By now, Shalin was on several RangerNet email lists. She was an honorary Ranger at this point; she had done more Ranger work than many newer recruits that were officially contracted into the program. She had several higher-ups clamoring to recruit her, given how good of a job she had done independently. It was only a matter of time before she formally joined, but it wasn't quite that time. Yet. What was the title of Ranger, anyway? It was just a title. She was capable of helping out Hoennians in need, title or no.

Unfortunately, as much as she loved flying on her bobbing Beedrill, Oldale Town was out of the wasp's range, even with the added range ten minutes of Mega Evolution would get her. Having needed range, she arrived at a smoldering neighborhood in southeast Oldale Town, circling for a landing aboard Zuh, the Pidgeot she had captured in a unique way. While soaring toward Dewford Town, she had ambushed Zuh while she was wild, rode on her back, and tuckered the bird out during her attempts to dislodge the girl. She still had a wild personality, an uncommanded barrel roll keeping her on her toes on the way into town, but the landing itself was perfect. "Ah, there you are," Shalin waved to Alex. flipping her helmet's visor up. Observing the big Silph Cup race made her realize that with how much she rode Pokémon, a visored helmet would be a priceless investment.

Shalin giggled at Alex's teasing. "I've been busy!" While Alex was dragging a timber to the construction site, Shalin withdrew Zuh and showed the Leader her multicolored spoils. "Remember the Gale Medallion?" she showed the green, hand-sized medallion with a Therian Tornadus bust emblazoned upon it. "There's four more where that one came from!" One by one, she shuffled through them: the Night Medallion, Yveltal's face emblazoned upon it; the Glacial Medallion, Articuno's; the Chrome Medallion, Regigigas'; and finally, the Mirage Medallion, Volcanion's. "I got three left, but they're in downright dangerous locations. Makes the Braviary's Nest a cakewalk by comparison."

That was enough small talk, though. There would be time to catch up later. She stowed the five medallions and send out some of her Pokémon that could help. "Kiara, Starr, let's go!" She released a geared-up fire-type Pokémon Alex may have previously recognized as a Litleo, as well as a saddled Espeon that looked only strong enough for a lithe person like Shalin to mount. "These two are going to help out a lot!" The Pyroar in particular looked big and strong, even enough for Alex to hop on if he wanted. That big pile of planks had their name on it, and Shalin had a unique way of moving them. She just needed to get her Pokémon in position.

Alex seemed genuinely distressed by how many additional Medallions of Eight there were. "There are seven more in total, for a grand total of eight." Kiara and Starr got into position to start hauling planks to the construction site, but they would do it Shalin's way. Certainly an unorthodox way. Both of the quadrupedal Pokémon bounded toward where Alex was dragging his piece of wood. "Starr, ALLY SWITCH!" The psychic-type's red forehead gem started glowing, she and a large timber disappearing in a flash of white light. The two reappeared seconds later, juxtaposed. "Now, ALLY SWITCH with Kiara!" She faced the big lion, and the two of them traded places in the same way."

"I did find out what the warning was about," Shalin answered Alex's question. "I was able to find some maps of my own, and concluded the Spectacle Rock in Sootopolis is inside an underwater cave within the island itself. And that's how I learned where the rest of the Medallions are, and that there are eight of them." Kiara had bounded back toward the Espeon, and the two were back to where they had started.

"Oh, I found that out quickly," Shalin chirped back quickly as she continued to supervise her efficient operation of transporting construction supplies. They had plenty of wood for now. With Starr only being able to teleport one can of paint at a time, it would be more efficient to load Tari up with them. She began putting paint cans on top of the poison-type's exoskeleton, trying to minimize the amount of the can's surface that could be coated with the Pokémon's venom.

"On a vehicle, absolutely not. But with a fairly small Pokémon and a bit of ingenuity, sure. Besides, I don't think they know about Spectacle Rock, because it wasn't that well patrolled." The location being underwater helped, too. "The place didn't look disturbed when I went inside. I didn't get very far, though."

As Tari brought the first load of cans back, Starr ready to ALLY SWITCH with the Bug-type so the next set could be loaded onto her ally's back immediately, Shalin went over her findings inside. "Without the Medallions of Eight, no one can enter the Halls of Origin. Supposedly there is something within that will turn the war substantially in one side's favor. And I don't want Rocket in on that."

Shalin noticed that Starr and Tari were starting to slow down after so many rounds of carrying and teleporting heavy supplies back and forth. The Espeon in particular had to be mentally spent. While the trainer didn't truly understand psychic powers yet, she at least knew they were as taxing as normal Pokémon moves. Even Alex looked exhausted. After the last batch of supplies had been unloaded, Shalin withdrew her Pokémon and collapsed next to Alex on a nearby bench.

"I'm still learning about them, too," Shalin admitted she didn't know that much about the Halls of Origin yet. She, too, had interest in a couple of legendary Pokémon, though most notably the Apprentice of the Sacred Swords, Keldeo. "But I can share what I have. I've got some articles lined up, too, but I'm having difficulty finding a publisher. Been meaning to share some of Nariya Expeditions' greatest stories. That's the name of my expeditionary venture."