Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [329]

When Gary returned to the living room, freshly healed by Yellow, he found August looking like a man at the peak of his life—one arm around Gardevoir, one arm holding Mew, and an Eevee curled up lazily in his lap.

Then he remembered what he had gone through.

A pang of grief welled up in Gary’s chest.

“Yo, Gary, you’re back? What’s with that look?” August asked, tilting his head. “Did something happen? Tell me—so I can laugh.”

“Hmph! Hate to disappoint you,” Gary scoffed, chin held high, “but I ran into two bikini babes at Lampurchi Resort. They were so charmed by my looks that they both confessed to me. Now I’m torn over which one to accept.”

“Oh…? That so?”

“Of course! Do I look like the kind of man who needs to lie?” Gary said, puffing his chest.

August gave him a look and shook his head. “Fooling me is one thing, but fooling yourself? That’s just sad.”

He didn’t know exactly what Gary had gone through, but the guy still hadn’t kicked his tell-tale habit—lying always turned his ears red.

“I’m not lying!” Gary’s face turned crimson.

“Okay, okay, no need to get worked up—”

Blue walked into the room mid-squabble and sighed. This again.

She handed a file to August. “You’ve only been gone a few days, but there’s been no new activity from Team Rocket. Both the Kanto and Johto branches have gone completely quiet.”

August flipped through the intel.

It was a League-compiled report, cross-referencing field activity. Rocket sightings across Kanto had plummeted in the last week—lower even than after the Azalea Town debacle.

“Could it be everything I did in Hisui had a ripple effect on Team Rocket in the present?” August muttered, stroking his chin.

But he quickly shook his head.

If he really had that much influence, Rocket wouldn’t still be classified as a criminal organization.

In his eyes, this sudden silence could mean only one thing: something bigger was brewing.

By now, Giovanni had probably finished creating Deoxys.

Two Deoxys, in fact.

And the fact that Giovanni could stay this quiet with that kind of firepower?

That could only mean he was after something huge.

The Ultimate Weapon in Kalos?
Zekrom and Reshiram in Unova?
Ultra Beasts in Alola?
Eternatus in Galar?
The Paradox Pokémon in Paldea?

August ran through a mental list of high-level threats Giovanni might be targeting, then sighed.

The Pokémon world was too vast. If Giovanni truly wanted to vanish, tracking him down would be nearly impossible.

Sure, he could always borrow Dialga and time-travel back to when Giovanni was still a bug-catching rookie...

But, one—he wasn’t the type to bully children.

And two—He only stirred up trouble in Hisui because it was Arceus’s turf. If anything went sideways, Arceus had his back.

Messing with space-time recklessly in the modern world? That would be asking for disaster.

So, for now, he shelved all things Rocket.

Instead, he asked, “Has the venue for the World Championship opening ceremony been finalized?”

This was one of the reasons he’d rushed back—he didn’t want to miss the start of the tournament.

If he missed it, he’d have to wait another cycle.

Blue nodded. “I was just about to tell you. Do you remember Scott from Hoenn—the guy who invited us to the Battle Frontier’s grand opening?”

“Yeah, the outfit alone is hard to forget. Why?”

“Well, to boost the Battle Frontier’s visibility, he bid to sponsor this year’s World Championship. And he won. So both the opening ceremony and finals will be held at the Battle Frontier.”

That caught August by surprise. “They’re holding the World Championship at the Battle Frontier?”

“That’s right.”

August rubbed his chin. “That’s… a bit unfair to trainers from Galar and Paldea.”

Both regions relied heavily on their unique regional mechanics—[Dynamax] and [Terastallization], respectively. But both were also location-locked. Outside their native regions, those transformations couldn’t be used.

Compared to [Mega Evolution] or [Z-Moves], which could be used anywhere, this was a significant tactical disadvantage.

“[Dynamax] and [Terastallization] users are going to get nerfed hard…”

He could already imagine the headlines when the media caught wind of it:

‘Dethroned! Leon Falls Without Dynamax—Champion Crumbles on Global Stage!’

August looked at Blue. “If Leon’s out of the running, who’s the new favorite to win?”

“I pulled up the rankings earlier,” Blue said, opening a chart on her tablet.

At the top were Cynthia and Steven, dominating the predictions.

Leon and Diantha—both hobbled by the lack of regional mechanics—were in third and fourth.

Trailing them were Geeta, Wallace, and Lance, who was all the way down in seventh—just ahead of Caitlin from Unova’s Elite Four.

August studied the rankings, deep in thought.

Cynthia’s the top pick to win. I’ve beaten Cynthia.

Logically, that means I should be—

Just kidding.

Without using legendary Pokémon, a full 6v6 match could go either way.

Still, August couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow. “Why is Lance ranked so low?”

He forwarded the rankings to Lance, tagging him with a cheeky @.

Lance, buried in paperwork, paused mid-stamp.

“...You tagged me for this?”

If I see you at the World Championship, August, you better run.

---

“Web of Sparks! Snaring your attention!”

“Good morning, afternoon, and evening! Welcome to the Tree Talks Back—this is your host, Iono!”

The moment Iono opened her stream with her signature line, her chat exploded.

【Heard you got invited as a Worlds commentator—is it true?!】
【Correction: the sole official online commentator for the World Championship!】
【My favorite streamer got chosen as Worlds’ official commentator! I’m crying with pride!】

Iono’s face lit up with joy.

“I was planning to surprise you all with this announcement today, but I guess the cat’s out of the bag, huh?”

“It’s all thanks to your support~!”

This was a huge milestone in Iono’s career—going from a niche variety streamer (and occasional disaster) to the online voice of the Pokémon World Championship.

Iono had already made up her mind: this was her chance to finally shed her infamous titles—like “The Inmate Streamer” and “Ghost of the Gym Leader Parties”—and reshape her public image.

Just as that resolve formed in her heart, a new SC popped up on her Rotom Phone:

【OfficeSlackerToday】: Oh? Iono, you’re an official commentator now? I’m competing this year. Maybe we’ll run into each other on-site.

Her smile froze.

No… not him again.

The chat exploded again.

【It’s HIM!! He’s back!】
【How many Gym Leaders have you busted this week?】
【Is he going for the Masters Eight this time?!】

Many of Iono’s followers had discovered her during that wild collab arc with August. His sudden reappearance? Peak hype.

Meanwhile, Iono felt her blood run cold. She leaned toward her mic, voice wary.

“…There haven’t been any new Gym Leader arrests lately, right?”

Ever since that incident, she’d noticed her fellow Gym Leaders looking at her funny during meetings.

If this happens again, I’m going to be stuck eating alone at every regional conference.

【Iono’s got PTSD lmao】
【“Ghost of the League” is a dope nickname tho】
【Relax. Even Koga’s already reformed and running for Elite Four in Johto.】

Those last messages gave her some comfort.

Maybe it’s fine... Maybe even if something happens again, it’ll blow over—

Wait. That’s still bad!

She shook her head violently, trying to clear her thoughts—

Only to realize that August had screen-capped her little panic moment and messaged again:

【OfficeSlackerToday】: See you at the Battle Frontier :)

Iono: “!”

She’d always wanted to meet this mystery chatter in person—had even suggested a collab. But now?

She had a really bad feeling.

He wouldn’t arrest me live on air… right?

---

Oblivious to Iono’s inner turmoil, August closed the streaming app and opened a group chat.

The chat was buzzing.

Gary had already forgotten his earlier trauma and was now bragging in full swing:

【GaryTheGreat】: This time, August and I traveled to a place called Hisui—ever heard of it? It’s actually ancient Sinnoh! There, we met the original Galaxy Team. They saw our strength and personally begged us to help calm a rampaging Kleavor!

【Gold】: Kleavor? Is that a new Pokémon species?
【GaryTheGreat】: Excellent question. Kleavor is the evolution of Scyther, found only in Hisui】. I even recorded a video!
【System Notification】: “Kleavor.mp4” uploaded by GaryTheGreat

Cue surprise from Gold, amazement from Diamond and Pearl, and smug laughter from Gary.

August had to admit—when it came to shameless bragging, Gary was impressive.

But considering the trauma he’d likely suffered earlier, August let it slide.

Out on the lawn, August let all his Pokémon out to enjoy the sun.

Slowbro and Psyduck immediately waddled off to play near the pond—always in sync, those two.

Kricketune looked around, curious. This place was nothing like Hisui.

As the newest member, it was quickly dragged off by Gengar to pay respects to Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, and Mew.

Only Salamence and Snorlax remained.

They locked eyes.

Kindred spirits.

“Rooar!”

“Snor—lax!”

Their shared instincts were clear: this guy’s a rival. And my dinner is in danger.

To both Salamence and Snorlax, food theft was a crime punishable by death.

Before August could mediate, Indeedee returned from shopping with ingredients, ready to celebrate August’s homecoming with a feast.

And then—she saw it.

Salamence and Snorlax, glaring at each other like enemies.

“Dee...?”

She froze.

Wait... this Snorlax is August’s Pokémon now?

If August = her boss, and Snorlax = August’s Pokémon...

Then she = Snorlax’s chef.

The realization nearly knocked her out.

Now I have to feed BOTH Salamence and Snorlax?!

...

The good news: the food feud was solved with a feast.

The bad news: Indeedee nearly passed out from exhaustion.

August had to use the [Power of Viridian] just to help her recover. He promised to request extra kitchen staff from HQ immediately.

With that reassurance, she finally regained the will to live.

After calming his two gluttons and coaxing Indeedee back from despair, August flopped onto the couch, hoping for a break.

And then he saw it.

Mew, lounging nearby with an ice cream cone, watching the chaos unfold like it was theater.

The moment it noticed August’s gaze, Mew sensed danger and tried to flee—only to get scooped up midair.

“Standing there watching and not helping? Really?”

“Mewww~!”

Mew squealed under his mock-scolding, putting on its best I’m innocent face.

Eevee leapt into August’s lap to join the chaos.

Within moments, the couch was a battlefield.

Gardevoir calmly covered Togepi’s eyes, who had toddled over curiously.

But Gardevoir herself kept watching—her gaze fixed on August and Mew, something strange flickering in her eyes.

---

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!