Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [208]

August gave Clair a brief rundown on the Masked Corps.

With Lance serving as a bridge between them, communication between August and Clair went very smoothly.

Although Clair was a little surprised that August regarded the Masked Corps as the true threat rather than Team Rocket, she figured that, as an International Police officer, he likely had access to intel she didn’t.

Still, she raised a fair question about his plan to contact Johto’s Gym Leaders individually:

“Why not just gather all the Johto Gym Leaders at once?”

Of course August had considered it. That would’ve been the most straightforward and efficient way to handle things. But then came the problem—do you invite Pryce?

If they didn’t invite Pryce, even if he was preoccupied with Team Rocket, he’d still notice something was off.

But if they did invite him… then what was the point of all this behind-the-scenes coordination?

So even just for the sake of secrecy, contacting the others one by one—behind Pryce’s back—was absolutely necessary.

Naturally, August didn’t explain all that aloud. He just smiled quietly.

Clair, catching on, tactfully didn’t press. Instead, she offered, “Then let me help reach out to the other Gym Leaders. With another person, we should be able to move faster.”

Her offer to help was something August gladly welcomed.

He pulled out a map of the Johto region from his backpack.

Goldenrod was already assigned to Sabrina. Pryce’s Mahogany Gym and the Azalea Gym, currently swarming with Team Rocket, were off-limits for now.

That left just the Ecruteak Gym, Cianwood Gym, Violet Gym, and the coastal Olivine Gym.

Even though Clair had volunteered, August couldn’t just dump all the work on her.

So…

“I’ll leave Ecruteak Gym to you,” he said, then gave her a number. “This is the comm channel dedicated to this operation. When the time comes, just contact Morty at Ecruteak directly.”

Clair carefully committed the number to memory.

August and Blue didn’t linger long in Blackthorn City.

Team Rocket had already begun moving, setting the stage for the final confrontation. Pryce had probably learned of their movements by now. Every second counted.

In fact, while August and Blue were flying toward Ecruteak City on Salamence, they received news that another clash had broken out between Team Rocket and the Masked Corps.

“August!” Blue raised her voice above the roaring wind. “Sabrina just sent a message—there was a skirmish in Goldenrod City! A Rocket base got wiped out by the Masked Corps. League officers have already stepped in.”

The rush of cold wind at high altitude kept August’s mind razor-sharp.

“This is the Corps' counterattack...” August’s eyes narrowed. “Pryce is trying to trade blows with Team Rocket?”

He immediately saw through Pryce’s strategy.

And he had to admit—it was a good one.

If Team Rocket were led by anyone other than Giovanni… or if Giovanni’s son weren’t Silver… Pryce’s tactic might have succeeded.

But Pryce underestimated Giovanni’s devotion—and his resolve.

This move wouldn’t force Giovanni to back down. On the contrary, it would only make him more determined.

“So we’ve finally reached this point,” August said. “Good news for us.”

In a twisted way, the Masked Corps had taken it upon themselves to clean up Team Rocket’s remnants within the League. From that perspective, they were doing the League a favor.

If Pryce hadn’t kidnapped Blue, August might’ve honestly nominated him for a League Partner Medal.

Too bad…

Just as that thought passed through his mind, Salamence suddenly dipped lower.

Breaking through the clouds, the cityscape below came into view.

The most eye-catching landmarks were the charred ruins of the Burned Tower at the city’s northwest edge, and the soaring Bell Tower to the east, still standing tall against the sky.

“We’re in Ecruteak!”

August called out, just about to guide Salamence in for a landing—when Blue suddenly looked down at her chest, where a brilliant rainbow light was glowing through her clothes.

At the same moment, a sharp, piercing cry echoed from the sky in the distance!

Far across the heavens, a massive Pokémon wreathed in prismatic light broke through the clouds, soaring directly into view.

August looked up—and froze.

He blurted out without thinking:

“…Holy crap. A shiny Fearow?”

...

The "shiny Fearow" August blurted out earlier was, of course, Ho-Oh.

A legendary Pokémon known for its elusive nature, Ho-Oh rarely showed itself to humans. Some exaggerated legends even claimed that those who laid eyes on Ho-Oh would be blessed with eternal happiness.

August had always scoffed at such baseless myths.

Humans, eternally unsatisfied as they are—how could they ever attain eternal happiness?

Truthfully, aside from being dazzled by how sparkly Ho-Oh looked, August didn’t feel anything particularly special upon seeing it.

In fact, more than excitement, what filled his heart at that moment was confusion.

“Why is Ho-Oh appearing here, and now?”

No one answered his question.

Blue, the moment she saw Ho-Oh, had already fallen into a state of panic.

“It’s… it’s that one…!”

She instantly recognized the enormous bird Pokémon that had kidnapped her as a child.

While Mew had helped her overcome her ornithophobia back then, seeing that figure again—etched so deeply into her memory—made Blue’s body tremble uncontrollably.

August noticed her condition right away. He pulled her into his arms, took her hand, and used his aura to calm her emotions.

Thanks to Mew’s earlier treatment, Blue recovered quickly under August’s soothing influence. Though her eyes still held a trace of fear as she looked at Ho-Oh, she was no longer overwhelmed.

Together, she and August stared up at the majestic figure in the sky.

But something was off.

The Ho-Oh before them, which should’ve exuded grace and serenity, looked… agitated. Its eyes were sharp, restless—constantly scanning its surroundings.

And the moment it noticed August and Blue approaching, it let out a loud, warning cry.

“Is it telling us to back off—or it’ll attack?”

Seeing Ho-Oh’s defensive posture, a suspicion began to rise in August’s mind. Could it be…?

That thought had barely formed when another figure burst from the nearby clouds.

This new arrival wore a black cloak, a silver mask covering his face, and stood on the back of a Delibird mid-flight.

“It’s him—the Masked Man!”

Blue immediately recognized him from that all-too-familiar getup.

August, however, had a slightly different focus.

“I’ve always wondered… he rides that Delibird everywhere—how does Delibird not file a complaint?”

For a Pokémon that small, how does Pryce even fit on its back?

Blue: “...”

You’ve got jokes at a time like this? Seriously?

But she misjudged him.

Even as he made the quip, August’s hands moved fast—two flashes of white light burst forth, and Mewtwo and Gardevoir appeared at his side, hovering in the air.

August had always valued his life. Facing a situation like this, of course he wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks.

Meanwhile, the Masked Man—engaged in battle with Ho-Oh—had also noticed the two figures in the distance.

His eyes landed on Blue first. At a glance, he didn’t recognize her in her current outfit.

But when he spotted the shiny Gardevoir and Mewtwo standing beside August, Pryce—controlling the Masked Man’s ice double—narrowed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, he’d heard from Rocket grunts he captured that Giovanni had been severely injured recently by an International Police officer named August—and that officer was always seen with a shiny Gardevoir.

Could this be him?

At that moment, Pryce felt like the universe had it out for him.

First, Team Rocket had shown up at his doorstep out of nowhere. Now, just when he had finally succeeded in summoning Ho-Oh and was preparing to pluck its feathers to craft a GS Ball—and use its power against Team Rocket—he runs into this guy?

Someone strong enough to injure Giovanni? No way he could be taken lightly.

The skies weren’t Pryce’s domain to begin with. Now he had to fight Ho-Oh and deal with August?

After a brief internal calculation, Pryce made his decision.

Forget catching Ho-Oh—just get the feathers!

“Delibird—[Ice Beam]!”

The Delibird beneath his feet let out a sharp cry and fired a brilliant blue [Ice Beam], freezing one of Ho-Oh’s talons midair.

Seeing Ho-Oh falter, August no longer hesitated.

Pryce may have the stronger individual power, but he had the numbers on his side.

“Mewtwo, [Psycho Cut]! Gardevoir, [Psychic]!”

In response, Mewtwo spun his massive, extended psychic spoon several times before swinging it downward, sending a gleaming [Psycho Cut] slashing toward the Masked Man.

At the same time, Gardevoir activated her plate-enhanced psychic abilities, and a crushing force surged from all directions, bearing down on the Masked Man like a collapsing cage of gravity.

And yet—even under such assault—the Masked Man didn’t flinch. Instead of retreating, he sent Delibird to continue attacking Ho-Oh, while he stepped forward to meet Mewtwo and Gardevoir’s attack head-on.

CRACK—

Under Gardevoir’s relentless pressure, the ice body making up the Masked Man began to fracture audibly.

But still, he didn’t dodge.

Even as the cracks spread, he actively manipulated the ice blocks that formed his body, trying to repair them as he stared calmly at the oncoming [Psycho Cut].

SHING!

In a blink, Mewtwo’s strike cleaved the Masked Man’s head clean off.

The head rolled through the air, revealing a smooth, icy cross-section.

And then—he reached out, caught his own head mid-fall, and held it up in one hand.

Coldly, he looked at August and said, “You think this means you’ve won?”

The mask on his severed head twisted into a mocking smile.

Blue and Mewtwo both froze in shock. Especially Blue—after all her years with the Masked Corps, she’d never known the Masked Man’s body was made of solid ice.

As for Mewtwo… this was his first time seeing anything like it.

Are all humans built like this? he wondered.

Taking advantage of everyone’s stunned silence, Delibird—having charged up all this time—swooped in and delivered a Peck to Ho-Oh, striking hard.

“SKREEEE—!”

Ho-Oh cried out in pain. A clump of shimmering feathers was torn from its body, gripped tightly in Delibird’s claws.

August watched, speechless.

Honestly, he didn’t care whether this counted as a “win.” All he could think was—

Seriously, Ho-Oh, can you do something?!

Ever since it showed up, Ho-Oh had done basically nothing but float around.

Frustrated, August barked, “Mewtwo, deal with Delibird. Gardevoir—”

"Finish him, Gardevoir."

At his command, Gardevoir ramped up the intensity of her psychic power. The pressure crushed inward like a vice. The cracks in the Masked Man’s ice body deepened, spreading faster than he could repair.

And then—he hit his limit.

BOOM!

The ice double exploded into shards, scattering into the air like snow.

The severed head tried to speak again—but Gardevoir’s psychic force slammed down and turned it into ice dust.

Sunlight refracted through the cloud of shimmering fragments, painting the sky with colors as vivid as Ho-Oh’s rainbow light.

August stared at the falling pieces and sighed. “These ice clones sure are convenient… If I ever catch Pryce, I have to ask how he pulled that off. What kind of tech even is this?”

If he hadn’t brought Mewtwo and Gardevoir, any slightly weaker Pokémon would’ve been overwhelmed.

Blue pointed toward the vanishing silhouette of Delibird, her face full of regret.

“Delibird made off with a bunch of Ho-Oh’s feathers… such a shame it got away.”

Mewtwo had actually managed to hold it back earlier—he was just waiting for August’s support—but then, naïve as he was, Mewtwo got tricked by a Gift move and Delibird slipped away.

August waved his hand dismissively. “As long as Ho-Oh wasn’t captured, we’re good.”

He looked up at the now noticeably patchy Ho-Oh.

Even from a distance, he could clearly see a bald patch where feathers had been torn away.

As for Delibird’s escape—August wasn’t worried in the slightest.

Seeing her puzzled expression, August pulled out his phone, opened his email app, and sent a message to the same inbox Giovanni had used to contact him last time.

Subject: Urgent
Message:
Masked Man spotted in Ecruteak. Engaged in battle with Ho-Oh. Successfully stole feathers.
—August

Blue stared at him, dumbfounded.

August gave her a knowing smile. “Sometimes, when upholding justice… a little cooperation with the bad guys isn’t off the table.”

He hit Send.

Looking up from his phone, he met Ho-Oh’s gaze. The legendary Pokémon had calmed down now and was gently descending toward him.

“Thank you,” Ho-Oh said—its voice low and dignified.

Then it turned to Blue.

She hadn’t expected Ho-Oh to approach them. Sitting atop Salamence, her entire body went rigid.

---

T/N: this chapter is 4k words, next chapter is gonna be 5k! so less updates teehee sorry (chaps are usually 2k words, but it seems like the next 2 chapters are gonna be around 10k which would be 5 chapters usually)

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!