Shalin was planning on making her expedition to the Shark's Maw soon. But that didn't mean she had to make preparations for others, too! There were other Medallions of Eight to be procured, including one underneath Mount Pyre. To get there, though, she had to pass through Fortree City. It was longer, but it was better than trying to go through Mauville, whose strict noise ordinances would not permit Queen Zing flying within city limits.

As the Beedrill came up to the west side of Fortree, she briefly kicked up the intensity of her buzzing, a sharp rush of adrenaline coursing through the insect's rider from how much she was being shaken. "Yahoo!" she couldn't help but whoop when the vibration reached peak force before returning to the power of more normal flight. She bobbed along the outskirts of a small commercial district before waving to a familiar face. She removed her earplugs once the two had landed, her limbs still a bit too jelly to dismount right away. "Didn't think I'd run into you again so soon!" the wild child greeted Fortree's Leader, her vespoid mount waving a foreleg sting in greeting as the rider hung the reins on the end of the saddle containing her Pokémon's BEEDRILLITE.

Shalin was at first surprised to hear that Fortree was also the Leader's residence, but then she thought about it. Her old arcade friend also relocated to Mauville City when he became that place's Gym Leader. Leaders taking residence in the same city as their stationed Gym wasn't too uncommon. "I have!" she answered, slowly regaining feeling in her limbs. "Among other things I'll have to show you some time!" She seemed way too excited to catch up with her former adventuring partner.

Shalin had a sly smile on her face when she was questioned about her choice of ride. "What's dangerous about it?" Sure, reins on a Beedrill looked downright weird, but she genuinely did not understand what was so dangerous about flying on the queen Beedrill she had been with for months. A bit exotic, sure, but nothing dangerous. "She's really strong, and could even carry you!" That was not the case with Flit; Alex's wider frame meant he couldn't fit his whole body onto the Yanmega's back. "You look like you need a hand!"

Flit and Queen Zing weren't the only Bug-type mount Pokémon Shalin had now; she had close to an entire squad of different species that could carry her. Alex's reaction was understandable, but the girl was several steps ahead of him. "Without earplugs, sure!" she answered, finally getting enough feeling in her limbs to safely dismount. "That's why I have some on me all the time!"

The green-haired girl walked in front of the yellow insect, the two embracing one another in friendly love. Alex could see the saddled Beedrill clearly now, the gear designed specifically for the species. "She's a really strong queen!" She would have proven her point, but without her earplugs in, the buzzing would actually have been deafening.

"Some of those look really heavy," the explorer noted the sheer size of some of the boxes that needed to be moved. "I have the Pokémon for it! Kiara, Starr, Tari, let's go!" She sent out her Pyroar, Espeon, and Scolipede, all of which were also equipped for carrying people or cargo. Just how many giant insects did this girl have? With some creative use of ALLY SWITCH and some good old-fashioned muscle, she was able to start loading her Pokémon up with boxes to be moved.

Shalin knew that Beedrill were very hostile species. There was a reason their territories were well-studied; Beedrill venom was potent, especially coming from the rear barb. Their venom was commonly used by thugs and criminals not only for its effectiveness, but for how plentiful it was. The species were mostly dangerous pests. "I'll leave those to you, then; Starr, Kiara, and Tari are reliable, but they might be a bit rough of a ride. Leave the heavy stuff to us."

"She was actually my first catch when I came back to Hoenn permanently," Shalin answered, her light southern Johtonian accent a little stronger than she'd like it to be. "Just like we do, Pokémon have personalities. And sometimes, they buck trends." Queen Zing did her best to smile, but it was difficult to interpret open mandibles as anything but smiling. "She'd never hurt anyone unprovoked. I've known her for months, and she actually loves carrying guests on her back. Once we're done here, you should try! It's a lot of fun."

Alex did have a point as the two finished their job; it seemed like the store had the smaller boxes under control. Her two flying insects' wings were extremely powerful, Flit's in particular routinely uprooting grass and small plants when he took off. Shalin was well aware, and it was time to educate the Birdfather on why insect flight was safe! "It's like how Bug Buzz works. You would think an attack like that would affect an area around it, rather than attack a single Pokémon. That is the very principle that allows flying insects to be ridden safely in the first place."

If she wasn't in the middle of the city, she would have brought the queen out to demonstrate. Perhaps there would be an opportunity another time. "Sure, you would be sitting only feet from her wings beating over a hundred times s second," Shalin bragged of her Beedrill's vibration rate, which was actually well above that, "but earplugs stop that from being dangerous. Yes, they do cause disturbances, one from each wing. Being in one is not at all harmful; some even think it's massage-like. It's being where the two intersect that's dangerous, what with two different disturbances trying to tear the air in different directions. That kind of vibration is what Yanmega are known for. But the way the fields are shaped, they never intersect where a rider would sit."

Shalin sent most of her team back out to gorge on the pile of fruits, Queen Zing getting an orange stuck on one of her mandibles briefly. "Those are fun, too! Might have to show you Queen Zing at your Gym sometime!"