Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

The capture of Hunter J by Team Rocket had been kept under wraps.

For one thing, the confrontation had taken place at night, making it difficult for anyone to see what had happened.

Secondly, the battle occurred in Stone Town, where most residents were employees of Stone Mining Company—a company deeply entwined with Team Rocket. They weren't about to spill any secrets.

So all the League had heard was that a skirmish had taken place near Stone Town between Hunter J and the Tech Hunter.

As for any further details...

Reason: unknown. Process: unknown. Result: unknown.

In other words—don't ask. The only answer you'll get is "unknown."

This left Lance, already overwhelmed with responsibilities, even more frustrated than before.

---

Meanwhile, Luo Yuan, who had originally planned to visit Dark City, found himself redirected by Matori. He now stood on board Hunter J's...

Well, it was now technically his invisible airship.

Luo Yuan had never had his own mode of transport, a slight mismatch given his position as a senior Team Rocket executive.

So he'd decided to keep the airship for himself, with Giovanni's blessing.

Hunter J's airship was highly advanced, not only equipped with a state-of-the-art optical camouflage system but also powered by high-efficiency ion thrusters, a step up from Team Rocket's usual turbine engines.

"Sir!"

Luo Yuan's arrival prompted a chorus of salutes from the Team Rocket elite operatives stationed around the ship.

These were subordinates he'd requested from Giovanni, assigned to handle the piloting and maintenance of the airship.

He waved them back to their tasks and made his way to one of the ship's chambers.

Pushing open the door, he found Matori standing by a one-way mirror, observing the interrogation room where Hunter J, her wrists cuffed, sat in captivity.

Even in defeat, Hunter J's face showed no trace of resignation; she maintained her usual icy expression.

Luo Yuan turned to Matori. "How's it going? Has she talked yet?"

"No, she's tight-lipped," Matori replied with a shake of her head.

"Troublesome..."

Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow, though he wasn't particularly surprised.

Hunter J was nothing if not defiant. If she had spilled her secrets easily, he would've suspected a trap.

When the leader is uncooperative, sometimes you have to target the underlings.

"Any luck with the others?" Luo Yuan asked.

Pokémon hunters and Team Rocket operatives were quite different; these hunters were strictly mercenaries, driven by profit alone.

Without loyalty or ideology, there was no reason for them to keep secrets.

It would be much easier to gather intel from them.

Matori nodded, then shook her head slightly. "The lower ranks don't know much, only that Hunter J came here in search of some ancient ruin."

Luo Yuan understood her mixed response immediately.

It was practically useless information.

Ancient ruins weren't always valuable... and there were simply too many of them in the Pokémon world.

To what extent? So many that even raising fish could warrant a dedicated ruin.

For example, in Hoenn, there was the Ancient Tomb that Team Magma mistook as connected to Groudon.

It turned out to be nothing more than a site constructed by ancient people to raise Relicanth.

And that was a well-known ruin. The world was full of ruins hidden in forests, mountains, even under the sea—a testament to how commonplace they were.

Without knowing if the ruin Hunter J sought held any real value, Team Rocket couldn't afford to throw resources at a search she'd spent two months on without results.

Unless...

"I checked with Saffron City; Sabrina can't come."

"Hunter J has undergone special training, so standard Psychic hypnosis doesn't work on her."

Matori must have anticipated Luo Yuan's question and provided the answer up front.

"..."

"Looks like I'll have to do this myself."

Luo Yuan stared at Hunter J through the glass, then pushed open the door and entered the interrogation room, with Matori following closely behind him like a personal assistant.

Taking a seat across from Hunter J, he tapped his fingers on the table.

"Your subordinates have already told us everything. Don't you have anything to add?"

Hunter J remained expressionless.

This mission had been kept highly classified. She knew for a fact that her subordinates had no knowledge of its true objective.

Luo Yuan wasn't bothered by her silence and kept tapping the table rhythmically.

"Let's make an educated guess, shall we? You're a Pokémon hunter, so the ruin you're after is obviously related to Pokémon."

"You've traveled all the way to Kanto, risking detection by Team Rocket, and spent two months here. That means whatever you're after isn't ordinary—it could very well be connected to a Legendary Pokémon."

"Now, you operate primarily in Sinnoh, and I know a fair amount about the myths in Sinnoh. Which Pokémon could you be after?"

"Regigigas and the Lake Guardians are unlikely, since they're sealed in Sinnoh. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina are in another dimension... could it be Arceus?"

Luo Yuan's deductions were intentionally blunt, almost far-fetched.

He knew there were countless other possibilities—Hunter J could just as easily be on a job for some rich client, hunting for something else entirely.

But deduction wasn't his true objective here.

He was testing her reaction.

With his Viridian and psychic abilities, he could sense changes in her emotions, and he kept his attention focused on her.

No matter how well-trained, no human could completely suppress their emotions.

Hunter J was no exception.

The moment Luo Yuan mentioned Arceus, he detected a clear surge in her emotional response.

"So it's related to Arceus..."

As he repeated the name, Hunter J couldn't maintain her composure any longer.

Her expression shifted, and she fixed Luo Yuan with a sharp stare.

Noticing her reaction, Luo Yuan smiled. "Wondering how I knew? Simple—you told me."

"Impossible!"

Realizing that Luo Yuan had actually uncovered her purpose, Hunter J couldn't help but break her silence.

Luo Yuan smoothed back a strand of hair with his little finger and smirked. "In the face of psychic powers, your thoughts are an open book."

Ignoring Hunter J's fluctuating expression, he turned to Matori.

"Inform Giovanni: this ruin may be connected to Sinnoh's Creation Pokémon, Arceus. Arceus itself is unlikely to be slumbering here in Kanto, but I suspect it could be one of Arceus's Plates."

---

T/N: What's Dark City I know its a translation of a city...but what city? oh nevermind it actually is just a city with that name

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