"Here's the plan, guys," Jetfin announced, drawing out a rough map of Lake Hurani. "Far as we know, your friend's in the lake somewhere. So, we'll just dive down, find 'im, and we'll be off!"

"Whit if th' lake's a dungeon, Jetfin?" Rocttryn asked, flicking his tail. "Gonnae be a lot harder tae fin' him if it's."

"Aye," Noytrun responded. "I 'eard of those ferals. They don' like intruders."

The Floatzel grinned. "If it is, well, I'm along for the ride, right? They won't give us much trouble."

The Aerodactyl stared at the giant Floatzel. "Ye sound a tad overconfident. Shuid ah be worried?"

He grinned wider. "Not at all, Edin! I was trained by Windrunner, one of the greatest duelists of the modern age!"

Noytrun raised his brow. "Ye mean dat Windrunner? Hero o' Time?"

"Th' hero wha fought Dialga, 'n' leed? Th' hero o' th' Devastation?" Rocttryn asked. "Jammy…"

"Hey now!" Jetfin protested. "That one was me!" He dusted his tails off. "Though, I guess I can see where you're coming from, kid. It's thanks to him that the Krillian Marauders were defeated. Just… don't call him a hero. He doesn't think it fits." Jetfin rubbed his tube. "But we're getting a little off-topic here. It's probably best if we split up."

"Aye, splitting up means mair area searched in less time." Though a'd cop mair comfy tagging alang wi' someone…" Rocttyrn mused. "Bein' a rock-type, 'n' a'."

Jetfin slapped the Aerodactyl's saddle. "Sounds like you should go with your teammate then, Edin! Teams stick together, eh?"

The Feraligatr rumbled somewhat pleasantly. "Ye sure ye'll recognize dis Heliolisk, Jetfin?"

"I'm sure, Razorfang!" He pumped his fist. "Edin here told me all about him!" Jetfin winked. "But you? You weren't here for that."

Noytrun nodded. "Guess dat's settled, den."

Rocttryn tilted his head, before flapping his wings. "Let's gang, then. Wha kens howfur lang Sun kin survive doon thare."

"Pretty long, I bet," Jetfin winked. "But you're right. He's not a Water-Type, we're on the clock here!"

The Floatzel gave them both an orange orb with a triangular pattern in the middle. "This is a Rollcall Orb. If you get into a tight situation, and need help, break it. If it's working right, then I should instantly teleport to your location."

"An' if it's not?"

Jetfin shrugged. "I have no idea. But I have faith in my teammates that they only get the best items when we prepare for long outings."

"Ye dinnae dae th' preparation afore an outing?" Rocttryn stared in disbelief. "How come?"

The Floatzel winked at him again. "Like I said, I put trust in my team! There's enough of us to go around that we all prepare in different ways, Edin!" He pumped his fist. "Now let's get going!"

He jumped into the lake before either Pokemon could further protest, disappearing deep into the dungeon. Bewildered, Noytrun soon followed with Rocttryn bringing up the rear. As the Aerodactyl entered the lake, the Mobile Scarf he currently had on formed an air bubble around him, granting him the ability to breathe underwater. He stretched it for a moment, wondering just how sturdy it was.

"So, what's da plan, Roc?" Noytrun asked, getting behind him. "Since we're goin' on our own."

Rocttyrn watched Jetfin head off to the right. "We'll gang left. Oor primary objective is tae fin' Suntren. We shuid stairt by gaun as deep as we kin…"

Noytrun nodded. "If we get into a fight, I'll protect you, pardner."

"Ah'ament helpless in a rammy!" Rocttryn snapped at him. "Juist... Nae a solo fighter."

Noytrun snickered. "Whaddever you say, boss."

Rocttryn glared at him, before flying off to the left. He made note of the unique properties of this dungeon, too. It wasn't very stable. And, for that matter, there weren't really corridors or floors. Strong jets of water formed the dungeon structure instead, but they always seemed to be stopping and starting randomly. Sometimes, one would suddenly shoot down from overhead, pushing him deeper into the dungeon.

Sometimes the pair would find themselves in a large room where they were constantly moving up and down due to the currents. These ones were much more troublesome to navigate than the rest. Because of the constant push, their dungeon map wouldn't update. Normally, the map, infused with luminous orb dust, updated according to explored areas. Because it wasn't working thanks to the currents, they had to try and find the exit on their own.

Rocttryn snapped his jaws at one of the jets, getting frustrated by the third room. Naturally, nothing much happened, as the jet just flowed through his mouth. Grumbling, the Aerodactyl made to go around the spot.

Unbeknownst to the rookie explorer, Noytrun was stuck in the first room. A large wall of water jets had formed following Rocttryn's navigation of the room. Now, the Feraligatr was trying to find his own way forward. Though the currents in the middle of the large room had seemingly stopped permanently, the path he'd just come from was blocked now, too. So he couldn't backtrack to find Jetfin, either.

He looked around. Surely there had to be some way to move on. Outside of the water jet boundaries, fish swam happily. The Feraligatr just watched them for a bit as he pondered what to do. Eventually, he tried swimming out to join them. The currents were strong, pushing him back, but Noytrun kept trying. Soon, he started probing the wall for any kind of weak point.

Without warning, he suddenly pushed through, to the freedom of the lake. Except… something didn't seem quite right. The fish were startled by something approaching from the depths.

Shivers ran down his spine. As the crocodile searched for the source of the terror, the water started getting darker. Before he had any more time to react, something snapped shut, and he was left in total darkness.

Rocttryn paused about halfway to the next floor, looking back. He frowned. "Noytrun? Whaur urr ye?"

The Aerodactyl received no answer. He started to grumble, turning back. While the Rollcall Orb sat in his bag, he also didn't feel like he needed to call Jetfin back yet. He wasn't in any danger of losing a battle, and he could tell he wasn't anywhere near the end of the dungeon. He started to retrace his steps back through the dungeon.

It was a pretty eventful trip. Despite having passed through here with no problems, he was now being assaulted by hordes of Basculin. Rocttryn snapped at a few of them with his jaws, only to be attacked from behind. He tried to counter by slamming his tail down. Most of them swam out of that attack. Thinking quickly, he followed up with a circle swing. The Basculin horde countered by slamming into him from above and below, causing him to lose his breath momentarily.

Upon recovering from the sudden crush, Rocttryn figured he'd be better off just making a mad dash for the exit. The endless hordes of Basculin were beating him down, and he still needed to save his strength. Rocttryn covered his weak points with his wings and tail, starting to pick up speed. "Agility!"

The Aerodactyl got faster and faster, starting to leave the vicious Basculin behind. A few stragglers nearby still gave chase, nipping at his heels. He tried to ignore them, but the nipping grew t strong. Swinging around, Rocttryn snapped his jaws, catching one of the Basculin. He crunched down.

A satisfying screech rang as Rocttryn's fangs ripped the Basculin in two. He spat the broken fish out, scaring the remaining Basculin. They ran away, leaving him to continue his journey back. As a result, he soon returned to the first room. Rocttryn growled. Still, Noytrun was missing. He got out his map. Looking at it, still blank, he figured he'd need to go back to the dungeon's beginning. That was much further back. The Aerodactyl swung his tail around angrily.

The unpredictable, yet calming movements seemed to attract something, though. Rocttryn's instincts picked up on something approaching from the depths. Not missing a beat, the Aerodactyl instantly flew upwards. He heard a loud snap from below him, and then a few more as it tried again to bite him.

Rocttyrn looked behind him to get a better look at the creature from the depths. A giant green fish, with red stripes and spots. Some hair on the fish gave it an evil mustache and beard, alongside some perpetually angry eyebrows. The back of the fish were ghostly puffs resembling the shape of a back fin.

Continuing to snap its jaws at him, the fish swam in circles. This started to pull Rocttryn deeper… escaping the pull of the dungeon and bringing him to a much larger open space. Trying to leave only resulted in some kind of rectangular amber bismuth pattern appearing in front of him. Attempting to touch it shocked him. As such, leaving wasn't an option. He growled angrily, before grasping his Mega Pendant.

Rocttryn was immediately engulfed in an orb of blinding light. His claws pushed forwards, out from on his wing and turned into sharp spikes. He winced as a covering of rock armor appeared around his brow, irritating his scar. The sears of pain only intensified as his ears grew out into larger rocks, giving him a much more intimidating appearance. As a rock crest appeared on Rocttyrn's chest, his tail also sprouted some spikes. He growled, feeling the pain in every part of his body as the rocks and spikes took shape, hardening and sharpening to make him a walking weapon.

The orb shattered. In its place, a Mega Aerodactyl. Rocttryn wiggled his limbs, ensuring he could still move. Satisfied with the result, he drew up a breath of fire and charged. The fish roared, sending out a swarm of Basculin ghosts to engage its foe.

"Ah accept yer challenge!"

Lost Spirit of the Lake

Basculegion