Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [143]

“August, I just saw your message. You’re saying Koga is compromised?” Lance asked.

In his mind, Koga had always been a reserved but dependable Gym Leader.

Hearing August’s accusation left him struggling to believe it.

If even Koga was a problem, then who in the League could be trusted?

“That’s right. I have solid proof,” August replied confidently.

Proof that Koga had so generously provided himself.

Lance fell silent.

He knew August wasn’t the type to make baseless accusations.

Which meant—Koga really was part of Team Rocket?

A chill ran down Lance’s spine.

First Lt. Surge, now Koga.

Just how deep did Team Rocket’s infiltration into the League go?

Thankfully… there was August.

At this moment, Lance felt that recruiting August into the International Police might have been the best decision he had ever made.

“What’s your plan for dealing with Koga?”

Lance knew Koga was a master of poison.

Under normal battle conditions, he wasn’t too difficult to handle.

But in an unrestricted fight, Koga could be very tricky.

“Want me to send a team of investigators to back you up?”

He knew August was understaffed, so he offered reinforcements.

“No need—”

“Don’t try to act tough—”

Before Lance could finish, August flipped the camera on his communicator.

Lance stopped mid-sentence.

On-screen, Koga sat on the ground, wrists bound in handcuffs.

“???”

Lance stared, dumbfounded.

He carefully examined Koga, making sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

Then he checked the timestamp on August’s earlier message.

This… this all happened in just a few hours?

“…I need you to come over and take these prisoners off my hands,” August said casually.

“It’s just me and Blue here, and we don’t have the manpower to handle them.”

Lance snapped back to reality. “I’m on my way.”

As the call ended, August tucked his communicator away and turned to Koga.

“Lance will be here soon. Any last words, Mr. Koga?”

“…Want to switch sides?”

Koga remained silent.

August clicked his tongue.

“Man, you and Surge are the same. Is Team Rocket really worth your loyalty?”

Koga finally spoke.

“Raid On the City! Knock out, Evil Tusks!”

August sighed dramatically.

“Yes, yes. ‘Attack the city, defeat them, you are the fangs of evil.’ I’ve heard Team Rocket’s slogan a hundred times already.”

Then, his expression shifted slightly.

“You’re a father, aren’t you? Why not think about your daughter instead?”

“…Your daughter’s name is Janine, right?”

At the mention of her name, Koga’s cold expression faltered for the first time.

He fell into a brief silence.

Then, after a long pause, he muttered, “…She will understand. This is a ninja’s destiny.”

August shook his head.

“If you cling to outdated traditions instead of embracing the future, one day, you will be left behind.”

“I’ll leave the door open for you, Koga. If you ever decide to turn over a new leaf, I won’t shut you out.”

Koga remained silent.

The only sound left in the room was Baby Lugia yawning.

...

Later, with Gardevoir’s help, August was teaching Slowpoke how to use [Zen Headbutt].

Despite looking dopey, Slowpoke’s learning ability was actually quite decent.

In just a short time, it had already grasped the basics.

When Lance finally arrived, the first thing he saw was Slowpoke flinging a Koffing across the field using psychic energy.

August nodded approvingly.

“Good job. Remember that feeling.”

Then, turning to Lance—who had landed with Dragonite—he pointed behind him.

“Koga and his men are all here.”

Lance took a moment to assess the situation before nodding.

“You’ve got a decent Slowpoke there.”

Then, looking at the pile of unconscious ninja apprentices, he sighed.

“I’ll take care of the prisoners. What do you plan to do with Koga? Last I checked, the Kanto Division’s prison was still mostly empty.”

August waved a hand dismissively.

“Eh, I’ll leave him to you. Kanto Division is just a handful of people—we don’t have time to guard and interrogate prisoners.”

Blue rolled her eyes.

If August really didn’t have time, then why did he personally interrogate Sabrina in his own underground bunker?

Lance, however, didn’t question it.

He understood the situation in Kanto Division.

Then, after a moment, he asked, “How exactly did you get evidence of Koga being in Team Rocket?”

“Oh, that?”

August casually recounted the series of events.

By the time he was finished, Lance didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

This wasn’t even baiting a confession.

This was bombing the pond and waiting for the fish to float up.

“…Did you even consider the possibility that Koga wasn’t in Team Rocket?”

Lance rubbed his temples.

But then he thought about August’s track record so far…

Fine. He had to admit—August’s intuition hadn’t failed yet.

Still—

“You know, this puts me in a tough spot,” Lance muttered.

“What now?”

“Indigo League is about to host the Kanto Conference. And now, we’ve lost Lt. Surge and Koga. On top of that, you slapped a restructuring order on Cerulean Gym…”

“With all these missing Gym Leaders, a lot of trainers are going to be affected.”

August blinked.

“…Wait. It’s been two months since Lt. Surge was arrested. You still haven’t picked a new Gym Leader for Vermilion?”

“Not for lack of trying,” Lance sighed.

“We found a few candidates strong enough to pass the tests, but they all got eliminated in later evaluations.”

He sent August a file.

August skimmed through it on his tablet.

And immediately frowned.

“…These guys all have suspected ties to Team Rocket.”

Lance sighed again.

“According to our intel, a number of strong candidates who were interested in the position were mysteriously attacked by Team Rocket.

“As of now, at least ten trainers are hospitalized because of it.”

“As a result, many trainers dropped out of the selection process out of fear.”

“So the ones who actually passed the strength evaluation? They all have some connection to Team Rocket.”

August let out a low whistle.

“…They’re rigging the process.”

“Physically eliminating the competition so only their people can qualify.”

“This is straight-up organized crime tactics.”

August shook his head.

“And the League isn’t doing anything about this?”

Lance hesitated for a moment before responding.

“We did attempt several raids on Team Rocket to cut off their influence… but they were always one step ahead.”

“Out of ten operations, eight resulted in empty warehouses.”

“One was a trap, and the last one? We caught some low-level grunts—nothing valuable.”

August sighed.

“…So the League got completely played.”

“What about protecting the candidates?” August asked. “You know, giving them actual security?”

Lance shook his head.

“The League Council debated it… but their final decision was that if a trainer can’t even survive Team Rocket’s attacks, they wouldn’t be able to handle being a Gym Leader anyway.”

“…They’re not wrong, but still.”

If the League had to constantly babysit its Gym Leaders, then what was the point of them in the first place?

Still—

“You mean to tell me that, despite all this, you still can’t find a better Gym Leader than Lt. Surge?”

Lance sighed again.

“…Unfortunately? No.”

There was a brief silence.

Then, as if remembering something, Lance asked, “By the way, about that Silver kid you mentioned…”

August smirked.

“You find him yet?”

---

Viridian Gym

Giovanni sat in his office, quietly reviewing the intelligence reports in his hand, his expression unreadable.

Beside him, Matori stood rigidly, barely concealing her anxiety.

The moment she received news that Lance was flying to Fuchsia City, she had sensed something was wrong.

She had tried to contact Koga, but as expected—no response.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, she had immediately reported the incident to Giovanni.

Giovanni’s fingers tapped rhythmically against his armrest before finally coming to a stop. He looked up at Matori.

“…What’s the damage?”

Matori took a breath and quickly delivered her report.

“Our undercover agents—disguised as rookie trainers—confirmed that Fuchsia Gym has been sealed off by the League.”

“Three of our safehouses in Fuchsia City… Two have already been raided. The third, the most secure one, remains undetected for now.”

She said this last part with a heavy heart.

Koga was out of contact.

The Gym was sealed.

Team Rocket’s safehouses had been compromised.

The implications were obvious.

However—contrary to Matori’s expectations, Giovanni did not erupt in anger.

In fact, he chuckled.

“How amusing… First Surge, now Koga. Out of my three Kanto Executives, only Sabrina remains.”

“And in Johto, just one rogue faction has thrown my Four Admins into chaos…”

“Tell me, Matori—when was the last time Team Rocket faced setbacks like these?”

Matori hesitated.

Giovanni’s current mood worried her.

But she still answered honestly.

“Not since you took control of Team Rocket, sir. For the past decade, nothing like this has ever happened.”

When Giovanni first inherited Team Rocket, their operations were limited to Kanto.

But under his leadership, they had expanded rapidly, extending their reach across Kanto, Johto, the Sevii Islands—even establishing underground networks worldwide.

But now—

“Our core territory, Kanto, has suffered consecutive blows.”

“And worse… we don’t even know who our enemy is.”

Matori immediately bowed.

“The fault lies with our intelligence and strategy divisions. We take full responsibility.”

Giovanni shook his head and stood up.

“No. The real problem is that Team Rocket has grown complacent.”

“Notify Dr. Fuji—we’re moving to the final phase of the Mewtwo Project.”

“Increase reinforcements for Sabrina. She must capture Articuno.”

Matori’s breath caught slightly.

“Yes, sir!”

Her pulse quickened with excitement.

Finally…

Team Rocket was about to launch its counterattack.

---

August had no idea that Giovanni was already moving forward with the Mewtwo Project.

As he strolled down the streets of Fuchsia City, a peculiar sensation crept over him—

The feeling of being watched.

“Gardevoir, do you sense anything following us?” August asked.

Gardevoir’s eyes glowed blue as she meticulously scanned the area.

After a moment, she shook her head.

“…Strange.”

His [Aura] had definitely picked up something unusual.

But if even Gardevoir couldn’t detect it—

Just as August was pondering the anomaly—

A Fearow suddenly dove from the sky, its sharp beak aimed straight at his back.

Blue, who had been glancing around in search of the supposed stalker, froze when she caught sight of the massive bird.

Her body stiffened, and though her heart pounded in terror, she forced herself to shout—

“AUGUST, LOOK OUT!”

August had already sensed the attack.

Hearing Blue’s warning, he swiftly activated his [Aura] as a defensive shield.

At the same time, Gardevoir’s eyes flared as she attempted to subdue the Fearow with [Psychic].

But the moment her energy touched the Fearow—

She hesitated.

That brief pause was all it took.

The bird closed in.

Blue watched in horror as the Fearow’s beak neared August’s back—

Then, right before impact—

The Fearow’s body suddenly… shifted.

What had been a menacing bird of prey instantly morphed into a small, pink feline creature.

It let out a playful chirp and landed lightly on August’s shoulder.

“Mew~!”

The legendary Pokémon Mew curled its long, slender tail and peered at August with bright, mischievous eyes.

It covered its mouth with its tiny paws, giggling as if to say—

I got you! You were scared, weren’t you?

Clearly—

That “Fearow” from earlier had been Mew in disguise.

August was momentarily speechless.

But beside him, Blue’s knees nearly gave out.

Her ornithophobia still hadn’t completely healed.

Watching August nearly get impaled by a giant bird had pushed her to the brink.

She could still feel her heart hammering against her ribs.

August noticed her trembling and patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Then, turning to Mew, he deadpanned—

“You didn’t scare me. But you did nearly give my friend a heart attack.”

“So… how do you plan to compensate her for emotional damages?”

Mew—who had just been giggling mischievously—froze mid-laugh.

Its mouth hung open slightly.

“…Mew?!”

---

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：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!