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

"Corviknight, use Metal Sound!"

Liu Qiaoqiao pointed at Lapras and shouted loudly.

"Let's show Lapras the strength of our bond!"

Before this journey began, Qiaoqiao had crammed a lot of knowledge about Pokémon battles.

She understood well how important status moves were.

Water/Ice versus Flying/Steel—there wasn't any major type advantage either way.

So, her choice to open with Metal Sound was a reasonable one.

Following her command, Corviknight opened its beak—

A sharp, grinding shriek of metal-on-metal tore through the air!

Even the audience in the Pokémon Center winced and covered their ears through the screen—

That piercing noise echoed with a pulsing dark-gray energy as a debuff effect started to build.

"Standard play. Not bad," Su Bai nodded, then shook his head slightly.

"But Lapras is a high-intelligence Pokémon. It might not let you succeed that easily."

If a player were controlling Corviknight in-game, they'd probably start by stacking defenses with Iron Defense.

Its raw offensive power wasn't high enough to make an immediate impact, especially not against a Water/Ice-type like Lapras.

Metal Sound, though, wasn't a bad idea.

Corviknight doesn't really use special attacks, but against Lapras, who leans toward special offense, boosting physical defense with Iron Defense would be pointless.

So, as far as decisions went for a rookie Trainer, Qiaoqiao had made a solid, well-informed choice.

But this… was real life.

Lapras frowned at the screeching sound.

With a breath, it exhaled a cold mist—

Tiny, jagged shards of ice rapidly formed mid-air.

"Shhhhhh!"

A hailstorm of razor-sharp Ice Shards flew through the air with frightening speed, pelting Corviknight before it could finish channeling Metal Sound.

Ice Shard — a classic priority move known and loved by competitive players for generations.

Though it only has 40 base power, it always goes first!

Corviknight, not known for speed, was caught mid-move—

The barrage of icy projectiles cracked across its body, interrupting its screeching shriek.

It flinched mid-air, wings flailing, but managed to stabilize and hover again.

The debuff energy around it—gone.

"Ah! Corviknight!"

Liu Qiaoqiao cried out in alarm, guilt flashing across her face.

She clearly blamed herself, thinking her poor command had caused Corviknight to take that hit.

Su Bai's voice calmly came through the communicator:

"You didn't make the wrong choice.

A Trainer's journey is all about learning and growing with their Pokémon."

"You couldn't have known Lapras would use Ice Shard.

But… right now, there's no time to blame yourself."

Lapras raised its head high again.

It didn't dislike Qiaoqiao—far from it.

But it was still a proud Pokémon.

If it was going to travel with someone, that someone had to earn it.

Its intelligence wasn't just in understanding human speech.

Its combat intelligence was top-tier as well.

Not wasting the momentum, Lapras began to channel again—

Blue mist swirled around its body, trembling as pressure built.

"Mooooiii!"

With a powerful cry, the mist condensed into a forceful ring of vibrating water vapor and launched toward Corviknight!

Boom!

A direct hit.

The shockwave of Water Pulse exploded against Corviknight mid-air—

Its entire body shrouded in mist once more.

In just a few moments, Corviknight had taken two consecutive hits right off the bat.

"Corviknight!!"

Qiaoqiao panicked again, frantically digging into her backpack—

She was searching for a potion.

"Qiaoqiao, don't!"

Zhou Xiaofei gently placed his hand over hers, stopping her.

"This isn't a normal battle.

Using healing items will just make Lapras lose respect for you."

"And… you have to believe in Corviknight."

"Trusting your Pokémon is the most important lesson any Trainer has to learn."

Qiaoqiao froze, blinking in realization.

She looked up at Lapras—

Those clear, intelligent eyes were still watching her silently.

As if waiting.

As if testing her resolve.

Clearly, Zhou Xiaofei was right.

Lapras had willingly offered her a chance to prove herself.

Trying to brute-force it with healing items would only backfire.

If she wanted Lapras's respect, she had to earn it through strength and courage!

"Believe in… Corviknight…"

She turned toward the water mist…

"Caw!"

As if in response, a loud cry echoed through the mist—

Corviknight burst forth from the fog, wings spread wide.

Its dark steel feathers were damp, but it didn't seem much worse for wear.

Instead, its eyes were burning with righteous frustration.

Getting hit wasn't pleasant—but instead of retaliating, it held back.

It hovered steadily in mid-air, facing Lapras head-on—

Waiting.

Silent.

Awaiting orders from its Trainer.

"Corviknight… are you… waiting for me to command you?"

Liu Qiaoqiao covered her mouth.

Her big eyes misted over.

"…Corviknight really is an incredible Pokémon."

Su Bai couldn't help but sigh at the scene.

Zhu Jianyuan looked over curiously. "Why do you say that?"

Su Bai gestured at the screen.

"Taking two hits—Ice Shard and Water Pulse—without falling?

That's not surprising."

"Wild Pokémon don't go through focused training.

Their moves rely on instinct, so their power is limited."

"But Corviknight has fought Dead Beasts, and it was raised with great care by Secretary Liu."

"Defensive Pokémon like Corviknight are naturally tanky.

Base stats? 105 in Defense, 85 in Special Defense, and 98 in HP."

"Even without buffs, two casual hits won't bring it down."

He pointed to Corviknight, still hovering in the sky.

"But what really impressed me wasn't Corviknight's durability—

It's that it chose not to counterattack."

"A wild Corviknight would've either charged in and fought blindly or flown away altogether."

"But this one… it held back.

It gave all decision-making power to its brand-new Trainer, Liu Qiaoqiao."

"It's supporting her—in its own silent way.