Aspen's starter Pokémon had been a Rhydon. Thanks to his obvious talent, the school and the Xu family had both agreed to fund his training, and under that support, the Rhydon had evolved into a powerful Rhyperior. Everyone agreed the name "Rhyperior" suited it far better than something like "Mega Rhydon."
Standing across from him, a Trainer named Randolf sent out an equally massive Snorlax — though "massive" might have been putting it kindly. It looked more like the Snorlax hadn't missed a meal in its life.
[Name: Rhyperior][Energy Level: 31 (Superior)][Ability: Reckless][Potential: Light Purple]
[Name: Snorlax][Energy Level: 32 (Superior)][Ability: Thick Fat][Potential: Light Purple]
The moment the two Pokémon stepped onto the field, a heavy tension settled over the arena as they sized each other up.
Looking at the Snorlax's glossy, well-fed body, the crowd quietly agreed that whatever else was true about Randolf, he clearly had money behind him — Trainer family or not.
David guessed that a Snorlax that size probably ate as much in a day as his own Salamence did.
Still, Aspen's Rhyperior had something Randolf's Snorlax didn't: a hidden ability. That was a stroke of luck, especially since Aspen hadn't even had the Xu family's backing yet when his Rhydon first hatched.
Of course, neither Pokémon was anywhere near as small as the entries in a certain famous professor's Pokédex made them sound. Standing over three meters tall, these two giants collided the instant the referee called for the match to begin.
Snorlax moved first, gathering a crackling frost between its paws before slamming a series of heavy Ice Punches into Rhyperior's chest.
Rhyperior held its ground. It let out a pained roar as the ice bit into its hide, then answered immediately with a bone-rattling Double-Edge, driving its head into Snorlax's gut.
Neither side had a type advantage, and their raw power seemed evenly matched, which made for an exciting exchange — exactly the kind of spectacle the crowd had come to see.
Fights between two heavyweights like this always got the audience roaring. A quick, one-sided match — like anything involving David's Salamence, which usually ended after a couple of Dragon Dives — just wasn't as much fun to watch.
"Ooh, would you look at that. Randolf's Snorlax is actually pretty well-trained," Luke said, standing beside David in the waiting area, his tone easy and relaxed.
"After putting in that much effort, they'd better have a few strong ones," David replied. "Randolf's probably one of the better Trainers on their team."
Both schools were sending out their top students, so it made sense their strength would be close.
Given how fierce the competition had gotten this year, any main-roster Trainer without at least one Superior-level Pokémon had no business hoping for good results.
Take the Imperial City area, for example — there were only four open spots for the main High School League, and Imperial City alone had more than thirty middle schools competing for them, six of which were considered top-tier. The competition there was brutal.
And across the entire Cloudspire Alliance, with its huge territory and population, only around a hundred schools nationwide would even make it into the main tournament.
David figured Wyvern Academy's odds of reaching the main stage were slim. The Imperial City area alone was too competitive, and Wyvern wasn't exactly a standout among the other first-class schools.
"Snorlax, Psybeam!"
"Not a chance. Rhyperior, Take Down — don't let it put any distance between you!"
After their next clash, both Pokémon were covered in fresh wounds. Rhyperior's body bore the marks of Ice Punch, faint traces of cold still clinging to its skin, while Snorlax had several bleeding scratches from Rhyperior's horn.
Seeing that close-range fighting wasn't working, Randolf ordered Snorlax to fall back during their next exchange, planning to open up space for a Psybeam.
But Aspen wasn't about to let that happen — all those hours of practical training hadn't been for nothing. He immediately called for Rhyperior to close the gap with a Take Down.
If Snorlax had Psybeam in its arsenal, there was no way he could let it create distance. Rhyperior didn't have a Fighting-type move with range — it wasn't a Lucario that could fire off Aura Sphere or Focus Blast from a distance — so keeping the fight up close was the only real option.
Rhyperior barreled forward and slammed into Snorlax just as it was winding up Psybeam, throwing off its aim and cutting the attack short.
Thanks to its thick layers of fat, though, Snorlax barely felt the impact. If anything, it just made the Pokémon angrier.
"Oh, you want it up close? Fine, let's go."
"Snorlax, use Belly Drum!"
Frustrated that his plan had failed, Randolf snapped and ordered an all-out gamble, throwing caution to the wind.
Belly Drum: cuts the user's current HP in half in exchange for maximizing its Attack stat.
"Bang! Bang, bang—"
At the command, Snorlax began pounding its own stomach with both fists. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and a wave of pressure rolled off its body. Rhyperior's expression flickered with something close to unease.
"Heavy Slam!"
Snorlax's whole body took on a metallic gleam, and it charged forward like a wall of steel crashing into Rhyperior.
"Rhyperior, Hammer Arm! Meet it head-on!"
"Grrraahh!"
Rhyperior didn't flinch. It reared back and drove a full-force Hammer Arm straight into the incoming "wall," matching Snorlax's charge blow for blow.
Clang!
The impact rang out like two pieces of metal slamming together.
Back in the waiting area, David watched quietly and shook his head.
Aspen and his Rhyperior had fought well, but he'd clearly underestimated just how dangerous Belly Drum could be. It was the kind of move that could flip an entire match on its head.
Worse still, Snorlax's ability was Thick Fat, which cut down the damage it took from Fire- and Ice-type moves and also softened the force of many physical blows. If Rhyperior had kept attacking with its horn instead of switching to blunt strikes, it might have fared better.
David suddenly thought of Amatsuki Mei's Gallade, and the way its blade had once sliced clean through one of Salamence's Hurricanes. If Gallade were in this match, one strike would probably be enough to snap Snorlax out of its Belly Drum high.
Just as David expected, the standoff didn't last. Rhyperior couldn't keep pace — the two Hammer Arms it absorbed left it badly hurt, though not yet finished. It was sent skidding backward and took a long moment to climb back to its feet.
Snorlax pressed its advantage without hesitation. For all its terrifying power in that moment, Belly Drum had already cost it a huge chunk of its stamina. If it couldn't end the fight quickly, it risked being worn down and losing anyway.
Rhyperior, badly weakened, could do little but hang on against Snorlax's relentless assault.
Even so, after a few more exchanges, Rhyperior finally went down under the assault of the half-berserk Snorlax.
The moment Rhyperior lost the ability to battle, cheers began rising from the crowd — only to cut off abruptly.
Snorlax, which had looked so dominant only seconds before, suddenly collapsed as well, losing its own ability to battle.