Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [190]

"He’s Giovanni’s son!"

The moment those words left August’s mouth, Lance’s brain momentarily froze.

Giovanni’s… son?

Lance gave August a you’ve got to be kidding me look, assuming he was joking.

But seeing August’s serious expression, a terrible suspicion crept into Lance’s mind.
"…You’re serious?"

"Of course I am. Do I look like someone who lies?" August spread his hands.

Why does no one ever believe me?

"…"

Lance’s stunned gaze shifted back and forth between August and Silver.

This revelation was even more shocking than when August had first called to tell him Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket.

"How did you…?"

Lance couldn’t help but ask. He was genuinely curious.

The son of Giovanni joining Interpol? That was almost too insane to believe.

Though he hadn’t finished his sentence, August knew exactly what he meant.

"You’re asking how I got Silver to join me?" August patted Silver’s shoulder with a grin. "Simple. His sister’s in my hands. Kekeke."

Lance: …
Silver: …

Lance had more or less gotten used to August’s personality by now.
Silver… well, he should have realized August’s true nature back in Azalea Town.

He had simply been deceived by August’s occasional moments of sincerity.

At long last, Silver finally understood why Gary’s group chat nickname was "Beware of August’s Endless Scams."

Despite August’s nonsense, Silver still wanted to make his stance clear.

"I will destroy that man’s evil organization," Silver declared firmly.

Hearing Silver’s words, Lance was a little surprised—but he now understood why Silver had chosen to join Interpol.

He was a boy with a strong sense of justice.

Looking at Silver’s serious expression, Lance suddenly had a sense of déjà vu—like he was watching August’s younger self when he had first joined Interpol.

Same youth, same determination for justice.

…

Well.

Hopefully, Silver’s skills would grow to match August’s, but his personality… maybe not so much.

"Good luck. I’m rooting for you!"

Lance offered Silver a few words of encouragement before turning back to August. He had originally wanted to discuss the upcoming Indigo Conference—

—only to see August waving a document in his hand.
"Lance, is this real?"

Lance took the document from him, gave it a glance, and immediately understood.

"Oh, you mean the tax issue in Stone Town? Yeah, it’s real," Lance confirmed.

The document August had picked up was an investigation report on Stone Town, the second-largest source of evolutionary stones in Kanto after Mt. Moon.

According to the League’s tax authorities, Stone Town had been involved in tax evasion and smuggling during its excavation operations.

The issue had been reported to Lance, but since he had been too busy handling Team Rocket-related affairs and preparing for the Indigo Conference, he had set it aside for the time being.

"Why, are you interested in this?" Lance asked.

There weren’t many things that August voluntarily brought up.

August didn’t deny it. He nodded. "Yeah, I’ve got a bit of interest in Stone Town."

He still vividly remembered his time slacking off at Indigo Plateau—until some guy named "Flareon Is the Best" ruined his peaceful days.

Of course, August wasn’t someone who held grudges.

"Since you’re too busy to handle it, just leave it to me," August said with a smile.

Lance, unaware of August’s totally non-personal motives, assumed that he was just looking for something to do out of boredom.

Since it wasn’t a particularly urgent matter, Lance simply handed the document to him.

"You’re familiar with the League’s Audit Department. If you need manpower, just reach out to them."

August nodded.

After briefly discussing the preparations for the Indigo Conference—and sensing that Lance was about to rope him into helping—August quickly grabbed Silver and ran for it.

Leaving Lance behind with a helpless sigh, drowning in his ever-growing pile of paperwork.

Well, he thought. That’s just the price of ambition.

...

After taking Silver on a tour of Interpol’s "official" headquarters in Kanto, August brought him to the League cafeteria.

Despite having eaten at numerous high-end restaurants, August still found the League’s cafeteria food to be the best.

…Mainly because it was free.

Salamence, too, was happily devouring its meal, looking blissfully content.

"So… we’re going to investigate tax fraud?" Silver asked.

From what he had imagined, joining Interpol meant working on the front lines of battle, fighting against Team Rocket in constant life-or-death struggles.

Yet, compared to his time in Johto, where he had been investigating the Masked Man alone—

…this was almost too easy.

And now that they finally had a mission, it was… tax fraud?

August immediately saw through Silver’s thoughts and shook his head. "Don’t underestimate this kind of work."

Seeing Silver’s puzzled expression, he explained, "You haven’t been in Kanto long enough to understand the situation here."

"Based on incomplete statistics, in the past decade, 47% of all violent crimes in Kanto have been linked to Team Rocket."

"For economic crimes, the percentage is slightly lower—but still over 30%, especially in smuggling operations. Most of them are highly likely to be connected to Team Rocket."

Silver’s expression turned thoughtful. "So you’re saying… there’s a high chance we’ll run into Team Rocket while investigating this?"

At that thought, he immediately felt a surge of excitement.

August smiled and nodded. "That’s right. Team Rocket’s involved."

And I am absolutely not being petty about this.

"But there’s one thing you got wrong."

Silver blinked. "What?"

"The Stone Town investigation can wait. First, we need to visit Professor Oak."

August continued, "We were able to get the [GS Ball] in Azalea Town so smoothly thanks to his recommendation. It’s only right that we personally thank him."

Silver nodded in understanding.

And so, the two quickly finished their lunch.

August then dragged a reluctant Salamence—who kept turning back longingly at the League’s cafeteria—as they took off toward Pallet Town.

---

When August arrived at Professor Oak’s lab, he was momentarily stunned by the sight before him.

Inside the lab, accompanied by Professor Oak’s startled shouts, a herd of Tauros was stampeding wildly through the facility. The chaos was overwhelming.

Silver watched the scene unfold, then turned to August.

His eyes said it all:

"Are we in the right place? This is supposed to be the prestigious lab of the world-renowned Professor Oak… right?"

August nodded, confirming that they hadn’t taken a wrong turn.

Seeing the situation, he already had a pretty good idea of what had happened—Ash must have just transferred over the Tauros he caught at the Safari Zone.

Come to think of it, August was actually quite familiar with these Tauros.

Back when he ran a Pokémon conservation area, the Tauros he raised were too strong, scaring off any potential poachers before they could even attempt anything. So, in the end, he had borrowed some Tauros from Kaiser, the Safari Zone warden, to use as bait.

Heh… and back then, Kaiser was so stingy about lending them to me.

Well, look at him now.

Didn’t Ash just capture all of them in one go?

Although August’s thoughts ran wild, in reality, only a few seconds had passed.

Seeing the rampant chaos, August calmly released Gardevoir.

He gave her a look.

Gardevoir—a name feared among the Pokémon of the Safari Zone.

Recognizing the familiar Tauros, Gardevoir: …

She let out a small sigh.

There was no need to use any attacks.

She simply activated telepathy.

"Garde~!"

Her voice echoed directly into the minds of every Tauros present.

In that instant, Silver witnessed a scene he would never forget.

The rampaging Tauros—who had just been wreaking havoc—suddenly froze in place, as if someone had hit the pause button.

Then, as one, they turned to look in August’s direction—or rather, at Gardevoir.

And in the next second—

The once-mighty Tauros collapsed to the ground, legs folded beneath them, their heads bowed low as they trembled in fear.

Silver was stunned.

Just a single glance—without even making a move—and August’s Gardevoir had completely subdued these Tauros?

"Don’t be so shocked," August said, patting a nearby Tauros on the head. "It’s not that Gardevoir is ridiculously strong. It’s just that… these guys know me. Right?"

The Tauros he was touching shuddered violently, pressing its head even lower—if it could, it would’ve buried itself in the ground.

Why are the Demon King and the Witch here?!

At that moment, Professor Oak finally got up.

Seeing August, Oak was visibly surprised.

Despite being covered in hoofprints, the professor still looked full of energy, showing no signs of injury.

This scene reminded August of a certain video compilation he had seen in his previous life—"Professor Oak’s Most Reckless Moments." Truly, the original Super Rookie.

Brushing the dust off his clothes, Professor Oak let out a relieved sigh.
"Thanks, August! If it weren’t for you, who knows how long it would’ve taken to round up these Tauros?"

"No problem… but Professor, how did you end up like this?" August asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was Ash… he suddenly transferred over a whole batch of Poké Balls. I was eating instant noodles at the time, and I accidentally knocked the activation switch for the transfer system…" Oak trailed off, looking exasperated.

Fortunately, everything was settled now.

One by one, he recalled the Tauros back into their Poké Balls. Then, looking up at August, he asked, "So, what brings you here?"

From what he knew, August had accomplished several shocking feats recently—even making a trip to Johto. What could’ve brought him to Pallet Town?

"I came to thank you," August said. "If not for your recommendation, I wouldn’t have been able to get Mr. Kurt to craft a Poké Ball for me so smoothly."

"Oh, that? It was nothing." Oak waved it off with a laugh. "Honestly, Kurt keeps complaining about how the younger generation doesn’t appreciate handcrafted Poké Balls anymore. But deep down, I bet he was thrilled to make one again."

August hadn’t expected there to be such a backstory.

However, the [GS Ball] was no ordinary Poké Ball.

Instead of dwelling on that topic, he got straight to the point.

"Actually, Professor, there’s another reason I came to see you."

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a fragment of the [Grand Meteorite]—a reward he had received from the system.

"I’d like your help analyzing this meteorite."

Initially, August hadn’t planned on troubling Professor Oak with this.

After all, his department already had Professor Cerise as an advisor, along with Bill and Blaine…

However, after consulting Bill and Blaine, he learned that neither of them specialized in this field, nor did they have the necessary equipment for such an analysis.

Blaine did have some expertise, but he was currently too busy dealing with challengers.

And since Cinnabar Island’s lab was rather crude, August ultimately decided to seek out Professor Oak instead.

Hearing August’s request, Oak took the sealed container holding the Grand Meteorite fragment.

"Does this meteorite have a name?" he asked while inspecting it.

August didn’t hide anything. "It’s called the [Grand Delta Meteorite]—a fragment from the meteorite that fell in Hoenn."

"What I’d like to confirm is whether this rock contains any signs of life."

Upon hearing the name [Grand Delta Meteorite], Oak’s expression shifted.

"Ah, I’ve heard of this during my academic exchanges with Hoenn researchers."

"The Mossdeep Space Center reportedly found signs of life in the [Grand Meteorite] and has been attempting to cultivate and revive it."

Then, Oak looked at August.

August nodded. "That’s right. I believe the lifeform inside the meteorite is an undiscovered Pokémon."

Hearing the words undiscovered Pokémon, Oak’s curiosity skyrocketed.

Carrying the meteorite fragment, he walked over to a machine in the corner and placed the sealed container inside.

Using a robotic arm to open the case within the sealed chamber, he activated the scanner.

The results came back quickly.

Staring at the screen, Professor Oak’s expression became… odd.

"Professor Oak, what’s the result?" August asked.

"This meteorite fragment contains no signs of life," Oak announced first.

August felt a slight pang of disappointment—but it wasn’t unexpected.

After all, the fragment he obtained didn’t contain Deoxys’ core crystal.

He had hoped there might still be traces inside the rock, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

However, just as he was processing that information, Oak suddenly spoke again.

"But…"

August’s gaze sharpened. "But what?"

Oak printed out the analysis report and handed it to him.

"According to the scan, I did find a DNA sample on the meteorite fragment."

"Additionally, the meteorite itself appears to have some unique properties."

Oak pointed at the scan results. "This rock seems to possess an energy-dissolving effect… but I’d need to conduct further research to understand it fully."

"These aren’t my areas of expertise, though."

Everyone had their own specialties, and Oak clearly wasn’t well-versed in these fields.

August nodded, unfazed.

He already had the perfect candidates in mind.

For DNA analysis, Blaine could handle it.

As for the meteorite itself…

It had been a while since he last contacted Steven Stone.

As the Hoenn Champion, Steven should be able to access Mossdeep’s research data.

---

T/N: Demon King and The Witch...

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!