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

At that moment, Gyarados was practically skimming the ground!

To catch the rapidly plummeting Li Xiaoyu, it was giving it everything it had—as if its very life depended on it.

The beast's massive body shot forward like a missile and, after catching Li Xiaoyu, continued its unstoppable momentum straight into a nearby hill.

BOOOOM!

A thunderous crash echoed across the landscape as half the hill was completely obliterated by the force of impact!

The sudden appearance of this fearsome, battle-scarred Gyarados sent a wave of gasps through the tense crowd watching the live broadcast from Haicheng City.

Even Su Bai finally exhaled, slowly collapsing back into his seat.

"Phew~~~~"

"That was way too close… This Alakazam nearly gave me a heart attack…"

"People say, 'send the Buddha all the way to the West,' not 'send the Buddha straight to the afterlife'!"

Still feeling the rapid thumping of his heart, Su Bai couldn't help but mutter his complaints.

And as if trying to redeem itself after previously being blamed for technical issues, Rotom kicked into overdrive.

Without waiting for instructions, it automatically inserted a slow-motion replay into the feed—clearly, the advanced tech from the Paradise Era was now fully under Rotom's control.

On screen:

Zhou Xiaofei and Liu Qiaoqiao hadn't immediately noticed the falling Ding Yue and Li Xiaoyu.

Only after hearing Ding Yue's panicked scream did they look up—and saw Li Xiaoyu in a life-or-death freefall.

In that moment of panic, Zhou Xiaofei made a split-second decision:

"Gyarados, use Bounce!"

It was a move Gyarados hadn't used since evolving. But it had once been its most familiar—after all, it had even mastered Tackle by building off that very move.

And now, in the face of crisis, Gyarados executed it flawlessly!

Water-type energy surged through the air and gathered at its tail. Its long body compressed like a spring—

BOOM! It launched like a bullet, faster than any other move it possessed.

Just in time—barely—to catch Li Xiaoyu out of the sky.

Elsewhere in the forest near the mountains:

Alakazam—its huge head seeming even heavier under the weight of guilt—stood meekly under a large tree.

Floating down from the canopy came a small, pink figure.

"Mew! Mew!"

The tiny Legendary wagged its tail angrily and began scolding Alakazam with sharp gestures and animated squeaks.

Alakazam flailed its arms in defense, clearly trying to explain itself, its face full of pitiful remorse.

Smack!

Mew gave it a flick on the forehead with its tail, then reached out its paw—

Poof!

One of Alakazam's signature spoons vanished from its hand and appeared in Mew's.

Mew muttered a few more scolding "Mew mews" before slowly fading into the air, vanishing from sight…

Back on the mountain trail, below Articuno's domain:

Gyarados's sudden appearance—snatching Li Xiaoyu from the sky and slamming into a hillside—left Ding Yue's brain completely short-circuited.

For a long moment, the scene felt surreal.

But when she saw Zhou Xiaofei and Liu Qiaoqiao clambering out of Gyarados's jaws, coughing and smeared with dust—

Clarity hit her like a truck.

"Xiaofei! Qiaoqiao!"

"You… you told Gyarados to do that?!"

Talonflame gently set her down. Ding Yue didn't even hesitate. She rushed forward and threw herself onto the two dirt-covered kids, hugging them tightly.

"Where's your Sister Xiaoyu?! Is she okay?!"

"Ack—Ding Yue-jiejie, you're hugging too tight… I'm okay, but Qiaoqiao—"

Zhou Xiaofei let out a couple of gasping coughs. Poor Liu Qiaoqiao's little face was already red from being squished!

Ding Yue, a battle-hardened magic swordswoman, had forgotten her strength in the heat of the moment—squeezing the two kids as if trying to fuse them.

"Pfft! Let go of them, Ding Yue!"

A voice rang out from behind—dry, annoyed, and unmistakably familiar.

Ding Yue stiffened.

Li Xiaoyu, soaking wet and spitting out grass and drool, walked slowly out of Gyarados's mouth.

Even though her legs were still jelly from fear, she gritted her teeth and pushed forward.

And when she got close enough—

She yanked Ding Yue's hands away and threw her arms around Zhou Xiaofei.

SMOOCH!

"Xiaofei, my hero! You made it just in time!"

Zhou Xiaofei scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile.

"I'm just glad you're safe, Xiaoyu-jiejie… Sorry if Gyarados's mouth stinks…"

Li Xiaoyu took a whiff of her sleeve and cringed.

Sure, Gyarados lived on a diet of Pokéblocks, but its mouth was not minty fresh.

"Don't worry about that. What matters is you saved my life!"

She gently ruffled the boy's hair.

When she really thought about it… having Gyarados "swallow" her was probably the best-case scenario.

Those razor-sharp fangs might look terrifying, but Gyarados's internal structure was like reinforced steel. Despite the smell, it had protected her from the impact.

For Zhou Xiaofei to come up with such a solution in a heartbeat…

It was hard to believe he was only twelve.

Then, just as things began to calm down—

Ding Yue suddenly threw her arms around all three of them—Li Xiaoyu, Zhou Xiaofei, and Liu Qiaoqiao—

And burst into tears.

Loud, ugly, snot-and-tears sobbing.

If Li Xiaoyu had actually died…

Ding Yue would've blamed herself for the rest of her life.

From the jungle nearby, rustling sounded.

Two figures emerged from the brush, having sprinted at top speed with the help of stimulant potions.

It was Wang Tao and Zhang Qun.

Wang Tao glanced around—at Gyarados groaning from exhaustion, at the teary huddle of people on the ground—

"Uh… what exactly did we just walk into?"

Zhang Qun stared at Ding Yue bawling her eyes out, visibly stunned.

These two were childhood friends from the upper-class circles.

And Ding Yue had always been the classic tomboy—tough, sharp-tongued, never the type to cry.

Zhang Qun rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Did I… did I just wake up to see Ding Yue crying?!"

Back in the Pokémon Center:

The entire crowd finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

Laughter and cheers filled the hall.

Su Bai shook his head and muttered:

"At least this will teach them a lesson… When going on expeditions, it's not just Pokémon gear you need."

"Human supplies are just as important."

He rubbed his chin and turned his eyes to the screen showing Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang.

"Next up—time to regroup with Pei Jingguo's team."

"But that Articuno… its temper's only getting worse."

On the screen, at the mountain peak—

A storm was brewing.

Massive blocks of jagged ice were forming and tumbling down the mountain path with terrifying force.