Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Previously, Professor Oak had sent Samson Oak a whole box of instant noodles. This was Samson Oak's return gift.

Since the box was too large to fit in a spatial backpack, it had to be shipped instead and had only arrived in Viridian City yesterday.

Before leaving, Samson specifically asked Luo Yuan to ensure that Professor Oak opened it in person. This was one of the reasons Luo Yuan had made a special trip to the Oak Research Lab.

"Hm? What did Samson send me?" Professor Oak looked curiously at the massive box.

With an expectant expression, he opened it.

Rustle—

The moment the box was opened, a pile of coconuts tumbled out, completely burying Professor Oak before he could react.

"..."

Watching this scene unfold, Luo Yuan couldn't help but admire how Samson Oak was a man of his word. He had said he would send Professor Oak a whole box of coconuts, and sure enough, here was an entire box of coconuts.

The only problem was... the box was a bit too big.

Of course, Luo Yuan didn't just stand there and let Professor Oak remain buried under the pile.

Considering Professor Oak wasn't exactly young anymore, getting crushed under all that weight wouldn't be ideal.

Using his psychic powers, Luo Yuan lifted the coconuts off Professor Oak and helped him up.

At this moment, Professor Oak's face was full of exasperation toward his cousin.

How old is he now, and he still acts like a child...

He had completely forgotten that the whole thing started because he had first sent Samson a box of instant noodles.

But that wasn't the only thing in Samson Oak's gift.

As Professor Oak was tidying up the coconuts, he noticed a piece of paper stuck to the inside of the box, along with a Poké Ball placed inside a bag.

Following the instructions on the note, Luo Yuan and the others accompanied Professor Oak to the back of the research lab.

With a flash of white light, a towering Exeggutor, over ten meters tall, appeared in the backyard.

The moment the Exeggutor materialized, it startled all the Pokémon in the area.

One by one, they cautiously observed this familiar yet completely unfamiliar Exeggutor.

Professor Oak, however, was delighted.

He had always wanted to study an Alolan variant Pokémon, and he never expected his cousin to send him one.

Samson really understands me well.

After entrusting the care of Exeggutor to Tracey, Professor Oak turned to Luo Yuan and said, "There's been progress on the Nihilego you sent me earlier."

"According to what you mentioned, this Pokémon comes from another dimension. After analyzing it, I've discovered that it truly differs in many ways from Pokémon in our world."

As he spoke, Professor Oak pulled out a stack of documents and handed them to Luo Yuan. "This is the data I've gathered on Nihilego so far. I can't guarantee its complete accuracy, but you can use it as a reference."

Taking the files from Professor Oak, Luo Yuan flipped through them briefly.

He couldn't help but marvel at Professor Oak's unparalleled expertise in Pokémon research.

Even compared to researchers like Faba, who had been studying Ultra Beasts for years, Professor Oak's insights—despite having far less time—were deeper in certain areas.

Particularly, his bold hypotheses about the Ultra Beasts as a species were highly enlightening.

If they followed Professor Oak's research direction, Luo Yuan estimated that Team Rocket could reduce their investment in Ultra Beast research by at least twenty percent.

Truly, a titan in the field of Pokémon academia.

Luo Yuan sincerely expressed his gratitude to Professor Oak. In response, the professor simply said that if Luo Yuan had any rare Pokémon, he wouldn't mind borrowing them for research.

...

Luo Yuan didn't stay at the Oak Research Lab for long.

After all, he had tasks to complete.

Once he finished giving Lillie a tour of the lab, he spent another day resting in Saffron City before setting off alone on his Dragonite toward the Indigo Plateau's Pokémon League headquarters.

At the familiar League headquarters, Luo Yuan entered an office where he met the current Kanto Elite Four.

Agatha sat on the couch, leaning on her cane while her Gengar massaged her shoulders from behind.

Bruno stood by the window with his arms crossed, looking like he had no interest in getting involved.

Meanwhile, Lorelei and Giovanni sat on opposite sides of the room, subtly at odds with each other.

Giovanni's bid for the Champion title had inevitably strained his once-cordial relationship with Lorelei.

For Lorelei, Giovanni's participation in the race for Champion was completely unexpected.

She had been confident that, with Agatha and Bruno uninterested in competing, the position was practically hers.

Then, Giovanni appeared out of nowhere.

Of course, despite her grievances and the growing tension between them, Lorelei was well aware of her priorities.

She wouldn't let Giovanni's challenge affect her professionalism.

When Luo Yuan entered, Lorelei greeted him with a smile.

Luo Yuan returned the smile.

At first glance, it seemed like Luo Yuan favored Lorelei.

After all, back when he first became an Elite Four member, it was Lorelei who helped him get familiar with the job.

However...

If they knew Luo Yuan's true identity, they probably wouldn't think that way.

But aside from Luo Yuan himself and Giovanni, no one else in the room knew the truth.

"I already received Lance's report. I didn't expect you to actually capture Deoxys!" Agatha was the first to speak.

She looked at Luo Yuan with admiration.

Even after so many years as an Elite Four member, she had never met a young trainer as exceptional as him.

Capturing a Legendary Pokémon required both immense strength and sheer luck—already a daunting challenge.

And for someone as young as Luo Yuan to accomplish such a feat? It was even more terrifying.

From Agatha's perspective, while Team Rocket's Tech Hunters had access to more Legendary Pokémon and were currently stronger, Luo Yuan's potential for the future far surpassed them.

That was her judgment after decades of experience as an Elite Four.

"I just hope I can be of help. After all, Team Rocket's Tech Hunters are far stronger than I am," Luo Yuan said humbly.

At his words, everyone in the room—except for Luo Yuan and Giovanni—felt the weight of the situation settle upon them.

But the Champion election had to proceed.

That was the very reason they had invited Luo Yuan here in the first place.

Just as Lorelei was organizing her thoughts to speak—

Suddenly, her communicator at her waist rang.

She answered it, only to hear a frantic voice on the other end.

"Elite Four Lorelei! We have a situation on the Sevii Islands!"

Lorelei frowned. "What's going on? Is Team Rocket making a move?"

She had suspected that Team Rocket wouldn't sit still during such a critical time.

But just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard—

"No, no! It's not Team Rocket! It's Team Galactic! Team Galactic has appeared on the Sevii Islands!"

"?"

Lorelei's face was full of question marks.

Team Galactic?

Isn't that a Sinnoh-based organization? What the hell are they doing in the Sevii Islands?!