"I think Ash's Snorlax was only at Mid level when he first caught it. I didn't expect it to reach High level so quickly!" Misty could also sense Snorlax's level, but like Volkner, she could only roughly tell it was High level without knowing the exact sub-tier. This was only because Snorlax had revealed its true level through the Aura fusion boost.
"From Mid to High level in, what, two months? That's insane talent." Brock shook his head. "Wish I'd traveled with you guys to the Orange Islands back then."
Misty held Togepi, a teasing smile appearing on her face. "Who told you to get so infatuated with Professor Ivy?"
"Argh!" Hearing Professor Ivy's name, Brock clutched his heart, his head almost slamming into the seat in front of him.
Serena giggled behind her hand. "Alright, let's not bring up the past. The battle's about to start."
They refocused on the field. A High-level Snorlax, even boosted by Aura fusion, would find it no easy task to defeat an Elite Four High Manectric. A level boosted by external power was still different from one achieved through solid training. To win, it would come down to Ash's creativity and commanding skill.
On the field, Volkner took a deep breath to suppress his shock. First a Champion-level Pokémon, and now this ability to make a Pokémon's power leap forward. And the kid was only fifteen.
He was starting to regret it now. Regretting that he'd spent all his time designing Gym traps instead of paying attention to the outside world. If the Johto League hadn't sent him an invitation, he wouldn't even have known about the Silver Conference, let alone someone like Ash.
"Gym Leader Volkner, ready to start?" Ash called out, rolling his wrists. He was half-worried Volkner hadn't recovered from the shock yet.
"The battle began the moment we released our Pokémon. You can have the first move." Volkner waved back at him. He understood Ash's concern, so he offered the concession. But even if Snorlax got the first move, with Snorlax's speed, Manectric would have all the time in the world to react.
"Since you're being so generous, I won't hold back!" Ash grinned.
"Snorlax, Belly Drum!"
"Snor-lax!"
Snorlax's round body shuddered violently. It raised its thick paws high and slammed them heavily against its soft, snowy-white belly.
A dull, thunderous drumming sound exploded in the Gym, deep and powerful enough to shake the entire arena. The laziness on Snorlax's face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented level of excitement and battle intent.
Snorlax's stamina drained rapidly, and its originally rosy face visibly paled. But at the same time, a majestic, almost violent power erupted from its massive body. Belly Drum. At the cost of cutting its maximum stamina in half, it boosted its attack power to the absolute limit.
"Sacrificing Snorlax's best asset to max out attack power?" Volkner folded his arms, his lips curling slightly. "Nice idea. But you're forgetting something."
He pointed at the swift blue-and-yellow figure in the arena. "With Manectric's speed, your Snorlax won't land a hit. Doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't touch your opponent. And your biggest advantage, that stamina pool, is now gone. In my eyes, that Belly Drum is putting the cart before the horse."
In the stands, Jay clenched his fists. The Gym Leader was right. Snorlax's greatest asset was its massive stamina pool. Despite its massive size, its actual defense was surprisingly fragile. Its real durability came from sheer stamina. Now Ash had voluntarily cut that in half, seemingly trading his strength for a weakness.
Sure, Snorlax's raw attack was already high, so boosting it further was powerful in theory. But Snorlax was impossibly slow. Even with maxed attack power, it couldn't touch Manectric. Especially when both sides were at similar levels.
Misty held Togepi, her brow furrowing slightly. But would Ash ever do something that reckless without a plan? Knowing him, that was absolutely impossible. He had something else in mind.
Facing Volkner's skepticism, Ash didn't panic at all. The smile on his face actually deepened.
"We'll see about that." His voice was calm and unhurried. "Snorlax, Rest."
"Snor... lax..." Snorlax gave a lazy response, its already narrow eyes slowly closing. Its massive body leaned back and crashed to the ground like a small mountain, making the earth tremble slightly. In the next second, loud, even snoring echoed through the Gym.
Rest. At the cost of falling asleep, it fully restored its stamina.
Snorlax's face, which had gone pale from Belly Drum, visibly regained its rosy, full color as it slept. Its aura, which had dipped from the stamina loss, climbed back to its peak within a few breaths. Full recovery.
"Rest?" Jay blurted from the referee's stand. "He put it to sleep? In the middle of a fight?"
Volkner's brow furrowed. He didn't speak, his eyes locked onto the fast-asleep Snorlax as an uneasy feeling welled up in his gut.
Belly Drum, then Rest. The combination could boost attack to max while restoring stamina, but the price was falling asleep. A completely defenseless target. With Manectric's firepower, even Snorlax's legendary toughness wouldn't survive a few rounds of full-power attacks while unconscious. The stamina it just restored would be gone in a blink.
Did Ash think his Manectric was made of clay?
"Is this your strategy?" Volkner's voice dropped, disappointment flickering across his face. "Trading stamina for attack power, then sleeping it back. How disappointing."
He had no intention of showing mercy. He'd crush Ash's first Pokémon right here and teach him that talking big earned you nothing on the battlefield.
He raised his right hand. "Manectric, Wild..."
Before the command left his mouth, something changed.
A soft blue light emerged on Snorlax's round belly, and a small blue-and-brown Berry slowly floated up from its body. The Berry looked completely unremarkable, but the moment Volkner saw it, his pupils contracted.
Chesto Berry. Auto-triggers when the holder falls asleep. Instant wake-up.
Snorlax opened its mouth mid-snore and swallowed the Berry in one bite. A crisp crunch echoed through the Gym. In the next second, those narrow, slit-like eyes snapped wide open.
Snorlax flipped over and sprang up from the ground, its round body standing tall like a mountain. It threw its head back and let out a sky-shaking roar, beating its chest with both fists. As if the Rest just now had been nothing but a quick power nap.
Maximum attack power from Belly Drum. Fully restored stamina from Rest. Instant awakening from the Chesto Berry. This was the strategy Ash had designed specifically for Snorlax, and only Snorlax could pull it off.
The combo cost the held item slot, but a Pokémon with a stamina pool this massive was the only one that could justify spending it this way. The payoff was worth more than any other held item could offer.
"You had this planned from the start?" Volkner's voice was tight.
"Yeah. Losing the held item slot hurts, but maxing Snorlax's attack while keeping full stamina is worth more than anything else I could give it."
"Not bad. I underestimated you." Volkner's expression shifted, the disappointment replaced by something sharper. "But can your Snorlax actually keep up with Manectric? Wild Charge."
Manectric let out a low growl, dazzling golden lightning bursting from its limbs. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a bolt of golden lightning dashing across the arena. The entire Gym was painted golden by its lightning, and the blue-and-yellow figure blurred beyond recognition. Irregular high-speed movement, impossible to predict. Waiting for the moment the opponent showed an opening to deliver a fatal blow.
Snorlax looked left and right, completely unable to track Manectric's movement. The speed gap was on full display.
What good was maxed attack if you couldn't land a hit?
"Snorlax, Earthquake."
Snorlax stopped its pointless head-turning. Its body leaped high into the air and crashed heavily onto the ground.
The entire Gym trembled violently. With Snorlax at the center, countless cracks spread frantically in all directions. Ground-type energy erupted from beneath it, turning into a visible shockwave that enveloped the entire arena. When an attack covered the whole field, no amount of speed could dodge it.
Manectric, mid-sprint, was hit head-on by the shockwave. Its golden lightning faltered, its limbs stumbled for several steps, nearly losing its balance.
"Jump and attack!" Volkner's reaction was fast. Earthquake could only hit targets on the ground. As long as Manectric got airborne, the energy couldn't reach it.
Manectric's limbs pushed off hard, launching its body high into the air, drawing an arc as it plummeted straight toward Snorlax's broad back. The lightning on its body grew even more intense. Volkner's eyes narrowed. Earthquake was a good counter to speed, but after a wide-range move like that, Snorlax's body would inevitably suffer brief recovery lag. And Manectric was attacking from the blind spot. It couldn't possibly react in time.
"Snorlax, High Horsepower."
Ash's voice rang out the moment Manectric leaped. Volkner didn't care. It was already too late.
Except it wasn't.
Under Ash's command, Snorlax's clumsy body spun around at a speed that had no business belonging to a Snorlax, facing the descending Manectric head-on. Snorlax's right arm was raised high, its thick palm wrapped in a layer of earthy-yellow Ground-type energy.
Volkner's pupils contracted sharply.
How? This wasn't a speed any Snorlax should be capable of. Was that thing really a Snorlax?