Rikishi Town, home of the Pokemon Sumo Conference. Each year, many of the town's citizens, as well as those visiting the town, take part in this honored competition. The only complaint that has been made about it was its lack of varied weight classes. The rule for each competing Pokemon was that they had to weigh at least 174 pounds or more, a fact that one of the town's citizens thought was very unfair. This person, was a young man named Koda, who lived in Rikishi Town with his Pikachu. Like many of the town's citizens, Koda enjoyed the Sumo Conference and often wished to compete in it with his Pikachu, only to be turned away due to his friend's small size and weight.
Koda had trained his Pikachu to be a master of Sumo, and had gained impressive skill as a result. However, that skill didn't even matter to the officials of the contest, and it was all because of that cursed weight requirement. Koda's feelings would come to head one faithful day, when a trainer by the name of Ash came into town competed in the contest with a Snorlax and won. Although he did overhear that his own Pikachu wanted to compete, an idea that was shot down because of the weight requirement. It wasn't until a few weeks after that event when Koda decided to take measures into his own hands and make an appeal to the Sumo Conference organizers.
Through trial and error, he was eventually able to get through to them and get them to consider making a separate weight class tournament for smaller Pokemon. There was a catch however, Koda's Pikachu must undergo a Sumo trial in order for the lightweight class to be official, they wanted to see how skillful his partner was. Koda and his Pikachu accepted the challenge, ready to do anything to get what they wanted. For the next few days, Koda trained his Pikachu harder than ever before, working on all the different techniques they could use for the battle ahead and even feeding Chanko stew to get Pikachu's weight up so he could be harder to push.
Eventually, the day of the trial came. The town's citizens have gathered at the arena to see just how well the Pikachu and Koda would stack up in a real match. The trial was as follows: Pikachu will fight three opponents of steadily increasing weights in individual bouts. If he can make it though all of them, then there will be a lightweight tournament starting with the next year's conference. One loss, and the idea will be scrapped. The regular tournament rules will apply in the fights, the fighter who falls over, is pushed outside of the ring, or uses an illegal special move loses.
Koda and Pikachu walked out into the arena, heads held high as the crowd cheered. Pikachu was dressed in a red kesho-mawashi, with the apron displaying a mural of a thunderstorm in a field. Koda knew that Pikachu was trying to look tough, but deep down he had to admit that it did look cute on him with the mawashi hugging against his chubby belly. Pikachu was grinning ear to ear, he didn't care if he won or lost today, at least he would have a fight where his skills would be put to the test. "To the east, Pikachu of the Forest!" the gyoji announced as Pikachu took his place at his spot in the ring while Koda took the apron off, leaving only the mawashi.
The first opponent made its way to the ring from the other side of the arena, a Miltank who wore a green mawashi, "To the west, Miltank of the Field!" the gyoji announced. Both Pokemon made their way to the center of the ring, with Pikachu squatting down in a ready stance like a true rikishi when the gyoji said, "Kamaete!" With a shout of "Hakke-yoi!" both Pokemon crashed into each other, with Pikachu pushing against the Miltank's belly. The crowd was impressed that he was able to prevent himself from getting pushed back too much.
"That's it Pikachu, hold your ground!" Koda encouraged as Pikachu continued to push back against his opponent. The Miltank suddenly reared back and slammed it's belly into Pikachu, sending him back a few feet but not knocking him over. The Miltank then rushed toward Pikachu in an attempt to finish the job, only for him to suddenly leap into the air with a huge jump and land hard on the Miltank's head. It stood there in shock for a few seconds before it fell onto its back, having been knocked out from the blow.
Pikachu stood on its belly in victory as the gyoji announced, "The east is the winner!"
Koda congratulated his partner while the Miltank was carried out, "Nice job pal, let's keep the momentum going." he said, causing Pikachu to give an affirmative nod and get back into position for the next fighter.
Pikachu's next opponent was an Ursaring, who wore a yellow mawashi, "To the west, Ursaring of the Cavern!" the gyoji announced, "Kamaete! Hakke-yoi!" The Ursaring started out by swinging its massive arms at Pikachu, who nimbly dodged them the best he could. Ursaring then tried grabbing the Pikachu, only for him to weave around give a little push to the edge of the ring.
"Lead him in!" Koda shouted, prompting Pikachu to stay within the range of attack and dodge. The Ursaring, while large, was also very fast, Pikachu needed to end this fast so he would have enough energy for the last fight. He eventually found himself at the edge of the ring while the Ursaring charged at him. In one swift movement, Pikachu weaved around the arm swings and tripped the Ursaring at his feet, causing him to stumble and place one foot outside of the ring.
"The east wins again!" announced the gyoji. Ursaring bowed to the Pikachu and left the ring, this gave Pikachu the hope that even the larger Pokemon were starting to see his talent.
"This is it, one more fight and we'll get our wish granted." Koda said. Pikachu was a little exhausted, but he still had the will to fight on.
The last opponent stomped into the ring, a Snorlax who wore a black mawashi with white strings on the waist, signifying his great skill, "To the west, Snorlax of the Mountain!" the gyoji announced. Pikachu stared hard at the Snorlax while getting into position, he was going to win this no matter what, "Kamaete! Hakke-yoi!" Snorlax started off by stomping the ground, shaking Pikachu a bit before charging. Pikachu managed to get away just in time, but was bumped by the Snorlax's hip, sending him back a little. He stood his ground and weaved around the Snorlax's arm thrusts before giving a shove to the belly.
This only made Pikachu bounce off and almost land outside the ring. The Snorlax then ran up to Pikachu, but not to shove him out of the ring, instead he spread his arms wide and clapped them in front of Pikachu's face, stunning him for a moment due to the loudness of the clap very close to his sensitive ears. Snorlax then used this opportunity to pick him up and throw him high into the air, where he will fall far out of the ring. Koda watched in shock as his partner was flung into the air like a ragdoll, helpless to do anything.
Pikachu was scared as he flew through the air, many thoughts going through his head. However, one thought outweighed all the others, the fact that he could not let his friend down. Every Pokemon deserved to take part in Sumo, and he was going to make sure of it. He managed to adjust his trajectory in the air so that he was directly above the ring, a feat that impressed everyone in attendance, even Koda. Pikachu then fell at a downward velocity right at his opponent, who was too shocked at the speed at which he moved to get out of the way. The descent ended with a vicious aerial headbutt right between the Snorlax's eyes. Everything was still for a minute before Snorlax slowly began to fall backwards and fall to the floor outside the ring.
"The east wins!" The gyoji announced as Pikachu fell to the ground beside his fallen opponent, the pain of the headbutt hitting him all at once. Koda ran up and scooped up his partner in his arms, congratulating him for his victory. Pikachu returned the embrace, happy that he won.
Next year, the officials made good on their promise. For the first time, lightweight and midweight Pokemon were allowed to compete in their own separate leagues. Who would show up as one of the competitors in the lightweight division but Koda and Pikachu, who stood proudly among their fellow warriors. "This is how it should be, Sumo is for everyone." Koda thought.