Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [482]

Early the next morning, Luo Yuan and Sabrina were already up.

According to the agreement reached during yesterday’s meeting, Luo Yuan would face Galar Champion Leon in a battle three days from now, at Wyndon Stadium—Galar League’s premier venue for large-scale events.

The battle would follow Galar’s official rules, meaning both sides could use the region’s unique [Dynamax] mechanic.

Objectively speaking, it was already a heavily unbalanced match: one side had Leon, who was well-versed in [Dynamax] battles, and the other had Luo Yuan, who had never even encountered the system before. The Galar League certainly saw it that way.

But Luo Yuan didn’t mind.

Swallowing the last bite of his sandwich, he turned to Sabrina, who was holding a newspaper. “So? Did our article make it in?”

Luo Yuan hadn’t traveled all the way to Galar and provoked the League just for the sake of battling Leon. There were far more important motives behind it all.

Sabrina nodded and handed him a page from the paper.

“Shocking! Johto’s Elite Four Member Luo Yuan Challenges the Champion Again! Luo Yuan VS Leon—Who Will Win?!”

The sensational headline, combined with a bold photo of Luo Yuan and Leon, made for a striking visual impact.

To help Galar’s residents—who might be unfamiliar with Luo Yuan—understand who he was, the article also listed his past achievements and, once again, dragged Steven Stone through the mud. After reading this piece, no one could deny the hype for the upcoming battle.

Luo Yuan was quite satisfied.

Money well spent, he thought, considering how much he’d paid for the front-page slot.

Still, that satisfaction only extended to the newspaper’s willingness to cooperate. As for the medium itself—Luo Yuan found print media terribly outdated and inefficient.

In Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, even Alola, Silph Co.’s holographic communication system had already ushered in a new media era. Its information delivery speed far outstripped the antiquated print model.

Even television had been forced to migrate to the holographic platform just to survive.

Through the holographic network, interpersonal communication and news dissemination had become dramatically more efficient.

So now, finding himself in Galar—a region still dominated by newspapers and television—Luo Yuan felt distinctly out of place.

“But not for long. Once we take over Macro Cosmos, the people of Galar will finally enjoy a modern, high-efficiency information infrastructure,” Luo Yuan said.

He would bring Galar the light of the information age.

Sabrina didn’t care much about any of that. She flipped through the paper casually, scanning the regional news.

One small article caught her attention.

“Unusual Energy Fluctuations Detected Near Hammerlocke.”

The piece took up very little space and offered no concrete cause or conclusion. Vague, open-ended, and easy to miss.

The only reason Sabrina noticed it was because of something Luo Yuan had mentioned on the plane: Eternatus.

According to him, Eternatus slumbered beneath Hammerlocke. So naturally, when she saw the report, her thoughts went straight to the creature.

“Take a look at this,” she said, sliding the article over. “Should we investigate?”

Luo Yuan hadn’t expected to find such a lead in the local paper. Like Sabrina, his first instinct was to link it to Eternatus—there was no way such abnormal energy readings would appear without cause.

But after a moment of thought, he shook his head.

“That’s not our priority right now. Even if it’s related to Eternatus, it’s not worth splitting our focus.” He paused, then added, “But we can pass this intel along to Rose—let him investigate.”

Rose would almost certainly be interested in Eternatus. And this way, they might divert some of his attention too.

“How will we leak it to Rose?” Sabrina asked. “We can’t exactly walk up and tell him ourselves.”

Luo Yuan chuckled. “Just because Team Rocket’s intel network in Galar is small doesn’t mean it’s shallow.”

Macro Cosmos was a towering presence in the region, but to Team Rocket’s intelligence operatives, the company was like cheese to a mouse—irresistible. There was no way they hadn’t infiltrated it already.

He left the information leak to Team Rocket’s agents. Meanwhile, he and Sabrina departed the hotel.

But they didn’t head straight to Wyndon. With three days to go, and teleportation at their disposal, they had plenty of time. In fact, time was on their side.

So the first thing they did after leaving the hotel was… go shopping in Hammerlocke.

Their casual stroll didn’t go unnoticed. Galar League agents, still tailing them, quickly reported the pair’s activities to Oleana.

Reading the update, Oleana found it hard to believe that Luo Yuan—the same man who had sparred with them at the negotiation table and brazenly challenged Galar—was now out walking the streets with his girlfriend like he hadn’t a care in the world.

Does he not take the upcoming battle with Leon seriously at all? No matter how she tried to make sense of Luo Yuan’s logic, it eluded her.

Leaving Oleana’s confusion behind—

Luo Yuan and Sabrina strolled along the streets, observing the sights of Galar.

Looking at the bustling scene, Luo Yuan had to admit—despite the negative effects that came with Macro Cosmos monopolizing nearly all commercial activity in Galar, the region had undeniably cultivated a thriving business atmosphere. In that regard, even Kanto lagged far behind.

No city in Kanto’s heavy industry belt could match Hammerlocke’s commercial development and vitality.

They ducked into a clothing boutique where Luo Yuan picked out a few outfits for Sabrina. Afterward, the two of them sat down at a nearby café.

“Are the observers gone?” Sabrina asked.

Her psychic senses detected no one nearby, but for caution’s sake, she wanted Luo Yuan to confirm it.

Luo Yuan closed his eyes and focused. After a few seconds, he nodded. “All gone. Probably sick of watching us play couple on a shopping date.”

Sabrina rolled her eyes at him, then raised a hand to signal the waiter. “One coffee.”

She turned to Luo Yuan. “And you?”

He was just about to answer when a loud crash! echoed nearby, followed by a burst of shouting and movement.

Turning toward the noise, they saw—

—

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!