Chapter 132 – Should the Old Customers Try Fighting an S-Rank Death beast?

Under Grotle's lead, the Pokémon team was utterly unstoppable!

Thanks to the careful training by their veteran Trainers, even A-rank death beasts were no longer tough opponents.

Grotle stood firm on the front lines, absorbing wave after wave of attacks. With timely healing items supplied, the A-rank beasts could barely leave a scratch.

Meanwhile, Monferno—watching for openings—moved with razor focus, its fists glowing red as it powered up with Power-Up Punch.

Though no longer its main offensive move, Power-Up Punch proved incredibly effective under Grotle's cover.

At full stacks, a single punch from Monferno snapped the spine of an A-rank death beast clean in two.

"Nice one, Monferno!"

Liu Yunlan was fired up. Monferno, the most physically trained of her team, was now the spearhead of their assault!

Behind her, Murong Nan's Prinplup unleashed powerful blasts of Brine, a move that doubled in power against injured targets.

It was a perfect strategy:

Grotle tanked and initiated the battle.

Monferno capitalized on the chaos and weakened the foes.

Prinplup finished them off with precision strikes.

Together, Liu Yunlan, Wang Tao, and Murong Nan—the three veteran Trainers who had received starter Pokémon—were a seamless, devastating team.

Most A-rank death beasts couldn't survive even one round of their coordinated assault.

As for B-ranks?

They rarely made it past Monferno's Flame Wheel—let alone Prinplup's Brine.

And it wasn't just the starter trio making waves—other Trainers were showing the fruits of their hard work too.

Any lingering fear or hesitation had been completely swept away by the incredible performances of Diancie and Meloetta.

"Acrobatics!"

Ding Yue shouted.

Her Fletchinder soared through the sky like a real rocket and dive-bombed a B-rank beast—piercing its skull with deadly precision!

Nearby, a recently evolved Nidorina shook her head, scattering a storm of poisonous spikes across the ground.

A death beast stepped on the trap and immediately turned purple—struck by deadly venom!

One A-rank beast tried to retreat after realizing the danger—only to be hoisted into the air by two powerful arms.

Machoke had grabbed it.

Then, from the side, Pawniard rushed in—its body glowing with a murderous aura.

Pursuit!

When a target is damaged, the move's power doubles.

Its dual blades spun like windmills, shredding the beast's lower back in an instant.

As it writhed in agony, a ghostly sword descended from above—Honedge, its blade gleaming with icy death.

In one swift strike, it decapitated the death beast.

After days of intense battle, all the Trainers had grown accustomed to each other's fighting styles.

Naturally, the old customers—Su Bai's most loyal Trainers—were the most synchronized.

With superior bond, training, and combat instinct, their teamwork was leagues above the rest.

Yet even the newer Trainers, just rookies a few days ago, could not be underestimated.

Among them, Bug-type Pokémon had given Su Bai the biggest surprise!

Bug-types had always been known for one thing:

Low starting stats, but rapid growth.

And even in this world of Awakeners and death beasts, that rule still applied.

Take Caterpie, for example. It only needed level 10 to evolve into Butterfree, its final form.

Truthfully, the speed at which Su Bai had completed his Pokédex was largely thanks to how fast Bug-types matured.

While Butterfree's base stats weren't high (only 395), the stat boosts from evolution were enough to make it one of the MVPs of this battlefield.

One Butterfree flapped its wings and released countless silken threads, binding a B-rank death beast completely!

In the games, String Shot was just a speed-reducing move. But in this reality, it served an entirely different purpose.

Though not unbreakable, the silk was more than enough to immobilize death beasts for a critical moment.

"Boom!"

A Dugtrio burst from the ground and rammed into the trapped death beast's waist.

The unfortunate beast crumpled into an awkward L-shape—dead on the spot.

The impeccable showing by Diancie and Meloetta had given these Trainers unshakable confidence.

This is the power of Pokémon!

Now fueled by belief, the Trainers let loose—each showcasing dazzling strategies and combos.

Even Su Bai, the shopkeeper of this whole operation, was dazzled by what he saw.

As for the elite A-rank Awakener squad, they'd originally planned to charge in and assist once Diancie and Meloetta downed the S-rank beast.

But now, they realized something strange…

They weren't needed.

They couldn't even find space to fight.

The Trainers and their Pokémon moved with such synergy and speed—their unique combat systems intertwining perfectly.

There was no room for outsiders to intervene.

Thus, the elite squad—carefully selected and hired by the City Lord's Mansion, capable of holding off an S-rank beast under full strength—now stood… awkwardly idle.

Aside from Liu Yunshuang and Ji Wei, who still directed their own Pokémon to assist, the rest could only stare helplessly at the battle.

"If I hadn't seen this myself, I never would've believed it," muttered Priest Zhang Wenhao, eyes full of awkward admiration.

"Looks like we'll have to return our paychecks to the City Lord's Mansion when this is over. Feels wrong to take money for doing nothing."

"No need for that."

Su Bai chuckled warmly, clearly pleased with how the Trainers were performing.

These elite Awakeners had come into this mission fully prepared to die.

That courage alone earned them their payment.

But what Su Bai was considering now… was something else entirely.

"Looks like as long as no more S-rank beasts show up, we've basically stabilized the situation."

"Judging by their training progress, the starters are almost ready to fully evolve…"

He rubbed his chin in thought.

Starter Pokémon—granted by the Pokémon Alliance to deserving families—weren't just strong; they also had smooth training curves.

Most of the current Pokémon were around level 30.

The final evolutions of the starters required level 36.

Wang Tao and Liu Yunlan's partners should be very close to that threshold.

"Are they missing just… a little push?"

Su Bai pondered.

This wasn't a game. Pokémon didn't just evolve automatically at a certain level.

Even in the anime, evolutions usually came with a triggering moment—an emotional or intense stimulus.

You never saw a Pokémon evolve just by walking around.

"Come to think of it, there should be more than one S-rank death beast, right?"

Su Bai glanced toward the vast S-rank territory, and a bold idea lit up in his mind:

"What if… I let the old customers face one S-rank beast head-on?"