Team Rocket’s Second-in-Command!

Koga felt reassured after hearing Luo Yuan's assessment.

He trusted Luo Yuan's judgment, and now his confidence in challenging for the Elite Four's rank grew even stronger.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the pink Soul Badge and handed it to Luo Yuan.

"Thank you for the sparring session."

Hearing this, Luo Yuan felt a bit awkward.

After all, he had essentially used Deoxys to wipe the floor with Koga…

But since Koga was thanking him anyway, he accepted the badge without saying more.

A familiar system notification chimed in his head:

[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have achieved the milestone "Defeated the Poison Gym!" and received one free draw!]

Including the draw he'd earned from capturing Deoxys, Luo Yuan now had two spins saved up.

But he wasn't in any rush. Instead, he turned to Koga and asked, "So, when do you plan to go for the Elite Four title?"

"Well..." Koga thought for a moment before answering. "I'm planning to wait until the Mewtwo Project is completed. That way, the organization can provide me with more resources."

"Sounds like you're almost ready," Luo Yuan remarked.

Koga sighed. "I'd say I'm close. According to inside information, Agatha might be stepping down soon due to her age. Plus, Lance is likely to push for the Champion spot again. If he succeeds, that'll leave two vacant positions."

"Ah, so you're going for an open slot…" Luo Yuan understood Koga's plan.

In the Pokémon world, there were two paths to becoming an Elite Four.

One was to compete as an ordinary Trainer in the League Tournament, fighting through several rounds of qualifiers and elimination matches to become the reigning League Champion. A League Champion earned the right to challenge the Elite Four and the current Champion.

If they won and were approved by the League, they could replace one of the Elite Four.

But this path was almost impossible for the average Trainer. Even if someone won the tournament, there was usually a considerable gap between their strength and that of an Elite Four member.

And that qualification to challenge was only valid for six months.

Few Trainers ever became Elite Fours this way.

History was full of Trainers who'd tried, only to prove that it was easier said than done.

The other path was for those who already held a League position, like a Gym Leader. Koga, as a Gym Leader, could apply to challenge the Elite Four at any time, or, as he planned, vie for an open position when a spot was vacated by a retiring member.

This was the route Koga intended to take.

"Well, best of luck."

Not lingering long at Fuchsia Gym, Luo Yuan bid farewell to Koga and returned to his hotel in Fuchsia City. Lying on his bed, he decided it was time to use his spins.

"Use both draw opportunities."

[Drawing… Please wait…]

[Drawing complete.]

[Congratulations! You have received 'Shiny Ditto'!]

[Shiny Ditto: A rare Ditto with a refreshing light-blue hue. It can transform by restructuring its cells to perfectly copy the appearance and composition of any target it sees.]

[Congratulations! You have received the skill 'Poison-Type Affinity'!]

[Poison-Type Affinity: Boosts the Host's affinity with Poison-type Pokémon, grants immunity to poison, and increases the power of Poison-type moves when commanding them!]

Luo Yuan reviewed the draw results.

The Poison-Type Affinity was an obvious reward for earning the Soul Badge.

As for the Shiny Ditto… well, was it just meant for breeding?

With a mental shrug, he went through the motions of retrieving Ditto from the hotel's Poké Ball transporter.

"What's that?"

Fresh from a shower and wearing her robe, Sabrina glanced at the Poké Ball in his hand, curious.

"It's a Ditto I recently acquired," Luo Yuan explained.

"Ditto?"

Sabrina was familiar with Ditto.

It was a Pokémon known for its versatility, but also notoriously hard to train.

Many Trainers loved Ditto for its unique ability to transform.

But aside from Ditto's rarity, the real challenge lay in training it to use its transformation ability effectively.

"I heard training a Ditto's transformations is tricky. Is that why you haven't used it yet?" Sabrina asked.

She hadn't seen Luo Yuan use Ditto before, so she figured it might still be in training.

"See for yourself." Luo Yuan smiled as he released Ditto from its ball.

Poof!

A pale-blue Ditto appeared on the ground.

"A Shiny Dit—"

Sabrina's words trailed off.

In the blink of an eye, the Ditto glanced at her, its body rippling as it reconfigured…

Within a second, before Luo Yuan could react, an identical "Sabrina" stood before them.

"..."

The real Sabrina stared at her duplicate in silence.

She'd assumed Luo Yuan's Ditto had trouble transforming, but it had just perfectly replicated her down to the smallest detail.

Meanwhile, Luo Yuan had buried his face in his hands.

"Great!"

He hadn't expected this Ditto to have the Imposter ability.

In the real Pokémon world, Dittos with the Imposter hidden ability were rare, transforming instantly and accurately.

The problem here was the speed.

This Ditto had transformed so quickly that, by the time it came out, Luo Yuan hadn't even had a chance to give it a command before it had already become Sabrina.

Anyone watching would probably think he'd been training it specifically to impersonate her.

"Sabrina, let me explain..."

---

Thirty minutes later.

After finishing his explanation to Sabrina, Luo Yuan gave Ditto a stern talking-to, instructing it not to transform into human forms without permission.

Now back in its soft blue state, Ditto sprawled on Luo Yuan's shoulder, munching on an energy cube, using its gelatinous body to squish and chew.

With the tension easing, Luo Yuan finally had time to examine Ditto's abilities.

This Ditto was surprisingly versatile.

Not only could it transform into other Pokémon for battle, but it could also mimic objects and even disguise Luo Yuan himself.

For instance, Ditto could cover his face, allowing him to adopt the appearance of anyone it had seen before.

This ability would be invaluable for his work as an undercover agent.

---

T/N: Ugh this reminded me of that Reincarnated as a Ditto story

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