Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [244]

...

“Ninetales is unable to battle. Machamp wins!”

Gary’s face fell as he stared at his fallen Ninetales, who had just been knocked out by a single [Cross Chop] from Machamp.

Is [Guts]-boosted Machamp really this terrifying...?

He wanted nothing more than to slap himself. Why did I have to get greedy with [Flare Blitz] back then? Wouldn’t [Extreme Speed] have been safer?

Now look at this mess—he’d basically raised a monster for the opponent.

Across the field, Machamp flexed in a victory pose. Its physique looked like it was chiseled from marble—every muscle perfectly defined.

Gary knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Time to send out his third Pokémon.

“Scizor, go!”

A flash of green light, and the sharp-edged, sleek form of Scizor appeared on the field. Bladed arms crossed in front of it, it adopted a battle-ready stance. Its piercing gaze locked onto Machamp, eyes scanning for weak points as though already planning a finishing strike.

“Gary sends out his third Pokémon—Scizor!”

“With its dual Bug and Flying typing, Scizor has a huge advantage over Machamp!”

Don’t jinx it. Please don’t jinx it...

Gary muttered inwardly, but his hands didn’t stop moving.

“Scizor—[Double Team]!”

Swish!

Scizor blurred into motion, splitting into a flurry of afterimages. In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was filled with over a dozen mirage-like copies, completely surrounding Machamp.

Machamp glanced around, trying to locate the real one, but every image moved identically. It was impossible to tell which was real. Its vision spun in disorientation.

Akira, realizing what was happening, quickly barked, “Machamp, calm down! Stay on defense!”

He was planning to counterattack.

If they couldn’t find Scizor, then they’d let Scizor come to them.

On cue, Machamp sank into a low stance, centering its balance and positioning its four arms in a wrestler’s guard—ready to react the instant Scizor struck.

Whoosh—!

All the Scizor copies lunged simultaneously.

At that moment, Machamp’s eyes narrowed, honing in on one shadow. With a roar, it leapt forward—only to leave its back completely exposed.

Shk—shk—shk!

A flurry of [Air Slashes] struck Machamp’s unguarded back, each one slicing into vital points.

A clean hit!

Caught off guard, Machamp let out a pained cry and collapsed.

The lingering mirages faded, revealing the real Scizor mid-air, blades gleaming as it retracted from the finishing blow.

Gary exhaled. A grin tugged at his lips.

“Too bad,” he said, voice cool and composed. “You guessed the wrong direction.”

“Damn it...” Akira growled through clenched teeth, recalling Machamp to its ball.

Score: 3 to 2.

Akira glanced at Scizor still on the field. There was no way Hypno was going back out now...

Earlier, even with a type advantage, his Onix and Swampert had lost to Gary’s Arcanine. He didn’t have much confidence in beating Gary when the matchup wasn’t in his favor.

So...

“Magnezone, go!”

A crackling flash of light, and Magnezone hovered into the arena—a fusion of three Magnemites, U-shaped magnets spinning steadily, three red and blue eyes zeroed in on Scizor.

It didn’t waste time.

Sparks crackled immediately across its body as it unleashed an electric blast toward Scizor.

But Scizor’s reflexes were lightning fast. Wings humming, it shot upward into the sky, narrowly avoiding the electric strike.

Then, midair, Scizor twisted and dove back toward the battlefield in a steep arc.

Swish—!

A blur of red and green crashed into Magnezone. The impact sent Magnezone flying, tumbling through the air.

It sparked in protest, clearly preparing to retaliate—

But before it could, Scizor vanished in a red beam of light.

“[U-turn]!” the commentator cried. “Looks like Gary doesn’t intend to fight Magnezone with Scizor, opting instead to pivot with [U-turn] and switch in another Pokémon! What will he bring out next?”

Even as the words left his mouth, a flash of white lit the field.

The ground rumbled as a hulking Pokémon appeared, eyes fierce, its body bristling with venomous spines—Nidoking had entered the fray.

“Gary-sama!”

Cheers erupted from the sidelines. His fans and cheer squad were ecstatic—Nidoking had been a powerhouse in earlier rounds, racking up wins with ferocity and flair.

The moment it entered the field, Nidoking wasted no time.

With a roar, it grabbed a chunk of earth and hurled it at the floating Magnezone overhead.

'[Rock Tomb]

Naturally, Magnezone wasn’t going to just sit there and get hit. It hovered higher, swerving in the air to dodge the flying boulders.

From the sidelines, August watched closely.

He had to admit—Magnezone was an exceptionally practical Pokémon.

Its Electric/Steel typing gave it fantastic resistances and very few weaknesses. Only Fire and Fighting-type moves were doubly effective, and Ground was its sole 4x weakness...

But in real-world battles, Magnezone often kept a permanent [Magnet Rise], negating its vulnerability to Ground attacks altogether.

“Let’s see how you handle this, Gary.”

Boulders flew through the air, one after another. Magnezone dodged what it could, and for the rest, it blasted them mid-air with electricity—shattering or redirecting the chunks before they could hit.

A stalemate quickly formed.

Nidoking couldn’t land a clean hit. Occasionally, a stone grazed Magnezone, but the damage was minimal.

And Magnezone’s Electric-type moves had no effect on Nidoking’s Ground typing...

Just as the crowd began to sense the match stalling—

Akira stole a glance at Gary, who now stood frowning, clearly troubled.

He and his Magnezone couldn’t wait any longer. They were behind—if they wanted a chance at victory, they needed to turn the tide now.

He made his decision and didn’t hesitate.

“Magnezone—[Flash Cannon]!”

Magnezone shot upward, climbing altitude rapidly. Its entire body glowed with a sleek silver light.

The metallic energy began to gather at its core, pulsing, charging... targeting the Nidoking below.

The beam was moments from firing.

But Gary didn’t look panicked. In fact, his frown had faded—his expression relaxed.

Finally... I’ve been waiting for this.

“Nidoking!” he called out. “Now—bring it down!”

At his command, Nidoking’s hands glowed as it formed an orb of energy, then hurled it skyward.

Mid-arc, the orb transmuted into solid stone.

[Smack Down]

The rock struck Magnezone dead-on mid-charge.

BOOM!

The energy-imbued stone exploded across its metal shell.

Magnezone’s body jolted—it suddenly felt heavy.

Where it had once floated with ease, now its form sagged under an invisible weight.

Its [Magnet Rise] was gone.

It began to fall.

And with that, the [Flash Cannon]—still charging—fizzled out, completely disrupted.

---

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!