Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [214]

Kurt never imagined that the ones showing up here would be Team Rocket—and not Pryce.

But how did Team Rocket even find out he possessed the method for crafting a Poké Ball that captures time...?

Kurt couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Still, there was no way he was handing over the secret scroll that had been passed down through generations!

Sensing Kurt’s unease, his Shuckle stepped protectively in front of him and took a battle stance.

But to Team Rocket, this was barely a threat.

Without Giovanni even saying a word, one of the grunts stepped forward and released his Kadabra.

The spoon in Kadabra’s hand bent slightly as Shuckle was instantly lifted into the air by psychic force, immobilized.

With Shuckle neutralized, Petrel—who considered himself Giovanni’s most loyal subordinate—lunged forward and closed the distance to Kurt in one swift move.

“Old man, hand it over!”

Kurt tensed immediately.

No—this must never fall into Team Rocket’s hands!

Instinctively, he clutched the scroll and the half-finished GS Ball that August had given him, both hidden in his sleeve.

Petrel caught the subtle motion and chuckled darkly. “Carrying it on you, huh?”

With a snap of his fingers, the Raticate beside him sprang into action.

A blur of motion—and the next moment, Kurt collapsed, clutching his arm, face contorted in pain. Raticate returned to Petrel’s side with a scroll and a Poké Ball in its jaws.

Petrel gave Raticate a satisfied pat, then respectfully presented the items to Giovanni.

Giovanni unrolled the scroll, his face lighting up with satisfaction.

Just as expected—this was indeed the blueprint for crafting a Poké Ball capable of capturing time.

As for the Poké Ball itself...

“This one’s the finished product?” Giovanni asked, glancing toward Kurt.

Kurt didn’t respond.

All he felt now was regret—deep and bitter. If only he had listened to August’s advice, left the items at home, and laid low for a while.

Giovanni didn’t seem to mind the silence. He simply waved a hand to his subordinates.

If Kurt had the ability to produce the final product, they couldn’t afford to leave him behind.

The grunts swiftly hauled Kurt up and tied him up as well. Following Giovanni’s previous instructions, they left a letter on the tatami mat facing the front door. With that, Team Rocket disappeared from Kurt’s home without a trace.

...

Roughly half an hour after Team Rocket’s departure...

Pryce descended from the sky atop a Delibird, his cloak in tatters.

One look at the ransacked courtyard and his brow furrowed—an ominous feeling gripped him.

Sure enough, after combing the place, he found no trace of Kurt.

All that remained was a single letter.

Four characters marked the front:

【To Pryce – Urgent】

That ominous feeling in Pryce’s chest only grew stronger.

He opened the envelope.

Inside was a single, chilling line:

"In three days, bring Silver to Ilex Forest to exchange for Kurt and the scroll on how to craft the Poké Ball that captures time. –Giovanni"

“...”

Pryce’s face darkened.

He couldn’t make sense of it.

To maintain secrecy, he hadn’t even told his own subordinates about the Poké Ball that captures time—so how had Giovanni and Team Rocket learned about it!?

And the worst part? He’d already made it clear he didn’t have Silver.

So where was he supposed to find one to hand over!?

Pryce took a deep breath. If he had another chance, he would never have kidnapped Silver in the first place.

Not only had it brought no benefit to the Masked Corps—it had caused him nothing but endless trouble.

But the past can’t be undone.

Clenching his fists, Pryce crushed the letter with his ice-sculpted hand and turned away.

Team Rocket had thrown down the gauntlet.

Three days from now—it would be a decisive battle.

---

Pryce returned to the Masked Corps base and began mobilizing his forces to face Team Rocket head-on...

Goldenrod City – Silph Hotel

In a rented conference room, nearly 87.5% of Johto’s Gym Leaders had gathered.

Well... except for Pryce.

“So... you’re saying our enemy is Pryce?” Whitney asked.

Even after watching the footage, the Gym Leaders struggled to accept that the kindly old man they’d known was actually the leader of the Masked Corps.

August glanced at Whitney, face grim. “I didn’t want to believe it either, but... the evidence is right there.”

He wore the look of someone who didn’t want to face reality.

Blue and Sabrina watched this scene unfold, both visibly unamused.

If August hadn’t already started suspecting Pryce back in Saffron City, they might’ve believed his performance too.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Then Bruno, speaking on behalf of the Pokémon League, finally broke it. “The League has already drafted a preliminary warrant for Pryce. Any further questions can wait until after we’ve taken him into custody.”

Everyone nodded. It made sense.

They all remembered the chaos from the Whirl Islands incident—if Pryce kept going unchecked, who knew what kind of disaster he’d cause next?

“So what do we do now?” Morty asked, cutting straight to the point.

August nodded. “Good question... I’ve already put together a comprehensive plan for this operation.”

He clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention, and pulled up a PowerPoint on the screen behind him.

The title was clear and to the point:

Kanto–Johto Joint Operation Plan: Team Rocket & Masked Corps Engagement

Yeah... Blue had pulled an all-nighter putting it together.

August began with a breakdown of both sides’ personnel and the Pokémon types favored by their key members.

“Since I already delivered a heavy blow to Team Rocket in Kanto, their available forces this time are limited. Mainly Giovanni himself and the four Executives. At most, they might bring in one of the Three Beasts from the Sevii Islands. We should also be prepared for a swarm of regular grunts...”

“The Masked Corps is more straightforward: Leader Pryce and his lieutenants—Ichiki, Rika, Sham, and Kaz. They have relatively few foot soldiers.”

“Worth noting—Team Rocket and the Masked Corps are currently in conflict with each other.”

He moved on to analyzing possible strategies both factions might employ. He even addressed the aftermath: managing public relations, and drafting press statements for the post-battle media conference.

The PowerPoint was extremely detailed.

But when it was over, everyone realized August hadn’t answered the most critical question.

“What’s the actual battle plan?” Bruno asked.

August’s intel and analysis were razor-sharp—he even knew things the League hadn’t uncovered. But when it came to the real plan of attack… he’d said nothing.

And this wasn’t a fight against some random group.

August smiled. “Of course there’s a plan.”

With a click of the remote, he flipped to the final slide.

Four bold characters lit up the screen:

“Improvise on the Spot.”

“...?”

The room, which had been full of anticipation, froze in utter confusion.

Improvise?

For a mission of this scale—taking on both Team Rocket and the Masked Corps—that was the plan?

While the Johto Gym Leaders sat in stunned silence, Blue and Sabrina—familiar with August’s style—weren’t surprised in the least.

He had pulled the exact same stunt on New Island.

And, truth be told... it had worked pretty well.

...

After seeing off the Gym Leaders from Johto and the rest of their colleagues from the region, only a few remained in the conference room—August, Blue, Sabrina, Silver, Gold, and Bruno, all from the Kanto division.

“Now that everyone’s gone,” Bruno said with a confident smile, “mind telling us what the real plan is?”

From his perspective, there was no way August—who had managed to deal a heavy blow to Team Rocket in Kanto—was operating without a plan. That whole “improvise as we go” thing had to be a cover to keep things under wraps.

Now that only trusted people remained in the room, surely there was no need to keep it secret any longer.

Bruno felt certain he had seen through it all.

August blinked, confused. “Didn’t I already say it earlier? The plan is to improvise.”

Bruno froze.

It took a long moment before he snapped out of it. “...”

He stared at August with an odd look in his eyes.

I thought you were bluffing. You were serious...?

That’s insane.

This guy... how did he even manage to hit Team Rocket that hard back then?

Bruno was starting to question everything he knew.

Every previous League operation against Team Rocket had been meticulously planned, every angle considered. And here was August—no plan, just vibes—and still managing to pull off massive victories?

It made no sense.

Just as August opened his mouth to say more, his phone began to ring.

Caller ID: “Hoothoot.”

He had asked the Hoothoot Investigator to pick up Kurt and his granddaughter earlier. Since he was calling now, they must’ve found them.

Without hesitation, August answered, “How did it go? Are they safe?”

“Kurt’s granddaughter is safe,” came the investigator’s voice over the line. “But Kurt insisted on staying home to try and persuade Pryce. After I settled Chiharu in, I went back to check... and found that Kurt has gone missing.”

August frowned.

He hadn’t expected Kurt to be so stubborn... But considering the man’s past friendship with Pryce, it wasn’t hard to understand.

Still, August wasn’t overly worried about Kurt’s safety.

Even though Pryce’s personality had changed drastically, as long as Kurt handed over the GS Ball schematics, his life probably wasn’t in danger.

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

“I examined the scene,” the Hoothoot Investigator added, “and I believe Kurt was abducted—by Team Rocket.”

August: “?”

What did he just say?
Team Rocket took Kurt?

He was about to ask for clarification when a photo came through.

The image was of a torn, water-stained piece of paper, reassembled as best as possible. Though parts were damaged, most of the message was still legible.

"Three days from now, bring Silver to Ilex Fo... to exchange for Kurt and the schemat..." –Giova..."

August: “.....”

Well, damn. It really was Giovanni.

So Giovanni had gotten to Kurt first.

As for how Giovanni found out about the GS Ball and Kurt...

August paused, thinking it over.

It might have something to do with him—after all, he was the one who had leaked information to Giovanni earlier about Pryce collecting the [Rainbow Wing] and [Silver Wing]...

So in a way, wasn’t all of this his own fault?

“Ahem...”

He shook the thought out of his head. Nope. Not possible. Not my fault.

Blue, Sabrina, and the others had been watching his expression and now came over to look at the photo. The reassembled note from Giovanni left no doubt.

Everyone’s eyes turned to Silver.

Blue and Sabrina already knew who Silver really was, but Gold didn’t.

He gawked, confused. “Silver, why’s your name on that letter?”

Silver turned his head away, refusing to acknowledge him.

August wasn’t paying attention to the reactions around him. His thoughts were already racing ahead.

Giovanni planned to trade Kurt and the GS Ball blueprint for Silver.

But Pryce obviously couldn’t produce Silver—yet he was absolutely desperate to obtain the GS Ball.

Which could mean only one thing:
In three days, Team Rocket and the Masked Corps were going to war.

At that moment, August realized—Kurt being captured might actually be a good thing.

Now Pryce had no choice. Even if he didn’t want to fight Giovanni, he would have to.

August suddenly felt like giving Giovanni a thumbs up.

To make sure Giovanni wasn’t caught off-guard and eliminated by Pryce, August decided to send him all the intel he had on Pryce and the Masked Corps before the battle began.

Then he looked up at Bruno and said, “You asked earlier why I said we’d improvise.”

“Well, the answer’s simple—plans can’t keep up with how fast things change.”

“I just received a reliable tip: Giovanni and Team Rocket, and Pryce with the Masked Corps, will clash near Ilex Forest three days from now.”

“And our job? We let them wear each other out... then we swoop in and take the prize.”

---

Three Days Later – Azalea Town

The once-quiet, peaceful town now lay deathly still. Not a single person remained—not even the Slowpoke from the well.

The evacuation of the townspeople made it clear: the Pokémon League already knew what was going on. But neither Team Rocket nor Pryce paid the League any mind.

At this point, they only had eyes for their true goals.

...

Ilex Forest

Giovanni stood before the forest shrine, flanked by his subordinates. He couldn’t suppress the surge of emotion rising in his chest.

After all these years...
He was finally about to see Silver again.

Just as Giovanni was settling in to wait for Pryce’s arrival, his communicator buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out—another message from August.

Giovanni frowned. After being tricked once already, he hadn’t planned on opening it. But just as he was about to put the device away, he remembered the key intel August had provided before.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he pinched his nose and opened the message.

---

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!