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

Li Xiaoyu was truly furious.

Ding Yue had just risked her life—and sacrificed a priceless weapon—to save her. Coupled with all that had happened earlier, it made her feel like nothing more than a burden.

To someone as proud as Li Xiaoyu, that was utterly unacceptable.

She wasn't just anyone. She was one of the top students of Haicheng No. 1 High School, one of the very first Pokémon Trainers.

And Jolteon felt exactly the same.

Its Trainer had been attacked time and time again, placed in danger again and again. For a loyal partner like Jolteon, that kind of helplessness was more painful than death.

With a sharp roar, the electric currents dancing across Jolteon's body intensified.

Its fur bristled violently—every strand crackling with static, rubbing furiously against one another.

The buzzing electricity was so intense that even Zhang Qun, who stood nearby, instinctively took a step back.

Right now, Jolteon resembled a fully powered generator, humming with vengeance.

"JOLTEON!!"

With another furious cry, every hair on its body stood straight like a thousand electric needles.

Jolteon, admittedly, wasn't as well-trained as starter Pokémon like Torterra. It couldn't use Thunder—a high-tier move that demanded greater strength and training.

But even Thunder Shock, despite its humble base power of 40, could become devastating under the right conditions—especially with Umbreon's synchronized support.

A thick, bowl-sized bolt of lightning surged skyward from Jolteon's body.

And then—

BOOM!

A blinding strike of lightning came crashing down from the clouds, striking Articuno mid-flight!

"BRRREEEEEAAAA!!"

Articuno screamed.

The strike landed cleanly, proving that Articuno's wariness of Li Xiaoyu hadn't been unfounded.

Electric-type moves were super effective against Flying-types—and this one had been empowered by fury and teamwork.

Combined with Umbreon's boost, the lightning strike might as well have been a critical hit!

Articuno's wings faltered.

Its massive body tilted and spiraled, crashing down uncontrollably toward the summit.

"Hold on tight!"

Despite the searing pain radiating from her broken arm, Li Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and yanked Ding Yue back onto Torterra's shell.

A second later, Wang Tao's voice rang out—

"Now's our chance—everyone, to the top!"

Torterra let out a deep growl and charged forward like an armored tank, each massive step cracking the frozen ground beneath it.

Seizing the opportunity, the team stormed the summit before Articuno could recover.

"Yes! Beautifully done!"

Zhu Jianyuan, watching through the monitor, raised a fist in triumph.

These young Trainers had faced down a Tier-2 Legendary—and survived.

Even as an experienced S-rank Berserker, Zhu couldn't help but applaud.

Truthfully, Articuno had proven far stronger than he'd anticipated.

He knew the limits of Pokémon like Torterra. And although the battlefield favored Articuno, what had just happened wasn't mere tactics—it was a one-sided pummeling.

If not for Lucario's sudden Aura Sphere intervention…

If not for the perfect coordination between Jolteon and Umbreon exploiting type advantages…

These young Trainers might not have survived.

But they had pulled through.

And it wasn't just their individual strength that impressed Zhu Jianyuan.

It was their teamwork—their willingness to risk everything for one another.

That was the true spirit that had kept humanity alive through all the hardships.

Old Principal Lu Liangpeng's teachings… had not been in vain.

Back at the Pokémon Center, the entire room erupted with cheers.

After all, a Tier-2 Legendary wasn't some random wild Pokémon.

To endure its assault and make it to the summit—this was the stuff of legends.

Su Bai let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and sank back into his chair.

But before he could relax—

The monitor feed changed.

And in the blink of an eye, the whole room fell dead silent.

"What… the hell is that…"

"That Sub-Beast's power… it's far beyond what we thought…"

Zhu Jianyuan inhaled sharply, his voice lowered in awe.

"No wonder Articuno is so enraged…"

Su Bai narrowed his eyes at the screen and slowly nodded.

He'd wondered why Articuno was behaving so aggressively.

Now, he understood.

This wasn't just some rampage.

That Sub-Beast… wasn't ordinary.

"We made it! We're finally at the top—holy sh—!"

Wang Tao, poking his head over Torterra's shell, was about to shout in celebration—

Only to be struck speechless by the devastation before him.

The lightning strike had not defeated Articuno.

It was already staggering back to its feet.

But that wasn't what stole their voices.

What left them breathless… was the summit itself.

It was a battlefield.

Ancient trees had been toppled in every direction, now frozen solid and crusted with thick layers of ice.

Black mist curled through the air—deathly energy, reeking of decay and violence.

Massive craters littered the mountaintop, feathered with scattered shards of Articuno's icy plumage and crystallized, blood-stained death aura.

It was a scene of absolute ruin.

"No wonder Articuno's so pissed… If someone wrecked my house like this, I'd lose my mind too…"

Seeing the carnage, Wang Tao and the others couldn't help but sympathize.

Articuno had likely been peacefully guarding this peak—performing its divine duty—when some horrid creature cloaked in foul energy barged in and started wrecking the place.

Its home… reduced to a frozen war zone.

To Articuno, those wisps of black mist weren't just unsightly—they were like someone defecating all over its sanctuary.

Who wouldn't snap?

Especially when that death energy carried fragments of its enemy's madness and cruelty—

Including the severed arm of the monster Articuno had fought.

All of this had pushed the Legendary into a berserk fury.

"So… what now?"

Zhang Qun asked, gripping Garchomp's head fin tightly.

Garchomp was already restless.

Just standing in this death-soaked environment was enough to make any Pokémon violently agitated.

To them, the death energy was poison—something they were genetically hardwired to reject.

"What now? I doubt that big guy's gonna give us time to think."

Pei Jingguo crouched, scooping up a handful of snow and smearing it along the blade of his sword.

In the reflection of the ice—

Articuno's gaze was already locked on them.

Type advantages or not, no one believed a single Thunder Shock could settle this.

But there was no panic in Pei Jingguo's eyes.

Because behind him, the others had arrived.

One by one, the Trainers stepped forward, boots crunching against the icy stone.

No one backed down.

Somewhere along the way, they had all come to share a belief:

If we stand together—

No enemy is too strong.