This one was in the works prior to the release of the last update. So you guys actually get 2 updates relatively close to each other.

~ Crystal Cove, 1F ~

"We're in an Eternarift? You sure about this?"

"Unless you know of any other orbs that can spawn mystery dungeons, then I'd say I'm pretty sure."

The group made their way to the stairs of crystal. Neltharios was the first to examine the steps, taking note of the intricate details. Each step had a somewhat different pattern to them, the mesmerizing and perplexing nature of it keeping his attention. This is a 'mon made mystery dungeon, huh? I'll admit. Whoever made this dungeon must be an artist, cause it looks deliberately designed down to the very last detail. His gaze then fell upon a strange gate near the top of the steps, crackling with blue electrical beams. "Hey, what's that?"

Palla followed up behind him shuddering, "I don't know. Will it zap us if we walk through it?"

"We do have a ground type," Traximus noted, referring to Reiner, "We could send him through first."

Reiner looked around briefly and then pointed a nervous finger at himself, "Me?"

"Who else?"

"What if it's not actually electricity? What if it hurts me?"

Neltharios, having enough of the short debate, shot his arm through the gate, steeling himself for the consequences of his actions. A strange ping was heard from somewhere in the dungeon. Aside from that, Neltharios felt perfectly fine.

"Nel what did you do?!" Traximus exclaimed.

"You two were about to spat, so I took the charge." Neltharios responded. He then observed that the gate had turned red, "Woah, did the gate just change color?"

Traximus ran beside Neltharios, observing the change in the gate. His eyes widened at the discovery. "Huh. That's wild. What happens if we pass through it?"

"Only one way to find out. Everybody ready to move through?"

~ Crystal Cove 2F ~

A nod in unison prompted the group to move up the stairs with Reiner tailing behind and Neltharios in front. Moving onto the next floor and a blinding flash of light later, they found themselves in the center of a room. However, the room glistened a vibrant red that gave the members of Team Nova a brief headache as their eyes adjusted.

"Wasn't this dungeon blue just a moment ago?" Palla sighed, rubbing her eyes.

Neltharios gazed his surroundings, noting that indeed, the dungeon had changed colors. "Could it have to do with the gate that we passed through?"

"Maybe," Reiner pondered, scouting around, "And there doesn't seem to be any hallways or pathways. Where's the stairs?"

Palla looked in Traximus's direction, finding that the Bagon was staring intensely at something in the distance, "Traximus? What's wrong?"

"Is that a Growlithe?" He asked, pointing in the direction of interest.

Everybody's eyes turned towards the creature in question. It looked similar to a Growlithe but had a deeper red tint to it. Additionally, it had a whiter mane and said mane covered its eyes and partially covered the ears. It also seemed a bit larger than usual, with a wider maw and larger teeth.

"That looks like no Growlithe I've ever seen." Neltharios commented, "What happened to the sick mohawk? And why is the mane white?"

"No idea. We shouldn't have to start a fight though," Traximus said, "So let's just sneak past and find the stairs, okay?"

"Then let's get a move on," the Charmander replied before taking a step forward, hearing an audible click as he stepped forward. Uh, that's a good thing, right?

A round of pink gas encompassed the room, causing the members of Team Nova to shut their eyes and gag. When the gas cleared enough for the group to see, glowing red eyes surrounded the group through the pink-colored mist. As it cleared and the group's vision returned in full, they quickly realized that they were surrounded by a pack of six Growlithe. Some appearing like the Growlithe from before, and others looking like a traditional Growlithe.

Everybody gave Netltharios a scathing look. "Okay. That one's on me," he responded.

"Brace for combat!" Traximus shouted.

The scarlet colored Growlithe in front of Neltharios lunged at him, maw crackling with electricity. Pivoting to his left and into Traximus, the Charmander barely managed to dodge the attack. Unfortunately, he put Reiner in the line of sight for the feral's attack. Fortunately, the attack seemed to have very little, if any effect on him.

"Back off!" Reiner shouted as he launched the Growlithe away from him with a well-placed Mud Shot. The Growlithe screeched in pain before colliding with the wall and falling unconscious.

Traximus summoned an aura of draconic energy from his chest. Leaping into the air as high as he could muster given the situation, he beamed a stream of energy directly towards the Growlithe to the left of Neltharios. The Growlithe whined and winced, but ultimately remained conscious. Coming to a landing, he fell right next to Palla, who was having a standoff between two Growlithe, one of each kind. Mustering another dragon pulse, he attempted to blast the one to Palla's left. Unfortunately, he missed, enabling the other Growlithe to pummel him with a Take Down attack, ultimately pinning him to the ground.

Having snapped back to reality, Palla tried to rush to Traximus's aid, but was cut off by the Growlithe that he missed. The canine snapped at her with a bite attack, and managed to tear a bit of her scales off as she pulled her arm back. Her startled yelp was followed by a hastily conjured aqua tail that she swiped at it with. The Growlithe was flung across the room, yipping all the way eventually skidding to an unconscious stop.

"Got your back," Neltharios announced as he lunged at the Growlithe holding his friend down. Necrotic energies gathered in his claws, coating them in a dark purple energy. He threw his claws at the feral, slashing its face and drawing a fair bit of flesh out of it. The canine was stunned by the attack long enough for the Bagon to launch a point-blank dragon breath in its face, knocking it out.

With half of the pack down, Neltharios and Traximus looked between each other and nodded. Alright we got this! Neltharios internally cheered. Traximus dashed to one side of the pack and Neltharios raced to the other side. A slew of dragon fire built up in Neltharios's mouth while Traximus readied another dragon pulse. Sweeping his head around, Neltharios spewed the dragon breath in a wave, hitting all three Growlithe and stunning their movements. "Now Traximus!" The Bagon leapt into the air again, sniping the three Growlithe with successive dragon pulses. The three Growlithe had no chance to react before falling to the floor.

"Aww yeah! We won!" Neltharios shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

"Nice job Nel," Traximus complimented, "But where do we go from here? There aren't exactly any stairs…"

Neltharios dropped his fist, confusion washing over him, "Good point. There's not any hallways or paths either." The golden Charmander tapped the floor, "Maybe the stairs are beneath us and we have to dig it out?"

"Or possibly above us and we need to blast a way through?" Traximus asked, looking directly above.

Reiner was the first to notice a strange aura materializing around the Growlithe. Stepping backwards, he begun to stammer his words, "H-hey… Ferals don't do this after they're knocked unconscious, right?"

Team Nova inspected the scene just in time to witness the Growlithe begin to decompose in front of their very eyes. The two tiny dragons fought the urge to hurl and Neltharios closed his eyes, attempting to forget the image he just saw. Near where one of the Growlithe once lied, there was a slightly large red colored orb.

"I'm not picking that up," Reiner touted, "You can't pay me enough!"

"Then I will." Traximus clasped the orb in his nubs, disdainfully lifting it to his chest. "Huh. This thing is lighter than I thought it would be."

The orb then coated Traximus in a soft blue light before changing its color to a deep blue. Another pinging sound was heard somewhere in the distance. "There's that sound again," he grunted, "And this orb changed color, just like the gate did."

Neltharios tapped his chin with his left digit. Hmm. The gate changed from blue to red when I touched it. But then when Traximus touched the orb, it changed from red to blue. The Charmander focused his attention on the Bagon adjacent to him. I wonder if he figured something out yet.

"Nel, can you hold this for me?" Traximus asked, holding out the orb as far as he could.

Neltharios complied, taking the orb into his grasp. Similarly, the orb glowed a soft red light, projecting it on the Charmander before pinging a sound. After a second light show, the orb remained a crimson red color. Now it's red. Why does it change color? Is it reacting to us personally? What about Traximus makes this orb blue? I mean, I'm a fire type, so I can see why the orb would glow red for me.

The Charmander went wide eyed, mulling his thoughts. Wait. I'm a fire type, and the orb turned red. He then shot a look at Traximus and Palla, both of whom looked back at him in confusion. Traximus is a dragon, and when he touched it, it turned blue. He turned around and looked up at Reiner, who eyed him in suspense. So, what about him? Is he red? Or blue? Only one way to find out!

Reiner had no time to react when the orb was shoved onto his person. In his panic and confusion, he clutched the orb in between his forearms. "Hey! What the hell!" he shouted. The orb shined red, but creating a pinging sound that was of a noticeably lower key.

That's weird. Neltharios then immediately turned towards the other members of Team Nova, "Something's up with this dungeon. I think it might have to do with our types, but I'm not sure how."

"Then pass the orb back here," Traximus said, snagging the orb from Reiner, making it blue again, "If you're right, then the next floor should give us dragon types."

"We can try. So let's just find the stairs-" Neltharios did a double take when he noticed a staircase to his left, "Since when was that there?!"

"I think when we beat the Growlithe, the stairs suddenly appeared here," Palla deduced, "This dungeon could be one giant puzzle, so let's watch for clues on each floor."

"That's a good idea," Traximus agreed, moving to the stairs before anybody else.

~ Gullverian Airspace, nearing Kira University ~

Over the skies of Gullveria, the Alakazam raced himself into the distance with his telekinetic powers. Team Ventus, despite all members having the natural ability to fly, found it difficult to keep up with him. The Staraptor, particularly, found it harder and harder to match his pace.

"How, hah… is he so… fast!" Aile panted.

Alcryst laughed heartily. "You can't tell me you haven't heard of telekinetic propulsion! It's much faster than flying, though for lesser psychics, it takes much concentration," he shouted, "Fortunately, I am not one of those lesser psychics!"

Grady shot a look into the distance. Kira University's familiar shape came into view, "Alright! At the pace we're going we should be there in about thirty minutes! After that, my team and I will leave you to your work. It will then be on you to find an escort to wherever you stay!"

Alcryst was about to respond when the connection orb on his hilt began to vibrate. Pulling it from his holster with his psychic abilities, he lifted it to his face. He invoked the orb with his telepathic powers, making his eyes glow blue. This is Alcryst. Temporary member of Team Ventus. What do you need?

"Kira…versity…ernarift! We need…ackup here!"

You're breaking up. What's the situation?

"Eternarift…ira University! We…escue Teams now!"

Understood. We'll be there shortly.

The Alakazam clicked off the orb, placing it back in his holster. "Change of plans! We are going to teleport to the University! We need to be in range to do so! Prepare for a dive bomb in five seconds!"

"What's happening!? What's going on at the University!?" Grady cried out.

"Something about an Eternarift and Kira University! Possibly an outbreak! We need to get there immediate-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A sudden explosion of energy in the nearby watchtower threw the group off balance. Aile spun about in the air briefly before stabilizing herself once more. As everybody looked over towards the incursion, a beaming magenta light came from the tower.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Fuego yelled.

Alcryst contorted the parts of his face that he could, "That's right! It's an Eternarift! But why?!"

"Um, guys!?" Aile cried, "It doesn't look like that rift is pulling things into it!"

Upon closer inspection, Alcryst and the others noted that indeed, the Eternarift appeared to not pull things in. A strange silhouette was visible from outside the rift, however.

"You're right!" Grady noted, "But what is that thing coming out of-"

"DEFENSIVE POSITIONS! NOW!"

Alcryst's screams were followed up with a mass teleportation of the group several kilometers to their right. A Hyper Beam temporarily colored the airspace orange as the wide beam soared into the distance, putting it on a collision course with a nearby cornfield, torching everything in the immediate impact zone.

"What was that!?" Fuego shouted.

"Obviously a Hyper Beam," Alcryst replied, pointing towards the rift, "And I think we found our culprit!"

Flying out of the rift, a Gyarados spread its lengthy body across the airspace. A crimson red replaced the white sclara of a normal Gyarados and the glow produced an aura of intimidation. Fifteen full seconds passed for Gyarados to fully emerge from the rift.

"Oh my gods…" Aile said quietly, "I don't… Think I have… The drive for this…"

Whoever placed this Eternarift… They either must be so lucky as to stop our trek here, or this must be intentional. Alcryst thought, bracing himself for battle.

~ Crystal Cove, 3F ~

Into the next floor of the dungeon, Team Nova observed that the floor was the deep blue color that it once was earlier. Traximus scouted his immediate surroundings for any clues as to the trick of the floor. Unfortunately, he found nothing.

"There's nothing here," the Bagon determined, "At least there is a pathway to go down. Ready to explore?"

All in agreement, the squad moved through a narrow passageway. The refractions in the crystal patterns provides a gentle sheen onto the bodies of the crew, one that would have given Traximus an air of comfortability had it not been for the current situation that he's in. With Neltharios and Reiner leading the charge, Traximus stood back with Palla, the latter of which was beginning to tremble.

"Are you okay? You're shaking." Traximus asked, hoping to ease Palla's worries.

"I-I'm fine," she responded, "It's just the first time I've ever been in a dungeon…"

"Really? Well, sorry this had to be your first one. If you want to get a real dungeon experience, there's one near Hakari Village we can go to later for fun."

"Um, isn't that dangerous?"

"Not exactly. The most dangerous things there are Furrets, but Nel and I took down a few of those before. You'll be fine with us."

"Us…"

"Yeah. We're Team Nova, right? Were you thinking of something else?"

"Oh! No! I just… forgot about that. My mind's been on the dungeon."

Traximus eyed Palla curiously, causing her to blush a bit in embarrassment. "Well if you need anything, you can rely on Nel or I." He then side eyed Reiner, "Not so sure about him though." He passed her a warm smile, causing her to blush harder and look forward again.

The group came to a halt when they came across a small room. There was a dip in the floor that was flooded with water in the corner of the room. Everybody took a moment to inspect the room, attempting to find clues. Palla, who was inspecting the water, managed to find a strange round object in the deepest reaches of the floor.

"Guys! I've found something in the water. It looks like the orb we found earlier!" She shouted.

The group crowded the space around the pool. Everybody glared at the object that resided deep within. Neltharios and Reiner looked at each other with a look that screamed 'I'm not going in there.' Therefore, they both backed away from the pool.

Palla and Traximus then looked between each other. "I can get it if you don't want to," he offered. The Axew merely nodded.

After taking a deep breath, the Bagon dove headfirst into the pool of water. While the water caressed the membrane in his eyes, it didn't exactly sting. The water was clear enough to see his target, plain as day, and when he descended low enough to retrieve it, he effortlessly lifted it off the surface. As usual, the orb glowed a blue color as he broke the water's reaches.

"Got it," he huffed, kicking his feet to keep him afloat, "Somebody take this, I need to surface!"

Reiner was the one to take the orb, gritting his teeth at having to clasp the soaked object. Traximus eventually climbed up onto the floor and sat down, collecting his breath.

"In the red floor, we faced fire types and the blue floor we faced water," Traximus noted, staring directly at Neltharios, "Nel, if we find any water types, your hunch may be right."

"I hope I'm not right. I don't wanna fight any water types…" The Charmander quipped, nervously tapping his fingers together.

"Let's not stay here longer than we have to. The stairs should be somewhere." Reiner commented.

"HELP!" A voice boomed, causing all of Team Nova to jump. "HELP! PLEASE!"

"Ow! My ears!" Palla cried out, clutching her head.

A torrent of water flew from the hallway in front of them, pushing a Loudred to the feet of Neltharios. The Charmander dashed backwards a bit in alert and instinctively prepared himself in a fighting stance.

"Ah! A feral!" Neltharios bellowed as he began charging a flamethrower, "Eat this-"

"WAIT!" Traximus sprung into action, tilting Neltharios's head upwards, launching the flames towards the ceiling.

"Traxy! What was that for?!"

Traximus gestured towards the Loudred, "Look at him! He's not feral! He's our classmate from a few days ago!"

Neltharios took a moment to examine the Pokémon beneath his feet. A wave of relief took him over as the remaining bits of fire fizzled out. "Oh gods, I almost toasted you! You okay man?"

…

…No response.

"Uh oh. I think he might be knocked out…" The Charmader gulped.

Traximus, assuming a battle stance, snarled in the direction of the hallway. "And he just brought his company with him! Let's do this again!"

"I wish Kruler was here," Palla said, "I think she would have loved this much fighting."

~ Kira University, Girls Dormitory ~

Kruler found herself peppier than usual, mostly because she had gotten her fourth treatment done and her arms were feeling significantly better. Having just returned from her treatment, she sits at her desk, chowing on some meat that she had gotten for herself earlier.

Where's Palla? She wondered to herself. It's not like her, staying out of her room for so long. What could be keeping her?

"Oh my Arceus! What is that thing in the sky!?" A voice from beyond the walls shouted.

Glaring out the window, the Totodile scouted the sky for anything unusual. Her eyes then locked onto a blue, serpentine creature emerging in thin air, rotating in a helix motion. Is that a Gyarados?! How is it flying?! What's it doing up there?!

A thundering boom was heard following a beam of orange light somewhere in the distance. Kruler heard panicked cries coming from students in the rooms on both sides of her. Feeling the ambient temperature briefly increase, her insides begin to churn. Okay, this is too much. All this in the first week? I just wanna go home…

Back to back disasters near the same place. How intriguing.

Next: Crystaline Chaos; Battle with the Mirage Gyarados!