"Everyone, this year's Pokémon Sumo Conference is about to begin! Which Pokémon will claim the final victory this year? We look forward to seeing you put on a fierce and thrilling showdown for everyone watching!"
By coincidence, Ash and Snorlax were standing beside Raiden. With a single glance, Raiden could tell that Ash's Snorlax was no ordinary Pokémon.
"Ash, you've raised this Snorlax remarkably well." He had a feeling that Snorlax would be his strongest opponent in the tournament.
In terms of Ash's current team rankings, Snorlax possessed considering level of strength, placing it directly beneath his six ace Pokémon.
Even among Ash's current roster, Snorlax was strong enough to rank within the top ten.
"You're too kind. Your Feraligatr is incredibly powerful too, Mr. Raiden!" Ash replied modestly.
Ash then took out Croconaw's Poké Ball. "Come on out, Croconaw. Meet your senior."
When Croconaw saw the Feraligatr standing before it, several times larger than itself, a trace of longing appeared in its eyes.
Was this what it would look like after it evolved? Croconaw firmly engraved Feraligatr's imposing appearance into its memory!
Besides Raiden's Feraligatr, another Pokémon caught Ash's attention. It was an exceptionally muscular Blastoise. Unless something unexpected happened, one of these two Pokémon would most likely become Snorlax's main opponent in the tournament.
Ash also kept an eye out for the Team Rocket trio. If he remembered correctly, the three of them would enter the competition in disguise. The prizes were simply too tempting, consisting of a King's Rock and a year's supply of Pokémon food.
That much food would certainly motivate Snorlax!
"I hereby declare the tournament officially underway!"
The first match was between Miltank and Ursaring, but Ash immediately recognized the Miltank's team as the disguised Team Rocket trio. As for Miltank itself, it was actually Wobbuffet in disguise.
Ursaring charged forward with Tackle, only for Wobbuffet to use Counter and send it flying out of the ring.
Although Team Rocket won, their cheating was quickly exposed. Once their identities were discovered, the trio abandoned their disguises and revealed themselves.
The result was obvious. Pikachu blasted them into the sky with a single Thunderbolt.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
After that minor interruption, the tournament continued.
The charm of the sumo tournament was that type advantages had no effect here. To win, Pokémon had to rely entirely on their weight and physical strength. It was one of the most primitive forms of combat.
The next match demonstrated this perfectly, with Raiden's Feraligatr facing a Golem.
Under ordinary circumstances, Feraligatr would have a clear type advantage over Golem. However, this was a sumo tournament, where type matchups meant nothing.
Golem's tremendous weight posed a considerable threat to Feraligatr. During the match, however, Raiden suddenly instructed Feraligatr to relax its body. As a result, Golem's own weight became a liability.
Feraligatr seized the opening and punched Golem squarely in the stomach, defeating it.
Ash's match was next, and his opponent was a Poliwrath.
"Go, Poliwrath!"
Poliwrath charged forward with great momentum and slammed headfirst into Snorlax's stomach. It was immediately bounced straight out of the ring by Snorlax's enormous belly.
Ash did not issue a single command throughout the entire exchange, as if he had already known exactly what would happen.
Thanks to the advantage provided by Snorlax's belly, Ash sailed through his matches and quickly advanced to the semifinals. Raiden and Feraligatr also made it into the semifinals.
In the two semifinal matches, Feraligatr faced Blastoise, while Snorlax's opponent was a Machamp.
"I'll see you in the finals, Ash!" Raiden called out.
"Same here. I look forward to battling you in the final."
The first match was Feraligatr against Blastoise, a showdown between the final evolved forms of the Water-type starters from Johto and Kanto.
The match left Misty conflicted. Both were Water-type Pokémon, and both were Pokémon she deeply admired, so she had no idea which one to cheer for.
As soon as the match began, the two Pokémon slammed into each other.
Feraligatr clearly held the advantage in strength and slowly pushed Blastoise toward the edge of the ring. Just as it was about to be forced out, Blastoise planted its powerful hind legs firmly against the ground and managed to hold its position.
At its Trainer's command, Blastoise tried to counterattack with the cannons on its shoulders, but Feraligatr quickly dodged aside.
Before Blastoise could turn around, Feraligatr thrust a palm into its back. Blastoise steadied itself again, spun around, and gave Feraligatr a powerful shove.
Feraligatr stumbled back two steps and found itself in a dangerous position as well.
In the end, Feraligatr used its agility to avoid Blastoise's decisive strike. It punched Blastoise beneath the chin, lifted it, and hurled it out of the ring.
Meanwhile, Snorlax had a much easier match. Machamp became the third unfortunate opponent to lose to Snorlax's belly.
The final match was Snorlax against Feraligatr.
"Feraligatr, push it out of the ring!"
Feraligatr had learned from the previous matches. Instead of pushing Snorlax directly in the middle of its belly, it aimed higher up.
The strategy proved effective, and Snorlax was slowly pushed backward.
"That's a clever approach, but Snorlax, send it flying!"
Ash finally issued a command. It was the first and only command he had given during the entire tournament, since Snorlax had handled all its previous matches by itself.
Snorlax thrust its round belly forward, sending Feraligatr bouncing away.
This gave Raiden a serious headache. To defeat Snorlax, Feraligatr would need to use its opponent's strength against it, just as it had done in its earlier matches.
However, Snorlax did not even use its arms. It defeated every opponent with nothing but its belly, leaving Feraligatr with no way to take advantage of its movements.
"It's time to finish this. Snorlax, jump straight up, then send it flying!"
Snorlax leaped into the air, and the entire arena trembled when it landed.
Feraligatr struggled to steady itself, only to find Snorlax charging straight toward it.
Unsurprisingly, Feraligatr was knocked clean out of the ring.
And so, Ash's Snorlax displayed its overwhelming strength and won the championship.
Ash received the King's Rock. As for the year's supply of Pokémon food, there was no need to say what happened to it. Snorlax had already devoured every last bite.
Ash eventually had to exchange for some Normal-type Pokéblocks before Snorlax was finally satisfied.
A/N: Honestly, if Ash properly trained his Johto team alongside his Sinnoh Pokémon, or even his Hoenn Pokémon, wouldn't they be capable of winning a League Conference too?
...
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