Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [296]

Although August didn’t have high hopes for the symposium, he didn’t let it show.

The Sinnoh League’s intentions were good—their efforts were just… slightly misdirected.

He wasn’t about to rain on their parade. Worst case, if the discussion hit a wall, he’d nudge Professor Oak or Rowan in the right direction.

After the symposium briefing, August browsed the rest of Professor Rowan’s research.

There were ancient Pokémon fossils, a myriad of mural fragments from various ruins… all quite the eye-opener, even for someone as well-traveled as August.

After the tour came the academic roundtable.

It started innocently enough with Oak and Rowan discussing Pokémon ecosystem differences between Sinnoh and Kanto…

But the moment August casually mentioned aspects of the Hoenn conflict, the topic veered into the origins of ancient battles—Groudon and Kyogre, traditions of combat…

And before long, they were knee-deep in speculation about prehistoric civilizations.

Sensing the conversation spiraling into an all-day rabbit hole, August decisively grabbed Koga and slipped out of Rowan’s lab.

Time to let the real scholars have their fun.
I’m just a fake Pokémon researcher anyway.

He dipped.

...

Sandgem Town, a quaint coastal settlement, had its southern edge open to the sea.

As waves rolled in, August walked along the beach, sand beneath his feet, sea breeze on his face.

Suddenly, he said, “Giovanni said he’s coming soon.”

“Huh?” Koga looked completely lost.

“Hm? Didn’t he tell you?” August asked with a look of surprise.

“???”

Koga was even more confused now.

Watching his reactions closely, August broke into a grin. “Nothing. Just testing whether you still had ties to Team Rocket.”

“…..”

You’re gonna give someone a heart attack, boss!

That look just now—August seriously thought Koga might still be in Rocket. If he had been in contact, he might’ve blurted something stupid.

Who knew how many Rocket moles August had flushed out with that trick…

But speaking of Team Rocket...

“Sird… what exactly happened with her?” Koga asked. “Giovanni didn’t capture her? That doesn’t sound right.”

He’d heard from August back at Indigo Plateau that Sird was a Galactic spy, and that August had passed the intel to Giovanni.

So how, with all that intel, had Giovanni still failed to take her down?

The Giovanni he knew had always been calm, calculating—a man who moved three steps ahead. Before August came along, nothing ever stood in Giovanni’s way.

But now August had done the impossible—twice.

Koga looked at August. The man in question just rolled his eyes.

“What am I, a surveillance camera growing out of Giovanni’s face? How would I know why he didn’t catch her?”

“But I can be sure of one thing.”

August tapped his chin.

“And that is?” Koga asked.

“They definitely fought.”

“How do you know?”

“He blocked me after I messaged him.”

Koga stared as August casually showed him the ‘Honorary Blacklist Badge’ on his phone.

Is… is that something to be proud of?

Wait—actually…

Yeah. Being personally blocked by Giovanni is kind of impressive.

But still, poor Giovanni.

The mole escaped, and now he had to endure August’s mockery.

Kinda tragic.

Shaking his head, Koga refocused as August began asking about Sinnoh’s current situation.

Koga’s tone turned serious. “It’s not just Team Galactic we’re dealing with. They’ve hired entire groups of Pokémon Hunters.”

As Koga explained, August quickly got a grasp on the situation.

While he was in Hoenn, the Sinnoh League had clashed with Galactic across Lake Verity, Lake Valor, and Lake Acuity multiple times.

The two sides had traded wins, but with Lorelei and Koga supporting Sinnoh, the League had gradually gained the upper hand. They’d even captured a number of Galactic grunts.

If things had continued, the League might’ve secured victory.

But that changed last week—when Sird appeared with Darkrai and destroyed the International Police’s Sinnoh division.

Darkrai’s display of overwhelming power had shaken the League to its core.

With their intel and support network gone, the League began losing ground.

Koga looked at August, eyes burning with intensity. “What’s your plan?”

He had complete faith in August.

This was the man who’d defeated Giovanni.

To Koga, August was a game-changer. With him involved, everything would turn around.

August noted his expression, then looked out toward the sea—at a Buizel splashing in the waves.

“We’ll start from the outside,” he said calmly. “Take out the Pokémon Hunters. Disassemble Galactic piece by piece.”

He hadn’t forgotten the time Hunter J’s people caused chaos on his turf.

He had said once he arrived in Sinnoh, J was getting what was coming to her.

Koga looked at August’s face and knew—Hunter J was as good as dead.

She couldn’t have picked a worse person to cross.

Koga didn’t stay in Sandgem long.

This was a critical moment in the conflict against Galactic—he’d only carved out time to pick August up from the airport.

He and Lorelei were currently clearing Galactic activity near Hearthome City, and they’d meet again once August arrived there.

...

The next morning.

Staying at one of the Berlitz family’s luxury hotels, August had just come down for breakfast when he spotted Professor Berlitz in the lobby—alongside a travel-ready Platinum Berlitz.

After a full night of rest, Platinum looked nothing like the pale, weakened girl from before.

Raised in an elite family by academic parents, she carried herself with elegance and poise just by standing there.

“You two are…” August began.

“We’ve made our decision,” Professor Berlitz said, glancing at his daughter before turning to August.

August turned to Platinum.

“I’m sorry for the trouble, Mr. August…” she said politely.

“It’s fine. And just call me August—‘Mr.’ sounds weird. You’re only a few years younger than me.”

Platinum tilted her head slightly.

Professor Berlitz: “?”

Why didn’t he ever tell me to drop the honorifics?

But now that his daughter had been entrusted to August’s care, such details were trivial.

“I’ll leave her in your hands.”

With a deep bow, he gave one last look to Platinum and departed.

He’d already delayed several research commitments for her sake. Now that she was in good hands, he could finally focus on work again.

As her father left, Platinum looked a little nervous—but there was also a flicker of excitement in her eyes.

This was her first time traveling away from home alone.

Outwardly, however, she maintained her refined demeanor.

She was just about to ask when they would depart when—

August set a small case on the table.

“Your father mentioned this is your first real journey. I asked Professor Rowan to prepare starter Pokémon for you. Pick one, Platinum.”

After Koga had left yesterday, August had made a special request to Rowan.

Now, he opened the case, and three Poké Balls popped open.

Before Platinum appeared the three Sinnoh starters—

A lively Chimchar, a sluggish-looking Turtwig, and a proud, haughty Piplup.

She glanced between them.

Then, without hesitation, she reached for Piplup.

“Pipluuup~!”

Its stern expression brightened as it realized it had been chosen. It waddled forward and leapt into her arms.

August smiled. “Knew it’d be Piplup. That one’s temperament matches yours pretty well…”

According to Rowan, this particular Piplup had a prideful streak and a fiery sense of independence—a perfect match for Platinum’s own personality.

He wasn’t even surprised by her choice.

Returning the other two Pokémon to their Poké Balls, August asked:

“Ready to head out, Miss Plati—wait, Platinum.”

“No rush,” he added, checking the time. “Rule number one of traveling—never head out on an empty stomach.”

“Mew~!”

Mew squeaked from August’s shoulder in enthusiastic agreement.

...

For Platinum, everything that had happened lately had been wildly outside the bounds of her previously uneventful, upper-class life.

She’d been attacked by Darkrai during what was supposed to be a peaceful outing.

She’d been rescued by Celebi, and met both it and Mew—legendary Pokémon that most people would never encounter in their entire lives.

And now she was traveling with their trainer.

Sitting at the table with a cup of warm milk in her hands, Platinum took small, elegant sips while stealing glances at August’s Pokémon.

Celebi, radiating a gentle, natural aura, smelled pleasantly of grass and fresh leaves.

Mew was stuffing its face with mini-cakes—So legendary Pokémon love human sweets too?

Then there was the fluffy Eevee with a soft, swaying tail—It must feel amazing to cuddle.

And finally, the stunningly beautiful shiny Gardevoir…

Platinum, who had always been the object of others’ admiration, found herself enviously watching the harmony between August and his Pokémon.

Then—

“Piplup!”

She looked down.

Piplup was holding up a small cake for her.

Due to its short stature, it had to stretch up on tiptoe, looking slightly strained.

Smiling gently, Platinum accepted the treat and patted Piplup’s head. “Thank you.”

“Pip~!” it chirped, thumping its chest proudly.

Across the table, August watched their interaction with a faint smile. Then he turned his attention back to the message from Blue.

Although the Sinnoh division of the International Police had been all but wiped out by Galactic, leaving Looker as the sole survivor, the team had been extremely competent before that.

Unlike his utterly useless former Kanto colleagues, Sinnoh’s division had left detailed dossiers in the headquarters database.

Base coordinates? That was basic stuff.

They’d also documented the Pokémon used by each Galactic admin, their fighting styles, even embedded multiple undercover agents.

Now this is how you run a department.

If only his previous coworkers had shown half this competence…
Maybe he wouldn’t have had to reassign them to “water cooler duty” at HQ.

Skimming the files, August quickly pieced together a working picture of Galactic’s structure—and an early strategy was already taking shape in his mind.

[GardevoirBestGirl]: Thanks for the hard work! I’ll bring you back a gift.
[Blue]: (^▽^)

He opened the group chat again, checking whether Gary was slacking off instead of training—and shot Cynthia a message to let her know he’d arrived in Sinnoh.

Through HQ, he also received Looker’s contact information.

[GardevoirBestGirl]: Hey hey, Looker—you there?

The phone wasn’t nearby—he didn’t get a reply right away.

Eventually, a response popped up:

[Looker]: ? Who is this…

---

In Veilstone City, Looker stared at the department-issued secure phone, puzzled.

Everyone else in the division had been captured by Team Galactic. Aside from HQ, who could possibly be messaging him?

[GardevoirBestGirl]: Kanto Division. August.

Looker froze for a second.

August?

The August who shattered promotion records at the International Police, took down Giovanni in Kanto, obliterated Team Magma and Team Aqua in Hoenn, and single-handedly forced two cataclysmic ancient Pokémon back into slumber?

As that thought crossed his mind, another message came in:

[August]: I’m in Sinnoh now. Free to meet? HQ’s intel on Galactic is a bit spotty—I’d rather hear it straight from you.

Looker shot to his feet.

Reinforcements—

With August on their side, maybe… just maybe, his captured comrades still had a chance.

For once, even the unflappable Looker was visibly excited.

[Looker]: Where shall we meet?

---

T/N: LOOKER DONT! ITS BAD!

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!