Everyone Else Awakened, But I Just Opened a Pokémon Pet Shop

The sudden ambush from the A-rank death beast did nothing to disrupt Meloetta's rhythm.

Using the recoil from kicking the creature away, she twirled gracefully through the air, continuing her elegant charge toward the S-rank Frostfang Dire Tiger.

When it came to fighting death beasts, Meloetta was absolutely brimming with enthusiasm!

Despite the fact that she and Diancie together weren't even the size of a grown adult, the sheer momentum they generated as they soared forward was downright overwhelming!

But of course, death beasts weren't known for retreating after losing an ally.

In fact, the fall of that A-rank monster had served only as a signal.

More death beasts surged forward, leaping into the air to intercept the two Mythical Pokémon.

Diancie narrowed her brilliant ruby-red eyes, clearly annoyed.

"Hmph! This is my first real battle mission!"

"You bad guys are ruining it!"

Around her, dozens of shimmering motes of light appeared.

With her voice, those lights crystallized into radiant hexagonal gems.

"Power Gem!"

"Take down those pests!"

At her command, the dazzling stones launched in every direction—like a hail of unstoppable cannon fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The impacts echoed as the gems pierced through the tough hides of the charging death beasts with brutal ease.

Creatures with skin as hard as steel—B-ranks and even A-ranks—were knocked from the air and sent crashing into the ground with terrifying speed.

"Oops… maybe I hit too hard."

Diancie stuck out her tongue, looking adorably sheepish even as she glided forward toward the Frostfang Dire Tiger.

Technically speaking, neither she nor Meloetta even needed to be fighting death beasts anymore. Their experience bars were full. They had grown past the point of farming EXP from weaklings.

Even during their previous heroic rescues, the two Mythical Pokémon had chosen to hold back—giving the experience to young Trainers in need.

Now though?

That one Power Gem attack had likely obliterated all the B-ranks, and even the A-ranks were in rough shape.

Honestly, it was a waste of EXP… and Diancie felt just a little guilty about it.

But even her guilt was… well, adorably charming.

The Trainers watching from the rear felt an overwhelming sense of cognitive dissonance.

Diancie—cute, elegant, sparkling little Diancie—had just wiped out an entire pack of death beasts in one move?

It was absurd.

This wasn't the same gentle Diancie who used to pour tea during recovery breaks…

"That's Power Gem, a high-level Rock-type move," Su Bai explained calmly.

"It concentrates rock-type energy and launches it in the form of dazzling, gem-like blasts."

"Hmm… if I recall correctly, Murong Nan, your Psyduck's evolution—Golduck—can eventually learn that move."

If everything went smoothly, he figured they'd get access to TMs soon.

Golduck's decent Special Attack made Power Gem a solid choice for coverage.

But back on the battlefield, the crowd was too stunned to say a word.

Aside from Su Bai's commentary, only the sound of heavy breathing filled the air.

They simply couldn't take their eyes off the destruction caused by one single move.

While all of this seemed to take forever, it had only been a few seconds.

And now the Frostfang Dire Tiger had clearly taken notice.

From its grotesque face, thick death energy surged upward.

The violent aura that already permeated death beasts was now stoked even further—infuriated by the two glittering little creatures invading its domain.

"ROAAAARRRRR!!"

With an earth-shaking howl, massive ice spikes began forming in the air above Meloetta and Diancie.

They rained down like blades.

At the same time, jagged ice pillars erupted from the ground below, transforming the battlefield into a giant, frozen death trap.

"It's using Extreme Frost Domain!"

Murong Nan's face turned pale.

There were eerie similarities between death beasts and Awakeners.

When humans first Awakened, their control over power was primitive at best.

Death beasts had served as their earliest teachers.

Over the years, many of the techniques used by Awakeners were copied from death beast attacks.

And Extreme Frost Domain was one such move—known and studied by both.

As an aspiring Ice Mage, Murong Nan had long made mastering this move one of his goals.

Su Bai chuckled softly and shook his head.

"The name's dramatic, and the visuals match."

"But for Meloetta and Diancie? This is nothing."

And sure enough, before his voice even faded, Diancie called out sweetly from midair:

"Light Screen."

With her command, a shimmering translucent barrier appeared in the sky—just in time to intercept the descending ice spikes.

The deadly ice lances passed through the screen…

And immediately began shrinking, shedding frost as they were suppressed by an unseen force.

By the time they reached the two Mythical Pokémon, the massive spears had been reduced to harmless little snow chunks.

Diancie didn't even bother dodging them.

Meloetta, meanwhile, danced through the light snowfall with nimble ease.

"Ohh! So that's what Light Screen does?"

Even Su Bai's eyes lit up in surprise.

In the games, Light Screen was a simple buff: halve special attack damage for five turns.

But in reality?

It had physical impact, defensive suppression, and environmental control!

A fearsome S-rank technique had been turned into a glorified ice drizzle.

Of course, that was only possible because the move had come from a fully-trained Diancie.

In the real world, there's no such thing as fixed effects.

The strength of a move depends on the power and cultivation of the Pokémon behind it.

Even in the anime, that was made clear.

As everyone was still marveling at the brilliance of Light Screen, Meloetta had already reached her target.

While Diancie had been defending, she had taken the offensive.

Floating high above the Frostfang Dire Tiger, Meloetta didn't switch to Pirouette Forme this time.

Instead, she calmly brought both hands to her chest, her eyes closing gently.

Then she opened her mouth wide—

"Melolololoooooo~~!"

A piercing, ethereal high note exploded forth.

It was the move only Meloetta could learn at level 64:

Hyper Voice.