Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [302]

“You... are here to deal with Team Galactic?”

The miner stared at them again after hearing August's words, this time lingering especially long on Gary, before shaking his head.

Gary: “...?”

What’s that supposed to mean? Of all people here, why are you looking at me like that and shaking your head?

Do I look weak to you?

I’m strong, okay?!

Irritated, Gary threw out a Poké Ball. A Nidoking appeared beside him.

Its massive body hit the ground with a thud, sending a tremor through the earth.

Platinum, Pearl, and Diamond stared at Nidoking in awe.

Gary-senpai’s Pokémon looks so strong!

Seeing even the miner was shocked, Gary raised his eyebrows proudly. “Team Galactic? Pfft. Let me show you the power of a Champion of Kanto!”

Just some Galactic grunts? Piece of cake!

...

Deep within the Oreburgh Mine

They had ventured far underground. Even with the mine's advanced ventilation system, the air had grown thick and stale.

That didn’t pose a problem for August, though.

He had come well-prepared, passing out oxygen capsules designed for underwater use to the group.

To avoid any risk of a gas explosion, Pearl had recalled Chimchar ahead of time and released Chatot instead.

But to everyone’s surprise—especially Pearl—Chatot seemed to have taken a bizarre liking to Gary, fluttering circles around him and squawking nonstop, driving him nearly insane.

Yet as the senior member, Gary couldn’t exactly lash out. Determined to set a good example, he merely shot Pearl a resentful glare.

“...Sorry, Gary-senpai,” Pearl said, hastily scooping Chatot into his arms and holding it tightly.

He had no idea what had gotten into the bird either.

August, meanwhile, was watching Gary and the Chatot with mild amusement.

If I remember right, the original storyline described Chatot’s personality as “easily smug and overconfident.”

So maybe this is just a case of “like attracts like”?

Gary had no clue what August was thinking, but now that Pearl had captured Chatot, the sudden peace was a relief.

He was just about to speak when a sound echoed from up ahead—footsteps.

August, at the front of the group, raised a hand instantly.

Everyone froze and held their breath—even Chatot fell silent, sensing the shift in atmosphere.

The tense air of the dim tunnel thickened.

August was about to use aura to check ahead when—

“Rampardos! [Zen Headbutt]!”

A shout rang out—and a shadow lunged at them.

Thick legs, a bulky frame, short arms, a crown of sharp white spikes, and a glowing blue skull—the Rampardos charged, its head lit with psychic energy as it barreled toward the group!

August immediately recognized the Pokémon—and who must have sent it.

A misunderstanding!

But before he could say anything, Gary’s eyes lit up.

“So this is Team Galactic? Nidoking!”

At Gary's command, Nidoking surged forward, planting itself at the front of the team.

It raised its massive arms to meet the oncoming charge.

BAM!

With a deep thud, the two collided.

Nidoking’s legs skidded back just a few inches—but it held its ground against the full force of Rampardos’ charge!

“Rampardos?!”

A man wearing glasses and a safety helmet stepped from the shadows.

When he saw the group, he froze. This wasn’t the scenario he was expecting. “You are...?”

August didn’t answer right away—he glanced at Rampardos and said coolly, “Mr. Roark, that wasn’t very friendly.”

“Ahem… sorry.”

Not only had he attacked the wrong people, but his Pokémon had also been stopped cold. It was more than a little embarrassing.

Still…

Seeing that they clearly weren’t Team Galactic, Roark relaxed slightly.

These past few days had him on edge.

“Here’s what happened…”

After a brief exchange, August and the others understood the situation.

Roark had been hunting Team Galactic through the mine for three days now. He’d clashed with them multiple times, but every time he was close to capturing one, others would arrive to bail them out.

“There are over thirty of them,” Roark explained. “Split into three units. Every time I almost corner one group, another squad rushes in to cover their escape.”

He looked visibly frustrated.

That feeling of being inches from success, only to have it snatched away, was unbearable.

“Leave it to us!” Gary said.

Taking down Team Galactic was a job for professionals like them.

Roark was a bit stunned to hear someone so boldly say “Leave it to us” after learning who the enemy was.

Just who were these people?

“You’re all…?” he asked.

August smiled faintly and, with a wave of his hand, pulled out his badge like a magician revealing a trick.

“International Police.”

Roark blinked. “Didn’t you guys get… completely wiped out?”

August: “…”

Gary: “…”

Platinum, Pearl, and Diamond: “…”

We’ve been slandered!

Seeing their awkward expressions, Roark quickly realized he’d stuck his foot in his mouth.

As he scrambled to find a way to fix it, August coughed lightly.

“We’re from the Kanto division. Technically, we’re a different branch from Sinnoh’s International Police, though we all report to the same HQ.”

“Ah, I see!” Roark nodded quickly.

He wanted to ask why the Kanto branch was operating in Sinnoh… but his social awareness wasn’t that bad.

August didn’t press the topic either.

They had more urgent matters.

He turned to Gardevoir.

She nodded.

The [Mind Plate] she held floated beside her as her eyes glowed blue. Platinum and Gary, with their sharp perception, felt a wave of psychic energy sweep over them.

The next moment, both heard a voice in their heads—August and Gardevoir’s voices together.

[GardevoirBestGirl]: I’m speaking to you via telepathy. Gardevoir is about to transmit Team Galactic’s positions to your minds.

[Gardevoir]: Garde~!

A fully rendered 3D map materialized in their heads.

A blue light marked their current location. In the winding, complex network of tunnels, three red beacons showed the position of each Galactic squad.

Roark stared at the clarity of the mental map and felt like he’d spent the past three days running around like a blindfolded idiot.

[GardevoirBestGirl]: Team Galactic has three squads. To stop them from reinforcing each other, we’ll split into three teams.

[GardevoirBestGirl]: Roark, you’ll take one team. Gary, another. I’ll go with Platinum, Pearl, and Diamond—to supervise their homework! If there are no objections, let’s move out!

---

Elsewhere, in a concealed tunnel within the Oreburgh Mine

A group of Galactic grunts were resting.

“Where the hell is that ore the commander wants…? We’ve been searching for three days and haven’t even caught a glimpse of it,” one muttered.

After three days underground without seeing daylight, he felt like he was going stir-crazy.

Their supplies were running low, and they hadn’t located the special mineral. What were they supposed to do?

The sentiment was shared by most of the squad.

Not only had they been forced to mine, but they were also constantly hounded by that Gym Leader—morale was low.

The squad leader, while agreeing deep down, snapped, “Shut it. Don’t question the commander’s orders.”

In Galactic’s strict hierarchy, defying a superior’s will wasn’t an option.

The grunts fell silent.

After a brief rest, they stood and resumed work.

But as they marched through another tunnel, someone near the back suddenly cried out, “Wait! Are we missing someone?”

The entire squad halted.

The squad leader, annoyed, glared at the speaker—probably just someone trying to slack off.

But when he counted… they were down one man.

They’d started with twelve. Now there were only eleven.

“What happened? Where’s Dahe?” the squad leader demanded.

“I don’t know! We were chatting, and then after we passed a side tunnel, he went quiet. I didn’t think anything of it… but now he’s gone!” the grunt said nervously.

The squad leader scowled. “Turn around. We’re going back to look for him.”

But even after returning to their last resting point, there was no sign of Dahe.

An odd unease began spreading through the group.

Sensing the shift, the leader snapped, “He probably got sick of this crap and ran off. Don’t overthink it.”

“We’ll search for one more day. If nothing turns up, we pull out.”

His words settled the squad slightly.

They moved on.

But before long—

“Leader! We’re missing two more people!!”

The team froze again.

The squad leader’s face darkened as he counted—only nine left.

Two more had vanished. No sound, no warning.

Panic rippled through the ranks.

“Is this place… haunted?” someone whispered.

The moment the words were out, everyone instinctively believed it. They stared into the darkness as if expecting a ghost to leap out and drag them into the void.

The squad leader quickly shut it down. “Ghosts?! It’s just Ghost-type Pokémon! Release your Pokémon! Even ghosts fear Dark-types!”

That snapped them back to reality.

With a flurry of white flashes, every grunt summoned their Pokémon for protection.

It helped. Slightly.

They marched on again.

At the very rear, one grunt suddenly heard a familiar voice whisper in his ear:

“What exactly are you guys doing?”

Startled but recognizing the voice, he answered reflexively, “Obviously we’re following the commander’s orders!”

But then he froze.

That voice… wasn’t it Dahe’s?!

He tried to order his Pokémon to attack—but when he glanced over, he saw his Mankey being held in place by shadowy hands, mouth muffled.

Cold sweat drenched him.

Without daring to turn around, he shouted, “Leader! Dahe just spoke! He’s back!”

Up ahead, the squad leader whirled around in fury.

That guy was missing! How the hell is he talking?!

But as he turned, he saw something even worse.

They were down to six people—and one of them was being dragged into the shadows by two unknown hands.

“There you are!” the leader roared. “Houndoom, [Flamethrower]—take them out!”

A jet of fire lit the tunnel.

The squad leader finally saw what was happening.

Two kids—dressed like comedy rejects—were dragging the terrified grunt away.

The moment they saw the flames, they froze, stunned like deer in headlights.

The leader smirked. He was about to finish them off—

“Piplup, [Bubble Beam]!”

A voice shouted from behind him.

“What?!”

He barely turned in time to see a girl’s silhouette—then a wave of rainbow-colored bubbles hit him.

The exploding bubbles knocked him out cold.

His Houndoom’s [Flamethrower] was blocked by Chatot and Munchlax, the latter using [Mimic] to deflect the flames.

Only five Galactic grunts remained.

“Damn it, the leader’s down!”

“A bunch of brats dared to attack us?!”

“Take them out!”

The five remaining grunts charged forward—and Houndoom leapt at Platinum.

But Platinum didn’t look afraid in the slightest.

---

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!