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

When Liu Qiaoqiao heard the voice coming from the communicator, her expression turned to one of pure shock.

With her limited experience as a Trainer, she had only barely managed to muster the courage to throw a Poké Ball at a Diglett. And compared to that… Lapras was huge! Intimidating even!

Just from appearance alone, it was obvious that Lapras was on a completely different level. Even Corviknight, without spreading its wings, was noticeably smaller.

Faced with such a powerful creature, Qiaoqiao's young mind had never even considered the possibility that she could try and capture it.

This was the core difference between veteran Trainers like Wang Tao and fledgling newcomers like Qiaoqiao.

She hadn't yet made the mindset shift to become a true Pokémon Trainer.

That was exactly why Su Bai continued to encourage her, time and again, to try catching her own Pokémon.

After all, what good was a Corviknight—gifted by Secretary Liu—if its Trainer never took a step forward herself?

Besides, Su Bai genuinely liked Liu Qiaoqiao. She was brave, innocent, and full of wonder.

Watching her and Zhou Xiaofei on their little adventure made Su Bai feel like he was reliving the excitement of watching the Pokémon anime as a kid.

Compared to an old veteran like Wang Tao… these two kids were the real deal—the kind that made you want to nurture and root for them.

And a powerful Pokémon like Lapras? There's no way they should just walk away from a chance like this!

That wouldn't be worthy of the title "Trainer" at all.

"That's right," Su Bai coaxed gently. "Lapras is friendly toward people. If it really likes you, it probably won't reject you."

"But you'll need to talk to it yourself, okay?"

Zhou Xiaofei chimed in with a smile:

"Qiaoqiao, I already caught a little Snorlax(Munchlax). If Lapras is willing to go on adventures with you, I think it'd be amazing."

He wasn't trying to compete with her for Lapras. He already had Gyarados—a powerful Water-type on his team.

Adding Lapras would be redundant and hard to train efficiently alongside it.

Not to mention, his recently caught baby Snorlax(Munchlax) had a Sovereign-class Snorlax for a father. That little guy was going to grow into a tank—and a major asset in the future.

So letting Qiaoqiao have this opportunity? He had zero objections.

"If even Xiaofei gege says that…"

Liu Qiaoqiao hugged Lapras's shell tightly. Honestly, she had wanted to keep playing with it all this time… she just didn't dare to dream too far.

But with both Su Bai and Xiaofei encouraging her…

She turned toward Lapras, locking eyes with its gentle, ocean-blue gaze.

"Mooii"

Lapras had stopped spinning around the moment Su Bai's voice came through. It had heard him.

Now, its clear eyes calmly observed Qiaoqiao, silently waiting for her to speak.

"N-Now then…"

Summoning all her courage, Qiaoqiao suddenly threw her arms around Lapras's neck and shouted with all her might:

"Lapras, I really like you! Be my partner!"

Zhou Xiaofei, who was standing nearby, instinctively covered his ears. That yell was loud enough to echo across the sea.

Even Corviknight, who was circling above, momentarily paused mid-flight, turning its head in surprise toward its little Trainer.

Back in the Pokémon Center, everyone watching broke into a wave of "auntie smiles."

Su Bai laughed out loud.

"Not bad, very spirited!"

"Now let's see how Lapras responds. Remember, it's a highly intelligent Pokémon—it understands human speech."

And sure enough…

Lapras raised its long neck and let out a soft, melodic call.

"Mooii"

At some point, Corviknight had also landed beside Qiaoqiao, quietly awaiting further commands. The two intelligent creatures now began communicating without words.

Diancie giggled as she provided a little translation:

"Lapras says, even though it likes Qiaoqiao, asking to go on an adventure together right away might be a bit… presumptuous."

"So, to prove her courage, it wants Qiaoqiao to battle it—like a real Trainer!"

"If Qiaoqiao can show she's worthy, then Lapras will consider becoming her partner!"

"Don't let Lapras's gentle demeanor fool you—it's a proud Pokémon!"

Everyone turned their gaze toward Lapras again.

Its eyes were still calm and kind—completely void of hostility. But that unmistakable pride radiated clearly from its posture and presence.

This was a powerful Pokémon.

Sure, it liked humans—especially kids like Qiaoqiao. But that didn't mean it would just jump into a Poké Ball without hesitation.

If Liu Qiaoqiao could prove her courage and capability as a Trainer…

Then—and only then—would Lapras consider joining her.

This was the tricky part about high-intelligence Pokémon.

If you didn't earn their approval, you could beat them half to death and still fail to catch them.

But if they liked you? Sometimes they'd practically walk into the Poké Ball themselves.

(Voltorb not included, of course…)

Speaking of Voltorb…

Back when Wang Tao had just arrived at a small outpost, he'd spent a lot of effort treating a rather… explosive Voltorb.

And after all that? The moment it was released, it got mad after bumping into a rock and… exploded again.

Which meant Wang Tao had to head right back to the outpost and get it treated—while also getting pampered by Nurse Joy again.

Ever since then, he didn't dare bring that Voltorb out easily.

Back to the beach.

Lapras tilted its head, looked at Corviknight, then at the nervous Liu Qiaoqiao.

Then it gently bit onto Qiaoqiao's collar and placed her down on the shore with surprising tenderness.

"Mooii Mooii!"

Diancie translated again, grinning:

"Lapras agrees! It's cheering Qiaoqiao on! Looks like it's looking forward to the match too!"

"It even told Qiaoqiao to take a few steps back—so she wouldn't get hurt."

Su Bai laughed softly:

"Looks like no matter how the battle goes, Lapras won't harm her."

"To have Lapras as your very first battle opponent… Qiaoqiao's really lucky."

Liu Qiaoqiao, now standing on the sandy shore, took several deep breaths and called out firmly:

"Alright, Corviknight, let's do this!"

"Caw! Caw!"

Corviknight's red eyes gleamed with excitement. With a burst of wind, it shot up into the air, wings beating powerfully as it hovered above.

Lapras, too, slowly slid away from the shore, positioning itself in shallow waters. It raised its head, silently watching Corviknight's movements.

The air grew tense.

Two powerful Pokémon.

One test of courage.

A real Trainer's battle—

Was about to begin.