[ti]solo[/ti][S][TOWER] Clock's Ticking

Information> Tower of Worms 76F
Time> 01:41'12
Interval> - 00:00'20
Position> 1st

Information> Gained the lead!

The sound effect made Josh grin. Though he had never played a single game in the billion-dollar FPS franchise, he knew exactly where the line had come from. Now that he had the lead, he just had to keep it. Which would be far easier said than done, given his fierce competition.

It helped that Josh had a wide variety of Pokémon ready to help out with the challenge. Keeping his Dewgong out of his Poké Ball, he clicked open Blitz's Poké Ball in his hand, the tiny Shinx appearing in his arms. With electric attacks out of the question thanks to their aquatic environment, Josh had only one good way to repel the incoming Pidgeotto with a Pokémon from Sinnoh. "ROAR, Blitz!" he cried.

The lion cub ran a different kind of motor, this one much more harsh. His skin tingled as the feline shouted toward a diving Pidgeotto, causing it to fly away at the threat of being electrocuted in such a damp environment. Sometimes, the threat of power had more power than the power itself!

Information> Tower of Worms 78F
Time> 01:47'50
Interval> + 00:02'57
Position> 3rd

Information> Lost the lead...

Being called for a streamed game of Magic: The Gathering took away from Josh's login time, the boy not starting his climb until late at night... and after Kyukon and Alicia Westfield passed him, too. While the lead wasn't insurmountable, it was coming close to time for him to make his final push. Not yet, though; that would be tomorrow.

Ignoring the prompt for the time being, Josh swam ahead, looking for a closer checkpoint where he could surface... but there was no such one. The last pool he had taken down a Pidgeotto at was the final place he could surface.

Sighing, he backtracked and clicked open his Caterpie's Poké Ball, lifting the insect to the tree's wall so it could climb up the side. "I'll protect you. Aim your STRING SHOT at one of them as it passes by." The next Pidgeotto looking to make a meal out of Josh's only worm Pokémon would find its talons covered in sticky string, making it hard to snatch anything using them...!

Information> Tower of Worms 80F
Time> 01:49'40
Interval> + 00:01'50
Position> 3rd

With the Pidgeotto cleaned up, Josh could now return to the underwater gate leading to the next sesion of the tree... only to find that the barrier stopping him was still there. It resembled a cork plugging a glass bottle keeping its contents from spilling out. If he wanted to proceed to the next part of the tree, he needed to dislodge that cork, and with a Steel-type move at that.

Thinking quickly, Josh went back into his box to send his Dewgong back and retrieve Apollo the Celesteela, who had plenty of room to maneuver forward and backward. Facing away from the cork, the Ultra Beast fired a FLASH CANNON blast out of her thrusters, dislodging the cork and sending it flying into the floor's last Pidgeotto.

The trainer's Caterpie and Ninjask were withdrawn into their Poké Balls as a cutscene of the water falling deep into the tree played, Josh and his Celesteela falling into the dark abyss below. They would find themselves in a moldy cavern well below the surface, deep within the tree's root system.

Information> Tower of Worms 82F
Time> 01:52'40
Interval> + 00:03'02
Position> 3rd

The root system was much more expansive than the tree's trunk, giving Josh space to mount a Pokémon. With how fast the screeching Pidgeot were, he needed the extra mobility to avoid being snatched and carried off into the tree bottom's damp, dark, and moldy heights. While Apollo kept the Pidgeot at bay, Josh released his Liepard and climbed on.

The duo pounced upon a Pidgeot trying to blow a second HURRICANE toward them, a lightning-fast SUCKER PUNCH knocking it out of the air. While the birds were lesser in number, each one individually was a powerhouse. The faster he could get through this, the better. "Phew...! They mean business!" Josh exhaled, the humid conditions within not making it any easier for him to breathe!

Information> Tower of Worms 84F
Time> 01:53'51
Interval> + 00:01'56
Position> 3rd

The ice-type attack froze many of the Pidgeot, but it wouldn't last for long! It did give Josh just enough of a breather to withdraw the tiny Pokémon in his arms and grab the Liepard's reins once again. Seeing that the tower was looking for a sound-based move, he looked through Luna's move list and found one that would not only meet the condition, but help stave off damage by debuffing the flock of apex predators. "Luna, GROWL!"

The purr that fueled the sonic attack made not only Josh's hair, but his mount's fur, stand on end. "Whew, that's powerful!" he said under his breath, unable to feel his legs and sounding like he was speaking through a fan.

Information> Tower of Worms 86F
Time> 01:54'37
Interval> + 00:01'08
Position> 3rd

Great. Another Z-Move was needed, and two of Josh's Z-Move users were on cooldown still. Raiden and Ares could not use one, both having tapped theirs during the ascent. His mount, however, still hadn't used one, and animations had him curious. Setting Luna's reins down, he drew a circle with his hands, Z-Energy from the Z-GLOVE on his right hand merging with the feline's DARKIUM-Z.

"Luna, group them all together with BLACK HOLE ECLIPSE!"

The Z-Move created a level of suction that corralled the birds on top of one another. Even Luna herself was not immune to its pull, Josh grabbing the cat's reins, wheeling her into an about face, and spurring her to great speed. It looked like they were running on a treadmill going at maximum speed... or in their running animation against a poorly-coded wall that didn't stop them.

Information> Tower of Worms 88F
Time> 01:55'44
Interval> + 00:03'05
Position> 3rd

With Luna as Josh's only active Pokémon, he needed to rely on the big cat as much as possible in the tree's final chambers. As the flock became smaller and its bodies piled up in the center, Josh noticed the center of the root system bending under their weight. Was there something hidden underneath it? The only way to find out was by pressing onward and tearing the last three Pidgeot up.

"Luna, NIGHT SLASH!" Josh ordered, squeezing the Liepard's sides for speed and flicking her reins to get her to jump. With a pouncing leap, the dark-type knocked one of the birds out of the sky. It was down... but not out, blowing another HURRICANE toward the boy. "Faster, Luna!" With a grunt and a loud growl, the feline ran against the current, lunging toward the bird with a second NIGHT SLASH that knocked it into the pile of unconscious Pidgeot.