Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [187]

Alright. Based on Mareep’s response, August had his answer.

It hadn’t felt the strange ripple at all—it had simply been drawn in by the bright, shiny [GS Ball].

Well…

Thinking about it, that made sense. Mareep wasn’t a Celebi. How could it possibly sense a distortion in time?

His gaze fell back on the [GS Ball], which showed no visible abnormalities. “A Poké Ball capable of capturing time itself…”

With no clear leads, August simply tucked the [GS Ball] into his pocket.

Mareep looked a little disappointed when the glowing ball disappeared from view.

Seeing its dejected expression, August wondered if he had been neglecting Mareep a bit.

Ever since he got it, he had mostly left it to wander on its own…

After some thought, he reached into his bag and pulled out the [Zap Plate].

"Here, this is for you."

Mareep’s eyes filled with curiosity.

"Maaah?"

It hesitantly pressed its head against the electric-type plate in August’s hand.

Zap!

In an instant, Mareep’s wool puffed up explosively, turning into a massive ball of fluff that completely engulfed its body. Only the very tips of its legs and the glowing orb at the end of its tail remained visible.

"Uh…"

August stared at the enormous wool ball in front of him, stunned.

Was the [Zap Plate] really this powerful? Gardevoir had touched it before without any reaction…

"Maeaaaa—!"

Mareep wobbled and struggled, trying to move, but no matter how much effort it put in, it could only roll slightly across the floor—its hooves couldn’t even touch the ground.

It looked like an oversized, Galarian Wooloo, which was honestly pretty adorable.

"Vee!"

Eevee, ever the helpful one, ran up to assist.

August’s expression changed, and he quickly warned, "Wait—!"

But he was a step too late.

Eevee’s paw had already touched Mareep’s wool.

Zap!

Eevee’s fur instantly puffed up like a dandelion, its limbs stiffened, and with a small pop, it flopped onto its back, smoke curling from its mouth.

"....."

August sighed. Let me finish my sentence next time.

Mareep’s wool was not safe to touch when it was fully charged.

On the bright side, thanks to Eevee acting as a lightning rod, Mareep’s wool finally deflated a bit, allowing it to move normally again—though the bulb on its tail was still glowing brightly.

"Looks like it’s too soon for you to handle the [Zap Plate]… You’ll need to level up a bit first." August put the plate away.

Pulling out his tablet, he started drafting a training plan for Mareep.

As for intensity… Let’s go with half of what Slowpoke does.

That should be a reasonable workload for its level.

"This training plan should be fine, right, Mareep?" August asked.

Mareep tilted its head. "Maaah!"

The young Mareep clearly had no idea what half of Slowpoke’s regimen actually meant.

After setting up Mareep’s training, August looked up to see Silver walking in, having just finished his daily exercises.

"I’m planning to visit the Viridian Gym later. Do you want to check out the place where your father used to be?" August asked.

Silver hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

---

“Nidoking, [Earthquake]!”

With a powerful roar and a violent tremor, the opposing Wartortle collapsed, unable to battle.

The trainer on the other side of the battlefield stared in disbelief.

Gary’s expression remained completely indifferent. “You’re not strong enough yet. Come back when you’ve improved.”

As the defeated challenger left, the gym staff swiftly repaired the battlefield before allowing the next opponent in.

Gary returned to the lounge, flopping onto the sofa and staring up at the ceiling with a pained expression.

"When is this going to end…?"

Ever since August had tricked—persuaded—him into temporarily acting as Viridian Gym’s leader, Gary had been stuck in this cycle for a full week.

And the number of trainers coming here to try their luck wasn’t decreasing—in fact, it was steadily increasing.

To be fair, his battle skills had improved a lot, just as August had promised.

At that moment, a knock came at the lounge door.

Gary immediately straightened his clothes and fixed his hair before calling out, “Come in.”

A gym staff member entered.

Gary frowned. “The battlefield is fixed already? I’ll head over—”

“No, Gym Leader, the repairs are still in progress… Someone’s here to see you.”

The staff member stepped aside, revealing August and a stranger standing at the door.

“I came to check on you. Touched?” August asked.

"...More like startled," Gary muttered.

August raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

Gary shuddered and quickly corrected himself, “N-No, I’m very touched.”

“Anyway, let me introduce you. This is Silver,” August said once the staff had left.

"Silver?"

Gary immediately thought of the new guy who had joined their group chat a few days ago.

Looking at the younger Silver, Gary felt… complicated.

Finally—finally—there was someone with even less seniority than him in their group!

This meant that from now on, he wouldn’t be the only one getting August’s special attention!

Gary suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry. His gaze toward Silver was filled with emotion.

August, watching Gary’s reaction, was utterly confused.

Gary shouldn’t even know Silver, so why was he suddenly so excited? He looked even more worked up than Blue, Silver’s sister.

Silver, too, looked puzzled.

But August didn’t dwell on it. He simply assumed Gary was just too stressed lately. He turned to Silver and said, “This is the gym where your father used to be. I asked Lance about it—some of the less important items weren’t taken when they cleared the place. They’re still stored in the underground base. I’ll take you there.”

Silver nodded.

Gary, still processing everything, watched as August walked over to a corner of the room.

After a few knocks on the wall, a hidden keypad popped out.

August entered a code.

With a mechanical whir, the sofa moved aside, revealing a descending passage beneath the floor.

“???”

Gary was stunned. He stared at the newly revealed passage, completely dumbfounded.

I’ve been the Gym Leader for days, and I never knew there was a secret tunnel under the sofa?!

And wait—what did August just say?

This was where his father used to be?

Did that mean Silver was…?

A terrifying thought flashed through Gary’s mind.

No way…

---

T/N: poor mareep...

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!