The mention of mufflers made it clear what her decision was. “I’ve never seen anything like this either!” Hideo joked, letting out his Toxtricity. The purple Pokemon lazily stared at the Snorlax, cracking his neck as he was ready to make noise on cue.

As for the offer, Hideo shook his head. “Nah, it’s alright; I got that covered.”

His Ribombee’s wings buzzed quickly as the small bug floated off Hideo’s head, going from ear to ear and stuffing them with enough Pollen Puffs to keep his hearing safe. As Pinky returned to his hairy resting spot, he produced another glob of Pollen Puffs, muffling his antennae.

Hideo clapped his hands a couple times, testing their effectiveness - and he could barely hear them. He turned to where he last heard Eris, offering a thumbs-up paired with a confident smile: he was ready. As was his Ribombee, who raised a hand as the closest he could do for a thumbs-up.

“ALRIGHT JAMMER!” Hideo shouted - barely able to hear himself, “SHOW THAT SNORLAX WHAT YOU GOT!”

The Toxtricity nodded, taking a quick peek to make sure Eris and her Pokemon were safely muffler’d before taking in a deep breath, letting out the loudest Boomburst he could make to join with the Audino.

But their plan would fail; no amount of loud noise would rouse the sleepy Snorlax.

Eris Halla

Hideo didn't actually have much in the way of knowing if their Pokemon actually managed to wake up the Snorlax. He could barely hear the absolute cacophony their Pokemon were making, so loud that he could feel it, but that didn't tell him if they were successful.

Once he felt the noise stop, he felt the tap on his shoulder. He went to removing the Pollen Puffs from his ears, with a bit of help from his Toxtricity - his Ribombee only focused on removing its own mufflers.

"You're right on that count," Hideo sighed. He came to realize he didn't actually have a plan for what to do after they woke up the Snorlax - maybe fight it into submission?

But then they'd be dealing with a fainted Snorlax. Right back where they started.

With his ears gunkless, Hideo recalled his Toxtricity, his Aggron and Rhyperior taking its place. "I brought these two," he said, the two Pokemon looking over the two Eris had let out.

The Aggron in particular took a long, hard look at the Melmetal. It wasn't the first one he'd seen - and the one Hideo had was very cozy with him. Uncomfortably so.

"Probably gonna need all four Pokemon for this. I hear Snorlaxes weigh over 400 kilos. Hope it doesn't start tossing and turning when we try to move it…"

But it would indeed toss and turn: it wasn't going to make this easy for them.

Eris Halla

Hideo shuddered. "I'd rather not," he said, "I get close enough to getting squished when my Dragonite hugs me." Which was every time he let it out of its Pokeball. "I've gotten this far without breaking a bone. I wouldn't want to start with every one of them."

How bad would that hurt? He hoped he wouldn't find out any time soon.

A pang of worry ran through him as he heard Eris approach the Snorlax. "H-hey!" he exclaimed, following behind her, "We shouldn't get this close to it!" If he guessed right, she was literally right by the Snorlax. Even with four tough Pokemon, it came across as reckless.

Still, their Pokemon took their places, Hideo's Rhyperior and Aggron each picking a side - the latter opting to stay closer to Hideo and Eris.

Everyone in position, it was time for the countdown. Anxious as Hideo was, he went along with it, counting along with Eris.

"One…two…three!"

Their Pokemons' combined effort would be enough to lift the Snorlax, and they could even move it about - albeit slowly.

But the Snorlax wasn't going to make it easy for them. It had a small bout of Sleep Talk…

And then it began thrashing about, going through a Stomping Tantrum in its sleep. Its first victim was Hideo's Rhyperior, kicking her right in the face and to the ground.

Hideo's Aggron was next, although his release was more willing: seeing the kids nearby the Snorlax, he let go, opting to get in front of Hideo and Eris to Protect them.

Realizing this plan failed, Hideo grabbed onto Eris's arm, trying to pull her back. "We gotta move!" he exclaimed.

Fortunately, once the Snorlax was let down, its tantrum would end. But they'd be right back where they started.

Eris Halla

Hideo's mouth opened slightly as he tried to comprehend what Eris was telling him: that breaking a bone wasn't that bad unless it was bad. "Not really selling me on breaking something there," he quipped, "It'd probably hit me sooner and worse, even if it didn't get into…everything else."

Fortunately, he was spared the experience by his timely Aggron, but they were indeed back to square one. And those were all the Pokemon he'd brought with him. "Really is a rowdy one," Hideo sighed, recalling his two bruised Pokemon, "It's probably even worse in an actual battle."

He'd considered just trying to catch it, though a Pokemon this tough would probably just break out of any ball he tried using.

Fortunately, Eris seemed to have a plan. Hideo nodded, waiting to hear the result. The now-Insomniac Snorlax grumbled and stirred, gradually awakening from its slumber. Though a realization hit Hideo pretty quickly: Snorlaxes didn't like being woken up. Even if the ensuing tantrum didn't target them specifically, it was probably going to cause a lot of damage around them. Someone had to calm it down - or at least lead it away where its rage wouldn't hurt anyone.

And he had just the Pokemon for it. "Pinky, try and lead it away!"

The Ribombee on his head tensed up, a small hint of terror in his large eyes as it immediately spotted the risks of that plan - but he complied, his little wings buzzing as he took flight.

He flew up towards the standing Snorlax, letting out an Aromatherapy to try and grab its attention. The Snorlax looked straight at the Ribombee, their eyes meeting.

And it began to drool.

The Ribombee caught the hint immediately, a terrified expression on his face as he narrowly avoided being grabbed by the Snorlax. He tried flying away, but the Snorlax was faster than its size would imply, matching his speed and attempting to grab him again - and once again missing.

Hideo could hear the Snorlax's stomping feet move towards the forest, oblivious to his Ribombee's desperate struggle to avoid becoming a snack. "Nice one, Pinky!" Hideo shouted, Snorlax successfully removed from the road.

…

"Hope it doesn't take Pinky long to get back."

Eris Halla