Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [210]

Though Giovanni remained tangled in layers of doubt, there was one thing he could say for certain—August was fanning the flames.

The earliest information about the Masked Corps had come from August himself. Then he fed Giovanni intel on Silver’s whereabouts, escalating the conflict between Team Rocket and the Masked Corps. And now, August wasn’t even bothering to pretend otherwise...

But even knowing it was likely a trap, Giovanni had no choice but to step into it—because he had to find Silver.

Shutting off his tablet, Giovanni turned to Petrel. “Compile everything we have on Ho-Oh. And assign someone to keep tabs on Pryce.”

“Yes, sir!”

---

While Giovanni was receiving intel from August about Pryce’s attack on Ho-Oh—

Elsewhere, at the Mahogany Gym—

A Delibird returned from Ecruteak, landing within the Gym after a long flight.

Hearing the noise, Pryce paused his chiseling, stepping back from the large sheet of ice he’d been carving.

Delibird reached into its pouch-like tail and pulled out a handful of feathers.

“[Rainbow Feathers]...”

Pryce gazed at the vibrant plumes laid out before him, though his expression showed no joy.

To him, obtaining [Rainbow Feathers] from Ho-Oh was only natural. What wasn’t natural was his failure to capture Ho-Oh.

Had August not suddenly appeared, Ho-Oh would already be in his grasp.

The Pokémon he'd planned to use against Team Rocket had now been rescued by August, disrupting his entire plan.

From what intel suggested, Giovanni’s severe injuries had been caused by August as well.

Had Silver not gone missing, Pryce might’ve temporarily allied with Giovanni to eliminate August together.

But now, Silver's disappearance had brought everything to a standstill...

“Still... at least the [Rainbow Feathers] have been delivered.”

He pocketed the feathers and turned to the sculpture he’d been working on.

The ice statue bore a mask and a black cape—an exact likeness of the Masked Man.

With a tap of his cane, Pryce activated the sculpture.

The ice figure stirred to life, moving its limbs like a living being.

Delibird then handed a Poké Ball to this new "Masked Man" from its pouch-like tail.

But this time, Pryce didn’t intend to send his proxy to the Whirl Islands in pursuit of Lugia.

After the previous fiasco, he had decided to act personally.

Tapping his cane again, the frozen Masked Man lifted Pryce’s wheelchair and merged with it, hoisting him to its head level.

Now fully integrated into the mask and form of his creation, Pryce glanced back at the Gym and released his Ariados and Haunter, staging a scene to make the recently cleaned Gym look like it had just been attacked.

Then he recalled the two Pokémon and turned to Delibird. “Take me to the Whirl Islands.”

Delibird, having just gotten a brief rest, took flight again without hesitation, carrying Pryce skyward, heading toward the storm-lashed seas.

At that moment, the agents Giovanni had dispatched to monitor Pryce finally arrived—just in time to witness his departure.

One of them immediately pulled out a communicator and began reporting back to Giovanni.

---

Olivine City—coastal and open to sea breeze—sat across the water from Cerulean.

August and Blue descended from the sky atop Salamence.

The dragon was panting heavily, its long-distance flights taking their toll.

“Alright, you rest now. If we need to fly again, I’ll let baby Lugia take over,” August said, patting Salamence’s neck.

If he remembered correctly, there was a Lugia rumored to live in the Whirl Islands. He figured it might be a good idea to bring baby Lugia along and see if they could get on its good side.

But when Salamence heard that its job might be handed off to the baby, it panicked.

That meant no more bonus Poké Puffs.

Instantly reinvigorated, Salamence stood tall, trying to show it was still good to go.

August couldn’t help but marvel at the power of food. Truly, there was no greater motivator.

Just then, his communicator beeped.

Good news from Bugsy in Azalea—Falkner from Violet City had agreed to join the operation.

Now, aside from Jasmine of the Olivine Gym, whom they were about to visit, only Cianwood and Olivine Gyms remained uncontacted.

“Let’s find Jasmine before the sun sets,” August said to Blue.

And at the mention of Jasmine... a certain meme image of “Magnemite Knight” popped into his head.

He gave his head a shake to clear away the nonsense.

Blue didn’t know why August was shaking his head, but she had no objections to his plan.

After all, the sooner they acted, the sooner they could catch the Masked Man.

However, when they arrived at the Gym, they were told Jasmine wasn’t in.

“As far as we know, the Gym Leader often visits the lighthouse during her free time, Officer August.”

...

The Glitter Lighthouse.

It had stood on the Olivine coast since ancient times.

Legends told of the lighthouse working alongside its guardian Ampharos to guide ships safely through the night sea.

Even though the city had built newer, automated lighthouses along the shore, the original still remained, protected as a symbol of the past.

When August and Blue arrived, they saw Jasmine.

Dressed in a light-colored dress, she sat by the floor-to-ceiling window of the lighthouse, quietly watching the sea beside her bright yellow Ampharos, Sparkle.

Sensing their approach, Jasmine turned.

She looked at the two with a puzzled expression. “Can I help you?”

The lighthouse didn’t get many visitors, and August and Blue didn’t exactly look like tourists.

“Let me introduce myself—August, International Police.” He showed her his credentials, then added, “The Johto League is in danger. We need your help, Miss Jasmine.”

Jasmine blinked in surprise.

The Johto League is in danger? Why hadn’t she heard anything from the League?

She eyed August and Blue with suspicion.

Were they frauds?

“We’re working covertly. Before you, we’ve already enlisted Bugsy of Azalea, Morty of Ecruteak, Whitney of Goldenrod, and Falkner of Violet,” August explained.

He then showed her the operation channel where each participating Gym Leader’s name and number were listed.

Jasmine recognized the familiar names and codes. Her doubts about August’s identity disappeared—but now new ones took their place.

“Then… who exactly are we fighting?”

“The Masked Corps.”

---

This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：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!