Araquanid paused. Something was… off today. The waves were… disturbed, and the native fish missing. He scanned the sounding coral, noticing a discoloured bump in the sand. It was orange, sticking out against the red sands, and quite lumpy.

He shook his passenger awake. "Wait here, Heliolisk. I've got to check something out real quick."

Suntren yawned, looking at his ride groggily. "Something to check out…?"

"Aye. It won't be long, just wait over by the seaweed," Araquanid asked, pointing it out. "And if I get into trouble… run."

"Eh?" Suntren snapped awake. "No, if you get into trouble-"

"I can handle myself if I'm not worried about my charge." Araquanid began to phase him out of his bubble. "You understand?"

The Heliolisk nodded, landing on the lakebed expertly. He quickly readjusted his breathing helmet, looked around, and then noticed the bump himself. "That's what you're checking out, then?"

"Correct. This area is usually pounded flat by the water, you see. A bump like this, especially with the colour difference, is suspicious. First time I've seen one."

"Right." Suntren moved off to where Araquanid pointed, anxious. He carefully fingered Porygon2's ball. Hopefully, this was just an oddity.

Araquanid wandered over, one leg outstretched to prod the bump. It was… hard. Unlike what he expected, his leg didn't sink down. It didn't get caught on buried rocks and roots…

The bump shifted. "Oy! Ya ain't a cop, are ya? Cause if ya are, then we'll hafta give you a beating!"

Another voice -deeper, more drawn out than the bump's squealing- came from the weeds. "Or, we could simply lighten your load. Heliolisk there has something interesting…"

"No," Araquanid stated, point blank. "I'm taking him back above water."

"Well, then that's even better. Always great treasures from there…" A blue Gastrodon shot sticky webs at the bug. "Why not hand him over? We promise to return him…. Eventually."

Araquanid growled, taking a protective stance towards Suntren. "He's under my charge, so you're going through me. You'd best scurry."

Gastrodon laughed. "You're not tough. Step aside, and-"

Suntren didn't hear anything else. He'd thrown the Poke Ball out, releasing Porygon2, and growled. "Leave him alone!"

Both attackers turned to look at Suntren. Their attention quickly shifted to the Ball he'd thrown, and then to the emerging, duck-shaped creature. Gastrodon took a few paces towards it. Its eyes looked Porygon over, squinting suspiciously. Araquanid recoiled, looking shocked. His eyes flitted between the ball returning to Suntren, and the Porygon2 that had emerged from it.

After both had had their time to process what happened, the pile rumbled. An orange crab came from it, eyes locked on Suntren. They twirled around as the crab rose, keeping an eye contact no other Pokemon could manage. "Oy, lizard!" it yelled. "Ya think ya be tough? Well, let me hit ya with a dosage of truth… Ya be going against some hardened outlaws. I'd suggest ya just stay out of the way!"

Gastrodon blanked. "Klawf… You shouldn't have said that. We could have gotten away with mere bandit play…"

Suntren's eyes narrowed. "Criminals, eh? Well… I just happen to be a former rescuer. Dealing with people like you…"

"Solas, what is going on here?" Porygon2 asked, turning to face him.

"We're about to be in a fight, Porygon," he replied curtly, placing his tail in place. "Care to help?"

Araquanid growled. "Former rescuer or not, I told you to run. I can handle myself."

"Don't be a hero, Araquanid," Suntren objected. "I need your help, you know?"

The bug snorted. "Said I'd come get you later, didn't I?"

Porygon2 nodded. "Solas, I have not been battle-tested. I was designed exclusively as a science assistant. I believe listening to the Araquanid would be of greater use to both of us." He began to float into the coral reef. "Surely you would agree?"

Suntren sighed. "Right… You're more important, right now." Grabbing the ball, he turned, the jeering of Klawf and Gastrodon following him into the reef. It was strangely deserted, but he didn't seem to notice yet.

"We are lost," Porygon2 stated blankly. "Perhaps if you would permit me to run a scan, we could stop passing this exact same unique construction of coral, Solas."

"What good will that do? We'll still be just as lost, you don't know where we need to go."

"Perhaps not," Porygon2 agreed, "But we will be getting somewhere that is not a circle."

Suntren sighed. "Can't do it. You've not noticed the shifting waters?"

"I beg your pardon, Solas? The shifting waters?"

"Yeah, that's right. We've got to hurry, no time for a scan. Map's with Roc, too… we're running blind, but if my hunch is correct, we don't want to stand still, either…"

"Your hunch?"

Suntren was about to answer, but began to feel the ground shifting under his feet. Squawking indignantly, he grabbed the Poke Ball hanging on his jacket and called back Porygon2. Shortly after, he fought to keep his balance as the floor began to split apart…

Broken pieces of coral started being sucked into the ground, as glassy spheres of all different sizes quickly formed. The rocks rose up around these objects, shifting into different formations and shapes. As the gap in the floor grew wider, fish swam out, populating every corner of the newly formed dungeon.

There was no doubt about it. He was witnessing the birth of a Mystery Dungeon.

Suntren gulped. It was quite the impressive sight, true, but he'd also heard the stories of Pokemon who were caught in formations. They were never seen again… Or at least not in the same way. They'd lost their minds, always muttering in a strange, ancient-sounding language.

He turned to make a run for it. Suntren jumped over a group of rocks that had started to form a wall. Back to the same coral formation… But this time, there wasn't a rock wall. Just that formation repeated over and over… as corridors of gaps and rocks began to grow. He paid no mind, jumping over other gaps and sprinting towards the spot where the Araquanid had disappeared, fighting off the attackers. The exit was getting smaller… smaller…

Thinking quickly, he grabbed Fortran's Poke Ball and threw it as hard as he could. It soared through the water, disappearing behind a sudden wall of coral with a clink on the ground. Suntren turned, and faced the shifting dungeon. He was certain this was the end of the road for his sanity, taking a deep breath as he got pulled forward by an unseen force.

The Poke Ball lay outside the reef, undisturbed. Pokemon swam around it, most not giving it a second thought as they went about their days. The odd Finneon did give it a sniff or two, but once they realized it wasn't food, they left it alone.

The waters stirred. A group of Pokemon were approaching the area. Three, to be exact, and not being very quiet. The few remaining Fineon around fled in fear.

"I don't see why we have to chase your target into a mystery dungeon, guys," a voice grumbled. "We're not an exploration team, we're outlaws. Going into a place like this is just asking to be caught."

"Quit your bellyaching, Wish. We've got no idea how long it'll take to get the law down here. Besides, this Heliolisk's got quite an interesting object on him… We're gonna steal that. It'll make us richer beyond your wildest dreams."

"Eh. Guess you're right, Klaw… Hopefully it's not too late for him, if he was caught up in the formation…"

"If we move fast enough, Wish, it won't be."

"Then we'd best hurry," a third voice rang. "Klaw, stop looking at those fish! We're on the clock here!"

"But… I'm gettin' hungry, Don!"

The slug snorted. "Leave them. We'll eat later, when everything's quieted down and we're well on our way."

"Got it, sir…" The crab dropped its hunting rock, which sent some sand floating up. More still was thrown by its scuttling legs… Most of it landing around the ball, pulling it deeper into the lakebed.

After some hours of sinking, the waters stirred again. Strokes, coming from above, disturbing the lakebed sands. It settled for moments on top of the ball, before a rocky wing came reaching for the ball. It wrapped around the ball, and yanked. No movement, though some sand did slide loose. It yanked again. This time, the sunken ball shifted, knocking aside a rock that had joined it in its slumber.

The wing yanked once more, seeming to put everything it had into it. With a loud squelch, the Poke Ball came loose. It flew through the water, spinning wildly. The creature that had freed it from its sandy prison stretched its wing out again, and plucked it out of the current.

"There ye are... Sae Suntren dropped ye, eh? Ah hope he's okay…" a gruff voice spoke, wiping the residual sand off. "'N' 'ere ah wis hoping Ah wouldn't hae tae mak' anither dungeon run."

Gripping the ball tight, the large creature ambled into the wide, gaping entrance. "Hang oan there, Suntren! Ah'm comin' fur ye!"