The sound of a loud crash, followed by the screams of Pokémon, woke Shalin slightly earlier than expected from a much-needed nap; she was still on the mend from her harrowing trip through Death Crater to retrieve the Thermal Medallion. As necessary as it was in her eyes to do her part in protecting Hoenn, the number of times her life flashed before her eyes made the trip almost not worthwhile. Perhaps it was that Entei-engraved medallion that was the load bearer that kept the Pandora's Box of the Halls of Origin closed for hundreds of years? It sure was in a place that she thought no other human would ever be crazy enough to get into, cut off from the rest of the world by a tectonic feature any creature without outright lava immunity had no business going anywhere near.

But she was special. She was Shalin Nariya.

With a yawn, she immediately slipped out of her hammock to investigate. There were a group of Primeape and Passimian having some kind of territorial dispute uncomfortably close to her home. They could have their feud elsewhere, but not in front of her home. Reaching for the Poké Balls of her closest companions, Flit and Queen Zing, she sent out the two bug-types, put her earplugs in, then had them face the group of fighting-types. "You two know what to do!" Shalin cried.

The Yanmega had to brace himself against a large tree stump to be able to keep up with Queen Zing to have the effect Shalin desired. She doubted she would need it, expecting the devilish sound to get the primates to back down, but in case they charged her, she had to be mobile. Sitting in the Yanmega's saddle, she held her Pokémon's reins firmly and commanded them both to "make some noise." And make some noise they did, Shalin rocked by strong vibration that got adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her legs quickly turned to jelly as Flit had to BUG BUZZ to keep up with the higher vibration rate of her Beedrill. With a small slowdown, their frequencies were so close to one another that it produced a headache-inducing beat that she expected to chase the fighting-types off.

The brawling primates barely knew what hit them, before a sudden near-deafening buzz filled the air around them. What were previously screams and screeches of rage and combat directed at one another soon turned into cries of confusion and expressed discomfort - the monkey pokemon covering their ears as they glanced around themselves to try and figure out just what in the world was going on. It was only when a passimian spoke up - pointing and hollering at Shalin and her bug-types - that the rest of either group began to turn their attentions onto the trio, and well...

... Shalin might've technically stopped them from fighting each other, but it didn't stop them from fighting. It was clear that they were displeased at a third party interrupting their fight, and as one of the largest passimians in the group - no doubt the leader - let out a hollering call to its troopmates, chaos would break loose. First, it started with a number of the passimians using Fling - they began picking up rocks, branches, handfuls of snow, whatever they could find within easy reach. And once they had something in hand, they'd begin throwing these objects at Flit and Queen Zing!

But that wasn't all - though most of the primeapes lacked the same ranged means that the passimians did, they seemed to have an idea of their own. Two primeapes would grab onto one of their compatriots - and with a heave and a ho, they went so far as to use Seismic Toss in tandem, to turn the third primeape into a living missile aimed in Shalin and Flit's direction! And as this airborne primeape came in close, it'd attempt to Cross Chop on the Yanmega, screeching out an impressive battlecry all the whilst!

However, the passimians and primeapes were not the only pokemon affected by the incessant buzzing of Flit and Queen Zing. As soon as it began, Ettie and Anne couldn't help yelping - their hearing assaulted by a high ringing that grated upon the senses. Ettie whined as she covered her ears the best she could - and Anne, turning around, was ready to drag Ettie with her and simply get out of here...

... But, it would seem that the duo was noticed - for whilst the lycanroc's back was turned and her hearing was compromised, a couple of Primeapes would notice their presences. Crying out in indistinct rage, the two wild pokemon would begin charging the sisters - ready to engage them in fighting!

Present:

Shalin Nariya

While Shalin's earplugs protected her from the noise, the air disturbances rocked her, feeling like she was on a jackhammer while her Yanmega's wings were churning close to full blast. It was progress, though; the last time she attempted to stay on Flit's back mid-BUG BUZZ, she slid off from the bug-type's exoskeleton rumbling too fast for her to maintain her balance. The female's hair stood on end as almost numbing vibration surged through her. While the deafening buzzing didn't injure the fighting-types much, it did draw their attention. That was exactly what she wanted!

"Now, AIR SLASH!" the rider cried, flinching as her bug steed catapulted himself upward with the force of the climb needed to aim the air blades directly beneath. While it got him out of reach of the CROSS CHOP, the aim of the Primeape's SEISMIC TOSS was true, the hurled fighting-type able to latch onto Flit. In an act of desperation, the dragonfly turned his buzz up to full blast, getting them up to speed for the most powerful sonic discharge he could muster. The added weight of the Primeape was dragging the duo to the ground, though; Shalin and Flit didn't have much time!

Shalin had less time than she thought; the loud and powerful vibration was nowhere as close to as bit of an attack deterrent as she though it would be. Only the whirling air surrounding the bug-types' wings kept them from being pierced by the projectiles, though they weren't unaffected. Unbeknownst to Shalin, the flight surfaces of Flit's wings had been contaminated, forcing her wings to beat harder if she wanted to stay airborne. Furthermore, another wave of Primeape were coming with RAGE FISTs raised, and they were angry. Very angry.

This was getting bad, and she had to end it now.

"EVERYONE COVER YOUR EARS!" Shalin shouted, one of the few commands she gave that was clearly audible over the buzzing wings. Once she was sure Ettie and her pack were out of the way of the sonic madness she was able to loose, she set her mount's reins down, gripped the dragonfly with both hands, and held on tight. "FLITTING FORTISSMO!" she commanded of her Yanmega.

Unlike many Z-Moves, FLITTING FORTISSIMO did not have a dramatic pose; it was just the rider burying her hands in whatever she could hold onto and not letting go. She was on nothing short of an adrenaline high after her Yanmega's wings disappeared, the girl wondering from how far away the deafening buzzing could be heard. The rattling of the exoskeleton rapidly turned into a throb as Flit's discharge crescendoed in power.

As the vibration peaked in intensity, Shalin's thighs felt like they were on fire, causing her to hiss. Was this her limit? All she could hear in her daze was the sonic explosion from Flit straining his wings and a faint war from from Ettie and Anne. She couldn't imagine the kinds of internal injuries the dangerous shockwave could have inflicted upon the wilds, but it would at least deal with them! And even if they didn't all back down, they weren't going to be able to hear anything but roaring buzzing for a while. "Yeow!" Shalin screamed once it was over, parts of her exposed skin red. Despite being out of range of the vicious shockwave, it seemed that she needed a lot of endurance training before being able to use her Yanmega's new Z-Move while in battle. She was going to need to take something for her aching muscles, because they were going to hurt all the more when she got her sense of touch back!

The blades of wind would send some of the fighting-types scattering about the clearing, in frantic attempts to avoid being struck by what would be a super-effective move. But it was safe to say that of those who had gotten hit, they were hurting - a handful of both Primeapes and Passimians sent tumbling and screeching. Those who were particularly hurt - such as from head-on strikes - seemed to decide that this wasn't it, chief - and turning tail, they'd flee for the cover and safety of the woods.

But, there was still the trouble of all the other pokemon present - and none of them were looking to remain idle, given their advance upon the slowly-descending Shalin and Flit. As the ranger shouted her warning though, Ettie and Anne were quick to heed it - the lycanroc picking up her sister by the back of her shirt like scruffing a pup, and moving just beyond the treeline...

... Just in time for a deafening buzzing to rattle the clearing, hard enough for snow to be shaken from the boughs of the trees at the edges. It drowned out even the pained cries of the Primeapes and Passimians that had stood their ground - and a number of them (including the one that had been clinging to Flit) would join their compatriots in scattering into the wilderness, all in the name of getting away from the horrendous noise! Clearly, whatever it was that the two packs had been fighting over, it wasn't worth dealing with this nonsense.

Even for those handfuls who stood their ground though, they could feel the sound down into their bones - looking visibly rattled, even as the noise began to die off. These remainders, they likely were the biggest and toughest of their respective packs - but even they were letting out heavy breaths as they recovered from the onslaught. Though they'd attempt to chatter to one another, it was clear that all they could still hear was the ringing in their ears - visibly disoriented and disorganized as a result.

But, whilst the sound drove off many of the monkey pokemon, it would end up drawing the attention of other pokemon - namely, the rest of Ettie's pack! There would be barking amongst the trees as those that Ettie had initially told to wait came running - and above the clearing, Astus and Adrea circled - looking to be assessing the situation at large. What had been going on here? What was that racket that they had heard, just a second ago? Were the packleaders okay?

Safe to say, Ettie and Anne were both alright - even if they looked a bit rattled from the sound of Flit's Z-Move. It was a good thing that Shalin had made the warning - cause even from a distance, Anne couldn't help but grumble as she lightly pawed at one of her ears from the faint (though thankfully fading) ringing she could still hear. Sometimes, there were downsides, to having a sensitive sense of hearing!

But, even as Anne caught up the rest of the pack on what had went on - Ettie glanced back to Shalin and Flit. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she'd raise her voice - calling to the ranger "Is okay?! Friend need help?!"

It was possible - the handful of primeapes and passimians that remained even after Flitting Fortissimo were starting to regroup, eyes glaring and teeth bared in Shalin's direction. The passimians would begin to move for a fallen log - and working together, they'd heft it up in an attempt to Fling it at Shalin and Flit! On top of that, the primeapes had clearly decided that they could play the sound game too - for a number of them would begin to scream and holler at Flit in overlapping collective Screeches!

Present:

The deafening move did its job: to thin out the horde without causing too much harm to any of them. She knew that with these Pokémon being fighting-type, the buzzing wouldn't truly hurt them as much as it would other Pokémon. If anything, the throbbing hurt her more than the shockwave did the tougher Pokémon.

Just as the pack leaders started to converge on Shalin and her tired dragonfly, reinforcements had arrived! "I could use a hand here!" she shouted, cupping her hands toward Ettie as she was unsure how well she could hear.

The SCREECHes came faster than she was anticipating; though her ears were protected thanks to the earplugs she wore, she was not protected from the beating shockwaves that came alongside them. As it turned out, many bug-type Pokémon that attacked with intense vibration were not immune to the effects of sonic attacks themselves.

She reached for Prance's Poké Ball to defend herself, the Wyrdeer able to repel most of the horde and the flying log with her PSYSHIELD BASH just in time! A single Primeape got through and jumped onto Flit as well, the dragonfly desperately trying to rattle the wild with his wings in an effort to get him to fall. His rage toward the green duo was the only thing that kept him going in the battle, clamping down on Shalin, lifting her out of Flit's saddle, and hurling her to the ground like a professional wrestler. Her head thumped, her skin growing more and more red by the moment. With the giant insect also collapsing, things were starting to get out of hand!

It was safe to say that things were getting chaotic - more chaotic than a Yanmega and her trainer could handle on their own.

As Shalin's head hit the ground, Ettie couldn't help a wince - but the pack wasted no time in running to the duo's side. Princess tackled into the primeape that had brought Flit down with a Play Rough - snarls and angry screams alike being audible from either beast as they began to wrestle wildly. All the while, Ettie would take a moment to check on Shalin - and believing her to be unconscious, the wildchild quickly searched her down to find her pokeballs, and let out each of her pokemon.

"Packleader in trouble," Ettie explained to the pokemon as they were brought out - gesturing to Shalin. "Ettie-pack protect, friends help!"

Once all the pokeballs were opened though, Anne wasted no time in preparations. Throwing back her head, the lycanroc would let out a Howl to embolden the pokemon - and it did not take long for Duchess to join in with a Howl of her own, further enhancing the effect. All the while, Haru pulled out her branch - drawing a flaming sigil to use Lucky Chant to protect the group!

And at their leader's call, the rest of the pokemon charged - barking and crowing alike filling the air. Ruffian and Rascal teamed up with Play Rough and Double-Edge to wrestle down another sizeable primeape, and Barbara leapt at and bit into a passimian with Thunder Fang. All the while, Astus and Adrea both would take to harassing and distracting the fighting-types, swooping down at them with Wing Attack and Peck, flying away to avoid retaliation, and then circling back around to harass them again!

But even if the pack was sizeable, there was still a number of wild pokemon advancing on the group - they could only occupy so many at once, all things considered. How would Shalin's pokemon - without their trainer's lead, but with an ally pack watching their back - handle this fight?

Present:

Ettie's decision to loose the unconscious rider's Pokémon would end up saving both their lives. She would see many powerful, saddle-wearing Pokémon leap out of the Balls on their trainer's belt, including a Beedrill, Alolan Ninetales, Persian, and Kommo-o, all of which were around the same size despite what any Pokédex app would leave one to believe. If there was ever a time for Queen Zing to Mega Evolve, this was it. Sadly, with her trainer unconscious, that would be impossible. She hovered over Shalin, ready to sting any fighting-type that tried to kill or seriously injure the girl.

Serena circled Shalin as well, like she was on the prowl. Her FURY SWIPES dispatched several Primeape, but she missed one out of her peripheral vision, which was quick to down her with a well-placed CROSS CHOP that just barely missed her neck area. Her Beedrill's DRILL RUN was able to mop up the job that the Persian had started, Shalin safe for now... but more waves were coming.

Ultimately it was Treble who saved the day. Seeing Ettie's pack starting to be overwhelmed by just how many wild Pokémon were attacking them, he tried to lure as many of them as possible around himself, prancing around them in an intricate DRAGON DANCE. Once he found himself surrounded, he delivered the finishing blow: a painfully loud BOOMBURST that caused the Kommo-o to waver in the eyes of all his observers from how harshly and how fast every scale on his body was vibrating.

The noise woke Shalin from her unconsciousness. Though she was far away enough from the sonic blast to not completely lose her hearing, it still gave her quite the headache. She tilter her head to see what was going on, and all she saw was a heavily blurred Kommo-o standing in one spot, all the fighting-type surrounding him blasting off from the fierce shockwaves his rattling scales caused.

Her head hit the ground again in disbelief.

While the numbers of fighting-types had been overwhelming but moments ago, things were all the more equal now with Shalin's pokemon set loose onto the battlefield. The pokemon were able to hold their own against the enraged fighting-types for the most part - though Shalin's pokemon such as Serena were not the only ones left hurting in the conflicts. Ruffian yelped as he was sent flying and tumbling across the grass - and though Anne stood her ground the best she could, she'd still find herself pushed back by the fists of a particularly burly primeape...!

But, there was an ace in the hole - namely, Treble, who would draw the attention of many of the remainder fighting-types. And as the simian pokemon drew near, ready to gang up on him, the dragon would let loose an impressive Boomburst that sent them scattering..! The sound would cause a number of canines to yelp - their sensitive hearing doing them no favors - but otherwise, the large kommo-o had done well in avoiding friendly fire on his part.

And with the combined efforts of Shalin's pokemon and the pack, what primeapes and passimians that weren't unconscious would be sent packing - dragging their compatriots with them as they fled into the woods, hooting and crying out at one another all the whilst. Ettie let out a sharp exhale of relief as she flopped backwards onto the snow - decidedly glad that nothing had gone too awry...

... Although, there was still the question of the young woman here. Ettie would roll over to gently shake her shoulder. "Hello? Is okay?" Ettie questioned as she looked Shalin up and down, checking for any signs of injury. Hurting one's head usually didn't end well, so she wanted to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with this human...!

Present:

Shalin's Pokémon generally having sensitive hearing didn't help matters, either; if that sonic assault was enough to make her eardrums pound, she wouldn't be surprised if blood started to ooze out of the ears of some of her Pokémon exposed to it! It was a move the Kommo-o used purely as a last resort, and for good reason!

Ettie's examination would reveral several red marks oh Shalin's skin from how badly the vibration rocked her. She was used to it to a degree, from being astride her bug-types, but the sheer intensity of the Boomburst was simply too much for her lithe body to shrug off. Her shaking aroused a groaning Shalin, who looked read to pass back out again from not only how hurt she was, but how tired she was.

"Ettie... let's go home."