Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [222]

Good grief—when August heard that Blaine was planning to have Ash inherit his gym, even he had to admire how wild Blaine’s ideas could get.

August didn’t stay on Cinnabar Island long.

Once he’d confirmed the progress on the meteorite research, he headed out.

By the time he returned to Lampurchi, Eevee still hadn’t finished its sandcastle.

But the little thing looked seriously grumpy—who knew what had gotten under its skin?

August motioned for Mew to go comfort Eevee.

Then he made his way over to the grill, ready to grab a bite. But—

“Where’s Slowpoke?”

August looked around and realized Slowpoke was nowhere to be seen.

His eyes immediately narrowed at Salamence. “Don’t tell me you ate him.”

He didn’t have any proof, but somehow, Salamence was always his first suspect.

The big dragon jumped in alarm.

Why would August even think something so horrifying?

As for Slowpoke… Salamence pointed toward a corner nearby.

There it was.

August followed the gesture and spotted—what?

A Slowbro?

He froze.

Slowbro?

Wait, what? He’d only been gone a little while. When did Slowpoke evolve?

He approached, only to find Slowbro crouched in a corner, drawing sad little spirals in the sand.

“What’s wrong? I mean, sure, you evolved—but it’s not that bad, right? So what if you can’t sprawl out in the sun anymore?” August tried to comfort him.

Slowbro shook its head, clearly saying that wasn’t the issue.

“Slooow…”

“Huh? Your tail hurts?”

...

Relaxed vacation time always flies by.

After their holiday at Lampurchi ended, August returned to the estate. He woke up like any other day, shoved a drooling Eevee off his chest to join Mew, and stretched.

Gardevoir was already awake and reading, and he greeted her as he headed into the living room.

As soon as he entered, he saw Blue and Sabrina sitting on the couch.

Blue being up early wasn’t unusual—but Sabrina?

That was strange.

“You’re up early today, Sabrina? You usually sleep in later than I do. What gives?” August asked.

“Obviously, I’m here to watch the match,” Sabrina replied, looking at him oddly. “Didn’t you see Blaine’s message last night?”

Last night…

Right. Last night, Eevee and Mew had started a wild pillow fight that got so loud it dragged him and Gardevoir into it too. They all passed out from exhaustion afterward—he must’ve missed it.

Opening the group chat, August quickly spotted Blaine’s message.

It was short.

[Ash has boarded. Estimated arrival at Viridian Gym: Tomorrow.]

Sent around midnight.

Going by that, Ash and the others should’ve arrived in Viridian City late last night. After a night’s rest, he’d be ready to challenge the gym today.

Ah. That explained why Sabrina was up so early.

It was the battle she’d been anticipating for a long time—Ash vs. Gary. The real showdown.

By now, Indeedee had already prepared breakfast. August grabbed his sandwich and wolfed it down in a few quick bites. Then he tossed out a Poké Ball and released a groggy Salamence.

“Let’s go. We’re heading to Viridian Gym!”

...

Viridian Gym

It had already been a full month since Gary took over as Viridian Gym Leader.

In that short time, things had gone from a flood of eager challengers requiring lottery appointments… to a manageable line… to a point where only strong trainers dared enter. Gary had reshaped the gym’s reputation in just one month.

His progress was clear to anyone watching.

But today, something unusual happened.

Just as the staff opened the doors for the day, a Salamence swooped down from the sky with uncanny timing—like it had planned this to the second.

One of the staff members blinked in confusion, about to explain that the gym had just opened, and the Leader wasn’t ready for challengers yet.

But then he recognized the man who dismounted.

“Mr. August?”

If he remembered correctly, August was technically his boss’s boss…?

Say no more.

“I need to see Gary. Don’t mind us,” August said, strolling in with Sabrina and Blue.

Viridian Gym was buzzing with early-morning activity.

The staff were cleaning and prepping for the day’s challengers.

With their help, August soon located Gary—who was, surprisingly, out on the battlefield… leading his Pokémon in calisthenics.

And Gary’s idea of morning exercises?

Let’s just say it was exactly the kind of thing you’d want to secretly record and upload to a short video platform.

Hearing the doors open, Gary called out without turning, “Didn’t I say not to bother me this early—?”

The words died in his throat.

Because he saw August. And Sabrina. And Blue.

They saw me.

Gary froze, paralyzed. The kind of embarrassment that makes you want to evaporate on the spot washed over him.

August gave a polite cough. “Don’t worry. We didn’t see a thing.”

Then he turned to Blue and Sabrina. “Right?”

Blue nodded solemnly. Sabrina echoed, “Of course. We saw nothing.”

...Yeah, like that was convincing.

Gary looked at the smirks tugging at the corners of their mouths and felt his soul leave his body.

Utterly drained.

Still, after a month of running the gym and all the humbling that came with it, Gary’s mindset had become far more stable.

He shook it off and asked, “So what brings you all here this early?”

“Hmm? Didn’t Blaine send you a message?” August asked, surprised.

“What message?”

“Ash is coming to challenge your gym today.”

“What!?”

Gary’s eyes lit up, energy surging through him like a jolt of electricity.

Finally! After all his hard work and patience, the time had come. Today, Gary Oak would show the world the results of his training!

Suddenly, he froze—then turned and bolted back inside.

“Wait—my hair’s a mess! I need to fix it and set up the recording gear!”

August: “...”

Blue: “...”

Sabrina: “...”

Seriously?

To someone who didn’t know better, this might’ve looked like he was prepping for a date.

Then again… knowing Gary, maybe that’s exactly how he saw it?

August raised a brow, imagination running wild.

...

For Ash, his time on Cinnabar Island was truly an unforgettable experience.

Thanks to August’s introduction, he had met Blaine, the Cinnabar Gym’s leader, and under Blaine’s strict guidance, endured grueling training that finally got his Charizard to mostly follow commands instead of outright ignoring him!

Granted, from Blaine’s expression, he still wasn’t satisfied with Charizard’s attitude—but to Ash, this was a massive breakthrough!

And Blaine was a great guy too. On the day Ash left, he even gifted him a plane ticket straight to Viridian City.

Now, Ash and his companions were walking through the streets of Viridian. Brock was relaying some intel he’d picked up from the friendly receptionist at their hotel the night before. “Ever since the former Viridian Gym Leader Giovanni was put on the wanted list, I heard the new Gym Leader is supposed to be easier to handle…”

Ash clenched his fists, brimming with confidence. “Once I win the Viridian Gym Badge, I have to go rub it in Gary’s face!”

He still didn’t know where Gary had been training all this time—he’d been acting super mysterious lately—but according to some reliable info Ash had gotten from August, Gary hadn’t earned the Crimson Badge yet.

Finally, Ash thought, I’m one step ahead of him!

With that proud thought in mind, Ash and the others pushed open the gym doors.

It was early, so the place was nearly empty. They made it through to the battlefield without running into anyone.

Ash opened the door.

The arena inside was pitch black.

“Huh? Why is it so dark? Don’t tell me the lights are broken…” Ash mumbled.

The moment he finished speaking, a spotlight snapped on from the ceiling—shining directly onto a lone figure inside the gym.

The person stood with their back to Ash, striking a dramatic pose. A deep green cape swirled behind them, and their spiky hair looked like it had been professionally styled…

Why does that silhouette look so familiar?

Just as the thought flashed through Ash’s mind, the figure spun around, and the entire gym lit up in a blaze of white light.

Ash stared wide-eyed as the person’s face was revealed.

His jaw dropped. “Gary!?”

“That’s right! The one and only!” Gary said with a smug grin, clearly thrilled by Ash’s stunned expression. “Surprised to see me here, huh?”

But Ash, clearly missing the point, tilted his head in confusion. “You’ve been training at the Viridian Gym? Where’s the Gym Leader? I’m here to challenge them.”

Gary clicked his tongue. “Tch. It’s been this long and your brain still hasn’t improved one bit, Ash.”

Ash’s blood pressure instantly spiked.

With a dramatic hair flip, Gary declared, “Standing before you now… is the current Viridian Gym Leader!”

Ash blinked. “Wait… what?”

But then his face twisted into something between skepticism and deadpan disbelief. “Gary, come on. I’m seriously here for a gym battle.”

“I am serious! Look—this is the official Viridian Gym Badge!”

“Yeah right, you probably just earned that yourself.”

“I am the Leader!”

“I don’t buy it!”

Gary stood there, dumbfounded. “…”

What the hell, man? He wasn’t August. Why would he lie about something like this?

And now he had no choice but to turn to August for help.

Off in the corner of the arena, August, who’d been quietly spectating, saw Gary’s desperate glance and sighed.

Ugh, this guy…

Can’t even commit to a cool reveal properly. Now I’ve got to bail him out.

August stepped out of the shadows and said, “Ash, I can confirm it—Gary is the Viridian Gym Leader.”

Ash’s surprise deepened. Wait… August’s here too?!

And if August said Gary was telling the truth… then was it really true?

But how did Gary become a Gym Leader!?

While Ash was still trying to process this, Brock and Misty were equally shocked.

Unless they were remembering wrong, Gary had started his journey at the same time as Ash…

It had only been a few months since they last visited a gym—how had so much changed in Kanto?

Meanwhile, Gary’s confidence surged as he saw the disbelief on Ash’s face.

“See? I told you it’s true!” he said proudly. “So, Ash—are you gonna challenge me, or are you chickening out?”

It wasn’t the most original form of provocation—any experienced trainer wouldn’t fall for it.

But for Ash? It was perfect.

“Chickening out?!” Ash fired back, eyes blazing. “Gary, I’m not the same guy you used to know! I’ve been training hard these past few days—even if I don’t know how you became a Gym Leader, I’m not going to lose to you!”

The bait had been taken.

Or perhaps it was just the confidence that came from completing Blaine’s special training.

Off to the side, August, Blue, and Sabrina were watching the build-up with great interest.

Blue nudged August and asked, “So who’s your money on?”

August was rarely wrong when predicting the outcomes of Pokémon battles…

He thought about it for a moment. “This one’s… tough to call.”

Gary had solid fundamentals and a lot of real-world battle experience now. Honestly, he was more than capable of holding his own.

But Ash wasn’t weak either.

Sure, he lacked raw experience compared to Gary, but Blaine’s intense training had helped bridge that gap a little. He still wasn’t quite there yet…

But if you factored in Ash’s natural affinity for type matchups, plus his holy trinity of battle commands—“Dodge it!” “Hang in there!” “Get back up!”—then a win wasn’t out of reach at all.

While August, Blue, and Sabrina continued discussing the odds, Gary and Ash had already come to an agreement.

A standard 3-on-3 Gym battle!

With a snap of Gary’s fingers, a referee entered the field.

Both trainers stepped into position.

Their eyes locked, sharp with intensity.

And the moment the referee dropped the flag, they hurled their Poké Balls at the same time!

Bang!

Gary’s first Pokémon was… Sceptile!

A powerful Grass-type that had served him well in past battles, especially against Ash—one that didn’t even appear in the Pokédex database.

And facing him—

“RAWR!”

With a roar and a burst of searing flame, Ash’s Charizard landed on the field, eyes burning with wild defiance.

The moment it appeared, Charizard stared down Sceptile and spat out a small flame from its mouth.

If this were a human battle, that gesture would be the equivalent of spitting on the ground.

Blatant provocation.

Sceptile, naturally proud and hot-headed, absolutely couldn’t tolerate it.

Before Gary could even issue a command, Sceptile raised its arm and fired a barrage of [Razor Leaf] toward Charizard.

Charizard, clearly unimpressed, snorted and breathed out a stream of fire—burning the leaves to ash with minimal effort.

The first exchange between the two Pokémon ended in a flash of heat and sparks—pure tension in the air.

This battle was only just beginning.

---

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!