"Immovable Object"

This would be his most difficult task. Greg snapped his stiff fingers and rubbed those sweaty palms of his against the thighs of his jeans. The young boy of fifteen years dug the heels of his shoes into the loose dirt that surrounded him. He planted himself firmly, he was one with the earth. Greg tracked his breathing, steadied himself, all the while watching the target's mass rise and fall; Placid.

Greg threw his upper body against the wall of thick, heavy fat that was his Snorlax. The big guy's name was Louie, and he hadn't moved from the backyard in a week. Louie simply refused to wake up. With a large paw, he swatted Greg away like a fly. It wasn't painful or threatening, it was simply Louie being Louie. The Snorlax was the oldest Pokemon in his home, and he was the most stubborn.

As an only child, Greg found comfort and friendship from the Pokemon in his home, especially that of his own Pokemon, a black Charizard. A companion since Greg was the tender age of five, in a way they had grown and evolved together. Snorlax was from before Greg was even conceived, a Pokemon that belonged to his father, Nathan Hughes. Those were tales from another time, though, was all Greg ever heard when he curiously questioned his father's past. It was best left there, Nathan would remark.

Nathan also said Snorlax was best left alone, but he desperately needed a bath, and none of the hoses from the garage stretched out this far into the yard. And they certainly had a large yard, Nathan was a popular berry farmer. This meant he was quite wealthy, and kept his family comfortable. Currently, Greg was not comfortable, he was hot, sweaty, and smelled something like a Snorlax that had just dug itself out from a week in a garbage bin.

He groaned, placing his full force against the weight of the behemoth. Greg's lower back twitched and tickled with sprays from the stress and pain of his efforts.

"Come on, you big fat fatty," he huffed through gritted teeth.

Alas, he found himself against an immovable object. Greg spun on his heels and threw his back against Louie, and then carelessly slid down along it. The boy propped his arms on his raised knees and surveyed his surroundings; there was a good sized boulder, and planks of wood from the new fence that Nathan was soon to construct. Greg cocked his eyebrow mischievously.

"Huh…."

Greg eagerly rolled the smooth boulder toward Louie, who hadn't even batted his eyes from such a minor annoyance. The boy inspected the rock, it looked like the right spot. He sprinted off again, this time returning with a long plank of wood. See where this is going?

It always worked in the cartoons.

Carefully, Greg inspected the wood, measuring it for a perfect resting balance on the rock, he was eyeballing it. Hoping Lou wouldn't notice, Greg slowly, with each deliberate push, attempted to snugly fit one end of the plank beneath the Snorlax's bulbous body. It wasn't going in. Greg growled and finally shoved it in really hard and fast; Success!

Greg slapped his hands together and dusted them off proudly. He then stretched out his body, loosening up those stiff limbs. He placed both hands on the raised end of the plank and jumped into the air, falling back to the earth he brought the plank down with him.

SNAP!

The plank shattered in half, with the end Greg was holding smacking him square in the face and hurling the boy off his feet. Greg landed in the grass on his back and didn't move. He simply laid there, beneath the shade of a large, beautiful tree… Wait, there wasn't a tree, so what was the shadow from?

Her long neck bent down and licked Greg across his eyes. It was Maple, his tropius. "Yuck," Greg mouthed as he pulled up his shirt and wiped off his face. Slowly sitting up, Greg watched Maple casually stroll away.

"Don't just watch!" Greg shouted. "At least gimme a hand!"

Greg gestured widely with his arms, dramatizing the actual mass of Louie. Had the Snorlax been awake he may have been insulted. He dropped his arms as if they suddenly became goo and stared intently at Lou. He thought the beast might wake up by sub-consciously recognizing he was being given the stink eye. This lasted for perhaps a good half hour.

Nothing came from it.

He sighed heavily, loudly, maybe Lou would hear. He didn't. Greg looked around again; sleeping comfortably beneath an actual tree was Bastiodon, his head a massive steel wall, the pokemon was like a bulldozer in flesh and blood. Or, maybe steel and blood. Steel ran along the Bastiodon's spine; each massive foot, there were four, was covered in steel growths. Like super protective socks. This was his ticket.

"You're turn, Asner," Greg said to his bastiodon.

Greg pushed at the beast's large rump, disturbing Asner from his slumber. A low, thick growl escaped his stomach and his eyes slowly blinked themselves open. Asner turned his head back to find Greg shoving against his butt. The bastiodon tilted his head awkwardly, shook his butt to throw Greg off, and finally stood up.

Greg pointed at Louie. Asner sighed. He shook his head hard, this time waking up the small pokemon that had found safe haven behind his shield of a head. A group of white furred Pachirisu were startled and scurried back into their tree, while Greg's lone Pichu, her name was Debbie, just popped up her head with its tousled fur and observed her guardian, Asner, curiously.

"Immovable object," -hey, there's our chapter title- "meet unstoppable force," Greg declared as Asner lumbered toward Lou.

Asner struck his foot to the dirt several times, powering up his charge. Finally he released, barreling at Lou like he was bullet fired from a pistol. He shot across the yard at incredible speed, with Debbie swinging from his head, hanging on for dear life.

SMASH!

The bastiodon rammed into Lou, whose thick fat erupted in a wave of unrest, like the ripples of an ocean. Lou's fat eventually calmed down, but Asner was still barreling forward. Unfortunately to no avail. Lou hadn't even budged.

Greg got behind Asner and started pushing his butt again.

"Don't you dare fart," Greg whispered.

Debbie released her death grip and relaxed, she decided to observe all this ridiculous commotion. It was simply Louie sleeping. She hopped off Asner and plopped onto Lou's jiggly tummy, slowly sinking into it like jello. Debbie scrambled to claw her way out in desperation, scared she would suffocate in the layers of fat were she to be caught.

But something unexpected happened as Deb pulled herself out; Snorlax started to move, and a slow, hearty giggle escaped his lips.

Greg poked his head out from behind Asner's butt. He cocked his eyebrow curiously. Standing to his feet Greg walked over to Lou and watched Debbie stroll her way across the Snorlax's body; she was tickling him awake!

"Hold up, buddy," Greg said to Asner. The boy laid his palm on Asner's head and petted him lovingly. "Good job."

Asner plopped down to the ground next to Greg, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Greg chuckled. Debbie stopped and looked at Greg.

He shrugged and flipped his hands out in a surrendering gesture.

Debbie deliberately stretched out her furry tail and strolled across Lou's stomach, his ticklish part. The giggles eventually turned into excited, roaring howls of laughter. Lou's massive paws hammered into the ground uncontrollably, scaring Debbie away. But it was no matter; Lou was awake!

The Snorlax rose into a sitting position, his upper body rocking like an ill-weighted tower. He looked at Greg, annoyed.

"Bath time," Greg said.

Lou groaned. But he obliged, diligently pulling himself to his feet. Lou swayed when he stood and Greg was terrified the beast may fall on him. Greg laid his hands on the pokemon's massive belly. "You okay?" he asked. Louie nodded. He had been off his legs and sleeping for quite a while, but Lou would have a clear head by the time he reached the house.

Greg smiled, and then his eyes trailed down to the depression Lou left in the earth. There were cracks and broken clumps of dirt falling into the hole. That was bizarre. He kneeled down to inspect Lou's "bed". Greg's index finger traced over the cracks and he suddenly felt cool, dry air blowing between the seams. Using his finger still, Greg shaped it like a hook and dug in, chipping away at the loose grounds.

It collapsed!

The boy fell back on his bottom in a burst of surprise. The hole gasped as the last chunks of earth disappeared into the shadows. It gave way to an incredible discovery. Greg stood up and raked his hand through his tousled brown hair. His mouth agape; a massive underground complex, perhaps a cave, perhaps something more, was hidden away beneath Greg's home.

"How about that."

….To Be Continued