Snorlax materialized on the field in a flash of light, round and enormous, settling onto the rocky ground with a weight that was immediately obvious.
This was Snorlax's first battle since Ash had caught it in the Orange Islands. When Ash had first encountered it, he had been genuinely surprised. S-rank potential across the board was something he had seen before, but a wild Pokémon that had already trained every one of those stats to its natural ceiling was a different thing entirely.
Speed potential at S-rank, and already at its peak. A Snorlax like that was probably the only one in existence.
After catching it, Ash had stationed Snorlax at Professor Oak's Laboratory with a specific set of instructions: a custom PokeBlock recipe that could actually satisfy a Snorlax's appetite. Ordinary food wasn't remotely sufficient.
Compressed nutrition in PokeBlock form was the only practical solution to the caloric demands that came with the species. Professor Oak had handled supply without complaint, and Snorlax had spent its time doing what Snorlax did best.
Eating. Sleeping. The occasional stretch. No formal training, no sparring, no structured work of any kind.
In that time, it had gone from Low Elite level to High Elite Level.
Two minor level of improvement, achieved entirely through eating and resting. The jump was not a small one by any conventional measure, and Snorlax had crossed it without doing anything that most Pokémon would recognize as training.
Infernape, by comparison, was at the other extreme. When left at the laboratory, it picked fights with every Pokémon it could find and didn't stop until it was too battered to continue, then recovered and started again the next morning. The speed of its growth made sense given that context.
Snorlax's growth made less conventional sense, and the financial reality of maintaining it was not trivial either. The PokeBlock supply ran through Ash's funds at a noticeable rate every single day. Earlier in his journey, that would have been a genuine problem. It wasn't anymore.
"Contestant Ash withdraws his winning Lapras and sends out Snorlax," the announcer said. "Facing Kecleon's small and agile frame, is he planning to answer speed with pure mass? The contrast in physique here is significant, and Snorlax's notorious lack of speed could make catching Kecleon a real challenge."
Drake studied Snorlax carefully and set that analysis aside. Whatever the size difference looked like from the stands, the aura coming off that Snorlax was a full tier above Lapras. His read put it at Elite at minimum. Lapras had performed well in the first match, but that was partly because Ditto had been forced down to match its level.
Against this Snorlax, Ditto might actually have been the more manageable problem. Too late for that now.
"Kecleon, blend in!"
Kecleon's body shifted instantly, its skin taking on the exact texture and color of the surrounding rocky field. Within a second it had effectively vanished from view.
Except for one detail. The distinctive pattern across Kecleon's midsection kept its original color regardless of what the rest of its body did. A stripe of vivid red sitting against the brown and grey of the rocks was not subtle.
Ash spotted it immediately. "Snorlax, see that red patch? Use Psybeam!"
The response he got was a faint, rhythmic snoring.
Ash blinked.
Snorlax was asleep.
He hadn't noticed because Snorlax's eyes were perpetually half-closed whether it was awake or not. The two states looked nearly identical from any distance. Snorlax hadn't learned Sleep Talk yet, which meant sleeping and battling were completely incompatible right now.
Drake had been watching Snorlax with full attention, ready to call Kecleon into a dodge and counterattack the moment the move came. When Ash's command produced nothing but soft snoring from across the field, Drake took a moment to process what he was seeing.
Snorlax had fallen asleep during its own debut match.
When Ash had released Snorlax, it had materialized in a sitting position. From a distance this looked completely normal for a Snorlax.
In reality, Snorlax was sitting and sleeping simultaneously, which were not mutually exclusive activities for a Pokémon of its particular disposition.
Drake stared at the field for a moment, then set that aside. Whatever sympathy the situation might have warranted, the battlefield wasn't the place for it. An opening was an opening.
"Kecleon, Power-Up Punch!"
Kecleon specialized in physical offense, and Power-Up Punch gave it both Fighting-type coverage and a stacking attack boost with each use.
Fighting was super effective against Normal types, and despite Snorlax's appearance, its physical defense was not actually its strongest stat. The hit should have hurt.
Ash reached out slightly, then stopped. He didn't use Aura Power to wake Snorlax. He covered his face and let it happen. Kecleon's level was actually below Snorlax's. Using Aura Power here would have felt wrong.
Kecleon dropped its camouflage, Fighting-type energy condensing on its small fist, and drove the punch straight into Snorlax's belly.
The belly compressed under the impact.
Then it bounced back.
The elastic rebound hit Kecleon like a wall springing back at it. The force far exceeded anything Kecleon had been prepared for. Its small body was launched through the air, traced a clean arc, and hit the rocky ground several meters away with a dull thud. The Fighting-type energy it had gathered dissipated on impact.
Kecleon pushed itself up slowly, short legs trembling, staring back at Snorlax with complete confusion. It had been the one attacking. Somehow it was the one on the ground.
Snorlax remained seated. After a long moment, the transmitted vibration from the impact seemed to finally register.
Its round head tilted slightly. Its eyes, perpetually squinted, opened a fraction wider than usual, blinking slowly with the particular expression of someone who had been having a very pleasant dream and was annoyed to find themselves awake.
It raised one thick paw and pressed gently on the spot that had been struck, seeming to consider what had touched it.
"Snorlax?" It stood up, looked left, looked right, appeared to be processing where it was.
Ash dropped his hand from his face. "Snorlax, this is a battle! Your first real one! Show some spirit!"
Snorlax's expression gradually shifted toward something resembling awareness. Being woken up was inconvenient. On the other hand, it had been eating well and sleeping well since joining Ash's team, better than the years of wandering from island to island looking for enough food. That was worth something.
It squared itself up.
Drake took two measured breaths. "Kecleon, be careful. This isn't a normal opponent."
Kecleon's expression said it had already arrived at that conclusion without any reminder.
"I don't believe what I just watched," the announcer managed. "Head Trainer Drake's Kecleon landed a super-effective Fighting-type move and it woke Snorlax up rather than damaging it. That defensive capability is unlike anything I've seen in this stadium."
"Your turn, Snorlax. Ice Punch!"
Ice-blue light condensed across Snorlax's fist, cold radiating visibly from the surface. Snorlax's round head began tracking left and right.
"Kecleon, blend in and move!"
Kecleon's skin shifted back into the rocky terrain's pattern and it was gone again. The only visible trace was the red stripe across its midsection, and that was now darting across the field at a speed that made it look like a ribbon moving on its own. The eye couldn't hold it.
"Power-Up Punch again!" Drake pressed forward. The first hit had done nothing useful, but it had stacked the attack boost. A second would stack another. Let it accumulate. Kecleon's offense would climb with each use and the damage would eventually compound into something Snorlax couldn't simply absorb.
Kecleon covered the distance in an instant and came around behind Snorlax, punch already in motion. There was a sharp whistle of air behind the strike.
"Snorlax, behind you!"
Snorlax didn't hesitate. Its massive body spun with a speed that had no business belonging to a Pokémon its size. Ice Punch came around faster than Kecleon's strike had reached it.
The sound that followed was a single, heavy impact.
Half the audience rose to their feet.
Kecleon was the one on the ground.
Snorlax had turned from a standing start, absorbed the timing disadvantage of being approached from behind, and still connected first.