Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [424]

The doors of the Rocket airship suddenly swung open.

From above, a swarm of Rocket operatives descended, using Crobat and Golbat to glide down smoothly.

Their numbers alone already exceeded those of both the League and Team Galactic trainers combined.

But what caught Lorelei’s attention the most was that every single one of these Rocket members was wearing a silver mask.

This immediately reminded her of a particular faction within Team Rocket.

“The Masked Corps!”

The League’s intel on the Masked Corps was limited.

However, based on what little information they had, the Masked Corps operated somewhat independently within Team Rocket—and their primary area of activity was in Johto, not Kanto.

So why were they here?

Lorelei had no answers.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Team Rocket’s arrival meant only one thing—the pressure on them had just increased dramatically.

Her gaze remained locked on the airship above.

For an operation of this scale, Team Rocket had to have sent someone important to oversee it.

And sure enough, under her watchful eyes, a figure floated into view—suspended in midair with the help of a Jumpluff while clutching a Shuckle in his hand.

Orm.

And behind him was a woman Lorelei knew all too well.

“Team Rocket’s Executive Secretary—Truebird!”

Lorelei and Truebird were far from strangers.

They had already clashed before on the Sevii Islands—back then, Lorelei had even held the upper hand.

But later, due to the intervention of the Tech Hunter, Rocket had turned the tables with the power of Deoxys, defeating both her and Lance.

However—

This time, she saw no sign of the Tech Hunter.

And on her side?

She had Luo Yuan—who had just captured Deoxys.

Compared to their last encounter, the situation had completely reversed.

For a brief moment, Lorelei felt a surge of confidence.

But that feeling didn’t last long.

Because right behind Truebird—

A floating figure, gripping an enormous spoon, came into view.

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Mewtwo!”

She never expected to see Mewtwo here—especially without the Tech Hunter present.

This only deepened her confusion regarding the relationship between the Tech Hunter and Team Rocket.

Previously, when the Tech Hunter made his declaration in Hoenn, he had claimed to be a Rocket executive.

But there was no way he was just an ordinary Rocket officer—after all, a mere executive wouldn’t be able to lend out a Legendary Pokémon so casually.

Thoughts raced through her mind.

Then, she instinctively turned to look at Luo Yuan.

From past experiences, she had learned a crucial lesson—

Only a Legendary Pokémon can fight another Legendary Pokémon.

And since Luo Yuan had Deoxys…

He was the only one who could handle Mewtwo.

At that moment, Luo Yuan—who had been mentally briefing Mewtwo on its “script”—felt Lorelei’s gaze on him.

His expression turned resolute.

“I’ll handle Mewtwo.”

He volunteered without hesitation.

While Lorelei turned to Luo Yuan for support, up in the air, Truebird’s eyes flickered briefly between Luo Yuan and Giovanni.

Then, her gaze shifted to Team Galactic’s Mars and Jupiter.

She studied them carefully—

And once she confirmed that neither of them posed any threat to her or Sabrina, she finally spoke.

“Leave Team Galactic behind.”

“Take your people and get out of our base.”

Her tone was arrogant—infuriatingly so.

To the League trainers, it was especially maddening.

What, just because you have a Legendary, you think you can act all high and mighty?

Well, guess what? Our own Luo Yuan has a Deoxys too!

But what they didn’t know—

Was that Truebird’s words were deliberate.

Everything was unfolding exactly as Luo Yuan had planned.

With all eyes on him, Luo Yuan stepped forward to face Truebird and Mewtwo.

“Make sure you put on a good show,” Luo Yuan told Mewtwo via telepathic link.

“Don’t let anyone catch on.”

“Understood.”

Mewtwo had read many books recently—

But there were still things about humans it couldn’t comprehend.

Luo Yuan clearly had the strength to crush everyone here.

So why go through all this theatrics?

Though confused, Mewtwo wasn’t foolish enough to ask questions at the wrong time.

Instead, it pushed those thoughts aside for later.

For now—

It brandished its psychic spoon and lunged straight at Luo Yuan.

Deoxys Individual Two watched as Mewtwo charged in.

Even though it knew this was merely an “exhibition match,” it had already heard stories from Individual One about this so-called “Mewtwo.”

This would be a good opportunity to get a better understanding of its fellow Legendary.

Since they were of equal standing—

Neither held back.

They skipped all pretenses of probing attacks and immediately clashed at full force.

Two blurred figures streaked across the sky, colliding again and again.

Each impact sent shockwaves rippling through the air.

And with that, the battle below erupted once more.

At the base’s entrance, Giovanni moved to intercept Mars and Jupiter as they attempted to flee amidst the chaos.

Meanwhile, Lorelei faced off against both Orm and Truebird.

For Giovanni, this was hardly an issue.

With the sheer power of his Beedrill, not only were Mars and Jupiter no match for him—

Even if they added Pluto to the fight, they still wouldn’t stand a chance.

But Lorelei was in a much worse position.

Compared to Mars, both Orm and Truebird were on an entirely different level.

And since she was fighting two opponents at once—

She was now the one being suppressed.

Yet the worst development wasn’t on the individual battlefield.

It was what was happening to the larger battle.

The Masked Corps had officially joined the fight.

What had once been a chaotic free-for-all…

Was now overrun by a highly disciplined military force.

Compared to the Galactic trainers and League trainers—

Who at best had small pockets of coordination—

The Masked Corps operated with flawless teamwork.

A fully trained tactical unit against two uncoordinated groups?

It was a one-sided slaughter.

Especially since their numbers exceeded both Galactic and the League combined.

Of course, the Masked Corps had only managed to suppress both sides so easily because Galactic and the League had already worn each other down beforehand.

If the two groups had focused solely on fighting Rocket from the start, things might have been different.

But that was never going to happen.

Galactic and the League hated each other.

And after clashing so fiercely, neither side had any intention of working together.

Thus—

As they continued to waste energy fighting amongst themselves—

The Masked Corps crushed them with ease.

Watching the battlefield, Lorelei couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of regret.

If only I had chosen Giovanni’s plan…

If we had let Rocket and Galactic fight first—then swept in afterward—

We wouldn’t be in this situation now!

—

T/N: smh this is why im voting for Giovanni as the next champion

This is a fan translation of 我，火箭队二把手！ by 落唯 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!