The Fiery Path brought back some fond memories. Memories of great danger, but also great excitement. Memories of Shalin and Julia Davis exploring and unraveling the mystery of a palace erected in defiance of reality. It was only fitting that the Rustboro Captain was in the saddle of her Beedrill, the Pokémon she had flown to the Mirage Palace in the first place.

The heated tunnel's roof gradually opened into a canyon as the two advanced, Eddie perhaps startled by the echoing sound of a buzzing bug. There was no way a wild bug Pokémon was out here; it had to be trained. If he were to turn around, he would get his answer, witnessing a giant Shiny Beedrill flying toward him, a Sygna Suited, green-haired female astride the insect!

With her earplugs in and her mount's wings loudly buzzing mere feet from her ears, Shalin could not hear Eddie. She could, however, see him waving toward her. Wheeling Queen Zing toward him, the wasp swooped near him before circling around the canyon floor to make her landing. She sat on the insect's back for a minute or two after they landed, waiting for feeling to return to her limbs before waving back.

"Hi there!" Shalin at last waved back. "Need a hand down there? It can be dangerous near the Chimney Mountains!" Queen Zing briefly fluttered her wings beneath the threshold of human hearing, idly blowing hot air in circles around them all.

With Eddie willing to accept her help, Shalin relaxed and popped open a second Poké Ball. This one contained a second giant insect, a Yanmega that also wore a saddle. Did every single one of her Pokémon have them? "The canyon can be a bit tricky to navigate without being able to fly! Name's Shalin. Captain Shalin Nariya of Rustboro. These two are Flit and Queen Zing, two of my most reliable partners," she gestured to the Yanmega, then the Beedrill she was seated on.

Most of the time, when trainers came out to the harsh locale, it was in search of fire Pokémon. There were still a few Shalin didn't have for her Romping Grounds, and some of them could rodeo quite hard. What concerned her more was their proximity to the Mirage Palace, a mystic structure erected in defiance of reality.

Eddie's tension did not go unnoticed. Yanmega were enormous bug-types, but Shalin's was even larger than the usual. His compound eyes and giant mandibles made him a mean-looking mount despite his merely curious personality. "They're both sweethearts," Shalin tried to reassure Eddie. "The only thing is you'll want to have some ear protection." The Ranger offered Eddie a second set of earplugs. "You'll be sitting a few feet from giant wings beating over a hundred times per second. They'll keep you from going deaf."

The screech of a Talonflame caught the Ranger's attention, the firebird like a comet high above the canyon. It reminded her of Merton, her own Talonflame, who saw little action. She needed to fix that, but Talonflame were so fast. Fast enough to make her vomit. Maybe she should have brought the fire-type with her to at least ease herself into the speed.

Once Eddie was ready to fly, Shalin would go over the basics of controlling an aerial mount if he asked. After that, she would don her earplugs and get ready to bumble above the canyon.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD SNEASLER APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] UNBURDEN
[attr="class","wildtabox"]LEER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SCREECH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]QUICK ATTACK	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]HONE CLAWS
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Eduardo Hisakawa Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD KOFFING APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] STENCH
[attr="class","wildtabox"]MEMENTO	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]ASSURANCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CLEAR SMOG	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BELCH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Eduardo Hisakawa Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Eduardo Hisakawa CAUGHT THE TORRACAT!

Flit flinched when the stout man climbed aboard. It was a load he was not used to, but not one his powerful wings couldn't overcome. Not even with difficulty. It would take a little getting used to, but he could fly with Eddie seated on him. "It's a little more complicated than riding on land, but it's still not too hard," Shalin explained. "Think of the reins like they're attached to a joystick. He'll turn in the direction you pull, whether up, down, or to one side. Pull harder on them if you want to fly higher, and let them slack some if you want to fly closer to the ground. If you use your legs to put pressure on his sides, he'll fly faster, and if you ease up, he'll slow down. Just watch out for the vibration when he takes off and lands. It's not too bad when you get in the air, but it can be a bit startling if you're not used to it."

After her explanation, and once Eddie was ready, both oversized bugs started to buzz their wings, getting them warmed up for flight. It would be a good opportunity to get used to the tingling feeling before the sudden burst of vibration that would come with taking off. If Flit sensed Eddie was uncomfortable, especially during takeoff, the Yanmega would handle getting into the air on his own before relinquishing control to the construction worker.