A/N: Boss battle incoming! Leave me a review and tell me how it was.

Some time later the Koraidon tapped his foot impatiently. Five of his six teams returned an hour and a half ago, but the last one had yet to arrive. He shook his head, the head feathers rustling about in the wind offered a calming sense of comfort to his worries. Though, his worries resurfaced when a Corviknight, Talonflame and Staraptor approached him.

"Morning, Coach Setzo." The Corviknight greeted. The students shuffled themselves over to him, staring in awe.

"Students, this is Operative Grady Enrys, the leader of Team Ventus, a rescue team! A long-time buddy of mine too!" Setzo announced, grinning widely.

The students shuffled around the other members of Team Ventus. The students began pelting them with questions and comments. The Talonflame and the Staraptor eventually lulled them into silence, however.

"Cut the fluff." Grady coldly interjected, "You called, why?"

Setzo crossed his arms, "I sent my students in the fields earlier today for an intro assignment. I made it so that the students wouldn't have to go very far. The furthest they should have gone is to the edge of Twist Forest!"

"And…?" The Corviknight narrowed his eyes.

"We have a pair of students that haven't returned yet. A Passimian and a Totodile. I fear that they got lost."

Team Ventus looked between each other, their neutral expressions churning into concern. The team called off the students and brushed them aside. A conversation that was inaudible to Setzo and the other students was held between the trio. When it finished, the Talonflame was first to look back at Setzo. "You're new to this area, so you don't know the land here," He squaked.

The Koraidon's eyes narrowed, yet his head craned backwards. "What are you getting at?" The other students eyed the Talonflame, concerned as to his wording.

"Twist Forest contains a Mystery Dungeon. You may have unintentionally sent those students in there," the Staraptor finished.

"WHAT!" The Koraidon roared, "Why didn't those idiots overhead tell me about this!?" Following Setzo's eruption, the other students sent each other panicked looks. Setzo gave the Corviknight the most sinister expression he could muster, "Well? What are you waiting for!? We gotta go get 'em!"

"You are going to stay here," Grady's red eyes glared, causing Setzo to stagger, "Somebody needs to watch the rest of the students and guide them back to safety." The Corviknight spread his wings outward, "My team and I will scour the forest for those students. Team, check in!"

"Feugo, ready for launch!" The Talonflame responded.

"Aile, on your move!" The Staraptor confirmed.

Grady blasted off the ground, flapping his gallant wingspan. His teammates followed suit and together they made off for the forest. "Team Ventus, On the Air!" Grady's voice bellowed in the sky.

The next two floors were traversed in silence and relatively little happening. Light, stairs, light, stairs. Kroto mulled. Pops never told me that dungeons could get so boring. It feels like it's been at least an hour since we got in here. Though his train of thought came to a halt when his lungs felt the air get the slightest bit heavier.

"Hey, did it just get a bit wafty around here?" Kruler wheezed.

Kroto said nothing and stared dead ahead. She's right. Unlike the previous floors, the air seems a little bit denser here. In fact, the scenery has a faint gray tint to it. Is it smoke or steam? He shoved that thought in the back of his mind at the sight of a feral Nidorino and Nidorina pecking at something on the ground.

"Look alive, Kroto. Enemies ahead." Kruler whispered.

"Got it, ready?"

"You're leading. On your go."

Nodding in confirmation, Kroto sped ahead to meet the Nidorina and Nidorino feeding on some berries on the path. He slammed into the Nidorina, and before it could react, hit it with Acrobatics. Being caught by complete surprise, the Nidorino momentarily yipped and hopped away from the fight. Not giving it the chance to escape, Kruler flanked around before Nidorino could notice her. She summoned a torrent of rushing water to her right arm, cocking it backward to get as much force as she could.

"Eat waterfall, hornhead!" She cried as the torrent of water propelled her arm in an uppercut motion. Hitting its chin, the Nidorino went airborne, going limp in midair. Falling with a loud thump then snapping some twigs and rustling in tall grass, it came to a stop right next to the stairs. Kroto, having finished his own fight, threw the Nidorina beside the Nidorino. Huffing, he recollected his bearings and regrouped with Kruler.

"You good? No poisoning or anything?" He asked.

"Peachy." Kruler muttered, "This dungeon's beginning to bore me."

"Hopefully it won't be too much longer," Kroto slipped his bag off and moved towards what remained of the berry pile that the ferals were eating from. "Looks like there's three of these left. Might as well scoop these up."

The Totodile tilted her head. "Oran berries? What possible usage could those have besides tasting moderately good?"

"Medical reasons," Kroto explained as he stashed the berries in his bag, "It's best to have some of these around, even if you don't think you need 'em."

"Which I don't," she puffed.

Best not to indulge her. Kroto stood up, swinging the bag over his shoulder. "The stairs are right over there. This dungeon can't be too terribly long."

"Then let's get a move on."

In the next segment, the gray tint in the air intensified. In addition, the air became significantly thicker, drawing an initial few coughs from the duo before dropping straight to the ground.

"Keep your head low. This gas in the air is likely smoke." Kroto deduced as he began strafing forward. Weaving between paths, they find that forest begins to decay the more they close in on the stairs. What was originally lush green bushes and trees lined with the occasional berry bush transitioned into a series of darker grey trees with charred leaves strewn about the path. The area closest to the stairs had small flames still attached to sticks flayed about the clearing.

"Looks like whatever's doing this is a fire type. Or at least has fire type moves." The Passimian waved his left hand around, fanning the air.

Kruler's head perked up, "A fire type? Let me at 'em!" She started for the first step when she felt Kroto's hand connect with her arm, yanking it and pulling her back. "Hey, what gives!?"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed," Kroto retorted, "There's no telling what could be up there!"

"You said it was a fire type!"

"Or it could have fire type moves! It could be a dragon for all we know!" He let go of Kruler's arm, "We need to formulate a plan. The moment we get up these stairs, we need to find some sort of cover."

"Fine, but if it's a fire type you gotta let me sock it! At least once, deal?" Kruler extended her hand.

"But it-"

"Deal?!"

Kroto reluctantly extended his hand and shook the Totodile's. "Ugh… Okay." Letting go and cautiously approaching the stairs, they both took the trek extremely slowly.

Instead of a blinding flash, taking the stairs caused the area around them to become twisted and distorted. The charred trees and bushes in front of them warped into a relatively open clearing. In addition, the smoke in the air intensified. Scouting through their surroundings, the pair find not much out of the ordinary, save for the occasional unconscious feral strewn about the arena.

Kruler inspected the thicket closest to them. "See, there's absolutely nothing to worry about!" She touted.

"Don't say that." Kroto hissed, "Whatever's here could be lying in wait."

"Come on… There's nothing here." She waltzed towards the north edge of the arena right next to an inconspicuous tree, "We just need to find the next set of stairs and we'll be…"

Before she could get that next word out the ground beneath them began to rumble, throwing the Totodile off her feet and forcing Kroto onto all fours. The sudden temperature rise caused a trickle of sweat to immediately form on his face. The smoke in the air became dense to the point where the airspace above them became obscured in puffs of dark grey clouds. Just had to say something. Kroto internally snarled as he sprawled in alert.

A primal roar forced Kruler to scramble backwards towards Kroto, bumping into his left leg in the process. Kroto himself now found his heart lurching into his stomach as the ground began to rumble louder and harder. The temperature somehow raised even higher, making even Kruler uncomfortable. When the trees gave way in front of them, they instantly burned and charred against what appeared to be a pool of magma. What came into view was a strange gargantuan magma entity with what appeared to be a brimstone shell attached to its backside. Its round eyes gleamed a blood red as it glared down at the duo.

"Psst. Kroto." Kruler whispered, "That thing is…"

"A giant Magcargo? Yeah, a fire and rock type." Kroto grunted, wiping a bit of sweat from his face. "Alright you can hit it. But be smart."

"Hell yeah!" Kruler cheered as she charged a waterfall in her left hand, "Let's do this!"

She rushed forward with the rushing water caressing her arm. She skidded around to get as much momentum on her attack as possible, and with a raised fist, leapt into the Waterfall attack. Unfortunately, the membrane of the Magcargo began to gleam orange and the temperature rose in the area once again. Kruler's attack connected, but the Waterfall attack was diffused, causing direct contact between Kruler's arm and the membrane of the Magcargo, searing some of the scales off Kruler's arm. She barely had time to scream before another primal roar sent the Totodile hurling backwards.

"Kruler!" The Passimian shouted as he sprinted over to her, "What happened!? Didn't you use Waterfall!?"

"I did," she screeched, her cries of pain piercing Kroto's ears, "But something happened, and that thing burned me!"

The ambient temperature cooled down slightly as the orange glow in the Magcargo's membrane dissipated. The ground began to shake once more as the towering beast began shaking its way towards them.

Kroto shuffled his hand into his bag, grabbing hold the oran berries from earlier. Pulling them out, he placed them into the Totodile's good hand. "Break those open on your wounds. They'll keep it from bleeding." The rumbling of the lumbering Magcargo threw Kroto off balance, "We'll have to worry about the burn later! Now break away!"

The Totodile and Passimian broke apart onto the left and right of the Magcargo as it attempted a take down attack. The resulting collision with the trees behind them set a portion of the forest ablaze. After regaining its bearings, the beast set its sights on Kruler, who had just moved away in time to avoid falling debris. Turning around, it left its backside entirely exposed to Kroto.

This is stupid, but I at least have to try it! Kroto charged a Drain Punch in his right hand and tried to shake the sweat out of his vision. With a burst of speed, he leapt into the air smashing his fist as hard as he could into the brimstone shell of the giant Magcargo. With a thundering crack, a screech erupted from the Pokémon. When Kroto dropped to the ground, he found himself hacking up his lungs from the amount of smoke released from contact with the shell.

"Hey! Whatever you did, it hurt it! Keep doing that!" Kruler screamed.

Unfortunately, the Magcargo turned around to face the Passimian, the orange energy bubbling up in its membrane like before. However, unlike before, it had begun to glow yellow around the facial area. Oh no. Kroto meeped.

What followed was a stream of nearly fluid-like orange flames being spewed from the Magcargo's mouth. The Passimian managed to roll out of the way in time to save his life, unfortunately, his tail was caught in the flames and was set ablaze. He curled up and rolled about on the ground, a pained yell escaping his mouth followed by hoarse coughing.

Seizing the opportunity with the Magcargo's back turned, Kruler lunged once again with a Waterfall attack. Hitting the shell on the backside made a similar crack in it, drawing an orange membrane out the back of the shell. She attempted to jerk her arm back as quickly as possible, but still, some of the membrane attached itself to her arm, drawing another pained yell from her.

Meanwhile, Kroto just finished putting the fire on his tail out and was ready to assume a fighting position once more. However, something felt off this time. He felt the weight of gravity intensify on his appendages, as if a Snorlax was propped on his back. He began heaving heavily due to the smoke inhalation, which didn't help his already aching arms and legs. And compounding the issue, the Magcargo still had its sights set on him, despite the damage dealt to its shell.

I can't let this thing get the best of me, Kroto growled. He doubled his efforts to dash around the Magcargo's left and get an angle on its shell, making his heart and lungs pump out of his chest. Keeping low to the ground, he slid through some debris, cutting splinters into his arms and legs as he passed through. The Magcargo wasn't quick enough to telegraph his movements, exposing a point on the side of its shell. Yes! An opening! Now or never!

Closing the distance between him and the Magcargo, Kroto charged his fists in a yellow gleam. Through the smoke, and dropping all care for self-preservation, he gave his best battle cry as an onslaught of punches pelted the side of the Magcargo's shell. The Close Combat managed to break open three key points in the shell, revealing the fluid-like membrane underneath. Finally! We made some headway! He internally cheered. We can do this! Just need to give a bit more! Kroto, briefly, smiled for the first time he had been in the dungeon.

Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived as the Magcargo stopped moving around, and instead tilted its head to gaze at some point behind him. Falling backwards, Kroto found himself in the center of a field of floating rocks. A glint of purple energy surrounded the uprooted earthen bricks. When the beast's eyes flashed purple, the rocks began pelting Kroto. The first volley of rocks completely missed him, prompting a second to levitate. Most of the second wave missed, but one rock managed to sock the Passimian directly in the back, both slowing and winding him. The third wave soon came, all of which slammed into Kroto from multiple angles, sending him flying in the direction of Kruler.

Kruler couldn't believe what she was seeing. A fighting type being completely overrun by a rock type. That's not to mention what's becoming of her own condition. She looked down at her arms. What was once a peaceful light blue tint to her scales was now a deep purple with all the bruising, burns and cuts. That's not to mention anything of Kroto's condition. When he fell beside her, she got a precise look at him. His tuft of white was now multiple shades of grey, his face glistened with grime and sweat, and his arms trembled, exhausted from all the fighting.

"Kruler…" Kroto huffed and subsequently coughed, "You…have to get…out…"

The hoarse nature of his voice dampened her resolve. She had become exhausted, using as many Waterfalls as she could, and yet it was still up. Ice punch was useless here, and the longer they stay still, the easier of a target they become. We cracked its shell as much as we could, and yet it's still up! How could it tank so much?!

Seeing another incoming take down attack, the pair dodged once again, and were quick enough to avoid the attack. However, the debris flying away from the struck trees went unaccounted for, sending jagged splinters everywhere. A wave of splinters raced their way across Kroto's back as he was sprinting away, causing him to trip over himself and into some tall grass. Kruler noticed a splotch of blood stain on the grass he landed on.

No. No, no, no… She sprinted over to the Passimian, hoping, praying that he was still awake. She pressed her hands to his back, and though his heart was still beating, her fears were confirmed. He had been knocked unconscious.

Kroto? Kroto!? She tried shaking him, but no response came. The slits of red across his back began to leak, seeping onto Kruler's hands as she removed them from him. Please! Please wake up! Come on, this isn't funny! The rumbling of the Magcargo turning around sent a shiver up her spine as she audibly gulped. T-There's gotta be something I can do here! Something! Anything! She fumbled around in the bag that was saddled around him, hoping for an oran berry, but found nothing. Shoot, I forgot he used all of them on me!

The rumbling got louder, with the Magcargo slowly closing in. Panic overcame the Totodile. All she could do was stare down the Magcargo as she trembled. The Magcargo was closing in, drawing tears from the Totodile's eyes. This can't be happening! We lost to something we should've beat… The smoke infested the air, weighing down on Kruler's lungs and forcing her to heave. Uncle Dray, I-I…

"Aile! Quick!"

Something had struck the Magcargo directly in the crevice on its shell. Much to quick for Kruler to make out, but she knew it came from the sky.

"Get this smoke outta here! Tailwind!"

A sudden galeforce vented the smoke away from the surrounding area, prompting another series of coughs from the Totodile. Not a moment later, a large, metallic bird abruptly landed right in front of Kruler, who shifted backwards slightly.

"You're in rough shape," Grady observed but then shifted his attention to the Passimian, "But nevermind that! Your friend is even worse!" He plucked into his satchel and pulled out a small bag of berries and swung his head to toss the bag, "Use the Rawst berries, they'll stabilize your burns! Apply the Sitrus berries to your friend's wounds!"

"Wait! You're not a flying type are you!? That thing will kill you!" Kruler cried, catching the bag.

"That thing is an alpha Magcargo! And we have experience dealing with alphas!"

Looking back to Kroto, the Totodile whimpered and crushed up three Sitrus berries into the Passimian's wounds, stopping the bleeding nearly instantly. She then applied some of the Rawst berries onto her burns. I sure hope they know what they're doing, she said to herself, fighting for her own consciousness.

Grady took to the skies once more, making sure to gain some vertical distance from the Magcargo. A flurry of crescent-shaped gales descended upon the alpha, causing it to lurch in pain. The Talonflame and Staraptor soon linked up in formation with him. "Be advised, that Magcargo likely has flame body based on the injury pattern on the Totodile! Avoid contact until I give the word and lead it away from its hostages!" He announced.

A nod from his teammates told Grady all he needed to know. The three of them spread out and pelted the alpha with an onslaught of combined air slashes. Once again, the Magcargo screeched, this time splashes of its membrane left its body as its voice vibrated amongst the air. The Magcargo moved away from the students and made its way in the direction of the birds. The alpha's eyes glistened, followed by strange rocks lifting out of the ground and floating in the air, encased in a strange purple and blue glow.

"Ancientpower! Evasive maneuvers!" Fuego shouted.

Moving on cue, all the rocks completely missed their intended targets. The three birds regrouped in front of the Magcargo and unleashed another volley of air slashes. Roaring in pain once more, the alpha lurched over in pain. "Team, the targets' weak! Unleash your strongest attacks on my go!" Grady announced.

Aile and Fuego coated themselves in a bright yellow light. Grady's body outlined itself in red. In a moment, the Totodile caught a glimpse of the three birds descending upon the Magcargo at the same time. The Corviknight dropping himself on the shell of the beast like a barbell, causing it to stretch and expose its cranium. The other two dashed at the head of the Magcargo in a heightened velocity with a twin Brave Bird. Piercing straight through the membrane and striking at the cranium, the two birds made a landing near the fallen students.

With the damage dealt, the Magcargo's membrane gradually shrank and shrank until the remains of shell toppled to the ground.

"Enemy down! Good work team!" Aile cheered.

Grady came to a landing adjacent to the Totodile. "Don't party just yet. We need to get these guys to safety."

Kruler simply looked on, dumbstruck. "B-but you were flying types… How?"

Aile placed her wing around the Totodile, offering her a gentle embrace, "A feral has no conscious knowledge of how types work." Kruler looked back at her, who then offered a comforting smile, "But I always say that experience always beats out types!"

"Totodile, I could use your assistance," Grady bellowed, gathering the attention of both Aile and Kruler, "Prop the Passimian on my back. We'll have to fly slow."

Kruler did as instructed and returned to the Staraptor. "Good," He then looked at Aile, "Aile, carry her. Fuego's in front. We're assuming escort formation."

Confirmations from both of his teammates followed and the two students were hauled out of the dungeon.

Traximus had sat in his dorm room for a while now. Kroto's absence left him staring up at the rusted pipes and decaying walls, lost in thought. Across the room, Reiner was meshing some materials that looked foreign to him and grumbling incomprehensible nonsense. A silent tension washed over the room, occasionally broken up by the sound of clinking glass. All of which, of course, was interrupted when a knock came on the door.

"I'll get it." Traximus said as he made his way to the door. The knocking only intensified the closer he got to the door. "I'm coming! Geez!"

Pressing open the door, Traximus wasn't surprised to find Neltharios standing outside the door. What was surprising was the seemingly exhausted expression present on the Charmander's face.

"Nel? What do you need?"

"Is this… where you've been!? There's a huge crowd that just gathered at the gate to the fields!" Neltharios heaved.

"So? How does that involve me?"

"It doesn't," Neltharios grabbed Traximus by his arm, "I overheard a teacher talking about a Passimian that went missing earlier!"

Traximus went wide eyed as the realization hit him, "Wait! Did something happen to Kroto!?"

Neltharios immediately tensed up, "…You mean that he's not there!?"

A cold sweat trickled their necks. In the next moment, both boys sprinted out of the hall, out of the dormitory and northbound towards the field gate as fast as their little legs could carry them. Indeed, there was a small crowd that had formed around the gate. There was a Koraidon that was attempting to calm the crowd alongside two other instructors.

"We demand answers! What happened!?" Somebody in the crowd shouted.

"Calm down! Quiet!" Dr. Mamado commanded, "Team Ventus is on the case! We anticipate their success, so settle down!"

Dr. Mamado is here? And who is that guy standing next to him? They kinda look alike. Traximus thought. Team Ventus? Is that a Rescue Team? He was lost in thought for so long that he failed to see the Axew he just collided with headfirst, who was also running along the crowd. The pair of dragons fell atop one another, causing Neltharios to slow to a stop beside them.

Picking himself up, Traximus stammered his speech. "S-sorry 'bout that! But I got a problem!"

The Axew had to blink some stars out of her vision before panicking again. "N-no! I'm sorry! I just got the news that my roommate went missing and thought it had something to do with this!"

Traximus and Neltharios looked at each other, horror overtaking their faces. Neltharios glanced at her, "Who else went missing!?"

"Kruler! A Totodile!" The Axew rubbed her head, then suddenly paled, "Wait, else? Who else?"

"Kroto, a Passimian and MY roommate!" Traximus forcibly shut his eyes. Arceus, please. It's only the first day and most of the 'mons I know here are already getting themselves in trouble…

"Everyone! Look, it's Team Ventus!" Somebody in the crowd proclaimed.

Traximus opened his eyes and directed his attention upwards. Three birds descended upon the crowd, although very slowly. Coming into view, atop the Corviknight was what looked like a battered Passimian, which drew startled and panicked gasps from the crowd. Similarly, atop the Staraptor was a Totodile who looked like she was on the edge of consciousness.

"Everyone clear! We need landing space!" Grady demanded, attempting to steady himself mid-descent.

The entire crowd did as instructed. The Staraptor and the Talonflame landed rather quickly, however Grady took extra precaution in landing to not throw off the unconscious Kroto atop him. "MEDIC!" He shouted, "Get me a medic here! NOW!"

Immediately, four Audino sprinted up, stretchers already prepared. Kroto slid on very quickly and cautiously. Kruler was hoisted atop the stretcher and soon both were in full view of the crowd. Traximus and Palla at the front of the crowd desired to avert their eyes, but just couldn't. Their hearts sank into them. How did this happen? Traximus pondered.

Palla looked at Traximus, eyes filled with sadness, "…Did you know Kruler?"

"Sort of? We came here together, but I didn't know much about her before." He stared down at the grass.

"Oh. I see…" Palla kicked a pebble.

The Bagon shifted his attention, "You seem to care about her. What's your name?"

"Palla, and yours?"

"Traximus," He extended his stubby arm, "It's… um… Interesting to meet you here…I guess."

Grady watched as the alpha's victims were taken away for treatment. Even the fact that they managed to get the injured to safety couldn't save the Corviknight's blood from boiling. He so desperately wanted to claw at something to ease the tension, but turning to Setzo calibrated his mind to other plans.

"You. We need to talk," Grady leered, making the Koraidon lock up.

"Wh-What do you need?"

"You created the assignment for these students, yes?"

"Y-Yes, that's correct…" The Koraidon peeped.

The Corviknight's red eyes beamed directly into Setzo's face, boring mental holes in him, "And, you purposely let these Pokémon play near what could contain a Mystery Dungeon, correct…?"

Setzo trembled at the mounting pressure, sweat building in his face. He placed his hand on the back of his neck, "Uh…"

"Am I correct!?"

"…y-yes…"

Grady spread his wings menacingly, his navy-blue armored wings spreading nearly the same wingspan as Setzo's. "So, you KNEW this was a bad idea!" He closed his wings and rushed towards the Koraidon, prompting him to take a frightened defensive stance, "You KNOW that young adults are notorious for doing chronically stupid things! Have you forgotten the very first rule of leadership!?"

Setzo merely gulped at the Corviknight's pressure.

"Well!? Go on! Tell me the rule!"

"…R-rule one… As a leader… everything falls back onto your shoulders…" The Koriadon dropped his arms to his sides and let his head hang. He was on the verge of tears.

"Don't give ME those Krookodile tears! You need to apologize to those brand-new students you just obtained! Especially the Totodile and Passimian!" Grady angrily squawked, "In my fifteen years of service, I have never had a client who faced down an alpha and nearly bit it! I don't intend to make this a trend in the future, do I make myself clear!?"

The Koriadon merely sobbed, his ego and sense of self-worth destroyed. "Y-yes sir…"

"Good. 'Cause now I must file a report with Seargent Garland. And these days, he gets even angrier than I just was!" The Corviknight turned his back on his friend, "It would be a miracle if you kept your job after this."

Grady stormed off, leaving a distressed Setzo to wallow amongst the crowd.

So unlike the games where the first dungeon is a pushover, the first dungeon (Or the boss battle) in this story is a nightmare. At least I thought it would be an interesting spin on the formula.

Next: Reporting to boss; Lessons learned in experience