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While Eddie was deep in thought about how much money he might have to pay for the bridge damage, Mega Lucario was certainly not sitting idle. Knowing that its trainer was genuinely worried about the financial consequences, it simply rolled its eyes silently and then launched another attack against Snorlax.
"The opponent's attack power is definitely not weak," Mega Lucario thought to itself. "If it manages to hit me directly, that would be serious trouble. But since it can withstand multiple attacks from me, I need to find a way to restrict its movements first!"
As an Aura Pokemon, Mega Lucario possessed high intelligence. While Eddie was still lost in his worried daze, it had already figured out exactly what needed to be done. It approached Snorlax once again and used Force Palm, targeting the same spot on its abdomen where it had been focusing its previous attacks.
Taking full advantage of Snorlax's naturally slow speed, Mega Lucario used Force Palm to attack repeatedly before the massive Pokemon could properly react. This particular move didn't deal tremendous damage, but Mega Lucario wasn't primarily interested in the damage output. Instead, it was hoping to trigger the move's additional effect, which had a chance to paralyze the target.
Although the probability was relatively low, frequent attacks would eventually trigger this beneficial status condition. Snorlax wouldn't simply allow Mega Lucario to keep attacking it without retaliation, but just as Mega Lucario had calculated, its sluggish speed prevented it from reacting quickly enough to counter-attack effectively.
By the time Snorlax managed to mount another offensive, it had already been struck numerous times by Mega Lucario's persistent Force Palm attacks. Of course, due to its naturally high defense, massive HP pool, and the healing item Leftovers it was holding, Snorlax didn't seem particularly bothered by the assault. The rate of its HP recovery was actually exceeding the damage it was receiving from the attacks.
However, just as Mega Lucario had strategically planned, more frequent attacks would inevitably trigger the additional paralysis effect.
"Ha~~~" Snorlax made a strained sound. Just as it was preparing to launch another attack, it finally succumbed to the paralysis condition, its massive body seized up and unable to move properly.
"Hmm, I was spacing out for a while there," Eddie admitted as he rode Charizard back to the battlefield between Mega Lucario and Snorlax. "Lucario, you actually managed to inflict the paralysis condition on Snorlax? That's excellent work."
"But I only managed to paralyze it," Mega Lucario replied matter-of-factly, not taking undue credit for its tactical success. "It's still recovering its health steadily. I don't seem capable of dealing significant enough damage to overcome its healing. Essentially, I can't outlast it in a battle of attrition."
The paralysis condition would eventually wear off naturally. Eddie and Mega Lucario didn't have unlimited time to work with. If they couldn't find a better strategy soon, Snorlax would likely return to full health and mobility.
"I see. Unfortunately, one Pokemon alone might not be able to defeat this incredibly tanky Snorlax in a straightforward battle," Eddie mused aloud. "I'll have to release my other Pokemon to fight it together."
Eddie genuinely didn't want to resort to this particular method. In the past, when facing opponents that were significantly stronger than him, he'd had no choice but to use numerical superiority, and that had been perfectly reasonable under the circumstances. However, this time he felt compelled to use this strategy against a level 40 Pokemon, which made Eddie feel somewhat embarrassed about his approach.
Regardless of his personal feelings, he couldn't justify using the Power of Viridian directly just to save face in this situation. Not to mention that the Power of Viridian was essentially his ace in the hole - he would be traveling to Rainbow City later, and there was also a Team Rocket base operating in that area. Who could feel comfortable going into such a dangerous situation without keeping their trump card in reserve?
"Ha~~~" At that exact moment, Snorlax first let out an enormous yawn-like sound, then lay down directly in the shallow water beside the broken bridge. The injuries covering its body began recovering quickly and completely at a truly frightening speed.
"ZZZZZZ..." Snorlax began snoring peacefully.
Eddie stared at the Snorlax that had fallen asleep once again and found himself completely speechless. It felt like all their previous attacks had been completely pointless, but this outcome was actually quite normal. It would have been strange if Snorlax hadn't used Rest at this critical moment.
However, just as Eddie turned his head to look at Mega Lucario, preparing to coordinate their next group attack strategy...
"ZZZZZZ..." Mega Lucario was also fast asleep, swaying slightly on its feet.
"What?!" Eddie exclaimed in shock.
"Oh no, that wasn't just Snorlax preparing for Rest - it actually used the move Yawn!" Eddie realized with growing alarm. "I thought it was just making noise as it got ready to sleep, but it was actually using the move strategically!"
Yawn was a Normal-type status move that made the target drowsy, causing them to fall into a deep sleep condition after a short delay.
"Ha!!" Just as Eddie was about to attempt waking up Mega Lucario, Snorlax stood up with its eyes still firmly closed and delivered a powerful Body Slam directly at the sleeping Fighting-type Pokemon.
"This is terrible! It's using Sleep Talk!" Eddie shouted in frustration. "I didn't expect this guy to be capable of using Sleep Talk to launch attacks even without a trainer giving commands!"
Eddie had assumed Snorlax would simply continue sleeping peacefully, but he hadn't anticipated that it could use Sleep Talk to attack autonomously while unconscious.
Sleep Talk was a Normal-type move that allowed the user to randomly select and use one of their other known moves, but it could only be activated while in the sleep condition.
In his panic, Eddie couldn't take the time to slowly play the Poke Flute to wake Mega Lucario, so he had to immediately recall his Pokemon back to its Poke Ball for safety.
"Ha~~~~" When Eddie successfully recalled Lucario, Snorlax's attack sequence also came to an end. However, this crafty Pokemon seemed to sense Eddie withdrawing Lucario into the Poke Ball even while sleeping. After completing its Body Slam attack, it simply rolled over and continued sleeping soundly, showing absolutely no intention of waking up voluntarily.
Eddie sat down on Snorlax's massive belly once again and spoke with a rather dejected expression on his face. "I think I'm starting to understand what Sabrina must have felt before - that feeling where if you take this too seriously, you're bound to lose. It's not only frustrating but also genuinely infuriating."
Of course, after feeling sorry for himself, he looked genuinely melancholic. "I feel guilty about the idea of releasing all my Pokemon just to gang up on such a seemingly innocent guy..."
Eddie pondered the situation for what felt like a long time, though in reality it was only about ten to fifteen minutes. Soon, however, he suddenly thought of something important. He silently reached into his bag and pulled out a Poke Ball with a distinctive gray upper half and white lower half.
Heavy Ball: A somewhat specialized Poke Ball that can easily capture heavy Pokemon. The capture rate increases significantly for Pokemon weighing more than 300 kilograms - specifically, it provides a +30 bonus to the capture rate!
Snorlax typically weighed approximately 460 kilograms under normal circumstances, making it an exceptionally heavy Pokemon. If he used a Heavy Ball for the capture attempt, the effectiveness would be maximized.
"But I only have one of these specialized balls," Eddie muttered to himself. "I got it as a random reward after defeating a trainer, and it'll be gone after I use it."
This particular item had been obtained as a random drop after defeating another trainer in battle. Eddie's reasoning was quite straightforward at this point, and he casually took out the Heavy Ball without much hesitation.
He climbed back onto Charizard and took to the air once more, then threw the Heavy Ball toward the peacefully sleeping Snorlax. Just like with any normal Pokemon capture attempt, Snorlax's massive body was absorbed by the advanced technology of the specialized Poke Ball.
The Heavy Ball then began swaying gently from side to side, but it was obvious that the internal struggle was very minimal. In fact, there might not have been any resistance at all - it could have simply been Snorlax rolling over in its sleep.
After a few moments, the Heavy Ball made a satisfying clicking sound, indicating that the capture had been successful.
Eddie retrieved the Heavy Ball with an expressionless face, then turned to survey the section of the Silent Bridge that had been completely destroyed during their battle.
"This isn't a video game - this is the real Pokemon world," he said to himself thoughtfully. "Snorlax is currently using Rest and sleeping deeply. No rule anywhere states that it must be captured only after it wakes up and is properly defeated in battle. A Pokemon in the Rest condition should actually be the optimal time to attempt capturing Snorlax..."
"So what exactly was I doing with all that fighting just now..." Eddie questioned his own battle strategy for several seconds. Then, in the distance, he heard the distinctive sirens of police cars approaching the area.
He snapped back to alertness immediately and urged Charizard to fly away as quickly as possible.
As Eddie made his escape, he rationalized his actions to himself: "I captured Snorlax for the sake of world peace, and the destruction of the Silent Bridge was just an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice in that noble cause. Why should I have to pay compensation for something like that?" he thought with a slight grin.