Facing the strange looks from his subordinates, Rose let out a cold snort.
He turned to Luo Yuan. “Is this the only kind of trick Team Rocket knows?”
With his personality, he would never stoop to explaining himself to underlings.
In his mind, once he fully subdued Eternatus and used it to solve Galar’s long-term energy crisis, people would understand. They had to.
But what Rose didn’t realize… was that this exact attitude was what Luo Yuan had been waiting for.
Given Rose’s influence in the Galar region, if he had tried to argue—spun a narrative, twisted the facts—he might have actually convinced many Galar citizens to take his side.
Hell, if he had been just a little more shameless, he could’ve reversed the entire situation and pinned the blame on them—on Team Rocket.
But instead, Rose stood there with that scornful refusal to explain himself. And just like that, he had thrown away his final chance at redemption.
“Pride really is the original sin…” Luo Yuan muttered as he turned to his team. “Did you get it all on film?”
“All recorded!” the masked trio replied excitedly.
Clearly visible in their hands was a compact video camera.
Luo Yuan had specially assigned the trio to act as embedded reporters. Their mission: capture Rose’s downfall on camera, then turn it into an exposé for release to the public.
The three had worked in media long enough to have a nose for a good story. They had already brainstormed the perfect headline:
“Exposed! The Shocking Truth Behind Galar’s Darkest Day—He Was the One Behind It All!”
It was a pity they couldn’t release it under their actual press credentials… but for this trio, who hadn’t had a proper field assignment in ages, being part of a major op like this was already thrilling enough.
At that moment, Rose—who had overheard their conversation—had a look on his face that could only be described as stormy.
He realized he’d made a serious mistake.
Not that it was entirely his fault—who would’ve expected Team Rocket, who’d bulldozed their way in so brashly, to secretly bring a camera crew?
I have to seize that footage.
Rose still believed that one day, the people of Galar would come to recognize the value of what he had done. But right now, in this moment, he knew full well—
They wouldn’t understand him.
“Hold them off!” Rose barked at his subordinates.
Without waiting to see if they obeyed, he strode over to the control console, shoved the technician aside, and slammed the energy throttle to maximum.
Zzzzzkt!
Energy surged wildly through the system.
The machines in the energy plant strained under the overload.
But no one was looking at the equipment now.
Everyone’s eyes were on the translucent sphere at the center of the hall—on the ancient Pokémon slumbering within.
After absorbing a massive influx of energy, Eternatus finally began to stir.
Its eyes opened, slow and heavy.
“Eternatus!”
Rose’s excitement was overflowing. He spread his arms wide, as if preparing to embrace the very future of Galar.
But Eternatus clearly didn’t share the sentiment.
Awakened from a thousand-year slumber, it found itself enclosed in a glass capsule.
Already agitated from the relentless injection of energy, Eternatus let out a furious roar.
The power Rose had pumped into its body burst outward in a violent surge.
The glass containment Rose had relied on shattered in an instant—barely holding for a heartbeat.
And with it, Rose’s ecstatic smile shattered too.
“How… how is this possible?”
By his calculations, Eternatus shouldn’t have been able to break free.
Why wasn’t reality following the plan?
“You idiot. You’ve completely blown it.”
Luo Yuan shook his head, watching Rose’s disbelief.
He didn’t know why, but everyone else seemed to face smarter and stronger enemies over time. Meanwhile, his opponents just kept getting dumber.
Take Archie and Maxie, for example. They dug through ancient records and used mystical orbs to control Kyogre and Groudon. Sure, they ended up being reverse-controlled, but their method had been sound—just their willpower had failed.
Even Cyrus, who misjudged Dialga and Palkia’s strength, had still prepared the Red Chains drawn from the power of the lake trio. He came prepared.
And now Rose… actually thought a mere glass dome could contain a fully charged Eternatus?
Luo Yuan honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
Watching Rose spiral into shock and self-doubt, he turned to his subordinates. “He’s yours.”
A former Galar runner-up wasn’t worth Luo Yuan’s personal attention.
As his team moved to secure Rose, Luo Yuan turned his eyes to the thing now floating above the main hall of the power plant—Eternatus, fully awakened.
The oppressive aura of a true legendary Pokémon poured into the space like a flood.
Weaker Trainers in the room clutched their chests, faces pale, struggling to breathe.
And this was only Eternatus’s passive presence—its unconscious energy leaking out.
It was already scanning the plant, searching for a way out.
Having just awakened, it was desperate to take to the skies of Galar once more.
—
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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