Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [247]

“You don’t believe me?” August asked.

Koga gave a slight nod. Based on what he knew about Sird, it was hard to imagine she could be a spy for Team Galactic.

“You got me. Actually... I was lying to Giovanni just now,” August said with a perfectly straight face.

Koga: “...?”

Koga looked utterly confused.

So... is Sird really a Galactic mole or not?

August had completely thrown him for a loop.

And Koga hated this kind of cryptic, riddle-speak nonsense.

But since he had no chance of beating August, he could only endure it... 忍 (nin, endure) was, after all, the way of the ninja.

Seeing that Koga was actually managing to hold back without saying a word, August couldn’t help but admire it a little.

Look at Koga and his self-control... Compared to Gary, he’s ten whole Natus ahead.

...

The alliance signing ceremony wrapped up quickly.

In truth, this whole event was mostly for show—photos for the press, a news article or two. The real terms of the cooperation had already been finalized behind closed doors well beforehand.

Once the reporters left, only August, Cynthia, Lorelei, and Koga remained in the conference room.

“Thank you, August,” Cynthia said warmly.

To be honest, before coming to Kanto, Cynthia hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly.

Not only had the alliance been sealed effortlessly, she’d also received far more support than anticipated—and eaten some very good ice cream.

None of it would’ve been possible without August’s help.

And... even though they’d only spent a few days together, Cynthia felt that August was a truly interesting person.

Spending time with him had been unexpectedly enjoyable.

August waved her off. “No need to thank me. We’re all League trainers, after all... I hope you wipe out Team Galactic when you return to Sinnoh.”

Madmen bent on destroying the world were the enemy of all sane people, and August saw himself as doing no more than his small part.

Cynthia didn’t press the point, just silently tucked the gratitude away in her heart.

She also promised that if August ever visited Sinnoh, she’d personally host him.

August gave an easy smile in response—but inwardly, he’d have to think that one over.

Not because he had anything against Cynthia...

But Sinnoh was Arceus’s stronghold. And the deity of creation had been showing up far too often lately.

August was worried that if he—a certain slate thief—wandered into Sinnoh uninvited, Arceus might catch him red-handed.

Outwardly though, he remained the picture of calm.

He clapped Koga on the shoulder and turned to Lorelei. “I’ll leave the surveillance of Koga in your hands, Elite Four Lorelei.”

Koga: “.....”

Could you at least wait until I’m out of earshot?

To say something like that to his face—did August even try to consider his feelings?

But as a former Team Rocket Executive who had only just defected, Koga knew he wasn’t in a position to ask for too much.

He simply vowed to do his part in fighting against Team Galactic.

His sincerity would be proven through action.

Lorelei, meanwhile, had gained a whole new level of respect for August’s strength.

Anyone who could make Koga this compliant... August was the first.

Due to the urgency of the situation in Sinnoh, Cynthia didn’t linger.

August personally saw Cynthia, Lorelei, and Koga off as they boarded a private jet bound for Sinnoh.

“…Feels like something’s missing now that Cynthia’s gone,” he murmured, stroking his chin as he watched the plane ascend into the sky.

“I heard that,” came a sudden voice. “I’m telling Blue.”

Sabrina’s head popped out of nowhere.

Who knew when she’d arrived.

“Huh? Tell Blue what...? I didn’t say anything,” August said, feigning innocence.

But unlike before, Sabrina didn’t seem the least bit annoyed by his smooth deflection.

“Heh. I knew you’d say that… Good thing I recorded the whole thing,” she replied, reaching for her phone.

Her hand brushed her waist—

And froze.

She was holding… nothing.

Her eyes snapped up to August—only to find her phone already dangling from his fingers.

“This one?” he asked with a smile, giving it a playful shake.

Sabrina: “.....”

When?!

When did he even take it?!

She hadn’t noticed a thing.

“Mew~”

The Mythical Pokémon floated lazily onto August’s shoulder, wearing an adorably sheepish expression.

Sabrina grit her teeth.

No wonder I didn’t sense it. It was Mew’s doing.

But seriously… Since when did Mew get dragged into August’s nonsense...?

...

Kanto League HQ – Regional Branch Office

August lounged on the couch, one arm around Eevee, the other playing with Togepi, finally starting to feel like he could relax a little.

As for the reason why...

It had to be the emotional labor of worrying about Gary these past few days!

Thinking of that, August turned his head to look at Gary, intending to unwind with a nice, stress-relieving sparring match.

But when he saw Gary still slumped and dejected since his battle with Agatha, August decided—for once—to show a bit of mercy.

He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue and replaced them with encouragement.

Smack.

August clapped Gary on the shoulder. “Chin up. You’re the Champion, remember?”

“…Pretty sure I’m the most miserable Champion in history,” Gary muttered, but still straightened his back.

Sure, Agatha had given him a beating, but at the end of the day, he was still the Champion.

He’d earned respect in front of his grandpa and Ash alike, and the press had been hyping him up for days. He’d even clipped out the articles and saved them, ready to admire them when he needed a little ego boost in the future.

Thinking of that, Gary couldn’t help but smirk.

“With the Indigo Conference behind us, it’s about time we started planning for Hoenn,” August said, glancing around at the others in the office.

The moment he spoke, everyone put down what they were doing—Pokémon, paperwork, or playing cards—and looked over.

August had already mentioned the Hoenn operation earlier.

Aside from Gary, though, the rest of the team hadn’t yet been finalized.

Feeling their eyes on him, August continued, “Since this time we might be facing Legendary Pokémon head-on, the mission is high risk. So I won’t be bringing too many people along.”

The others remained silent—but Gary was the first to speak up:

“How dangerous could it be?”

He’d seen Legendaries before—Mewtwo, Mew, even Celebi—wandering around like they owned the place. At this point, Gary had developed a bit of ‘they’re just Pokémon like any other’ attitude.

Was August being overly cautious?

Hearing the question, August thought for a moment. “Eh... Just your standard stuff. Maybe a few cities flooded, a few more in drought, two Legendaries going head-to-head, all of Hoenn plunged into chaos and catastrophe…”

Gary: “.....?”

---

T/N: n way bro said how dangerous it could be, also hmm ill keep blue instead of leaf, we are 200+ chaptes in

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!