A real VIP had hired Shalin, and she was dressed to impress as she made her way toward the western cliffs surrounding the outside of the Valley of Steel well north of Route 117's main thoroughfare. She gasped upon seeing the environmental damage caused by Josh Devlin 's violent battle with Elinor Anderson . What could have caused such incredible destruction? Even after so long, some of the land they had battled on was irreparably barren. Pokémon wielded by high-profile trainers sure had scary power, didn't they?

Shaking her head, the SYGNA SUITED explorer was quick to find Thomas. Her Flygon mount landed not far from the ex-Arbiter, Shalin waving toward Thomas as she swung one leg to the same side as the other before sliding down her Sygna Pokémon's wing. The dragon was quick to tilt the wing upward to prevent her from reaching the ground as her Type: Null, Lathiel, caught up to her. What a strange sight it must have been for Thomas, the famous explorer seemingly defying physics as the translucent appendage supported the girl on its own. If Thomas had never seen a suit before, then he may have seen just how much one made its wearer an Avatar-lite, especially when the wing began to vibrate.

The hum of Sandy's wings was loud but not piercing. As much of an adrenaline rush as it induced, she knew not to overdo it. If her experiences in Galar taught her anything, pushing her body too far, even with the Sygna Suit, would leave her unable to do what she loved doing later in life. After just a few seconds, the translucent, buzzing wings began to slow down, letting Thomas truly set sight on the green-ette. After all, it would be nigh impossible for him to ascertain visual details when she was naught but a blur.

"Whew!" the Ranger let out a deep breath once her wild ride stopped. She looked quite disoriented, but otherwise healthy. "That's me, wildest Pokémon rider this side of Hoenn!" she chirped, making small talk with the ex-Avatar as she waited for feeling to return to her legs. "Ever since the discovery of the Halls of Origin beneath Sootopolis hiding the secret to hatching Ultra Beast eggs, on top of leading plenty of excursions to the Ultra Wilds, you could say that." After a couple more minutes of idle conversation, Shalin at last slid off her Flygon's wing, stumbling as she touched the ground, but managing to remain on her feet. "So I'm understanding there's a strange cave that's sprung up out of nowhere, and you need me to help check it out, right? At least that's what I remember in your email."

"What more can I say? You probably can't have picked a better person for the job!" Shalin boastfully answered, recalling her Sygna Pokémon for something more appropriate for exploring the cave. "Boomer, you're on!" A Typhlosion emerged from another one of her Poké Balls, the fire-type preferring to move on all fours instead of standing on only her hind legs. Her reins had an interesting design to them, a metallic ring around part of their far section to shield them from her explosive fur. Sitting on the wide-bodied Pokémon's back, the two were off. The pace wasn't particularly brisk, though Thomas might have considered a ride Pokémon of his own.

"If it's anything like Sector Zero of Route 120 was, and if first impressions mean anything, it's awfully similar, then there will be something you wouldn't want on your property," she explained as Boomer bounced her a bit more harshly than most ride Pokémon would. "Have you seen any of those strange, new Pokémon that look vaguely like other Pokémon that are common in our world? They popped up in Sector Zero, and I wouldn't be surprised if one was here." She also sent out Lathiel, a Type: Null, to act as the duo's rear guard.

Shalin whistled upon seeing Rufus; it was readily apparent how close Thomas was to his Arcanine, the two riding as one. "Boomer and I have only been together for a few months, but she's reliable. Great for if I ever need to ride something lower to the ground," Shalin replied. "It's amazing that this place is big enough to allow for an Arcanine to run freely. This is gonna sound funny coming from be, but I can't handle them. They're... too fast."

Shalin eyed the Iron Valiant warily. "It looks completely different than the ones I've seen. I imagine they're so new that the probably don't have proper names and classifications yet," she speculated, feeling a bit better in the metal hybrid's presence after Thomas described a familiar foe to her. Her battle with one alongside Michael Navidson came to mind. "Oh, those. They're dangerous. Vicious, even. I've wanted to raise one, but I'm so nervous about it; I've heard horror stories of them turning on trainers that try to raise them."

As Thomas' eyes shifted toward Lathiel, Shalin frowned. "How much time have you spent in the rifts? After a while, I was able to piece together a manual to... create Lathiel here. I'm... not proud of it," she began to tell the Type: Null's story as the normal-type took point alongside Mordred and the Iron Valiant. "Eighteen of my Pokémon's lives were permanently altered in the process, and not one for the better."

"About as hard as it finding Space-Time Distortions," Shalin answered Thomas as they headed deeper into the cavern. "While I was never able to prove anything, I noticed a trend between Pokémon like them and the Distortions." Even then, they were not easy to find. Her exploration took her far and wide, giving her perhaps more chances to see them than anyone else in Hoenn.

"...Come to think of it, I haven't tried riding on an Arcanine full speed since I got my suit," she replied, scratching her chin in thought as Lathiel curled up and closed her eyes, unbeknownst to her due to how intensely she was focused on the discussion. "It might be worth a try."

As she listened to the story of the first wave of Lathiel's kind that had graced Hoenn, wincing at the tales of the Type: Null who didn't evolve. "So you're saying that Lathiel can--"

Before she could finish her sentence, the giant Orthworm's BULLDOZE knocked Shalin out of her seat, a collapse partially burying Boomer and pinning her against the fallen rock. She rolled toward Thomas, overcome with dizziness for a few seconds before clicking open Sandy's Poké Ball. The ground-type, having limited space to move, latched onto the steel-type. With powerful vibrations, she harnessed her EARTH POWER, lifting the debris encasing Boomer and turning against it the wild.

Once the threat had been handled, Shalin asked Thomas as she withdrew Boomer, "You have a good point about the suit. If your Arcanine doesn't mind, would you be up to helping test that theory?"

"Size variations in Pokémon are natural," Shalin agreed. Her Milotic being a fair bit smaller than the norm reminded her that she found lots of big Pokémon coming from the Distortions, there were just as many small Pokémon out there.

Once the Orthworm had been handled, thanks to the brutal assault from Thomas' team, Shalin climbed onto Rufus' back. A tingling sensation overcame her, able to feel the strength of the Arcanine's incredibly strong and large muscles just by sitting on his back. She had seen Josh's two Arcanine before, and they were some of the fastest, if not the fastest, land Pokémon he had. She was committed now, though.

Shalin buried her hands in the big dog's cream fur. She lightly jabbed at Rufus' sides with her knees, crying, "Hyah!" as she prepared for a powerful burst of acceleration from the fire-type. Rufus was gonna get them to the bottom of the Terastal cave, and fast.

Rufus' gallop was bouncy and powerful. She loved it, the world flying by as the huge dog's fur ripped back into her face. The wide open fields north of Verdanturf were theirs to roam at great speed. Her joy-filled giggling and laughter would subside as the Arcanine's running stroke became more rapid. Her facial skin began to stretch over her bones, the speed of her mount pushing what little fat was there toward the back of her head. She felt like she was being shot out of a cannon as Rufus' legs disappeared into a blur.

The happiness turned to panic, Shalin screaming loudly as her Arcanine mount's running stroke became impossibly rapid, the girl almost floating as she clutched the orange fur for dear life. She wasn't going to notice anything else, and certainly not details of Thomas' posture; her heart raced with worry, like she was going to fall off and get seriously hurt. She knew what she had to do to get the speeding fire-type to slow down; loosen her leg pressure. Fearful that it would result in her losing her grip entirely, she instead yanked back on Rufus, trying to get him to slow down that way.

As many wondrous things as her Sygna Suit let her endure, pure speed was not one of them.