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

"Huh?"

Su Bai blinked as the screen suddenly went black.

He instinctively turned to look at the wide-eyed Rotom beside him, who seemed just as clueless about what had happened.

That's when Zhu Jianyuan spoke up beside him:

"Uh… I meant to ask earlier."

"That Pokémon—Alakazam—can it really teleport with pinpoint accuracy?"

"S-rank space mages can't even do that kind of precision teleportation without a magic array. It just did it without any setup?! That's insane…"

Su Bai turned to him. Zhu Jianyuan's face was full of genuine awe.

He quickly explained:

"Teleportation itself isn't surprising to me. The tech from the Paradise Era is incredibly advanced. Remember the scroll I gave you? If you'd used it, you'd understand."

"Even for S-rank fighters, the side effects from teleportation are brutal. I've heard they need to lie in bed for days after using it."

Su Bai scratched his head. Most of what he knew about this world's Awakened came from textbooks.

And those textbooks didn't cover high-level techniques like teleportation.

So if the camera equipment was damaged during transit, it made sense…

But still… where exactly did Alakazam send them?

While Su Bai stared at the black screen, hoping it would come back to life—

Suddenly, the crowd in the Pokémon Center erupted.

"Hey! Look! Over there!"

"In the sky—aren't those Ding Yue and Li Xiaoyu?!"

"Whoa, they really did arrive in the blink of an eye!"

"Yeah, but look how high up they are! Are they gonna survive that fall?!"

"Where's Talonflame?! Didn't she recall it earlier?!"

"I—I can't watch!"

Several Trainers in the Pokémon Center turned away and covered their eyes in horror.

Su Bai followed their line of sight—

The screen had auto-switched to a wide-angle view of Zhou Xiaofei and Liu Qiaoqiao, thanks to Gyarados's rapid movement.

Rotom, in a stroke of brilliance, immediately shifted the feed—capturing Ding Yue and Li Xiaoyu plummeting from the sky at terminal velocity.

"Holy sh—! We really did teleport!"

Li Xiaoyu's first words after opening her eyes were anything but calm.

The snow-covered mountain that had seemed so far away earlier was now right below them.

Alakazam's teleport hadn't dropped them exactly where Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang were—but it had cut the distance dramatically.

But right now, that didn't matter at all.

Howling wind whipped past their ears. The biting cold was like razor blades on their skin.

Ding Yue was still dazed from the teleportation, flailing helplessly beside her as they both plummeted downward.

"I'm not even A-rank yet!" Li Xiaoyu wailed.

"Ding Yue, open your eyes! If you don't release Talonflame right now, we're gonna die!"

Levitation spells were A-rank mage skills—something Li Xiaoyu hadn't reached yet.

If Talonflame didn't show up soon, this was the end.

They'd be Pancake Yue and Jelly Xiaoyu.

Definitely not a funny thought.

"Huh? Oh—"

Ding Yue finally snapped out of her daze. The sensation of falling after spatial displacement was horrifying.

Even though the teleportation had lasted only a second, it had turned her insides upside down.

By the time she opened her eyes, the ground was rushing up fast.

"T-Talonflame!!"

She screamed the name, voice cracking in panic.

Anyone in her shoes would've done the same. Waking up mid free-fall? Instant panic.

A streak of flame burst from the Pokéball.

Talonflame screeched and extended its powerful talons—grabbing Ding Yue midair and halting her fall.

But the act took immense momentum.

In that tiny pause, Ding Yue barely missed grabbing Li Xiaoyu's outstretched hand.

Both of their eyes filled with horror.

The audience watching the feed screamed.

Yes, Awakened weren't normal humans anymore.

Ding Yue, a magic swordswoman, had toughened her body enough to maybe survive a fall like this—injured, but alive.

But Li Xiaoyu? She was a pure mage.

Squish. That's it. That's the ending.

"Damn it—was Alakazam seriously this sloppy?!"

Even Su Bai's heart was pounding now.

The distance must have been too far. Even for Alakazam, the teleportation wasn't exact.

Tears welled in Ding Yue's eyes.

She slapped Talonflame's talons.

"Forget me! I can survive this! GO SAVE LI XIAOYU!"

Talonflame looked down at her, torn with hesitation.

Its instincts screamed to follow the Trainer's command.

But when the order risked the Trainer's life—Talonflame froze.

By now, Li Xiaoyu was plummeting fast.

Even if Talonflame acted immediately, there was no guarantee it could reach her in time.

And this moment of hesitation?

Deadly.

Li Xiaoyu saw the ground coming up. Her lips turned pale. She shut her eyes.

"I'm… I'm really going to die."

That was her only thought.

There was no spell, no tactic, no tool that could save her.

The physical frailty of a mage—normally not an issue—was now a fatal flaw.

In the Pokémon Center, all eyes were fixed on the screen.

Even Su Bai thought it was over.

Then—

"ROAAAARRR!!"

A deep roar thundered from the screen.

And cutting through it, a young but steady voice rang out:

"Gyarados! Use Bounce! GO! We have to save Sister Xiaoyu!"

The camera zoomed in—just in time to catch a massive face barreling into frame.

It was so sudden, even Zhu Jianyuan, an S-rank warrior, didn't react fast enough.

Mist and water vapor exploded around the monstrous face.

CRACK!

With a snap of its jaws, the terrifying beast lunged upward—

And swallowed Li Xiaoyu whole.