”

Seeing August deliberately twisting his eyes in opposite directions to imitate the drawing, Gardevoir immediately covered her mouth, barely managing to preserve her carefully maintained ladylike image.

“See? Even Gardevoir laughed. It looks nothing like me at all!” August tossed the drawing back at Mew. “Next time, draw me more handsomely, then it might resemble me.”

Realizing August wasn’t angry after all, Mew finally sighed with relief, patting her chest dramatically as if she’d narrowly escaped death.

Just as Mew thought the crisis was completely over, August’s voice sounded ominously in her ear again:

“However…”

Mew quickly turned around, only to hear August continue:

“As punishment for drawing me so ugly, when we go for a late-night snack later, you’re not getting any.”

“I heard Hammerlocke has a lot of tasty street food. Such a shame someone won’t be eating tonight.”

Mew looked as if she’d been struck by lightning.

...

Hammerlocke City’s nighttime view was especially beautiful.

Most striking of all was Rose Tower, standing tall in the center of the city.

Even after ten at night, Rose Tower remained brightly lit. Who knew how many office workers were still slaving away inside?

“Don’t you think so, Miss Oleana?” August asked casually, glancing to his side.

Oleana stood there in her crisp white trench coat, beneath which was a red blouse paired with a high-slit black skirt and sleek black stockings.

Although August personally couldn’t appreciate Oleana’s distinctive forehead, even he had to admit that her stylish appearance clearly demonstrated Galar’s impressive fashion standards.

“Good evening, Miss Oleana. Not heading home yet? Taking an evening stroll too?” August greeted her with a polite smile.

“We recently received reports of suspicious individuals planning to disrupt the World Championships. Since this is a critical period, I—as the Chairman’s secretary—must set an example and patrol personally,” Oleana replied coolly, staring directly into August’s eyes.

Her implied meaning was crystal clear.

Feigning shock, August exaggeratedly glanced around. “Suspicious individuals? Where?”

Seeing August’s blatant playacting, Oleana remained silently cold, watching him perform.

She had actually been about to clock out. But just as she reached the lobby door, news of August’s appearance nearby forced her to abandon plans of returning home. She immediately rushed out with her people to keep a close watch on August and prevent any troublemaking.

Seeing Oleana silently staring at him, August didn’t mind at all.

“Is Chairman Rose in Hammerlocke right now?”

“No comment.”

“Is Rose still at the office?”

“No comment.”

“Then just one more question. Are you and Rose in a romantic relationship?”

“No—” Oleana froze mid-sentence.

“I understand, I understand!” August quickly nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret!”

Ignoring Oleana’s murderous glare, August turned to wave cheerfully at Gary, who stood nearby holding a bag of freshly purchased late-night snacks.

“My food’s arrived, so I’ll leave you here to keep searching for those suspicious people,” August said lightly, strolling off without another glance.

Oleana stared at August’s retreating figure, eyes narrowed sharply until he finally vanished into the darkened streets.

She turned to her subordinates, sighing, “Everyone’s worked hard tonight. Go home soon.”

“You’ve worked hard as well, Miss Oleana.”

Once everyone had dispersed, Oleana lifted her eyes to the brightly lit Rose Tower in the distance.

August’s final teasing question echoed in her mind again.

What exactly is my relationship with Chairman Rose now...?

Having casually disturbed the thoughts of Oleana—Rose’s most trusted assistant—August was now strolling leisurely with Gary, eating roasted Berries while deeply hiding his merits and fame.

Though August had initially doubted such food as roasted Berries, their taste turned out surprisingly good after trying them.

“If we added a bit of Paldea’s [Herba Mystica], the flavor might become even better,” August thoughtfully remarked.

Gary eagerly nodded in agreement.

Then he suddenly asked, “August, did you notice anything earlier?”

Indeed, August hadn’t merely been “taking a casual walk” as he had told Oleana; he’d been carefully observing Rose Tower’s defenses.

Though August had complete confidence in his own plan, he always preferred to err on the side of caution. In case something unexpected happened and Rose ended up barricading himself inside Rose Tower, August needed to know how to apprehend him swiftly, with minimal cost.

“They have psychic interference devices—teleportation abilities are blocked nearby, but Hoopa’s rings aren’t affected.”

What Oleana didn’t realize was that, long before she’d arrived, August had already gone inside Rose Tower for a quick look around.

“Of course! There’s nothing in this world that can stop my good buddy Hoopa!” Gold suddenly popped up, swiping a skewer of roasted Berries right from under Gary’s nose.

Gary: “?”

Gold, how the heck do you always appear out of nowhere?!

“Subarashii!” Gold gave a thumbs-up.

“That’s mine!”

“C’mon, Gary-senpai, don’t be so stingy!”

Watching Gary and Gold start squabbling noisily, August turned his head and spotted Cyrus standing not far away.

On the surface, Cyrus appeared as expressionless and silent as always. Yet, when August observed him more closely, he could detect some subtle yet profound changes in Cyrus’s expression.

To describe it simply, Cyrus looked like someone desperately suppressing immense mental exhaustion.

Given that August had deliberately paired Gold with Cyrus previously, it wasn’t hard to guess why Cyrus looked this way now.

Truly, August felt genuine sympathy for Cyrus. Putting a naturally cold and quiet personality like his together with the endless chatterbox and overly friendly Gold must have driven Cyrus nearly insane these past few days.

By the time August turned his attention back again—

Not only was Gary’s share of roasted Berries completely gone, but August’s own portion had vanished too.

Meanwhile, Gold and his Pokémon were all happily munching away, each holding their own skewers.

August: “...?”

Did you guys just finish off my midnight snack?!

...

As Gold and Cyrus returned, other teams that had gone out across various regions of Galar also gradually came back.

Some returned driven nearly crazy—like Cyrus.

Others had gotten along surprisingly well.

For instance, Pryce and Silver.

With their previous misunderstandings cleared up, Pryce and Silver now interacted warmly and harmoniously. Seeing the completely transformed Weavile standing confidently beside Silver, August realized Silver must have learned a lot from Pryce.

“They’re practically getting along like grandfather and grandson now…” August mused aloud, filled with emotion.

Giovanni: “?”

You’re insulting me, aren’t you!

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about you. Silver hasn’t accepted you yet, so don’t take it personally!” August clarified quickly, signaling innocence.

Tch. Damn you, August.

Giovanni’s fists silently tightened.

Seeing Giovanni’s subtly irritated expression, August smirked slightly.

You like mocking me, huh? Then let’s just hurt each other!

Just then, a voice rang out clearly from the doorway: “Quite the lively gathering—is this a crime syndicate leaders’ meeting?”

Malva walked in, wearing her usual tight-fitting vest and pink sunglasses perched on her nose.

Upon seeing Malva, August noticed Lysandre’s expression shift slightly. But rather than anger toward the traitor, his gaze carried more complexity.

After all, Lysandre himself had become a prisoner, so he wasn’t really in any position to blame Malva further.

“Yes indeed. We’re secretly plotting to form Team Rainbow Rocket and overthrow the Pokémon League!” August replied with exaggerated seriousness.

Malva rolled her eyes dramatically.

Believing August would overthrow the League? She’d sooner believe Arceus was secretly a beautiful woman in black stockings.

“I heard Chairman Rose got on your bad side. Need me to get in touch with my friends in the media again?” Malva offered casually.

The last time they’d cooperated—exposing Ghetsis—had gone exceptionally well. August achieved justice, and the news media reaped endless attention. Ever since then, her journalist friends had kept pestering her, asking when such juicy stories might appear again.

Malva had felt speechless about it.

Did they think criminal organizations grew on Berry bushes, popping up whenever you watered them?

Just two days after Malva had brushed off their requests, rumors began spreading everywhere online about August’s conflict with Chairman Rose.

So, for the first time in years, she registered herself to participate in the World Championships, solely to ask August in person if those online rumors were actually true.

But now that she’d arrived in Galar and seen the spectacle unfolding before her own eyes, Malva realized she didn’t even need to ask. The answer was already crystal clear.

---

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!