Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Gary’s run ended in the Round of 16—an embarrassing result, to say the least.

And if Ash made it to the Quarterfinals, it would be even more humiliating for Gary, who had always considered himself stronger than Ash.

Hearing Gary’s question, Ash thought for a moment before answering, "I don’t think it’ll be a problem."

"I checked out my opponent. Doesn’t seem all that strong."

"I’m pretty confident I’ve got this."

Three sentences—each one like a missile striking the S.S. Gary, sinking it completely.

Ash’s opponent was Harrison, someone he had encountered before. While Harrison wasn’t weak, there was a massive gap in skill compared to Karen, whom Gary had faced.

After a year of training, Ash believed he had improved significantly since last year and was confident about advancing.

"Haha, I’m finally surpassing you this time, Gary!"

"Damn it, you—ugh..."

Gary sighed. What could he do? He lost, plain and simple.

He had no choice but to accept the reality—among the three of them, he was now the weakest.

There was no helping it. His luck was just that bad.

Standing nearby, Luo Yuan’s expression shifted slightly at the mention of Harrison’s name. He glanced at Ash, who was brimming with confidence.

Would things really go as Ash expected?

As Luo Yuan anticipated, things did not go according to Ash’s plan.

Three hours later...

The battle had spiraled far beyond Ash’s expectations.

With Bayleef defeated by Harrison’s Blaziken, Ash was down to his last Pokémon—Charizard.

The intensity of the battle was beyond anything Ash had imagined.

Even though he had secured an early advantage, the moment Harrison sent out Blaziken, the playing field was completely leveled again.

Ash was growing nervous.

"It’s all on you now, Charizard!" He threw the Poké Ball.

Boom!

A bright white light flashed, and with a powerful roar, Charizard landed on the battlefield, its tail flame burning fiercely.

Blaziken vs. Charizard—one-on-one.

Ash clenched his fists.

If he lost this match, he’d be stuck in the Round of 16 just like Gary.

And just imagining Gary rubbing it in made Ash more determined than ever.

I can’t lose this fight!

"Let’s go, Charizard!"

Following Ash’s command, Charizard unleashed a stream of [Flamethrower] at Blaziken!

But Harrison didn’t let his guard down.

"Dodge it, Blaziken!"

With remarkable agility, Blaziken evaded the incoming flames and accelerated toward Charizard, leaving behind a trail of afterimages!

Ash had already witnessed Blaziken’s incredible fighting prowess during its battle against Bayleef, so he had prepared in advance.

"Charizard, [Seismic Toss]!"

Hearing the command, Charizard let out a low growl and lunged forward.

With a flap of its wings, it stirred up a fierce gust of wind. Blaziken instinctively closed its eyes against the sudden turbulence—just the opening Charizard needed.

Seizing the moment, Charizard grabbed Blaziken mid-charge.

Blaziken hadn’t expected Charizard to move in aggressively and was caught off guard.

Before it could break free, Charizard flapped its wings hard, lifting Blaziken off the ground and soaring into the sky.

"Not good!" Harrison’s eyes widened.

With Blaziken being carried high into the air, Charizard now had complete control over the battle.

Even if Blaziken managed to escape, the fall alone would deal massive damage.

Harrison was confident in Blaziken’s abilities, but flight was not one of them.

Watching Charizard ascend, preparing to plummet down with [Seismic Toss], Harrison remained calm despite his urgency.

While Blaziken couldn’t escape, that didn’t mean it couldn’t reduce the impact.

Having grown up in Hoenn and frequently watching rocket launches from Mossdeep Space Center, Harrison quickly came up with a way to counter the fall—with thrust reduction!

"Blaziken, use [Flamethrower] on the ground!"

Hearing the command, Blaziken immediately aimed downward and fired a jet of flames toward the battlefield.

The thrust from the attack slowed Charizard’s descent significantly!

However, Charizard had no time to react—just before hitting the ground, it hurled Blaziken downward with full force!

Boom!

Blaziken slammed into the battlefield, sending up a thick cloud of dust and debris.

"The unexpected strategy from Harrison’s Blaziken successfully reduced the damage from Charizard’s [Seismic Toss]! But even so, the impact was still tremendous. Can Blaziken endure it?" The announcer’s voice filled the stadium.

The entire crowd was on the edge of their seats.

As the dust gradually settled, Blaziken slowly rose to its feet.

Just before the dust fully cleared, it locked eyes on Charizard’s silhouette through the haze.

Then—whoosh!

With explosive speed, Blaziken shot forward like a blur, colliding head-on with a startled Charizard!

A [Blaze Kick] sent Charizard flying across the battlefield!

The powerful blow sent Charizard tumbling several times before it finally dug its claws into the ground, using friction to stop itself.

Furious, Charizard roared and flapped its wings, launching itself at Blaziken once more!

The two Pokémon clashed repeatedly, their battle turning the arena into a whirlwind of flames and dust.

Charizard was looking for another chance to use [Seismic Toss].

But having learned from its previous mistake, Blaziken refused to give it any openings, landing quick strikes before retreating.

Charizard’s temper was notorious—now, after taking several hits, it was livid.

Its jaws parted, gathering energy—[Dragon Rage] was ready to fire!

But Blaziken wasn’t backing down either. Flames roared in its mouth as it countered with its own attack.

Boom!

The two blasts collided midair, creating a massive explosion!

The shockwave engulfed both Charizard and Blaziken, sending them flying in opposite directions.

As the smoke cleared...

Both Pokémon stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.

A few seconds passed.

Then—Charizard’s body wavered.

And finally, it collapsed.

Blaziken, though kneeling on one knee, managed to hold its ground.

Harrison wins the match!

Outside the battlefield, Luo Yuan shook his head as he watched Charizard fall.

While Ash’s control over Charizard was far better than in the original timeline, his strategy was still as reckless as ever—relying solely on Charizard’s raw power and instincts.

Just like in this fight—if Luo Yuan had been in command, he would never have used [Dragon Rage].

Instead, he would have gone for [Overheat] and immediately taken to the skies.

Even if the explosion affected Charizard, aerial maneuvering would have helped mitigate the impact.

That way, Charizard wouldn’t have been knocked out so easily in the final exchange.

There had been plenty of similar issues in Ash’s previous battles—mistakes that could have been avoided with better strategy.

Not to mention, even Gary was doing better than Ash in that regard.

Ash still had a long way to go.

Standing on the battlefield after his loss, Ash wore a disappointed expression, while Gary, on the sidelines, looked absolutely delighted.

As a friend, Gary knew his reaction was a little inappropriate, but he couldn’t help it. Knowing that Ash had also been eliminated in the Round of 16 put him in a great mood.

Because now, he wasn’t the worst one anymore.

Luo Yuan glanced at Gary’s smug grin and sighed. He had long grown accustomed to Ash and Gary’s friendly rivalry.

Watching these two Round of 16 rejects trying to "console" each other, Luo Yuan decided to let them be.

"You two have fun—I’ve got other matters to attend to."

With both Ash and Gary eliminated from the Silver Conference, Luo Yuan lost all interest in the remaining matches.

After all, he had already analyzed the other competitors—none of them were real threats. The championship title would undoubtedly go to either Karen or Will.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket’s control over Johto was now practically a done deal.

Back in his office, Luo Yuan dialed Giovanni’s number. After giving him a brief report, he got straight to the point.

"Boss Giovanni, when are we making a move on Team Galactic?"

Even with two Deoxys, Mewtwo, and Rayquaza on their side, Luo Yuan wasn’t one to take chances. If Team Galactic managed to awaken Dialga and Palkia, things could get messy.

It was always best to eliminate threats before they had the chance to escalate.

"The Mega Evolution Stones have been distributed, and the elite squad is currently training. They should be fully prepared in about a week," Giovanni replied. "But how do you plan on getting into Sinnoh?"

Compared to the newly assembled Mega Squad, the real key player in this operation was Luo Yuan himself.

He had just been appointed the Kanto Champion, and with a mountain of responsibilities on his plate, there was no way he could just abandon the Kanto League and head off to Sinnoh.

That meant the mission to take down Team Galactic would fall entirely on him.

Luo Yuan frowned.

He had already used the reinforcements excuse in Hoenn. This time, there were no requests for aid coming from Sinnoh, nor was there an official exchange program like in Alola. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Which meant coming up with a legitimate reason to enter Sinnoh was going to be a hassle.

Becoming an Elite Four sure comes with its downsides...

"If worst comes to worst, we’ll have Matori disguise herself as me," Luo Yuan suggested.

If there were no other options, they’d have to go with the old impersonation trick.

Last time, Matori successfully fooled Steven by pretending to be him.

This time, with Sabrina assisting from the sidelines and Koga providing cover, they might even be able to deceive Lance.

"I’ll arrange for Lance to temporarily assign you to Kanto. That should minimize the chances of him noticing anything," Giovanni said.

"That works perfectly." Luo Yuan nodded.

With Giovanni, the Kanto Champion, running interference, everything became much simpler.

"Alright then—once the Silver Conference ends, I’m heading out!"

Having made his decision, Luo Yuan began his preparations.

The first step was coordinating with Matori. He left Ditto with her to assist in maintaining the disguise.

Next, since Matori wouldn’t be joining him for the Team Galactic operation, he needed additional backup.

He contacted a certain hunter and reassigned Kagari to assist him.

Then, he placed a call to someone he hadn’t spoken to in a while—Malva in Kalos.

"Malva!" Luo Yuan greeted as her holographic image appeared.

On the screen, Malva looked half-asleep—clearly, she had been taking a nap.

"What do you want, Lord Luo Yuan—?!" she grumbled, still groggy.

Evidently, she was not happy about being woken up.

After all, he hadn’t contacted her in ages, and now that he finally did, it just had to be in the middle of her nap. Anyone would be irritated.

Luo Yuan was well aware of this, so he wasn’t bothered by the annoyance in her voice.

"I need your help with something," he said.

"?!"

Malva raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat amused.

As a Rocket executive herself, she had been keeping up with Luo Yuan’s legendary exploits.

From the Hoenn Declaration to his silent takeover of Alola—she could never dream of pulling off feats like that.

With Luo Yuan’s strength, what on earth could he possibly need her help with?

"We’re about to start a war with Team Galactic," Luo Yuan explained. "HQ can’t spare too many resources right now, so I need your support."

"...Team Galactic, huh?"

Malva was briefly stunned but quickly regained her composure.

To her, launching an all-out attack on an entire regional organization seemed a bit extreme.

But coming from Luo Yuan, it was just another day in the office.

"What did Team Galactic do to piss off Team Rocket?" she asked.

Due to her position in Kalos, she wasn’t fully updated on the details of the conflict.

So Luo Yuan filled her in on the spy situation.

Malva: "......"

Why did this feel so familiar?

Oh, right.

This was exactly how Team Flare got taken over by Team Rocket.

The only difference was that Team Galactic was even bolder—they actually had the guts to plant spies inside Team Rocket.

Talk about digging your own grave...

Shaking her head, Malva sighed.

"Any problems on your end?" Luo Yuan asked.

As a Kalos Elite Four member, she might have some difficulties slipping away unnoticed.

"None. I can go whenever," Malva replied.

After taking over Lysandre Labs, she had been on good terms with Kalos Champion Diantha.

And since Diantha was currently busy filming a movie, she wasn’t paying much attention to anything else.

"Good. Then be ready—we’ll rendezvous in Sinnoh in a week!"

---

T/N: longer Chapter

[patreon.com/WiseTL]

[discord.gg/wisetl]