Cynthia's decision to cooperate with Team Rocket didn't slow their offensive in the slightest. If anything, it dealt a heavy blow to the League's morale, sapping their will to fight.
Once it became clear that victory was out of reach—and with their Champion seemingly having reached some sort of agreement with Team Rocket—most of the League trainers wisely chose to lay down their arms and cease their pointless resistance.
As a result, the only ones still putting up a fight inside the building were the Team Galactic members.
With the League out of the picture, Team Rocket was now free to turn its full focus on taking down Galactic.
Outside, the main force led by Courtney launched a full-scale siege, while inside, Luo Yuan's elite Mega unit struck with surgical precision. Under this two-pronged assault, even Saturn—despite his efforts to lead a breakout—was firmly trapped within the building.
The structure that once stood as the proud headquarters of Team Galactic had now become their cage.
...
Half an hour later—
The headquarters had returned to an eerie calm.
By now, the entire building had fallen under Team Rocket's control.
Both Team Galactic and Sinnoh League trainers were now Team Rocket's captives.
Among the most prominent were Elite Four members Gardenia and Aaron, the Interpol agent Looker, and Team Galactic's commander Saturn.
"Damn it… We lost…"
Saturn and the other mid-ranking Galactic members wore bitter expressions, unable to accept their defeat.
They blamed the outcome on having been ambushed by Team Rocket while completely unprepared.
If we'd had any warning at all, they thought, we never would've lost this badly—at the very least, we would've had a chance to escape.
Gardenia and Aaron looked equally grim. Being captured as Elite Four members—there was no denying it was a disgrace. On top of that, they couldn't help but feel resentment toward Cynthia for her decision to ally with Team Rocket.
Looker, the Interpol agent, was glancing around, clearly searching for a chance to slip away. But under Rocket's tight watch, it was a futile effort.
Luo Yuan couldn't care less about what the defeated were thinking.
All the captured trainers had already been stripped of their Poké Balls and communication devices by Team Rocket.
Unless you were a psychic like Luo Yuan or Sabrina, a regular trainer without Pokémon couldn't stir up any trouble.
"Let me reintroduce myself—Tech Hunter, Rocket Executive," Luo Yuan said calmly.
Cynthia cast a complicated glance toward the Deoxys standing silently at her side.
She had assumed the so-called "precautionary measures" would be something like handcuffs—but instead, Luo Yuan had assigned a legendary Pokémon to tail her.
Feeling Deoxys's icy gaze fixed on her, Cynthia had no doubt: the moment she made even the slightest suspicious move, Deoxys would detect it.
So, she had no choice but to abandon any thoughts of resistance.
But if we follow the agreement…
According to the temporary arrangement she had made with Team Rocket, she would assist them in dealing with Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic. In return, she would turn a blind eye to Team Rocket's incursion into Sinnoh. On Team Rocket's end, they had promised to release the captured Galactic members once their cooperation was complete…
She didn't know whether the decision she made was the right one. But it was too late to regret it now.
"Do you trust Cynthia?" Malva, having arrived in the main hall from the control room, pulled Luo Yuan aside and asked quietly.
She kept Cynthia in her peripheral vision as she spoke.
As a member of the Elite Four herself, Malva knew better than most how the League viewed dark organizations.
Binding someone like a Champion with rules and promises was hardly a reliable strategy.
"You mean her so-called acceptance of Team Rocket's presence in Sinnoh?" Luo Yuan replied.
Malva nodded, worried it was nothing more than a temporary ploy on Cynthia's part.
Luo Yuan chuckled. "Of course I don't trust her. But I trust my Deoxys more."
Clearly, Malva's concern was unnecessary.
Luo Yuan had never believed in the so-called "cooperation" in the first place.
A Champion of the Sinnoh League cutting deals with a criminal syndicate like Team Rocket, effectively legitimizing their presence in the region—if word of that ever got out, it would be a massive scandal. Cynthia knew that perfectly well.
So even if she'd agreed to cooperate, there was no way she'd publicly acknowledge any part of their deal afterward.
"Then why agree to work with her?" Malva asked, puzzled.
After all, if the League refused to uphold their side of the deal, then this partnership would gain Team Rocket little in return.
"We can't keep all these League trainers locked up forever," Luo Yuan said, shrugging.
When he'd first planned this operation, even he hadn't expected it to go so smoothly—he'd captured nearly the entire League force without a single one slipping away.
"Snatching up this many League trainers all at once… never mind the risk of provoking a counterattack from the League, just housing them creates a logistical nightmare."
The only alternative would be to execute them all—but that would almost certainly trigger a zero-tolerance retaliation from the League, which would go against both Giovanni's and Luo Yuan's long-term vision for Team Rocket's growth.
"So agreeing to cooperate is just an excuse to let them go."
"…That's the reason?" Malva muttered in disbelief.
Luo Yuan shrugged again. "As for Team Rocket's presence in Sinnoh? The Sinnoh League has no say in the matter."
"Team Rocket goes where it wants. We've never needed anyone's permission."
Hearing the conviction in Luo Yuan's tone, Malva suddenly gained a whole new appreciation for the sheer audacity and strength of their organization.
After making arrangements with Courtney for the handling of the captives, Luo Yuan turned to Cynthia—whose expression remained unreadable—and gave a small smile.
"You don't need to look so grim. At the very least, when it comes to taking down Team Galactic, we're on the same side… aren't we?"
Cynthia said nothing.
Luo Yuan didn't mind. With a telepathic command, he instructed Bonfire to oversee the prisoners. Then, with Malva and Cynthia in tow, he boarded the airship and set course for Mt. Coronet.
---
As Luo Yuan made his way toward Mt. Coronet, Cyrus—at Team Galactic's mountain base—finally noticed that their Veilstone headquarters had gone dark.
"How long has it been since Saturn's last report?" Cyrus asked, his expression flat.
"Commander Cyrus, the last contact was an hour ago. Commander Saturn reported that Champion Cynthia was leading an assault on HQ. He personally led the defense effort. Since then, we've been unable to reach Veilstone."
Based on Saturn's final transmission, it was likely the base had fallen after he failed to withstand the League's assault.
But Cyrus's brow furrowed. Something didn't feel right.