Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [410]

After exchanging pleasantries with Principal Clavell, Raifort led August and his group on a tour of the school.

“This is the library. It houses almost every important document from the founding of the academy to the present day in Paldea…” Cogita flipped through a couple of volumes.

“This is the student cafeteria, where students are served a wide variety of meals every day…”

“This is the art classroom…”

“And over here is…”

After their tour, the group was brought to a conference room.

“I’ve already notified Arven—he should be here soon. I have class now, so I’ll take my leave.” Raifort excused herself apologetically.

“No problem,” August waved her off.

As soon as Raifort left, Zinnia finally relaxed, sprawling in her chair and revealing her rather straightforward view of things: “Lillie, don’t Pokémon schools just teach battling? Why are there so many random classes?”

Lillie shook her head slowly. “I’m not sure. I’ve never attended a Pokémon school myself. My mother always hired private tutors for me… Sometimes I’d study other things too, like etiquette.”

Zinnia nodded in sudden understanding. “So that’s how it is!”

August honestly had no idea what Zinnia thought she’d learned from that answer. He turned to look at Gary.

Gary was still buried in Secrets of the Earth, sometimes pausing with a look of revelation, as if he were learning a lot.

Iono, meanwhile, was nervously editing video with Rotom, racing to finish the documentary cut within three days.

Lusamine eyed Cogita with a mysterious hostility.

Cogita’s gaze flickered in surprise, then, as if realizing something, she gave a sly little smile, stroking the Eevee in her arms almost provocatively.

Watching this, August felt his scalp tingle—Please, Cogita, don’t stir up more trouble… It’s hard enough just keeping this four-way rivalry in balance!

Almost as if she heard his silent plea, Cogita finally looked away from Lusamine.

She placed Eevee on the table.

Eevee sniffed the air, then trotted over to Mew.

At some point, Mew had let Steenee out. August watched as Mew tricked Steenee into dripping some juice into her cup, then promptly tossed Steenee aside.

Mew then hugged the cup, gulping down the juice with obvious satisfaction.

This wasn’t the first time Mew had done this. August was beginning to suspect the only reason Mew had made him catch Steenee in the first place was to have a personal juice machine.

Seeing this, Eevee decided to copy them—pulling a cup out of Gengar’s belly, filling it with water, and then dipping Steenee into it for some juice.

Another fresh cup.

“You two are just too much…”

Glancing at the pitifully dejected Steenee, August beckoned her over.

“Mochiu~!”

Steenee fluttered into August’s arms, clearly ready to complain.

Then… she saw August setting out his own cup, preparing to collect her juice as well.

Steenee: “….”

Cogita: “….”

She’d thought August was about to scold Mew and Eevee.

Instead…

Mew and Eevee being spoiled like this is at least ninety-nine percent your fault, August!

August didn’t care at all about Cogita’s disdain. People are always misunderstood… He was just about to sample Steenee’s juice when—

The conference room door opened.

Standing in the doorway was Arven, dressed in his Naranja Academy uniform and shouldering a massive backpack.

The moment he saw August and the others, Arven frowned. “Who are you? Why do you want to see me?”

He’d been stressed lately, trying to find a cure for Mabosstiff’s illness. Being summoned here out of the blue left him a little impatient.

Everyone turned to August.

That’s when Arven noticed August, and after a closer look, his face filled with shock. “Wait… you’re the World Champion, August?!”

“Is there something I can help you with, Mr. August?”

“Today, I’m not here as the Champion,” August replied, showing his credentials. “International Police, Kanto Division—August. There’s something related to your parents I’d like to discuss.”

At the mention of the International Police, Arven visibly tensed.

“Don’t worry. First, let’s look at something together.” August took a sip of Steenee’s juice and played Geeta’s two holo-messages for Arven.

After watching them—

Arven let out a breath. “Whoever made these scam videos is terrible at it. No one would ever fall for that! There’s no way this is related to my parents.”

The delivery was so stiff, practically robotic. His parents never spoke like that.

“Actually… someone did fall for it,” August said.

Arven stared in disbelief. “Who could be that dumb?”

“You’re probably better off not knowing,” August replied.

Then he asked, “Do you know anything about your parents’ recent situation?”

Doing his best to cooperate, Arven shared what he knew. “They’ve both been working in Area Zero for a while now. I haven’t seen them for ages, but every so often, they do call on video…”

As he spoke, Arven’s phone rang.

Everyone turned to him.

He glanced at the caller ID, his expression complicated. “It’s my dad. I’ll let him explain to you directly.”

He answered the call, but before he could speak, Turo’s voice came through, flat and mechanical:

[This is Professor Turo. There’s been an incident in Area Zero. The observation post was attacked and we urgently need more manpower. If the League doesn’t send help, my years of research will be lost!]

Hearing the message word for word, Arven was stunned.

Before he could react, the call ended. Almost immediately, a call from his mother, Sada, came in. When he answered, the message was nearly identical to the videos August had shown him.

“What’s going on? Is this some kind of prank?”

But those were his parents’ real phone numbers!

Who would go to the trouble of faking this just for a laugh?

Even Arven couldn’t stay oblivious—he realized something had gone wrong.

His face grew tense as he stood, looking at August. “Mr. August, you know something, don’t you?”

He’d had a rocky relationship with his parents when they were around, but if something really happened to them…

The thought filled Arven with a churning, tangled fear.

August hadn’t expected Turo and Sada to go this far. “Don’t panic. We’re still in the middle of our investigation—we can’t be certain your parents are in trouble.”

Area Zero in the game never had both Professors at once. He couldn’t assume the situation matched the game’s plot. For all he knew, Arven’s parents might still be alive and well…

But Arven couldn’t calm down. With Mabosstiff still ill and now his parents’ safety in question, the two crises at once nearly overwhelmed him.

At that moment, the conference room door opened again.

Geeta entered—she’d finished her work at the League.

Seeing Arven slumped at the table in distress, she asked, “What happened?”

“…That’s pretty much the situation.”

After August explained, Geeta fell silent too.

Clearly, this wasn’t what she’d expected to happen.

By now, Arven had pulled himself together. He spoke with determination: “Chairwoman, I want to go to Area Zero!”

Geeta frowned.

She’d invited August because she trusted his abilities, but Arven… was still a student.

She was just about to find a way to turn Arven down when—

August said, “Your Mabosstiff is still sick, isn’t he?”

Arven was stunned. “How did you know…?”

“Iono told me,” August replied.

Iono, busy editing: “Huh?”

When did I ever mention that?

But Arven didn’t question it further. “I have other Pokémon too!” he said quickly, and released a crowd of Pokémon.

Greedent, Cloyster, Scovillain, Toedscruel, Garganacl—and, of course, a very sickly-looking Mabosstiff sprawled on the floor.

August smiled at Arven’s desperate eagerness to prove himself. “I’m not saying you can’t go. What I mean is—I can cure Mabosstiff.”

“What?!” Arven’s eyes widened. “You have the legendary secret herbs?!”

He’d only learned about the possible cure from reading the Scarlet and Violet Books his parents left behind.

At the mention of “secret herbs,” Mew’s eyes immediately lit up.

Where are the secret herbs?!

August pressed Mew’s head down. Of course he didn’t have any actual secret herbs. Maybe if he dunked Lugia Jr. in hot water, the resulting bath could be called a “secret recipe.” But to treat Mabosstiff, Paldea’s so-called miracle herbs weren’t really necessary.

August took out a golden GS Ball.

“Celebi!”

Without further explanation, August called out Celebi.

Celebi’s sudden appearance immediately captured the attention of Geeta and Arven, who’d never seen one before.

They watched as Celebi gently waved at the ailing Mabosstiff.

Tiny green lights drifted over Mabosstiff’s body.

Moments later, Mabosstiff slowly opened his little eyes.

“Woo~?”

A puzzled look crossed Mabosstiff’s face, but he soon felt energy returning—and saw Arven’s relieved gaze.

He walked over and nuzzled against Arven with his thick, shaggy fur.

Seeing Mabosstiff fully recovered, Arven couldn’t hold back his tears. “That’s wonderful, Mabosstiff!”

“Thank you, Mr. August!”

“No need to thank me—it was nothing. But now, I’ll need you to come with me to Area Zero.”

Arven nodded vigorously. “No problem!”

He wanted to go for his parents, of course—but after August saved Mabosstiff, August was his hero.

“August?” Geeta hesitated, still unsure about letting a student tag along.

Arven’s Pokémon were strong by academy standards, but nowhere near August’s level. Bringing him along would just slow the team down.

“If those messages really did come from Professors Sada and Turo, Arven knows them better than any of us. Having him there could make communication a lot easier,” August said.

That convinced Geeta.

But August alone knew the real reason—he needed the Scarlet and Violet Books left by Arven’s parents. Those two books were the key to Area Zero!

“Go pack up, Arven. Bring anything your parents left you, just in case. We’ll rest for a day and set out tomorrow.”

Arven immediately thought of the Scarlet Book and Violet Book and nodded firmly. “Okay!”

August stayed at Naranja Academy for the night.

...

Evening.

Walking on the academy grounds, he saw many lively students having Pokémon battles.

The last time I saw something like this was with Blue at Rainbow University…

Now…

“I’m Gary Oak from Kanto, Indigo League Champion! Who wants to battle me?”

Watching Gary boldly throw down the gauntlet, August covered his face, feeling an overwhelming urge to pretend he didn’t know him and just walk away.

Gary had mentioned wanting to test the theories he’d been studying lately, so he’d gone out looking for a challenge.

The academy students chattered amongst themselves—most thought Gary was way too cocky and needed to learn how tough Paldea’s trainers could be!

But the title of Indigo League Champion was intimidating.

A few brave students stepped forward, but Gary dispatched them in just a few moves.

Just as Gary started to look disappointed, a voice called out from the distance:

“I’ll take you on!”

Turning, they saw a tanned, freckled girl approaching, her expression bright and brimming with confidence.

The crowd parted to let her through.

“That’s Nemona-senpai!”

“Nemona’s here!”

“She’s a Champion too—she’ll put this arrogant guy in his place!”

---

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!