The plan was proceeding perfectly—everything was unfolding exactly as Cyrus had envisioned.
What pleased him most was that, so far, no one from Team Rocket had made it this far.
Pluto had successfully bought him time.
Lifting his head to look skyward, Cyrus could see Dialga and Palkia’s forms, once blurred masses of energy, now becoming sharp and defined.
At the same time, the red chains wrapped around them shifted in form as their physical presence solidified.
In the end, the red chains formed circular restraints, eerily reminiscent of those on Arceus, locking Dialga and Palkia firmly in midair.
From the sky above came their anguished cries.
It was only then that the grunts behind Cyrus seemed to wake from a dream.
“Boss… did we… succeed?”
Their voices trembled with disbelief. The goal they had fought for over so many years had come to pass so smoothly, it almost felt unreal.
Cyrus’s expression remained composed. He raised his head to gaze at the two divine Pokémon overhead.
“No. Not yet. There’s still one final step.”
Then, he extended his hand.
“Come. Let us create a new world.”
As the words left his lips, his gloved arm began to glow. The red ring-like restraints on Dialga and Palkia pulsed in response.
Bound by the red chains, their willpower was twisted and bent. Two immense, chilling auras rose from their bodies.
Dialga, the embodiment of time.
Palkia, the embodiment of space.
The two Pokémon, never on good terms to begin with, were now brought into direct opposition by the power of the chains.
Sensing the clash of these forces, Cyrus’s eyes burned with fanaticism.
This was the power he had sought all along.
He was one step away from destroying the old world and creating a new one—one without conflict.
Just as he was about to issue the final command to Dialga and Palkia—
A sudden voice rang out behind him.
“Shameful, isn’t it?”
Luo Yuan stood in the distance, calmly observing the bound forms of Dialga and Palkia.
A completely unfamiliar voice came from behind. Alarms blared in Cyrus’s mind.
He hadn’t even sensed anyone approaching.
And it wasn’t that Cyrus was overconfident—his level of vigilance was such that anyone getting this close without alerting him was almost unthinkable.
“Who’s there?!”
Compared to Cyrus’s complicated inner reaction, the two grunts were far more direct. Without even turning around, they snatched Poké Balls from their belts and flung them back.
Snap!
A sharp finger snap, followed by a piercing whoosh—then two muffled thuds.
The two Team Galactic grunts were blasted past Cyrus like cannonballs, crashing onto the platform in front of him.
Cyrus finally turned to look—and saw who had arrived.
A sleek black combat suit, a pitch-black cape billowing behind him, and the signature mask upon his face.
“Team Rocket… the Tech Hunter.”
That outfit was unmistakable. Ever since the incident in Hoenn, the whole world had come to know what it represented.
So it was clear now—who had orchestrated the attack in Veilstone City, and who had dismantled the base.
“But…”
Cyrus glanced at the Tech Hunter behind him.
If the man had arrived even a little earlier, perhaps the plan really would have been foiled. But now…
He looked up at Dialga and Palkia, their power surging in the sky.
Everything was in place.
No one could stop him now—as long as—
Cyrus clenched his raised hand tightly.
Silence.
The moment hung, like a Magikarp using Splash—nothing happened.
“…Huh?”
The expected result failed to appear. For the first time, a trace of confusion flickered across Cyrus’s usually unreadable face.
He clenched his fist again, trying to trigger an attack from the two Pokémon.
Still, nothing.
Dialga and Palkia hovered in the air, unmoving.
Even Cyrus couldn’t deny it now—something had gone wrong.
He looked at Luo Yuan. If there was anyone to blame here, it had to be the Tech Hunter who had just shown up.
But Luo Yuan’s face betrayed nothing, even under Cyrus’s sharp gaze.
Cyrus’s hunch was correct.
The device he had used to control Dialga and Palkia—it had been tampered with.
Luo Yuan had seen right through his method. Compared to how Archie and Maxie had fused the Red and Blue Orbs into their own bodies to control Groudon and Kyogre, Cyrus’s reliance on machinery and the red chains was riddled with flaws.
Granted, it didn’t carry the risk of being overtaken by the legendaries like in Hoenn…
But in exchange, Luo Yuan’s psychic power could easily interfere with the device on Cyrus’s arm, severing his connection to the red chains.
Cyrus tried again and again to control Dialga and Palkia, but the legendaries remained unresponsive in the sky.
His calm mask cracked.
Infuriated, Cyrus ripped off his glove and reached for his belt.
Luo Yuan had expected this.
“Deoxys,” he said.
Whoosh!
Before the word had fully left his mouth, a flash of red and blue streaked out from the shadows behind him.
Deoxys’s tendril lashed out like a whip, striking Cyrus’s hand.
With a grunt of pain, Cyrus dropped the Poké Ball, which froze in midair—held aloft by Deoxys’s telekinesis.
“Damn it…”
Clutching his injured hand, Cyrus tried to fight back.
But Deoxys, following Luo Yuan’s command, gave him no chance. A wave of psychic energy surged out, pinning Cyrus in place.
With Cyrus neutralized, Luo Yuan turned his attention back to the sky.
Dialga and Palkia, having charged for so long, were now brimming with overwhelming power.
Even Luo Yuan could feel the crushing force of the two energies colliding.
Off to the side, Cyrus—having struggled several times without success—finally gave up.
But instead of despair, a smile crept across his face.
“It’s too late now. At this point, nothing can stop them.”
Even though he had lost control over Dialga and Palkia, Cyrus’s goal had never truly been to control them. He only needed the power they unleashed to create his new world.
So what if things hadn’t gone exactly according to plan? As long as the result was the same, nothing else mattered.
“Is that so?”
Luo Yuan smiled faintly at Cyrus’s words, then slowly raised his hand.
—
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!
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