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

Su Bai had just been about to head out when his steps suddenly halted.

He rubbed his chin, silently staring at the now-blackened screen.

"This… is going to be a problem."

Zhu Jianyuan's earlier warning replayed in Su Bai's mind.

Whatever was happening out there, it clearly wasn't a minor disturbance.

Ever since the Pokémon descended into this world, the death energy that once plagued the land had been driven away—completely cleansed from the arrival zones.

And Death Beasts couldn't possibly break through the perimeter with so many Pokémon guarding the interior. Even just thinking logically, there was only one possible explanation:

Sub-Beasts.

High-tier Sub-Beasts could disguise themselves as humans, suppressing their death energy until the moment they chose to unleash it.

The kind of death energy that could cut off all communication like this… was not something an average Sub-Beast could achieve.

This meant one thing:

The creature that had appeared was likely a top-tier Sub-Beast—on par with or even stronger than Marlene.

If something of that level had infiltrated the Sea City's inner zone while Su Bai was away…

He glanced at the Pokémon Center in turmoil.

The Center itself was invincible—but Sea City was not.

If the enemy struck while he was away, the consequences could be catastrophic.

"What do I do…"

Su Bai hesitated, torn between priorities.

Suddenly, the dead screen crackled back to life.

Fzzzzzt…

Rotom popped out from the console, chirping excitedly.

"Roto! Roto!"

Moments later, Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang's faces appeared on screen—both visibly serious.

The signal had been restored!

Su Bai immediately stepped up to the counter, grabbing the communicator.

"Pei Jingguo, Xiao Zhang! What happened? We completely lost your signal just now!"

Pei Jingguo was crouching low to the ground. He looked up as the spherical camera lit up again.

"It's back? Good. Here's the situation—we just had a wave of death energy sweep right over our heads."

"And then this happened…"

He turned the orb to face the ground, showing a field of glinting shattered ice fragments.

"After the death energy passed by, these started falling from the sky."

He picked up one of the shards, holding it close to the lens.

"There's something… really wrong with this."

"Just as I feared," Su Bai murmured grimly.

Under Rotom's precise calibration, the screen zoomed in on the shard.

Within the hard ice was a single drop of dark purple-black liquid, squirming unnaturally.

Wisps of death energy leaked out from the droplet like living tendrils—but the ice kept them sealed inside.

"I think I've figured it out…"

Su Bai exhaled slowly.

Those droplets… if he wasn't mistaken, were likely the blood of a high-tier Sub-Beast.

And not just any Sub-Beast—this one could very well surpass even Marlene in power.

After all, Marlene couldn't produce this level of refined death energy with every single drop of blood.

Having fought her once before, Su Bai had come to understand the difference:

While Dead Beasts grew stronger by expanding recklessly, Sub-Beasts refined and compressed their power.

The more concentrated the death energy, the higher its quality.

And this… was not something an ordinary high-tier Sub-Beast could achieve.

"You've figured it out?" Xiao Zhang shouted, voice tense.

"Well spit it out, Professor Su! Don't just leave us hanging!"

Anyone who had lived through the oppressive, death-ridden old world would panic too.

His tone was unusually brash for someone who valued respecting teachers—but it showed how serious he was.

Su Bai gave a soft sigh.

"It's just conjecture… nothing solid yet."

He looked around the Pokémon Center—at the anxious crowd staring at him, hoping for answers.

Then toward Zhu Jianyuan, who slowly shook his head.

"Pei Jingguo," Su Bai asked quietly, "Did you see where the death energy went?"

It was becoming clear why they didn't let the public know about things like this.

The fragile flame of hope, once lit, had to be protected and carefully nurtured.

Pei Jingguo gave Xiao Zhang a look to keep quiet, then turned the orb toward the mountain sky.

"Once it left the area, it just… vanished. No clear direction."

"No direction…"

Su Bai pressed a hand to his furrowed brow.

If the energy had moved toward Sea City, it would've been easier—he could just ride Charizard and track the trail.

With his entire top-tier team—Zeraora, Meloetta, and more—he wasn't afraid of a direct fight.

But now…

"It's hiding."

That was more dangerous.

The death of Marlene had clearly shaken the Sub-Beasts, pushing them to be more cautious.

Su Bai pieced together the likely sequence of events:

Marlene's death had probably triggered concern among the Sub-Beast hierarchy.

With the arrival of Pokémon in this world, it was only natural that they'd come to investigate.

This powerful Sub-Beast must have reached the mountaintop, only to be driven back by something.

Su Bai knew just how powerful high-tier Sub-Beasts were.

Even a fully-evolved Pokémon would struggle against them, let alone defeat one.

So for it to retreat—the Pokémon it encountered couldn't have been ordinary.

From the clues so far, it was becoming obvious just who lived at the mountain's peak.

And just as that beautiful silhouette formed in his mind—

The system finally responded.

[Special Mission: Calm Articuno.]

[Articuno has become enraged due to the intrusion of death energy and has lost its rationality. This Legendary Pokémon from the Kanto region is known as the Ice God.]

[Its wrath is affecting the emotional states of nearby Pokémon and is unintentionally destroying the surrounding ecosystem.]

[Deploy a team of trainers immediately to resolve the situation.]

[Important: The fledgling must one day soar on its own. Host may NOT intervene directly. If you interfere, the mission will be considered FAILED.]

[Mission Reward: Participating trainers will receive a large amount of exploration points.]

[Mission Failure Penalty: The Pokémon Zone will be reduced to HALF its current size.]

"...Damn it!"

Su Bai's hand froze in the air.

He had just been thinking of dividing up his team—leaving a few strong Pokémon to defend Sea City while he dealt with the disturbance himself.

And then the system dropped this on him.

Unlike the usual leniency of its tasks, this one came with punishment.

Losing half of the Pokémon zone? That was a devastating blow.

Clearly, the system was taking the development of trainers very seriously now.

This mission wasn't meant for Su Bai.

It was a challenge for the next generation of trainers.