“Eh, a weird kind of phenomenon. Hard to explain.” She suddenly went very sparse in terms of descriptions, a good indicator that she was not entirely fine to talk about it at length. Again, she did not at all think that the other would really be able to understand, really. It was best not to gamble with people that were helpful like this. Best to keep things ambiguous, at least for the time being.

Fortunately, the talk of ride Pokemon obviously got the other excited, quickly. And doubly so, she produced something that looked quite tame and safe to ride, unlike that Kommo-o. A Pyroar was one of those fire types that did not have permanently active flames as part of their body, which was a very good thing. Less of a hazard that way. “Looks fine, really,” she replied while the Pokemon even acted as if it wanted to give a ride. Well-trained at the very least.

Still though, since she was still not completely used to being short, Lash took a bit to actually get up on the Pokemon. But she was definitely not the type to want even more help than this, so she swiftly scrambled for a second try, getting onto the Pyroar this time around. “Is this the right way?” Best to ask for that much confirmation at least though. She definitely did not want to be tossed off on a path like this.

Shalin Nariya

"Fair," was Shalin's simple answer. 'There are still a lot of things we don't know about the distortions." Of course, Shalin was most interested in learning about Alpha Pokémon. She had seen some true abnormalities come out of those rifts. Never would she forget the day that Alpha Garchomp outside the Shark's Maw made her life flash before her eyes. It was Prance, her Wyrdeer that evolved that day, who was largely responsible for saving her life.

"Exactly!" Shalin smiled back. "You look great! If you've never ridden a Pokémon before, Kiara's easy to learn with!" The lioness purred loudly in appreciation of her trainer's compliment. Lash may have been able to feel the rumbling of that purr beneath her. "Hold her reins and pull with one arm to turn her. Squeeze her with your legs to make her go faster, and ease your hold on her to get her to slow down. That's all there is to it!" The two lined up next to one another, letting Shalin make sure Lash was comfortable. "Oh, one more thing; when she runs, her back flexes a lot, so it might be a bumpy ride at high speeds. I think it's fun, but I wanted to give you a heads up!" With that, the Kommo-o would lead the way, keeping Shalin alert by lightly rattling the scales beneath his saddle and causing his rider's hair to briefly stand on end.

---

Lasciel Elis

{WC: 240}
{PC: 8}

NAME         SPECIES         STATUS
Queen Zing   Beedrill        Good
Letheia      A!Ninetales     Good
Treble       Kommo-o         Good
Starr        Espeon**        Good
Caprice      K!Ninetales     Good
Kiara        Pyroar          Good

It was indeed fair. Lash felt like she was giving just enough in this to make it work, but not more than she was comfortable with. The sweet spot, as far as she was concerned. Especially when she then had to do something that she was not quite used to at all. Not riding, of course. She’d done that for a good while now. But never on the Pokemon of another trainer. And, so far, never in this weird short form.

But it was decently comfortable as was. “Got it,” she replied to the little riding tutorial. It was much akin to what she was used to, but it was good to know. Every Pokemon was different, after all, so confirmation that this one handled a lot like a Rapidash was useful. “Though I guess running at too high speeds will not be a good thing. The path is decently sized, but you never know when those get narrow and winded. Best be careful.” Though she would like to get up there quickly before it faded, of course. The lightning did come a bit less quickly already. Though she might just be imagining that.

Lash took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. At the end of the day, she had to balance risk and reward. Just getting herself thrown down the mountain because she wanted to get up more quickly would be just as bad. Staying strong sometimes did mean staying put, sadly.

Shalin Nariya

"Not up a mountain slope, no!" Shalin agreed with Lash. "Just wanted to warn you ahead of time. As fast as big cats are, they're pretty tough on you when they're going fast. It's why you don't see trainers riding them often even though they're really fast." Even for one as talented as Shalin was, having captured Pokémon by riding on their backs and wearing them out trying to unseat her, the powerful running strokes of felines kept the girl's skills sharp.

"Looks like the peak's just over--whoOoOoOoOa!" Shalin's voice quickly turned distorted as Treble's tail instinctively rattled sharply, shaking the scales beneath Shalin again. While it wasn't throbbing like she would feel on a full Clanging Scales run, the vibration was quite disorienting, her vision a sea of color.

Shalin's vision turned from brown to purple to sky blue in a matter of a minute or two. By the time they reached the peak, the distortion was gone, but the female on the dragon was too delirious to notice.

---

Lasciel Elis

{WC: 171}
{PC: 9}

NAME         SPECIES         STATUS
Queen Zing   Beedrill        Good
Letheia      A!Ninetales     Good
Treble       Kommo-o         Good
Starr        Espeon**        Good
Caprice      K!Ninetales     Good
Kiara        Pyroar          Good

That did make sense. After all, cats were hunters, usually, not mounts. They lived for those short-ish intense bursts, not to run marathons. They could, obviously, when they had enough stamina to their name. But most of the time they were better suited for fighting, not riding.

This woman clearly was someone who knew her craft and had a passion for it. That was something Lash could relate to, even though her expertise was more related to capturing and trading. Yet, one still had to get a good understanding of Pokemon for either, so the similarities were there as far as she was concerned. “Got it,” she hence replied. It was mostly just a common courtesy, an acknowledgment of the explanation, rather than something all her own, really. Not like there was too much to converse as they rode. She did have to focus on the somewhat dangerous road, after all.

However, apparently she was surprisingly not the one with most trouble travelling. As they got closer, there was that odd exclamation and she had to look at the other. Whatever….was happening with the draconic ride, it was just obviously not a good thing. Even Lash could tell, so she got the Pyroar to get a little closer. “Are you quite alright?” Not one to constantly worry for others, Lash also wasn’t a complete misanthrope, so she at least asked.
However, she was soon distracted by something else. Something much worse. They were too late, after all, which saw her all but fall crestfallen at the sight of it. “Oh no…”

By the time Shalin regained her senses, the distortion had completely faded. The dragon had at last calmed down, his scales silent. "I'm fine," she confirmed, "just a little shaken up. Kommo-o are really good at vibrating their scales. It's what they're most well-known for. It usually doesn't bother me, but when I don't see it coming, it's pretty jarring."

While it was sad the two couldn't make it to the Distortion before it faded, Shalin got to meet someone new over it. Perhaps they would be able to see each other again and a second meeting could blossom into true friendship. "The distortions aren't exactly rare in Hoenn anymore," Shalin informed Lash. "They last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, from what I've studied of them. If you're looking for another one, good luck on finding one! I've gotta head back to Mauville. Gonna meet up with my Gym Leader friend for a while."

---

Lasciel Elis

{WC: 158}
{PC: 10}

NAME         SPECIES         STATUS
Queen Zing   Beedrill        Good
Letheia      A!Ninetales     Good
Treble       Kommo-o         Good
Starr        Espeon**        Good
Caprice      K!Ninetales     Good
Kiara        Pyroar          Good