Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [496]

“Its true form?”

When Luo Yuan spoke, Leon didn’t immediately understand what he meant.
True form? Could Dragonite… evolve further?

Before Leon could think more, Dragonite let out a long, echoing roar.

“Woooo—!”

The cry rang out pure and clear, but it carried a strange sense of solitude, echoing like a lone call through empty skies.
The [Draco Plate] hidden within Dragonite’s body responded to its conscious activation, awakening the dormant energy inside. The form that had long been suppressed now surged back to its original state.

With that sound, Leon saw the Dragonite across the field begin to swell — just like Charizard had before.
But this time, it didn’t stop at a slight growth.

In the span of just a few seconds, the Dragonite that had previously only been slightly larger than average had expanded until it towered even higher than the Gigantamax Charizard facing it.
The enormous Dragonite stood tall, its posture proud, and dipped its head ever so slightly to meet Charizard’s gaze — who now had to crane its neck just to look up. A gentle smile played across Dragonite’s face.

“[Gigantamax]?”
The crowd along the sidelines erupted into gasps of disbelief.

No one had expected Luo Yuan — a Trainer from Kanto — to use the [Dynamax] ability unique to the Galar region.

Leon had thought the same at first.
But then, with his sharp eye, he noticed something was off.

First of all, Luo Yuan wasn’t wearing a [Dynamax] Band.
As everyone knew, to perform [Dynamax], a Trainer had to channel that energy through a special band — and Leon hadn’t seen one on Luo Yuan at all.

And second…

Leon looked up at the Dragonite now squaring off against Charizard.
There was none of the signature red glow or swirling mist that typically accompanied a [Dynamaxed] Pokémon — another sign this wasn’t ordinary [Dynamax].

Together, these two clues made it clear:
This wasn’t [Dynamax] at all.

But in that case… what was that Dragonite?

As Leon realized the discrepancy, the audience began to notice something too.
Not because they were as observant as Leon — but because the battle BGM hadn’t changed.

Galar League battles had three types of music themes:
One for normal battles, one when a Pokémon [Dynamaxes], and one when both sides [Dynamax].
These BGM shifts were all automatic, triggered by the energy signatures each Trainer used.

And now, with no change in the BGM…
That meant Luo Yuan hadn’t used [Dynamax].

Which meant…

Everyone slowly turned their eyes to the battlefield, a chilling thought forming in their minds.

Could this… be Dragonite’s actual size?

The idea seemed ridiculous — borderline absurd — and yet, something about Luo Yuan’s overwhelming performance in the match so far made people instinctively believe it.

What the audience thought, though, didn’t matter in the arena itself.
There, Charizard and Dragonite continued their standoff — which had lasted nearly a full minute — before finally, one of them made a move.

“RRAAAHHH!!”

Gigantamax Charizard roared, flames surging violently around its body. Then — with a sudden lunge — it unleashed a massive torrent of fire.

[G-Max Wildfire]

The blazing inferno shot toward Dragonite, altering the battlefield in an instant.
The weather shifted to intense sunlight, amplifying the power of Fire-type moves.

“Dragonite, take to the sky!”

With Luo Yuan’s command, Dragonite’s colossal wings stirred, creating a fierce gale.
With the wind surging around it, Dragonite’s massive body lifted off the ground and soared upward, evading the oncoming Wildfire.

BOOM!!

The flames exploded on impact, charring a massive portion of the field black.

But no one was watching the blast — all eyes were on the enormous Dragonite circling high above.

Now fully restored to its original form, Dragonite took up nearly a third of the sky above the arena, its sheer size blocking out the sun.
The looming shadow it cast left the audience below with an unshakable feeling of pressure, despite knowing it wouldn’t attack them.

Not because they feared it directly —
but because something deep in the human psyche instinctively feared creatures this large.

Even Charizard lifted its head, eyes locked on the behemoth above, searching desperately for a weakness.

But Luo Yuan wasn’t the type to sit back and let his opponent take the initiative.

“Dragonite, [Dragon Rush]!”

Hearing the command, Leon’s eyes narrowed.

Just as I thought — it’s not [Dynamax]. A [Dynamaxed] Pokémon can’t use [Dragon Rush].

But he didn’t have time to analyze further.

High above, Dragonite’s enormous body was enveloped in a brilliant emerald light.
Its massive wings shimmered with power, and the sheer scale of the energy cloaking it bathed the entire sky in green.

At this moment, the whole city of Wyndon could see Dragonite hovering above.

With the [Draco Plate] resonating and Dragonite’s natural affinity for its type, the energy it gathered only grew more immense.
A terrifying pressure radiated outward, making both Leon and Charizard flinch — their expressions growing darker by the second.

The energy Dragonite had amassed far exceeded what Leon and Charizard had prepared for.

“This kind of attack…” Leon clenched his teeth.
“Charizard! Full defense — [G-Max Guard]! Now!”

He had no time to hesitate.
At the same time, he signaled to the staff on the sidelines to prepare for the shockwave and protect the spectators.

Even with Leon’s composed demeanor, the Galar League staff in charge of battle safety were breaking out in cold sweat.

“Is that thing even real? Can we even block this!? We’re dead…”

The audience was already in a state of panic.

And then — the sky moved.

Fwoooosh!!

Dragonite’s colossal wings beat once, and with a roar like a meteor tearing through the atmosphere, it descended — wrapped in emerald light, slicing through the sky with devastating momentum.

The wind howled, the clouds split.
The heavens themselves seemed to change color.

—

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!