diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
index 085dbcec2565..862add9f8a30 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yaml
@@ -321,13 +321,13 @@ jobs:
     - name: validate generation configuration
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        docker run \
-          --rm \
+        bash generation/run_generator_docker.sh "${library_generation_image_tag}" "${{ github.base_ref || 'main' }}" \
+          -e GENERATOR_VERSION="${library_generation_image_tag}" \
           --quiet \
           -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
           -v "$(pwd):${workspace_name}" \
           --entrypoint python \
-          gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation:"${library_generation_image_tag}" \
+          -- \
           /src/library_generation/cli/entry_point.py validate-generation-config
       env:
         library_generation_image_tag: 2.68.0
diff --git a/.github/workflows/generated_files_sync.yaml b/.github/workflows/generated_files_sync.yaml
index 3143a317c9e3..75bc9a306850 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/generated_files_sync.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/generated_files_sync.yaml
@@ -27,13 +27,12 @@ jobs:
     - name: Generate root pom.xml file
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        docker run \
-          --rm \
+        bash generation/run_generator_docker.sh "${library_generation_image_tag}" "${{ github.base_ref }}" \
           --quiet \
           -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
           -v "$(pwd):/workspace" \
           --entrypoint python \
-          gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation:"${library_generation_image_tag}" \
+          -- \
           /src/library_generation/cli/generate_monorepo_root_pom.py \
           generate \
           --repository-path=/workspace
@@ -48,13 +47,12 @@ jobs:
     - name: Generate gapic-libraries-bom/pom.xml
       shell: bash
       run: |
-        docker run \
-          --rm \
+        bash generation/run_generator_docker.sh "${library_generation_image_tag}" "${{ github.base_ref }}" \
           --quiet \
           -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
           -v "$(pwd):/workspace" \
           --entrypoint python \
-          gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation:"${library_generation_image_tag}" \
+          -- \
           /src/library_generation/cli/generate_monorepo_gapic_bom.py \
           generate \
           --repository-path=/workspace \
diff --git a/.github/workflows/hermetic_library_generation.yaml b/.github/workflows/hermetic_library_generation.yaml
index 74fec93e13d8..42dcd405eeb4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/hermetic_library_generation.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/hermetic_library_generation.yaml
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ on:
 env:
   REPO_FULL_NAME: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.full_name }}
   GITHUB_REPOSITORY: ${{ github.repository }}
+  # {x-version-update-start:gapic-generator-java:current}
+  GENERATOR_VERSION: 2.71.0
+  # {x-version-update-end}
 jobs:
   library_generation:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -44,4 +47,4 @@ jobs:
         head_ref: ${{ github.head_ref }}
         token: ${{ secrets.CLOUD_JAVA_BOT_GITHUB_TOKEN }}
         force_regenerate_all: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref == 'generate-libraries-main' }}
-        image_tag: 2.71.0  # {x-version-update:gapic-generator-java:current}
+        image_tag: ${{ env.GENERATOR_VERSION }}
diff --git a/generation/run_generator_docker.sh b/generation/run_generator_docker.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..4255747319da
--- /dev/null
+++ b/generation/run_generator_docker.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Copyright 2026 Google LLC
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -exo pipefail
+
+REQUESTED_TAG="$1"
+TARGET_BRANCH="$2"
+shift 2
+
+# Parse arguments using '--' as delimiter
+DOCKER_OPTS=()
+CONTAINER_CMD=()
+found_delimiter=false
+
+for arg in "$@"; do
+  if [ "$arg" == "--" ]; then
+    found_delimiter=true
+    continue
+  fi
+  if $found_delimiter; then
+    CONTAINER_CMD+=("$arg")
+  else
+    DOCKER_OPTS+=("$arg")
+  fi
+done
+
+IMAGE_NAME="gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation"
+# Support both local git and GitHub Actions environment variables
+CURRENT_BRANCH="${GITHUB_HEAD_REF:-${GITHUB_REF_NAME:-$(git branch --show-current)}}"
+IMAGE_TAG="$REQUESTED_TAG"
+
+# Fallback logic on Release PR branches
+if [[ "$CURRENT_BRANCH" =~ ^release-please-- ]]; then
+  echo "Detected release PR branch: $CURRENT_BRANCH"
+  if ! docker pull "${IMAGE_NAME}:${IMAGE_TAG}"; then
+    echo "Image not found for version ${IMAGE_TAG}. Falling back to previous version from ${TARGET_BRANCH}."
+    # Extract tag from target branch's versions.txt using explicit fetch
+    git fetch origin "${TARGET_BRANCH}" --depth=1 || true
+    PREVIOUS_TAG=$(git show FETCH_HEAD:versions.txt | grep "^gapic-generator-java:" | cut -d ':' -f 2 || true)
+    if [ -n "$PREVIOUS_TAG" ]; then
+      echo "Using previous image version: $PREVIOUS_TAG"
+      IMAGE_TAG="$PREVIOUS_TAG"
+    else
+      echo "Failed to extract fallback tag. Proceeding with requested tag."
+    fi
+  fi
+fi
+
+# Execute Docker run with proper ordering
+docker run --rm "${DOCKER_OPTS[@]}" "${IMAGE_NAME}:${IMAGE_TAG}" "${CONTAINER_CMD[@]}"
diff --git a/generation_config.yaml b/generation_config.yaml
index d10cf1c50168..add660b31a8b 100644
--- a/generation_config.yaml
+++ b/generation_config.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-gapic_generator_version: 2.70.0
 googleapis_commitish: 62e4ecb2f4390728990514fea14aad0431881a52
 libraries_bom_version: 26.79.0
 libraries:
diff --git a/java-vectorsearch/README.md b/java-vectorsearch/README.md
index 79c8a3179fb2..3563fa0a7466 100644
--- a/java-vectorsearch/README.md
+++ b/java-vectorsearch/README.md
@@ -45,20 +45,20 @@ If you are using Maven without the BOM, add this to your dependencies:
 <dependency>
   <groupId>com.google.cloud</groupId>
   <artifactId>google-cloud-vectorsearch</artifactId>
-  <version>0.12.0</version>
+  <version>0.13.0</version>
 </dependency>
 ```
 
 If you are using Gradle without BOM, add this to your dependencies:
 
 ```Groovy
-implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-vectorsearch:0.12.0'
+implementation 'com.google.cloud:google-cloud-vectorsearch:0.13.0'
 ```
 
 If you are using SBT, add this to your dependencies:
 
 ```Scala
-libraryDependencies += "com.google.cloud" % "google-cloud-vectorsearch" % "0.12.0"
+libraryDependencies += "com.google.cloud" % "google-cloud-vectorsearch" % "0.13.0"
 ```
 
 ## Authentication
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
 [javadocs]: https://cloud.google.com/java/docs/reference/google-cloud-vectorsearch/latest/overview
 [stability-image]: https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-preview-yellow
 [maven-version-image]: https://img.shields.io/maven-central/v/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-vectorsearch.svg
-[maven-version-link]: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-vectorsearch/0.12.0
+[maven-version-link]: https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/com.google.cloud/google-cloud-vectorsearch/0.13.0
 [authentication]: https://github.com/googleapis/google-cloud-java#authentication
 [auth-scopes]: https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/scopes
 [predefined-iam-roles]: https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/understanding-roles#predefined_roles
diff --git a/sdk-platform-java/.cloudbuild/library_generation/library_generation.Dockerfile b/sdk-platform-java/.cloudbuild/library_generation/library_generation.Dockerfile
index dd805ecfc362..0712b8798c5d 100644
--- a/sdk-platform-java/.cloudbuild/library_generation/library_generation.Dockerfile
+++ b/sdk-platform-java/.cloudbuild/library_generation/library_generation.Dockerfile
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ ARG GRPC_VERSION=1.80.0
 ENV HOME=/home
 ENV OS_ARCHITECTURE="linux-x86_64"
 
+# {x-version-update-start:gapic-generator-java:current}
+ENV GENERATOR_VERSION="2.71.0"
+# {x-version-update-end}
+
 # install OS tools
 RUN apt update && apt install -y curl unzip rsync jq nodejs npm git openjdk-17-jdk
 
diff --git a/sdk-platform-java/.github/scripts/hermetic_library_generation.sh b/sdk-platform-java/.github/scripts/hermetic_library_generation.sh
index fc991aa3e94d..c254aae64b3a 100755
--- a/sdk-platform-java/.github/scripts/hermetic_library_generation.sh
+++ b/sdk-platform-java/.github/scripts/hermetic_library_generation.sh
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ set -exo pipefail
 # the default value is generation_config.yaml in the repository root.
 # 5. [optional] showcase_mode, true if we wish to download the showcase api
 # definitions, which are necessary for generating the showcase library.
+IMAGE_NAME="gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation"
 while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
 key="$1"
 case "${key}" in
@@ -123,13 +124,12 @@ changed_libraries="$(cat "${changed_libraries_file}")"
 echo "Changed libraries are: ${changed_libraries:-"No changed library"}."
 
 # run hermetic code generation docker image.
-docker run \
-  --rm \
+bash generation/run_generator_docker.sh "${image_tag}" "${target_branch}" \
   -u "$(id -u):$(id -g)" \
   -v "$(pwd):${workspace_name}" \
   -v "${api_def_dir}:${workspace_name}/googleapis" \
   -e GENERATOR_VERSION="${image_tag}" \
-  gcr.io/cloud-devrel-public-resources/java-library-generation:"${image_tag}" \
+  -- \
   --generation-config-path="${workspace_name}/${generation_config}" \
   --library-names="${changed_libraries}" \
   --api-definitions-path="${workspace_name}/googleapis"