Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [449]

The Sinnoh League hadn’t expected to be dragged into a disaster just by standing on the sidelines and “watching the show.”

Caught off guard, their ranks fell into momentary chaos.

Countless attacks rained down, and since neither Team Galactic nor the League had anticipated this sudden turn of events, they were completely unprepared—both sides suffered heavy losses.

Of course, the one hit hardest… was Team Galactic.

At the very least, the League had Cynthia and a few others to help absorb some of the firepower. But Team Galactic had only Pluto—he couldn’t be everywhere at once. Their side was decimated.

Pluto’s face darkened as he surveyed the scene.

This is our territory! Our home base! So why have we been on the back foot since the very beginning?!

Is there no justice in this world?!

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became—but frustration didn’t change the battlefield.

Now that Luo Yuan had pulled the League into the battle, their attacks weren’t just aimed at him.

After all, while Team Rocket was certainly an enemy of the Sinnoh League, so was Team Galactic.

Especially after the earlier clash, where many League trainers had been taken down by Galactic forces and were now recovering in the rear.

That kind of blood debt wasn’t so easily forgiven.

So the battlefield devolved into a chaotic three-way conflict.

The League and Galactic forces attacked each other, but both also turned their sights on Luo Yuan.

And yet Luo Yuan—alone, facing Cynthia and waves of Galactic grunts—moved with the calm ease of a stroll through a garden.

He didn’t even need to issue commands.

Any attack that came near was effortlessly intercepted by Mewtwo or Deoxys, rendering them completely ineffective.

“This is it?”

Luo Yuan looked toward Cynthia, who had unleashed everything she had and still couldn’t break through the psychic wall.

A flush of frustration colored Cynthia’s face at his mocking tone—but anger was of no use in battle.

Luo Yuan gave her expression a cursory glance, then checked the time on his watch.

“Almost there,” he murmured cryptically.

Cynthia frowned, confused.

But she quickly realized what he meant.

Luo Yuan tapped the earpiece on his ear.

“Execute.”

The command was instantly relayed to every Rocket operative through their comms.

A second later—

Dozens of Rocket agents dropped down from the fractured ceiling between the first and second floors.

Clad in white elite uniforms, each one landed and immediately hurled Poké Balls at nearby League and Galactic trainers.

That alone would’ve been shocking—but manageable.

What left Cynthia truly stunned came next.

As the Rocket agents’ Pokémon emerged from their Poké Balls, radiant multicolored lights began to glow from their bodies.

Then—

The light faded.
Before Cynthia stood an entire unit of [Mega Evolved] Pokémon.

Mega Kangaskhan.
Mega Gyarados.
Mega Ampharos.
Mega Aggron.
Even a Mega Steelix…

Each breath from the Mega Gyarados sent shockwaves through the crowd, clearing swaths of space with sheer force.

Meanwhile, Mega Ampharos unleashed arcs of searing lightning, vaporizing anything in their path.

Mega Aggron and Mega Steelix rampaged through the battlefield, tearing through walls and support beams.

Chunks of ceiling crashed down, forcing trainers on the ground to dodge falling concrete while simultaneously evading enemy Pokémon.

A swarm of [Mega-Evolved] Pokémon, charging under coordinated Rocket command, tore through the battlefield like wolves among sheep.

The targeted Galactic and League trainers barely had time to react.

Not everyone present was familiar with the concept of [Mega Evolution].

For many Galactic and League trainers, this was their first time seeing it—let alone fighting against it.

And in the face of such raw, unfamiliar power… their formations fell apart.

In mere moments, the tide of battle shifted completely.

Luo Yuan watched it unfold with a satisfied expression.

This was the first real deployment of Team Rocket’s [Mega Evolution] Unit—and it was performing even better than expected.

Even outnumbered more than ten to one, they’d seized the upper hand with ease.

Of course, part of that was the element of surprise.

But credit also went to Deoxys and Mewtwo, who had provided cover for the initial deployment.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful [Mega Pokémon] were, if the enemy focused their fire and coordinated their response, they could still be taken down.

Now, with both Galactic and League forces under pressure, the end was clearly in sight.
If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before both factions were wiped out.

But Luo Yuan wasn’t satisfied with the pace.

Because his true enemy had never been the trainers in front of him.

It was the one who still hadn’t shown up—Cyrus.

The ones Cyrus intended to summon—Palkia and Dialga—were what truly concerned Luo Yuan.

He had to end this battle before Cyrus succeeded.

With that in mind, Luo Yuan sent a message to Malva, who was still in the control room.

Receiving the command, Malva pressed the button to lift the lockdown—just as Luo Yuan had instructed.

A series of mechanical grinding sounds echoed through the hall as the reinforced metal plating sealing off the exits slowly lifted, revealing open passageways to the outside world.

“The lockdown’s lifted!”

Both Galactic and League trainers were visibly relieved.

This meant they had an escape route—no longer forced to throw themselves against the overwhelming power of Rocket’s forces.

But Pluto and Cynthia—both seasoned commanders—frowned.

Something wasn’t right.

Pluto in particular sensed danger.

As a Galactic officer, he knew the lockdown protocols. There was no way to lift them without control of the main terminal.

And last he knew, the control room had fallen into Team Rocket’s hands.

Could it be…?

Had one of my men fought their way back in and taken control?

Pluto glanced around at the battlefield—at his grunts being ruthlessly overpowered by Rocket forces—and shook his head.

No. That was pure fantasy.

There was only one explanation left.

Pluto turned toward the exit.

Just as he feared, his eyes caught movement—shadows, dozens of them, approaching fast.

As they drew near, he could finally make out their uniforms.

Black suits.

Bright red “R”s emblazoned on their chests.

Team Rocket.

All of them were Team Rocket!

They had surrounded the entire building.

The others saw it too.

Faces turned pale with dread.

Surrounded by this many Rocket agents… where could they even run?

And under Courtney’s lead, the Team Rocket strike team outside didn’t hesitate.

Without a word, they charged the building and launched their assault.

—

T/N: so much… mega evolutions

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!