Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [323]

On a clearing near the riverside, an Alpha Buizel narrowed its eyes, its inflatable neck sac puffed up as torrents of water spiraled around its body. It stared down its opponent with sharp intensity...

Standing across from it, Psyduck looked utterly confused. Compared to the battle-ready Buizel, it gave off the vibe of someone who’d just wandered in by accident.

Buizel felt provoked by that dazed expression.

“Buli!”

It let out a threatening cry, trying to drive Psyduck off its territory.

“Gwaa?”

Psyduck scratched its head, genuinely confused about why the Buizel seemed so angry.

Seeing it still playing dumb, Buizel finally lost its patience...

Water began swirling with force around its forearms.

Swish—!

In a flash, Buizel darted forward, grazing past Psyduck with a powerful strike. It landed behind it, striking a cool pose.

But it hadn’t even finished looking cool for three seconds...

Buizel suddenly clutched its swelling forearm and collapsed, its face twisted in agony.

“Buli (That hurts...)”

Meanwhile, Psyduck...

Psyduck stood up, stared blankly at the fallen Buizel, then touched its own beak with one hand and scratched its head with the other, completely lost.

What just happened...?

Wasn’t I the one who got hit? Why did it fall down?

Akari, who had watched the entire scene unfold, couldn’t take her eyes off Psyduck’s beak. She recalled how it had taken out that Alpha Shinx earlier in one blow. Silently, she opened a notebook and began a new field entry:

“A Material Harder Than Steel — A Study on Psyduck’s Beak.”

...

From that day on, tales began to circulate throughout the Obsidian Fieldlands.

They spoke of a “Steel-Beaked Psyduck” — a fearsome Pokémon that, using nothing but its iron beak, had consecutively defeated two Alpha Pokémon. It was crowned the king among Psyducks...

At this moment, that so-called king was sitting on a picnic blanket, stuffing its face with Pokéblocks.

“Slow down. There’s no Salamence here to fight you for it...”

“Gwaa!”

Behind August, Zinnia was diligently giving him a back massage in hopes of earning back her responsibility for taking care of Rayquaza.

She really didn’t need a break. Not one bit!

But August completely ignored her desperate flattery.

Heh. You think you can get off the hook after what you pulled?

Meanwhile, Akari was trying to talk sense into August. “Mr. August, Lake Verity is far too dangerous. There’s an Alpha Gyarados there that’s incredibly strong. If something happens, even the rescue team might not be able to reach us...”

No, you're underestimating yourself.

August was well aware that Akari had the potential to become a top-tier Hisuian prodigy.

But before he could say anything, Zinnia jumped in, her face full of sycophantic cheer. “Does someone like Lord August need a rescue team? An Alpha Gyarados is nothing — he could swat it away with ease! Right, Lord August?”

August: “......”

Please. Shut up. You’re destroying my humble, reasonable image.

Still, all things considered — while August wouldn’t claim to be a superhuman — an Alpha Gyarados really wasn’t a big deal for him.

So, he simply smiled and looked toward Akari.

Seeing his resolve, she reluctantly agreed.

Lake Verity is big... there’s no way we’d just randomly bump into the Alpha Gyarados... right?

...

Lake Verity sat at the northwest corner of the Obsidian Fieldlands. From what August could tell, it hadn’t changed much since the Sinnoh era.

At August’s insistence, Zinnia stood at the edge of the lake and shouted at the top of her lungs:

“Azelf, are you home?! Azelf, are you there?!”

“Azelf?” Akari blinked. “What’s—”

She never finished the question. The lake suddenly began to churn.

A Gyarados emerged from beneath the surface. Zinnia froze, her triumphant expression immediately crumbling.

“It’s a Gyarados!”

It had noticed them and was charging up power. Akari’s voice went tight with urgency. “Mr. August, we need to get out of here!”

[Hyper Beam] was no joke.

“No need to worry.”

August tossed out a Poké Ball, releasing Slowbro in front of them.

Akari: “?”

She didn’t recognize the species, but it didn’t look strong. Could this really block [Hyper Beam]?

Slowbro: O_O?

It blinked at the approaching Gyarados and its charging beam, a giant question mark floating in its head.

Fortunately, August’s training had paid off — its reaction was quick.

The next moment, a searing beam of energy burst from Gyarados’s mouth.

BOOM!

Akari squeezed her eyes shut.

But... nothing hurt. When she cautiously peeked, she saw that Slowbro had somehow pulled the Shellder off its tail and was holding it in front like a shield.

The smoldering Shellder shell had absorbed the [Hyper Beam].

With a casual flick of the scorched shell, Slowbro — no, Slowpoke — retaliated with [Ice Beam].

A beam of freezing white light shot toward the Gyarados.

Crack—

Still recovering from [Hyper Beam’s] recoil, Gyarados couldn’t move in time. Ice began to form rapidly across its body, encasing it in a solid shell that dragged it down into the lake’s depths.

Having finished the fight, Slowpoke closed its eyes, finally able to enjoy its long-lost freedom.

After all, ever since evolving into a Slowbro, it hadn’t once experienced the joy of napping belly-down.

Just as it was about to lay down—

CHOMP!

Its tail stung with pain.

Somehow, the Shellder had latched back onto its tail.

A flash of light.

Slowpoke → Slowbro.

Slowbro: O_O

It stood there, its soul clearly leaving its body. It lost the will to fight.

Akari looked over curiously, prompting August to explain, “This is Slowbro. That earlier form was its pre-evolution, Slowpoke. It evolves when a Shellder bites its tail. Ah, right — you wouldn’t know what a Shellder is. Hisui doesn’t have them. Anyway, Slowpoke and Shellder are symbiotic.”

Akari, ever the eager learner, quickly jotted it down:

“The Evolution and De-evolution of Slowbro — A Study of the Slowpoke-Shellder Symbiosis.”

Just then, Psyduck — having witnessed Slowbro’s suffering — waddled over to offer comfort.

It barely took two steps before tripping over a pebble and face-planting on the ground.

“......”

August, having just turned around, fell into stunned silence.

Are these two really going to help me win the World Championship...?

Maybe it was time to start training his actual core team again.

So, August released his third Pokémon.

“Roooar!”

Salamence burst out and immediately began rubbing its massive head against August affectionately.

Akari watched in awe, scribbling another note: “Another Pokémon I don’t recognize...”

“Is this one of yours too, Mr. August? You two seem really close.”

“Well... we are close, sure. But it’s not rubbing against me because of friendship.”

Seeing her confused look, August took a large pouch of Pokéblocks from Gengar.

“Pace yourself. We’re not in Kanto anymore.”

Salamence nodded eagerly.

Then, with speed that left Akari dumbfounded, it devoured the entire pouch — a month’s supply for most Pokémon — in seconds.

“Go on. Call out that Alpha Gyarados.”

August patted Salamence, who gave a satisfied rumble and flapped its wings, soaring over Lake Verity.

“ROAAR!”

It roared a taunt, its savage aura rolling out in waves.

Like a stone thrown into a still lake, the challenge sent ripples through the area.

Within moments, the water below churned violently.

Then—A [Hydro Pump] shot from beneath the surface, aiming straight for Salamence.

Salamence narrowed its eyes, unimpressed. It dodged effortlessly and retaliated, firing a [Dragon Pulse] straight into the lake.

A violet shockwave split the air and slammed into the water’s surface.

BOOM!

Water erupted. The energy shock surged through the depths.

Something down below had been truly provoked.

With a furious roar, an enormous Alpha Gyarados — nearly double the size of an average one — burst from the lake, flying up toward Salamence with rage in its eyes.

Dark energy gathered around its fangs, forming a monstrous spectral jaw—

[Crunch]

With its strength, it could tear through solid steel.

But just as it lunged, Salamence — who’d looked like it was about to fight to the death — flashed a cunning grin and abruptly veered away.

Snap!

Gyarados bit nothing but air, nearly shattering its own jaw.

“...?”

While Gyarados was stunned, Salamence grinned savagely.

A green, draconic aura erupted around its body.

It dove straight down — [Dragon Rush]

BOOM!

The impact sent Gyarados crashing back to the lake below.

SPLASH!

Waves exploded upward as it slammed into the water.

A Poké Ball flew from August’s hand.

Click. Gyarados was captured.

Just as he gestured for Salamence to keep searching for Azelf, a long-dormant voice echoed in his mind.

[Achievement Unlocked: Hello, Hisui!]
[You’ve used conventional means to capture three Alpha Pokémon in the Hisui region. Title earned: “Hello, Hisui!”]

[Choose your reward]:

• Instant recharge for teleportation

• Friend Voucher ×1

• Azure Flute

August glanced at his system progress. Capturing three Alphas had brought his teleport charge to 30%.

Without hesitation, he picked, “Option two.”

Shing—

His phone glowed with a soft golden light.

The app auto-opened. In addition to the teleportation icon, a new green symbol appeared.

---

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!