Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [367]

After sending out Aegislash, Leon threw himself fully into the battle.

“Aegislash, [Shadow Ball]!”

In an instant, Aegislash shifted into its Blade Forme. A [Shadow Ball] formed at the tip of its blade and launched toward Milotic as the Pokémon surged forward at high speed.

“Milotic, dodge it—then [Water Pulse]!”

Milotic twisted its body with graceful precision, evading the attack. A ripple of water energy then shot toward Aegislash. In response, Aegislash immediately switched to Shield Forme, its stance solidifying.

The [Water Pulse] struck, but against the shield’s defenses, it barely left a scratch.

Aegislash’s stats were notoriously extreme between its two forms—either aggressively powerful or defensively impenetrable. This made it notoriously difficult to use well in actual battle. Timing the form switches required absolute precision from the Trainer.

But in the hands of a master like Leon?

Aegislash might as well be called “Mini-Deoxys.”

And Leon was exactly the kind of Trainer who could time those switches perfectly.

Just as the Water Pulse began to fade, Leon gave his next command: “Aegislash—[Night Slash]!”

The moment the move ended, Aegislash was already close enough to strike. Its eyes flared with dark light, body flashing back to Blade Forme as it darted forward like a shadow and slashed clean across Milotic’s body.

Milotic let out a sharp cry—the kind that made your chest ache just to hear.

“[Surf]!”

Milotic retaliated instantly, summoning a massive wave that surged across the entire battlefield toward Aegislash.

“[King’s Shield]!”

Leon issued the command without hesitation.

Aegislash returned to Shield Forme, a shimmer of blue light rising from its surface.

The tidal wave crashed over it—but Aegislash stood firm, unmoving, like a reef in the ocean.

Cynthia’s brow creased slightly. The way Aegislash could shift so seamlessly between offense and defense… incredibly annoying.

Was there a move that could disrupt that cycle?

She quickly ran through Milotic’s known moves in her mind. Then, noticing the swirling currents left behind from Surf, inspiration struck.

“Milotic—[Whirlpool]!”

“Mii~uu!”

Milotic’s body shimmered, tail slicing through the water. The lingering currents suddenly twisted and surged into a vortex, trapping Aegislash within a spiraling whirlpool.

Commentator: "Whoa! It looks like Cynthia’s found a way to counter Aegislash!"

Against a Pokémon like Aegislash, whose offensive and defensive forms had such a wide gap in stats, continuous damage was key.

Unless it stayed in Shield Forme indefinitely, the moment Aegislash switched to Blade Forme, even a move like [Whirlpool]—normally just a mild annoyance—could become deadly.

Of course, staying in Shield Forme permanently meant giving up on offense entirely… which would be a slow and painful loss.

Leon’s expression hardened. This was the last thing he’d wanted to see.

But there was no way he’d have Aegislash stay passive—especially not while Milotic was using [Dragon Dance]!

If he let that go unchecked…

“Aegislash—break through with [Sacred Sword]!”

Aegislash returned to Blade Forme, enduring the damage from [Whirlpool] as it glowed with radiant energy and slashed toward Milotic.

But Cynthia had been watching carefully.

“Interrupt [Dragon Dance]—[Surf]!”

Whoosh!

A crashing wave engulfed the charging Aegislash. It tried to slice through the wave with its blade—

But—

WHAM!

The water swept it off its feet and slammed it hard against the ground.

Commentator: "Aegislash is unable to battle!"

The referee raised a flag.

“Mii~uu!”

Milotic chirped happily.

All around the arena, Leon’s supporters and the commentators were stunned. The seemingly invincible Champion had just lost his second Pokémon.

Commentator: "Incredible! Cynthia has taken out two of Leon’s Pokémon in a row! Is this the end of Leon’s undefeated streak?!"

Even Lance looked shaken. It took him a moment to recover before he muttered to August, “Okay… now I believe you were actually being objective earlier.”

August: “…..”

So you didn’t think I was being objective before, huh…

“What do you think Cynthia’s chances are now?” Lance asked.

At present, Cynthia still had one Pokémon in reserve, along with a relatively healthy Milotic. The last remaining threat was Leon’s Charizard—which he was bound to send out next.

Before August could answer, Lance jumped in again, “No matter how you look at it, the momentum’s all on Cynthia’s side!”

August: “Don’t jinx it...”

Seriously, was Lance some kind of plant sent by Leon? August had felt confident about Cynthia’s odds before—but after that kind of “blessing,” he suddenly had a bad feeling.

On the battlefield, Leon took a deep breath.

Only one Pokémon left. No [Dynamax].

And the pressure was thrilling.

“Let’s go, my partner!”

He tossed out his final Poké Ball.

ROAR—!!

Leon’s Charizard landed on the field, blazing with an aura so intense it was visible to the naked eye.

“Raaagh!”

It let out a piercing cry.

Milotic remained composed, gazing at Charizard with an almost serene calm.

Before the battle, Cynthia had given her clear instructions—this Charizard was not to be underestimated.

Milotic tensed, preparing to launch an attack.

And then…

Under the curious gaze of the entire arena, Leon raised his arm and struck a dramatic pose.

A smile crept across his face as he revealed a [Key Stone] embedded in a wristband beneath his glove—gleaming with radiant light.

Then, with a sharp motion, he slashed his arm downward.

“Burn bright—Charizard!”

Charizard was enveloped in a pillar of light. When it emerged—

It had a third horn atop its head, its wings stretched wider and more jagged than before, and several spikes now jutted from near the tip of its tail.

Mega Charizard Y had arrived.

“Leon... [Mega Evolution]?” Lance’s voice cracked with disbelief.

And he wasn’t alone. The entire crowd and commentators were stunned silent.

Leon had never shown signs of using [Mega Evolution] before. The appearance of Mega Charizard Y had caught everyone completely off-guard.

Lance turned to August, only to find that August wasn’t particularly surprised.

“…You saw this coming too?” he asked.

“Not really,” August replied, “but I’m not exactly shocked, either.”

He added calmly, “Leon’s the Champion of Galar. Since he can’t use [Dynamax] anymore, switching to a [Mega Stone] as a substitute makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?”

---

T/N: CAHRIZARD WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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!