At first, Shalin did not even noticed the blue-haired man's presence, all her focus and energy on staying seated on Grimmie trying to hurl her off. The girl's hair flew every which way with each of the Houndoom's heaving motions. She let out a whoop after a well-placed flex of the dog's back nearly unseated her, the girl seeming like she was having the time of her life.

Zachary's voice reached her while Grimmie was still in her rodeo act, prompting Shalin to tell her to stop. The Houndoom did as asked, the eyes of the remainder of her Pokémon shifting toward their guest, as well. "...I'm sorry, I missed what you said!" the Captain apologized. "Captain Shalin Nariya - can I help you?"

"Ranger, not Officer," Shalin corrected. She had not been in the position long, but she was Rustboro's Ranger authority. The Houndoom's mood whiplash was impressive to see, too, going from bucking and writhing in faux-anger to being one of the most well-behaved of her kind. It was clear that the two had known each other for a long time to be able to trust each other not to push themselves over the breaking point.

Grimmie howled, taking the inquiry as a compliment. "Oh, Grimmie here's my Houndoom! She's not wild, hehe!" She once was, having captured the Houndoom by planting herself onto its back and holding on for the wildest rodeo she had experienced to that day. "What about you? What brings you out here? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

There was a sense of freedom, yes, but there was also a sense of duty. Of responsibility. Of patriotism. She had the freedom to do what she wanted, as long as it was for the advancement of the League and the health of Hoenn's environment. Grimmie began making small talk with Dizzy, though any psychic communication would be impossible thanks to her Dark typing. Dizzy would find out that while the Houndoom looked angry bucking and writhing with Shalin in her seat, it was all in the name of fun, and that she would never intentionally hurt her trainer. She also welcomed Dizzy aboard for their eight seconds of fame if they wanted it.

"Great to meet you, Zachary!" Shalin extended a hand, the girl surprisingly muscular for how lithe her body was. Did she build up all that strength from wrangling Pokémon frequently? "Oh, you're new! I can show you around if you want," the Captain offered. "Along with Gym Leader CIAN MAHER , the two of us run the show in Rustboro for the most part. Got a Pokémon you can hop on? If you don't, I've got another. Rustboro's not a small city - getting across it can take a while."

As Grimmie felt Dizzy grab her steering horns, she entertained the fox's request, letting him control the Houndoom with motions one would use when riding a bicycle. After a bit, though, the dark-type would test her new passenger's dexterity by kicking and writhing lightly. Nowhere close to the violent pitching she subject Shalin to, it was apparent she wasn't genuinely trying to unseat him, but it might be enough to keep him sharp.

"Not a show!" Shalin laughed. "I do occasionally run those, but that's not what I meant. I meant show you around town." She meant show the verb, not show the noun. Such was the national language: words with dual meanings were a sticking point when communicating. Procuring two Poké Balls from her belt, Shalin clicked them open, a pair of quite-large Ninetales emerging from them. One was the golden variety, and the other's fur had an icy blue sheen to it. "These two are Caprice and Letheia," Shalin introduced the vulpines, her Type: Null also walking toward the Ranger. By the time the foxed waved their tails toward Zachary in greeting, Grimmie would relinquish full control to Dizzy if he managed to stay aboard.

Shalin couldn't help but giggle at Dizzy's attempt to rodeo with Grimmie; while the Houndoom didn't have the pure muscle of a Tauros, she had the finesse to slam her back right into where a would-be rider was sitting. "Heh, looked like he had fun!"

The way Zachary's eyes lit up at the sight of Caprice and Letheia, Shalin felt he loved foxes. "Thanks! I have quite the story of how I came upon them both." And was it ever the story. "Go for it!" The ice-type seemed a bit more comfortable with it than the fire-type, though both were civil.

When Zachary had tired of showing affection to the Ninetales, Shalin would take a seat on Caprice's back. "You wanted to see Rustboro, right? How about we saddle up and take a look around?" the Captain proposed. She had riding gear on them for a reason!