Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! [446]

The moment the Sinnoh League entered the Galactic Veilstone Building, they ran into a crisis.

Outside, Luo Yuan had already located the positions of the Galactic grunts inside using his telepathy.

Compared to the empty main lobby, the second floor was teeming with Team Galactic trainers, all lying in wait near the staircase, ready to ambush the Sinnoh League trainers the moment they ascended.

Due to interference from waves of Zubat, injuries had already begun to occur among the League's forces.

Although the chaos was brief and the League had since regained control under the guidance of their on-duty officers, if they were ambushed again, the consequences could be devastating.

Luo Yuan didn't want to see Team Galactic steamroll the Sinnoh League. What he was hoping for was mutual destruction.

"This won't do..." As one of Johto's Elite Four, Luo Yuan couldn't just stand by and watch his Sinnoh colleagues walk straight into a trap.

He turned to the Deoxys beside him.

Deoxys understood and laid a tentacle on Luo Yuan's shoulder.

Their minds linked, Luo Yuan's psychic energy merging with Deoxys's. He directed Deoxys to project its telekinesis into the interior of the Galactic Veilstone Building.

Luo Yuan had previously studied the building's blueprints, so he knew precisely where the structural weaknesses lay.

Using Deoxys's bulk as a fulcrum and his own telekinetic force as leverage, he channeled that immense psychic power toward the floor between the first and second levels.

Crack... crack...

Fractures began to spread across the ceiling.

The League trainers below, who had just driven away the Zubat, were startled by the sudden noise. Unaware of what was happening, they quickly scattered under Cynthia's orders.

At that moment, Deoxys unleashed its full psychic might, and the ceiling gave way.

The next second—

Chunks of debris came crashing down, along with the Galactic trainers who had been hiding above.

Panic and confusion were written across the faces of those grunts. They had been lying in ambush, sure they had the upper hand... How had the floor just collapsed out of nowhere?

More than a few of them were cursing the shoddy construction work in their heads.

But there was no time to process what had happened.

The Sinnoh League trainers had already spotted the enemy and were commanding their Pokémon to attack!

The grunts had no choice but to switch to defense and retaliate.

Only in the security room did Pluto and a few mid-level Galactic officers realize something was wrong.

Yet even they couldn't figure out why the floor had collapsed.

In an instant, the grand lobby turned into a chaotic battlefield between the League and Team Galactic. The building was thrown into utter disarray.

The exposed Galactic grunts leapt through the gaping hole between the floors, joining the fight below.

The League, meanwhile, was caught completely off guard. The enemy numbers were far greater than they had anticipated.

Though Cynthia was the most powerful trainer on the field, she found herself momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer number of Galactic grunts—more than double the League's forces. She also had to remain vigilant, knowing that the more dangerous Team Galactic Commanders had yet to appear.

So she opted for a steady approach—whittle down as much of Team Galactic's fighting strength as possible.

Trainers on both sides were being taken out of the fight one after another. Defeated Pokémon were recalled, and new ones sent in to replace them.

The battle was pure chaos.

Watching it all unfold via telepathy, Luo Yuan was quite pleased.

Unfortunately, when he scanned the entire building earlier, he found no trace of Cyrus.

Aside from Pluto, no other commanders—no Saturn, no others—were present in the building. Even as their headquarters was under siege, it seemed they had no intention of calling Cyrus for help.

"If even the headquarters is being abandoned... then Cyrus must've really found Dialga and Palkia..."

Meanwhile, under Archer's lead, the Rocket grunts had quietly surrounded the Galactic Veilstone Building. With both Galactic and League forces distracted, they easily took out the League's guards stationed outside.

Next to him, after changing into a disguise, Malva—now completely unrecognizable—was also prepared for combat.

"When do we move?" Malva asked.

It was her first time participating in an anti-League mission as a member of Team Rocket, and rather than being out of her element, she was practically itching for action.

Luo Yuan looked down.

At this point, both Team Galactic and the League had exhausted nearly half their forces. The battle had entered a stalemate, and neither side was likely to gain a decisive upper hand anytime soon. There was no reason to wait any longer.

More importantly, Cyrus still hadn't shown himself, which meant Luo Yuan's plan to force him out by attacking headquarters had failed.

No point dragging this out...

"Go."

With that, Luo Yuan activated his telekinesis, lifting Malva into the air.

He had no intention of using the League's main route to enter the building. The lobby was already overrun with combatants from both sides—charging in would only draw fire from everyone.

Besides, Luo Yuan intended to seize control of Team Galactic's headquarters. He needed access to their data.

Taking these factors into account, he floated with Petrel up to the outer wall of the third floor.

"Make a hole," Luo Yuan said, snapping his fingers at Deoxys.

Deoxys nodded and instantly shifted into [Attack Forme].

A gleaming psychic blade formed at the tip of its arm. With a swift slice, it carved a clean two-meter-wide hole in the wall—despite the fact that it was made from a highly durable, custom-designed material Team Galactic had paid dearly for.

Through the opening, Luo Yuan saw a group of stunned Galactic grunts who had been in charge of security on the third floor.

He gave them no time to react.

Snap.

With another snap of his fingers, Luo Yuan mentally subdued them and led the way inside.

Behind him, Malva followed, along with fifty elite Rocket grunts Luo Yuan had brought from Kanto. One after another, they poured into the building, quickly taking over the central control room on the third floor.

He released Porygon-Z, commanding it to hack into Team Galactic's servers and search for any data related to Cyrus, Dialga, and Palkia.

While observing the battle below via the monitors, Luo Yuan also began flipping through the control panels, looking for any functions related to the building.

Before long, he found exactly what he'd been hoping for.

"What's this...?" Malva blinked at the panel in front of Luo Yuan.

Then he watched Luo Yuan press the button without hesitation.