Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!

Although it sounds complex, everything happened in an instant.

As Deoxys blocked Dragonite's Ice Punch, all eyes fixed on it.

They looked at each other, realizing that nobody recognized this mysterious Pokémon.

Even the Team Rocket members were baffled.

Only Matori, the Three Beasts, and Lorelei—one of the few who had encountered Deoxys before—gazed at its red-and-blue body, vaguely guessing its identity.

But even they weren't sure.

The Deoxys they had seen before looked slimmer and more streamlined.

Lance, watching from behind, furrowed his brows as he saw Dragonite's Ice Punch being blocked, sensing that something was wrong.

As an Elite Trainer, there were few Pokémon in the world Lance hadn't seen.

Even rare Legendary Pokémon had some records within the League's archives.

But he'd truly never seen anything like the Pokémon standing before him now.

To deflect Dragonite's Ice Punch so effortlessly and without a scratch...

With his keen instincts, Lance sensed an ominous threat.

"Dragonite, fall back!"

Faced with the unknown, Lance ordered Dragonite to retreat, hoping to assess the situation.

However, Luo Yuan had no intention of letting Lance withdraw Dragonite so easily.

Through his voice modulator, Luo Yuan's voice echoed across the field:

"Deoxys, pursue it! Zen Headbutt!"

"So, this Pokémon is called Deoxys..." The thought flashed through Lance's mind, and he immediately warned Dragonite.

"Dragonite, use Protect!"

"Roar!"

Dragonite quickly turned, crossing its claws in front of its chest as a blue shield formed before it.

Deoxys focused its psychic power on its head and charged, ramming into Dragonite with full force.

Thud!

A heavy, drum-like sound echoed across the field, rattling everyone's eardrums.

They watched as Zen Headbutt struck Dragonite's protective barrier, tiny cracks spider-webbing across its surface.

"It... it cracked?"

The League trainers stood in shock.

Though the shield wasn't shattered, the fact that it was even cracked was astonishing enough.

That was Lance's Dragonite, using Protect—the supposed ultimate defense—and it was nearly broken through.

"Not quite enough power, huh?"

Luo Yuan didn't seem overly surprised.

After all, Deoxys was currently in its Defense Forme, not its Attack Forme, and Lance's Dragonite was far from weak.

But Lance had seen his Dragonite's near-break in defenses, and his caution spiked. He wouldn't risk any more close-range combat with Deoxys.

"Dragonite, take to the sky! Use Dragon Pulse!"

"Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam!"

A yellow and white beam shot diagonally from the sky, targeting Deoxys.

This time, Deoxys didn't take the hit.

Its eyes glowed blue, and its body blurred before vanishing from sight.

Teleport!

The Hyper Beam and Dragon Pulse struck empty air, sparking an explosion.

In an instant, Deoxys reappeared directly behind Charizard, who was currently spraying flames at a Roserade.

Deoxys raised one of its ribbon-like arms.

"Knock Off!"

The arm slammed down with tremendous force, flipping Charizard to the ground.

"Roar!"

Nearby, Dragonair saw its teammate hurt, twisting around to lash its tail at Deoxys in anger.

At the same time, Dragonite moved in under Lance's orders to flank Deoxys.

"Speed Forme!"

While Dragapult continued to suppress Aerodactyl, Luo Yuan instructed Deoxys to shift forms.

Thanks to Luo Yuan's healing with Viridian Power, Deoxys hadn't fully recovered but was strong enough to manage a few limited transformations without strain.

Deoxys complied.

Its body twisted, its core glowing, reshaping itself like clay.

Transformation—Speed Forme!

In Speed Forme, Deoxys dodged Dragonair's Aqua Tail with ease.

Its tentacles whipped back, sending Dragonair flying, and it looped through the air to come up behind Dragonite.

"Shadow Ball!"

Boom!

"Roooar!"

With a pained cry, Dragonite barely had time to locate Deoxys before it was struck.

Like a kite cut loose, it plummeted from the sky.

Deoxys didn't pause; it instantly became a blur, vanishing and reappearing in front of Lorelei's Cloyster.

"!"

Cloyster had just witnessed Dragonite's fall from the sky, trembling slightly. Seeing Deoxys materialize right in front of it, beads of nervous sweat formed on its forehead, and it prepared to withdraw into its shell for safety.

Unfortunately for Cloyster, Deoxys was faster.

At Luo Yuan's command, Deoxys formed a Shadow Ball, shoving it into Cloyster's shell just before it could close up.

Thud!

A muted explosion sounded from within Cloyster's shell, a thin plume of smoke rising as the shell slowly opened, revealing a fainted Cloyster.

All of this unfolded within a matter of seconds.

In the eyes of the others, Deoxys had suddenly changed forms.

Then, in a flash, both Dragonite and Dragonair were down.

By the time Cloyster fainted, Dragonite was only just hitting the ground.

"It's him! Yes, it's really him!"

Carr, pointing wildly at Deoxys, exclaimed, "That's the Pokémon that smashed up my Steelix!"

The implication was clear—See? This thing is that strong. I lost because it's powerful, not because I'm weak!

But there was one thing Carr hadn't considered.

Sure, he'd proven he wasn't a failure.

But by confirming Deoxys' strength, he was also indirectly admitting that anyone capable of capturing it—namely Luo Yuan—was on a level far beyond his.

Unwittingly, he ended up complimenting his rival, reinforcing the notion that perhaps Carr wasn't the sharpest.

Meanwhile, Sird ignored Carr's rant.

As an undercover agent for Team Galactic, she was always observing Team Rocket's executives closely.

Watching Luo Yuan and Deoxys, her suspicion solidified—Luo Yuan was the most dangerous person within Team Rocket after Giovanni.

In the future, she'd need to handle him with extreme caution.

On the League's side—

Lorelei recalled her fainted Pokémon. Jynx, Froslass, Slowking, Lapras, and Dewgong all grouped closely around her, prepared to prevent any more of her Pokémon from being picked off by Deoxys.

Lance also withdrew his injured Dragonair, Dragonite, and Charizard, his eyes locked on the Deoxys floating ominously in mid-air.

Seeing the League cease their attacks, Team Rocket didn't advance, not wanting to provoke them either.

Not knowing Luo Yuan's true allegiance, they held back for the moment.

For the first time since the battle began, a mutual pause settled over the field.

Everyone had their own thoughts swirling.

Only Matori's eyes shone with a spark as she looked at Luo Yuan.

"He really did it!"

---

If you notice anything that feels off, just let me know—I don't mind fixing things up.

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