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

Su Bai's words struck Malene like a blade—twisting deep into her heart, cruelly and deliberately.

Just as he said, the more advanced a Subbeast became, the greater its compatibility with death aura—and the better its control over its form.

After all, Subbeasts were, in some sense, still born of humans.

The massive bodies of Death Beasts and the large forms of Pokémon were entirely different concepts.

Death Beasts grew huge to store more death aura, while Pokémon were simply born that way.

But for Subbeasts, their strength and form fluctuated strangely.

Larger size typically meant greater power…

But at Malene's level, which could no longer be measured by S-rank standards, such a bloated form was actually a sign—

—of imperfect mastery over death aura.

And Su Bai wasn't wrong about the rest either.

Subbeast aesthetics really did mirror humanity's.

For beings like Malene, the closer they appeared to human form, the stronger—and by that logic… the more beautiful.

"What do you know… what do YOU know?!"

"As long as I kill you… if I kill you, the High Priest will grant me power!"

"I'll become an Apostle! The most loyal, the most favored servant!"

Always composed and calm, Malene finally snapped.

With a roar, her three-meter-tall body vanished in a blur—so fast that even Su Bai had to focus intently to track her!

The air cracked where she stood. A heartbeat later—

—She was right in front of Su Bai!

Her massive fist came crashing down, slicing the air with tremendous force.

Black death aura surged wildly around her, and her eyes glowed with bloodthirsty anticipation.

She had already felt Su Bai's power in their earlier clash.

He was strong—yes.

But physically… he still fell short of her.

If this punch connected—

Su Bai would die!

But in that final moment, just as her strike landed—

She saw Su Bai's perfectly calm expression.

That unsettling ease… made something twitch in the back of her mind.

Just for a fraction of a second, she hesitated.

But the punch was already thrown.

BOOM!

A dull, thunderous impact shook the air.

Malene's eyes widened—

Su Bai hadn't even moved. He was still standing tall, arms behind his back, face unreadable.

And in front of him…

The tiny creature—the one who had previously wiped out a field of Death Beasts with a single mysterious Diamond Storm—stood with both arms raised.

A transparent barrier shimmered… then shattered like glass.

It was only then that Malene felt the searing pain in her wrist.

She looked down in shock—her hand was completely mangled from the force of her own blow.

Twisted. Torn. Skin split open.

Her sharp claws had snapped. Her fingers bent in unnatural shapes.

"W-What… What happened?!"

She screamed and leapt back in a blur.

Her mind reeled.

That punch could have obliterated Boulder City's city wall—yet it couldn't break through a single transparent barrier?

Su Bai didn't chase.

Instead, he just smiled and gently patted Diancie's head.

"Well done, Diancie. Your Protect worked perfectly."

From the moment Malene vanished, Su Bai had predicted her move.

And immediately, he had ordered Diancie to use Protect.

Protect, after all, nullifies an enemy's attack.

Of course, the move's effect depends on how well a Pokémon is trained.

If a regular formation grunt had used it, they'd probably have been blown away along with their barrier.

But Diancie—a fully-trained Mythical Pokémon—wasn't just any Pokémon.

Even among the Pokémon world, Diancie stood near the top.

A move cast by her… who in this world could possibly break it?

Certainly not Malene—who couldn't even control her own body size properly.

Pre-reading the opponent's move, then using the perfect counter…

For Su Bai, who regularly reached Master Ball tier every competitive season, this was just standard play.

That was also why he had sent Zhu Jianyuan and the others away.

If Malene had targeted them instead… Su Bai wouldn't have had such a clean battle.

The other reason?

Su Bai had complete faith in his two Pokémon.

Malene's confidence was gone.

But her brutality? That hadn't faded at all.

Expressionless, she raised her uninjured hand and sliced off her destroyed wrist without hesitation.

Black mist swirled—and a new hand grew in its place.

Su Bai clicked his tongue in awe.

"Yeah, definitely not human anymore. Real humans don't regenerate like lizards."

"But… how many times can you do that, I wonder?"

"Meloetta… your turn."

As he spoke, Meloetta happily stepped forward.

Her flowing hair turned scarlet in an instant, swirling above her head as she stretched casually.

Then—with a smug little smirk—she struck a taunting pose at the towering female beast.

"Melo~ Meloetta~!"

Even a fool could feel the mockery in her tone.

Let alone Malene—whose intelligence matched that of humans and considered herself a superior life form.

Immediately, the black tendrils on her face flared up again.

"Are you mocking me, you little worm?!"

Another sonic boom shook the air.

Malene attacked again—this time, even faster!

Her huge frame left afterimages in the air, like shadows echoing her motion.

Clearly, the earlier punch was not her full power.

But Meloetta only grinned.

Just before the impact, she struck a pose.

And then—vanished.

When she reappeared—

Her tiny fist slammed square into Malene's torso!

"No… impossible… so fast!"

Malene's expression twisted in disbelief.

Her giant body staggered.

The three-meter-tall monster hunched over from a single punch by a small, child-sized Pokémon.

From her contorted face, it was clear—the damage wasn't light.

Her goal had always been Su Bai.

She still didn't believe Diancie's earlier defense had zero weakness.

But Su Bai simply stood there, arms crossed, smiling calmly like a spectator.

He even offered commentary:

"Quick Attack has a rule-based boost—it always strikes first."

"Clearly, your speed isn't enough to beat Meloetta after a priority bonus."

Then he pointed at Diancie beside him.

"Also… I still have her."

"Mythical Pokémon rarely get a chance to go all out…"

"So hang in there, would you?"

Malene's eyes snapped wide open.

Behind Diancie—floating in the air like a glimmering gemstone—

A gigantic full moon was slowly taking shape.