Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [260]

Three days had passed since the last round of interviews.

The newly recruited former Mauville Corp employees had quickly integrated into the base, and the Team Rocket facility that August had "acquired" from Giovanni was finally operating normally.

During this time, Gary had not had a single moment of peace — he’d been very busy.

As for the exact nature of that "busy"...

"Flaaffy, [Thunderbolt]!"

At August’s command, the pink, woolly Flaaffy gathered electric current into the puffy fur atop its head. Then—

Zzzzt—!

A powerful bolt of lightning struck the Skarmory flying overhead. With a sharp, metallic screech, the steel-plated Skarmory plummeted from the sky, shedding feathers as it crashed to the ground.

Gary hurriedly recalled Skarmory and couldn’t help but ask, "August, when are we going to capture Rayquaza?"

August burst out laughing at the question. "Weren’t you terrified just a few days ago? Why the sudden enthusiasm?"

Gary inwardly grumbled.

You seriously have to ask?

For the past few days, August had been using his poor newly-caught Skarmory as a training dummy for his Flaaffy — to the point that it had evolved during the endless sparring.

Gary was genuinely worried that if this kept up, his Skarmory would develop a full-blown sheep phobia.

At this point, he just wanted to go capture Rayquaza and end this nightmare.

Of course, there was no way he’d admit that out loud.

Gary puffed up his chest and declared loudly, "I'm only concerned for the safety of Hoenn! After all, I am a League Champion..."

August: "Yeah, yeah, sure you are..."

"But since you’re so eager, let’s get going!"

Honestly, even if Gary hadn’t mentioned it, August had been planning to depart within a day or two anyway.

He had already asked headquarters to pinpoint Sky Pillar’s location via satellite.

Upon hearing August’s words, Gary immediately lit up.

"I’ll go inform Sabrina and Blue then?"

"No need," August said. "This mission’s too dangerous — it’ll just be the two of us. Sabrina and Blue will stay here to hold down the fort."

Gary: "....."

So you do realize how dangerous this is, huh?!

Seeing Gary’s stricken expression, August teased, "Come on, Champion. It’s for the safety of Hoenn — a little thing like this, you’re not scared, are you?"

"When Ash runs into a situation like this, he charges forward without hesitation!"

This time, August wasn’t even exaggerating. In moments like these, Ash was very reliable.

Gary stiffened at the mention of Ash. "Of course I’m not scared! I’m just—"

Before he could finish, August clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder, beaming.
"I knew I could count on you when it mattered most!"

Gary: "....."

Fell for it again.
Why can't I just keep my mouth shut?!

Looking at Gary’s face — full of regret and the urge to slap himself — August smiled.

"Alright, get your stuff together. We’re heading out!"

"With me and Mewtwo around, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Your safety’s at least guaranteed."

Hearing that, Gary — who had only been frustrated a moment ago — suddenly felt a creeping sense of dread.

What do you mean ‘at least safety is guaranteed’?

So... nothing else is?!

Without paying attention to the increasingly panicked Gary, August headed off to adjust his Pokémon team before departure.

After all, if they were going to capture Rayquaza, it would be wildly inappropriate to bring a Flaaffy.
That would be way too disrespectful...

First, he needed to haul his Salamence out of the cafeteria — it had been gorging itself non-stop.

He just hoped Salamence hadn’t gained so much weight that it couldn’t carry two people all the way to Sky Pillar.

...

August stared at Gary, utterly speechless.

Gary was decked out in a heavy-duty black protective suit — one that clearly had the "R" logo hastily scrubbed off, obviously salvaged from the Team Rocket storerooms.

On his head, he wore a helmet designed for extreme environmental conditions, and his belt was neatly loaded with six Poké Balls, standing stiffly at attention like a soldier ready for war.

"...Seriously?" August said.

"This is called being cautious, thank you very much!" Gary retorted, his voice muffled and grumpy through the helmet.

"I even found a spare set for you," he added.

Glancing at the spare protective gear, August waved him off. "You keep it."

Wearing that clunky suit would probably make it impossible to even get past the traps in Sky Pillar, let alone reach Rayquaza...

Still, if Gary felt more secure wearing it, August wasn’t about to stop him.

Even if the suit wouldn’t protect him from a direct hit from Rayquaza, at least it might give Gary a little psychological comfort.

It was the same as Slowpoke, who, upon hearing it would be coming along to help capture Rayquaza, had practically tried to cram its entire body into Shellder’s shell — as if attempting to force itself into a Mega Evolution just to hide.

---

While August and Gary prepared to head for Sky Pillar...

Over at the second base, Giovanni, who had just barely settled in, received his first piece of bad news.

"Boss Giovanni, there's been an unexpected development at Mossdeep City's Space Center," Ariana reported.

"The security there has been heavily reinforced, and they've tightened their background checks. Most of the moles we planted inside have been exposed."

For Giovanni, the Mossdeep Space Center was critical.
The ancient meteorite housing Deoxys — the key to reviving Team Rocket’s glory — was there.

According to his plan, he was supposed to first infiltrate the Space Center, then quietly instigate Team Magma and Team Aqua to launch an assault.
During the chaos, he would stealthily seize Deoxys without anyone realizing.

But now, with August’s unexpected arrival in Hoenn and the sudden changes at the Space Center...

With two accidents happening one after another, Giovanni couldn’t help but suspect a connection.

Otherwise, why would everything start falling apart only after August showed up?

Ariana, seeing her boss lost deep in thought, asked softly, "Boss, what should we do now?"

Although not all their agents had been exposed, it was clear their original plan was no longer viable.

Even with how reckless Team Magma and Team Aqua were, attacking the heavily fortified Space Center now would be a fool's errand.

Giovanni tapped his fingers on the desk.

"How is Team Magma and Team Aqua’s plan progressing?" he asked.

---

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!