Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [498]

Charizard — his ace — had lost to Luo Yuan.

Leon stood silently, the weight in his chest unbearable.

Because that meant… he no longer had a shred of hope left to win.

Yes — Leon no longer believed he could win.

He had only two Pokémon left. Meanwhile, Luo Yuan hadn’t lost a single one.

And then there was that—

Leon looked up at the towering Dragonite, standing with its hands on its hips like some smug, overpowered final boss, radiating an air of I’m just that damn good.

Under Galar rules, [Dynamax] could only be used once per battle.

From here on out, he’d have to rely solely on his remaining Pokémon in their regular forms. And honestly, could they even take one punch from that monster?

Probably not… Leon exhaled deeply.

Still, surrender wasn’t an option. Being Champion had brought him glory — but also responsibility and pressure.

As Galar’s Champion, he couldn’t afford to quit without a fight.

So he decided: I’ll finish these last two matches.

Things can’t possibly get worse than this…
Leon tried to reassure himself.

…

But reality, as always, had other plans.

“Intelleon is unable to battle. Victory goes to Dragonite!”

With the referee’s declaration, the stadium fell into stunned silence.

Everyone knew this outcome was coming, but hearing it aloud still felt like a gut punch.

For years, under Rose’s leadership and Macro Cosmos’s relentless promotion, Leon had become the undisputed symbol of Galar’s strength — a hero idolized by millions.

He wasn’t just a Trainer anymore. He had become a living symbol of the Galar region.

And now, that symbol… had collapsed.

He’d been swept.

Even in casual street battles, getting 0–6’d was rare.

And yet it had just happened — here — in one of the highest-profile matches the world had ever seen. Truly unprecedented.

If Luo Yuan had been the Champion of Johto, maybe it wouldn’t have stung so badly. At least then, it would’ve been a clash between equals.

But Luo Yuan wasn’t even a Champion. He was just an Elite Four member from Johto.

Losing to a Champion and losing to a non-Champion were two entirely different things.
Getting swept by one? That was a full-blown humiliation.

Leon’s heart felt impossibly heavy.

But still — he was the man who had climbed his way to the top of Galar.

He wasn’t going to mentally collapse just because he’d lost to Luo Yuan.

He quickly composed himself and recalled his Intelleon back into its Poké Ball.

“You’re strong, Luo Yuan,” Leon said sincerely.

Aside from that Dragonite, Luo Yuan’s team hadn’t seemed much stronger than his.

But every time, Luo Yuan had outplayed him — with clever strategies, flawless synergy, and a perfect grasp of timing.

He’d earned this win, fair and square.

Now that the pressure was off, Leon even felt a faint sense of relief.

Thank Arceus Luo Yuan isn’t from Galar, he thought. If he were, I might’ve had to step down as Champion right now.

“You’re not weak either,” Luo Yuan replied, saying something he didn’t believe in the slightest.

Frankly, in Luo Yuan’s eyes, Leon as a Champion felt a bit overrated — not even as strong as Steven, whom he’d fought before.

But since Luo Yuan was here as Johto’s exchange representative and had no beef with Leon, he figured he should at least let the guy keep a little dignity.

The two shook hands as a gesture of goodwill, exchanged a few pleasantries, and walked off the stage together.

There was no post-match speech. Luo Yuan felt he’d already pulled enough aggro for one day — no need to keep flexing.

…

Back in the locker room, Sabrina was holding a communicator.

“Hmm? Someone looking for me?” Luo Yuan asked.

“It’s Lance.” She handed the device over.

Hearing the name, Luo Yuan figured it had to be about the battle just now. He accepted the call casually. “Lance?”

There was a moment of silence.

Just as Luo Yuan was starting to wonder if the line was dead, Lance’s voice came through:

“Luo Yuan… you really should’ve let Galar save a little face.”

Because Luo Yuan had arranged for Team Rocket’s trio to livestream the entire match, the battle had been broadcasted globally.

And Luo Yuan’s so-called “undermining of regional unity” had the League Council breathing down Lance’s neck.

They wanted to know why a routine exchange match had turned into a one-sided humiliation.

Luo Yuan’s sweep of Leon had made the council — which had brokered the Galar–Johto collaboration — look very bad.

“I did it for Johto’s interests, obviously,” Luo Yuan replied, cool and unbothered.

“Galar still hasn’t responded to the terms I negotiated in the last round of talks. If I hadn’t won this, they probably wouldn’t have agreed to anything. And if we hadn’t won, Johto would’ve had to make even more concessions. That’s not acceptable.”

His explanation was perfectly logical — and completely persuasive.

Lance couldn’t argue with that. Luo Yuan had acted in Johto’s best interest.

Still, part of Lance wanted to press further — like why the hell did you have to sweep him?

But then again… Luo Yuan had already beaten both Steven and Leon. He clearly had the strength to challenge Lance himself.

And if that happened — if Luo Yuan beat him too — Lance would technically be obligated to step down as Champion.

He’d only just gotten the damn title. And now Luo Yuan was looming over it like a storm cloud.

No way I’m giving it up that fast.

So in the end, Lance swallowed his pride and let it go.

“I’ll handle the League Council,” he said. “But you’d better not start any more fights with Galar. Our priority right now is dealing with Team Rocket.”

That was the real threat — and everything else could wait.

“Of course,” Luo Yuan said, all innocence. “I’ve got nothing against Galar.”

At that, Sabrina — standing beside him — had to stifle a laugh, quickly covering her mouth.

—

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!