Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [135]

After finishing their late-night meal, the Pokémon either sprawled out on the carpet to relax or went off to train on their own in the practice area.

August lounged on the couch, idly toying with two [Ghostium Z] crystals and a uniquely designed bracelet in his hands.

In the end, he had chosen the [Z-Crystal], as it was the only one he could actually use at the moment.

The other two rewards—a [Reaper Cloth] and a [Malicious Armor]—were specific evolution items.

The [Reaper Cloth] was needed for Dusclops to evolve into Dusknoir, but if August had wanted a Dusknoir, he could have just caught one in Pokémon Tower.

As for the [Malicious Armor], it was an evolution item for Charcadet, allowing it to evolve into Ceruledge—a very cool-looking Pokémon, but obtaining one would require him to travel all the way to Paldea just to catch a Charcadet. Too much hassle.

Since none of the three items were unique or irreplaceable, August simply went with the [Ghostium Z], which he could use right away.

Gastly floated beside August, staring at the glowing crystal in his hands with curiosity.

It could feel the eerie ghostly energy pulsing from the stone.

"You want it?" August asked. "Here, take it."

With that, he casually tossed one of the Ghostium Z crystals to Gastly.

Caught off guard, Gastly instinctively used its tongue to catch the crystal, eyes widening in surprise.

Wait, wasn’t this guy the one who confiscated my [Spell Tag] earlier? Why is he suddenly giving me something valuable?

Seeing Gastly’s confused expression, August chuckled.

"I took your [Spell Tag] because that was protocol. This [Z-Crystal], however, is a gift. Different situations."

Gastly blinked, not entirely understanding but deciding not to question it.

All that mattered was that it got a really cool gift.

With a pleased hum, it swallowed the [Z-Crystal], and just like that, any lingering resentment over the confiscated tag disappeared. Happily, Gastly began floating in excited circles around August.

As it did, August pulled up Gastly’s status screen in his system.

【Pokémon: Gastly】
【Type: Ghost / Poison】
【Ability: Levitate】
【Friendship Level: Friendly】
【Level: 37】
【Moves: Hypnosis, Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball…】
【Held Item: Ghostium Z】

Huh?

August was surprised. He had suspected Gastly was at a relatively high level, but 37? That was higher than he expected.

But more importantly—

"You're level 37, and you still haven’t evolved?"

"Gas?"

Gastly tilted its head, looking puzzled.

It didn’t understand what "level 37" meant, but it did understand the second half of August’s sentence.

"Gasly~ gasly!"

Listening to Gastly's explanation, August’s expression turned odd.

"...So, you deliberately refused to evolve because you wanted to look weak? So that enemies would underestimate you, and you could scare them when they let their guard down?"

Gastly proudly nodded.

This method had worked many times before!

"…Have you ever considered that if you had evolved into Haunter, you'd be faster and probably wouldn’t have gotten caught by me in the first place?"

August’s calm remark made Gastly freeze in midair.

Wait… what?

Gastly thought about it carefully.

That… might actually be true?

Instantly, its pride shattered.

No longer suppressing its evolution, Gastly’s body was suddenly engulfed in a bright light.

Within seconds—

A depressed-looking Haunter appeared in front of August.

August found Haunter’s miserable expression amusing.

He tossed it a Pokéblock and patted its shoulder. "Cheer up. At least now you don’t have to worry about Dusknoir dragging you back to the spirit world."

"Being with me is way safer than floating around aimlessly, right?"

Haunter blinked.

That… actually made sense.

Even though it was technically August’s Pokémon now, that also meant it had protection.

Haunter had seen firsthand how Dusknoir handled things. If August hadn’t been there, it definitely would have been dragged back.

Thinking about this, Haunter’s mood instantly improved.

At that moment, Blue walked past, holding Jigglypuff in her arms, clearly heading to bed.

August called out to her. "Blue, help me out for a second."

"Hmm?"

She looked at him curiously.

What was he planning this late at night?

August recalled Haunter into its Poké Ball and handed it to her. "Help me with a trade evolution."

He was going to evolve it into Gengar right away.

Realizing what he meant, Blue sighed in relief.

For some reason, she had thought—

She suddenly realized her own thoughts and blushed.

August noticed.

"…What weird things are you imagining?"

Flustered, Blue quickly grabbed him and led him toward the trading machine in the corner of the living room. Without saying another word, she placed Haunter’s Poké Ball onto the machine.

August did the same.

They pressed the button at the same time, and the Poké Balls disappeared in a brief flash before reappearing on opposite sides.

Without even opening them, they pressed the button again to swap them back.

The moment August opened the Poké Ball—

A bright light surrounded Haunter as it evolved.

In just a few seconds—

A Gengar, grinning mischievously, floated in midair.

The newly evolved Gengar curiously examined its own hands, twisting and turning them as if adjusting to its new body.

Going from a small, floating Gastly to a round, bulky Gengar was quite the change.

Suddenly, Gengar reached into its belly and pulled out the [Ghostium Z] crystal August had given it earlier.

After confirming that it was still there, Gengar visibly relaxed.

Seeing this, August smiled.

Gengar seemed even more playful than before.

"Glad to have you on the team, Gengar."

"Gaaas~ly!"

Gengar extended its hand for a high-five.

Just as August was about to return the gesture—

Gengar’s expression twisted into a mischievous grin.

At the last second, it tried to phase out of existence, hoping August’s hand would swing through thin air.

But it had underestimated August.

The moment Gengar began to turn intangible—

Aura energy surged.

Gengar suddenly felt a force locking onto it, stopping it from vanishing completely.

What?!

Before it could react—

Smack!

August’s hand landed cleanly on Gengar’s.

Gengar blinked.

Then, its grin widened.

Clearly, it was impressed.

With a playful chuckle, it happily returned to its Poké Ball.

August shook his head in amusement.

Gengar’s little tricks didn’t bother him in the slightest.

Turning back to Blue, he nodded. "Thanks. Good night."

"Good night," she replied, before heading to her room.

Meanwhile, August picked up Eevee, who had fallen asleep on the couch, and carried it back to his own room.

August and Blue didn’t stay in Saffron City for long. After resting for a single night, they set out on the road again.

---

Celadon City

It had been a month since August had last visited Celadon, yet stepping foot here again, he felt a strange sense of distance—as if an entire lifetime had passed.

Celadon City itself hadn’t changed much.

The only difference?

The Game Corner was gone.
Team Rocket’s secret base was gone.

To be honest, August felt a bit nostalgic about Celadon Game Corner. Even though he was no longer short on money, that place had provided him with his first real earnings.

Walking alongside Blue, he made his way toward Celadon Gym.

To August’s surprise, Erika was already waiting for them at the entrance.

"Special Agent August, Miss Blue, welcome!"

Dressed in a traditional kimono, Erika greeted them with impeccable etiquette.

"Looks like you knew I was coming?" August asked curiously.

"My employees happened to spot you on the way here and took the liberty of informing me," Erika said politely. "I hope you don’t mind."

August believed her—to an extent.

Erika’s family was one of the most influential in Celadon City.

Besides running the botanical gardens and perfume shops, her family’s businesses covered nearly every corner of Celadon. It wasn’t surprising that an employee of hers would spot him.

But was it really just a coincidence?

Doubtful.

A regular employee wouldn’t even recognize him.

It was far more likely that Celadon Gym had specifically instructed its workers to keep an eye out for him.

Still, August didn’t expose Erika’s little ploy.

He played along, following her into the lush greenhouse that was Celadon Gym.

The moment they stepped inside, they were surrounded by grass-type Pokémon.

Oddish, Bellsprout… almost every common grass-type Pokémon in Kanto could be found here.

Noticing August’s interest in the Pokémon, Erika explained, "These Pokémon were all rescued from the wild. Since they refused to leave, I decided to let them stay here."

As she spoke, the Pokémon eagerly gathered around her, happily crowding at her feet.

"Looks like they really like you, Erika," Blue commented.

"Well, sometimes it’s a bit of a hassle," Erika admitted with a gentle laugh. "They never want to leave me alone!"

But before she could finish her sentence—

The Pokémon suddenly changed direction and swarmed August instead!

They completely ignored Erika and began rubbing against August affectionately.

Even she was stunned.

"...I apologize, Special Agent August," Erika said, slightly embarrassed. "I didn’t expect them to act this way."

"It’s fine," August said, crouching down to pet a Bulbasaur that had snuggled up to him.

"Bulba~!"

Bulbasaur purred contentedly.

Erika was shocked.

This Bulbasaur had been abandoned by a trainer in the past. It was usually very wary of strangers—yet the first time it met August, it was already this affectionate?

Seeing Erika’s confused expression, August chuckled.

"Maybe it’s because of my special ability."

His [Viridian Power] had always made him more approachable to wild Pokémon.

Erika wanted to ask more but felt it would be rude, so she let the subject drop.

After giving the Pokémon some Pokéblocks, August reluctantly parted ways with them.

Under Erika’s guidance, he continued touring the gym.

Among all the gyms August had inspected so far, Celadon Gym was second only to Saffron Gym in size and facilities.

As he walked, he took notes in his journal.

Erika was curious about what he was writing, but as the evaluated party, she didn’t want to pry.

Blue, however, took a peek.

[Safety Concerns: Excessive indoor plants blocking emergency exits. Inadequate fire safety measures. Potential hazard—requires immediate correction.]

Blue’s expression turned complicated.

She glanced at Erika, who was happily leading the tour, completely unaware that before the battle had even started, she was already on August’s list of required facility improvements.

Wonder how she’ll react when she finds out…

...

Their final stop was the battle arena.

Standing by the battlefield, a referee was already waiting—indicating that Erika had made prior preparations.

"Looks like you’ve been expecting me," August said.

Even the referee was pre-arranged.

This level of readiness wasn’t just "being prepared"—it was being extremely well-prepared.

Erika didn’t deny it.

"With Lt. Surge’s arrest and Cerulean Gym failing its inspection, all of Kanto’s gym leaders have been put on high alert."

"For such an important evaluation, I naturally made preparations."

She spoke with calm confidence, clearly believing she could pass the inspection without issue.

"We’ll see," August replied, smiling.

"The format is a 3v3 battle, and as usual, the challenger selects their Pokémon first," he announced.

With a snap of his fingers—

A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened in his shadow.

A grinning Gengar emerged, floating into the air.

Erika’s eyes widened in surprise.

Wait… wasn’t his usual lead Pokémon a Marshtomp?

August smirked.

"Since this is a grass-type gym, Marshtomp wouldn’t be the best choice. This is my newly caught Gengar, and I’ll be using it for today’s battle."

"Gaaaas~ly!"

Gengar proudly placed its hands on its hips, beaming.

Realizing that this battle wouldn’t go as expected, Erika grew more serious.

"Be careful, Special Agent August," she warned.

She walked over to a bow rack, pulling out an arrow with a Poké Ball affixed to the tip.

Drawing her bow, she aimed briefly—then released.

Whoosh!

The arrow sailed into the battlefield.

Pop!

With a flash of light, a Victreebel materialized midair.

Its large leaves shielded its gaping mouth, while its eyes burned with fierce determination.

Even before touching the ground, it launched an attack.

Its vine-like arms lashed out, sending [Razor Leaf] flying toward Gengar!

Blue was impressed.

This is the same Erika who assisted Lance in wiping out the Team Rocket base…

Even her opening move was so smooth and precise.

But still—

She’s up against August.

Blue had more faith in him.

The [Razor Leaf] stormed toward Gengar, but August simply waved a hand.

"Gengar, [Shadow Claw]."

Although he had only just captured Gengar, the ghost had already acknowledged his strength—and after bonding with him last night, it didn’t hesitate to follow orders.

Whoosh!

A massive shadowy claw formed in front of Gengar, blocking the incoming leaves.

Every single [Razor Leaf] was deflected—

And before they even hit the ground—

The tattered [Shadow Claw] lashed out toward Victreebel!

---

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!