For a good portion of the trail, nothing would be immediately amiss - aside from the echoing sounds of far-off combat. There were no dangers to interfere with the trip or the potentially gastro acid-inducing ride on Saria's vine, no impassable obstacles...

But perhaps halfway to her destination, Shalin would be met with a strange sight. That of a fox. An Alolan Ninetales, in fact - although an unusual one, between her lavender fur and the swirling markings on her fur. The fox was seated directly in Shalin's path - watching her and her congregation of pokemon coming close, tails swishing in a seemingly friendly fashion...

... At least, that is until the winds around them began to howl - laden with snowflakes. The Ninetales' Snow Warning whips up a snowstorm - one that is paired with the lights of an Aurora Veil, matched by the glowing lights of her markings!

But just as soon as she came into view, she disappeared amidst her own snowstorm with Snow Cloak - the only thing indicating their presence being the foxlike laughter that would fill the air, playful and mischievous!

The brightly-glowing Ninetales caught Shalin's eye before it disappeared. She remembered hearing about this from stories Josh Devlin had told her when they went to the arcade one day. Stories of the Illumina phenomenon, one that gave Pokémon the ability to brightly light up even the most lonely darkness. She remembered it from when his Absol was an Illumina Pokémon.

Unable to sate her curiosity, she raised a SPECIAL SHIELD over herself and her Flygon. While it didn't extend to her Venusaur, it was needed for her to stay on the vine at all. Without her Flygon's Sygna bond making the impossible possible, one crack on that vine would snap the Ranger's body in two.

Perhaps the Ninetales was a League sentry simply looking for play to pass the time while waiting for its owner to return. Cautiously and carefully, Saria walked toward the edge of the Aurora Veil, ready to defend herself with her unoccupied Vine Whip if need be, but showing no open signs of hostility.

Tsukiko, frankly, is curious about Shalin riding on the vine - one would think that it'd make one's acid rise. But yet here she was, fine as can be! And the group didn't appear to be one to immediately go in guns blazing, like the last couple of League members that she had tried to play and cause mischief with.

Would this be a mistake, with this chaotic fox? Only time would tell.

Ears twitching, Tsukiko would the cover of their snowstorm to creep close to Saria - eyeballing the cargo she carried. What was she carrying, they wondered? Was it food? Food sounded good right about now - it'd been a hot minute since they had a chance to snack on something.

Thus, perhaps it'd come as a surprise to Shalin or Saria, when Tsukiko began trying to shove her nose into the cargo the large Venusaur carried, snooping around to see what she had!

The ice fox's close proximity to the cargo made Saria aware of the ice-type's presence. Shalin, though, was still unaware, the Aurora Veil keeping her blind to Tsukiko's presence. Saria drew her vines back and snapped them in front of the fairy fox as a warning shot, forgetting in the moment that Shalin was seated on them. Not seeing the VINE WHIP coming, Shalin was immediately flung off, hurled toward Tsukiko at high speed.

The two tumbled away from the Venusaur, the girl finding herself on Tsukiko's back. When she realized the Ninetales she was sitting astride wasn't Letheia, thanks to the Rocket's Pokémon not wearing a saddle, her instincts took over. She buried her hands in the fairy-type's fur and held on with everything she had, thinking of when she did this with Letheia.

How hard could it be to rodeo with another Ninetales?

At first, Tsukiko wasn't all that worried about the Vine Whip that came her way - even if it was only a warning shot, she was prepared to duck and dodge as she always did, dancing just out of reach of Saria's attack...

... What she didn't expect, was for a human projectile to come her way as well!

As Shalin slammed into her, the fox would yelp with alarm as the two tumbled through the snow that was collecting on the ground from the snowstorm. It took a second for Tsukiko to regain her bearings, slowly getting up to her feet - before she realized that there was a foreign weight on her back.

Her first reaction was to shake herself to try and dislodge the weight - but when it held fast, even with a brief buck... Tsukiko would cast a puzzled glance over her shoulder at Shalin - as if quietly asking 'what in the world is this? when did you get here?' It was clear to see she was disused to carrying a trainer, if the awkward movements she initially made were of any indication.

But, perhaps this was the game these League members wanted to play, a part of Tsukiko's mind reasoned. That this green-haired girl wanted to be taken on a ride, maybe? Okay, she could play a game like that!

With that foxy laugh of hers, Tsukiko would begin to gallop and prance about, a bouncy ride without a single worry in the world. She would even put a Spotlight on herself, making a couple of barks to Shalin's pokemon to goad them to try and catch her!

Unlike Letheia, Tsukiko appeared ready to have fun with this little rodeo.

Shalin's smile grew, adrenaline filling her body as she rode out Tsukiko's initial bucking and kicking. If this was the warm-up, she couldn't wait for the main event! Suddenly, the Ninetales stopped, craning their head as if to say hello to the unexpected rider. The look of confusion was quick to make way to one of laughter and merriness. While this wasn't the kind of wild ride Shalin expected, she wouldn't say no to what tricks the fox had planned!

She loved every moment of Tsukiko's bumpy and bouncy gait, feeling the fox put extra vigor into their running stroke. She sounded a cowgirl's cry as the SPOTLIGHT shined upon her, getting the attention of Lathiel the Type: Null. It would take quite a while for the normal-type to catch such a swift Pokémon, though.

Part of Shalin wanted to goad the Ninetales into trying to fling her off right away. As her hooting and yelping accompanied their gallop that would have felt like bucking to many a rider, she felt she was having too much fun to agitate Tsukiko yet. She simply held her grip on the fox's fur, as ready as she could be for their next maneuver!

Tsukiko's bouncing prances and gallops were similar to that of someone skipping - playful and cheery, without a worry in the world. And as the ninetales got more used to carrying Shalin, she would readily put more energy into each little bounce and hop she made!

But for all of her playfulness, it was also clear to see that Tsukiko was also - as one might say - a little shit. Seeing Lathiel follow after, the arctic fox took to playfully and mischievously teasing the Type: Null - occasionally slowing her stride just enough to let them catch up... Before suddenly leaping back into action, to dance just out of their reach as they got near!

She'd run circles around the normal-type when the opportunity presented itself - occasionally blowing raspberries at Letheia to tease them. 'Can't catch me!' her barks seemed to say! As if to emphasize this, she'd sometimes even make attempts to throw Letheia off with sharp 180 turns - likely causing inertia to yank at Shalin in the process.

For how long would the Type: Null put up with Tsukiko's teasing?

Shalin loved every moment of her ride on Tsukiko's back! It didn't have the intensity of Letheia's kicking, but it was getting there! She even let out a YEEHAW at the top of one of the fox's particularly strong bounces. The sudden deceleration and acceleration kept Shalin on her toes, lost in the world of fun she was having.

Lathiel, on the other hand, was not having fun; as Tsukiko toyed with her and taunted with her, red, yellow, and blue beams of TRI-ATTACK formed around the spikes on her brace. They converged in front of the fairy-type as a warning sign, bellowing back to them that she had enough, and the next one wouldn't miss.

The first about face caught Shalin slightly off guard, yanking her to one side and causing her to pull on the ice-type's fur a little more than she would have liked. The second one she was ready for, letting another whoop leave her mouth as her stomach tumbled from the sudden reversal of direction. As much as she wanted to spur the Ninetales with her heels, she reserved that choice for now, letting the happy and playful Pokémon set the pace of the run!

In the face of Lathiel's Tri-Attack, Tsukiko would skid to a stop, yelping softly in surprise! They glanced back to the Type: Null for a moment - recognizing that perhaps they were poking the wasp's nest... To go any further would probably invite a fight, more likely than not.

But, then again, they were pretty confident in their ability to take her on. Bringing forth the Aurora Veil once more to refresh it, the skies would once more fill with those multicolored lights. And once satisfied with the protection, Tsukiko would glance to Lathiel - casually approaching the Type: Null, their tails swishing in a friendly fashion...

... Before bapping the chimeric beast on the helmet with her paw, blowing a raspberry, and once more running off! They'd let loose more foxy laughter all the whilst, bouncing and prancing, hiding amongst her snow with Snow Cloak to try and avoid whatever Lathiel might want to throw at them!

Shalin Nariya

The sudden stop caused Shalin to lurch forward on the ice fox, nearly bumping heads with them! The fog of rainbow-colored lights would have had Shalin nervous from being unable to see Lathiel if she weren't lost in the adrenaline rush of being astride the prancing Ninetales. Their symphony of happiness only drew the Type: Null to greater anger, haphazardly firing more TRI-ATTACK beams. All of them sailed wide.

As much as she wanted to continue the playful ride on Tsukiko all day, it was only a matter of time before the Ninetales outwitted and outlasted Lathiel. Shalin gripped the fairy-type's fur tightly before slamming her heels into their flanks. She also pulsed with her knees to try to agitate the nine-tailed fox even more. The whimsical ride was fun, but she had to wear them out eventually!

What had started as a fun little bout of shenanigans with a friend on their back, was starting to prove to be a bout of shenanigans with a party pooper on their back. Or at least, that's what Tsukiko felt when they suddenly felt Shalin jabbing at their flanks, and a squeeze at their sides. Yelping briefly in surprise, Tsukiko would cast a glance at Shalin as if she had said something offensive to them - and would pointedly swing their tails up to smack Shalin in the back with them, as if a slap on the wrist for naughty behavior.

But, it's also clear that Tsukiko had had their fill of carrying Shalin just in general. On the next bounding bounce they made through the snow, they would make a bucking motion in an attempt to toss Shalin from their back - aiming to fling her into the soft snow. But with the tight grip Shalin had, they'd find this easier said than done - and with an annoyed noise, they'd begin to buck underneath Shalin with a bit more force!

Which, perhaps, would give Lathiel an opportunity to find Tsukiko amidst the blinding snow...

Shalin Nariya

Yeow! Those tails were fluffy, but a lot more solid than she remembered Letheia's being! It was well worth the price of admission, though - she was rewarded for her aggression with bucking that reminded her of the day she tamed her own Alolan Ninetales at the bottom of the Crystal Trench. While she didn't ask Letheia to buck her too often, she enjoyed every run. At first, it was a lighter version of that, Shalin feeling her rump float above Tsukiko's back with every kick. She let out a loud whoop at the top of a particularly strong thrust.

As Tsukiko's desperation grew and they showed their true colors, Shalin's legs started to slip. She was impressed with this Ninetales; while the wild ride was similar to Letheia, it was different enough that she had to focus to stay on. Holding on with everything she had, she squeezed Tsukiko with both her legs, the white-knuckled rider grasping the fox's fur tightly. Perhaps painfully tightly for them.

The painful-tight grip would draw a whine from Tsukiko - this wasn't fun! They had enough of this! And if these bucks weren't doing the trick, clearly they had to try something else - and they had just the thing in mind. So, it'd be with a Dig that Tsukiko - with one last hop - would proceed to dive headfirst into the snow, whereupon she'd begin to burrow down and hopefully pry Shalin off of their back.

Which, once Tsukiko had burrowed, a question would quickly be raised: Did they leave, or were they still here?

The answer would soon come in the form of Tsukiko popping back up near Saria - the illumina fox shaking themself to get rid of any clinging bits of dirt. With Shalin dislodged, she was content to return to her prior shenanigans - snooping at the supplies that the Venusaur was carrying.

Was this continued mischief partially driven by spite? Perhaps. But they also were genuinely curious to see what Saria was carrying! Surely it had to be something interesting, for the grass-type to be so defensive about it!

Shalin Nariya