Though the female's expressiveness and verbosity took Shalin by surprise, she wasn't going to say no to someone so nice, especially not one who was clearly also trying to beat the heat. Suddenly getting the desire to impress the young pinkette, she floated above her Milotic's body and gave a gentle pat for him to swim forward. She may have been able to notice Shalin suddenly bob upward. "You mean how to ride one?" she asked for clarification. "They're not for beginners. If you insist, though! Did you get yours fitted yet? You'll definitely want a special saddle for a Pokémon like that; their bodies are too slick for most people to ride without one."

In true show-off fashion, Levy lifted Shalin out of the water, showing not only the impressive feat of carrying her trainer by the tail, but the trainer's ability to hold onto the tail. He swished Shalin back and forth, coaxing a whoop out of her. "Great to meet you, Desiree! Shalin Nariya, wildest Pokémon rider this side of Hoenn! If you don't have one for your Greninja, you're welcome to practice with Keimi, but I want to warn you it can be a rough ride."

Shalin laughed; it came to no surprise that Desiree was unaware saddles for Greninja were a thing. She spent quite a bit of money at a Verdanturf leatherer to get Keimi's saddle crafted. Her ride Pokémon were so unusual that the place often had to discuss completely custom designs with her. Seismitoad was one; perhaps she and vanessa rosiello were the only people in Hoenn willing to hop on one. To all but highly skilled riders, their vibration was vomit-inducing. "It's not cheap, but Verdanturf Leather and Saddle is the place to go for high quality work. Mauville City's Gym Leader, Josh Devlin , referred me there, and I've been really happy since."

Not getting a reaction out of Desiree made Shalin frown on the inside. The Milotic powerfully splashed with his tail, throwing Shalin for a powerful loop while showing she was, indeed, on the aquatic serpent's large tail. "Whooooooooo-hee-hee!" she whooped. After hearing Desiree's request, the Greninja hopped toward Desiree and relaxed on all fours, letting the pinkette climb aboard when she was comfortable. "Wonder how fast Azure is compared to Keimi?" she idly asked, observing the like Pokémon. "I think it would be fun for those two to run alongside one another!"

"Have you been on a Pokémon at all?" Shalin asked Desiree. "Hold her reins with both your hands and control her like you would any other Pokémon. I do want to warn you that on land, she can be a really rough ride until you get up to a certain speed."

At least the young, energetic girl had experience. It was very important to have base experience with Pokémon mounts as a whole, given how unusual almost all of Shalin's were. Keimi was about in the middle. She wondered how Desiree would feel about her saddled bug-types. That, of course, would be an adventure for another day... perferably in the fall, when it wasn't boiling outside. "Experience with Arcanine will help some. Keimi's fast, whether on land or in water," Shalin said as Levy flicked his tail the other way, bringing her closer to Desiree so that she could easily help if need be.

Once the pinkette was aboard, Keimi faced the waves, rapidly hopping and bouncing Desiree until they were in deep enough water to where the Greninja could swim. "You might want to be careful with--"

Too late. Desiree asked for Keimi's best, and she was getting it. He thrust his powerful legs back, webbed feet catching large volumes of water and causing the frog to dash forward with every stroke. Levy sped after the Greninja, but simply could not keep up. The guest rider may have been able to hear Shalin hooting and hollering as the serpentine Pokémon's tail swished and whipped about with Shalin sitting on it. If Azure was raised well, the dark-type would have little trouble keeping up.

Shalin had warned Desiree that Keimi could be a rough ride. Even so, she seemed to egg the Greninja on. Faster and faster the amphibian swam, the kicks of her webbed feet propelling them across the surface at awesome speeds on the brink of what the explorer could handle. Any faster, and she would firmly be in Josh Devlin territory. She looked to be handling it well until a wave knocked her off. "Desiree--" she cried, though she may have been difficult to understand with how the Milotic's tail was swishing her back and forth. Thankfully, Azure was very quick to scoop her up and tread water.

While Keimi was willing to give another chance to Desiree, Shalin wasn't so certain. She sent out a third Pokémon, a Dewgong also wearing riding gear. Did every single Pokémon she owned have training to ferry a human on its back? "You might have an easier time with Artea here," she gestured toward the ice-type, who was quick to start clapping her fins. Shalin took the time to slide forward onto Levy's actual saddle. Though she enjoyed being flicked and swished about on her Milotic's tail, the dizziness was starting to catch up to her.

Shalin nodded at Desiree's assessment. "Of course! I highly recommend getting each of your Pokémon you plan on riding individually fitted. Keimi's saddle would probably work for Azure, but there's so many different Pokémon with so many different body shapes that if you want to ride a Pokémon, you almost have to get one custom made. They only mass produce them for species that are really commonly used, such as Rapidash and Arcanine."

Artea was quick to sniff Desiree's hand, then swim to her side and start clapping with her two fins. Once the Dewgong felt a firm hold on both the reins and her sides, the ice-type and guest rider would be off. The swimmer's thick and long tail had a lot more power to it than Keimi's legs, making each stroke harsher than the amphibians. What made the Dewgong much easier to control was the swimming stroke being a lot less rapid and a lot more rhythmic. Levy started swimming next to Artea, making sure to keep his long tail lower in the water to not get his entangled with that of the ice-type. That was not a battle he was going to win.

Before long, the sandy islets dotting the sea from Petalburg to Dewford would go flying by. While the wind in their face was still hot, the mist that flew toward the duo from bouncing along the water's surface cooled the riders off. "If you want her to jump, flick her reins with both hands, and she'll leap out of the water!" she half-goaded the pinkette.

Shalin's periodic submerging with her Milotic, not only when riding on the tail, but when in his saddle proper, kept her from getting strong sunburn. Her face and arms were still a bit red with a mild one, though, one she would certainly feel when she dried off. "Being in the water doesn't make it any less hot outside, and it's only getting worse," Shalin added, reminding Desiree that they were still under an excessive heat warning.

Once they were back to the beach, Shalin's body dripping seawater, she withdrew her Pokémon. "Sounds like a winner, but not outside. We should probably take them with us into some place air conditioned." Thankfully, Petalburg proper was not far from the beach, even by foot. "...You don't have to do that!" Shalin chirped, taken by complete surprise at Desiree's offer to buy. "Well, thank you! I still say we go inside somewhere to enjoy your snow cones. Even in the shade, it's unpleasant, especially once we finish drying off." With that, one adventure would end, and another, urban adventure would begin...