Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

"Xatu is unable to battle!"

"Will’s Pokémon are all unable to continue. Karen is the winner!"

The referee’s voice echoed through the stadium, officially announcing the match’s result.

Neither Will nor Karen looked particularly surprised.

Of course, this didn’t mean Will was weaker than Karen. In fact, in terms of raw strength, Will had the edge.

But there was no helping it—Will specialized in Psychic-types, while Karen was an expert in Dark-types.

That natural disadvantage was simply too great.

With both sides giving it their all, even Will’s superior skill couldn’t completely overcome the overwhelming type matchup.

Still, Will didn’t mind. His real goal wasn’t victory—it was fulfilling Giovanni’s mission and infiltrating the League.

From the stands, Lance, who had been watching the entire match, turned to Luo Yuan.

"Let’s go. It’s time for the awards ceremony." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Since this was the first Silver Conference after the Johto League’s restructuring, the awards ceremony was different from usual.

Aside from Lance, who would be presenting the championship trophy, Luo Yuan and Koga were also responsible for awarding the second- and third-place trophies.

Hearing this, Luo Yuan simply nodded without saying a word.

Lance found it a bit strange—Luo Yuan had been unusually quiet today—but he didn’t dwell on it.

Calling Koga to join them, he made his way toward the podium.

On stage, as the Johto Champion, Lance personally handed the championship trophy to Karen.

"Congratulations!"

To him, discovering two trainers—Karen and Will—who had the potential to become Elite Four members was a major win.

It meant he would finally have two more people to share the workload.

"Thank you."

Karen accepted the trophy.

This was her stepping stone to becoming an Elite Four member.

Beside them, Luo Yuan handed Will the runner-up trophy.

Will carefully took it from "Luo Yuan."

As a high-ranking Rocket executive-in-training, Will was well aware of the real Luo Yuan’s whereabouts.

The actual second-in-command of Team Rocket was already on his way to Sinnoh via aircraft to deal with Team Galactic.

The "Luo Yuan" standing before him was merely Matori in disguise.

But even if it wasn’t the real Luo Yuan, Will still treated Matori with utmost respect.

After all, as Team Rocket’s chief secretary, her authority was second only to Giovanni and Luo Yuan.

Matori gave him a slight nod—nothing more needed to be said.

Lastly, Koga, in his usual no-nonsense manner, wordlessly handed the third-place trophy to the grinning trainer before him.

With that, the awards ceremony wrapped up.

Lance then extended an invitation to Karen and Will, inviting them to participate in the Johto Elite Four selection process.

That, however, was another story.

...

Meanwhile, in Sinnoh—

Luo Yuan had successfully rendezvoused with Malva.

The team for this operation was small.

Aside from the subordinates Malva had brought, there was only the Mega Squad—an elite force from Team Rocket’s headquarters, fully equipped with [Mega Evolution] Stones.

As for leadership, it was just Luo Yuan, Malva, and Courtney, who was serving as a reserve officer for this mission.

Luo Yuan turned to Courtney.

"What’s the situation in Sinnoh?"

Though the operation had come together somewhat hastily, a mission against a major organization like Team Galactic required some level of preparation.

That’s why Courtney had been stationed in Sinnoh as a scout in advance.

As a former Team Magma executive, her abilities were reliable.

Hearing Luo Yuan’s question, Courtney immediately pulled up the latest intelligence reports.

"Team Galactic has a massive presence in Sinnoh. Officially, they have two known bases—one is their headquarters, Galactic Veilstone Building in Veilstone City, and the other is Galactic Eterna Building in Eterna City."

"In Sinnoh, Team Galactic is under heavy surveillance by the Sinnoh League. However, due to concerns about their strength, the League has never taken direct action against them."

"But ever since their operatives, Mars and Jupiter, were captured in Kanto half a month ago, the International Police have joined forces with the Sinnoh League to launch a crackdown on Team Galactic."

"Right now, Team Galactic has fully retracted their forces. They’ve abandoned their Eterna base and concentrated all their power in Veilstone’s headquarters."

Courtney kept her briefing concise, laying out the situation for Luo Yuan and Malva.

Luo Yuan nodded.

This was more or less what he had expected.

He already knew that Team Galactic was under attack from the Sinnoh League and the International Police.

And the reason he knew?

Because it was the first thing Giovanni did after becoming Kanto’s Champion.

As soon as he assumed his new title, Giovanni officially contacted Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, informing her that Team Galactic had attempted to infiltrate Kanto—only to be completely wiped out by Team Rocket.

The Sinnoh League had long loathed Team Galactic but had been forced into an uneasy truce due to their power.

However, with Team Galactic now weakened from their failures in Kanto, that balance was shattered.

Seizing the opportunity, the Sinnoh League and the International Police immediately joined forces to launch a full-scale assault.

And now, this was the result.

But what Luo Yuan was really concerned about was:

"Has Cyrus made a move?"

Among all of Team Galactic, Cyrus was the only one he truly considered a threat.

Cyrus was a textbook example of a competent crime boss—highly capable, fiercely ambitious, and dangerously methodical.

A foe not to be underestimated.

Courtney shook her head.

"There’s been no sign of Cyrus."

"Since the capture of Mars and Jupiter, the only Team Galactic executive who’s been spotted is Charon."

"Tch... hiding, huh?" Luo Yuan clicked his tongue.

That was not good news.

According to intelligence reports, Team Galactic was already preparing to awaken Dialga and Palkia.

If their base was being dismantled, yet Cyrus still hadn’t made a move, that could only mean one thing—

The plan had already reached its final stage.

If Cyrus successfully summoned Dialga and Palkia, things would get complicated.

Which meant they had to stop him before that happened.

And the best way to force Cyrus out—

Was to corner him.

Luo Yuan’s gaze sharpened.

"Do we have blueprints of the Galactic Veilstone Building?"

Courtney nodded.

"I tracked down the original architect who designed the building. Got the original blueprints from him."

"There might be minor discrepancies, but the overall structure should still be accurate."

"Will that be enough?"

Luo Yuan smirked.

"More than enough."