Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

Luo Yuan opted to leave on Dragonite instead of waiting for Ash and the others, and for good reason.

While his last flashy exit on Dragonite had been more about showing off, this time, he had a practical motive: avoiding a swarm of reporters.

Ever since the guide created by Team Rocket had gone viral, many official league media outlets had started using it as source material, making Luo Yuan a hot topic for interviews.

However, Luo Yuan found interviews to be a hassle. Moreover, he understood the power of scarcity. By refusing interviews before the finals, he aimed to build suspense and skyrocket his fame when he claimed victory.

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Luo Yuan's match against Keiko had started at 8 a.m.

Thanks to his efficient battle strategy, it ended before 9 a.m.

"Sometimes being too efficient isn't a good thing," Luo Yuan muttered to himself.

With both Ash and Gary's matches scheduled for the late afternoon, Luo Yuan decided to kill time by training his Pokémon at a privately rented practice arena.

"Slowbro, use Zen Headbutt!"

Thud!

Slowbro's head, glowing with a blue psychic light, slammed into a plastic target, shattering it to pieces.

With a graceful flip, Slowbro landed steadily, using the Shellder attached to its tail for balance.

"Not bad," Luo Yuan praised.

"Slow~"

Despite the compliment, Slowbro rolled its eyes, clearly unimpressed.

It would much rather lie inside its Poké Ball daydreaming than come out to train.

Luo Yuan was used to Slowbro's attitude.

Though it was undeniably lazy, under Luo Yuan's guidance, it showed remarkable focus during training and battles. Luo Yuan didn't mind indulging it outside of those times.

With a wave of his hand, Luo Yuan gestured for Shellder to release its grip on Slowbro's tail, returning it to its pre-evolution state, Slowpoke.

Reaching into his backpack, Luo Yuan retrieved a handful of Galarian Berries.

Previously, he had asked Matori to have Team Rocket agents in Galar send him a batch of these berries, along with a Galarian Ponyta as a gift for Sabrina.

While Sabrina had already received her Ponyta, the berries had remained unused—until now.

The vibrant red fruit immediately caught Slowpoke's attention.

Curious, it waddled over, sniffing at the berries in Luo Yuan's hand. Its usually vacant expression lit up with a rare glimmer of interest.

"Try it," Luo Yuan said, placing a berry into Slowpoke's mouth.

Although Slowpoke trusted Luo Yuan, it cautiously nibbled at the unfamiliar fruit. What if it tasted bad?

A tentative chew was followed by an experimental smacking of its lips. Moments later, Slowpoke's eyes sparkled with delight.

The mildly spicy flavor was a perfect match for its palate.

Slowpoke eagerly looked up at Luo Yuan for more.

Smiling, Luo Yuan handed over the entire handful, watching as Slowpoke devoured them with gusto.

While Luo Yuan wasn't sure if simply feeding these berries to Slowpoke would trigger a new evolution, he was curious to find out.

If Slowpoke could evolve into Galarian Slowbro, it would gain the Psychic/Poison dual-typing, granting it a significant boost in combat versatility. This could elevate it from a reserve Pokémon to a mainstay on Luo Yuan's team.

"Roar!"

Nearby, Charizard completed its tenth set of aerial sprints and landed with a flourish.

It let out an impatient cry, clearly asking when it could finally get a turn in battle.

"Don't rush… your time will come," Luo Yuan reassured, patting Charizard on the shoulder.

For now, Luo Yuan had no plans to use Charizard in the preliminary rounds. Gyarados and Dragonite were more than capable of handling the competition.

As for the single-elimination rounds, like the 32-to-16 or 16-to-8 battles, Luo Yuan still likely wouldn't deploy Charizard.

Its moment to shine would come in the quarterfinals when the 6v6 format began.

Of course, some might wonder if Luo Yuan might draw a strong opponent before the quarterfinals, necessitating his A-team Pokémon.

To that, Luo Yuan could only scoff.

Only children believe the league truly assigns matchups randomly.

The first round had been an exception because the league hadn't yet gathered enough data on the competitors. That's why Luo Yuan had faced off against a top contender like Keita right from the start, eliminating a would-be seeded player early.

But by the second round, his opponent was the much weaker Keiko.

After all...

For the sake of viewership and fairness, the league wouldn't risk strong competitors being eliminated too early.

Knocking out weaker trainers and saving intense battles for later rounds—that was the league's true goal. Otherwise, how could they justify the high ticket prices and broadcast fees for the finals?

Patting Charizard once more, Luo Yuan sent it off to continue training with Aerodactyl.

Then he turned his attention to Gible, who was swaying its head and eyeing Slowpoke's tail with an eager look, as if ready to pounce.

"What am I going to do with you?" Luo Yuan mused.

When Gible had hatched, Luo Yuan had run a series of tests on it.

Its physical stats and energy levels were extraordinary for such a young Pokémon.

In terms of raw power—ignoring experience—it was already on par with Slowbro.

While Slowbro ranked in the middle-to-lower tier among Luo Yuan's Pokémon, this was still impressive for a newly hatched Gible.

Being the base form of Garchomp, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, Gible's potential was clear. Once fully evolved, it was almost guaranteed to reach Elite Four-level strength.

"Logically, I should focus on developing your combat strategies…" Luo Yuan said, running a hand over Gible's rough scales. "But for now, there's no rush."

Much like Charmeleon before it evolved into Charizard, Gible was in a rapid growth phase. Its capabilities changed so quickly that yesterday's training might no longer apply today.

"At the very least, we'll wait until you evolve into Gabite."

With a body shape more similar to Garchomp, Gabite would be ready for more intensive battle training.

As for learning new moves, Gible had inherited plenty already, so there was no immediate need.

Instead, Luo Yuan retrieved the altar and Dragon Stone Tablet he had prepared earlier.

Placing the stone on the altar, he adjusted its energy output until it released just the right amount of dragon-type energy for Gible to absorb.

"Store up that energy, and when the time comes, take to the skies!" Luo Yuan encouraged.

Once again, Luo Yuan employed his no-side-effects "stuff-them-full-of-energy" training method.

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T/N: MUHAUHA OF COURSE, CHARIZARD IS TOO SPECIAL TO USE HIM WILLY NILLY!