With her wounds mostly healed, Shalin felt comfortable signing up for the Vital City Tournament, if only to improve her combat skills. The war had made her realize how inadequate they were. She much preferred Ranger work, though as a Captain, she couldn't exactly pick her tasks.

The sheer efficiency that the tournament's healing machines operated at was a marvel of the event: they worked faster than ones at most Pokémon Centers, making sure the Pokémon were all in top shape for each round. This was going to be a long day: battle after battle. With them being only one Pokémon per side, at the very least they would be quick. As Shalin was sipping on a bottle of water, an announcement blared over the venue's loudspeakers:

"Attention all Vital City Tournament participants. Pairings are up for round five. Pairings are up for round five."

Pulling up the list on her phone, she scrolled down to her name and found her opponent and her assigned arena number. That opponent was kasper thaler .

Shalin took her place on her assigned side of the battleground. "Oh hi, Aster!" the Captain waved. "I hope you were able to get your truck fixed! Funny we met each other. She was a sweetheart when we flew together, but I can't make any promises in battle!"