Snack Attack
"So how long will it take to reach Trovita Island?" Ash asked.
The group were currently traveling between a small group of islands, they'd only left Navel Island a few hours ago but Ash was already eager for his next Gym battle! The islands around them were much smaller in scale compared to the islands they visited throughout their Orange Island adventure and didn't appear to be home to any settlements as each island was filled to the brim with trees bearing what appeared to be grapefruits, being able to identify the fruit from such a distance indicated they were far larger than normal grapefruits.
"About another day or so." Tracey informed.
"Then we'll have to find another island and set up camp before nightfall." Brock advised while glancing towards the sky. It was nearly noon so they still had a few good hours, they wouldn't have to stop for lunch as Brock had packed plenty of sandwiches for everyone.
"Right, even if there was room for all of us to lay down it still wouldn't be safe sleeping in the open like this." Chloe stated while shooting a nervous glance towards the ocean beneath Lapras' fins. "If any of us have nightmares, we'd likely roll right off!"
"I'm sure an island will come up sooner or later." Ash shrugged. It seemed they passed an island every few hours so they'd just set up camp at whatever was after the Grapefruit covered islands. Ash's stomach soon rumbled causing him to emit a light chuckle. "Hey Brock, how about one of those sandwiches?"
"Sure Ash, here-"
"SNOR!"
"Huh?" Lapras and his passengers paused in place while glancing towards the source of the noise.
"What was that?" Tracey was the first to ask.
"I'm not sure but I think it sounded like a-" Chloe started only to grow quiet, her face quickly turned pale at quite the unusual sight as a Snorlax could be seen racing off one of the grapefruit Islands, this one coincidentally missing all of it's grapefruit and it didn't take a genius to know what happened to them, before leaping into the ocean where he swam towards the group and Lapras with surprisingly fast and powerful strokes.
"Snor... snor... Snorlax!"
"Is that.. a Snorlax?!" Ash gasped out, a shocked expression upon the group's faces as Snorlax sped towards them.
"Pika..." Pikachu's jaw dropped while he blankly stared off with a shocked expression.
"SNOR!" Snorlax stopped in place upon reaching Lapras, his large hands reached out for the sandwich bag that Brock had passed to Ash before taking hold of it. "Snorlax!" Snorlax opened his mouth before promptly dropping the sandwich sack into his mouth.
"The sandwiches!" Ash lowered his head while groaning out.
"Tox..." Toxel lowered his head with a saddened expression as his stomach rumbled out.
Snorlax gave the air a good sniff before licking his lips as he forcefully grabbed at Brock and Chloe before reaching into their sacks.
"Hey!" Brock shouted.
"Get off!" Chloe grunted.
"Snor... snor..." Snorlax pulled out each and every last bit of food they were carrying from Chloe's berry supplies to Brock's food supplies before proceeding to scarf them down.
"Pika!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he threatened to shock Snorlax.
"Pikachu don't! You'll only get the rest of us hurt!" Ash quickly reminded Pikachu. Pikachu glanced towards the ocean before giving his tail a light flick of annoyance.
"Laaaaa!" Lapras fired off an orange-yellow energy beam at Snorlax's back in a desperate bid to chase him off but Snorlax hardly moved as he tanked the attack. Though the attack did seem to irritate Snorlax as he reached beneath Lapras before delivering a powerful push, flipping Lapras over causing the twerps and their Pokemon to fall overboard as a result.
Ash and the others came back up for breath before quickly diving back down out of the way as Snorlax swam towards them while making his way towards the next grapefruit island. "Snor... snor... Snorlax..."
Brock, Tracey and Ash soon came back up for air and helped Lapras readjust himself. While Chloe's gaze followed Snorlax as he swam off. "Tracey, these grapefruit trees aren't important are they?" She asked while flicking her gaze towards the previous island which Snorlax had left barren and stripped of every bit of fruit. "Cause it appears that Snorlax is intending on eating every last fruit." And would likely get it done in a matter of days!
"Hm?" Tracey glanced towards the grapefruit islands before gasping out as his eyes widened at the realization. "Oh no... these are the Seven Grapefruit Islands, named such as they're completely covered in grapefruit tress. They are our region's only export and primarily money maker as the resorts only make so much. If Snorlax eats all of the grapefruits, it could have devastating effects on our economy!" The tourists were primarily Kanto and Johto citizens as the Orange Islands weren't well known outside of the regional area.
Ash's gaze trailed after Snorlax who had immediately proceeded to scarfing down more grapefruits. "Well I guess we'll just have to catch it!"
"Huh? Ash do you realize how expensive it'll be to take care of Snorlax?! He could eat a truckload of berries and still be hungry!" Chloe anxiously exclaimed with a worried expression. There was a reason that few trainers took on the responsibility of caring for Snorlax and Ash already had over a dozen Pokemon to look after.
"I got plenty of money from winning the Indigo League, that'll do until we can think of something." Defeating it wouldn't work as it'd likely swim right back and proceed to eat the rest of the grapefruits. Capturing it was the only solution as they couldn't just stand by and let him eat all the grapefruits. "Lapras, let's head towards that island!"
"Laaaa!" Lapras lunged forward and swam towards the island as fast as he could.
"Hold up, where did he go?" Ash shot a quick look around as Snorlax disappeared, having already stripped the nearby acre of it's grapefruit trees.
The others glanced around before Chloe noticed something on the ground. "Hang on, it looks like he missed one-" She reached out to grab the grapefruit only to yelp as an arrow went flying past her head.
"Caught you at last, you dirty thieves!"
"Hooot!"
An attractive green haired woman stepped out from behind a nearby tree, accompanied by a large brown and tan colored owl that had a hood weaved from leaves covering up his head. The mysterious owl Pokemon appeared to be the culprit behind the shot as another arrow quiver remained in it's wings which were posed as if he were readying up to fire off another shot.
"Stop right there you thieves, give back the grapefruits that you stole from us!"
"Hoooot!"
"That we stole?! But we're innocent, it was Snorlax!" Chloe defensively shouted out.
"Eevoi!"
"Oh wow!" Hearts filled Brock's eyes as he gazed upon the woman's figure. Stars similarly filled Ash's eyes as he gazed upon the archer owl.
"Wow... who's that Pokemon?"
Brock zoomed past Ash and quickly dropped to one knee while extending his hand to her. "My fair lady I may not be a thief but you certainly are guilty of it as you've stolen my heart! I'd be honored if-"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk jabbed Brock's back causing his trainer to keel over while the woman and the owl nervously sweated at the sight.
"Eh?"
"Hoot...?"
"Croa croa!" Croagunk croaked out in laughter while dragging his trainer away from the scene.
"Decidueye the Arrow Quill Pokemon, it fires arrow quills from its wings with such precision, they can pierce a pebble at distances over a hundred yards!"
"That's so cool!"
"Pika!"
Chloe turned pale at the Pokedex entry. It was clear to her that if Decidueye really wanted her dead then he easily could have done so.
"Not thieves, eh? Then why are you-Oh hey Tracey, long time no see." The woman gave Tracey a wave upon spotting the Pokemon sketcher. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey Ruby..." Tracey nervously chuckled. "My friends and I were making our way past these islands when we came under attack by a Snorlax. My friends weren't lying about that, there really is one here and it's eating all the grapefruit trees. It already hate Island One... or was it Seven? And now he's making his way through this one!"
"A Snorlax...?" Ruby raised an eyebrow while giving them a doubtful expression. It appeared that she didn't believe a Snorlax just happened to be on the island, Snorlax weren't known for being strong swimmers. They usually resided within forests or mountain regions. Ruby shot a quick look around and noticed there wasn't any sign of grapefruit peels, whatever ate them had to have eaten them whole. "Okay say I believe you... what are you intending on doing with it? It'll just wake back up if you defeat him, it won't learn it's lesson. It has to eat too!"
"And that's why I intend on catching it!" Ash boldly exclaimed while clenching his fists.
"Pika pi!"
"Tox!" Pikachu and Toxel copied their trainer's actions. "Tox..." Though Toxel was quick to shove Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder causing the electric mouse to faceplant against the ground.
"Pi!"
"Tox..." Toxel giggled out while covering his mouth as Pikachu glared up at him.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu snapped.
"Well I appreciate that you're willing to take on the responsibility of caring for Snorlax, they do eat over 800 pounds of food a day." Ruby informed causing Ash's face to temporary turn pale before quickly shaking those thoughts off with a shake of his head.
"Snor!" A loud thud could be heard followed by familiar cries.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!"
"Wobbuffet!" A blur whizzed through the air and grabbed hold of the Rocket trio, Wobbuffet, Arbok and Growlie before jettisoning off through the air.
"BEWEAR!"
"...Did that Bewear just fly?" Chloe sweated while wondering if the island's warm climate was getting to her.
"Well it looks like Team Rocket found Snorlax and tried to catch him." Tracey sweated.
"He sounded close so that means he probably hasn't finished eating this island's grapefruits yet!" Brock exclaimed.
"Come on Pikachu, let's go stop that Snorlax!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu's tail flicked as he took off alongside his trainer in pursuit of Snorlax. The large Pokemon could be seen scarfing down more grapefruits as he came into view, the island's trees were a noticeably short distance from each other which limited Pikachu's moves. If he used Splishy Splash or Voltage Vortex he'd likely cause even more damage to the island's trees and potentially even kill or upright some of the trees.
"Alright Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted with a throw of his arm.
"PIKA!" Electricity crackled from Pikachu's cheeks before shooting off in a powerful electrical bolt. The bolt soared towards Snorlax before delivering a powerful and shocking blow as electricity surged through his veins.
"S-Snorlax..." Snorlax grunted out, temporarily freezing in place from the pain.
"Alright now's our chance, Pokeball go!" Ash pulled back his arm before giving it a good throw as he tossed an empty ball towards Snorlax.
"Snor..." Snorlax shook himself off before turning his attention towards the incoming projectile. "Snorlax." The Pokemon opened up his mouth before gulping down the Pokeball causing the group to go pale.
"What?!" Ash, Chloe, Brock, Tracey and Ruby simultaneously exclaimed.
"Pika pi?!"
"Tox?!"
"Hoot?!"
"Eevoi?!"
"Croa?!" Even Croagunk seemed stunned by the sight.
"Snor..." Snorlax rubbed his stomach and licked his lips before turning his back to the group, seemingly finding them a minor inconvenience.
"Well if damaging him wasn't enough, let's try putting him to sleep! Gengar I choose you!"
"Gengar!" Gengar cockily smirked as he burst from his ball.
"Use Hypnosis!"
"Gengar!" Gengar levitated through the air before positioning himself in front of Snorlax. Snorlax tried pushing him out of the way only to find that his fist went straight through Gengar, Snorlax shrugged before proceeding to grab another handful of grapefruits which he quickly scarfed down. "Gengar!" Gengar's eyes glowed bright blue as he stared directly into Snorlax's eyes.
Snorlax's eyes began drooping before fully shutting as he collapsed onto his back with a loud heavy thud which caused the ground around to rapidly shake, some grapefruits fell loose from the trees around him. "Snor... lax... snor... lax..." Snorlax began snoring away.
"Alright he's asleep! Now to-"
"Snor!" Snorlax's fist glowed an icy blue color and shot out towards Gengar.
"Gengar!" Gengar gasped out as the attack struck, sending him flying back towards one of the empty grapefruit trees!
"That was Sleep Talk!" Chloe exclaimed. "Whenever he's sleeping, he'll use a random move from his move pool!"
"Well that will sure come in handy if he knows Rest." Brock spoke up.
"He's not going down without a fight, he'll be perfect for our team!" Ash grinned. "Alright Gengar, let's hit him with Psychic!"
"Gengar!" Gengar's eyes glowed bright blue while a similar blue glow surrounded Snorlax's body, Gengar flashed another cocky smirk as he hoisted Snorlax into the air before bringing him crashing down towards the island, forming a small crater upon impact!
Snorlax uttered out a painful grunt but still appeared to be conscious based on the loud snores that emitted from his throat.
"That Snorlax sure is powerful..." Chloe commented. "He's taken blows from Pikachu and Gengar yet still appears ready to go!"
"I'm not sure the island can take much more of it though," Brock shot a concerned glance towards the surrounding area. "Ash try catching it again!"
"Right!" Ash gave a quick nod in response. He hadn't attempted it again as he was concerned Snorlax would simply swallow it again but Snorlax appeared to be in deep enough of a sleep that it wouldn't be possible. "Let's try this again..." Ash pulled back his arm before giving it another throw as he tossed another empty ball forward. The ball whisked through the air and soared towards the sleeping Snorlax.
"Snor..." Snorlax slowly rose to his feet and quickly opened his mouth upon seeing the Pokeball fly towards him, swallowing it much like he had before.
"Not again!" Ash groaned out.
"Pika!" Pikachu snapped his fingers with a visibly frustrated expression.
The ball rolled down Snorlax's throat and dropped towards his stomach, the Pokeball soon dropped directly on top of the previous Pokeball which had it's button aimed upwards causing the ball to activate upon the second Pokeball landing atop of it. A red glow soon surrounded Snorlax's body as he was whisked into the Pokeball causing the group to sweat at the sight as they certainly didn't expect that to happen. The Pokeball shook back and forth several times before chiming out to signal the capture complete.
"Snorlax the Sleeping Pokemon, it doesn't do anything other than eat and sleep. When prompted to make a serious effort, it apparently displays awesome power!"
Ruby and several harvesters uttered out a celebratory cheer while Ash performed an excited leap into the air.
"Alright, we just caught a Snorlax!"
"Pikachu!"
"Gengar!" Gengar cockily smirked as he posed alongside his trainer and Pikachu.
Professor Oak was busy with his research when the teleportation machine activated. Oak was quick to drop his notes as he rushed towards the machine, curiosity struck as he wondered what Ash or Gary caught this time. "Ah, so Ash has caught another Pokemon... let's see what it i-"
"Snorlax!" Snorlax burst out and quickly punched a hole through Oak's laboratory wall as he made way for Oak's kitchen which coincidentally happened to be on the other side. Professor Oak sweated as Snorlax lifted the refrigerator with relative ease before shaking the contents down into his open mouth. "Snor..."
"Oh my, I guess I'll have to finish that special recipe sooner rather than later." Oak sweated while uttering out a light chuckle. Fortunately he'd been hard at work putting together a recipe to help the species monstrous appetite so Ash wasn't going to be in any danger of going into debt while raising Snorlax.
"So where are you guys headed next?" Ruby questioned the group as they climbed aboard Lapras' back.
"Trovita Island but we'll have to make a stop beforehand as Snorlax ate all of our supplies." Tracey sweated.
"Hold on a moment." Ruby held up a hand while backing away before bolting off. The group waited a few minutes before she made her return, a large sack of grapefruits was present within her hands. "Take these, my treat! After all without you there wouldn't be any grapefruits left."
"That's very generous of you, thank you." Chloe gave Ruby an appreciative bow.
"That's enough to get us to Trovita Island!" Tracey exclaimed.
"Really? That's great, I can't wait to see what Snorlax is capable of!" Ash eagerly exclaimed while punching at the air.
"Such a generous gift shouldn't go unrewarded, my dear Ruby I'd be happy to stay here with you in exchange for-"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk jabbed Brock's back once more causing the older male to keel over.
"Ugh... never mind."
"Croa croa!"
Ruby and Decidueye sweated at the sight before giving the group a wave of farewell. "See you guys and good luck at the Orange League!"
"Thanks and good luck with the harvest!" Ash and the others waved back at Ruby as Lapras began departing from the island's coast, making way towards the distant Trovita Island.