When Shalin read the report of Oldale Town being overwhelmed by packs of Mightyena, she expected this to be a simple routing operation. All she needed to do was faint enough of them for the rest to realize they weren't welcome in town. As she arrived in town on the back of Treble, her Kommo-o, it was evident this was far more complicated. This was far too organized to be done by wild Pokémon. Plus, there were trainers accompanying them in black. She checked the secure Ranger email forwarded to her, and confirmed the worst.

A small group of agents, likely from Team Rocket, was holding the town's night life hostage, and the small police force was overwhelmed. These Mightyena not being wild escalated things a lot. With Shalin being unable to fly on her bug-types due to noise laws, she had to take the scenic route, leading her and Treble to arrive well after Alex did. "Sorry I'm late!" she cried, waving to the Fortree Leader as her fighting-type ride Pokémon bounded toward the town gate.

It seemed like Alex was ready to go, go, go. No greeting, no small talk, nothing. Just all business. Shalin was okay with it, too, given the urgency of the situation. Oldale Town was in a very strategic location in rural southwest Hoenn. By controlling Oldale, Team Rocket would be able to disrupt critical League supply lines and split their forces. Both sides were aware of how important the southwestern warfront would be in Operation Meteno. "I'm aware," was her response, Treble ready to charge at the rider's command. She was not dismounting either.

She had a plan, and it involved the spoils of her trip to the Braviary's Nest. One hand on the dragon's reins, and the other holding the Avian Bow, she was ready to mop up some Mightyena and do some Rocket busting that would surely get local Rangers' attention when word inevitably spread. "On your lead, Alex," she deferred the order to charge.

Almost in sync with the Mightyena that attacked Alex, a trio of them bounded toward Treble and Shalin, leaving her in a dangerous pincer attack. She raised the Avian Bow toward one, nocking an arrow and letting it fly. While her aim wasn't quite perfect, it was good enough to rock the Mightyena with fierce wind burns, the dark-type recoiling and retreating. Treble turned toward another, his rider's hair standing on end as the scales of his fist hummed like an insect's wing. The rumble got more intense as his fists contacted the foe in CLOSE COMBAT, leaving Shalin dazed for a second.

A second was all the last Mightyena needed, chomping into Treble's tail with mist-laden ICE FANGs. The debilitating attack slowed the vibrating scales to a stop, though his follow-up CLOSE COMBAT still effective enough to send the final Mightyena packing. He could still throw strong punches, but he had temporarily lost the tool that made them notoriously potent even among Fighting-types.

Shalin was still woozy from Treble's CLOSE COMBAT, and the Fighting-type wasn't much better off after the Mightyena's ICE FANG. Then, Kyouya's Rock Slide came. The first barrage of boulders landed wide of her, but that was enough of a cue. The attack had such a wide range that if she tried to run outside it in her current condition, she would almost certainly get pinned or even crushed. As much as she hated to do it, she had but one choice. She slid off her Kommo-o and used him as cover.

The rocks took care of the last of this wave. Unfortunately, it also felled Treble, one of his legs grazing his trainer as he collapsed from exhaustion. "Treble...thank you." she sighed as she recalled the Kommo-o. She grimaced as a second wave of Mightyena approached, their presumed owners slowly walking toward the fallen girl as well.

By the time Shalin could even sit, the three dark-types, taking advantage of the rough terrain Kyouya had created, surrounded her. She squinted as she felt the teeth of one of the Mightyena against the exposed skin of her left arm, ready to chomp down at a moment's notice. "Never expected to see you here, Leader," the lead female Grunt taunted. "You're sure a long way away from your little bird's nest." While the three uniforms didn't feature the titular red R, it was obvious who the three black-dressed people were working for. "This district of Oldale Town belongs to us now. Now you and your little Oldale Law Enforcement suckers mosey on out of here, and the girl lives. Otherwise, I can't guarantee her safety..."

Not an instant after the Pokémon began to charge, Shalin let out a shriek of pain from the Mightyena sinking their teeth into her. The attack was short lived, though, as Alex's Pokémon came to the rescue. She let out another scream as the dark-types' fangs ripped through her skin after her reinforcements' three-pronged attack landed, leaving the Grunts out of Pokémon. Terrified for their lives, they withdrew their fallen Pokémon and fled with all haste, but it would be trivial for Alex's Pokémon to apprehend them if he so desired.

Shalin, on the other hand, was in bad shape. She was bleeding badly in three different spots on her arms, including both of her hands, and her head was pounding, fighting to remain consciousness and muster the strength to call for Alex's help. Unable to use her voice due to a lack of strength, she weakly reached toward the Fortree Leader, desperate for help but with little she could do to get it.

It took a lot of first aid and quite a few of Carina's Pollen Puffs, but Shalin eventually roused, her arms and hands thumping from her wounds. At least the fairy-type's healing stopped the bleeding. They still hurt. She wouldn't be riding her Pokémon any time soon. "Alex... thank you..." she moaned. When she spoke in anything less than her normal, cheerful voice, anyone who knew her full well knew it was serious.

As the first aid continued, she winked in and out of consciousness repeatedly. Her arms and hands still looked like they were in bad shape, but at least the bleeding had stopped. For being a mounted combatant, Shalin sure ran out of energy quick. Perhaps it was her choice of Pokémon that facilitated the exhaustion? Either way, as time passed, it became more evident that her unconsciousness was from exhaustion and not from blood loss or something more serious. Still, going to immediate care wouldn't be a bad idea.