Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

Ah.

"And besides, you don't have to feel like you're betraying Rose. Once you become an executive in Team Rocket, you'll be in a position to make things more comfortable for him in the Reverse World."

"So join us. Join Team Rocket."

As he spoke, Luo Yuan added just a hint of psychic suggestion.

After being mentally controlled by both Luo Yuan and Sabrina for days, Oleana's resistance to such influence was practically nonexistent.

Of course, Luo Yuan wasn't relying on psychic manipulation alone—he was offering Oleana a very generous deal.

If Team Rocket hadn't been so critically short-staffed, Luo Yuan wouldn't have wasted this much time trying to recruit her.

But that was the tradeoff of rapid expansion.

The thrill of gaining new power and territory came hand-in-hand with the growing pains of a stretched workforce.

"So this is how Team Rocket recruits people?" Oleana asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Luo Yuan didn't mind her tone.

Because from the subtle changes in her expression, he could already tell—Oleana was tempted.

Temptation was enough.

He smiled inwardly, but he didn't press the issue. He didn't increase the mental pressure or tighten his control.

After all, this wasn't some disposable grunt he was trying to recruit. He was offering her a real position, one that required loyalty. If she joined under duress and later turned on them, it would only bring more problems.

Luo Yuan was an experienced fisherman. He knew how to reel in his catch slowly, when to give slack, and when to pull.

So he backed off, leaving Oleana space to think it over. Then he got up and walked over to stand beside Sabrina.

With a wave of his hand, he shielded their conversation with a psychic barrier.

Sabrina's voice followed a moment later. "You're planning to recruit Oleana into Team Rocket?"

"Mm. As you know, we're stretched thin. Everyone at HQ who could be deployed already has been. We need someone to oversee Galar."

It was a practical decision.

"You're really just recruiting her as an executive?" Sabrina gave him a long, meaningful look.

"Of course. What do you take me for?" Luo Yuan countered.

But his answer didn't seem to convince her.

"Mhm. I'm sure Matori would agree. Oh, and Misty too..."

"Ahem—" Luo Yuan nearly choked on his tea and quickly coughed to cover his guilty conscience.

Gardevoir, who had just finished pouring for them, giggled softly behind her hand.

…

After finishing their afternoon tea—Luo Yuan doing his best to maintain a calm front—he used Leon's invitation as a reason to head over to the Galar League headquarters.

Unlike the rush and anxiety on the streets of Wyndon, the League HQ was a whirlwind of urgent activity.

Under the reverent gazes of League trainers, Luo Yuan made his way straight to Leon's office.

"Leon. We meet again." Luo Yuan greeted him with a relaxed smile.

Leon had only returned to Galar in the early hours of the morning, and now sat buried under reports detailing the damages from across the region, a deep frown etched between his brows.

But despite the stress, his face lit up with genuine gratitude when he saw Luo Yuan.

"Thank you, Luo Yuan."

The past few days, with Leon absent, it had been Luo Yuan who stepped in to save the trapped miners. Without him, there might have been casualties—and even if Rose took all the blame for the incident, as Galar's Champion, Leon wouldn't have been able to escape scrutiny.

"No need to thank me. I was just doing my duty. Besides, Mr. Giovanni also asked me to step in," Luo Yuan replied.

At the mention of Giovanni, Leon's admiration deepened. "Mr. Giovanni didn't just arrange for our immediate return flights—he even sent emergency supplies. He's a true friend of Galar."

If there's a definition of "a helping hand in a crisis," Giovanni embodies it.

His actions were a model for the entire League—anyone who saw them would have to give a thumbs-up.

"Exactly." Luo Yuan was never stingy with praise for his boss.

Though their inner thoughts couldn't be more different, the two men found rare agreement in this moment.

"Is there anything else Galar needs my help with?" Luo Yuan asked. Most of the urgent tasks had already been handled. The Aether Foundation's acquisition of Macro Cosmos and the establishment of Team Rocket's Galar division weren't short-term projects—they'd take time.

Luo Yuan planned to return to Johto in a few days, after hearing back from Oleana.

But Leon had other ideas.

"Now that you mention it, there is something you could help with," he said, rifling through the stack of files and pulling one out.

"This is a report about Glimwood Tangle. Someone's reported hearing strange roars deep in the forest. They suspect a [Dynamaxed] Pokémon may be involved, and we need someone to investigate."

"I can't leave just yet, so…"