Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

December Double Drop!

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The Substitute move was far more powerful in real life than in the games.

In the games, a Substitute was just a doll used to block an attack.

But in reality, Substitute was nearly the equivalent of creating a clone, at the mere cost of some stamina.

Gengar's Substitute gradually dissipated.

Behind it, the Team Rocket members stood fully armed.

Thanks to a blueprint of the police station provided by an insider, Gengar's Substitute had not only rescued the detained Rocket members but also retrieved the Poké Balls confiscated by the League.

It was only now that the League trainers understood why the Tech Hunter had abruptly changed tactics.

He hadn't wanted to waste any more effort on them.

But it was too late to realize that now.

The number of Rocket trainers here already far outnumbered the League officers.

Not to mention, they were up against a single opponent who could suppress them all, the Tech Hunter...

The head officer clenched his teeth.

"We're retreating!"

It was a decision made out of sheer necessity.

If they didn't retreat while they still had some fighting strength, once Team Rocket surrounded them, escape would be impossible.

And they couldn't afford to be wiped out here.

Someone had to report back to Elite Four Lorelei that these Rocket members had escaped.

With this in mind, the officer directed his men to withdraw, keeping a cautious eye on Luo Yuan and the Rocket members.

Watching the League officers decisively retreat, Luo Yuan was a bit surprised.

He'd thought these guys would fight to the bitter end, holding out until reinforcements arrived—but he hadn't expected them to retreat so quickly.

As for whether he should pursue them and take out every last officer...

Luo Yuan had considered this.

But ultimately, he decided there was no need.

Taking them down would gain him nothing.

For one thing, nearly all of their Pokémon were injured, meaning capturing them served little purpose.

Moreover, rescuing these Rocket members was already enough to stabilize Team Rocket's foothold on the Sevii Islands.

Capturing these officers would merely be overkill.

It would only place him, the Tech Hunter, in the Alliance's crosshairs for retaliation.

And with the Sevii Islands not exactly his territory, the ones to benefit from all this would be the Beasts Trio—not him.

Luo Yuan never did things that hurt himself to benefit others.

So, he calmly watched the League officers leave.

Several Team Rocket members nearby glanced at the armored Luo Yuan, opening their mouths as if to ask something but closing them again, hesitant.

Luo Yuan didn't bother asking.

He had a pretty good idea what they wanted to know.

The Rocket members from the Sevii Islands didn't know that the Tech Hunter was actually a high-ranking Rocket officer.

Their questions were likely along the lines of who he was, why he'd saved them, or why he hadn't finished off the League officers.

Luo Yuan wasn't interested in explaining.

Casually, he tossed a Team Rocket communicator to them.

"Head southwest along the coast. The boat waiting to pick you up will be there."

With that, he took off, soaring into the sky atop Dragapult, heading back to the airship.

Onboard, Matori and Sabrina were already waiting.

As soon as Matori saw Luo Yuan, she asked, "How did it go?"

"I got them out," Luo Yuan replied. "And I made sure those League officers backed off."

Hearing that the mission was a success, Matori let out a relieved sigh.

"Well, if that's settled, then next up..."

Before she could finish, Luo Yuan quickly interrupted, "Wait, next up? Don't tell me you want me to deal with Lorelei too... Just so you know, I'm not available for that."

Taking on Lorelei, the Ice-type Elite, was no small feat.

And his trump card, Dragapult, was especially vulnerable to Ice-types.

Not to mention, Gengar would be at a disadvantage against Jynx's Ice/Psychic typing and Slowking's Water/Psychic combination.

"Then where are you headed?" Matori caught the implication in his words.

"Of course, I'm going with Sabrina to locate that mysterious Pokémon—that's my main goal in coming to the Sevii Islands."

Now that he was here—and having received valuable intel from Chaklar earlier—he couldn't pass up the chance to track down Deoxys.

"You should come with us," Luo Yuan invited Matori.

The more people, the better.

Even with Dragapult and Gengar, both well-suited to counter Deoxys, a meteorite on hand, and a Psychic ally like Sabrina, Luo Yuan still wasn't entirely confident.

Matori was tempted.

Part of her wanted to accept Luo Yuan's invitation, but she had responsibilities.

While Luo Yuan's part of the mission was complete, hers was not.

As the acting overseer of the Sevii Islands in Giovanni's stead, she couldn't risk leaving the base.

After a moment's hesitation, she reluctantly declined Luo Yuan's offer.

If she abandoned her duties to pursue an unknown Pokémon with him, only for the Sevii Islands base to be wiped out in her absence, she'd be in serious trouble.

Though she couldn't join him, Matori did authorize a transport aircraft for Luo Yuan and Sabrina.

They agreed to reconvene before returning to Kanto.

"Well then, Sabrina and I are off," Luo Yuan said. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Stay safe," Matori replied, watching as Luo Yuan and Sabrina departed. She took a deep breath, her expression returning to its usual calm.

Switching to the Team Rocket internal channel, she issued orders:

"All Team Rocket bases within the Sevii Islands are to enter a one-week silent mode, effective immediately. Elite members, proceed to the base on Three Island to assist in countering Lorelei."

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The aircraft sped through the clouds.

"Luo Yuan, where are we headed?"

Onboard, Sabrina watched Luo Yuan as he examined a map of the Sevii Islands.

He hadn't activated a tracker to locate the unknown Pokémon's signal, which puzzled her.

Hearing her question, Luo Yuan looked up and put away the map.

"One place in particular—Birth Island."

"Birth Island?" Sabrina echoed, unsure why Luo Yuan would go there.

He understood her confusion. Truthfully, if not for his own theory that Deoxys was likely hiding on Birth Island, he would have used tech to gradually track it down.

"I believe Deoxys is probably on Birth Island," Luo Yuan explained.

As he spoke, the clouds parted, revealing a triangular island ahead of them.

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Thanks for reading! Let me know if you spot any mistakes or inconsistencies!

Posture and water check! Remember this is a fan translation!

If you wish to support me or read ahead here's a link! [patreon.com/WiseTL]