[ti]complete[/ti] here kitty kitty...

Sprigatito stood, his legs shaking, as he faced down one of the many Patrat still swarming the tower. The rodent gazes at him with its striking eyes, red dartboards that dare him to shoot.

He can’t look over his shoulder, but he knows his trainer is watching impatiently. He had been given simple instructions this time: Grab it with your teeth.

He stares at the rat the same size as he is, and wonders if he can even fit it between his jaws.

A sharp whistle finally gets him to move, a little yelp as he bounces off his feet and launches forwards. He and the Patrat collide, his eyes squeezed shut as he snaps his jaws down for a Bite.

There is some flailing. He keeps at it, the image of his blunder in the Tower of Worms clear in his head, until the Patrat has gone down. He unlatches, having apparently sunk his teeth in its side.

His eyes widen and he looks back, tail high and trembling with excitement.

Kazuki doesn’t smile, but he does seem mildly impressed. “So you are a cat, after all. Good.”

When they move onward, Sprigatito has a big spring to his step, a little rust on his tongue, and a lot of stars in his eyes. Hooray, first blood!

The next one has to be dealt with one of his other pokemon.

Mudbray doesn’t flinch at the sight of the Patrat, blinking at it slowly, as if it were a mosaic rather than a rabid rodent.

He finishes picking through his UI and checking out her stats. The pokemon is admittedly on the lazy side, but she’s got good attacks. “Bulldoze,” he orders.

It takes a minute. And then two. He ends up repeating the order a few more times before she finally decides she’s used up all her break, approaching the Patrat so slowly that it sniffs her hooves before she abruptly stomps it underneath.

“You are one tough rodent, huh?” Kazuki raises a brow.

The battlefield’s a mess. Mudbray stands in the center of the shattered floor, tough hide bearing scratches and her ear actually flicking with irritation as she stares down the Patrat that seems nigh-invincible.

He returns her, switching out to Pansear, who seems a little more alive, though not particularly invested in his opponent. He observes it, rubbing his chin, wondering if Patrat could make a decent dish somehow.

“Don't,” Kazuki shoots him down, much to his surprise. “If we can’t squash it into a pancake after all that time, you are definitely not going to make headway. Just put it to sleep.”

Pansear huffs, but does let out a big yawn, contagious to the point even his trainer feels inklings of drowsiness bubble up.

The Patrat, happy to be spared of further culinary exploits, lies down on the battlefield for a nice little nap.

As the twentieth Patrat is eliminated from the Tower of Cats (World Heritage Site), another popup appears in your UI. You've received another reward!

The Patrat have taken note of your tactics, and your weaknesses. They know you're coming, and have set Home Alone-style traps on the next floor.

You have defeated 20 Patrat and unlocked MEOWTH (C)!
The next reward will be unlocked at 30 Patrat.

Genesis Silvermoon Verai Cleo Kazuki
Post in General Mod Requests to claim your prize!

Momo did her best to keep a straight face as she watched the train of dominos fall. Following it with her eyes, she could see the trap terminated in a pre-loaded cannon, where the final domino was poised to fall, strike the match, light the fuse, and apparently send a cannonball hurtling towards whichever Pokémon was unlucky enough to be standing in the way.

But Momo was faster than a mere domino set. Before the pieces could fall the way the Patrat had planned, they encountered Momo's foot. She shoved back, making a pile of dominos on one side like a beaver dam jamming up a river.

<REEEE!> a Patrat chattered angrily, practically pulling out its whiskers at having its perfect plan foiled. Momo barely looked at it. "Go," she said, sending out her Lilligant. The beautiful, feminine Pokémon appeared and Momo averted her eyes. "Chase it out of here."

Her three curled, rootlet feet spinning, the Lilligant made short work of the rodent. Just to be safe, Momo took away the match still dangling at the end. No sense being careless.

The Patrat in front of them is armed. Kazuki blinks, watching as it brandishes its little knife. For the first time, he kind of wants to take one of these pests.

Sprigatito, on the other hand, doesn’t seem too happy. He’s back to standing around again, but isn’t shaking—he’s getting better!—though he’s still unsure how to proceed. He can’t try biting it. And his leaves aren’t working either.

The Patrat takes out a honing rod, cackling evilly.

It is looking strangely familiar.

Gulping, Sprigatito decides to follow suit: he takes out his claws, sharpening them on a little rock using Hone Claws and trying to look as tough as he can. His claws emerge glinting, the product of perfect grooming technique.

This continues repeatedly, one side showing off their sharpening technique, until there comes the tink of the Patrat’s knife coming out chipped. The rodent falls to the ground, defeated.

Verai is not participating adequately. A snare made of tied vines is stepped around. A tripwire is stepped over. A bright pokeball, under a masterfully hidden deadfall box, is utterly ignored.

The patrat quickly working to set up traps before him is frazzled. She was working, scrabbling to get together a motion-detecting trebuchet of dung when Verai rounds the corner, looking blandly at them. "Sphinx," He intones, voice flat and tired. The espeon offers fewer words and even less mercy, eyes glowing. The last thing the patrat saw was the trebuchet falling to pieces.

ESPEON used CONFUSION.

26. [Tower]CumOIqMz1d50