Hello, you can try defining conditions on a Create process in the Create stage in the child case. Then it can be skipped. See https://community.pega.com/knowledgebase/articles/case-management/86/create-stage-faq You are correct, it cannot be removed.

If my child case type includes the Create stage, how do parent and child case types interact?

When a child case starts from the parent case, the child case enters the Create stage and waits for the user interaction with the first assignment in the Create process, similarly to other case types with the Create stage. If your business scenario requires an application to skip the Create process in a child case, define conditions to start the Create process only under specific circumstances. For more information, see Conditionally starting a process.