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

The three fully-evolved starter Pokémon had fought countless battles together. Their synergy—beyond question.

Before Rampaging Bull could even react, Torterra had already surged forward, planting its massive bulk against the beast's advance.

From the foliage atop Torterra's shell, countless glowing seeds shot forth, embedding themselves into Rampaging Bull's hide. In seconds, tiny buds began to sprout.

A steady flow of life force was drawn from the S-class death beast—siphoned directly into Torterra's body.

It was using Leech Seed, a skill that drained the opponent's vitality to restore its own stamina.

Meanwhile, Empoleon had gathered an intense stream of water in its beak, preparing for its attack.

Smack!

Two sharp slaps echoed out as Umbreon darted in from the side, giving Empoleon an assist. The boiling Brine attack surged in power and came crashing down on the Rampaging Bull's battered body.

"Mooooo!!"

Rampaging Bull let out a pained roar. Even its heavily-armored, S-rank physique couldn't shrug off the scalding saltwater slamming into its open wounds.

One powerful combo after another landed on the death beast with devastating efficiency.

For the first time, this towering monstrosity had no strength left to retaliate.

"Finally…"

Su Bai exhaled, watching the S-rank beast get beaten down by a flurry of well-timed teamwork.

Now this made sense.

With their final evolutions complete, the three starters had already exceeded the combat level of A-rank Awakened. They were now stepping into S-class territory.

While they couldn't take on an S-class death beast alone just yet, with continued training and growth—it was only a matter of time.

The same went for Pokémon like Jolteon, Umbreon, and Talonflame.

As long as they kept training their teams, the day would come when Trainers could go toe-to-toe with S-ranks on their own.

"Pokémon… are amazing."

Shi Ce, a grizzled warrior, could hardly believe his own eyes as the death beast was pinned down.

To him, someone who had weathered countless bloody battles, this scene felt like a fantasy.

It was well-known: only S-class elites could challenge S-class death beasts.

Even elite A-rank teams could only stall one—and that, with great risk of casualties.

But now… these young Trainers, relying purely on their Pokémon, had forced a notorious Rampaging Bull to its knees?

The defeated Rampaging Bull roared in anger—S-rank pride bleeding into every sound—but it was completely powerless.

Having already suffered their blows once, the Pokémon gave it no chance to counterattack.

Every time it tried to brace for a strike and fight back, another precise hit would interrupt it.

Worse still, as the Pokémon gained momentum, a flood of debuffs started stacking onto its body.

Scary Face, Baby-Doll Eyes, Leer…

One by one, debilitating status moves were unleashed with brutal timing.

In standard Pokémon battles, these weren't guaranteed to hit. And death beasts typically had strong resistance to status effects.

But in its current weakened state, Rampaging Bull's defenses were crumbling.

A sickly black-purple aura coiled around its massive frame, signaling multiple negative effects.

Attack. Defense. Speed… every stat was dropping rapidly.

Rampaging Bull felt as if a literal mountain had been dropped on its back.

Even lifting a hoof to strike back… was becoming impossible.

Watching the beast lose its last spark of resistance, Su Bai turned to Shi Ce with a smile.

"Yep. That's Pokémon for you. Incredible, right?"

He looked around the battlefield.

"It looks like we've got this side under control. I just hope City Lord Zhu is holding up on his end."

Shi Ce scratched his head, chuckling.

"Zhu's an old-school S-rank. And with Li Zhi backing him up—a seasoned S-rank mercenary—they should be fine. As long as there aren't more than four S-class death beasts on their side, they'll manage."

Su Bai nodded.

Zhu Jianyuan should be able to stall two, and Li Zhi was at a similar level.

By Su Bai's estimate, thanks to Diancie's scouting, they had already defeated two S-class death beasts—this one being the fourth.

Zhu's side shouldn't have more than that…

But a nagging sense of unease lingered in Su Bai's heart.

On paper, they had enough strength. The City Lord's elite guards included many A-class Awakened, and large-scale battles actually suited Zhu's full-scale Pokémon army better than their small-team skirmishes.

But as always… "should" is the most dangerous word in warfare.

Su Bai raised his hand and shouted to the others:

"Move quickly! Once we wrap this up, we're heading to support the city lord's line!"

Elsewhere…

"Damn it… I knew this would happen!"

Zhu Jianyuan's face twisted with rage as he slammed his spear to the ground.

"These intel reports are all outdated trash! I should've known better!"

His voice was thick with frustration.

The initial reports on the deathbeast zones? Some of them were over a decade old.

He'd already sensed something off.

Despite City Hall's original plan to handle a tougher side of the battlefield, their progress had been too smooth.

That was… until the S-class zone.

When five S-class death beasts suddenly gathered before him, the truth hit hard.

They multiply. These damn beasts can multiply!

"Should we retreat?" asked Li Zhi cautiously, long sword in hand.

The death beasts had formed up, their feral energy boiling. They could charge at any second.

"Retreat, my ass!" Zhu Jianyuan bellowed.

"This is humanity's first stand! I'll be damned if the history books say the Haicheng City Lord and his guards chickened out!"

His eyes burned with determination.

"Li Zhi—we each take two. The last one, we leave to the evolved Pokémon!"

He bit down hard and roared:

"Pokémon Corps, prepare for battle!"

"We'll take two each! The last one—coordinated assault with evolved Pokémon!"

"All A-rank guards, step forward! Support the Pokémon with everything you've got!"

"If we don't win this fight, we're not worthy of the people we swore to protect!"

Li Zhi stood silently, sword raised.

Behind them, the elite guards of City Hall stood at attention. Eight A-rank Awakened stepped forward without hesitation.

Sixteen Floatzels, backed by coordinated Corviknights and Falinks, formed a powerful sub-squad to pin down the fifth S-class deathbeast.

The rest of the Pokémon corps faced waves of A and B-class monsters head-on.

Even Zhu Jianyuan hadn't expected this S-class nest to spawn so many top-tier threats.

"Damn it," Li Zhi muttered, then cracked a grin.

"You've always been the reckless one. Still dragging me into suicide missions, eh?"

Zhu grinned back, muscles rippling as his armor split and Berserker power surged forth.

"Gentlemen! Today we fight! Not for glory—

But for every soul that calls this city home!"

"Victory… or death!"

With a roar filled with righteous fury and unshakable resolve, Zhu Jianyuan thrust his spear forward like a dragon piercing the sky.

The entire Pokémon Corps surged forward behind him—clashing against the colossal tide of death beasts.

Unlike Su Bai's smaller skirmishes, this was a true battlefield.

Steel. Blood. Fire. Roars.

A war had begun.