Inside the bustling commercial district—
"Ugh... no business again."
Su Bai stood by the shop entrance, watching the endless flow of pedestrians with a sigh of helplessness.
"Guess the price really is too high…"
In this world, the reputation of contract beasts wasn't great to begin with. Even though Meloetta, perched adorably on his shoulder, had helped attract some curious foot traffic, the moment potential customers heard the price, they left immediately.
Worse, many gave him the kind of look usually reserved for lunatics.
"A contract beast I can't even see goes for a million? Are you out of your mind?"
"Not a contract beast? A Pokémon? Never heard of it!"
"What? Random blind draw from a Pokédex? What even is a Pokémon?"
"Starting at two hundred thousand? Why not just rob me!"
Faced with all this ridicule, Su Bai could only shrug helplessly.
It's not like he could force people to buy, right?
"Forget it, forget it... the sky's already getting dark."
"Still, today was technically a good start—I won't push my luck."
He stood up lazily and stretched.
Meloetta, tiny and graceful on his shoulder, mimicked him with a stretch of her own.
"Melo~ Melo~"
Su Bai chuckled and tapped her cheek with his finger, then turned to begin closing the store.
Despite everything, he had sold two commemorative Poké Balls, plus a heap of PokéBlocks and medicine. Over 2.13 million credits in a single day—his wallet had never felt so heavy.
And the crushing pressure of trying to become an Awakened?
Gone.
Ever since the Pokémon House system appeared, that burden had lifted from his shoulders completely.
For the first time in over ten years, Su Bai felt truly at peace.
"Time to treat myself to a good meal tonight."
He tossed a PokéBlock to Meloetta and placed another on the counter.
The shop's Rotom-powered register promptly swallowed it whole—Rotom's own unique way of "eating."
Watching Meloetta munch away happily, Su Bai smiled.
"You really like these, huh?"
"By the way... can you eat spicy food?"
"We're going all out for dinner tonight."
Just as he was finishing up and about to leave, a round figure burst around the corner, arms loaded with bags.
"Su Bai! Bro, I came to celebrate your birthday!"
"Look what I brought!"
"Spicy diced chicken from across the district, stir-fried kidneys, braised prawns—all your favorites!"
"Now you can go grab some drinks, right?"
"Wait... what's that thing on your shoulder?!"
Su Bai's mouth curled into a smile.
"This guy… he really came after all."
Meloetta tilted her head, curiously watching Su Bai and Wang Tao devour food like starving beasts.
Wang Tao's mouth was stuffed full, but his eyes were filled with disbelief.
"You're saying... your sales today totaled 2.13 million credits?!"
"Are you joking?!"
The food suddenly lost all flavor.
Su Bai glanced around warily and shushed him.
"Keep your voice down, haven't you heard of 'don't flaunt your wealth'?"
He chuckled and downed a swig of beer.
"Anyway, I've decided—I'm no longer aiming to be an Awakened."
"Running a top-tier pet shop... that's my new life goal!"
He handed a skewer to Meloetta, who sniffed it, wrinkled her nose, and turned away in disgust.
Clearly, greasy grilled meat wasn't to her taste.
Wang Tao finally swallowed his mouthful, eyes still locked on Meloetta.
"I really didn't expect this turn of events."
"But honestly... I should've known. You've never been the kind of guy who just fades into the background."
"Wait, did Liu Yunlan and Murong Nan already buy Pokémon?"
"Now I want one too…"
Although Wang Tao's family was well-off, they couldn't compare to Liu Yunlan or Murong Nan. Dropping a million credits on a whim wasn't easy, even with two Awakened parents.
Su Bai's eyes lit up.
"Ordinarily, for someone like you, I'd give a discount—or even just gift you one outright."
"But... due to some private constraints, I can't do that."
He raised both hands in mock helplessness.
"That said, as your best friend, I do strongly recommend you buy the last commemorative Poké Ball."
"Blind draws from the Pokédex are too luck-based, but this one…"
"This one has something very special inside."
"This Pokémon might just be what takes you to the next level as an Awakened."
As the saying goes: Don't let good water flow to another's field.
In an age where combat ability determined survival, Pokémon weren't just cute partners or tools for battling.
They were potential battlefield game-changers—the Awakened's strongest allies.
Wang Tao wavered.
He knew Su Bai better than anyone.
Even though Su Bai had never awakened, his mind was sharp and mature.
Su Bai's words and actions were always calculated—and rarely, if ever, wrong.
That's why Wang Tao, despite being from an Awakened family, always followed Su Bai's lead.
"A million..."
Wang Tao muttered under his breath. He looked again at Meloetta's elegant form, then made up his mind.
"Su Bai, wait here. I need to make some calls."
He stood up and walked briskly toward a quieter corner.
Su Bai calmly continued eating.
The opportunity had been given. Whether Wang Tao seized it or not was up to him.
And just as expected—
Ten minutes later, Wang Tao came striding back, grinning ear to ear, and grabbed Su Bai excitedly.
"Let's go, let's go—show me the Pokémon!"
"My dad said, 'If it's Su Bai's idea, just go for it!' He even gave me my entire future wedding fund!"
"You better not disappoint me, man!"
Su Bai's smirk widened.
"Don't worry—I won't."
______________________________________
Back at the Su Family Pet Shop, by the register—
"This is my Pokémon now?!"
Wang Tao held a chubby little turtle in his arms, pure delight written across his face.
The turtle had a tiny green sprout growing from the top of its head.
Su Bai glanced at the Pokédex and blinked in surprise.
"Wait... you lucky son of a—are you secretly a gacha god or something?!"
"A Turtwig is already a solid starter, but you pulled one with a Dream Ability?!"
According to the Pokédex, its innate talent was ranked A-grade—not unusual for a commemorative Poké Ball.
But what stood out was its ability:
Shell Armor — The Pokémon is immune to critical hits.
Combined with Turtwig's naturally high Defense and Endurance, this was a tank powerhouse in the making.
Once it evolved into Torterra, it would become a walking fortress—high attack, high defense, absolute battlefield control.
And looking again at Wang Tao's sturdy build—having awakened as a Knight-class Awakened—
"Yep," Su Bai thought, amused. "This really is a case of the trainer matching the Pokémon."
Amazingly, all three commemorative starters so far had ended up perfectly matched with their trainers' strengths and roles.
Less chance of training them "the wrong way," that's for sure.