If Robin thought Shalin's choice of ride Pokémon couldn't get any more unusual, she was wrong. Quite wrong. Having underutilized some of the most powerful Pokémon on her roster, she brought many of them with her to investigate the yellow mist she had heard reports of from many other Rangers, including the second-in-command at Mauville. Perhaps intimidating at best and terrifying at worst, Shalin was perched in a uniquely-shaped saddle harnessed to Olivia, the Buzzwole that hatched from an egg months after she found it in the Ultra Desert. Its back curve was greatly extended, almost J-shaped to accomodate whether Olivia was standing on her four legs or hunched over while flying.

When the mist became so thick that she lost sight of Robin, the Ultra Beast's rider called out to her, "COVER YOUR EARS!" Though she was in her Sygna Suit, without her Flygon present, it only offered her basic protection against the elements - and against the earsplitting drone of Olivia's DUAL WINGBEAT clearing away the mist. The vibration was numbing even with her suit on, the sheer strength of the bug-type's four wings trading one problem for another.

When the wings became silent, the Ultra Beast raising its proboscis skyward in triumph, Shalin was dazed, feeling from her shoulders down gone. Reaching for her Flygon, she could not tell where her belt was from the overwhelming tingling sensation disabling her sense of touch. "Are you okay?!" Shalin called out to Robin, not realizing she was shouting. Even her vision was somewhat impaired, her peripheral fuzzy from absorbing powerful vibration unlike anything she had ever experience.

And that was just sitting on its back.

The vibration really seemed to bother the shaken Robin. It shook even Shalin; the Buzzwole's muscles moving the wings were far stronger than those of any other bug-type she had on her team. She briefly rest her hand on one of the now-still wings. It felt solid as her Flygon's, easily able to bear her weight while she wore her suit. She had known from riding Nymris that the efficacy of her suit with her two Ultra Beasts was reduced.

Now was not the place to try, though.

Sliding to the back of Olivia's saddle as the Buzzwole stood up, Shalin nodded, pointing toward the yellow seal in the distance. If they squinted, both of them would be able to see human-shaped phantoms, armed with polearms, marching toward the seal and the bright mist it leaked. "I'm gonna follow them." Clicking Lathiel's Poké Ball, Shalin also released her Type: Null for protection, the normal-type acknowledging Olivia's presence but not lashing out at her. Their loyalty was slowly building...

Sensing the malevolence within the physical manifestation of the snow cat's spirit, Lathiel charged headlong into the unknown foe while brandishing her CRUSH CLAWS in an effort to interrupt a nimble-looking SWORDS DANCE. The agility with which the foe moved was captivating, Shalin more focused on watching it than paying attention to the battle itself.

That lack of attentiveness proved to be their downfall, the sword-toothed feline lunging at Lathiel with a THROAT CHOP. Those spikes on the normal-type's retaining mask hurt, but the spirit of the Paldean legendary Pokémon shrugged the pain off. Before Shalin or Lathiel could even react, the Chien-Pao about-faced in a split second, snow flying outward from it during the blinding reversal. With a second THROAT CHOP, the Type: Null was down. Seeing the whip-like turns the snow cat made sealed her decision:

She wanted this mean feline for herself.

Olivia charged toward the chilly foe, Shalin shakily holding the SPELL TAG as the Buzzwole's wings churned harshly for added speed. The powerful fighting-type backed the Chien-Pao into a corner near where their seal once was, the cleansing object's wards immobilizing the creature. It wouldn't stay that way for long, though! There was only one way she was going to catch a Pokémon like this, and it was a method she had a lot of experience doing.

Olivia reached behind her shoulder and picked Shalin up from her perch, tossing her toward the feline that lashed out at her when she got close. With their feet rooted in place from the SPELL TAG, Shalin dashed for the feline's side and hopped aboard. Its ruinous eyes glowed a bright, sinister yellow, the warding item's seal shattering. This was going to be one rough ride, but if her Sygna Suit's strength could hold out, she would have one nimble cat on her hands.

Ride 'em, Chien-Pao!

The feline's eyes glowed a cold blue, a yellow mist floating from its Sword of Ruin as it realized the Sygna Suited girl had made herself an unwanted passenger. With agility unlike anything Shalin had ever experienced, the Chien-Pao leaped, bucked, and thrashed with the fury of an avalanche, the cowgirl loving every moment of it. She was too lost in the rodeo act the ice-type was putting on to notice the malice in its sword-teeth. With great power, the big cat flung its snowy, weasel-like body upward, Shalin's knuckles turning white. How much more did the girl have to endure before this cat was hers?

With a whip-like about face, the Chien-Pao's spirit flicked Shalin hard, feeling like she was going to rip out part of the feline's snowy fur with how hard she held on. Yeow, that last one hurt! She had never been on a Pokémon that could buck so hard. She squinted and focused her hardest on shifting her weight with the legendary feline's moves. Try as it might, Shalin held on as though her life depended on it.

The great cat had one last trick up its sleeve to dislodge Shalin. A malicious, maddening one at that. Kicking up a cold blast of snow as its claws sliced the ground, the Chien-Pao bounded toward robin coello . Faster and faster the cat galloped, turning into an all-out sprint that shook Shalin to her core and left her screaming in pure terror. Robin, having seen the Mauville Leader before, may have been able to make comparisons to his Zeraora. The ice cat's claws gleamed in the realm's multicolored light, lunging toward the Dragapult with a THROAT CHOP that would almost certainly leave a horrible mark at the blistering speed it reached.

Shalin seemed to float on the back of the Chien-Pao mid-sprint. She felt the snow cat's back drop from beneath her at the trough of every stride, only to slam into her with every peak. If she hadn't been put through the Ruinous Sword's rodeo act before, she would have thought the Pokémon was trying to buck her off mid-dash!

Shalin did not hear Robin at all, the roaring, blizzard-like winds from the Chien-Pao running faster than a race car drowning out all other noise. The snow cat heard Robin's command loud and clear. In an effort to interrupt the EARTHQUAKE, the feline flung its claws into the ground, reversing its momentum in an instant. Not seeing the whip-like turn coming, Shalin was hurled off the legendary creature's back. The Snorlax's Ground-type seismic wave was met with the foe's ICICLE CRASH flying at it faster than anything Robin may have seen before. Even the Mauville Leader's Zeraora couldn't run as fast as this cool cat was.

With the threat of a second neck-snapping turn looming over her head, Shalin popped the cap on a SMOKE BOMB, obscuring her, Robin, and their Pokémon. As much as the ruinous Pokémon wanted to maul Shalin to pieces for being an unwanted passenger, its vision was not sharp enough to see through the thick haze. By the time it cleared, the ride Pokémon the Captain had been thrown off was long gone.