Turning to finally face his foe head-on, Rocttryn roared. As Basculegion jerked forward again, he propelled himself backwards. In doing so, he also summoned a series of pointy rocks and flung them right into the fish.

"Stealth Rock!"

To his dismay, Basculegion dispelled itself right before the rocks hit their mark. They flew off through the water, managing to slice a couple Basculin in half. Rocttryn warily approached their broken carcasses, and took a giant sniff. They smelled delicious. Lowering his guard, Rocttryn gobbled them down quickly to restore his energy, leaving behind only a tail.

Something suddenly crashed into him at full force, sending him careening towards the jet wall. He yowled out in pain, frantically flapping his wings to regain his balance. He only really succeeded in disturbing the waters, sending a few more Basculin scattering. Before long, there was another slam, and another after that.

Thinking quickly, Rocttryn tucked in his wings and braced himself. He purposely made himself as small as possible, maximizing his momentum, and another slam sent him careening through the water. He closed his eyes and clenched his hands. Soon after, a slew of rocks appeared in the waters above him. Although their descent was slowed by the sheer force of the fast approaching Basculegion, they fell right behind him.

"Yeargh!"

He slammed against his own rocks, hard. Feeling his skin get penetrated by the sharp rocks, he clenched his teeth. Pain only makes his kind stronger, right…? He ripped himself out of the boulder, and slammed the giant fish's head as it swam at him again. It didn't seem to have much effect, though, as the Dungeon Master pushed him right through the boulder.

Arceus, that one hurt. So many splinters stuck inside, and his saddle digging into his backrock. Rocttryn roared in pain, trying to throw some rocks again.

Basculegion swatted them away like Durants, propelling itself closer and closer to the Aerodactyl. Rocttryn braced himself… And let out a loud scream as the jaws of the fish began to close around him.

The dungeon was eerily quiet, Jetfin noted. In all of his explorations, even in dungeons that had what Wind and Spark had described as 'dungeon masters', he'd never experienced something like this.

A quick look around revealed no foes in sight. Not a Finneon, not a Frillish… Not even a lowly Magikarp.

He pulled out his badge. Tapping it a couple times, he debated using up his Rollcall Orb to touch base with his current clients. And potentially save them, if they'd wandered into trouble. Upon his third tap, a quick status update popped in front of him, projected upon a Light Screen display. He gave it a quick glance. Obviously, himself… His two temporary companions were on the next line down.

His eyes narrowed. Feraligatr seemed to be missing entirely. Not a good sign, considering they'd entered the dungeon together. But he clearly hadn't been knocked out; he would've been evacuated too. Either he'd left the dungeon willingly, or he'd been otherwise incapacitated.

The badge was put away. Jetfin stretched a little, before dashing off in the direction he'd come. He sped faster, breaking out of the dungeon's walls. They were only water… And in water, he was second only to Kyogre.

Even out in the open waters, it was eerily quiet. Still no Frillish or Finneon… But an unusual number of dead Basculin. Almost immediately, Jetfin recognized the danger. The Dungeon Master was a Basculegion. Fueled by the desire for revenge… The strength of hundreds of Pokemon…

He didn't have to look for things for very long. Hearing the distinct sound of a screaming Pokemon, he followed the noise. Weaving in and out, and through the field of Basculin…

"Bleagh. This blood and smell's gonna take a month to clean out after this job…" Jetfin muttered. Still, he could more clearly hear the sounds of battle. And a crack… Was that broken glass in front of him?

He trained his ears… and shot upwards. Swerving around a couple falling boulders, and then some torn up saddle bits, he continued to ascend before slamming headfirst into a soft underbelly.

He rubbed his head lightly. The impact didn't hurt, but it did leave him with a massive headache. He flailed around for a little bit, before seeing a Persim Berry in front of him. The Floatzel chomped on it quickly, regaining his bearings and looking around.

There were a lot of broken rocks scattered about. Some stuck in the Pokemon overhead, some sinking to the bottom… Were those spikes breaking through the skin? And… moving?

Jetfin swam away from the underbelly to look around more. There wasn't a lot of movement anymore… No sounds, no currents… Just a rock seeming to carve through the belly of the beast.

Then he heard a whimper. A loud one, coming from the Dungeon Master. In pain, no doubt, as its belly began to tear itself open. The multiple holes in its skin were beginning to connect, the inside of the beast beginning to spill out. Lots of dangerous acids, prompting a quick retreat from the underside.

Darkness. That's all there was inside the Basculegion's belly. That, and a lot of acid.

Rocttryn panicked. Despite the Mobile Scarf's promises, it didn't seem to let him phase through the fleshy walls. Perhaps it reacted differently to sentient life… Regardless, he needed a new plan. Thinking quickly, he grabbed his chin spike with a foot. Gulping, and preparing himself for the pain, he broke it off. Sweet Voidlands, that hurt. Wincing and falling over, he screamed. Fighting the pain, he stabbed the Basculegion's belly. And he pushed.

The broken spike pierced the fish's body. Not cleanly, but enough. Rocttryn growled, eyes still sealed shut as he continued to stab the fish. Again and again, feeling the convulsions Basculegion gave off with every penetration. Each convulsion intensified the pain he felt in his chin, each one throwing him more off-balance.

And then… He heard a tear. Quietly, first. Then louder. Suddenly, he dropped. Water flowed into the giant beast, tilting it.

Without any hesitation, Rocttryn propelled himself away, deeper into the lake and out of danger. Some blood got caught on his scales, but the Aerodactyl didn't notice. It didn't change his weight, and it wasn't in his field of view. The depths called to him. And somewhere beyond, Suntren.

Paying very little mind to the now dying fish, Rocttryn propelled himself deeper still. Out of the dungeon, and into clear waters.

Seeing more and more of the Basculegion's insides become outsides, Jetfin began to worry. Whatever was going on inside the fish wasn't going to end very well…He swam around the the Dungeon Master's face. It was in pain, whimpering and starting to fall onto its side. He swam forward and put his hand on the Basculegion. It groaned, trying to open its jaws.

"Shhh… Conserve your strength, Basculegion." Jetfin stroked it, trying to calm the great fish. It groaned again, leaning over more. "You might be dangerous, but I can't overlook your injuries." He let go and swam back under. Much was still escaping through the stomach wound.

Noting the Basculin surrounding them both, Jetfin took a deep breath. Then, he grabbed some of the guts and started pushing them back in. They were disgusting. All slimy, and gross… made of repurposed Basculin. The Floatzel shuddered. He'd definitely need to clean up after this.

As more of the guts went in, some Basculin swam up and seemed to patch the hole. Others swarmed into it, trying to drain the Dungeon Master of the flooding water. Before long, Jetfin was pushed away from the guts, as the Basculin took over entirely.

However, he didn't stop trying to help. Before long, the Basculin started to take orders from him. Some were assigned to the holes, others to finding anything that could tie the wound together. Jetfin returned to the Basculegion's face, rummaging around in his bag. "We'll get you all patched up, so long as you don't kill me afterwards, okay?"

The Basculegion didn't reply. Its eyes were closed, and the gills moving shallowly. Jetfin rested his hand on it, trying to keep the fish calm. "I won't let you die without helping, okay? I'll do everything I can to keep you around."