After leaving Ascorbia Island, Ash and his group continued sailing on Lapras.
However, they were caught in an abnormally strong and chaotic ocean current. After struggling for quite some time, they were forced to land on a remote island called Butwal Island, where they ended up stranded for nearly a week due to the harsh weather and sea conditions.
At first, they managed by relying on the dry rations they had brought along and berries gathered from the island. But after a week, their food supplies were nearly depleted, and even their Pokémon were running out of food. Hunger began to gnaw at everyone.
"I can't take it anymore… I'm starving…" Misty leaned weakly against a rock.
"We've basically picked all the berries on this island…" Tracey sighed as he looked through his nearly empty backpack.
Ash's stomach growled loudly as well, but he forced himself to stay alert. "Let's head further inland. Maybe we can find another source of food."
As they dragged their exhausted bodies through the forest, searching for anything edible, a lively voice suddenly called out from nearby.
"Hey! Are you Pokémon Trainers too? You look like you're in trouble, but before that, how about a battle to lift your spirits?"
A boy wearing a green vest jumped out. His hair stood up like blades of grass, and beside him stood a lively Gloom. He was a Grass type Trainer named Gulzar.
Under normal circumstances, Ash would have accepted the challenge without hesitation.
But now, the overwhelming hunger and fatigue dulled his thoughts and slowed his reactions.
He shook his head, trying to stay conscious, but the emptiness in his stomach and waves of dizziness kept hitting him.
"A… a battle? Okay…" Ash's voice was weak.
"Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked worriedly.
"I'm… fine." Ash took a deep breath, trying to focus. He instinctively reached for a Poké Ball at his waist, wanting to send out a reliable partner. But in his dazed state, he made a careless decision.
His hand landed on the Poké Ball containing Snorlax.
"You're up… Snorlax!"
A flash of white light burst forth, and the massive Snorlax landed with a thunderous crash, shaking the ground. It rubbed its sleepy eyes, still not fully aware of the situation. Its enormous belly let out a thunder-like rumble, clearly just as hungry.
Gulzar was startled by the "mountain of meat" in front of him, but quickly regained his fighting spirit. "What a huge Pokémon! But my Gloom won't be scared! Gloom, use Acid!"
Gloom spat out a foul-smelling acidic liquid. Though Snorlax was hungry and drowsy, its instincts remained sharp. Its massive body shifted clumsily to the side, avoiding most of the attack. Only a small amount splashed onto its arm, which was nothing more than a tickle.
Snorlax seemed irritated, or perhaps driven by hunger.
It let out a low growl and, without even waiting for Ash's command, swung its massive palm forward with a gust of wind, slamming toward Gloom!
Gloom tried to dodge, but the attack's range was too wide.
Bang!
Gloom was sent flying and crashed into a tree, instantly losing its ability to battle.
"Gloom!" Gulzar cried out, quickly recalling his Pokémon. Looking at the effortlessly victorious Snorlax, whose eyelids were already drooping again, and Ash, who looked pale and barely able to stand, he seemed to realize something. "Y… you guys haven't eaten in a long time, have you?"
Ash nodded weakly. Just as he was about to recall Snorlax, a wave of dizziness hit him. His hand slipped, and the Poké Ball fell to the ground.
Worse still, it struck a sharp rock.
Crack!
A fracture appeared on the surface of the Poké Ball. The indicator light flickered a few times before going completely dark. It was broken and could no longer recall Snorlax.
"This is bad!" Ash's expression changed as he forced himself to pick up the damaged Poké Ball.
Meanwhile, Snorlax, having completed its "task" of knocking away the one who disturbed its nap and worsened its hunger, swayed slightly. Unable to resist the combined exhaustion of hunger and sleepiness any longer, it collapsed onto its back with a loud boom, kicking up a cloud of dust, and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
The group stared blankly at the sleeping "mountain of meat" and the broken Poké Ball.
"I heard there's a Pokémon Center on the other side of the island," Tracey said as he checked the map, his tone heavy. "We have to get Snorlax there to repair the Poké Ball, or contact Professor Oak to send a new one. But…"
But how were they supposed to move this several-hundred-kilogram, deeply sleeping "mountain"?
"We'll just have to drag it!" Ash gritted his teeth. Even though he was weak himself, he could never abandon his partner.
He gathered some sturdy vines, and together with Misty and Tracey, they tried to pull Snorlax.
However, even using all their strength, Snorlax didn't budge at all. Its thunderous snoring continued unabated.
"It's no use… we can't move it at all…" Misty collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
Ash looked at the sleeping Snorlax, then at the broken Poké Ball in his hand, forcing himself to calm down. He thought of his Aura abilities, of his power to connect with Pokémon on a spiritual level.
"Maybe… I can try this." Ash closed his eyes and gently placed his palm against Snorlax's massive belly. A faint blue Aura flickered as he focused all his energy, carefully letting his consciousness follow the Aura and enter Snorlax's chaotic mind, a place filled with food and dreams.
A mountain of cakes.
Ash's awareness was like a faint breeze, struggling to transmit a simple yet vital message:
"Move forward… follow along… there's more delicious food ahead…"
He kept repeating this thought. At the same time, he said to Misty and Tracey, "I'll try to guide it. You two go ahead and use berries or something it likes to lure it forward!"
Though they didn't fully understand, Misty and Tracey followed his instructions. They took the last few berries they had and waved them in front of Snorlax.
A miracle happened.
The sleeping Snorlax's huge nose twitched slightly. Then, its massive body began to stir. With its eyes still closed, like a sleepwalker, it followed the faint scent of food ahead and the dreamlike guidance of "there's food ahead," slowly, step by step, it began to move forward.
"It worked!" Misty and Tracey exclaimed in surprise and joy.
Ash, however, remained fully focused, maintaining the Aura connection and mental guidance. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
This required immense concentration and mental energy, especially in his already hungry and exhausted state.
And so, they began a long and difficult "Snorlax sleepwalking migration."
Ash was responsible for guiding it mentally and correcting its direction, while Misty and Tracey led the way with scents and cleared obstacles.
Snorlax, eyes closed and snoring loudly, moved forward like a giant sleepwalker, slow but steady, heading toward the Pokémon Center on the other side of the mountain.
The process of crossing the mountain was incredibly arduous. Every step Snorlax took felt like a small earthquake.
Ash's mental energy drained rapidly, his face growing paler by the minute, but he never gave up.
Just as they were about to see the roof of the Pokémon Center at the foot of the mountain, the sound of an engine came from the sky.
A small transport plane flew overhead and dropped several packages, supplies airdropped by the League in response to their distress signal.
"Food!" Tracey ran over excitedly.
However, the noise of the supplies landing, along with the enticing aroma of food, attracted some unwelcome guests.
"Wahaha! It's food!"
"And a Snorlax too!"
"It's all ours, meow!"
The Team Rocket trio burst out of the forest like cats that had caught the scent of prey, rushing straight toward the supplies.
At that moment, perhaps because it smelled the rich aroma of food so close by, or because Team Rocket's noise disturbed its dream, the Snorlax that had been sleeping all along suddenly woke up.
Hunger exploded within it like a volcano.
Seeing a few tiny figures trying to steal the food it had been "guided toward" in its dream, it let out a deafening roar.
"Snor—lax!!!"
It opened its mouth and fired a Hyper Beam. In an instant, Team Rocket was blasted away.
"Why did it wake up again?!"
"We just wanted some food…"
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
They turned into shooting stars once more, this time sent flying by a starving Snorlax.
After blasting away the troublemakers, Snorlax, its eyes glowing red, turned toward the supplies and lunged, about to devour everything they had finally received.
"Wait! Snorlax!" Ash forced his exhausted body forward and stood in front of it.
He quickly took out a special kind of food, something known for its extremely high energy content, capable of satisfying Snorlax quickly.
Holding it up high, he called out, "Snorlax! Look here! This one is even better!"
Snorlax suddenly stopped. Its massive head turned toward the food in Ash's hand.
The aroma made it drool uncontrollably. Instinctively, it felt that this small portion was far more tempting than all the regular supplies behind it combined.
Carefully, at least by its standards, it took the special food from Ash's hand and swallowed it in one bite.
A look of complete satisfaction spread across its face. It patted its huge belly and let out a loud burp. The violent aura around it vanished instantly, and its eyes returned to calm.
It even affectionately nuzzled Ash with its big head before lying down contentedly, no longer paying any attention to the ordinary supplies.
"W-we're saved…" Misty and Tracey let out long sighs of relief, nearly collapsing.
Ash also dropped to the ground, looking at the now peaceful Snorlax and the preserved supplies, a tired yet relieved smile appearing on his face.
He took out his Pokédex and contacted Professor Oak.
Before long, a new Poké Ball was sent over. Full and in a great mood, Snorlax obediently returned to it.
After going through this ordeal of hunger and migration, the bond between Ash and Snorlax seemed to have grown even deeper.
...
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