Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [166]

Without hesitation, Beedrill rushed forward to intercept Gardevoir’s attack, using [Protect] to shield Giovanni as he retreated.

The protective barrier emitted a strained creaking sound under the combined pressure of Gardevoir and Mewtwo’s psychic forces.

Seeing this, Mewtwo wasted no time, launching an [Aura Sphere] from its palm.

The [Aura Sphere] struck the protective barrier with full force, detonating on impact and engulfing both Beedrill and Giovanni in an explosion.

As the smoke and dust billowed from the blast, obscuring Beedrill and Giovanni from view, August frowned. Could Giovanni really be taken down this easily?

"Gardevoir, stay alert!"

Just as August telepathically warned Gardevoir, a figure suddenly shot up from beneath Mewtwo’s feet.

It was none other than the Golem, already battered and covered in wounds from its earlier battle with Gardevoir.

Mewtwo hadn’t anticipated this at all. Golem’s eyes blazed with fury as it lunged at Mewtwo with reckless abandon.

At that moment, Giovanni’s cold voice rang out: “[Explosion]!”

Cracks spread across Golem's body midair, glowing with an intense light.

Sensing the violent energy building within Golem, Mewtwo wanted to dodge, but the distance was too close. It barely managed to set up a weak psychic barrier before—

Boom!

The explosion’s fiery blast consumed Mewtwo entirely.

Taking the full brunt of Golem’s [Explosion], Mewtwo was critically injured. The poison lingering in its system also took effect at that moment, weakening it further. Collapsing onto the ground, Mewtwo struggled to lift its head, eyes locked on Giovanni, desperately trying to summon its psychic energy for [Recover].

But… its body wouldn’t respond.

I was just born… and I’ve already reached my limit.

Seeing Mewtwo’s condition, a victorious smile finally curled Giovanni’s lips.

Feigning retreat only to lure the enemy into a trap—sacrificing Golem in exchange for severely wounding Mewtwo. This was the strategy Giovanni had devised after a brief moment of hesitation.

And from the looks of it, everything had gone perfectly—except for August not taking the bait.

But that doesn’t matter… Mewtwo is crippled. That’s all that matters!

At that moment, Giovanni’s Pokémon regrouped and launched another assault.

Beedrill, its body riddled with wounds and exhaustion plain to see, charged toward Gardevoir.

Aggron intercepted Mew, who was rushing over with a worried expression.

Nidoking unleashed Earthquake, further shattering the already ruined battlefield, while Dugtrio fired off a [Tri Attack] to obstruct August atop Salamence.

With all possible reinforcements held at bay, Giovanni’s Persian darted toward Mewtwo, a [Master Ball] clamped tightly in its jaws.

To Giovanni, the destruction of the New Island base?

Irrelevant. It could be rebuilt anytime.

His subordinates being captured?

He could pay bail for some, and for the rest—prison breaks weren’t out of the question.

His identity being exposed?

Merely the status of a Gym Leader—nothing significant.

As long as he could capture Mewtwo, everything would be worth it!

Giovanni’s gaze burned with anticipation as he stared at Mewtwo.

In August’s earpiece, Blaine’s voice came through: [Should I step in?]

August had previously instructed Blaine to stay hidden behind the ruins, but now, seeing this unfold, Blaine couldn’t hold back any longer. If Mewtwo truly fell into Giovanni’s hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, August’s response took Blaine by surprise.

[Not yet… Just watch.]

August stood firmly on Salamence’s back, directing it to evade Dugtrio’s attacks.

Blaine was stunned. Does August have another trick up his sleeve?

Just as that thought crossed Blaine’s mind—

From the shadows near Mewtwo’s feet, a mischievous Gengar suddenly peeked out.

At first, Giovanni didn’t pay it much attention.

August’s Gengar wasn’t even Elite-tier, and due to type disadvantage, its Ghost-type moves couldn’t so much as scratch Persian.

But what Gengar did next completely caught Giovanni off guard.

Instead of attacking Persian, Gengar opened its mouth wide, shoved its hand into its own belly, and rummaged around inside.

After a few moments of blind searching, its eyes lit up in realization.

“Genga!”

With a grunt of effort, Gengar pulled out a set of armor—one as large as itself—and tossed it toward Mewtwo.

“…What is that?”

Though the design was slightly different, Giovanni instantly recognized the similarities. This armor bore a striking resemblance to the [M1 Restraint Device] he had specifically engineered to suppress Mewtwo.

Realizing what that meant, Giovanni’s expression darkened.

He tried to order his Pokémon to stop it, but it was too late.

The moment Gengar threw the [M2 Restraint Device], its sensors activated.

A light pulsed across its surface as it locked onto Mewtwo’s position.

Before Persian could reach its target, the armor swiftly latched onto Mewtwo’s body with a series of mechanical clicks.

Persian, still following orders, faithfully lunged forward with the [Master Ball], pressing it against Mewtwo’s body.

Thunk.

Nothing happened.

Persian blinked in confusion at the unresponsive [Master Ball].

However, the armor—reacting to the impact—suddenly lit up.

Beep.

[Status detected: Mewtwo is poisoned. Administering antidote…]

[Status detected: Mewtwo is weakened. Administering potion…]

A robotic voice echoed from the armor.

August wasn’t surprised. After obtaining the [M2 Restraint Device], he had thoroughly studied it. This armor wasn’t designed solely to suppress Mewtwo.

Restraint was just one of its key functions. If needed, it could also serve as a battle support system for Mewtwo.

And the antidote and potions? August had personally loaded them beforehand.

All prizes he had won from the Rocket Game Corner.

“Confirm administration.”

At August’s command, the armor’s mechanical voice responded:

[Voice match confirmed… Administering antidote and potion.]

A liquid was funneled into Mewtwo’s mouth, and almost immediately, strength surged back into its limbs.

Gathering its psychic energy, Mewtwo sent Persian flying with a single attack.

Lifting its arm, Mewtwo inspected the armor now fitted to its body. Feeling the power coursing through it once more, Mewtwo clenched its fist—then raised its gaze toward Giovanni.

“…Giovanni.” Mewtwo’s eyes burned with fury.

Giovanni said nothing.

He had been so close—twice—only for August to ruin his plans both times.

With a sigh, Giovanni knew he had lost his opportunity. If he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t get another chance.

Casting a deep look at August, he said, “We’ll meet again.”

As his words fell, Giovanni released Weezing, which immediately blanketed the area in thick smoke.

Hidden within the smog, Giovanni made his escape. Moments later, a Crobat emerged from the haze, carrying him toward the horizon.

Tracking Giovanni with his [Aura Sight], August ordered his Lugia Jr. to use [Tailwind] in the direction of Giovanni’s escape.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind sent Crobat swaying violently in the air.

Seizing the moment, the electronic visor on Mewtwo’s helmet flashed as it formed a [Shadow Ball] in both hands—then hurled it straight at Giovanni!

Boom!

Giovanni and Crobat were struck midair by the [Shadow Ball]. It exploded violently, sending both figures plummeting into the ocean below.

Watching Giovanni disappear into the sea, Mewtwo finally felt a sense of relief. It cast one last glance at its "mother," Mew, before collapsing onto the ground.

This battle had drained it far too much. Even after using [Recover] and being treated with potions, Mewtwo could no longer hold on.

“Mew!”

Mew flew toward Mewtwo, checking its condition. Only after confirming that it was still alive did it let out a sigh of relief.

Though Giovanni had been hit by Mewtwo’s [Shadow Ball], August wasn’t the least bit happy. Instead, he frowned.

Just moments ago, Gardevoir had informed him that while his attention was drawn to Crobat, she had detected a brief fluctuation of psychic energy within the smoke—consistent with [Teleport].

“…We were deceived?” August’s frown deepened.

He had clearly sensed Giovanni’s [Aura] from Crobat’s position—so how had Giovanni managed to trick his [Aura Sight]?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

Meanwhile, Mew used its psychic power to gently lift Mewtwo and bring it to August’s side.

At that moment, Blaine emerged from his hiding place, and from a distance, Sabrina arrived with Blue in tow.

August posed the question to them.

While Blaine and Sabrina fell into deep thought, Blue suddenly raised a finger hesitantly.

“…Is there a chance that the [Teleport] we sensed in the smoke was actually a decoy? And the one that got hit by the [Shadow Ball] and fell into the sea was Giovanni?”

The group fell silent.

“…!?”

Bringing along Lugia Jr. and Gardevoir, August meticulously searched the area where Giovanni had fallen multiple times—but found nothing.

If Blue’s theory was correct, then two possibilities remained.

One: Giovanni had been unfortunate enough to be swallowed whole by a passing Water-type Pokémon—perhaps a Gyarados—leaving not a single trace behind.

Two: He had remained conscious after falling into the ocean and had already escaped the waters surrounding New Island.

August sighed.

Looks like it just wasn’t meant to be between me and Giovanni.

A pity, really… If he had managed to capture Giovanni, the Pokémon League would at least have to consider making him an Elite Four member. Heck, even the Champion title wouldn’t be out of the question.

By the time he returned to New Island, the Rocket members who had stayed behind had already been thoroughly dealt with—thanks to Lorelei, Sabrina, Blaine, and Blue.

With Sabrina and Blaine, both highly familiar with the island’s layout, leading the way, every possible hiding spot had been searched, flushing out a significant number of Rocket operatives.

...

“All cleaned up,” Blue reported, handing August a list of captives. “In total, we captured 73 Rocket scientists, one high-ranking executive, one mid-tier squad captain, and seven lower-ranking team leaders. Additionally, we detained 327 elite and standard Rocket members. Some managed to escape by jumping into the sea, but other than that, everyone has been accounted for.”

Rocket members weren’t complete idiots—many had fled the moment they realized the situation was beyond saving. In the end, only about half of the original stationed forces were actually caught.

“Good work.” August took the document from Blue, then turned toward Lorelei, whose stockings were already torn from the intense battle. His gratitude was genuine. “This mission would’ve been a lot harder without you, Lorelei.”

If she hadn’t been here today, things might have ended very differently.

For example, when those elite Rocket members had surrounded them under Matori’s command—even with Sabrina launching a surprise attack from behind, August would have been forced to flee with Mew and Mewtwo in tow.

Lorelei let out a small sigh. “Yeah… this was a lot of work.” She glanced at the exhausted Mew perched on August’s shoulder. “No one told me the Rocket base we were hitting was this big—or that Giovanni himself would show up, let alone a Legendary Pokémon…”

August coughed lightly. “Well… it was a matter of confidentiality. You know how things are with the League right now.”

Lorelei nodded. She couldn’t argue with that.

The League’s internal politics had been a mess for a while now—she had been a Kanto Elite Four for years, so she knew exactly how bad things were.

“What’s your next move?” Lorelei asked. “How do you plan to handle the revelation that Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket?”

With three Gym Leaders now exposed as Rocket members, this was going to be big.

Beyond just the logistics of finding new Gym Leaders to replace them, this scandal would deal a massive blow to the League’s public image.

At Lorelei’s words, August merely spread his hands innocently.

“I’m just an ordinary Interpol agent,” he said with a straight face. “Handling the aftermath? That’s your department.”

There was a long silence.

Blaine, Sabrina, and Blue all looked at him expressionlessly.

Ordinary?

Look at this battlefield. Does this look like the work of an ‘ordinary’ Interpol agent?

Ignoring their stares, August continued nonchalantly, “Besides, no matter how messy the cleanup is, it’s gotta be easier than fighting Team Rocket, right?”

Lorelei smirked. “That much is true.”

Even though Giovanni had escaped capture, the sheer damage Team Rocket had suffered today meant they would be lying low for years.

With that in mind, Lorelei adjusted her glasses, her expression suddenly turning mischievous.

“Speaking of which… I just remembered that I have some unfinished business in the Sevii Islands,” she said, feigning realization. “So I’ll leave the cleanup work to Lance.”

“After all, he’s gunning for the Champion title soon—I wouldn’t want to steal his chance at taking credit for this.”

“…”

August mentally observed a moment of silence for Lance.

Well… as long as it’s not my problem.

He immediately nodded. “That works. Lance is currently in Indigo Plateau—making him the closest Elite Four to Viridian Gym. It makes sense for him to handle the final cleanup.”

Just like that, with only a few exchanges, the burden of post-operation cleanup had been conveniently dumped onto Lance.

---

Meanwhile, in his office at Indigo Plateau, Lance was busy reviewing the budget for the upcoming Indigo Conference.

He suddenly sneezed.

“…Have I been overworking myself? Am I catching a cold?”

Pausing, he thought for a moment.

“…Speaking of which, August should be dealing with the Rocket bases right about now. But with Lorelei there, things should be fine… right?”

After a brief hesitation, Lance decided to call August—just to check in.

It was a decision he would come to regret deeply in the following month.

By the time the cleanup on New Island was complete and Lance’s team of prosecutors had arrived, the sun was already beginning to set.

Most of the captured Rocket members were handed over to the authorities. However, when it came to Matori—the Rocket Secretary-General—August had no intention of turning her over just yet.

Instead, he entrusted her to Sabrina’s care, planning to take her back to a safehouse in Saffron City.

---

T/N: someone vote this man out! he's suspicious!

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!