Team Rocket's Second-in-Command!-Chapter 346: Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command! []

After acquiring Mewtwo's Mega Evolution Stone Y, Luo Yuan didn't linger at the New Island Base. There was no point in staying, as the Mega Evolution Stone X wouldn't be completed anytime soon, even if he supervised the process personally.

Rocket's airship departed from New Island and set its course for the Alola region.

This journey to Alola wasn't just Luo Yuan and Sabrina. Matori, along with an elite team of Rocket agents, had been assigned to assist him in his mission.

Matori's inclusion was a recent request Luo Yuan had made to Giovanni.

His stated reason was that he needed elite Rocket agents to help take control of the Aether Foundation.

As for the real purpose? Only Luo Yuan himself knew.

However, Matori had her suspicions. She was already beginning to regret teasing Luo Yuan back at the New Island Base.

"Why are you sitting so far away, and why are you giving me that look? I'm not going to eat you," Luo Yuan said, his face the picture of innocence.

"....."

Matori glanced at Luo Yuan, who was holding Sabrina on his lap. Yeah, sure, like I believe that.

"If you want me to trust you, at least put her down first," she muttered internally.

"This is prejudice..." Luo Yuan sighed in mock frustration.

But Matori wasn't moved in the slightest. She would sooner believe a Caterpie could evolve directly into Rayquaza than trust Luo Yuan wouldn't try anything.

Seeing her unyielding attitude, Luo Yuan conceded with a smirk. It seemed Matori was becoming more astute, but he didn't mind.

Plenty of time later.

---

Luo Yuan adjusted Sabrina in his lap and adopted a more serious expression. "Let's discuss our plan for when we reach the Alola region."

He activated the holographic projector on the table, pulling up a map of Alola.

"Alola is an archipelago consisting of four main islands surrounded by vast oceans."

"The islands are Melemele Island, Akala Island, Ula'ula Island, and Poni Island," he said, reading the names aloud while silently critiquing how casual they sounded.

Then, he handed the discussion over to Matori, who was more familiar with the details of Giovanni's Alola Project.

"Giovanni's Alola Project has already completed its initial groundwork," Matori began.

"In addition to deploying intelligence agents on each island to gather information, we've also established a game corner in Hau'oli City on Melemele Island as a temporary base."

A Rocket-run game corner—everyone knew what that implied.

Combining game corners with secret underground bases was practically a signature move for Team Rocket. Giovanni had directly replicated the Celadon City Game Corner's blueprint for the Alola operation.

If Lance ever came to Alola, he could probably dig up this base following the same pattern he'd used before.

But unlike Kanto, Alola didn't have a Champion like Lance.

And they certainly wouldn't suspect that beneath a bustling game corner lay a secret Rocket base.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

"We also obtained the blueprints and a prototype of the Submarine Explorer 1 from Team Aqua. Our engineers have modified the airship to function underwater, so we have no concerns about finding a secure hiding place."

"Finally, there's the Aether Foundation."

Matori brought up a dossier on the holographic projector, displaying the organization's key figures.

Front and center was a smiling Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation.

"Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation. On the surface, she appears to love Pokémon, but in reality, she's a woman so obsessed with them that it borders on madness."

"Lillie, Lusamine's daughter, developed a fear of Pokémon due to a traumatic incident in her childhood. Despite this, she still holds a deep love for Pokémon and currently attends the Pokémon School in Alola."

"Gladion, Lusamine's son..."

"And Wicke, an Aether Foundation executive. Kind and well-liked by the organization's members."

"And finally... Faba."

At the mention of Faba, Matori hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Sabrina asked, noticing her pause.

She didn't see anything particularly unusual about Faba.

"Faba is one of ours," Luo Yuan explained. "He's a Rocket plant within the Aether Foundation. At the right time, we can use him to gain leverage in Alola."

This was Giovanni's original plan: with Faba as an inside man, Team Rocket could gradually take control of the entire Aether Foundation.

However, Giovanni had neither given Luo Yuan the nerve toxin to control Lusamine nor placed much trust in someone as easily swayed as Faba.

"You'll handle Faba," Luo Yuan said to Matori. "Sabrina and I won't meet with him to avoid exposure."

As an Elite Four of Johto, Luo Yuan couldn't risk being seen interacting with someone of Faba's dubious loyalty.

Matori nodded but then asked, "Are you planning to abandon the original plan?"

If Luo Yuan didn't meet with Faba, it would be impossible to use him to enter the Aether Foundation's headquarters, let alone take over the organization.

"Not abandon—improve," Luo Yuan replied. "The overarching goal of controlling the Aether Foundation remains unchanged. But given my public identity as Johto's Elite Four, our methods need to be more subtle."

"You already have an idea, don't you?" Sabrina asked.

Luo Yuan nodded and brought up Lillie's profile on the holographic display.

"I plan to approach Lusamine through her daughter, Lillie. From there, we can control Lusamine and Wicke, securing the Aether Foundation."

"But isn't it difficult to get close to Lillie? Approaching a young girl out of the blue would only draw suspicion," Sabrina said, looking between Lusamine and Lillie before turning to Luo Yuan with a skeptical expression.

She had a nagging feeling his motives weren't entirely pure.

Maintaining his composure, Luo Yuan smiled.

"Of course, it would seem abrupt if I approached her without reason. But there's always another way."

He circled the words Pokémon School next to Lillie's name.

"Sabrina, how about joining me as a guest teacher at the Pokémon School for a while?"

---

T/N: how old is Luo Yuan... (i found out later that he's 17)

...

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