Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [395]

Molten Arena

Palina looked conflicted. “About a week ago, I was looking after the Growlithe when a rift appeared in the sky and a bolt of lightning struck down… onto the Growlithe—plural.”

“Wait—Growlithe, plural?” August immediately caught the key detail, a bad premonition stirring in his heart.

Sure enough, the next moment, two howls echoed from behind the volcano.

August, Irida, and Dragonite all turned at once.

From behind the volcano strode an Arcanine swathed in golden light—and right behind it, another golden Arcanine…

August had expected something weird, but his eyelid still twitched at the sight.

Arceus, you’re really not playing fair! Is this because I didn’t pick your reward?

Irida, eyes wide, gasped, “Two Lords?!”

Back then, because the previous Lord had perished by accident, Palina had never raised a new one, and so she’d been criticized by the Pearl Clan for ages. Now, not only had she raised a new Lord, there were suddenly two—at once.

On the other side, both Arcanine seemed to sense something. They stalked toward August and the others, growling low and deep.

A dangerous tension filled the air.

August knew battle was unavoidable. He turned to Palina and Irida. “Leave this to me.”

“Be careful, Mr. August!” Irida’s tension was palpable.

“Relax…” August turned to face the advancing Arcanine, a playful smile on his lips. “I’m not the one who should be worried.”

If Arceus isn’t going to play fair, then neither am I.

With that, August tossed out his Poké Balls.

He didn’t pick Snorlax, or even the Gardevoir who’d just calmed Lilligant.

“Roooaaar!”

With a thunderous cry, the colossal form of Rayquaza darkened the sky. Its appearance made the very air freeze for a moment.

Floating beside Rayquaza, Little Lugia hovered, wings unfurled.

“What in the world…” Irida and Palina stared in shock.

They didn’t recognize the species, but just by looking, they could feel the overwhelming strength of these Pokémon.

The Arcanine, even more sensitive to power than humans, especially when facing legendary Pokémon…

At the first sight of Rayquaza and Little Lugia, the two Arcanine crouched low, fixing their eyes on the newcomers, growling with bravado that didn’t match their nerves.

August smiled. “A two-on-two seems fair, right?”

The Arcanine: “…..”

You’re the one not playing fair!

But with the pressure from above, the Arcanine had no choice but to steel themselves and prepare to fight.

August gave a sincere nod. “Such courage!”

With a wave of his hand, Little Lugia beat its wings, and the sky above began to swirl, a vortex forming rapidly. At the same time, Rayquaza charged a glowing orb in its mouth and spat it toward the distant sea.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the sea, a crater nearly a hundred meters across appearing in the water. Tons of seawater vaporized instantly, feeding the clouds that swirled above, speeding the vortex’s formation.

Gales howled; droplets sizzled as they hit the molten ground.

“This kind of power…”

Irida and Palina looked genuinely worried now—not for August, but for the two Arcanine.

The Arcanine, feeling the gaze of Rayquaza and Little Lugia, swallowed nervously.

Finally, one couldn’t take the pressure. It turned, frantically dug at the earth, and came up with a crimson Plate, dropping it at August’s feet in surrender.

“Wooo…”

Then it rolled over, belly up, as a sign of submission.

The other Arcanine looked on, clearly disdaining its companion’s lack of pride, and instead…

“Wooo…”

It nuzzled its big, fluffy head against August.

Watching all this, Irida and Palina—who’d always seen the Lord as a god-like guardian—were dumbfounded.

Is this really the same proud Lord we’ve always known?

As for “rampaging”?

Rampaging? Never heard of it, thought the Arcanine.

Of course, the proper procedure still had to be followed—August sprinkled a bit of calming balm on both Arcanine, and they dutifully completed the “subjugation” process.

The system prompt sounded in August’s mind.

[You have subdued Arcanine using intimidation. Title acquired: “Despicable Trainer.”]

August ignored the system’s “praise,” focusing on the line below.

[Reward options will unlock after your previous selection.]

August: “….”

So if I don’t pick from those three, you’re not giving me anything else? System, be reasonable!

He pushed the thought aside for now.

He turned to the still-stunned Irida and Palina. “The Arcanine are calmed.”

“Huh? …Oh!” The two snapped out of it.

Palina, staring at the two Arcanine—now indistinguishable by eye—fumbled for their names before finally figuring out which was which by calling to them.

“Irida, what are you going to do?”

With only one Lord, she’d never have considered living with it—tradition dictated the Warden should care for but not live beside the Lord. But with two…

After a moment’s thought, Irida made up her mind. “I’ll stay with them—together, we’ll protect this land!”

Irida pumped her fists, cheering, “Go for it, Palina!”

“…I told you, don’t call me that.”

“I’ll remember, Palina!” Irida replied, grinning on purpose.

...

Jubilife Village

The villagers, living their ordinary lives, suddenly found the sky growing dark.

Looking up, they saw a massive green shape hovering overhead.

“What is that…?”

As countless stunned villagers watched, Rayquaza slowly descended over the village.

Kamado, hearing the commotion, rushed out to reassure everyone.

But seeing Rayquaza and feeling the oppressive (ozone-rich) aura radiating from it, even Kamado—who’d always believed humans and Pokémon could never truly coexist—found himself, for the first time, thinking maybe humans should get along with Pokémon.

And just as this thought crossed his mind, a familiar voice boomed down from Rayquaza’s head.

“Mr. Kamado, are you out here to welcome me?”

Kamado looked up to see August, with Irida beside him, leaping down from Rayquaza’s head.

“August… and Irida?” Kamado’s brain nearly short-circuited.

Especially when August calmly recalled Rayquaza into its Poké Ball—Kamado’s brain simply crashed.

That’s his Pokémon?

August called out, “No need for all this formality—we know each other well enough by now! You’re making me feel embarrassed…”

Kamado finally came to his senses, face darkening.

Who said I was here to welcome you?

But he didn’t argue, instead asking, “That Pokémon just now…?”

“Rayquaza, obviously. Didn’t I tell you I’m from Hoenn’s Draconid clan? Isn’t it natural for every Draconid to have a Rayquaza? Surely there aren’t any Draconids out there without one… right?”

Kamado: “……”

In what world is that natural!?

You think Rayquaza is as common as a Caterpie in Kanto? grumbled Kamado, a native of Johto.

He sighed, giving up on questioning August’s logic. At least, for now, August posed no threat to Jubilife Village.

Even if he did have ill intent, it’s not like Kamado could stop him anyway.

Sometimes surrendering to fate is liberating…

Just then, the rest of the crowd arrived, late as always.

“Where’s Lord Rayquaza? Where is he?” Zinnia called out, looking around.

Kamado, unable to resist, joked, “Is this the Draconid without a Rayquaza you told us about, August?”

August played along, “That’s right. Not having a Rayquaza is a disgrace for us Draconids!”

Zinnia: “???”

August’s words hit her straight in the pride—she instantly went emo.

“I’m not worthy of being a Draconid…” she muttered, squatting in a corner, poking a passing Bibarel with a stick.

Bibarel: “?”

...

Since August had shown a little of his real strength, his relationship with Kamado had grown more relaxed.

Cynthia’s impression was accurate—while Kamado resembled Professor Rowan in appearance, his personality was completely different.

Kamado was dedicated to expanding the frontier for humanity. As long as it didn’t threaten the village or the survival of its people, nothing else really mattered to him.

...

Origin Rocket Team HQ

August fiddled with the [Flame Plate] in his hands.

At least there’s some payoff to all this “subjugating”…

But the system rewards being locked away felt like something stuck in his throat.

He opened the system interface again.

Staring at the same three choices:

[1. Azure Flute]
[2. Arceus (Avatar)]
[3. Legendary Plate]

If I really have to pick, I’ll go with the one with the lowest risk…

Of the three, the safest seemed…

August’s gaze lingered on the [Azure Flute].

In theory, as long as I don’t foolishly blow the [Azure Flute], nothing bad should happen…

And then—

System, I pick the [Legendary Plate]!

Heh, did you think I’d really pick the [Azure Flute]? Of course not—I’m choosing the [Legendary Plate]!

It’s only useful to Arceus, so it’s basically harmless to me. That’s exactly why I’m choosing it.

A flash of white light—and a Plate appeared in his hand, distinctly different from ordinary Plates, inscribed with star-shaped patterns.

Comparing it to the [Flame Plate], the [Legendary Plate] felt more ancient and solid, though in his hands, both weighed exactly the same.

“Mew?”

Mew drifted over, and at the sight of the [Legendary Plate] in August’s hand, stared at him in shock.

August patted her head. “Don’t worry, I just stumbled onto it. It’s not what you think—stop overthinking.”

Mew nodded furiously, clapping her little paws over her mouth in a vow of secrecy.

August: “…What exactly are you imagining?”

Still, just to be safe, August called Gengar and stashed the [Legendary Plate] inside its belly.

He figured it was probably harmless, but a Plate representing Arceus’s power was not something he wanted to wake up next to, finding it transformed into a llama in the middle of the night.

Once the Plate was safely hidden, someone knocked at the door.

August had Mew open it.

Standing outside, in a white sunhat, were Lillie and Lusamine.

Lillie looked a little nervous. “Teacher… would you go on a picnic with us?”

“A picnic?”

August’s gaze shifted between Lillie and Lusamine.

Knowing Lillie, she’d never be this forward—he was pretty sure it was Lusamine’s idea.

But…

Under Lillie’s anxious stare and Lusamine’s expectant gaze, August smiled and agreed, “Of course, I’d love to!”

But before Lusamine could celebrate—

August added, “But if we’re all going, we’ll need a lot of ingredients, so let’s plan for tomorrow, okay?”

Lusamine’s expression froze.

She’d imagined just the three of them, not a group outing…

After sending off the disappointed Lusamine, August turned back to check his new system rewards for subduing Arcanine.

[1. Azure Flute]
[2. Arceus (Avatar)]
[3. Support System Unlock]

Huh?

The first two didn’t surprise him, but what was this [Support System]?

August chose it without hesitation.

A golden light flashed onto his phone. The app opened by itself, revealing a new icon.

Inside were rows of Pokémon icons.

The most prominent: three golden icons—Kleavor, Lilligant, and the two Arcanine.

And the rest…

Wait a second—aren’t these all the Alpha Pokémon Zinnia and the others caught?

---

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!