Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [261]

Ariana said, "According to the reports from our agent embedded in Team Magma, Maxie and his top lieutenants are currently plotting to seize Abyss One!"

For Team Rocket, it wasn’t that Team Magma lacked internal security mechanisms — but the ones they had were laughably full of holes.

Infiltrating them with a spy was almost too easy.

"Then let’s wait a little longer," Giovanni said.

"You mean...?" Ariana asked.

"Although I don’t know exactly what August did to make the Hoenn League tighten security around the Mossdeep Space Center... at a time like this, they can't possibly afford to waste their already scarce manpower on a ‘non-essential’ site."

Giovanni saw the situation with perfect clarity: once Hoenn descended into chaos, the League would have no choice but to abandon extraneous efforts like guarding the space center.

"Should we intervene?" Ariana asked.

She wasn’t asking out of a sense of caution — rather, it was that she had little faith in the competence of Team Magma or Team Aqua...

Giovanni stroked the head of his Persian and shook his head. "Maxie and Archie may be a pair of fools... but they can handle a small task like this."

"Our existence is already exposed. If we move now, it’ll only make the Hoenn League even more wary."

"Besides... we have more important things to worry about."

"What things?" Ariana pressed.

"Guarding against August!"

---

"Achoo—"

High in the sky, riding on the back of a now noticeably plumper Salamence, August sneezed loudly.

Rubbing his nose, he looked puzzled.

Am I catching a cold? That shouldn’t be happening...

Or maybe... is Gary badmouthing me behind my back?

August turned his head to look at Gary, who was bundled up in a thick protective suit — and stared so intently that Gary immediately broke out in goosebumps.

"What are you doing?" Gary demanded warily.

You couldn’t really blame him. August’s track record for mischief was long and colorful; just one look like that was enough to set off all of Gary’s alarms.

After all, when it came to "not acting like a decent person," August was remarkably consistent.

August rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully. "I didn’t even say anything. Why are you so nervous?"

Gary immediately grew even warier. He must be plotting something…

Trying to keep calm, he retorted, "Why do you always look at me like I’m the one with bad intentions..."

Just as August was about to fire back, Salamence let out a sudden roar from beneath them.

Both August and Gary looked up.

Far out across the ocean, a small island was coming into view — and atop it stood a towering, cloud-piercing stone structure.

An ancient tower, weathered by time, standing proud on the lonely island.

Gary’s eyes went wide at the sheer scale of the building.

"So tall!"

And then—

Click! Click! Click!

Gary whipped out his camera and started snapping photos non-stop.

Whether for showing off to Grandpa Oak or to brag to Ash later, these pictures would be priceless.

For the moment, all his earlier fear was completely forgotten.

August shook his head and patted Salamence’s side, steering it toward the Sky Pillar.

...

At the base of the Sky Pillar

Standing before the giant door, Gary frowned as he sent a few of his snapshots to Professor Oak and Ash.

"August, your Salamence could just fly us to the top, right...?"

Based on the intel August had provided, Rayquaza was said to dwell at the summit of the Sky Pillar.

From Gary’s point of view, it made perfect sense — if they wanted to catch Rayquaza, why not just fly straight up instead of landing and making things harder?

August shook his head disapprovingly. "Gary, that’s a dangerous way of thinking."

Gary: "...?"

August spoke with grave earnestness. "Yes, we’re here to capture Rayquaza. But just as importantly, we need to build a good relationship with it."

"Catching a Legendary Pokémon takes finesse. If you just storm up there and beat it into submission... that's not ‘catching’ — that’s making an enemy!"

"We’re official League personnel, not some criminal gang like Team Rocket. Everything we do represents the League."

"So if there’s a front door... of course we go through the front door."

Listening to August’s lecture, Gary muttered under his breath, "But... didn’t the Hoenn League already try to capture Rayquaza by force with all their fancy tech? In Rayquaza’s eyes, the League’s reputation must already be in the negatives..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Gary immediately regretted it.

Oh no. I said too much. He's definitely going to take it out on me now...

To his surprise, August nodded approvingly.

"You’re not wrong."

Gary: "???"

Is this really August? Not someone disguised as him?

"But," August added, "there’s another important reason I chose to land."

Gary blinked. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, August simply gestured.

"Salamence — [Dragon Pulse]!"

Salamence roared and unleashed a deep purple wave of energy toward the door.

In the next instant, a clear female voice rang out: "Salamence, [Hyper Voice]!"

A blast of sonic energy erupted from inside the door, crashing head-on into Salamence’s [Dragon Pulse]!

The two attacks collided, and the shockwave from the explosion ripped up the crumbling stone floor. For a moment, the entrance to the Sky Pillar was a maelstrom of flying debris.

Then, two blurred figures flashed past each other — two Salamence grappling fiercely at close range!

Meanwhile, a young girl stepped into view: short hair, a cloak the color of the earth wrapped around her shoulders, spiral anklets encircling her legs.

She glared at them and demanded, "Who are you, and what are you doing here!?"

August ignored her question and instead turned to Gary. "Now do you understand why we landed?"

Up in the sky, he had already sensed something unusual about the aura radiating from below.

And since he didn’t want any surprises when it came time to deal with Rayquaza, he had decided to land first.

Gary finally realized what was going on — but immediately a new question popped into his mind.

Who was this girl, anyway?

She certainly acted like she owned the place...

Gary, ever the tactician, decided to ask out loud.

"Hey, we were here first! Shouldn’t you be the one explaining yourself?" the girl huffed.

Still ignoring her, August explained calmly to Gary, "Remember the materials I gave you? About a group of people who have always revered and worshiped Rayquaza?"

"They call themselves the ‘Draconid People.’"

"And she," August finally looked the girl in the eye — no, looked Zinnia in the eye — "is one of them."

---

T/N: oooh Zinnia

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!