Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [414]

The call connected again, and on the other end was still Professor Turo—except this time, his attitude was completely different.

Turo’s face was grave as he spoke:

[Arven, don’t come to the Zero Lab!]

Arven was left completely baffled.

But Turo hung up after just that one sentence, and, as expected, Professor Sada called immediately afterward.

Sada:

[Arven, come to the Zero Lab—I’ll be waiting for you there!]

Arven: “……”

First, his father had told him to go to the Zero Lab while his mother warned it was a trap. Now, his father was telling him not to go, and his mother was inviting him there instead…

At this point, Arven’s brain was total mush.

Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder.

He turned to see Gary, giving him a world-weary, knowing look. “Don’t think too hard about it. Getting lied to by your parents is totally normal, you know? It’s like how your New Year’s money always gets ‘safeguarded’ by your folks when you’re a kid…”

Arven: “…..”

Is that supposed to be comforting? And what’s this about New Year’s money? We don’t even have that tradition in Paldea…

August shooed Gary away before he could cause more confusion. “Look on the bright side. Maybe your parents were just kidnapped or something?”

Arven: “?”

Kidnapped is the bright side? What’s the worst-case scenario, then…?

…

As August’s group pushed deeper into Area Zero, the number of Paradox Pokémon they saw only increased.

“August, isn’t that Donphan?” Gary called out.

Following his gaze, they saw, out on a clearing, two groups of Pokémon facing off—both looked a lot like Donphan.

One side was made up of massive beasts with giant, curled tusks and fierce eyes—just three of them. The other group was half the size but their bodies gleamed with a metallic sheen, and they outnumbered the first group three to one.

“Great Tusk and Iron Treads!” Larry identified them by the book.

Both were Paradox forms related to Donphan, apparently fighting over territory.

The leader of the Great Tusk group scraped its front foot against the ground, then charged.

Iron Treads, caught off guard, were scattered as Great Tusk barreled into their ranks.

With its sheer size, Great Tusk rampaged through the metallic group, sending Iron Treads flying in every direction.

Seeing things go south, the Iron Treads quickly curled up into balls and rolled away in retreat.

“Iron Treads didn’t stand a chance!” Zinnia sighed in disappointment. She’d been hoping for a more epic showdown.

“Mew!”

Mew nodded in agreement—she’d even brought out popcorn!

August flicked both of them on the head, making them clutch their heads in pain. “We’re here to do a job, not watch monster battles!”

Both Zinnia and Mew hurriedly apologized.

But just then, with Iron Treads driven off, the victorious Great Tusk turned its attention toward August’s party.

The lead Great Tusk, wounds still fresh from the fight, locked its red eyes on them and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

“Uh oh, August—we’ve been spotted!” Zinnia cried.

Great Tusk thundered toward them, every step shaking the ground.

Those less familiar with August’s strength tensed up nervously.

But August just calmly tossed a Poké Ball.

A moment later, Lapras appeared before the group and unleashed a blast of freezing air.

To everyone’s astonishment, the charging Great Tusk and its two followers were instantly frozen into lifelike ice sculptures. In the blink of an eye, everything within hundreds of meters turned into a winter wonderland.

“Incredible!” Arven gasped.

Penny, ever quiet, could only nod in shock.

August, though, simply commented, “Eh, it’s nothing special.”

Lapras nuzzled up to him for a treat, which August supplied before recalling her.

Meanwhile, Cogita approached the frozen Great Tusk, her face unreadable.

August had noticed this same look earlier when Cogita saw Scream Tail.

He walked over. “What is it?”

“It just brings back memories, that’s all…” Cogita replied, not looking away from the icy mammoth.

And then, without another word, she turned to admire the scenery again.

August: “…..”

Can’t you just finish your sentence? I hate cryptic people…

But there was nothing he could do about Cogita. He could only let her be.

Zinnia watched all this, deep in thought.

Looks like August has no leverage over Cogita… Could it be she knows his weakness? If I could figure that out, August would never dare knock me on the head again! Then I could dote on my dragon as much as I wanted…

The thought alone made Zinnia excited.

Determined, she hurried over to try and get close to Cogita.

August watched Zinnia with confusion. But then, she’d always been a bit odd, so he let her be.

“Let’s keep moving!”

Passing the Great Tusk now frozen like a mammoth in the Ice Age, they soon arrived at Observation Station Two.

Unlike the first station, here they finally found traces of the survey team.

Some of the investigators’ supplies were neatly stacked in a corner—clearly placed deliberately, not dropped in a panic.

“The survey team left these on purpose?” Larry frowned.

“Maybe they got the same messages from the professors and headed to the Zero Lab?” Gary guessed.

“That’s the only logical explanation,” Larry agreed.

While the others checked the gear, Penny had already hacked into the station’s main computer and pulled up the research logs.

There was nothing of interest—just records of research progress and personnel shifts.

But Penny’s sharp eye noticed the surveillance system was still running, streaming footage toward the Zero Lab.

“Mr. August!” Penny called.

He walked over, nodded at what she’d found.

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Penny, block the cameras!

Penny flinched at the sudden voice in her mind, but quickly followed instructions, disabling the cameras.

August then looked to Gary.

[GardevoirSupremacy]: Gary, let me borrow your Porygon.

Gary didn’t ask questions—he just handed over Porygon’s Poké Ball.

With August around, everyone in the Kanto Division made a habit of carrying their Pokémon at all times.

August released Porygon, who instantly recognized its “boss” and obediently slipped into the computer.

Penny was stunned for a moment, then quickly began guiding Porygon through the firewall toward the Zero Lab’s network. In a flash, Porygon vanished from the observation station entirely.

With the job done, Penny let out a breath, feeling a little proud—her first real contribution since joining the International Police.

Gary, meanwhile, looked dazed. “My Porygon…”

August patted him on the shoulder. “Relax, just sending it on a quick recon mission. Nothing will happen.”

“Really…?”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

Gary: “…..”

You’ve lied plenty of times…

But if August said it was fine, pushing the matter further would just make him look petty. Besides, August had Celebi—if things really went south, he could always turn back time and retrieve Porygon.

Thinking that, Gary felt a lot better.

August eyed him suspiciously. “I have a feeling you’re slandering me in your head…”

Gary put on an aggrieved face. “No way!”

August didn’t press the point.

…

Leaving the second station, the group officially descended from the upper to the middle layers of Area Zero.

As they did, the concentration of Tera energy in the air increased yet again.

“Look at all the Scream Tail!” Zinnia pointed.

They saw a group of Scream Tail crowded around a big rock, one of them singing at the top of its lungs atop the stone.

But… the “singing” was, frankly, painful to listen to.

Elsewhere, a mob of Brute Bonnet roamed aimlessly, while Flutter Mane and Iron Moth—both based on Volcarona—were locked in fierce combat, much like the earlier clash between Great Tusk and Iron Treads.

Only this time, the future-form Iron Moth clearly had the upper hand, bullying Flutter Mane into submission.

“Flying types really are just better,” August mused.

Gary, however, had already locked onto a different Pokémon.

He tugged at August’s sleeve. “August, is that—?”

August turned to look.

Oh? That was Iron Thorns!

A single Iron Thorns stood off to the side, lights dimmed, clearly deep in sleep.

“You’ve got your eye on it?” August asked.

Gary nodded, his eyes shining.

It had an undeniably cool look, that matching spiked hair, that overwhelming aura of strength—one glance and Gary knew he had to have it.

“Don’t try to stop me, August—I’m catching that Pokémon today!” Gary said, rolling up his sleeves.

August almost tried to talk him out of it—You already have Tyranitar—but in the end, he kept his mouth shut.

Power level didn’t matter; what mattered was that Gary liked it.

Gary fixed his eyes on Iron Thorns’ metallic shell, then, trusting his gut, tossed out a Poké Ball.

“Go, Arcanine!”

Gary’s regal Arcanine appeared with a roar.

August: “….”

Of all things, he’d picked one of Iron Thorns’ four resistances. August couldn’t even find the words.

Arven flipped through his book and helpfully reminded, “Iron Thorns is Rock and Electric type—Fire-type moves won’t do much.”

Gary’s face froze, but he covered it up quickly: “I know that! I only sent out Arcanine so I wouldn’t hurt it too badly.”

Just then, the sleeping Iron Thorns must have sensed danger—its body lights flared on and its eyes snapped open.

It glared at the Arcanine, mechanical brain whirring as it analyzed the threat.

After a moment…

Iron Thorns closed its eyes and went right back to sleep.

Gary: “….”

August: snrk…

August’s snicker was all it took—the whole group burst out laughing.

Gary was red-faced with rage.

Daring to ignore my Arcanine—doesn’t this thing know who I am? I’m the Kanto Champion! And it’s disrespecting August, too!

“Arcanine, [Fire Blast]!”

Arcanine opened its jaws and a fireball formed, then exploded outward in a blazing “大” character, slamming into Iron Thorns.

BOOM!

With a thunderous roar, Iron Thorns was engulfed in flames.

Even Arven, who’d been laughing a moment ago, was stunned. Gary’s this strong?

Gary, satisfied, flipped his hair dramatically.

And better yet, as the smoke cleared, Iron Thorns was left standing, charred but upright, its green lights flickering. Even with the type disadvantage, Gary’s Arcanine still managed to deal a solid blow.

Iron Thorns’ body glowed green.

It crackled with electricity, then charged at Arcanine with a [Wild Charge] attack.

As Iron Thorns lunged, Arcanine’s eyes flashed with a very humanlike disdain. With a flex of its four legs, it blurred into an orange shadow and vanished.

Arcanine dodged cleanly, and Iron Thorns missed—crashing headlong into a rocky outcropping and knocking loose an Iron Bundle from a tree above.

Iron Bundle tumbled down, dazed.

Before it could recover, Gary’s Arcanine had circled behind Iron Thorns, gathered up another fireball, and let loose a second [Fire Blast].

This time, Iron Bundle, standing too close, was caught in the blast as well.

BOOM!

The tree was blasted apart. Iron Thorns staggered, its lights flickering, looking about ready to collapse.

As for Iron Bundle, it was left charred black.

It hadn’t even done anything to deserve it…

---

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!