Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [256]

After taking inventory of the captives from the Team Rocket base, August realized the numbers were significantly lower than he'd expected.

Roughly estimating, they had captured fewer than two hundred Team Rocket members in total.

According to the prisoners' accounts, it was mainly because Giovanni had taken a group with him when he left earlier, which explained why there were so few people left at the base.

Of course, that was August's interpretation of their words — the original phrasing had been, "If Boss Giovanni were here, there’s no way you would've taken down our base!"

He assigned Blue to organize and check the base’s interior, while Gary was put in charge of handling the prisoners.

...

Inside Giovanni’s Office, Team Rocket Base

Seated in Giovanni’s swiveling chair, August leaned back and spun around once, feeling like something was missing.

After a moment’s thought, he released Slowpoke and had it squat beside him, resting his hand on its head and giving it a good rub before nodding in satisfaction.

Slowpoke, under August’s hand, didn't dare move an inch.

Sabrina: "......"

Her verdict on this scene was that it was a pitiful imitation of Giovanni.

August, of course, didn’t care about Sabrina’s reaction.

"Secretary Sabrina, go ahead — tell me, what’s in Team Rocket’s warehouse?" August rested his elbows on the desk, fingers interlaced before him, and asked.

Too lazy to correct him that it was actually Blue who was the secretary, Sabrina simply pulled out the list: "Most of it is living supplies for the base. There are also dozens of Pokémon that were specifically bred to be distributed to field agents. Other than that, I found a large number of uniforms for both Team Magma and Team Aqua. It seems Team Rocket is planning something."

"However, after interrogating the members who stayed behind, none of them had any idea what the actual plan was."

"The true plan likely was only known to Giovanni and Ariana, who accompanied him this time."

Clearly, after everything he’d been through, Giovanni had grown more cautious, no longer willing to place blind trust in his subordinates...

Whether that change was good or bad, it was hard to say.

August tapped his fingers on the desk, rubbed Slowpoke’s head again, and then spun his chair around to face the wall map.

Sabrina assumed he was deep in thought and immediately fell silent, waiting for his conclusion.

Until—

"So this is what it feels like to be Giovanni!" August smacked the desk excitedly.

Sabrina nearly cracked right then and there.

So you’ve been role-playing this whole time?!

Seeing Sabrina’s utterly broken expression, August coughed lightly. "Alright, I get the situation now. As for Team Rocket’s plan, even just guessing is enough to figure it out... they’re probably staging fake attacks: dressing up as Team Magma to attack Team Aqua, and vice versa, stoking the flames between them."

"Aggravate the conflict between Team Magma and Team Aqua, throw Hoenn into chaos — that way, Team Rocket can move freely in the region."

The strategy wasn’t particularly brilliant, but August figured that Maxie and Archie — those two brainless thugs — probably wouldn’t see through it.

Had August not come to Hoenn, maybe Team Rocket would have really pulled it off.

But now—

August gave Slowpoke’s head another affectionate rub, then casually tugged at its squishy ears. Ignoring Slowpoke’s silent but furious glare, August stood up.

"Let’s give Giovanni a little... surprise!"

---

Team Rocket Airship

Giovanni was in a spectacular mood.

Leaving behind Kanto and Johto, where he’d suffered endless setbacks, he had finally arrived in Hoenn — his promised land.

Team Aqua and Team Magma made a lot of noise and fought fiercely, but at the end of the day, they were just playing at war like children. Giovanni didn’t take them seriously at all.

To him, they were merely tools to distract the Hoenn League’s attention.

Of course, that was secondary. What truly put Giovanni in such a good mood today was the fact that August hadn't sent him a single harassing message.

He glanced down at his communicator. Still no unread messages.

Delight bloomed in his heart.

But just then, Ariana approached.

"Boss... we have a situation."

Giovanni paused mid-stroke, petting his Persian. "What happened?"

His expression remained unchanged — utterly calm.

With his strength, unless Team Magma or Team Aqua actually succeeded in awakening Groudon and Kyogre, only Steven Stone could pose any threat to him in all of Hoenn.

"Our scheduled communications with the base — every twenty minutes — have been interrupted."

Giovanni’s brows furrowed.

"Interrupted? What do you mean?"

"We’re still receiving regular communications from the base, but they’ve failed to send the scheduled twenty-minute security code. It’s already been ten minutes past the mark. I suspect—"

Ariana didn’t finish her sentence.

But Giovanni understood: the base had likely fallen.

As the head of Team Rocket, Giovanni didn't indulge in wishful thinking. That contact schedule was a security measure — even if the base could still "communicate" normally, he saw it for what it was: a trap.

Still...

Who could have discovered a secret base hidden so deep in the wilderness, camouflaged and underground?

Giovanni couldn’t figure it out.

"Who did it?"

For some reason, August’s face flashed across his mind.

"We don’t know yet. But whoever it was — they're highly professional."

Taking down the base without triggering a single alarm, maintaining normal communications — this wasn’t the work of your average League enforcers.

At the very least, Officer Jenny was definitely not this capable.

August’s face surfaced in his mind again.

"......"

Maybe he needed an exorcist to drive August’s spirit away.

That kid was like a haunting ghost.

"What are your orders, Boss?" Ariana asked.

Her thought was simple: since most trainers in Hoenn were mediocre anyway, why not just storm back and vent their frustrations from the Johto campaign?

But after hearing Ariana’s proposal, Giovanni shook his head.

Partly because of the shadow August had cast over him.

Partly because he decided it was better to play it safe.

If the enemy already knew Giovanni and Ariana were nearby yet still dared to set a trap, it meant they were confident enough to handle them.

Thinking this through, Giovanni issued his orders:

"Ascend to higher altitude."

"Maintain total radio silence."

"Open a video connection to my office."

Following Giovanni’s last command, the command center’s giant screen linked to the base’s office.

Half a minute passed.

Just as Giovanni was about to conclude that the video system had been shut off—

Beep!

The screen lit up.

And on it appeared a face Giovanni knew so well he practically hated it.

"Hey, this thing has video calls too? Hello? Anyone there?"

August leaned in close to the camera, curiously peering at the other side.

Giovanni: "......."

Seeing August, Giovanni didn’t feel anger so much as... an overwhelming silence.

How?! I came all the way to Hoenn — how is it that I still can't shake this kid off?!

Giovanni seriously started doubting his life choices.

"Giovanni, surprised to see me?" August smiled. "Honestly, I’m surprised too — didn’t think your screen could do video calls."

Giovanni: "......."

August pressed on: "So, Boss Giovanni, any thoughts about me raiding your Team Rocket base?"

"Oh, by the way, have you caught the mole yet? Need a hand? I’m always happy to help in these matters!"

Giovanni’s blood pressure skyrocketed.

"Shut it off!" Giovanni ground out the words through gritted teeth.

He couldn’t stand seeing August’s face for even one more second.

The moment Ariana hit the shutdown button, Giovanni felt the world fall blessedly silent again.

"How... did he find our Hoenn base?" Ariana couldn’t help asking.

By all logic, with Kanto and Hoenn so far apart, August shouldn’t have been able to locate it.

Even if, somehow, he discovered Team Rocket’s Hoenn base — what did it have to do with a Kanto branch leader like August?

Hearing Ariana’s question, Giovanni stayed silent.

He had a suspicion: it probably had to do with that earlier deal between Matori and August.

August had tricked the location of the Hoenn base out of Matori, using second-hand intel about Sird being the mole.

Giovanni was sure that back then, Matori had thought it was a "can't-lose" trade.

She just hadn’t realized Giovanni himself happened to be in Hoenn.

Counting the last time Matori "accidentally" leaked intel about Silver... this was already Matori’s second time "helping" Team Rocket into disaster.

No way...

I have to get Matori out of August’s hands!

Otherwise, Team Rocket would suffer even heavier losses.

Giovanni firmly believed that with August’s bottomless cunning, it wasn’t impossible for him to scam Matori a third time.

No time to waste — and with August currently in Hoenn, Kanto was understaffed...

Giovanni reached for his phone to call Sird to rescue Matori — then froze mid-dial.

Wait... Sird... is the mole.

They’d basically already confirmed it through prior investigations. They’d just delayed dealing with her because of the situation in Hoenn.

Matori knew Sird was the mole — sending her to "rescue" Matori would just tip Sird off and make her flee!

"....."

Giovanni fell into heavy silence.

Endure it!

Hold on!

Once Deoxys was secured, Giovanni swore — August would know exactly what it meant to mess with Team Rocket!

He slowly set the phone down, then turned to Ariana, who looked confused but didn't dare to ask.

"Change course. Head to Backup Base No. 2!"

"Notify all personnel — raise security to maximum level! We will not let the same thing happen twice."

"Understood, Boss Giovanni!"

---

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!