Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [454]

Inside Team Galactic’s Base

“Did you hear that? I think there was some kind of noise just now…”

A Galactic grunt turned to the teammate beside him, brow furrowed in confusion.

A sudden, piercing sound had just reached his ears. If not for his particularly keen hearing, he might have thought he imagined it.

“There was something… yeah. Sounded like some kind of Pokémon’s cry?” his partner replied uncertainly.

Since the base was nestled deep within Mt. Coronet, it wasn’t unusual for wild Pokémon to wander nearby—or even attack the base now and then. But a sound piercing straight through the base’s walls and echoing inside? That was a first.

The two looked at each other, puzzled.

But before they could process it further, a loud, blaring alarm erupted through the base.

They looked up—the emergency lights on the walls were flashing a furious red, and a low, commanding voice came through the loudspeakers:

“Level One Security Alert. All personnel, return to your stations immediately!”

All the Galactic members froze in place.

That voice… wasn’t it—?

Commander Cyrus!?

What could’ve possibly happened to force the rarely-seen Commander to address the entire base himself?

They barely had time to think before a deafening explosion shook the entire compound, sending tremors through every wall and floor.

The base shuddered.

—

Inside the core control room, Cyrus stared at the monitor in front of him.

Displayed on the screen was a massive, emerald-green Pokémon hovering above the mountain range—Rayquaza—its colossal form suspended mid-air over Mt. Coronet.

Just moments ago, this very Rayquaza had unleashed an attack on their base. A single [Dragon Pulse] had obliterated the entire outer camouflage system, exposing the facility beneath.

“…Rayquaza.” Cyrus’s expression darkened.

Of course… it wasn’t just the fact that Rayquaza was powerful.

This was Galactic Headquarters—their main stronghold. Even a legendary Pokémon wouldn’t be enough to crush them outright.

No—what disturbed Cyrus was what Rayquaza’s appearance meant.

Rayquaza had been publicly sighted during the Hoenn incident, subdued and captured by Team Rocket. It had then gone on to quell both Groudon and Kyogre.

And now Rayquaza was here.

Which meant…

Team Rocket had arrived in Sinnoh. And not just that—they had pinpointed the exact location of his hidden base within Mt. Coronet.

Cyrus had anticipated that sending his agents to Kanto might provoke retaliation from Rocket, but he hadn’t expected them to strike this swiftly.

“Commander, what should we do?” asked Pluto, standing nearby, eyes flicking nervously between the screen and Cyrus.

Among the upper echelon of Galactic, he was now the only one left at Cyrus’s side. The burden weighed heavily on him.

Cyrus said nothing.

Two options lay before him. One: lead what remained of his forces to repel Rayquaza and the incoming Team Rocket units.

But that idea was discarded almost as quickly as it formed.

Forget whether Team Rocket had brought even more legendaries—just this Rayquaza alone was more than they could handle in their current state. Their command structure had been decimated.

To march out now wouldn’t be a counterattack. It would be suicide.

Which left him with only one viable option.

Cyrus turned slowly toward Pluto.

Feeling that gaze fall upon him, Pluto stiffened.

As a high-ranking commander, he understood exactly what that look meant.

This was it.

Team Galactic needed someone to hold the line.

No matter how you looked at it, the only option now was for him to stay behind and delay Team Rocket—buying time for Cyrus to complete the summoning of Dialga and Palkia.

Neither the enemy outside nor the man in front of him would allow him to choose otherwise.

After a moment’s silence, Pluto said solemnly, “Commander, leave Team Rocket to me.”

He didn’t really have a choice.

If he could, he would’ve retreated too—charging out there was no different from walking into death. But refusing now would be tantamount to betrayal.

And if he was going to die, better to do it against Team Rocket, not by Cyrus’s hand.

Maybe, he thought, just maybe, I can hold them off long enough for the Commander to succeed…

Clenching his fists, he forced himself to stand tall.

Cyrus didn’t care what Pluto was thinking—only that he was willing.

He nodded. “I’m counting on you.”

Without another word, he took the freshly-forged Red Chain and walked briskly out of the control room, never looking back.

Leaving behind a tense Pluto and a crew of increasingly panicked researchers.

As Cyrus’s footsteps faded into the distance, Pluto—now bearing the weight of his Commander’s mission—took a deep breath and composed himself.

Watching Rayquaza grow nearer and nearer on the screen, he activated the base-wide intercom and issued orders to all Galactic personnel.

Under Luo Yuan’s command, Team Rocket’s assault on the Galactic base didn’t take long.

Despite some pockets of fierce resistance, Galactic couldn’t stop them.

For one, many of their forces had already been redeployed to Veilstone HQ, leaving the mountain base under-defended. Two, Luo Yuan had brought only Rocket’s elite with him.

Add to that Luo Yuan and Cynthia leading the charge—with Rayquaza at the front—and Galactic’s defenses crumbled almost instantly.

Once victory was assured, Luo Yuan left Malva in charge of subduing the bulk of the resistance, and proceeded deeper into the base alongside Cynthia in search of Cyrus.

“Dragapult—[Dragon Darts]!”

A volley of spectral missiles tore through a hidden Galactic grunt attempting a sneak attack.

Luo Yuan turned to his side, where Cynthia was also directing her Pokémon, dispatching another enemy with swift efficiency.

He smiled. “You know, I bet these Galactic grunts are shocked to see the mighty Sinnoh Champion fighting with Team Rocket.”

Cynthia didn’t respond.

But from the way her fists clenched, Luo Yuan could tell her emotions were anything but calm.

He chuckled quietly and chose not to press further.

After taking down another ambusher, the pair finally reached the doors of the central control room.

—

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!