While Snolax wasn't suggested last chapter, I have had several requests for him in the past, so I decided to have this chapter be about him. :)

I'm going to be focusing on keeping these stories on the shorter side for now (which should mean more updates), while having the longer ones be every several chapters, to keep things more spread out.

But for now, enjoy story twelve!

Story 12 - A Berry Bad Nap - Snorlax

Snorlax slowly raised the bush to his mouth, arm shaking as he bit into the plant. The small branches cracked as he chewed, the leaves sticking to the roof of his mouth as he attempted to swallow. The normal type let out a painful groan as the bush roughly slid down his throat, joining his many other "meals" in his stomach. He sat there for a moment, stomach begging him not to take another bite– which was quite a strange feeling for the Pokemon. This didn't stop the Snorlax however, and his trembling arm reached for a fallen branch, raising it to his mouth.

"Low!" Swellow called, swooping down and seizing the branch from his hand. Snorlax barely seemed to notice that his prize had been stolen, and stuffed his empty hand into his mouth. Swellow landed in front of him, dropping the stick as he stared up at the normal type– who was chewing on nothing. The Snorlax let out an exhausted yawn, every muscle in his body shaking with the need for rest.

His nose twitched, never having been awake at this point tiredness before. Usually the smallest of tasks could send the Snorlax into a deep sleep, but he simply couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. Swellow looked up uncertainly at him as Snorlax reached for the branch once more, and this time the bird made no effort to stop him. The wood was pressed into Snorlax's mouth, jaw aching as he forced himself to chew. The bark scraped against his throat, but still he swallowed.

Snorlax's life was quite simple: eat, and then sleep; rinse, then repeat. There was little else that could break him from his habits, only waking up at the sound of his trainer's voice or when he was needed to battle. But his trainer currently wasn't in Kanto, and it had been ages since he had last been used in a battle. His time at the lab had been a calm bliss, eating and sleeping as needed. The Professor even learned his sleeping schedule, always making sure there was a meal waiting for him for when he awoke.

But a few days ago, Snorlax had suddenly woken up, breaking his schedule. Normally he'd just turn over and drift off once more– but he had been unable to fall asleep again. The exhausted Snorlax simply did what he always did when he woke up, and that was eating. So he had began to tear up the foliage of where he napped, believing that it wouldn't be long until sleep reclaimed him, and had simply began eating what he could.

So here they were, two days later, and he was still eating away. Not counting the tiny moments of sleep he had managed to fall into when he couldn't simply stay awake any longer, the Snorlax had gotten no sleep. There were bags under his eyes, his stomach bulging– even for a Snorlax. Some part of him simply didn't seem to realize he could stop eating, so on he went, every limb shaking as he continued to stuff himself.

'Come on Snorlax...' Staraptor said uncertainly, watching as he grabbed a handful of dirt. 'You need to stop, you're gonna to hurt yourself.'

Snorlax looked weakly towards them, blinking slowly. He was tired, so tired... these few spare hours of sleep had done nothing for him... he just needed to sleep.

The dirt was dry on his tongue, dimly reminding him of the food the Professor had last left out for him. How he wished he had that instead of the forest he was slowly devouring. His head slumped to the side, glancing at the section of forest he had torn up over these last few days. He blinked once more, pulling up a nearby tuft of grass. Eat until he fell asleep... that always worked...

Why wasn't it working now?

'I'll go get the Professor,' Swellow said quietly, opening his wings. Snorlax barely took noticed as the bird as he flew off– the two flying types had found of him an hour earlier as they sped over the forest, having discovered the barren section he had cleared away. They had been attempting to have him stop eating, well aware that this was too much– even for a Snorlax– but nothing stopped him.

Eat until he fell asleep... why wasn't it working...?

Staraptor gave him a pitiful look as he bit into a rock. Snorlax paused, wondering if he should just swallow it. With a yawn he let the stone fall to the ground, fumbling around for another handful of dirt.

"Say 'ahh'," Professor Oak muttered, standing on a stool so he was eye level to the Snorlax. The normal type blinked, his mind taking a moment to register the request. He hesitantly opened his mouth, allowing the Professor to shine a small light into his mouth. He shivered as he felt the Professor's hand on his tongue, examining the bear-like Pokemon's mouth.

"Well, Professor?" Tracey asked nervously, standing behind the Professor in case he lost his balance. Professor Oak sighed, pulling back, a worried look on his face. Snorlax smacked his lips, watching the Professor uncertainly. There was usually little that could hold Snorlax's attention, but the Professor was one of them. He was a good human, always doing his best to care for the many Pokemon here, and Snorlax had come to respect that. And of course, the food he always had for Snorlax was delicious.

But it was hard to focus with his aching stomach and the desire to sleep– a sleep that refused to come.

"...He's definitely overeaten– something I'd never thought to see in a Snorlax. Yes they have a large appetite, but they usually stop when full– and then sleep." The Professor climbed down from the stool, glancing around at the torn up forest around Snorlax. The lowest branches of the trees had been torn off, bark scraped off of the trunk. The grass had been pulled up, plants and roots gone from Snorlax's feast. It was quite a mess, one the Professor clearly didn't know what to make of. "This is definitely several days of work– we're glad this was brought to our attention this quickly."

Swellow held his head up proudly in the tree he was perched in– right above Snorlax. Staraptor sat next to him, the two waiting to see what would happen to their fellow Pokemon.

"Have we not been giving him enough to eat?" Tracey asked hesitantly.

Professor Oak shook his head. "No, food is not the issue, besides the amount he had consumed. Snorlax have been know to be able to sleep for days on end, and when they are awake it is never more for an hour at a time. For this mess to happen... it seems that Snorlax has been awake for sometime now," He carefully patted the normal type's side. "Look at his eyes, he hasn't been getting enough sleep. Something is clearly wrong– we should probably get him back to the lab to exam him further."

"...How are we going to do that?" Tracey asked weakly, staring up at Snorlax's monstrous size.

Professor Oak smiled, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a red sphere. "He's a Pokemon, remember?"

Snorlax blinked at his Pokeball, which Professor Oak was holding. It had been some time since he had been recalled to the sphere, but right now it sounded so relaxing. While not a true sleep, a Pokeball would be the closest thing to a proper nap.

Tracey scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah..."

Professor Oak held the Pokeball out towards Snorlax, recalling him in a burst of red light. Snorlax closed his eyes as he was drawn into the Pokeball– hoping it would be sometime before he was forced out into the light again.

'Oshawott– turn off the TV right now!' Bulbasaur cried in frustration, as the theme song for Riolu-Man was blasted through the lab, jerking Snorlax out of his Sleep Powder-induced sleep.

'B-but it's a brand new episode!' The water type called back from farther in the lab. Snorlax yawned, raising a hand and rubbing his eyes. It was his third day in the lab, and his fifth day since he had been unable to sleep. The Professor had been keeping a close eye on him, having Bulbasaur use Sleep Powder on him when the lack of sleep was becoming painful for the Pokemon. Unfortunately the effects never lasted long, the Snorlax finding himself waking up after an hour– two if he were lucky.

Unfortunately luck was not on his side at the moment, Oshawott having pulled him out of his most recent attempt at a nap, which had only been about twenty minutes long. Snorlax glanced down, hands resting on his belly. The Professor had managed to keep him from binge eating everything in sight, and got him back on his regular meal schedule, but that still didn't change the fact that he just wanted to eat. That was what helped him sleep– and sleep was what he wanted most right now.

'They'll be a rerun on at some point– turn it off before I get Rotom to do it for me!' Bulbasaur shouted back. 'We have Pokemon in here that need the quiet!'

'You're not being all that quiet yourself!' Oshawott huffed. Snorlax didn't want to agree with the one that had awakened him, but the water type was right. Bulbasaur's yelling wasn't helping him in the slightest.

Bulbasaur sighed, looking up at Snorlax. 'Don't worry big guy, we'll find out what's wrong.'

Bulbasaur pattered him with a vine, and Snorlax sighed. He had hoped the Professor would just give him some medicine and everything would be better, but these last few days had just been miserable. Without at least twenty hours of sleep he was tired, twelve did him nothing, and he could never understand how humans got by with only eight. But right now eight hours would be a miracle... even three would be welcomed...

'Agh!' Oshawott's cry filled the lab, making Snorlax jump slightly. Bulbasaur rolled his eyes as the water type came rushing room, his small arms flailing in the air. 'M-make it s-stop!' He wailed, throwing himself onto Bulbasaur.

The grass type used his vines to shove him off. 'I warned you about Rotom, you should know by now he'll get inside any electronics he can. You should have turned the TV off when I told you to.'

'Rotom turned on a thriller movie!' Oshawott cried, slumping onto the floor dramatically. Snorlax blinked, but Bulbasaur merely turned away from Oshawott. 'Psycho Cut is too much for me! I can still see that Malamar in my mind... Why does the Professor even have such an old movie?!'

'Well, he is an older man, so it is unsurprising that he would enjoy films from his time,' A calm voice from above said, making Oshawott stiffen up. Noctowl had flown in through an open window, landing on the bookcase behind them without making a sound. Snorlax didn't even both to turn to face the shiny flying type, he just wanted to sleep.

The Professor had made him quite comfortable at the lab, blankets spread out in one corner making quite the comfy bed. Snorlax would sleep just about anywhere, but that didn't mean he didn't like being comfortable. Unfortunately the bedding wasn't enough to help him fall back to his wonderful realm of sleep, so instead he merely looked forward to his meals in hopes it would be enough to help him reclaim his old self.

But so far, it hadn't.

'Wh-when did you get here?!' Oshawott cried up at Noctowl, leaping to his feet.

'Bulbasaur requested that I use my Hypnosis to help Snorlax fall into a sleep. Sleep Powder should not been used for achieving deep rest, as it is only meant to cause a light sleep,' Noctowl said, her voice an eerily calm. 'Hypnosis uses psychic waves to lure the target into a trance, which can then be furthered into a deeper sleep if desired by the user, which would be me.'

Oshawott blinked in confusion, then glanced at Snorlax. 'Um... you mean the Professor hasn't fixed Snorlax yet?'

Snorlax looked down at Oshawott, who gave a hesitant wave as he was stared down by the much larger Pokemon.

'We have no idea what's causing this, Oshawott!' Bulbasaur cried in frustration. 'He's been like this for five days now! If this keeps up who knows what kind of shape he'll find himself in!'

Snorlax gave a worried rumble. Would he never feel the sweet bliss of pure sleep ever again?

'Don't worry, we'll figure this out,' Bulbasaur said in a reassuring tone, but Snorlax suspected it was forced. Bulbasaur turned back towards Oshawott. 'Why else do you think Snorlax would still be here if he wasn't better yet?'

'Um... Because the Professor wanted to make sure everything was alright...?' Oshawott paled slightly. 'Um... can't Snorlax just go to sleep with a Rest or something...? Shouldn't that just, um... you know, work?'

Noctowl ruffled her feathers. '"Rest" is a move that temporarily puts the user in a trance while they use their energy to heal. It is not a deep sleep that will suffice for the rest a living being needs to survive. One typically wakes up from Rest after several minutes, it is a tactic for battle, not for sleeping.'

Oshawott paled further, tapping his scalchop nervously. 'S-so Snorlax hasn't been getting any sleep? Y-you guys haven't fixed it yet?'

'Like we said, we have yet to find the cause–' Bulbasaur began, but he paused as Oshawott began backing away. Bulbasaur frowned, suspicion in his tone. 'Is something wrong, Oshawott?'

'N-nope! Nothing's wrong! E-everything's just fine!' The little water type stuttered. 'I j-just remembered something– I gotta go– battles and girls and such–'

With that Oshawott turned, running as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Unfortunately he didn't get far, and with a single blink of Snorlax's tired eyes the Oshawott let out a small cry. Bulbasaur had grabbed him around the leg with a Vine Whip, dangling him in the air upside down. Oshawott struggled, grabbing his scalchop and forming a Razor Shell. He slashed the blade about, but was unable to hit Bulbasaur's vine to get himself free.

'Do you know what's going on with Snorlax?' Bulbasaur asked in a low tone, bringing Oshawott in close. He pointed the scalchop right at Bulbasaur, shaking nervously. 'Oshawott.'

'Um... say that one did know what was going on– he should have no fear of a grass type becoming angry when told, if this said Pokemon was... involved?' Oshawott asked meekly.

Bulbasaur's harsh gaze didn't change. 'He'd have a very simple choice– face an angry grass type and tell the truth– or face a very enraged grass type if he doesn't spill the Pokebeans.'

Oshawott gulped. 'Say if he meant no harm?'

'Doesn't change the fact that harm has been done,' Bulbasaur growled, and he swung his vine around, which in turn swung Oshawott. 'But he doesn't have to tell the grass type what he knows– if the Pokemon wants he can be given to a Noctowl instead,' He held out Oshawott towards the flying type, making him yelp. 'Or perhaps he can hang out with a Professor's Rotom until he decides to explain what he knows.'

'I'll tell you!' Oshawott screamed, thrashing in Bulbasaur's grip. 'Just put me down, for Reshiram's sake!'

Bulbasaur regarded Oshawott for a moment, then dropped him. Snorlax flinched as Oshawott hit the ground, the otter whimpering at the impact. He sat up, rubbing his head, looking around nervously. He gulped, glancing up at a glaring Bulbasaur, before looking back down.

'W-we thought you guys could fix it...' Oshawott whimpered. 'We didn't know it'd last for this long...'

'I'm guessing that by "we" you mean the Rascals,' Bulbasaur growled. 'What did Gible and Totodile do this time?'

Oshawott tapped his arms together nervously. 'They may have found out that I know how to use a computer...' Bulbasaur looked surprised at this, but didn't interrupt. 'And came up with a silly little prank... that they had me do...'

Bulbasaur rubbed his head with a vine. 'Oshawott– what on earth did you do?'

Oshawott gulped. 'I, um... I typed up a new recipe for Snorlax's meal, p-printed it off... and put it in the Professor's notes...' The water type looked up, an uncertain smile on his face. 'A recipe that involved Chesto berries...'

Bulbasaur's eyes widened, but Snorlax couldn't understand how this was the cause of his problem. Berries were food– and food was meant to be eaten. He let out a confused rumble, glancing around. Bulbasaur started pacing, sharing a look with Noctowl.

'You...' Bulbasaur muttered.

Oshawott defensively held up his arms. 'We thought that you guys would fix it! We thought you'd notice that something was different with the recipe and–'

'It doesn't work that way!' Bulbasaur cried, making Oshawott recoil. 'We have hundreds of Pokemon that we feed here daily– hundreds! We don't go over each recipe each time when we're preparing the food and make sure everything is right– we just make enough for the week and move onto the next Pokemon's food! We trust the recipe to be right because he triple checks it when he writes them up!' Bulbasaur turned around angrily to face Oshawott. 'I can't believe you messed with his notes– he depends on those! For the health of each Pokemon! Do you realize how much you could have– you have done with this "prank" Oshawott?!'

Oshawott shrank back, guilt on his face. 'I- um–'

'Did you touch anything else in the Professor's notes?' Bulbasaur demanded, taking several steps towards Oshawott. 'Have you messed with anything else?!'

'N-no! I swear!' Oshawott cried, waving his tiny arms. 'N-nothing else! Just the Chesto berries!

Bulbasaur started pacing. 'And here I thought Gible couldn't top anything after the rare candy incident...' He rubbed his head with a vine. 'Noctowl, can you please get me the Professor's notes– we need to fix this right away.'

The shiny nodded, spreading her rust-colored wings, taking to the air. Snorlax watched her fly off, blinking slowly. Fix it? They knew how to fix it? Did that mean that he would be able to sleep again? The mere thought made Snorlax sit up happily.

'H-heh... well, now that you got this all figured out, I'll just take my leave. S-see you, Stranger...' Oshawott muttered, backing away slowly. Bulbasaur didn't break from his pacing, but a quick Vine Whip stopped Oshawott's retreat.

'Nice try, "Torrent", but you're not getting out of this that easily,' He glared up at him. 'Your job is going to be quite simple though, don't worry. You get to go find Gible and Totodile, and bring them back to the lab. All three of you get to help fix the damage you've done.'

'Wh-wha?! I can't tell them that I confessed– or that I was caught!' Oshawott cried. Bulbasaur sat him down, giving him a small push towards the door.

'Well, if you don't bring them here I'll send Rotom after you,' Bulbasaur said, making Oshawott pale. 'I need to find the Professor, so don't you dare keep us waiting. I want all three of you back here in a half hour– is that clear?'

Oshawott looked like he was ready to argue, but a grin from a Rotom, whom had zipped into the room, seemed to make Oshawott change his mind.

'I- I'll have them here in ten!' He cried, bolting towards the exit of the lab.

Rotom let out a cackle, before zipping off towards the kitchen, where it was sure to only cause more trouble. Bulbasaur sighed, before finally turning towards Snorlax, whose eyes were struggling to stay open.

'Don't worry big guy, we'll have this all cleared up soon... Chesto berries, no wonder you couldn't sleep,' Bulbasaur gave him a small smile. 'Don't worry, the Professor will know just what to do now that we know the cause.'

Snorlax sure hoped so.

An hour later Snorlax found himself happily gulping down a fresh bowl of food outside. Apparently this was the clearing where all the Pokemon ate, but Snorlax had never spent much time here. His current meal had a slight sour taste to it, which Snorlax found perfectly delicious, much better than the dryer meals he had before. (Though food was food, no matter what it was.)

"Chesto berries..." Professor Oak muttered for the hundredth time. "It was so simple– Chesto berries!"

Professor Oak was looking over the recipe that Oshawott had typed up– the one that Bulbasaur had tore out of the notes right away to give to the Professor. Snorlax's true meal recipe had been replaced, the same meal Snorlax was enjoying now. The normal type happily ate away, the promise of sleep giving him an energy he hadn't had in days.

"Will there be any long term effects for Snorlax?" Tracey asked, handing a grumpy-looking Totodile a bowl of food. Totodile attempted to reach for a pellet of food, only to stop with a glare from Bulbasaur.

"Dile..." He grumbled, carrying the bowl off towards two Vulpix. Totodile, Gible, and Oshawott had found themselves stuck with helping the humans feed the many Pokemon at the lab– a job that truly managed to get to them, since they couldn't steal a bite with Noctowl and Bulbasaur close by. Oshawott was the only that truly didn't seem frustrated by their punishment, perhaps realizing that they deserved it.

Or perhaps he just enjoyed flirting with the many female Pokemon he encountered while doing so.

Oshawott winked at one of the Vulpixes, who yelped, hiding behind her older sister. The older Vulpix glared at Oshawott for a moment, before carefully beginning to eat her meal. It took her sister several moments longer before she began eating as well.

Professor Oak chuckled. "No Tracey, Snorlax will be just fine. The Chesto berries should be out of his system by now. And with a good nap, he should be as right as rain."

Snorlax plopped the last of his meal into his mouth, happily swallowing. The normal type rubbed his belly, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"He's looking much better already," Tracey agreed, even though Snorlax still hadn't gotten any sleep yet. Snorlax blinked, patiently waiting to see if sleep would truly come for him now. He had eaten, so it shouldn't be long now...

"Chesto berries are quite the fruit, a common ingredient of coffee, since it tends to keep one from becoming drowsy, though used in small amounts. And since Snorlax was getting a whole one in everyone of his meals... well the effects were just stacked against him," Professor Oak said, looking down at the fake recipe once more. "Since he constantly had some in his system is basically just kept his adrenaline running through him, to put it simply. Hmm... this could be an interesting basis for a study... Write that down Tracey."

"Right away, sir!" Tracey cried, quickly pulling out a notepad, jotting it down. "Of course you can't start any new study– you've just began your one on Pokemon weather abilities!"

Professor Oak glanced at the two Vulpixes for a moment. "Never hurts to plan ahead."

A yawn escaped Snorlax, and everyone's eyes were quickly drawn back towards the bear-like Pokemon. Snorlax barely noticed this however, his eyes starting to grow heavy. But unlike the last few days, there was no feeling holding him back. This wasn't the exhaustion that came from being unable to sleep, but rather a true feeling of tiredness.

Snorlax sat on the ground with a heavy thump! The ground shook a little as he laid down, eyes drooping, but his heart was beating with excitement. He could already feel a blackness creeping at the edges of his vision– sleep was coming. At long last real sleep was coming!

Professor Oak smiled, saying something else, but the words were lost to Snorlax as he closed his eyes. Snorlax let out a content rumble, turning over as sleep washed over him. There was a smile on his face as he drifted off, as if dreams were already touching his mind.

A snore filled the clearing, and Snorlax was asleep once more.

It's funny how characters tend to develop themselves. :) As you might of noticed, Snorlax didn't have any dialogue this chapter. This wasn't something I had planned when coming up with this chapter, but as I started writing it just kind of happened. I wouldn't say that Snorlax is mute, just simply not talkative (especially when there's a bunch of Chesto berries in his meal).

It was also fun to have more interactions between Oshawott, Bulbasaur, and Noctowl- it's been a while since I've written about these three, but these three are a blast to write about. :)

As always, feel free to leave suggestions for next chapter. :)