Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [235]

Cynthia looked over at Gardevoir’s position.

There she was—struck by [Brine], lying on the ground in visible pain, her body weak and trembling...

There was even a kind of delicate, tragic beauty to her.

Milotic, on the other hand, was in much better shape. The [Aqua Ring] was still active, slowly and steadily restoring her stamina.

But Cynthia didn’t let her guard down. The battle wasn’t over—anything could still happen.

She raised her hand and gave the final order: “Milotic, finish it. [Aqua Tail]!”

“Milo~!”

Milotic let out a high-pitched cry, water swirling around her tail as she whipped it toward the fallen Gardevoir.

If it landed, the match would be over.

And yet—Gardevoir showed no fear in her eyes.

As Milotic closed in, about to strike—

—she suddenly let out a sharp cry of pain. Her body crashed to the ground without warning, sending muddy water splashing in all directions and dirtying her once-elegant form.

Cynthia froze. “That was...?”

“[Future Sight],” August said calmly.

And the seemingly exhausted Gardevoir on the ground... smiled.

Milotic was unable to battle.

Cynthia was puzzled. “When did she...?”

August smiled. “Not all of that massive psychic energy Gardevoir summoned earlier was for [Psychic].”

Cynthia replayed the moment in her mind.

When Gardevoir had drawn on the [Mind Plate] and unleashed that overwhelming power, her focus had been entirely on whether Milotic’s [Brine] would hit. She’d overlooked the possibility.

August was saying Gardevoir had used both [Psychic] and [Future Sight] at the same time?

She glanced at Gardevoir again—weak but clear-eyed, unwavering.

Cynthia found herself impressed.

No shame in losing this one.

Two losses in a row. As the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia hadn’t expected this outcome at all.

The good news was that although Gardevoir had defeated Milotic, she was clearly out of strength to continue.

Cynthia looked at August—not the least bit frustrated at having lost two battles. In fact, she looked genuinely pleased to have found such a worthy opponent.

Just as she was about to reach for her third Poké Ball—ready to send out her trump card, Garchomp—

August suddenly called out, “Let’s stop here. It’s almost dinner time!”

“...?” Cynthia blinked in confusion.

Of course, August had a reason for calling it.

Gardevoir was spent. And the number of Pokémon he had that could match Cynthia head-to-head wasn’t large. If they kept going and he didn’t want to hold back, he’d have to send out Mewtwo.

And with [Mega Evolution] on his side, the third round would be—if not a guaranteed win—then pretty close to it.

He’d already won twice. Cynthia had traveled here as a guest, representing Sinnoh. For the head of the Kanto International Police to stomp her 3-0... wouldn’t exactly be gracious.

Put simply—

Winning one more would just be rude.

Cynthia wasn’t just a Champion—her emotional intelligence was just as sharp. After a moment’s thought, she understood.

Her bright eyes blinked once, then she smiled and let it go.

For her personally, losing to August wasn’t a big deal. But as Sinnoh’s Champion here on diplomatic grounds, she represented her region’s face to some extent.

Still... she was curious.

What trump card does he have that makes him so confident?

“Then let’s save the third match for the next time you visit Sinnoh,” she said.

“Definitely. I’m looking forward to it,” August replied.

On the sidelines, Gary looked on with disappointment as the two shook hands and agreed not to continue.

He hadn’t gotten any footage of August losing—only two flawless wins.

Damn it... Not even Sinnoh Champion Cynthia could beat him. Is there seriously no one who can shut August down?

As Gary furiously racked his brain trying to think of anyone who could take August down a peg—

—the door opened, and Silver walked in.

He glanced around the room, completely confused.

What the heck happened while I was gone?

...

Dinner was held in the League HQ cafeteria.

Not because August was being stingy and unwilling to take Cynthia out somewhere nice.

In fact, after HQ had increased their budget again, figuring out how to spend it all had become Kanto’s most pressing (and happiest) dilemma.

August was more than happy to slap “official business” on a meal and drain some funds.

But Cynthia had insisted on trying the Kanto League’s food. She wanted to compare it to what the Sinnoh League cafeteria had to offer.

So far? She was loving it.

She stuffed a bite of vanilla cake into her mouth, face alight with bliss.

But aside from Cynthia, who was thoroughly enjoying her dessert, the atmosphere at the table... was oddly tense.

Across from her, Blue kept glancing between Cynthia and August, her gaze drifting from one to the other, eyes narrowing slightly.

She’d just heard the whole story from Sabrina.

And now... she was feeling a very real sense of crisis.

August could feel her staring.

“.....”

Why do I feel like I’m being accused of something...?

It’s not like anything happened between me and Cynthia! There’s literally nothing!

He shot a fierce glare at Sabrina.

She didn’t even flinch. In fact, she smiled.

Payback.

After being traumatized by one of August’s “special blend” Pokéblocks, there wasn’t much left for her to fear.

Mutual destruction, huh?

Her smug face made August’s jaw clench.

He couldn’t retaliate—at least not right now—so he scanned the table.

Silver and Gold were already aware of the weird tension and were pretending not to notice, quietly eating their meals like well-trained soldiers.

Only Gary...

Gary tried to keep a straight face.

But when August’s eyes swept across him, he couldn’t hold it in.

Pfft.

He burst into laughter.

August’s smile turned gentle. Too gentle.

“Oh? Something funny? Care to share it with the group?”

Gary: Oh no. I got cocky...

Desperately trying to think of an excuse—

August leaned in slightly. “Actually, that reminds me...”

“Huh? What is it?” Gary asked reflexively.

August smiled wider. “Back during the operation against Pryce, I didn’t bring you along. I’ve felt guilty about it ever since.”

“So, after thinking it over... I’ve decided to make it up to you.”

“For our next mission in Hoenn—against Team Magma and Team Aqua—I’m taking you with me.”

Gary’s eyes widened.

August continued, “We might end up going toe-to-toe with Groudon and Kyogre. If we’re lucky, we’ll get to witness their clash firsthand.”

“So... what do you think? Excited?”

---

T/N: gary never learnsssss

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!