Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [196]

In the outskirts of Stone Town, a most unusual battle was unfolding.

On one side stood Psyduck—clutching its head with both hands, brow furrowed, wearing an expression of intense concentration, as if brewing an ultimate move.

On the other side lay Slowpoke—sprawled on the ground, looking blank as ever, yet keenly observing Psyduck for any weaknesses.

The two Pokémon faced off.

The tension in the air was immense—perhaps even greater than during Gengar’s battle against Starmie.

It was a true showdown of titans.

All eyes were fixed on the battlefield.

Silver, in particular, was watching with great interest.

He had personally witnessed the hellish training Slowpoke had endured over the past few days. If Psyduck could hold its own against it, that meant Psyduck was no pushover either.

Then—

Psyduck moved.

“Psy!”

Psyduck used [Taunt].

“Slow~”

Slowpoke responded with an unspoken bring it on.

And then—Psyduck actually charged forward, claws glowing as it lunged at Slowpoke.

Misty’s eyes widened in shock.

Wait… is Psyduck finally going to be useful?!

For a fleeting moment, she dared to hope.

Then—

Psyduck stepped on a tiny rock.

Its balance vanished instantly.

Under everyone’s stunned gazes, Psyduck face-planted onto the ground and skidded forward several meters.

“…..”

Silver, who had been expecting an intense battle, felt his expression stiffen.

Misty slowly placed a hand over her face.

Is it too late to pretend I don’t know Psyduck?

This was beyond embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Slowpoke, who had been entirely focused on the battle, was now completely dumbfounded.

It never would have expected its mighty opponent to trip over a rock.

Was this… a trap?

Slowpoke cautiously remained on guard, watching for a follow-up attack.

But after a long silence…

Psyduck simply sat there, holding its foot and blowing on it.

“…..”

Realizing something was off, Slowpoke decided to test the waters.

Its eyes glowed blue.

[Confusion]

Thud!

A rock levitated and then dropped directly onto Psyduck’s head, causing a large bump to swell in real time.

At first, Psyduck didn’t react.

Then it slowly reached up and touched its head.

“PSY!!!”

The moment its fingers brushed against the lump, Psyduck wailed in pain, tears welling up in its eyes.

Slowpoke: “…..”

Seeing Psyduck’s completely clueless reaction, Slowpoke finally realized—this wasn’t an act.

But if Psyduck wasn’t faking it…

Then what the hell had Slowpoke been doing, trying to outsmart this idiot?!

Is August going to cook me into Slowpoke stew after this?

Nervously, Slowpoke glanced back at August—who was watching with an undisguised smile.

Slowpoke’s heart stopped.

I need to end this battle, fast!

Its eyes flashed blue again—this time, channeling its full power into [Confusion]!

Misty had no time to keep worrying about her reputation. “Psyduck, use [Confusion] too!”

Despite everything, Psyduck was very obedient.

At Misty’s command, it immediately grabbed its head, locked eyes with Slowpoke, and tried to unleash its psychic power.

However…

Nothing happened.

Confusion doesn’t just work because you want it to.

Misty could only watch as Psyduck was effortlessly lifted into the air by Slowpoke’s psychic grip—

And then slammed into the ground.

Half of Psyduck’s body was now buried in the dirt, leaving only its legs sticking out.

Misty stared blankly at the scene.

She looked at August’s Slowpoke…

Why is there such a massive difference between two ‘slow’ Pokémon?

At this point, she had completely given up hope of passing the assessment.

Just as she was about to tell August she wanted to forfeit—

August’s expression suddenly changed.

He frowned and looked toward the sky.

A smoke bomb came whirling down from above.

The battlefield was instantly shrouded in thick smoke.

“Cough, cough—what’s going on?!” Ash choked on the fumes.

Hearing his question, August’s expression twitched.

This feels… oddly familiar.

Sure enough, the moment Ash finished speaking, a hot air balloon descended rapidly from the sky.

And from above came a set of all-too-familiar lines—

“Prepare for trouble, and make it double!”

…

Of course it’s them.

Hearing the unmistakable motto, August looked up at Team Rocket’s trio, finally understanding what had been missing from his encounters with Ash.

Without Team Rocket, Ash was like—

Instant noodles without the seasoning packet.

French fries without ketchup.

Something was just off.

“August, that’s Team Rocket!” Ash shouted. “They’re Pokémon thieves!”

August, of course, already knew exactly who they were.

He had even taken two S.S. Anne tickets from them back in Vermilion City—though he never ended up using them.

However…

August glanced down at himself.

Then at Mewtwo.

Then at Blue.

He had made no attempt to disguise himself.

So the real question was—

Did they seriously not recognize him?!

Or were they just this bold?

Up in the air, Team Rocket was completely oblivious.

They were still celebrating their “successful” ambush.

“This powerful Slowpoke and the twerp’s Pikachu are coming with us, meow!”

Meowth grinned and pressed a switch.

Two mechanical arms extended downward.

One instantly snatched Pikachu off Ash’s shoulder.

“Team Rocket, let go of Pikachu!”

Ash leaped to grab it back, but the mechanical grip held firm.

“Pika—!”

Pikachu struggled but couldn’t break free.

The other mechanical arm extended toward Slowpoke—

But just as it was about to grab it, the claw… froze midair.

Meowth furrowed its brow and shook the controls.

“…Huh? Is the claw jammed, meow?”

“Meowth, are you useless? Let me do it!”

Jessie shoved Meowth aside and took over—

Yet no matter how much she adjusted the controls, the claw refused to move.

August chuckled. “You guys are impressively brave sometimes.”

Hearing his voice, the trio finally looked down.

“Who are you?!” Jessie demanded. “Are you the one messing with our machine?!”

James squinted. “Wait… you look kind of familiar…”

Meowth, who had the best memory among them, suddenly gasped.

“I remember now! This is the guy from Vermilion City—the one who tricked us!”

Back when they were handing out cruise tickets, this guy and his girlfriend had toyed with them.

And worst of all—

They even pinched Meowth’s face!

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T/N: ....I.... you know what i will hold my peace

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!