Not only was Volkner shocked, but Jay was the same. He'd been a Trainer for years and had never seen a Snorlax move like that. This was just an agile fat guy.
Manectric simply didn't have time to dodge. The Wild Charge it had committed to was already in motion, its entire body caught in the momentum of an unretractable move. All it could do was watch that bear paw wreathed in earthy-yellow light grow larger and larger.
High Horsepower landed squarely on Manectric's body. The force was staggering. The golden lightning around Manectric was instantly torn apart by the Ground-type energy, turning into countless fine electric arcs scattering in all directions. Its body flew backward at an even faster speed than when it came.
Manectric crashed heavily into the transparent barrier at the edge of the Gym, producing a muffled boom. The barrier trembled violently, rippling in layers. Its battered body slid off the barrier and collapsed onto the ground.
After a short while, Manectric managed to stand back up. This blow hadn't quite finished it. But the scars left by High Horsepower were clearly visible, with several places torn open, and every breath was accompanied by a low pant.
After Belly Drum, Snorlax's physical attack was pushed to the absolute limit. High Horsepower was Ground-type, which meant double super-effective damage on pure Electric-type Manectric. A single strike had brought Manectric's stamina down to almost nothing.
Volkner's expression turned ugly. Not just because Manectric had been hammered into this state by one blow, but because of that Snorlax. That was simply not the speed a Snorlax should have. In terms of agility, it moved more like a primate than a bear. What kind of freak was this thing?
Misty held Togepi and nodded thoughtfully. "When Ash caught Snorlax back then, I already felt something was off about it. It was way too fast for its species."
Brock rubbed his face, which had grown stiff from shock. He didn't interact much with Snorlax. Whenever Ash swapped it over, he didn't really train it, just cultivated their bond through eating and hanging out. After all, Snorlax was one of those rare Pokémon that grew through eating and sleeping rather than conventional training. So Brock had no idea Ash's Snorlax had this particular quirk.
"Ash really doesn't catch normal Pokémon. Every single one is weirder than the last."
On the field, Volkner took a deep breath. Manectric's stamina was rock-bottom. One more hit and it was done. Head-on confrontation was no longer an option. He had to change tactics.
"Manectric, Electric Terrain."
Manectric raised its head and whined. The dim lightning on its body lit up once more, but this time it didn't condense into an attack. Instead it spread outward from under its feet in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the entire field was covered by a golden electric net, the air filled with fine arcs and a soft crackling sound.
Electric Terrain boosted the power of Electric-type moves for all grounded Pokémon. And under electricity-rich conditions, Manectric's speed could climb even higher.
"Manectric, Thunderbolt!"
Since close combat was suicide, he'd use ranged attacks to wear Snorlax down. This Snorlax was surprisingly agile, but in terms of genuine top speed, it couldn't outrun Manectric. As long as they kept distance and peppered it with boosted Thunderbolts, no amount of stamina would save it. And the moment Snorlax tried to close the gap, Manectric could use its speed to pull away.
Under Electric Terrain's boost, the lightning around Manectric surged. A thick golden pillar of thunder burst from its body, streaking toward Snorlax at blinding speed.
Ash's command rang out at the exact same moment.
"Snorlax, Giga Impact."
"Snorlax!"
Snorlax let out a heaven-shaking roar, its round body completely wrapped in a layer of dense white light. The next second, it charged forward with its thick legs like a runaway tank.
Volkner shook his head. "At this distance, with Snorlax's speed, it's impossible to..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
Snorlax's massive body, boosted by Giga Impact, shot forward at a speed that had absolutely no right belonging to something that size. The golden Thunderbolt struck its body and was deflected by the white energy shroud, crushed apart like it was nothing. The bolt didn't even slow it down.
Volkner's eyes went wide.
Manectric wanted to dodge, but having just released Thunderbolt, it was caught in the briefest moment of post-move lag. And Snorlax's sprint speed was a thousand times faster than Volkner had imagined. He had never accounted for the possibility that Thunderbolt's recovery window would be the thing that killed Manectric.
That pause was the final nail.
Giga Impact crashed solidly into Manectric. That blue-and-yellow body was sent flying high into the air, tracing a powerless arc before crashing heavily onto the ground and sliding several meters before stopping. It lifted its head slightly, but couldn't hold it up, and drooped back down.
Manectric was unable to battle.
Jay stared at Manectric lying at the edge of the field, then at Snorlax in the center, panting but barely winded. He couldn't find words.
A Belly Drum-boosted Snorlax hitting head-on with Giga Impact. Even at full stamina, Manectric wouldn't have survived that. After being brought to the brink by High Horsepower, it never had a chance.
But that wasn't the real issue. The real issue was the speed. When had either of them ever seen a Snorlax attack like that? A normal Snorlax was a heavy turret. Stand in place, tank hits, counter in the gaps. A Snorlax that could do that much was already strong.
Ash's Snorlax wasn't a turret. It was a freight train.
The terrifying attack power after Belly Drum made it impossible for ordinary Elite Four High attacks to compete head-on, and the explosive straight-line charge speed was beyond anything Volkner had anticipated. If he'd known Snorlax could burst with that kind of speed, he would never have let Manectric stand and trade. He'd have used hit-and-run tactics from the start.
"Manectric is unable to battle. Snorlax wins!" Jay's voice resounded in the Gym, still carrying a trace of disbelief.
Volkner recalled the fallen Manectric. "Good work. You did great." He looked down at the Poké Ball for a moment, then turned his gaze back to Ash's Snorlax.
"This Snorlax of yours. Its build is a heavyweight's, but it moves like a speed-type. I've been a Trainer for a long time, and I've never seen anything like it." He paused. "No. I should say I've never seen a Trainer like you. The reason this Snorlax is so special probably has a lot to do with you."
Ash smiled and patted Snorlax's back. "Honestly, I didn't do anything. This guy is just ridiculously gifted. I was shocked by it when I first caught it too."
He wasn't being modest. He really hadn't done any special training with Snorlax. Unless you counted feeding it premium berries and making sure it slept well.
Volkner didn't respond. He just took the second Poké Ball from his waist and tossed it high.
A slender figure landed in the center of the field. A quadrupedal Pokémon covered in pale-yellow short fur, a ring of fluffy mane standing upright around its neck, its fur puffed up like a hedgehog's spines.
Jolteon, one of Eevee's evolutionary forms.
Ash's eyes narrowed slightly. Through Aura Sight, the level came into focus immediately. Elite Four Peak. And judging from the steady aura around it, this wasn't a Jolteon that had only recently reached that tier. The information Ash had checked on his phone the night before had completely lost its reference value. If this Jolteon wasn't Volkner's ace, what level was his strongest?
Ash turned to Snorlax. "Can you keep going?"
"Snorlax!" Snorlax patted its snowy-white belly with a thick paw, producing a muffled thump. No problem.
"Then I'm counting on you."
"Second match, Snorlax versus Jolteon. Begin!" Jay called out.
"Jolteon, start running." Volkner's command was immediate.
Jolteon's limbs barely touched the ground before its entire body turned into a pale-yellow streak, speeding across the Electric Terrain. Its figure traced arcs across the field, its footsteps so light there was almost no sound. Only the fine electric sparks occasionally splashing up from the Terrain proved its trajectory.
This speed was in a completely different class from Manectric's. Manectric's figure could at least be tracked. Jolteon was so fast that Snorlax couldn't even see an afterimage. At this speed, even Earthquake would probably be dodged with room to spare, and Snorlax had no way to mount an effective counter. Jolteon's speed simply outclassed everything Snorlax had shown so far.
"Thunderbolt."
Jolteon slightly turned its head mid-sprint, the mane around its neck flashing gold. A pillar of lightning burst from its body, striking straight toward Snorlax, and its footsteps didn't pause for even a fraction of a second. While running, it could still continuously output attacks.
The Thunderbolt hit. Snorlax let out a cry of pain, but when it looked toward the source, Jolteon was long gone. The next second, lightning came from a completely different angle.
Then another. And another.
Golden lightning struck down from every direction in rapid succession. Jolteon was a high-speed mobile turret, continuously pouring Thunderbolts onto Snorlax under Electric Terrain's boost. Volkner had clearly learned from the Manectric fight. No standing still. No stationary output. Attack while moving. The power was slightly reduced, but Snorlax couldn't track Jolteon's position for even a second.
Even with Snorlax's massive stamina pool, this method could grind it down to nothing.