Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [287]

Though Team Rocket had taken heavy losses after two major blows, August had never underestimated them—

More precisely, he had never underestimated Giovanni.

In the original timeline, Team Rocket disbanded multiple times, yet every time Giovanni so much as raised a hand, countless loyal Rockets would emerge from every corner of the world, rallying beneath his banner.

It was Giovanni’s astonishing charisma that made Team Rocket so terrifying.

As August laid out his analysis, Lance nodded continuously, deeply resonating with the insight.

And Lance, for his part, thought of something more—
“Wait... so when you texted Giovanni to mock him, you were actually trying to undermine his credibility? To break his fighting spirit?”

“Exactly. Once Giovanni’s will to fight collapses, Team Rocket will fall apart on its own.”

“I misjudged you before, August!”

Lance’s face was filled with remorse. He had thought August was simply making fun of Giovanni for his own amusement—

But now it was clear that he had misunderstood August’s true intentions.

August never forgets to combat evil—even in the subtlest ways!

“Emmmm...”

August, hearing Lance’s chain of conclusions, rubbed his chin in thought.

So that’s what I was thinking?

His sudden realization only lasted a second before a modest expression settled onto his face.

“That’s right. That’s exactly what I meant.”

As expected of me!

Even the Eevee nestled in his arms, without understanding a word, mimicked his expression with a confident little face.

“Bui~!”

---

Sevii Islands – Team Rocket Base

Since one of the Three Beasts—Sird—had been exposed, Giovanni had been stationed at the Sevii Islands.

This region had been Sird’s turf.

Giovanni remained here both to stabilize the Sevii Islands branch and to root out the last remnants of Sird’s influence within Team Rocket.

Ariana knocked and entered the office. “Boss, August has returned to Kanto. Our people in the League saw him entering headquarters.”

While many of Team Rocket’s spies within the Pokémon League had been purged, the small number that remained was still considerable—
Handpicked elites, capable enough to maintain ongoing intel operations.

What surprised Ariana was that Giovanni showed no reaction to the news. His expression was flat.

“I see.”

“...?”

Ariana was puzzled.

These past few days, the moment August’s name came up, Giovanni always lost his composure.
To see him so calm now... it was unsettling.

What she didn’t know was that Giovanni had already received August’s mocking texts before she arrived.

But since Giovanni didn’t bring it up, Ariana moved on to the next item.

“Orm has completed the integration of the Sevii branch. All members confirmed to be connected to Sird have been isolated and are awaiting investigation.”

Giovanni nodded.

Orm could still be trusted.

As for whether Sird had left behind loyalists within the organization—
Giovanni was willing to believe in his subordinates. Sird had simply been an outlier.

Even so, internal audits were necessary—not just for safety, but more importantly, to quell the wave of rumors and suspicion that might otherwise rot the team from within.

“What about the Deoxys Project?”

“Preparations are nearly complete. According to the latest symposium, there are no technical bottlenecks.”

“Accelerate the timeline.”

Giovanni gave the order calmly, turning his chair away.

Ariana gave a slight bow and left the room.

Inside, only Giovanni and Persian remained.

His fist, clenched so tightly it had gone pale.

“August…”

The calm from earlier had been for Ariana’s benefit.
Deep down, Giovanni still couldn’t let it go.

---

When August returned to the office, he was greeted by the sight of Slowpoke being chased around by a very angry Wingull.

Slowpoke waddled with its stubby arms covering its head, but Wingull somehow always found the perfect gap to peck him square on the crown.

Seeing Slowpoke in tears, August turned to Sabrina, who was standing nearby enjoying the spectacle.

“What happened here?”

He’d only gone off to chat with Lance for a bit—
How did everything fall apart so quickly?

Sabrina finally looked away from the chaos, considered for a moment, then said, “Might be because of the fries.”

“Fries...?”

“Slowpoke stole Wingull’s fries.”

August: “.....”

Yeah, that’ll do it.

Stealing Wingull’s fries of all things—he had it coming.

Ignoring Slowpoke’s pitiful glances for help, August turned to Sabrina. “Anyway, where’s everyone else?”

Gary was nowhere to be seen, and neither were Blue, Zinnia, or Courtney.

“Oh, them?”

Sabrina gestured toward the training grounds.

Out in the training field, a fierce battle was underway.

Courtney commanded her Ninetales, sending a stream of [Flamethrower] straight at Zinnia’s Salamence.

Excitement flashed across Zinnia’s face. “Salamence, use [Dragon Pulse]!“

ROAR!

A beam of green energy shot from Salamence’s jaws, colliding head-on with the [Flamethrower].

BOOM!

The impact triggered a violent explosion where the two attacks met.

Zinnia didn’t hesitate. “Salamence, [Twister]! Go!”

WHOOOSH!

A whirlwind blasted into the smoke cloud at the center of the field—

But just then, Ninetales emerged from the smoke, charging headlong through the gale.
Her tails whipped behind her as ghostly green flames flickered at their tips.

A [Will-O-Wisp] ignited midair, catching Salamence off guard.

Still recovering from [Twister], Salamence couldn’t dodge—
He was hit, and inflicted with burn.

Zinnia’s dragon let out a low growl, pained by the creeping flame.

“Now, Ninetales—[Attract]!” Courtney called, elegantly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Ninetales’ eyes shimmered with allure. Her tails danced seductively—
Salamence froze, dazed and disoriented, utterly charmed.

“Salamence, snap out of it!” Zinnia cried.

But some things couldn’t be fixed with panic alone.

“While he’s distracted—[Fire Blast]!“ Courtney’s voice rang clear.

Nine cream-colored tails flared outward. Ninetales opened her mouth and launched a blazing sphere skyward—

The flames quickly fanned out midair into a massive, kanji-shaped inferno:

「大」

It descended onto Salamence.

The dragon only just regained focus, scrambling to unleash a [Dragon Pulse] in defense—

But the pain from the burn made his movements falter.

A moment later, the [Fire Blast] engulfed him completely.

The tide of battle had decisively shifted to Courtney and her Ninetales.

...

Five minutes later...

Salamence collapsed, barely conscious. Burn marks marred his scales.

Meanwhile, Ninetales stood tall and proud—
Her form elegant despite the wear of battle, head held high in victory.

“Salamence is unable to battle. Ninetales wins!”

---

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!