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

Su Bai followed Wang Tao's pointing finger and smacked his forehead in realization.

Every time the system upgraded, it brought along a whole batch of new rewards and features—sometimes so many that he could barely keep up.

He gave Zeraora another pat on the head and quickly walked over to the machines near the counter.

"Almost forgot something this important! I was supposed to post a notice once the Pokémon Center opened—but since you're all here, I'll explain it now."

Su Bai stopped in front of one of the machines and grinned.

"This is… where you buy TMs—Technical Machines."

H

"TMs?"

The group exchanged puzzled looks.

Aren't moves something Pokémon naturally learn?

At least, up until now, their Pokémon had only gained new moves through leveling up and training.

They didn't realize there was a way to teach them moves directly.

Su Bai saw their confusion and patiently explained:

"Sure, Pokémon can learn skills through training and experience—but the moves they naturally pick up are just a fraction of the full move pool available to them."

"The number of moves a Pokémon can learn goes way beyond what they learn on their own."

"Take Meloetta, for example."

He looked toward the little Mythical Pokémon, who was now happily perched on Zeraora's head like a cute crown.

"You've all seen her close-combat skills, right?"

"Well, under normal training conditions, Meloetta might only learn a single Fighting-type move."

"But in truth, she can learn much more than that."

"For instance…"

He gestured toward the Machoke that was currently trying to cozy up to Charizard, only to be coldly rejected.

"Machoke knows the move Low Kick, right?"

"Ordinarily, Meloetta wouldn't be able to learn that."

"But right now, my Meloetta doesn't just know Low Kick—she also knows Sweeping Kick, Brick Break, Drain Punch… and more."

"Pretty awesome, huh?"

Meloetta beamed with joy at the praise, bouncing slightly on Zeraora's head.

"Melo~ Melo~!"

She mimed a few air punches and kicks, posing dramatically like a tiny martial arts queen.

Su Bai chuckled and tapped her on the head.

"All of my Pokémon are fully trained with complete movesets."

"But your Pokémon will need proper training to reach that point."

"The move pool is a core part of their development."

"TMs, or Technical Machines, allow your Pokémon to learn moves they can't pick up naturally, expanding their potential."

"Just boosting their stats isn't enough—if they don't have the moves to back it up, they'll never reach their full strength."

With Su Bai's clear explanation, everyone finally understood the purpose of the TM machine.

In the real world, there was no such thing as a four-move limit.

And many moves came with unique effects—status buffs, debuffs, resistances, terrain control…

In short, every move added made the Pokémon stronger!

"And TMs are especially useful for covering weaknesses."

Su Bai turned to Torterra and gave another example:

"For instance, Torterra must find Flying-types to be a nightmare, right?"

Wang Tao immediately nodded in deep agreement.

Torterra, being Grass/Ground-type, was at a massive disadvantage against Flying-types.

Most Ground-type moves were useless against them, and even matchups in raw stats weren't enough to close that gap.

"Well," Su Bai grinned, "TMs can change that."

"Normally, Torterra wouldn't be able to counter Flying-types."

"But with TMs, he can learn Rock-type moves like Rock Slide or Sandstorm."

"Rock-type moves deal 2x super-effective damage to Flying-types. That way, Torterra doesn't have to be a sitting duck anymore."

"Same with Infernape—if it learns Solar Beam, it gains a powerful Grass-type move to strike back against Water-types."

"In the end, the wider a Pokémon's move pool, the more powerful they become."

"After all, the essence of Pokémon battles lies in clever move combinations with strong effects!"

Su Bai's words struck a chord with the Trainers.

They were no longer in a video game world with rigid stat systems.

In games, Pokémon were often forced to specialize in a specific role due to restrictions like nature, EV limits, or move slots.

But in the real world? None of those limitations applied.

Natures didn't alter stats.

Effort values (EVs) didn't have fixed caps.

For instance, Murong Nan's Empoleon had been trained as a special attacker and had already become one of the highest Special Attackers among the current Trainers.

But if Murong Nan chose to switch things up and focus on physical attack training instead, Empoleon could grow in that area too!

To put it simply—in reality, a Pokémon's effort value could simultaneously rise across all six stats, theoretically pushing each one toward the max value of 252!

Of course, how high each stat could ultimately go depended on the Pokémon's individual potential.

Like Zhou Xiaofei's Gyarados—after forming a deep bond and evolving further, its stats could no longer be measured by standard numbers.

Which also meant—move customization became far more flexible!

All it took was time, effort, and enough dedication… and you'd always be rewarded.

For Pokémon capable of excelling in both physical and special attacks—this was a game-changer.

"This… This is amazing!"

Su Bai's explanation practically caused an earthquake among the Trainers.

Mythical Pokémon were exciting, sure—but they were rare and difficult to find.

TMs, on the other hand, were accessible right now, with immediate and visible benefits.

Wang Tao and Liu Yunlan immediately rushed toward the TM machine.

In the end, Wang Tao—who never showed an ounce of mercy when it came to Pokémon—managed to muscle ahead.

"Me first! Let me try it! How do I use this thing?"

He grinned smugly and began poking around the interface, completely ignoring Liu Yunlan's sharp jabs from the side.

Su Bai chuckled.

"It's written right there. Each draw costs 500 Breeding Points. It's a gacha-style blind box."

"Be careful—Breeding Points are really valuable."

"Wait, what?!"

Wang Tao froze. He looked up at the screen:

[Single Draw: 500 Breeding Points. 10x Draw: 4,900 Points.]

"What the heck? There's a ten-pull discount too?!"

Wang Tao shook his head in disbelief.

Among all Trainers, his Breeding Points were actually the highest—9,800.

But if this gacha sucked up 4,900 per ten-pull, he could only roll twice!

And those points were not easy to earn!

Su Bai shrugged.

"Hey, it's like microtransactions in a game. Gamble at your own risk."

"This system… definitely has a mischievous streak."

After all, not all TMs were created equal—some moves were common, others rare.

And the chance of pulling a truly powerful move? About as low as getting a legendary drop in a pay-to-win game.

To make things worse… no guaranteed pity system.

"If you're not drawing, move aside! Let me do it! I pulled a Growlithe once—I'm lucky! This is my moment!"

Liu Yunlan shoved Wang Tao aside and tried to take his spot.

Wang Tao stared painfully at the bottom right corner of the screen—his Breeding Points flashing like a countdown timer.

He gritted his teeth…

…and slammed his hand on the draw button.