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

Arrival!

Zhu Jianyuan stepped beside the large Corviknight, and even the hardened veteran couldn't stop the twitch at the corner of his eyes.

"Little Liu… he was the City Lord's secretary. Because he awakened to an A-rank ability, he was also assigned to the frontlines against the S-class death beasts."

"He sacrificed himself to save his teammates."

"What no one expected was that his Corvisquire evolved into a Corviknight right after his death."

He gently patted the Corviknight, who was still tirelessly trying to wake its trainer, and sighed with sorrow:

"Pokémon are incredibly intelligent—especially Corvisquire. Their intelligence exceeds what I imagined."

"It probably knows its trainer is gone… It just doesn't want to accept it."

"What a shame… Little Liu didn't live to see the people of Haicheng planting Berry Trees across the wilderness…"

Zhu Jianyuan didn't go into detail about how Liu died, but Su Bai could imagine it.

If he had arrived just a few seconds later, that honest-looking Shield Warrior might have been slain under the claws of an S-class death beast too.

Why was the City Lord's secretary on the frontlines? Because even Zhu Jianyuan himself was fighting—how could the others stay behind?

With great power comes great responsibility.

And in Haicheng… there were no cowards.

Su Bai looked at the Corviknight and let out a long sigh.

Covered in dark, metallic armor—even its feathers harder than steel—Corviknight stood over two meters tall post-evolution, towering over most people. Even with its wings folded, it looked like a fearsome beast—a creature that would terrify children at first glance.

Yet now, this towering figure was whimpering beside its fallen trainer.

Its deep crimson eyes were filled with grief and panic as it gently nudged the body with its beak, completely ignoring its own wounds.

With intelligence rivaling that of humans, it understood—its trainer was gone.

But it refused to accept the truth.

The man's name was Liu Jiantao, a familiar figure to Su Bai.

Zhu Jianyuan was a busy man, and many of the city's affairs—like the Pokémon Berry Seed Distribution Plan—were handled personally by Liu Jiantao.

He was a sharp, capable, and meticulous person.

Corviknight as a species is known for deep emotional connections, and their intelligence is often comparable to humans. That it evolved in spite of insufficient training data proved just how deep the bond was between it and Liu Jiantao.

In truth, Corviknight wasn't the only one unwilling to leave its trainer's side.

Three Floatzel, five Falinks, four Corvisquire, and two Buizel were also wandering in circles around their fallen companions.

Because of how Pokémon bonds work, unless a trainer forces their Pokémon to fight to the death, they can usually be recalled just in time to avoid fatal injuries.

As long as they aren't one-shot killed, Pokémon are very hard to truly lose.

With potions and status healers available, Pokémon rarely die.

But humans are different.

No potion could save a human. Human medicine in this world wasn't nearly as miraculous.

And so—only humans died in this battle.

After a long silence, Su Bai asked:

"What do you plan to do with the Pokémon?"

Since the Pokémon had been provided by the City Lord's office, barring abuse, their ownership technically remained with the city.

Zhu Jianyuan looked at the grieving Pokémon and shook his head slowly.

"Truthfully… for the sake of maintaining the structure of the Pokémon Corps, these Pokémon should be reassigned to new trainers."

"But after seeing them like this… I just can't bring myself to do it."

"It would be too cruel."

He paused, eyes locked on the newly evolved Corviknight.

"The moment I saw that Corvisquire evolve… I realized something important."

"Pokémon aren't weapons. They're our companions."

"Even if we need to rebuild the Corps, we won't assign any of these Pokémon unless they agree to it themselves."

Then he turned to Su Bai.

"I remember your Pokémon Center has a Day Care, right?"

"Without a trainer to work with, these Pokémon might grow restless if we keep them here—watching others train and battle with their partners."

"Can we make a new agreement with your Pokémon Center?"

"We'll place the fallen warriors' Pokémon in the Day Care. If any new warrior wants to take the place of the deceased, they'll be sent to meet the Pokémon there."

"If the two of them can build a good bond, then the Pokémon can return to the Corps."

Zhu Jianyuan's voice turned firm:

"These Pokémon… are also heroes of Haicheng. I won't allow them to suffer a single bit of indignity."

Then he hesitated slightly and added:

"There's just one problem…"

He looked earnestly at Su Bai.

"The Day Care uses breeding points. But in this situation… those will be hard to cover…"

Su Bai sighed and nodded. He understood what Zhu meant.

But Zhu's attitude toward the Pokémon… made him deeply grateful.

In this apocalypse, most rulers would've treated Pokémon as simple tools.

Perhaps the central government in Kyoto still thought that way.

But Zhu Jianyuan didn't—he saw them as allies.

That might seem like common sense, but for a City Lord during humanity's darkest hour… it wasn't so simple.

And Su Bai genuinely appreciated that kind of "irrational kindness."

Just as he was about to contact the system to ask for help, the system's voice echoed in his mind:

[For Pokémon of fallen trainers, the Day Care will charge a symbolic fee of 1 Federation Credit for permanent care.]

[Note: This policy applies only to Pokémon whose trainers have died in service.]

The system fell silent after that.

Su Bai let out a relieved breath. The system had come through.

He nodded at Zhu.

"Don't worry, City Lord Zhu."

"Your proposal is a good one."

"All Pokémon sent to the Day Care will be accepted—permanently—for just one Federation Credit."

Zhu Jianyuan visibly relaxed.

Just moments ago, he'd considered having the entire Pokémon Corps pay for the breeding points out of pocket, even if it meant stalling their development. He knew Su Bai carried many secrets and didn't want to pressure him.

But this answer—this generosity—was an unexpected joy.

Zhu smiled and patted Su Bai's shoulder.

"Since you're here… I suppose that means your mission is complete too, huh?"

Su Bai nodded.

"Yes. The trainers have grown."

Zhu and Li Zhi exchanged a glance and burst into hearty laughter.

"Then it's official—we succeeded!"

"We've reclaimed enough land for the arrival of Pokémon!"

"Soon, the world-changing Pokémon will begin appearing around Haicheng, right?"

In that moment, Zhu Jianyuan seemed less like a war-hardened city lord and more like an excited child.

Seeing his expression, Su Bai couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes… the Pokémon that will change this world… are coming soon."

He turned his eyes toward the horizon—where the miasma of death still lingered.

The Pokémon's full descent… had entered its final countdown