As Shalin's vision faded to white within the RKS Simulation, only able to feel her Type: Null's saddle beneath her, she saw before her instructions to design a Pokémon Gym. She had designed one before that was similar to both Eris Halla 's and Elise Calcifet 's Gyms: a natural labyrinth rife with dangerous Pokémon to battle or avoid, traps to defuse, and a powerful foe requiring upgrades collected from within the dungeon if the challenger had any hopes of winning. It was well-received, though with her being Rustboro's Captain, becoming even a Minor League Leader would be impossible for her. There simply weren't enough hours in the day.

Shalin would leave the designing this time to her partner, Nikita Sokolov . "If I were to resign from the Rustboro Captain's chair to be a Gym Leader, I'd want to make something similar to Mauville's two existing Minor League Gyms. what would you cook up?" she asked the detective, an absurd idea swirling in her head.

What about a good old-fashioned rodeo?

The two designs took form: Shalin's, a dirt field where candidates did their best to bask in their eight seconds of glory; Nikita's, a giant escape room that trainers and Pokémon had to solve if they wanted the detective's Badge. Not all of her Pokémon were violent about it, either; challenger after challenger fell to Treble and Sonnet, two Kommo-o that unseated them with vibration. All it took was losing focus for a moment to go sliding off their scaly backs, particularly when feeling a single muscle in one's limbs was nigh impossible.

The inspectors came, loving both ideas. Sure, Shalin's was a tad unhinged, but it sure was entertaining, both for challengers and for observers. Whether there were grunts from being hurled off or triumphant whoops from enduring ferocious bucking from the Captain's Pokémon, it was a fun time... until the presence of a POWER SPOT brought a sense of fear to the forefront of Shalin's thoughts.

"That's not supposed to be here!" Shalin gasped.

The simulation whisked the duo away to Slateport City. And not the Slateport City Shalin remembered. No, this one was was covered in fire, smoke, and chaos. Claws clashed with one another, and elemental explosions rocked the region's financial capital. Though Shalin could fight, she was no warrior. She was a Ranger. "I've got an idea. It won't be pretty, but it should help us turn the tide. Cover your ears, and tight!"

If Nikita thought the vibrations from her Kommo-o were loud before, this one was going to be far worse. Tensing his scales as his Z-CRYSTAL glowed a royal purple, Treble's body turned into a blurry palette of reds, yellow, and tans as each and every one began to vibrate with ferocity not even his crazy trainer could withstand. The defenses and terrains that Rocket had set up within Slateport's largest district would all come crumbling down. Would it be enough to give the League a chance?

HARMONIC DISSONANCE
[Dragon][Status][Sonic]
After obtaining Z-Power, the user, Kommo-o, looses a concentration-breaking sound wave. All temporary effects (stat changes, Barriers, Coats, Terrains, etc.) are nullified. (This move does not do damage.)

What was before them was not the future; it was the recent past. It was a story Shalin had read about on national news while in lockdown in Johto. This was when Rocket was at its past height of national activity, taking stakes in Kanto and Hoenn, with plans to expand to Johto. Plans that were thwarted by the Beasts at the cost of two of their three lives.

No matter the volume of the dragon's shaking scales, drowning out the noise of the Glalie's jaw, the duo would ultimately not be able to protect Slateport from the invasion; all they could do was try to go underground, survive as long as they needed to, and escape the city.

For this invasion had already come and gone.

The EPOCH RUINS. At the top level of a five-level pyramid Shalin had once procured one of the eight medallions from, Shalin was staring down one of the terrifying titans depicted within its walls. Normally, she would high-tail it away from such a foe, but she had the perfect tools to topple the seven-eyed construct.

"Nikita!" Shalin cried. "You take shelter! I've got this under control. And cover your ears on the way out!" With a firm stare, the Captain called on both Treble and Sonnet, two Kommo-o whose fists rattled. They knew what they had to do. "Double CLOSE COMBAT!"

The gold and grey dragons both began to vibrate their fists in an effort to pincer the Regirock and grind it to dust, their entire bodies blurring from how fast they shook.