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

"What the hell… is happening?!"

Xiao Zhang stared in shock as massive boulders and cascades of snow thundered down from the mountaintop.

As a native of Haicheng, he had never seen anything like this in his life.

Still, he wasn't just any local—he was the top humanities student at Haicheng First High School, second only to Su Bai.

Amid the deafening roar of the avalanche, a single word slipped out of his mouth—

"A-a-avalanche?!"

"How is there a mountain near Haicheng capable of an avalanche?!"

Xiao Zhang stood dumbfounded.

Haicheng was a coastal city with a generally temperate climate. The nearby mountain ranges weren't particularly high, and ever since the deathly miasma had spread across the world, weather patterns had grown increasingly erratic.

To people like Xiao Zhang, snow had become more of a mythical concept—something they'd only read about in books.

"This Pokémon… Articuno… can it really alter the environment this drastically?"

"Isn't that a bit too insane?!"

Even Pei Jingguo frowned as he drew his longsword.

The last time he'd seen this kind of elemental upheaval was during the defense of Haicheng.

Compared to Groudon's Drought, this localized blizzard was nothing.

But still—this wasn't something any human could accomplish.

"Looks like Articuno is really pissed off…"

Su Bai narrowed his eyes as he watched snow and rocks thunder down the mountainside on the screen.

The power of a Tier-2 Legendary Pokémon was far beyond what he had expected.

He hadn't naively measured these divine beings by their game stats. After all, in the games, Tier-2 Legendaries weren't even that dominant—average base stats, limited move pools… nothing that overwhelming.

But in reality?

Their strength was on an entirely different level.

"That mountain didn't have this much snow before."

"But ever since Articuno started getting angry, the temperature's been dropping, and the snow has built up fast enough to cause an actual avalanche."

"Can these Trainers really stop it?"

For the first time, Su Bai began to doubt the system's judgment.

So far, none of the missions it had issued had been easy—whether it was the siege of death beasts or the large-scale purges in preparation for Pokémon's arrival, all of them carried massive risk.

But they had always been possible.

The system, he believed, would never issue a mission that couldn't be completed.

But now?

They hadn't even seen Articuno yet, and things were already this bad.

He couldn't help but worry for the Trainers climbing that mountain.

Around him, murmurs and gasps filled the Pokémon Center. The audience—many of whom had never witnessed such a catastrophe—were gripping their seats in alarm.

On screen, Rotom had merged multiple camera feeds into a split display.

One showed Wang Tao and his team, gritting their teeth as they climbed toward the peak.

More notably, they were all wearing glowing red necklaces.

Su Bai immediately recognized them.

These were enchanted fire-element necklaces, infused with fire-attribute mana. Designed to stave off the cold, they were extremely expensive.

No doubt—Zhang Qun had provided them.

Compared to someone like Ding Yue, who had only brought standard Trainer gear, Zhang Qun clearly had a more meticulous mind.

Another screen showed Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang standing their ground as the avalanche neared. While the snow had ceased once the slope flattened out, the giant chunks of ice and rolling boulders did not stop.

Pei Jingguo unsheathed his sword. Xiao Zhang quietly slipped on a pair of combat gloves.

Behind them, Machamp and Pawniard sprang into action, smashing and slicing the oncoming rocks with practiced efficiency.

Su Bai watched, eyebrows furrowed.

"This… isn't good."

Articuno didn't even know the move Avalanche.

This was merely an aftershock of its rage—a minor tantrum. And yet, even this had already forced Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang to exhaust considerable energy.

If a casual environmental backlash was this devastating…

Then how powerful was this Tier-2 Legendary?

Suddenly, Rotom poked its head out and chirped excitedly.

"Roto! Roto!"

The camera feed flickered—and then cut away from Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang.

Instead, it focused on a lone Pokémon, sprinting toward the chaos like a martial artist charging into battle.

The avalanche didn't care who—or what—was in its path.

As this two-legged Pokémon with long ears raced forward, a massive boulder came crashing down from above, directly in its path.

The Pokémon Center's audience gasped.

They had no idea why the camera had suddenly switched to this unfamiliar Pokémon—but they instinctively held their breath.

The Pokémon was small—child-sized. If that boulder hit it, there'd be no saving it.

But in the next moment, the Pokémon took a deep breath.

Its right foot tapped the ground lightly, propelling its body skyward.

Its left leg—coiled tight with dense muscle—was wrapped in a faint blue aura that burned like flame.

"BANG!"

With a spinning motion as clean and elegant as a martial arts master, the Pokémon delivered a perfect roundhouse kick!

Shards of rock exploded in all directions. Glimmering ice crystals floated through the air like confetti.

The massive boulder shattered into pieces.

"Holy crap! That was awesome!"

"Who is this little guy?! That was insane!"

"Why didn't it run away like the others?!"

"That was cleaner than a real fighter's technique! Wait—no, better than a real fighter!"

"That was… that was just too cool!"

The audience, previously watching through parted fingers in fear, now erupted in cheers and applause.

The Pokémon's heroic display had instantly made it the crowd favorite.

Despite being no taller than an elementary schooler, it had a presence more commanding than a berserker-class Awakener!

Hearing the cheers, Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang turned their heads.

There, standing proud and tall in the snowstorm, was a Pokémon with the face of a noble hound and a posture that radiated confidence.

Behind it, the broken rocks of the avalanche tumbled helplessly down the slope.

"That Pokémon… what is it trying to do?"

Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang exchanged a glance, unsure.

But deep down, one thing was clear—

This Pokémon had just stolen the spotlight.