Pokémon: My Titles Know No Limits! [140]

“I didn’t expect my reputation to have spread far enough to reach the infamous Hunter J in the Sinnoh region,” August remarked.

However, Hunter J, hearing the teasing tone in August’s voice, didn’t feel particularly ‘infamous.’

“I’ll remember you.”

After giving one last glance at Gardevoir, Hunter J abruptly ended the video call.

Watching the final, vaguely threatening look Hunter J had given him, August smirked.

Who’s she trying to scare?

If you’ve got the guts, come to Kanto—I guarantee you won’t have a good time!

And when I eventually visit Sinnoh, you’d better pray I don’t catch you. I’ll make sure you understand exactly why I’m called the ‘Demon Ranger’!

August searched the poachers’ camp. Other than a few vehicles and hunting nets, he only found a handful of captured Pokémon.

One Abra, two Scyther, and an Exeggutor.

All of them were relatively rare Pokémon, fetching high prices on the black market.

“They sure know how to pick…”

August was a little disappointed that these guys hadn’t brought any Sinnoh-exclusive Pokémon for him to confiscate. He wouldn’t have minded getting his hands on a Riolu, an Audino, or a Froslass.

Without hesitation, he released Abra, Exeggutor, and the two Scyther.

When he stepped back outside, he saw that the poachers were already tied up and handcuffed, under the watchful eye of a Slowpoke. Their faces were full of resentment.

Being taken down by a Slowpoke was clearly humiliating for them.

If word got out, they’d never be able to show their faces in the Pokémon hunter community again.

August glanced at their expressions and immediately knew what they were thinking.

Honestly, they didn’t need to worry at all. He had captured so many poachers that they were bound to find like-minded ‘colleagues’ in the League’s prison.

Apparently, the captured poachers had already divided themselves into gangs based on how they’d been caught.

And the ‘Slowpoke Gang’ was not to be underestimated.

“Hunter J has abandoned you all. So… does anyone feel like sharing some useful intel?” August asked.

Silence.

“No one? That’s fine…” August didn’t seem bothered. He turned to Officer Jenny. “Illegal entry, poaching, attacking a League official—plus whatever other charges they already have. Treat them all as hardened criminals and double their sentence.”

Officer Jenny nodded without hesitation.

Hearing August’s words, the poachers panicked.

They knew exactly how many crimes they had committed. If August followed through with his ‘supercharged sentencing,’ they’d be rotting in prison for life.

“I’ll talk!”

“Oh?” August turned his head and saw that the one speaking was none other than the supposed ringleader, who had earlier seemed the most stubborn.

The rest of his crew looked at him in shock.

Dude, seriously?!

No honor at all. Why surrender now? Why… not wait for us?!

Thanks to the poachers’ enthusiastic confessions, August finally understood why they had shown up in his territory.

“An anonymous client specifically requested a Dratini from Kanto?” August frowned.

Was there even a difference between a Kanto Dratini and a Dratini from other regions?

His first instinct was that Team Rocket was behind this, trying to use Pokémon hunters to test the waters.

But after thinking it over, something didn’t add up.

If Team Rocket wanted to test him, why go through all this trouble? They had plenty of grunts—any random squad of theirs would be way more competent than these bottom-feeders.

Everyone knew that in the Pokémon world, only those who couldn’t even make it in an evil organization resorted to becoming Pokémon hunters.

August set that issue aside for now.

He had also gotten an unexpected piece of intel.

Hunter J had mentioned that there would be a big operation in Sinnoh next month.

After considering it for a moment, August drafted an email and sent the information to headquarters.

Sinnoh was currently dealing with Team Galactic, and Looker was likely leading the investigation.

Hopefully, Hunter J isn’t working with Team Galactic. Otherwise, Looker’s going to have his hands full.

The thought of someone else suffering just like him suddenly made August feel a whole lot better.

After escorting the Slowpoke back to their habitat, August and Officer Jenny parted ways.

She still needed to process the poachers’ records and take them to the station, leaving August, Blue, and a group of Slowpoke by the lake.

To celebrate their success in fending off the poachers—and since they still had plenty of ingredients—August decided to throw a lakeside BBQ.

He also let all his Pokémon out to join the fun.

Gengar, experiencing such a lively gathering for the first time, gleefully floated around the lake, occasionally pranking the slow-reacting Slowpoke. Watching them get startled and then take several seconds to actually react was endlessly amusing to it.

Meanwhile, Baby Lugia dived into the lake with Eevee, Jigglypuff, and Chansey on its back, disappearing beneath the surface before resurfacing moments later.

Salamence, in contrast, was the well-behaved one, squatting beside the grill the entire time. August grilled, and it ate.

Half the food August cooked ended up in its belly.

As for Gardevoir, she had taken Dragonair to visit its mother. She wanted to prove that not only had she not bullied Dragonair, but that they actually got along quite well.

…

The banquet lasted from noon until late afternoon, and everyone had a great time.

Notably, when Gardevoir returned from the Safari Zone, she not only took Dragonair to visit its mother but also conveniently brought Kaiser along.

At first, August was delighted to see his old friend.

However, Kaiser didn’t hold back in the slightest. After expressing his shock at Baby Lugia’s presence, he casually talked about his daily life, bluntly stating that ever since August left, his meals had become more enjoyable, his sleep more restful, and with Dragonair keeping him company, life had never been better.

August gritted his teeth in frustration.

Meanwhile, Blue covered her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh.

After everyone was full and satisfied, August quickly had Gardevoir teleport Kaiser away.

“Sigh… I’ve been misunderstood by too many people,” August lamented.

“Daaaii…” The Slowpoke around him all nodded in unison.

Translated into human language: Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.

Seeing the Slowpoke, who were clearly eager for him to leave but still pretended to be reluctant, August suddenly recalled something—the [King’s Rock] he had discovered in the underwater ruins a while back.

That thing had been collecting dust in his bag all this time. Maybe it was finally time to put it to use.

His eyes gleamed with an idea as he turned to the Slowpoke.

“All good things must come to an end—I can’t stay here forever.”

“But seeing how much you all don’t want me to leave, I’m truly touched. So, how about this…”

“I can take one of you with me on my journey. That way, it’ll be like all of you are with me in spirit.”

“Well? Moved yet?”

The Slowpoke were utterly dumbfounded.

M-moved? More like terrified!

They all wanted to shake their heads, but upon noticing Gardevoir lifting her gaze towards them, they immediately teared up and nodded instead, unanimously claiming they were too weak for the task and hoping that their ‘lucky’ companion would be a more deserving peer.

August was quite satisfied with their self-awareness.

“Alright then, in the spirit of fairness—anyone who wants to travel with me, step forward.”

Whoosh!

All the Slowpoke took a synchronized step… backward.

However, one unfortunate Slowpoke, as it attempted to retreat, was shoved forward by the companion behind it.

For a long moment, the chosen Slowpoke stood there, stunned, before turning to glare at its so-called ‘friends’ in betrayal.

The other Slowpoke all put on their usual blank expressions, pretending not to understand what was happening.

Before it could continue protesting, ‘The Demon King’ himself stepped in closer.

“Very good! So eager! That means you’re the lucky one!”

August recognized this particular Slowpoke—it was Slowbro’s child, slightly more diligent in training than the others… just slightly.

The ‘lucky one’ looked like it wanted to resist, but after seeing the ‘kind’ smile on August’s face, it swallowed its words.

With teary eyes, it glanced toward Slowbro.

Farewell, Mother… tonight, I set sail for distant lands…

Slowbro, after secretly breathing a sigh of relief, also teared up, sending off its child with a look of sorrowful farewell.

After watching their farewell, August took out an Ultra Ball and gently tapped it against Slowpoke’s head.

With a whoosh, the ball absorbed it in an instant—no resistance at all.

Feeling satisfied, August waved his hand and walked away with Blue.

Just as the remaining Slowpoke were about to breathe a collective sigh of relief and celebrate the Demon King’s departure, August suddenly turned back around.

“Oh, by the way—I’ll come back to visit when I have time. Don’t forget to meditate every day!”

The Slowpoke all froze on the spot.

However, as they watched August’s figure gradually disappear into the distance, an unexpected sense of emptiness settled over them.

“Daaaiii…”

“Daaaiii—!”

Led by Slowbro, the entire group of Slowpoke called out their farewells.

Hearing the Slowpoke’s cries, Blue was a little curious. “They seem to have quite the bond with you.”

August smiled. “Of course. Back when poachers nearly wiped out their entire group, it was me and Gardevoir—who was still a Kirlia at the time—who camped outside the poachers’ camp for days to rescue them.”

“The bond between us and the Pokémon of the nature reserve isn’t something as simple as like or dislike.”

“What about the other Pokémon you mentioned before? Like Kangaskhan and Gyarados…” Blue asked, intrigued by his past.

Since Blue was interested in his stories, August didn’t mind indulging her curiosity.

“The Kangaskhan family? That was because a baby Kangaskhan got seriously injured by poachers. Its mother couldn’t heal it, so I drove all night to bring it to Fuchsia City for treatment.”

“The Tauros herds were constantly clashing with the Nidoking packs over territory. I helped mediate the dispute with Gardevoir, redrawing their territorial boundaries. They respected me after that. The Tauros charge has been incredibly useful for taking down poachers.”

“As for Gyarados… you’d have to ask Gardevoir. Those guys are all her underlings.”

“…Her underlings?”

Blue looked at Gardevoir, who was gracefully flipping through a book. She simply couldn’t associate such an elegant Pokémon with the idea of having a gang of minions.

“Back then, Gardevoir was the one who—”

“Alright, alright! I’ll stop talking, okay?”

Halfway through his sentence, August noticed Gardevoir glaring at him and immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Although August didn’t finish his story, Blue had already figured it out.

Must be a dark past.

Seeing August drop the topic, Gardevoir returned to her book.

Blue mentally filed this tidbit away for later, then turned to August.

“So, where are we headed next? Fuchsia Gym?”

“Of course.” August playfully flicked Eevee’s ears. “We’ve delayed long enough—Koga’s probably getting impatient.”

“Let’s give him a little ‘August-style’ surprise.”

—

As August expected, Koga was indeed growing impatient.

Not for any personal reasons, but because Giovanni had recently assigned him a task—capturing Moltres near the Indigo Plateau.

Technically, he should have left immediately upon receiving the order.

However, with the upcoming Gym challenge, he couldn’t just abandon his duties and run off to Indigo Plateau.

Aside from worrying about failing the Gym evaluation, he was also concerned about how to explain his absence if the League decided to investigate.

Seated in a kneeling posture, clad in his signature ninja garb, Koga stared at the massive ‘静’ (Serenity) character on the wall, trying to maintain his composure.

At the same time, his thoughts drifted to the new threat Team Rocket had encountered in Johto.

Ever since their clash with the Masked Man’s Army, things in Johto had changed drastically. The previously dormant group had suddenly become highly active—so much so that they had even recruited several captured Team Rocket members.

The Johto division had reached its breaking point.

Eventually, one of Team Rocket’s Four Admins, Archer, personally captured a traitor.

Initially, Archer had intended to interrogate the man about his betrayal, only to discover something shocking—he hadn’t betrayed Team Rocket of his own free will. The mask on his face had completely warped his mind.

This revelation sent shockwaves through Team Rocket’s ranks.

The more radical members immediately urged Giovanni to retaliate against the Masked Man’s Army and rescue their comrades.

However, Giovanni quelled the unrest with his sheer authority, stating that Project Mewtwo was on the verge of completion and required their patience.

Aside from Mewtwo, Giovanni had issued separate orders—sending Koga to capture Moltres, Sabrina to capture Articuno…

As for Zapdos, it was originally meant for Lt. Surge, but since he had been captured, Giovanni decided to handle it personally once Mewtwo was secured.

Just as Koga was deep in thought, a Crobat suddenly flapped its wings and flew in through the window.

Hovering beside Koga, it whispered something in his ear.

Koga’s gaze sharpened.

“The League’s examiner… is finally here!?”

—

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!