August's move—retreating to advance—actually made Blue hesitate for a moment.

  However, their time together had been too short, and the psychological shadow left by the Masked Man was too great. In the end, Blue chose not to tell August anything about the Masked Corps.

  August didn't mind. There was plenty of time ahead.

  She was already in his hands—sooner or ter, he'd get the answers he wanted.

  "Alright, let's go. We've been in Cerulean City long enough. Time to head to the next city!"

  "Uh… Can we stay in Cerulean a little longer? I finally found a good way to make money."

  Although their earlier conversation wasn't exactly open and honest, it was enough to make Blue less tense than before, allowing her real personality to peek through again.

  "You mean that little business of yours, selling bootleg merch of the Cerulean Sisters?"

  "Uh…" Caught red-handed, Blue stuck out her tongue.

  "You should probably drop it. When I was tracking you, I wasn't the only one watching. My guess? Some fans who bought your stuff have already realized something's off…"

  "Tch, those people… My materials are clearly way better than the official ones. Why are they coming after me?"

  Her business model was simple: low-profit, high-volume sales. Her prices were extremely affordable.

  "Well, that's just how being a fan works," August shared some wisdom from his past life. "They're not buying the merch—they're buying their love for the idol."

  Counterfeit goods, no matter how well-made, just couldn't meet fans' emotional expectations.

  Blue fell into thought. She knew she couldn't stay in Cerulean anymore. "Alright, so where to next?"

  "Hmm…" August pondered for a moment. "Cedon City!"

  Yesterday, he received a message from Lance: the upcoming exchange event between Kanto and Hoenn was being held at Cedon University, one of Cedon's most famous institutions.

  Although they'd be arriving a bit early, Professor Oak had recommended him for an honorary lecturer position there a while ago, and he still hadn't completed the paperwork.

  If they went now, he could take care of that… and maybe even have some time left to check out Cedon's legendary Game Corner.

  "The Game Corner? Team Rocket's secret base? Hope you guys enjoy the surprise I've got pnned for you!" August grinned at the thought.

  ---

  Cedon City y southwest of Cerulean.

  On the way, August made sure to battle wild trainers along the roadside to train his Dratini and Bagon.

  "Bagon, use Dragon Breath!"

  "Baaagon!"

  Bagon fshed a grin at the Pidgeotto diving down from above before releasing a stream of purple-red dragon energy straight at it!

  "Oh no! Pidgeotto, dodge it, quick!"

  The opposing trainer panicked and shouted a command.

  But even without being told, Pidgeotto knew it couldn't afford to take that hit head-on.

  The problem was—it wasn't fast enough to escape!

  Despite fpping its wings desperately to get out of range, it was just a second too slow.

  The purple-red Dragon Breath engulfed Pidgeotto, and the paralyzing energy within the attack immediately took effect.

  Thud!

  Pidgeotto crashed to the ground, completely knocked out.

  "Pidgeotto!"

  The trainer rushed over, scooping up his Pokémon before dashing toward the nearest Pokémon Center in tears.

  Watching the boy's retreating figure, August csped his hands behind his back and sighed. "Another victory… Truly, loneliness is the price of greatness."

  "….."

  Blue, watching him bully wild trainers along the way, had now fully witnessed this other side of his personality.

  For someone with such strength, he sure had a twisted sense of fun.

  As the one silently criticizing him, August, on the other hand, felt dissatisfied.

  I've beaten twenty trainers in a row, and still no title unlock. Looks like getting a title from beating wild trainers isn't that simple.

  If it wasn't a matter of sheer numbers, then maybe it was the quality of his opponents.

  And quality… well, that was a problem. These trainers were wildly inconsistent in skill level—there wasn't much he could do about that. Even if he wanted tougher opponents, he couldn't exactly conjure them out of thin air.

  "So that just leaves quantity, huh?"

  If twenty wins weren't enough to trigger the title condition… he'd just have to aim for one hundred.

  As long as he kept piling up victories, something had to give. Just like when he earned the [Legendary Ranger] title.

  ---

  Ten days ter, right at the outskirts of Cedon City, August directed his Dratini to take down yet another trainer.

  "Damn it! Just because you have a Dratini doesn't mean you can push people around! I'll get my revenge one day!"

  The defeated trainer recalled his fainted Machoke, threw down a parting threat, and sprinted toward the Pokémon Center.

  "…?"

  August was momentarily baffled.

  He could understand why people thought he was bullying weaker trainers.

  But what did they mean by 'just because you have a Dratini'?

  They were acting like Dratini was some kind of powerhouse.

  Sure, Dragonite had great base stats—but what did that have to do with Dratini?

  Still, a sore loser wasn't worth overanalyzing.

  "That was the 99th trainer you've beaten. Just one more, and you'll hit a hundred," Blue commented, cradling Jigglypuff as she perched on a nearby rock.

  She often called August a bully.

  But after watching his battles closely for so many days, she had to admit—she'd learned a lot.

  "One more to go."

  August scanned his surroundings… and finally locked onto his final target—a young Bug Catcher standing there, holding his net, completely unaware of the fate about to befall him.

  ...

  Three minutes ter.

  August's Dratini stood victorious over a defeated Weedle.

  "Weedle is unable to battle! Dratini wins!" Blue, acting as a temporary referee, announced the result.

  The Bug Catcher just stood there in stunned silence, staring at his unconscious Weedle, his face filled with confusion.

  Who am I?Where am I?What am I even doing here?

  Seeing the sheer bewilderment on the kid's face, even August felt a little bad.

  So he used his [Viridian Power] to heal the Weedle, then handed the boy a few Pokéblocks.

  The Bug Catcher, who had been bracing himself to hand over his allowance, was utterly dumbfounded.

  As the boy stammered out his thanks and ran off, August quietly listened to the system notification in his head.

  [By using overwhelming strength to defeat one hundred wild trainers in a row, you have unlocked the title: 'King of Noob Stomping']

  [Please select your reward!]