"This is the Snorlax!"
The old man who had been following Nozomi all the way exclaimed when he saw the massive creature.
A smug smile spread across his face. Snorlax's enormous size filled him with confidence—he was certain Nozomi wouldn't be able to wake the beast, let alone capture it.
"So this is the Snorlax that's been blocking the river?" Nozomi asked, gazing at the giant Pokémon sprawled across the waterway.
"That's right. This Snorlax has been asleep here for days. I originally came to wake it up myself, but since you said you wanted to capture it, I'll give you the chance. Not that I think you'll succeed," the old man said proudly, holding up a Poké Flute.
His arrogance was practically dripping from his tone—enough to make anyone grit their teeth.
"Oh? Is that so?" Nozomi replied mildly, choosing not to argue.
He stepped closer to Snorlax and casually patted its belly. The flesh was soft, springy—surprisingly pleasant to the touch.
"Let's try using psychic power first."
Placing one hand on Snorlax's stomach, Nozomi channeled his Psychic energy. A concentrated wave of mental force surged straight toward Snorlax's brain.
Snorlax's massive body quivered. The bubble of snot inflating from its nose burst with a sharp pop. Its eyelids twitched, as though it might actually wake up.
"T-this…" The old man's confidence faltered. His grip on the flute tightened nervously.
He was genuinely worried Nozomi might wake Snorlax before he could play his tune.
Fortunately for him, the Pokémon didn't fully awaken.
Under the old man's anxious stare, Snorlax merely turned over, found a more comfortable position, and went right back to sleep.
"It's working… but not strong enough, huh?" Nozomi muttered.
The old man, visibly relieved, spoke up again. "Give it up! You'll never wake Snorlax. Only the Poké Flute in my hands can do that!"
"Heh."
That single, amused chuckle was Nozomi's only response before he tossed out a Poké Ball.
Boom!
Metagross's colossal form materialized amid the trees, making the old man jump in fright.
Before he could recover, Nozomi gave his command.
"Metagross, use Zen Headbutt!"
If a simple psychic pulse couldn't wake Snorlax, then what about a mental and physical strike combined?
Under Nozomi's watchful eyes, Metagross's steel arms clamped onto Snorlax. Blue light flared around its silver head before it slammed forward with a thunderous impact.
THUD!
The heavy sound echoed through the forest, bone-deep and chilling.
Metagross's sheer power made the Zen Headbutt devastating. Even Snorlax's thick hide and bulk couldn't completely shrug off the blow.
The hit was hard enough that even the perpetually drowsy Pokémon was forced to open its eyes.
"Snor—LAX!"
Fury blazed in Snorlax's gaze as it roared, its once-lazy expression now sharpened with rage.
"Oh no! Snorlax is enraged!" the old man cried. He had no time to marvel that Nozomi had actually woken it—he was already panicking.
They said the gentlest ones were the scariest when angry, and the same was true for Pokémon. Normally, Snorlax was easygoing; you could even punch it without much reaction. But once truly provoked, it could destroy everything in its path.
The old man bolted, shouting over his shoulder, "Run! An angry Snorlax is terrifying!"
Despite their earlier tension, he didn't want Nozomi to get hurt. He wasn't a bad person at heart.
But Nozomi didn't move.
"It's just a Snorlax," he said with a faint smile.
As the furious Pokémon charged at him, Nozomi snapped his fingers. "Metagross, block it!"
Clang!
Snorlax's massive fist came crashing down—but Metagross intercepted it with a single iron arm. Its body didn't even flinch.
That only made Snorlax angrier. It lowered its head and lunged again, this time using Headbutt.
Bang!
Its Headbutt collided against Metagross's braced arms.
Metagross slid backward slightly, but what caught Nozomi's attention wasn't the impact—it was Snorlax itself.
He stared, half-dumbfounded, as the Pokémon rammed its skull into Metagross's steel body with all its might. The collision was powerful, but Snorlax's head simply wasn't harder than iron. The recoil sent the behemoth reeling—until, incredibly, it knocked itself out cold.
"…Did it just… knock itself out?"
Even Nozomi, who had come prepared, was stunned speechless. That was one hell of a self-KO.
The old man's jaw nearly hit the ground.
The mighty Snorlax—down in one move… from itself?
While the old man gawked, Nozomi, far quicker to recover, seized the opportunity.
"Regardless… time to catch it."
He pulled out a specially designed Heavy Ball for large Pokémon and threw it.
Perhaps even Snorlax felt too humiliated to resist, because the ball didn't even shake once before clicking shut.
Nozomi walked over, picked up the Heavy Ball, and waved it toward the stunned old man.
"So? I've captured Snorlax."
The old man said nothing.
He just stood there, silent, feeling a strange hollowness inside. He suddenly realized how old he was—how out of touch. Back in his day, Trainers had to battle fiercely and push their Pokémon to the brink before they could make a capture.
Now… kids these days could just let the target knock itself out?
"I admit defeat," he finally said quietly.
Without another word, he tucked the Poké Flute under his arm and trudged away, his figure lonely against the horizon. There were still other Snorlax across Kanto waiting for him to wake them, after all.
Nozomi didn't hold a grudge.
He stayed behind to clear the brambles that had grown in the river downstream, helping the nearby village solve its drought problem. Then, with the newly captured Snorlax's Heavy Ball secured at his waist, he continued on his journey—toward Dark City.