Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [363]

Battle Frontier
Central Arena

Because he had plans with Cynthia, August—very uncharacteristically—arrived at the stadium early.

Even so, by the time he sat down, the venue was already more than halfway full.

“Leon’s popularity really is something else,” August murmured in amazement.

“Isn’t it?”

A familiar voice came from behind.

August turned to see Lance standing there.

“What a coincidence.”

“Yeah. Such a coincidence,” Lance said, putting emphasis on the word.

“Ahem...”

August cleared his throat, awkwardly trying to brush past it.

At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps reached them—Cynthia arrived, carrying two buckets of popcorn and two tubs of ice cream.

“August, here’s the popcorn you—Lance?”

She blinked as she caught sight of Lance beside August. “You’re here to watch Leon’s match too?”

So it’s Cynthia... well, that explains it, Lance thought.

He’d long suspected that something was off between these two. Silently cursing August in his heart, he replied, “Just had some free time. Thought I’d observe Leon’s battle.”

Ever since dumping all his work on Koga, Lance had come to understand why August kept preaching the virtues of “slacking off.”

Slack for a moment, bliss for a moment. Slack forever, bliss forever.

“I see.”

Cynthia set the popcorn down on the seats.

Then—a blur of pink darted by.

Mew had already dived headfirst into one of the buckets, burying itself in the buttery fluff, sniffing the scent with audible delight.

“Mew~!”

Cynthia: “.....”

She finally understood why August had insisted she buy two extra-large buckets of popcorn.

By now, the stadium had filled with spectators. On the big screen, the commentators appeared—along with guest caster Iono.

As rousing music swelled through the arena, images of Leon and Wallace filled the screen.

On one side stood Leon, the reigning World Champion and idol of countless Trainers. On the other, Wallace—champion of the Contest world, with his own fiercely loyal fanbase.

Cheers erupted like a tidal wave as the two Trainers entered the arena.

---

For balance and viewer experience, the Masters Tournament quarterfinals used standard 3v3 battle rules.

“Who do you think’s gonna win?” Lance asked.

August gave him a look. “You seriously think Wallace stands a chance against Leon?”

“Shh— not so loud.”

Lance nearly choked. He glanced around nervously—nobody seemed to have heard.

“I was just asking out of habit…”

If that got out, people would question whether I’ve completely lost it.

Still, to be fair—

“If Leon can’t use Gigantamax, Wallace might actually stand a chance.”

Wallace specialized in Water-types, and Leon’s ace Charizard was Fire/Flying. On paper, the type advantage was solidly in Wallace’s favor.

And considering he’d succeeded Steven as Hoenn’s next Champion, his strength was without question.

Just as Lance was pondering, August’s voice rang out:

“It’s starting.”

Lance and Cynthia, who had been teasing Mew with popcorn, looked up.

Leon and Wallace had taken their positions.

Wallace led with Ludicolo.

With its wide lily-pad hat and ever-bobbing dance, the Ludicolo bounced onto the field, swaying gleefully.

Leon opened with Rillaboom—Grookey’s final evolution and one of Galar’s starter Pokémon.

Rillaboom, hulking and green-haired, stood proudly before a makeshift drum carved from a tree stump.

He raised his mallets and struck, the booming rhythm echoing across the field.

Ludicolo began bouncing along, swaying in perfect time to the beat.

The match was off to a weirdly harmonious start.

[Both Trainers have sent out their Pokémon. Who will seize victory in this first match? Let’s find out together!]

With the commentator’s spirited narration, Leon struck first.

“Rillaboom—[Drum Beating]!”

Rillaboom’s rhythm intensified, drumming faster and faster.

Tangled roots erupted from beneath the ground, snaking toward Ludicolo like spears.

Wallace reacted instantly. “Tank it—[Rain Dance]!”

Ludicolo didn’t dodge. It took the hit head-on, then used the momentum to launch into a graceful, rhythmic dance.

Clouds quickly gathered overhead.

“[Rain Dance], huh?” August murmured.

He had a good idea of what Wallace was going for.

Rain teams weren’t rare, but they were especially effective with Wallace’s Water-centric lineup.

Raindrops began falling.

Ludicolo, now under rainfall, suddenly became a blur.

[Swift Swim]

Its Speed doubled in the rain—despite taking a direct hit earlier, it now danced circles around Rillaboom, effortlessly evading follow-up attacks.

[Ludicolo is incredibly agile in the rain! Rillaboom’s [Drum Beating] seems to be having little effect!]

Ludicolo spun and wobbled across the battlefield, its rubbery limbs and goofy face naturally taunting.

With the speed advantage, it danced to the beat, continuously toying with Rillaboom.

Lance rubbed his chin. “Wallace really might take the first round.”

Under rain, Ludicolo had Speed on its side. Rillaboom, being a physical attacker, couldn’t even land a hit—it was stuck on defense.

But Leon remained perfectly calm.

“Now, Rillaboom—[Boomburst]!”

Rillaboom stopped drumming and let out a deafening roar.

The beat came to an abrupt halt.

Ludicolo—already conditioned to dance in sync with Rillaboom’s rhythm—froze, startled by the sudden break and the roar that followed.

“Ludicolo!” Wallace called, alarmed.

Leon raised a fist. “Now, Rillaboom—go!”

In a flash, Rillaboom tossed aside his drum. His body glowed white as he launched forward with surprising agility.

[Acrobatics]

With a soaring kick, Rillaboom slammed into the stunned Ludicolo.

That pain finally snapped Ludicolo out of it. “Luu-ba!”

It raised its hands and formed a glowing green orb of energy, then hurled it toward Rillaboom.

[Focus Blast]

Wallace had hoped to force Rillaboom to dodge, then reposition Ludicolo.

But Rillaboom didn’t dodge.

He took the [Focus Blast] straight on—and powered through it.

His arms lit up with green light, forming a massive wooden mallet.

[Wood Hammer]

WHAM!

The hammer crashed down on Ludicolo’s head.

The poor Pokémon saw stars as the world spun.

[Ludicolo is unable to battle. Rillaboom wins!]

Rillaboom let out a roar, pounding his fists against his chest.

Back at the seats, the atmosphere grew a little awkward.

Lance muttered, “That loss felt… sudden.”

There was nothing quite like hyping someone up only to have them faceplant moments later.

August chuckled.

He didn’t blame Lance. It was easy to underestimate Leon’s play if you missed the setup.

From the very beginning, Leon had baited Ludicolo into syncing with Rillaboom’s rhythm—knowing it couldn’t help but dance when it heard music.

Then he broke the rhythm at a critical moment, using [Boomburst] to stun Ludicolo just long enough to close the distance.

A clean trap. Well laid. Well sprung.

Despite the initial loss, Wallace composed himself quickly and sent out his second Pokémon.

With a fierce roar, Gyarados emerged to face Rillaboom.

August leaned forward. “Gyarados, huh? Makes sense. Wallace probably didn’t have many better options...”

In Wallace’s usual lineup, Rillaboom held type advantage over most of his team—Milotic, Swampert, even Whiscash. Gyarados, with its secondary Flying typing, at least had some resistance to Grass moves.

Leon didn’t bother to switch. Seeing Gyarados enter the field, he immediately issued a command:

“Rillaboom—[Drum Beating]!”

A tangle of roots shot up from the ground, surging toward Gyarados.

But Gyarados had anticipated this—it roared and launched itself into the air, narrowly avoiding the roots.

“Gyarados, use [Hurricane]!”

A whirlwind, lined with slicing wind blades, tore through the air toward Rillaboom. The Grass-type barely managed to cross its arms over its chest.

Boom!

The explosion swallowed Rillaboom.

[Rillaboom takes a direct hit from Gyarados’s [Hurricane]!]

But even before the commentator could finish, a flurry of [Leaf Blades] sliced out from the smoke, pelting Gyarados mid-air. The sharp leaves pierced through the gaps in its scales, landing several direct hits. Gyarados roared in pain.

As the smoke finally cleared, the crowd could see Rillaboom still standing.

“So it used [Protect]... That makes sense. Still—Gyarados, use [Hurricane] again!” Wallace called.

Burning with fury, Gyarados howled and summoned another raging windstorm toward Rillaboom.

“Rillaboom—[Boomburst]!”

Rillaboom struck its drum hard, sending a deafening shockwave forward.

The crashing sound collided with the storm in mid-air. The turbulent winds clashed with the blast of sound.

Air pressure trembled. Sonic force shattered. A brief stalemate formed—

—but Gyarados, still fresh and full of energy, broke through. The [Hurricane] swallowed Rillaboom.

August narrowed his eyes, aura energy shimmering faintly in his pupils.

“Rillaboom’s down.”

It had already used up quite a bit of stamina against Ludicolo. There was no way it could survive another clean hit like that.

Sure enough, the referee’s voice echoed seconds later:

[Rillaboom is unable to battle. Gyarados wins!]

Cheers erupted from Wallace’s supporters.

To them, this was a huge step forward. Leon’s most troublesome Pokémon—Rillaboom—was out of commission.

If Wallace played it safe from here on out… maybe, just maybe, he could actually take the win.

That hopeful thought flickered in Wallace’s mind.

Until Leon sent out…

Mr. Rime.

Leon: “Mr. Rime—use [Freeze-Dry].”

[Gyarados is unable to battle. Mr. Rime wins.]

Wallace: “.....”

I take it back. Forget everything I said earlier.

...

The match ended 3-1 in Leon’s favor.

Rillaboom was the only Pokémon he lost.

With just one move—Mr. Rime’s [Freeze-Dry], a Water-type slaying Ice move—Leon effortlessly took down both Gyarados and Milotic, not even giving Wallace the chance to [Mega Evolve].

August suspected that tonight, Wallace would be haunted in his dreams by dancing Mr. Rimes and their cold, cold [Freeze-Dry].

But with this match, Leon had decisively silenced the recent online rumors that he couldn’t win without [Gigantamax].

Leon was back on the throne.

When the match ended, many fans lingered, still cheering Leon’s name as if they couldn’t bear to leave.

August turned to Cynthia. “Feeling the pressure?”

Cynthia smiled wryly. “A little… but let me get through my match with Diantha tomorrow first.”

It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous.

But this wasn’t her first time in the Masters Tournament. Her composure held steady.

“Will you come watch me tomorrow?” she asked.

August answered without hesitation, “Of course.”

Cynthia beamed.

After walking her out, Lance walked over. “Didn’t think you were this serious. You’ve been watching every match.”

August blinked. “What do you mean?”

“The quarterfinals—Leon vs. Wallace today, Cynthia vs. Diantha tomorrow, Steven and I the day after...”

“Oh, I’ve got plans that day. I’ll just watch from home.”

Lance: “....”

---

Meanwhile, in Hisui

Kamado reviewed the new report Akari had brought in.

It contained profiles of several new “Team Rocket” members who had recently appeared in the village.

Gold: A young man with a fishing rod on his back—full of energy. Both he and his Pokémon were... odd.

Silver: Cold-faced but unexpectedly strong. Calm and precise in battle.

Sapphire: Incredibly adept at wilderness survival—possibly more skilled than many survey corps members.

Kamado had no idea where August had found these people. All he knew was: they were a headache.

They’d completely disrupted the quiet life of Jubilife Village.

KNOCK KNOCK

A subordinate burst in. “Chief Kamado! Those Rocket people brought in a ton of new Pokémon!”

Kamado’s expression changed. “Take me there!”

Led to the village center, he found a massive crowd gathered outside Akiho’s pasture. Gasps echoed through the people.

“Make way! Chief Kamado is here!”

The villagers parted, revealing the scene.

And Kamado nearly fainted.

The pasture was crammed full of Pokémon—massive ones. Aggressive-looking. Glowing red eyes. Towering forms.

Alpha Pokémon.

Dozens of them.

“T-this...” Kamado staggered, clutching a nearby subordinate. He pointed a trembling finger at the pen.

“That was us!” Gold grinned, slapping him heartily on the back. “Pretty amazing, huh, old man?”

Silver: “....”

That is not a proud look on his face, Gold. That’s horror.

Gold, how did you interpret that as admiration?

“Ahem...” Kamado choked on air, needing several deep breaths to recover.

“Do you have any idea what kind of damage they could cause if they go berserk?”

He pointed at a ferocious-looking Ursaring. “What if that one breaks loose at night and attacks someone?!”

Before he could finish, Gold called out to the Ursaring.

The massive bear immediately rolled over on its back, exposing its belly like a docile pet.

It looked even more obedient than an Eevee.

“Relax, old man! We’re professionals when it comes to taming Pokémon,” Gold said, scratching its stomach.

Kamado was speechless.

He finally turned on his heel and stormed off, fuming.

The crowd slowly dispersed behind him.

Gold scratched his head. “Why does that guy seem to hate Pokémon?”

Silver sighed. “Did you even read the report August gave you about Hisui?”

“What report?”

Silver facepalmed. “.....”

Of course.

He had no choice but to explain Jubilife’s history and Kamado’s deep-rooted distrust of Pokémon.

Gold nodded seriously. “So that’s it!”

“If you’ve upset him, it’ll be tough for us to operate here,” Silver warned.

Though judging by his tone, he didn’t sound too worried.

Gold leaned against Ursaring, deep in thought. Then his eyes lit up.

“I’ve got it!”

Silver: “...What now?”

“If he hates Pokémon, we’ll just change his mind!” Gold declared.

“It’s not that simple—” Silver started.

But Gold was already excited. “We just have to show him that humans and Pokémon can live in harmony!”

“I’ve got a plan…”

And Silver had a bad feeling about it.

---

Back in the Battle Frontier, August had no idea what chaos was unfolding in Hisui.

At that moment, a new guest arrived at the villa.

The moment the door opened, he spotted a red-haired girl sitting on the carpet, sharing a bag of chips with Celebi and Lugia Jr., all watching TV.

August froze for a beat—then his eyes widened in disbelief.

“Latias? What are you doing here?”

The redhead was none other than Latias, in her human disguise.

The last time they’d seen each other had been shortly after the Hoenn incident. She’d come to thank him for saving the region—though that visit had caused a few misunderstandings.

Now she’d shown up again, unannounced.

“Where’s your brother?”

August glanced around, not spotting Latios.

He remembered clearly: Latias had once given him the [Eon Flute], telling him to call her if he ever wanted to hang out—yet every time, it was the overprotective Latios who answered, glaring daggers.

If Latias was here, Latios couldn’t be far behind.

“I snuck out! If my brother knew I came here, he’d totally lose it,” Latias admitted.

Ever since that incident, Latios had been lecturing her nonstop about keeping her distance from August.

Clearly, she hadn’t listened.

Just then, Mew spotted Latias and promptly leapt into her arms.

...and smeared syrup-covered popcorn all over her.

Latias froze.

“Mew~!”

Mew covered its mouth, giggling mischievously.

“Don’t mind her—she’s been getting more chaotic by the day.” August shot Mew a glare.

Mew stuck out her tongue defiantly.

“But how did you find this place?” August asked.

If he recalled correctly, Latios and Latias lived on an uncharted island. They shouldn’t even know where he was.

Latias glanced down at her syrup-stained clothes, then said, “I snuck into the human world to watch TV… and saw you on screen.”

As for how she found him within the vast Battle Frontier...

Latias blushed. “I could smell you. Even from really far away.”

At those words, Gardevoir’s gaze turned razor-sharp.

Eevee’s ears perked up too.

Only Mew kept laughing like an idiot.

Blue and Sabrina, who had just come back from shopping, walked in on this weirdly tense scene.

...What exactly happened here?

...

The Next Day
Cynthia vs. Diantha

Lance looked at Gardevoir and the red-haired girl beside August, thoroughly confused.

August noticed the stare.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Lance pointed at Latias. “That’s...?”

Bringing another girl to watch Cynthia’s match? You’re really not worried about getting caught?

Seeing his expression, August realized. “Oh—you mean Latias?”

“Latias?” Lance blinked.

“Latias, this is Lance. He’s… kind of a friend. Say hi.”

“What do you mean kind of—”

Before he could finish, the red-haired girl shimmered—and transformed into Latias.

[Hello!]

Lance swallowed his words. “Ahem… never mind.”

He knew August had absurdly good luck with legendary Pokémon—but this was on another level.

Once Lance settled in, the match began.

[Now entering the arena: the two contenders!]

Cynthia in sleek black. Diantha in brilliant white. A stark contrast that set the tone.

Compared to yesterday’s match, today promised real suspense.

“Cynthia...” Diantha gripped her Poké Ball tightly. “This time, I won’t lose.”

[Both Trainers send out their Pokémon! Diantha leads with Gourgeist, while Cynthia opens with Spiritomb! A Ghost vs. Ghost matchup right off the bat!]

Lance turned to August. “So... predictions?”

“Cynthia,” August said instantly.

“Why?”

“Fewer weaknesses.”

“…That’s it?”

August nodded. “Isn’t that enough?”

Lance paused. Come to think of it… it kind of was.

Spiritomb’s only real weakness was Fairy. Gourgeist was weak to Dark and Ghost—both of which Spiritomb had in spades.

The match began.

“Gourgeist—[Moonblast]!”

A shimmering crescent formed before Gourgeist, unleashing a beam of light toward Spiritomb.

“Spiritomb—dodge and use [Will-O-Wisp]!”

Spiritomb teleported sideways with psychic force, then summoned green-blue flames that floated menacingly toward Gourgeist.

“[Phantom Force]!” Diantha shouted.

Knowing Gourgeist was a physical attacker, she couldn’t afford to let it be burned.

Gourgeist vanished into shadows—dodging the flames.

“Stay alert!” Cynthia called.

The moment the words left her mouth, a black vortex opened behind Spiritomb—Gourgeist emerged, striking from behind.

“Take it—then [Will-O-Wisp] again!”

“Wait, at that range—!”

Flames burst around Spiritomb, engulfing Gourgeist point-blank.

Both Pokémon were burned.

But for Cynthia, this wasn’t bad.

Physical attackers like Gourgeist suffered far more from burns than a special tank like Spiritomb.

And Spiritomb, born from 108 souls, shrugged off pain far more easily than a plant-ghost hybrid.

“[Dark Pulse]!”

Spiritomb unleashed a surge of dark energy, slamming into Gourgeist with a scream.

“Return, Gourgeist!” Diantha quickly recalled it. “Your turn—Gardevoir!”

[Diantha switches!]

“Sharp move,” August commented.

Lance nodded. “Yeah. If she’d left Gourgeist out, it would’ve gone down just from the burn.”

With Gardevoir on the field—

“[Mega Evolve]!”

A radiant light burst from Diantha’s chest stone. Gardevoir glowed, then transformed into Mega Gardevoir.

“Nai~!”

The Gardevoir beside August twitched with excitement. Like a fan seeing her idol.

[Diantha’s Gardevoir has Mega Evolved! How will Cynthia respond?]

“[Shadow Ball]!”

Spiritomb fired a pulsating black orb.

“[Hyper Voice]!”

Gardevoir opened her mouth. Soundwaves burst forth—transformed into a Fairy-type move via Pixilate.

Boom!

The two attacks collided. Shadow Ball absorbed some force, but the rest struck Spiritomb directly.

“Spiritomb’s hit!”

Cynthia realized it wasn’t going to hold out long.

“[Phantom Force]!”

Spiritomb vanished.

Gardevoir floated upward, scanning the field carefully.

Then it spotted Spiritomb—emerging from below.

As Gardevoir raised a hand to launch [Moonblast]—

“Spiritomb… [Parting Shot]!”

---

T/N: oughh sorry long chapters 2 5k character chapter then this one is 8k, the next chapters is ELEVEN THOUSAND CHARACTERS, i dont even want to look whats next after...

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!