[ti]solo[/ti][Tower] Can of Worms

You follow the lime green sliver downwards. Down into the deep, damp dark, where you can hear running water and barely see your own feet.

The massive roots and barkways beneath your feet are thick with moss and slime, and the precipitation sluices along them, creating natural slip'n'slides in the dark.

The paths meet in shallow pools, only to diverge again, carrying you deeper and deeper down into the darkest depths of the tree of worms.

Follow the slippery paths, but beware! Pidgeotto are using the water slides too, and they are far more hydrodynamic than you. Dally too long and you'll be in for a slide-by pecking!

Arthur didn't realize that they had gone so far down the tree that they were basically under the tree. Or that was what it felt like, because he suddenly heard water, and the shoes that he was wearing were no longer stepping on something firm and hard, but soft and mushy. Gross. With the introduction of water, he withdrew Gou for now as well as Banko, since both of them were weak to water, and let out Anta. Turned out that bringing the Mantyke was the right call, as the next prompt to pop up involved a sound-based move.

But where was the target? One wrong step and Arthur found himself slipping down what was for some reason shaped like a slide, and he heard himself yelling, unable to figure out where he was even going to enjoy himself. This slide was thankfully short, and he ended up on his back, breathing hard, thanking the stars that he had Swimmer equipped so that he wasn't such a mess and that the water didn't cling to his clothes. ❝What the fuck?!❞

He could hear Kanya laugh behind him as the masked cat gracefully slid down the same slide with his paws. It reminded him of Tarzan in the limited lighting. The Mantyke, on the other hand, simply floated, not even using the slides. Lucky? The water type didn't look like she felt she was missing out.

And then there were the familiar shrieks and squawks. He quickly looked around, only to see that the Pidgeottos were also...riding the slides?! One practically launched itself at them before the Mantyke's quick thinking turned into a Supersonic and made the bird change direction at the last moment, crashing onto another slide.

❝Geez, as if things couldn't get any crazier.❞

Out of Arthur's sight, a lime green worm slid on another slide, like a colorful shooting star before disappearing into the darkness.

PROMPT #62: [Tower]UDPGmo2M1-50

❝Gah, looks like the Tower is favoring you right now, Anta!❞ they reach the end of that particular water slide and land in a pool, making a splash. Even with Swimmer, that didn't stop water from entering his mouth of it got there, and so he had to spit out some and stuck out his tongue, tasting...err, well it tasted like water. He couldn't pinpoint what kind of water it was. He wasn't going to get poisoned with his digital body, was he?

Kanya was still following smoothly behind them, trying out new moves and just overall enjoying himself more than his trainer. Well, at least the Mantyke also seemed to be enjoying herself, bubbling in delight with all of the water and humidity. The Pidgeottos were still hot on their heels though, and there were four more slides to choose from for the next path. How much further down were they going to go..?

Suddenly, Arthur saw the lime green worm that was highlighted in the description go to the left most slide. Well, he wasn't sure if he was seeing things, but this time the worm was glowing, so it was much easier to spot. It sounded like a good idea to follow it, as they were technically protecting worms, weren't they? So worms were good guys!

Large birds soon descended upon them, and so he commanded Anta to use another Supersonic before they ran to the slide to follow the worm. The unlucky Pidgeotto was confused and started to attack its fellow avians, buying them some time. Kanya, who passed by the horde, simply gave a gesture of farewell before following along with a bit of a skip in his step.

PROMPT #64: [Tower]Rk2|CLGd1-50

Well, five times in a row would've been kind of weird, he felt. He was thankful to have hatched the Druddigon since, as it turned out, he was the only one that qualified for this particular prompt. Not that he was thankful for only that, but it was just...you know what he meant.

He made sure to get to the end of the slide first (how many water slides was this now? For some reason that particular one felt like it lasted a really long time) and opened the Poke Ball to bring out the dragon. He let out a roar, looking around in the semi-dark cavern, before quickly turning his attention to the fast-approaching birds. Growling and glaring, he then stomped towards the near end of the landing before letting out another shout. Somehow, the shadows danced on the ridges of his scales, and that seemed to do the trick for now.

PROMPT #66: [Tower]QrviMrGA1-50

Oh, Buru was not going to like this.

❝You have to use Lick next!❞

<What?!>

Kanya and Anta were trying to keep the other birds from getting too close, but they were ready to peck and their beaks were sharp. The bite was enough to stun the Pidgeotto beneath the Snubbull, but it looked like it was still hanging on, despite its body wavering and moving closer to the ground (well, the landing, but surrounding that rock formation was darkness and pits and that was not a fun thing to think about). Letting out a loud huff through her nose, she decided that she was just going to get it over with and launched herself to another nearby bird (the force pushed the previous Pidgeotto to a jutting rock spike - hitting the side with a THUMP). She grabbed the bird by the wing, immediately making it lose its balance, and then the Snubbull found the opportunity to give it a Lick on said wing, earning a huge expression of disgust from the Pidgeotto.

<Hey I don't want to do this either, birdbrain!>

PROMPT #68: [Tower]m|Z2hfRn1-50

He should really treat Buru to something nice after this.

He had to withdraw Banko (who was like, <Oh okay! I'll see ya when I see ya!>) and then bring out the Snubbull, who had really been pulling her weight throughout this whole tower challenge. Arthur would've been stuck in many prompts without her around, especially with her diverse move pool even if she was still fairly low leveled (well with all of the birds she was beating up, maybe she would be due for an evolution soon, when the time came). She let out a yell in frustration as her feet once again touched shallow water, splashing onto her dress-like fur. <What now?!>

Arthur looked sheepish. ❝Anything would do, actually.❞

She let out a huff, stomped on the ground (though not as heavy as Mugan, it still had similar effect), and bared a snarl at three incoming Pidgeotto, who were scared by her Scary Face. The less contact, the better, the Snubbull thought.

PROMPT #70: [Tower]aoKY5l6R1-50

You slip down the wooden slides, sloshing water everywhere. The slides all meet in a deep pool of inky water, and as you splash together in the impromptu pool party you notice something glowing beneath you.

Worms. Dozens. No, hundreds of the lime green worms wriggle in the waters below your feet. And they are all swimming down.

But your swim is interrupted by the flock of dive-bombing Pidgeotto! Like seagulls attacking a school of fish they swoop with beak and claw. Quick! Swim down! Follow those worms!

The landing could have been better.

The last length of the slide had a number of twist and turns, so by the time he reached the end, he basically slipped and fell hands first into the water, which as it turned out, was deep and not shallow. Thankfully, with Swimmer equipped, he wasn't worried about drowning, but Kanya was certainly not pleased, as there was no place for him to stand. He withdrew the soggy masked cat for now, as Anta was the only Pokemon who was completely fine with the environment, but unfortunately it was not her prompt that rolled in.

Also, there was something underneath him that kind of freaked him out. When he put his head under the water, trying to remember that he could breath, he saw that they had...err, one eye? Something like that? But they were green and tiny and wriggly and ugh! But the game was telling him he had to follow them. Okay, sure, but they had to deal with the damn Pidgeottos first!

He looked around to find that there were a few places still, close to the edge of the cavern they were in, that had some place to stand. He threw his Poke Ball at that direction, and Buru was once again let out. She yelled, oh come on!, but at least her feet were sort of dry, and some of the Pidgeottos shifted their direction at her while Anta protected her trainer with Wide Guard.

<Grr! Leave them ALONE!> her bark echoed in the narrow walls, startling some of the birds into bumping into each other. Arthur wondered how the hell was this area was supposed to hold a bunch more trainers - it felt like there was nowhere else to go but down.

PROMPT #72: [Tower]tdeE|xYn1-50

(Arthur made sure to also return Buru when he had the chance - it was really only Anta who could remain out in the field with the pool around them).

Some of the worms were wriggling downward, disappearing into an eerie void, but others seemed to watch and swirl under his feet, as if waiting for him to follow. The Pidgeotto weren't letting up though, and he had to pull out another Pokemon to answer the prompt. Where were the Anta prompts? Why were they all in the water slides?!

He let out Kanya and tried to aim for the rock wall, to which the masked cat was able to hang on with some of the edges jutting out. Not for long though, as there was barely any ledge to hang onto, but he didn't need a lengthy amount of time, anyway. Using the wall, he pushed his legs on it so that he could reach for one of the flying birds with a Quick Attack, tackling it with ease before it had a chance to dive-bomb. Arthur wasn't even paying attention to how these birds were recovering so quickly. In fact, it looked like once they dove in, they respawned, and more were just taking their place. Crazy!

PROMPT #74: [Tower]Y0BsH9|y1-50