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

Although Su Bai had received a physical boost from his system reward…

…it wasn't something that came with clear numbers.

He had no idea if he could smack a B-rank beast across the arena with a single slap or not.

But Meloetta was different.

As a special perk granted by the system to the shop owner, Meloetta had maxed-out personality, talent, and combat potential.

And her move set? Practically flawless, 360 degrees of coverage with no weaknesses.

After all, Meloetta was a mythical Pokémon.

With a base stat total of 600, she was firmly in pseudo-legendary territory.

Plus, most mythical Pokémon possessed unique traits or special abilities that made them even more powerful than fully trained pseudo-legendaries.

She might look cute… but when it came to combat?

She hit like a truck.

Initially, Su Bai wasn't entirely sure how powerful Meloetta was.

But then again… if an untrained Grotle could block a B-rank beast's assault, according to Ji Wei—

Then even if an S-rank awakened warrior showed up, Su Bai was sure Meloetta wouldn't back down.

What's more, she even had Quick Attack, a priority move that could strike first.

So when Su Bai calmly declared, "I'll step in,"

—it was all thanks to the absolute trust he had in Meloetta.

"Is Meloetta really that strong?"

Liu Yunshuang looked at Meloetta, now transformed, her eyes filled with admiration and envy.

This little one was adorable and powerful, literally her dream Pokémon.

Unfortunately, Meloetta was Su Bai's personal companion, not for sale.

Meanwhile, in the arena…

The blood-drenched, corpse-stenched Blood Wolf had finally lost all patience.

That smug penguin with its "I'm-the-boss" attitude only fueled the beast's rage

.

With a snarl, it leapt forward with terrifying speed, jaws wide, lunging at Prinplup!

The crowd erupted in gasps and screams.

A B-rank contract beast?!

They knew what that meant.

Unless a higher-ranked awakener intervened, a single B-rank beast could wipe out an entire village of hundreds.

Even if low-ranked awakeners worked together, they'd struggle.

It was no wonder that Li Xiaoyu, a high-ranking young elite, had chosen this monster as her trump card.

But on the battlefield, Murong Nan remained surprisingly calm.

She spun her staff slightly, a glowing, delicate magic circle appeared in front of her.

From it, ice shards fired like machine gun bullets toward the Blood Wolf!

At the same time, she commanded:

"Prinplup, use Bubble Beam!"

Prinplup, who had been itching for action, roared in response.

It leaned back slightly, and then unleashed a storm of shimmering bubbles from its beak.

Defying the laws of physics, the bubbles flew in dense waves toward the Blood Wolf.

The ice shards struck first…

…but they barely even scratched its hide.

As a D-rank mage, Murong Nan's magic was simply too weak to injure a B-rank monster.

It was like trying to scratch a tank with a twig.

But those bubbles?

Those innocent, floating bubbles?

They were like miniature bombs.

Each one exploded on impact, and a rapid series of bangs filled the arena.

The Blood Wolf's charge faltered.

It was forced to stagger back under the relentless bombardment.

The entire crowd was stunned!

"A B-rank contract beast in a school ranking match?! That's insane!"

In fact, aside from the current number one student, Pei Jingguo, there wasn't a single B-rank student in the entire academy.

And Pei Jingguo was a once-in-a-generation genius, a star not just in Haicheng, but across the entire Dongshen Federation.

Yet right now, this unassuming penguin, was holding its ground against a B-rank death beast.

"Holy crap, that's insane!"

"Those bubbles are like frickin' grenades!"

"That rapid-fire explosion—it's louder than firecrackers on New Year's!"

"So cool! Damn!"

"It's obedient and powerful. This Pokémon is a monster!"

"What have I even been training for all these years?! Screw it—I'm buying one!"

Many students in the stands were anything but poor.

Awakeners earned far more than average people.

And those who could attend a tournament like this? All came from wealthy families.

The ad on Murong Nan's shirt had said it loud and clear:

"Starting at just 200,000 credits, you too can have a Pokémon!"

Even if it wasn't as strong as Prinplup, how bad could it be?

Every Pokémon that had appeared so far had been amazing.

Even that sly, chubby guy Wang Tao managed to climb the ranks with a sneaky defensive strategy!

Excitement swept through the crowd like wildfire.

But none of that mattered to the Blood Wolf.

Contract beasts, especially death beasts, weren't domesticated.

Their savage instincts remained just as violent and bloodthirsty.

Even more so now, since the effectiveness of contract bindings weakened over time or with ownership transfers.

If Prinplup hadn't pulled so much aggro…

…the Blood Wolf would've already rampaged through the arena.

"ROOOOOAR!!"

With a furious howl, it lunged forward again, shrugging off the exploding bubbles.

Each impact tore chunks of flesh from its body, but it didn't seem to feel the pain.

All it cared about was destroying Prinplup.

"Death beasts will always be death beasts…"

Murong Nan scowled.

"Even after forming a contract, they're still so vicious."

"That's why I've never wanted a contract beast."

"They're impossible to trust with your back."

"Prinplup, it's all up to you now!"

Prinplup nodded grimly.

It tensed its round body—then suddenly leapt high into the air.

Despite its chubby frame, it moved with surprising agility.

Its stubby little arms flailed in midair, and somehow, it hovered for a brief moment!

As the Blood Wolf looked up in confusion…

Prinplup's beak began to shimmer with metallic light.

Then like a dive bomber, it swooped down, driving its glowing beak straight into the Blood Wolf's snout!

"Oh?"

Su Bai's eyebrows lifted slightly as he watched.

"If I'm not mistaken, that must be Prinplup's only early-stage Flying-type move…"

"…Peck."

A basic attack used by most bird Pokémon.

But even Su Bai hadn't expected Prinplup's plump body to actually fly for a bit!

Clearly, every move's attribute manifested physically in this world.

That gave Pokémon a massive combat edge.