"Snorlax, the Sleeping Pokémon. It must eat over 400 kilograms of food per day to be satisfied. After eating its fill, it immediately goes into a deep sleep."
Dawn held up her Pokédex and scanned the large, round, meatball-like Snorlax. Upon hearing the Pokédex's description, she looked at it in disbelief.
"I've never seen a Snorlax before! It looks just like the Pokédex says—a huge eater!" she exclaimed. Then, she extended a delicate finger and poked Snorlax's round, blue body, feeling its soft, fleshy texture.
"Yeah, this guy is a total glutton. A year's worth of bananas is probably just one full meal for it!" Looking at Snorlax, who was eating an entire bunch of bananas at a time, Ash walked over and patted it. It was a bit goofy but a very powerful fighter.
"Snorlax~" Noticing Ash's touch, Snorlax held a bunch of bananas in one paw and turned to greet Ash and his friends.
"Snorlax really hasn't changed at all, has it?" Brock said, looking it over carefully. "And from its size, it looks like it's gotten a lot heavier!"
"What can you do? It's a huge eater!" Ash replied with a laugh. Snorlax's habit was to eat and sleep, and then eat and sleep some more. It would be strange if its weight didn't increase over time. Besides, at Professor Oak's lab, Snorlax was definitely well-fed, which made it even fatter. But that was fine. For a Pokémon of Snorlax's size, the fatter it was, the better, as it meant it was healthy!
"Wow, that's incredible! Snorlax ate an entire year's worth of bananas!" Dawn was shocked, seeing the now-empty pile of bananas. Not only could it eat a lot, but it could also eat incredibly fast. Ash and Brock exchanged knowing smiles, as they were already used to this. After all, they had seen Snorlax's incredible appetite during their Johto journey. When it was hungry, Snorlax's speed, power, and agility would all increase significantly. Ash, who had once personally experienced being mistaken for an apple, knew this firsthand, even if it was the past him.
"Pika~" After Snorlax had finished eating, Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and climbed onto Snorlax's massive one. He whispered something to Snorlax. Snorlax squinted its eyes into a smile and greeted its friend warmly. After hearing Pikachu's request, Snorlax nodded in agreement. With a loud thud, Snorlax fell to the ground, its weight causing a tremor that Ash, Dawn, and Brock all felt.
"Pikachu~" Pikachu happily jumped on Snorlax's fat belly, bouncing up and down as if it were a trampoline. Ash was speechless for a moment. He had thought Pikachu was just greeting its old friend, but it turned out he just wanted to play. At least Snorlax didn't seem to mind.
"That looks like so much fun!" Dawn was also interested, but she didn't join in. "Too bad I'm wearing a skirt. This isn't the right outfit for that kind of game!" Dawn held her short skirt in place, as it really wasn't suited for a game of bouncing on a stomach.
"You're right!" Ash agreed, looking at her skirt. If she were to play, she would have to do it at home.
"Well, if you can't play, then all three of you come on out!" Though she herself couldn't play, that didn't mean her Pokémon couldn't. Dawn sent out her three small Pokémon: Piplup, Buneary, and Pachirisu.
"Buneary~" As soon as Buneary came out, she saw her idol, Pikachu, dancing on Snorlax's belly. Her eyes lit up. Dancing was her specialty! After getting Snorlax's permission, Buneary hopped over to join Pikachu.
"Pika~" Pikachu didn't mind and let the little rabbit stay by his side. A game like this was more fun with more people. Piplup and Pachirisu also got Snorlax's permission and joined the belly-bouncing fun. Soon, four cute Pokémon were bouncing on Snorlax's belly.
Ash and Dawn watched the four Pokémon with smiles. Brock, on the other hand, was not smiling. He saw Buneary next to Pikachu and said, "We were supposed to be single friends, Pikachu. Why did you betray me?" A sad Brock went to a corner to mope alone, muttering to himself.
"Hmmpf!" Seeing Brock's behavior, Ash could only shake his head. He wasn't too worried, though. He knew Brock would recover soon. His attention turned to Snorlax.
This Snorlax was the Pokémon he had just switched out for Scizor. Since he happened to be in a Pokémon Center and the number and quality of wild Pokémon were decreasing as they approached the city, he had the idea to switch out a Pokémon for training. After some careful thought, he decided to bring Snorlax, whom he had captured in the Orange Islands, back for some simple skill training, temporarily sending Scizor back. He didn't want to waste the talent of one of the few Pokémon in his party with perfect Individual Values.
[Pokémon: Snorlax]
[Type: Normal]
[Ability: Thick Fat (Reduces damage from Fire and Ice-type moves by half.)]
[Individual Values: 6V]
[Moves: ...Yawn, Bite, Rest, Snore, Sleep Talk, Crunch, Body Slam, Mega Punch, Ice Punch, Hammer Arm]
[Power: Gym Level]
Looking at its Ability, it was the standard Thick Fat. While not bad, he would have preferred Gluttony. But that was fine; as long as he gave it Leftovers, Snorlax would be a sturdy tank. However, its moveset was a big problem. As a Normal-type Pokémon, Snorlax could learn many skills. But judging from its moveset, it had very few non-Normal-type moves like Ice Punch and Crunch. It hadn't even learned all of the "three punches." This was likely because Snorlax had received very little training due to its habit of eating and sleeping. It was clear that the original Ash had just left it at Professor Oak's lab without properly training it, completely wasting its immense talent. Snorlax only managed to defeat Gary's Arcanine and Nidoking in a 1v2 battle at the Johto League and defeat two of Gretta's Fighting-type Pokémon in a 1v2 type disadvantage battle because of its exceptional talent. This showed how gifted Snorlax was. This time, he was determined to train Snorlax into a proper offensive tank.