Char is set for a rematch for his ex- but he's in a whole different type of heavyweight category now. Enjoy! I tried to really flesh out this story, so I hope the effort shows.
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It had been too long since Char heard his own name being cheered— even if it was for an eating contest, of all things. The charizard had simply fallen into the professional eating scene— frankly, a couple of months ago, he didn't even know the professional eating scene existed. His whole world had been the fighting championships, gyms, and combat leagues until his own boyfriend, the current reigning champ Tor, stabbed him in the back and stole his title. Then, it had been little less than a year of wallowing in self-pity for him, seething every time Tor went on to win another fight— but then, Char found a whole new fan base. Apparently, there was a whole different crowd out there that couldn't care less about the latest fighter champion, they just wanted to see pokemon eat and get fat— there were certain elements to an eating contest that were similar to his old fights, if Char squinted. There was a certain strategy to choosing what foods to eat, how best to pace oneself, even belly-stretching exercises to warm up.
At least, that's what Char was telling himself as he gorged himself on bluk berry pies, sitting between a shockingly lean nidoking with an overstuffed belly pressing against his armor plates and a more traditionally large and portly slowpoke— and either from sheer competitive nature or just being blessed with a naturally massive appetite, Char kept gorging himself, slamming back fistfuls of flaky pastry and gobs of sugary sweet bluk berries until he saw the slowpoke doze off and the nidoking pick up a slice of pie in a trembling paw, open his mouth, but then couldn't bring himself to bite.
"And that's it, that's it! With a staggering sixty four bluk berry pies consumed in only thirty five minutes, a record set by Char!" the announcer declared, and the crowd surrounding the stage cheered. Char beamed— it had felt like ages since a crowd cheered for him, and the overstuffed charizard grunted mightily as he heaved himself to his feet— his orange scales were streaked with blue bluk berry stains, and that round boulder of a belly landed on the table with a heavy thump as he pumped his thick arms into the air.
"Thank you, thank you! Like, ah, man!" Char chuckled as a microphone was held up to his mouth, a trophy pressed into his hand. "This is going to sound crazy or cringe, I don't know, but honestly, would not even be here without my fans right now. I know I only sat here on my fatass and ate a lot of pie, but you guys here stuck with me, you believed in me, and… I'm back, man! I feel like I'm on top of the world, because you guys encouraged me! I love that you guys love me, and thanks for watching me fill this tank up!" The charizard chuckled deeply, giving his round, bulbous stomach a hard thump that made it sway and wobble, leading to the charizard letting out a belch tinged with flame that sounded like a victory roar.
Actually moving off the stage was harder, once the high of winning wore off. Char had to carefully navigate the stairs, as he couldn't see his own feet anymore, and the slightest movement made him sway side to side with his bottom-heavy build, his gut rolling like an incoming wave, sloshing to the point of discomfort. Finally backstage, he breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against the hallway and practically filling it.
"Oh! Oh, you're still here!" A low but eager voice echoed down the hall. Char turned, seeing a large, burly boulder of a snorlax lumbering towards him. The charizard's brows bounced a bit— he was close to filling this hallway, but the snorlax had the top of his head and sides pressing against the ceiling and walls. "Hey, uh— I never do this, but, uhm… could I get your autograph? I-I've been watching your streams and everything."
Char let out a small exhale of a laugh. He had missed harmlessly awkward fan interactions more than he realized. "Ah, sure big guy, sure— You know that I'm just… being a fat ass, right?"
"Oh, well— I mean, sure, but. I dunno! I-I kinda thought you were doing a whole… body positivity thing, y'know? Being happy at any size, uh— living large, that kind of thing." The snorlax shifted his weight, rubbing the back of his head. "It— you know, it made me feel a little… nice? A-anyways, uh. Autograph."
"Right, right—" Char grinned. "You got a pen or— woah."
The snorlax rolled up his tight shirt, and his plush, voluptuously thick belly spilled out and spread in all directions, jostling softly as it sank towards his knees. "W-would you be cool signing my, uh— my gut? Just, uhm— to Zax, my biggest fan?" The snorlax gave a hopeful, crooked smile.
"Uh… Yeah, sure man," Char shook his head, taking a few moments with a brush to paint the autograph across the snorlax's vast belly folds. He waved to Zax as he lumbered away, and then Char felt his phone buzzing.
"Yo, Ash— what's up?"
"Heeey, Champ! That video of you snarfing down pies is blowing up, hah! Man, this pivot to the freakshow crowd is sending you into the stratosphere— but check out this link I'm sending you, because someone sure noticed you were back in the public eye."
Char frowned at his agent's choice of words, but flipped over to his texts. When he clicked on the link, his frown deepened as he spotted Tor. His old incineroar flame looked as hot as ever— a rippling physique of bulging muscle that would shame most bodybuilders, fur sleek from oil and sweat.
"Your old partner, Char, was in the news recently, Tor— apparently he's getting back in the competition business as a competitive eater. Got any thoughts on that?"
The musclebound feline snorted, snatching the microphone out of the reporter's hand. "Lemme tell you something— I beat his fat ass when he was still in 'prime' shape, I could do it again now he's got all that extra padding."
The reporter paused for a moment. "Well… do you mean to say, that you want to get into an eating contest as well? Char hasn't expressed any interest in rejoining the fighting league."
"Pfft. Please— he's always been jealous, and he wants a shot at his title back." Tor leaned into the frame, grabbing the microphone again, wrapping one hugely roped arm around the reporter as he pointed to the camera. "Listen up, Char! I know your game— I know what you're planning. Let's get together, and I can tell you exactly what I think about this stunt of yours— don't worry. We'll meet at a buffet so you can get a snack. Be there!"
Char thinned his mouth, glaring down at the smirking image of his ex. "And why should I entertain him with this, Ash? It's going to be miserable dealing with him."
"Because it'll blow up online— everyone loves a good bit of drama. Come on— have I ever steered you wrong?"
The charizard rolled his eyes. "How much time do you have?"
"Hah. Cute, but if you want to earn some money and afford my commission fee, you'll go and meet Tor. it's one lunch date— what's the worst that could happen?"
Char knew what Tor was getting at when he settled a meeting at one of his favorite Chinese buffets. Get the fatass to make a pig of himself, sure— but the charizard wasn't some unrestrained glutton, and wasn't even feeling particularly tempted when he spotted Tor— the incineroar was giving him a shit-eating grin as he leaned back against the wall, his enormous arms folded behind his head and framing his face with thick burls of beef. He had also laid out plates with all of Char's favorites.
"Tor." Char grunted, settling on to a chair gingerly, his belly pressed against the table.
"Hey, big boy." Tor waggled his eyebrows. "So— let's get this started. What is your plan, exactly, Char? What, you… You want to make me look like an ass, losing to a big, fat lizard? Or you going for the sympathy angle, want to make me look like the bully, picking on the fatty?"
"I know this might shock you, Tor, but not everything in my life revolves around you— not even when we were dating," Char said flatly, casting a glance over the food— it did look good, but again, he had his pride.
"Come on. You can't really be happy like this— I mean, look at you!" Tor gestured at the charizard's belly. "I mean, damn. If I knew you'd be this ruined by our break up, I'd've let you down a little more gently, maybe even kept you around for some benefits."
The charizard's mouth twisted. "I know what you're doing, Tor. It's not going to work."
"Right, right," The incineroar leaned back, casually puffing up his chest, pecs straining the cloth of his shirt. "Well, maybe it's for the best anyways— I wouldn't want to embarrass you again in the ring. I mean… think of all those previous fights I threw, because I just couldn't bear the thought of beating you."
Char whipped his head up. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, yeah, I mean— it's fine to say now, but…" Tor wrinkled his nose. "I've been the stronger, better fighter for ages, now— I threw those fights to save your pride. Now, it… God, it'd be like a parody. I couldn't make it believable that all this," He pumped his arms, biceps swelling up large as his head. "Could lose to all… this." He reached over, squeezing the soft overhang of Char's belly.
"Hey! Ass!" Char grunted. "You fucking liar, you didn't throw those fights."
"Sure, babe, sure, whatever you say."
"Oh— Fuck it!" Char leapt to his feet, his gut nearly dislodging a few plates, before he slammed his fist down on the table. "You wanna go, Tor? I will meet you in that ring, and I will knock you out like a goddamn wrecking ball!"
"Deal!" Tor's eyes lit up as he reached across and grabbed Char's hand, gripping tightly as he shook it. Then, he pulled his phone free from where he had hidden it behind some of the plates. "You heard it here, Firecat Nation! Rematch time!" Tor turned the camera on to Char. "Let's see what Char-lard can do, two weeks time— be there!"
Char stared at the phone Tor held up, his mouth falling open as he stared wide, realizing he was on a stream. "I… Uh… What?"
"No, no— mmph— look, listen, I'm not worried. Tor has always been all show muscle, trust me. The whole league is made up of a bunch of bodybuilding rejects who couldn't cut it in that sport, so now they just throw around a few punches. Tor got lucky in one fight, and now he thinks he's King of the World. I know how to fight, I— urph—" Char gasped as he let out a small burp, surrounded by several take-out boxes— he hated the idea of waste, and they were going to just throw out all that food Tor had gathered. Besides— he needed something to do to keep his hands busy, chomping down on spring rolls and Kung Pao chicken, trying not to think about how this was only making the weight question worse.
"Look," Char cleared his throat. "Guys, don't worry. I've got this. All this?" He thumped his round gut. "It's just… uh, it's padding. Yeah." He forced a smile. "I'm still the Champ, and I've got a chance to remind everyone, especially roided up fuckboys like Tor, that I'm still the best." His eyes glanced aside for just a second— he had a bad feeling he was going to regret every single one of the bites he had been taking.
"Come on, Char, come on— you can hold it, just five more sec—"
"Guh!"
Two other pokemon were crouched over Char as the charizard's strength gave out and he hit the ground with a soft thud— there was still muscle, somewhere, under the hefty layers of fat, but his arms were unaccustomed to keeping his girthy, overfed midsection up for a plank.
Wheezing slightly, Char weakly waved a hand. "How… how long was that?"
"...Twelve seconds." One of his friends Venny muttered. Venny was, like Char, a retired fighter— and had somehow gone even more to seed than the charizard. The foliage adorning the venusaur's back did little to hide the way his blue-green skin was stretched over a soft, round, doughy expanse hanging off his midsection, years of sitting on his ass, tending to a greenhouse, and eating his way to obesity atrophying his muscles. He looked uncomfortable even being back in the gym. "Look, Char, it's no use."
"Great encouragement, Venny— why'd we bring you along again?" Blaise muttered. Compared to Venny and Char, Blaise, approaching his mid forties, had aged gracefully. The blastoise had wracked up an impressive number of wins on a bodybuilding circuit after a middling fighting career, and still maintained a sturdy, muscular build that had only slightly tapered off into a stubborn amount of bulky belly fat on his middle. "Look, Char, it's day one, your body's not used to this."
Char groaned, rolling on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. "It's hopeless. I'm going to look like a fucking idiot in the ring."
Venny squat down, his belly pooling against Char's as he pat his shoulder. "Look, buddy, you want my advice— you've got a good thing going, new fans. Just… quietly back out of the fight, ignore Tor's shit talking, and go back to your streams. It'll be easy, and if you keep your head down, this will all be over in a week. I'll even treat you to a nice dinner."
"Ugh…" Char ran his hands over his face. He was already feeling hungry, and he forgot that he never really even liked being in the gym to start with. "I really can't stand what Tor was saying. That he threw those fights? That's such bullshit."
"They are just words, man. It's not like he can take away your trophies or anything," Blaise said, hunching down with the other two. "Look, Char— I'll support you either way. Venny's right, if lazy— you could back out of this now without too much fuss, and yeah, fuck Tor, he's an ass. But if you do want to go into this fight and put up a respectable show, I have an idea."
Char raised his head, straining his neck to see Blaise past his belly. "Yeah?"
Blaise reached into his pocket, pulling out a plastic bag filled with small, round berries of a bright orange shade. "These are occa berries. They're fire resistant— you're gonna have to build up an appetite for them, but, my thinking is— you eat enough of these, Tor's fire attacks can't touch you. Again, I repeat— for this to work, you're going to have to eat a lot of these, like, with every meal. So… what do you think? Berry diet and I can call up Machamp to really get some training in, or do the three of us call it a day and go out to dinner, forget this all ever happened?"
The charizard frowned as he grunted to sit up, his belly spilling over his lap. There were a thousand reasons to say no… not the least of which was Venny's offer for a free dinner. But he couldn't help but think back to the snorlax fan that asked him to sign his belly— it struck a cord with Char. Besides— if it shut Tor up, it would all be worth it.
With a loud grunt of effort, Char grabbed Blaise's outstretched hand as the Blastoise strained to pull the blubbery draconic beast to his feet. "Get Machamp on the phone— let's get to work."
Machamp had been Char's old trainer, a legend in the fighting stage— even getting on in years, the four armed fighter still had a chiseled, musclebound physique and didn't blink an eye at Char's immense weight gain— but he was utterly ruthless in his training. Constant drills were murder on the draconic pokemon's limbs, and he went to bed feeling like he might sleep for days.
And yet, for the first few days, that was almost preferable to having to eat occa berries. The little orange balls were the bane of his existence— they tasted horrible, bitter and with a long-lasting aftertaste, and for a dampening of his own fire breath and a strange, bloated feeling that was only accelerating his weight gain.
"Blegh— I could gag," Char groaned ruefully as he gulped down a handful of the berries. It was the end of another grinding workout, and his billowing body was close to crushing the bench underneath him, his flabby tail and round, oversized rump smothering every inch of it as his growing mountain of a gut smothered his lap. "Hey— makes me miss the days of your protein shakes, hey, Mac?"
His machamp trainer grunted, folding two of his impressively built arms. "Are you ready for what this diet and routine is going to do to you, Char? I'm serious, now— you're already groaning about eating berries, but you've dealt with hard diets before."
The charizard sighed. "Well. I don't know, I've been having as much tasty food as I want lately… it's… difficult to go back to the whole fighter routine." He frowned, shaking thick folds of belly fat in his hands, watching it wobble and pool in his thick fingers. "Getting this has been… easy."
"Well, do you want easy, or do you want to win?" Machamp replied. "Stop looking at taking these berries as a chore, and find a way to deal with it."
Char rolled his eyes. It was not the first time he had heard this advice. "Yeah, yeah, I know…"
Machamp clamped one strong hand on Char's shoulder, leaning in to lock eyes with his old pupil. "These things are going to make you blow up like a balloon, you know— insulation, bloating, all for keeping Tor's fire ineffective. I'm not going to get you lean— I'm building you into a damn mountain that not even Tor can move. Understand?"
Char paused, then puffed up his heavily cushioned chest with a bit of pride. "Well… I think I can live with that." He tossed one last berry in his mouth, and winced. "Ugh— Okay. But I got to find a way to make these bearable. You think Venny could find a way to make these taste better?"
Machamp sighed, shaking his head. "Well, he always managed to take my diets and 'improve' them until they had so much salt and butter it'd kill a horse…"
"Hey, like you said, you're not looking to get me lean, right?" Char grinned. "Besides— I got to eat these things on my streams, I can't keep hiding the faces I make when I taste these things." He reached for his phone, calling up Venny. "Yo! How do you feel like doing some baking?"
Turning the occa berries into a much sweeter variety of pastries— danishes, jelly donuts, muffins, and more— was the turning point Char needed to fully commit. His energy grew, his enthusiasm for the work outs, they all improved— and even some of his old form, his old zeal for the fight, came back like a rekindled spark. But as that little flame started to grow inside him, his body expanded like a wildfire. The occa berries in large quantities, as it turned out, were enormously fattening. His friends rallying to his aid bolstered his confidence— never mind the fans pouring in to his streams to see Char rebuild himself into a fighter unlike anyone had seen in the championship leagues.
On the day of the fight, the crowd was almost stunned into silence as Char lumbered his way into the ring. The charizard now outweighed all but the absolute biggest of pokemon fighters, even if he cut a figure closer to a wailord than a champion. His bottomy-heavy build dominated his figure, with his flabby tail, his huge rump like two wrecking balls squeezed into a pair of custom wrestling shorts that could serve as a tent for a small family. That immense tank of a belly was not to be ignored, however— a vast, scaled and cushioned bulwark that jutted out ahead of him, a monument to his growing hunger and appetite. His chest, despite being as heavily cushioned as a king-sized bed, still held some shape, and his arms were still solid, despite the plush reams of fat wrapped around them. The way Char's head was ringed with extra chins and buffeted by puffed-up cheeks seemed to only add to the charizard's impenetrable nature— how could anyone beat him down with all that padding to get through?
Tor sneered, bearing his fangs and glowering as this enormous, bloated parade balloon of a charizard trundled into the ring, making the boards quake, and get cheers from the audience. Were they blind? Could they not see what he was seeing? The musclebound incineroar snarled. "Alright, fatass!" He called out, pumping his arms and beating his chest. "Let's get this over with so you can eat your feelings!"
"Aw, is that the best you got, Tor? You gotta eat something, you know you can't think straight on an empty stomach," Char grinned, patting his stomach, sending ripples across the vast expanse of his blubbery body.
Tor snorted and charged for Char— the charizard could only brace for impact, and let out a small breath of relief as the incineroar bounced off his huge flanks. The feline fighter scowled, immediately leaping back. Char's mvoements were slower, and he couldn't get an opening between Tor's swift attacks— but even as his fists were wreathed in flame, it was like trying to burn down a brick wall with match sticks. Char had little more to do than simply stand and let Tor pummel him, and the pain barely registered with him— it was like he was being slapped with a slightly too warm water bottle.
The incineroar's eyes went wide with impotent rage as he saw the flames he ignited fizzle out against the charizard's huge, blubbery sides. "Are you— gah— kidding me?!" Tor huffed, his meaty pecs heaving as he caught his breath. "What the fuck is this, Char? This isn't a fight!"
"Hey, I think your dance moves are great." Char gave a dimpled smirk. "You know, if this championship thing goes south, maybe you could take up ballroom dancing."
"RAGH!" Tor threw his whole weight into one last charge— he hit Char hard enough to make his barrel-thick legs wobble and teeter. He nearly tumbled over, straining the ring's ropes, but his enormous anchor of a tail brought him back; Char leaned into it, and heaved his massive weight in the opposite direction. He took up so much space in the ring, there was no space left for Tor to maneuver, and the massively obese charizard slammed into Tor like a landslide.
As the referee counted down, and Tor strained and wriggled vainly to escape, Char could just see the incineroar's face fall as he realized he had lost.
"No— No! Ref, wait! WAIT!" Tor howled, straining to get one fist free from Char's fat folds, pounding his fist against the ring. "I'm a champion, I'm the Champion! Th-this is illegal, this is against the rules, I'm supposed to win! I don't lose to fat slobs!"
Char laughed triumphantly as Tor's shouts and protests were drowned out by the cheers of the audience, and he threw his fist into the air. "God, I missed this!"
With the cheers of the crowd still ringing in his ears and the special trophy packed away, Char was beaming as he cooled down in the locker room, resting the sheer mass of his bulk against the lockers and the bench. He flipped through his phone, catching texts of congratulations from his fans and friends alike— he was back. The phone buzzed as Blaise called.
"Hey, man! Congratulations, you did it! Listen— I'm getting Venny and Mac together, we wanna treat you to dinner to celebrate. We don't care if we have to burn through half a dozen restaurants to fill that tank of yours, you deserve to be celebrated— what do you say?"
"Hah!" Char let out a roar of a laugh. "You're gonna regret that offer— I'm on my way!"
The charizard heaved himself up, but as he moved to the end of the row, Tor stomped forward. "You!"
Char balked, holding up his hand. "Woah, dude— Come on, the fight's over."
"Over?! It's over when I say it's over!" Tor snorted. "I have never been humiliated like that! You just— You sat on me, with your huge wrecking ball of a belly, and I— I—!"
Char was bracing for another strike, but then Tor flung himself against the charizard's thick reams of belly fat.
"I-I gotta get more," Tor muttered, his voice half muffled as he buried himself in the lower overhang of the charizard's belly.
"What?!" Char sputtered.
"Oh, baby," Tor moaned, his hands gripping as much of the charizard's belly fat as he could, churning and kneading it like dough. "I had no idea… You're such a huge, fat blob, it— I-I feel like I've had an awakening. I need more." He gripped Char's belly possessively.
"You— You want to get back together? After all this?"
"Mmph, don't— don't speak," Tor groaned, pressing his cheek against Char's belly. "I just wanna see that fat maw of yours eating more and more. You want to eat? I'll make you eat. But I just need more of this belly and that ass."
Char's mouth wrinkled as he took a step back. "Dude, are you kidding? After all the crap you've pulled?"
"Babe," Tor held out his huge muscled arms. "You're a freak of nature, now. Who else is going to take you? And who else can compare to me?"
Char blinked, his mouth falling open in disbelief. He looked from Tor's immaculate musculature to the thick curtains of fat that smothered his own body. "You know what? You're… you're right. I'm… not going to find a lot of people that think I'm hotter, now. And you know what else? I'm being stingy— you deserve another taste. How about this, lover?"
Before Tor could react, Char swiveled on his foot, and the wrecking ball pair of his ass cheeks slammed into Tor, crushing him up against the lockers.
"I'm going out to dinner with my friends, babe. And I'm not going to stuff myself, or wreck a buffet, or anything like that— I'm going out for a good fucking meal because I earned it— then I'm going back to my streams. You want a piece of this? Pay for the subscription like everyone else." Char smirked as he eased up from Tor, and the incineroar slumped to the floor. "Don't wait up, babe. You couldn't keep up with us anyways."