Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [85]

August: "?"

Weren't we just pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend back in Celadon Game Corner? When did I suddenly become her husband?

That escalated fast.

Despite his internal monologue, August played along perfectly, feigning shock as he crouched down and tugged at Meowth’s other cheek.

"You're right! I think I just heard it talk."

"Ow… let go, let go, meow!"

Meowth struggled free from their grip, glaring at the two of them warily.

Who just grabs someone’s face out of nowhere?! Even when I worked under Giovanni, nobody treated me like this!

"But isn’t a talking Meowth supposed to be really rare?" Blue turned to August.

"It sure is!" August nodded in agreement.

Jessie and James were thrown off by this unexpected development.

Normally, when trainers were told they'd won a prize, they’d just grab the tickets and rush off to enjoy their luxurious cruise.

No one had ever gotten hung up on Meowth before.

James recovered first. "Ahem! You two are truly lucky! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

To emphasize the legitimacy of their claim, he pulled out two cruise tickets and waved them in front of August and Blue.

But Blue still looked doubtful. "Do shipping companies really run giveaways like this?"

August added, "If you're really from a shipping company, what's the name of your company?"

"Hey, you’re pushing it!" Jessie was losing her patience.

Before she could snap, James quickly pulled her back and answered, "We’re from Fuchsia Shipping Co.—a well-known business in Fuchsia City! We'd never lie about something like this!"

"Alright then…" August pretended to reluctantly accept their explanation and took the two tickets.

Under James’s cheerful send-off and Jessie’s barely restrained frustration, the two of them walked away.

Once they were out of earshot, Jessie fumed, waving her fists. "Why did you stop me?! Those two were so annoying!"

James sighed. "We still have to distribute a hundred tickets, and we’ve barely made a dent. Let's just get it over with."

Meowth, still rubbing its sore face, had no choice but to endure.

And so, the infamous trio resumed their enthusiastic sales pitch on the streets.

...

"You’re really going?" Blue asked, raising an eyebrow. "That was obviously a scam."

She had seen through their disguise immediately. This kind of ‘Congratulations! You’ve won a prize!’ routine was one of the oldest tricks in the book—only complete idiots would fall for it.

Hearing her skepticism, August chuckled.

"Of course, I know it’s a scam. But I still got some valuable information out of them."

He twirled the cruise tickets between his fingers.

"What information?" Blue asked, still puzzled.

Instead of answering, August simply smirked and pulled out his phone, dialing a number.

"Hello? Lance?"

"Yeah, it’s me, August… Vacation’s over."

"You heard about Lugia from Professor Oak? …Well, I just got lucky. Healing is kind of my specialty."

"As for the favor you asked of me, I’m already on it. I’ll start with Cerulean Gym—don’t worry, I won’t be too rough on them."

"By the way, there’s something I need to tell you."

"I just ran into some people handing out free S.S. Anne tickets at Vermilion Port. I have reason to believe they’re linked to Team Rocket."

"Evidence? No hard proof—just a gut feeling. But I’d like to ask you to send someone to investigate the ship. If anything suspicious turns up, look into Fuchsia Shipping Co. too."

"That’s all. Alright, I’ll let you get back to work."

After ending the call, August turned to see Blue staring at him in stunned silence.

"What’s with that face?"

"How did you know they were from Team Rocket?" she asked.

Sure, it was obvious that the whole ‘free ticket’ thing was a scam, but how had August figured out that those three specifically were with Team Rocket? She hadn’t picked up on anything.

August smiled knowingly. "Just a hunch. After all, I do have a reputation as the ‘Rocket Buster.’"

"…"

Blue clearly wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t press the issue.

"So, are we still going to the S.S. Anne? If Team Rocket’s there, we should probably deal with them, right?"

"The ship’s route is to Lampurchi… We literally just came back from there. Why would we go again?" August gave her a look.

"As for Team Rocket, I already took care of Lt. Surge and handed over the info. If the League can’t handle this on their own, then maybe I should consider bailing out of here."

"If it gets to that point, Kanto can deal with Team Rocket on its own. We’ll go to Hoenn instead. Sure, Hoenn has its own share of problems, but at least the people there aren’t completely useless. Plus, Steven’s got my back."

Blue, still new to the League’s internal politics, had no comment on that.

But she did agree with August’s last point—if the League really expected them to handle everything, then Kanto might already be beyond saving.

---

Meanwhile, Team Rocket’s trio was still busy handing out tickets.

Completely unaware that someone had just taken their bait… and immediately ratted them out to the League.

As August and Blue left the city, an invisible net was beginning to close in on Team Rocket.

...

By the time they arrived at Bill’s Lighthouse, they could already see it from a distance, standing on a cliff overlooking the sea.

Or rather… what was left of it.

Uh… maybe "standing" wasn’t the right word—since the entire top half had been destroyed.

Reaching the base of the lighthouse, August spotted Bill overseeing a Machoke and a Machamp as they loaded research equipment into a moving truck.

Noticing the approaching visitors, Bill paused and looked at them with curiosity.

"You are…?"

August introduced himself. "I’m August, and this is Blue. Professor Cerise might have mentioned us."

Hearing their names, Bill’s expression shifted to realization.

"Ah, right! Cerise did say you’d be coming by soon… Didn’t expect you this fast, though. I’m still in the middle of packing."

He looked slightly embarrassed, clearly feeling bad about not being able to properly host them.

August waved off his concern. "No worries… In fact, let us give you a hand."

With that, he released Gardevoir.

"Wait… is that a Hoenn-region Gardevoir?" Bill was taken aback.

Clearly, Cerise hadn’t filled him in on August’s full capabilities.

August simply smiled and established a telepathic link with Gardevoir.

The next moment, Gardevoir’s eyes glowed blue.

The research equipment that Machoke and Machamp had been carrying suddenly lifted into the air, enveloped in psychic energy.

Gently, smoothly, they floated toward the truck and settled perfectly into place.

With Gardevoir’s assistance, what should have taken half a day was finished in under thirty minutes.

---

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!