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

Outside the low outer wall of the Contractor's Guild, a massive cavalry troop thundered in.

Leading them was the City Lord of Boulder City—Dong Feng—followed closely by his elite city guards.

Under normal conditions, a frontier city like theirs could respond much faster.

But Su Bai's earlier massive root network had been so absurdly durable that it had taken considerable effort just to dig the soldiers free.

In the end, it had required Dong Feng himself—an S-rank powerhouse—to step in and clear the path.

By the time they regrouped and charged toward the Contractor's Guild…

It was already in ruins.

Above the collapsed structure, Death Beasts howled, releasing death aura so thick it blanketed half of Boulder City's sky.

The city's residents, who had still been going about their day moments ago, all simultaneously fled back into their homes.

The oppressive death aura sent them into a panic.

Sure, the guild would sometimes cause a stir, but usually it was limited to their own turf.

Today, though?

Something was very wrong.

City Lord Dong Feng's forehead twitched. Sweat streamed down his face despite his powerful physique.

He was an S-rank Shield Warrior, one of the most formidable tanks in the city.

But even he was panicking now.

"They've lost it! They've all gone completely insane!"

Dong Feng stomped furiously, veins bulging at his temples.

"The entire Contractor's Guild, going this far over one outsider?! Are they out of their damn minds?!"

"Quick! Evacuate the civilians! If those damn beasts go berserk, half the city will be dead by morning!"

And honestly? No one could blame him for his overreaction.

Back in Haicheng, even when the city was besieged by Death Beasts, there had only been five S-rank beasts.

And that had taken weeks of preparation, full city mobilization, and fortified defenses to barely withstand.

And even then, victory wasn't guaranteed.

If not for the sudden appearance of Pokémon, Haicheng would have likely fallen.

But here?

Boulder City was nowhere near ready.

Dong Feng's emergency response force, hastily assembled at best, couldn't hope to handle an outbreak of this scale.

Even if they won... there might be no one left to celebrate.

His guards peeled off in units, moving through the streets to begin civilian evacuation.

That only made Dong Feng's headache worse.

His already-stretched manpower had just gotten thinner.

"Contractors… Damn those Contractors!"

Dong Feng's fists clenched. His voice dropped with regret as he glared across the battlefield.

There stood Su Bai—completely surrounded by snarling Death Beasts—with his Pokémon at his side.

"I knew something like this would happen eventually."

Boulder City had never faced a full-scale Death Beast assault.

But it had suffered plenty of internal disasters thanks to rogue Contractors.

Just yesterday, Dong Feng had mediated a case where a Contractor sold an improperly suppressed beast.

The containment seal broke.

A perfectly fine B-rank Awakened was slaughtered—along with his entire family—by the rampaging creature.

And when he'd tried to confront the seller, the victim was murdered too.

As the mayor, Dong Feng had been powerless.

No consequences.

No justice.

The Contractor's Guild had brought nothing but trouble to his city.

So many cases. So many sleepless nights.

Sometimes, Dong Feng woke up in a rage and had to slap himself for ever fighting to bring the guild in.

"City Lord… what now? Do we step in?"

His secretary's voice trembled.

The Contractors had pulled stunts before, but this—this was unprecedented.

Someone had managed to piss off the entire guild at once?!

"W-Wait for now…" Dong Feng murmured.

His usually indomitable Shield Warrior spirit felt weak.

The guild was a behemoth he couldn't easily control.

"If killing that man is enough to stop this mess… then maybe it's worth letting it happen."

Cold logic. Bitter, but necessary.

One outsider's death to prevent an entire city's destruction?

It wasn't a fair trade—but it was a necessary one.

"By the way," Dong Feng asked, eyes narrowing, "did that guy say his name when he entered the city?"

"That creature next to him… it is a Pokémon, isn't it?"

Dong Feng was only now realizing that he hadn't even gotten the man's name in the rush.

And as a city mayor, he should at least know what the hell his neighboring city was up to.

"Oh! Oh—yes, sir! He said he was Su Bai. Said he ran some kind of Pokémon Center."

The guard Dong Feng had personally dug out of the roots blinked in surprise.

Before he could say anything more, a massive face suddenly loomed in front of him.

"Su Bai?! Pokémon Center?! Are you absolutely sure?!"

Dong Feng's pupils shrank.

He knew that name.

That was the man who'd helped Haicheng survive a Death Beast siege.

His personal file might've been locked, but Dong Feng was a City Lord—he knew how important Su Bai was.

"We're doomed."

He looked at Su Bai, now trapped in a ring of Death Beasts, and his vision went black.

This wasn't just some passing visitor.

If Su Bai died in Boulder City, that maniac Zhu Jianyuan would burn this place to the ground.

That guy wasn't a calm and collected Shield Warrior.

He was a berserker. A warhammer-wielding lunatic.

"ALL UNITS—ADVANCE!!" Dong Feng roared.

"Su Bai must not die! At the very least, he can't die in Boulder City!"

No one knew why the mayor had suddenly flipped his stance.

But trained soldiers followed orders without question.

They charged, ready to die if needed.

And just then—

The Death Beasts began to roar.

From Dong Feng's vantage point, it looked like the negotiations had failed.

Su Bai was about to be torn apart.

"It's over… Dammit, we're enemies with Haicheng now."

Dong Feng closed his eyes in despair.

There was no saving Su Bai in time. No outrunning the consequences.

He could already imagine Zhu Jianyuan screaming for blood.

No. Screaming would be too soft. He'd come swinging.

But as his mind raced—

His secretary tugged urgently on his sleeve.

"C-City Lord! City Lord! Look—look over there!"

"T-There's… so many diamonds!!"

…Diamonds?

What the hell was this idiot talking about?!

Dong Feng sighed and opened his eyes.

The very next second—

His jaw dropped.

Above the remains of the Contractor's Guild…

The entire sky was filled with pink crystals, gleaming with divine radiance.

Like raindrops frozen in time, they hovered midair, glowing with unimaginable power.

They blotted out the sun.

They lit up the battlefield.

In the center of it all floated a small, delicate figure—arms raised gently, twirling through the air.

Dong Feng could hear her voice—clear, melodic, and utterly surreal.

"Diancie really likes Little Zhao!"

"Bad guys, take this!"

"Diamond Storm!"