There came a disturbance from afar as the brushes and shrubbery of the woods would shake along. Lucia looked around for any signs of trouble and frowned, wondering what could have possibly been lurking around in an area that was among the most peaceful in Hoenn. Yet as it grew closer, she reached to pull the incubator closer to her in an effort to protect it. It meant a lot to people, so she had to ensure nothing would happen to it!

"Do you he- Gah!"

Hero looked around with her until the Dunsparce emit a soft hum to let her know the direction they were heading in. The danger came in the form of a large Arbok that had made a bid to try and make a mad dash towards the egg and swallow it whole. Yet as it neared, Lucia scooped up the incubator and then scooched back on her behind.

"Nononono! Please don't eat us, please don't eat us..."

The top part of the snake-like Pokemon reared up just in time before it would come to rest right before the young trainer. But sitting on top of it would be a familiar face.

"Shalin?!" Lucia nearly shouted as the adrenaline coursed through her body. After managing to calm herself, Lucia stood up to meet the eyes of the ranger she had met at the VCT. "Yeah, we were on our way to Oldale to delivery an egg and I kinda...got us lost. What're you doing here?"

Shalin Nariya

☉

Lucia looked up at the giant Arbok as it was staring straight at her, or was it the egg inside of its warm home that it had been eyeing? Either case, it definitely wouldn't be too filling for the snake.

”Nice to meet you, Rumble.” Lucia said with a muted wave. She was much too on edge from the intense stare of the snake Pokémon to really calm herself down. ”You're, u-uh, cool.”

Luckily, Shalin had agreed to assist her in delivering the egg just in time for the festival. That was one problem down, but the force preventing the mission was still ever present in front of the child and ranger.

”Really? We could use the help! Do you know the way out of here?”

Hero puffed himself up at the Arbok, I flaring himself to bulk up and not appear so much as a snack. His trainer noticed this and quietly put a hand onto his head to help him calm down.

”I really don't even know if we're close to Oldale anymore…”

Shalin Nariya

☉

And just like that, Ranger Shalin to save the day! Lucia was happy to see that somebody could find their way back home to civilization instead of just getting lost in the woods all day. It was lucky considering that Lucia didn't have a phone, on the count of technically being homeless.

”Northeast of Oldale? But that means that we passed right by it!” Lucia groaned.

Hero tried to offer some sympathy for her plight by bumping into her leg and letting out a soft noise. Although not enough to push aside her frustration, the sentiment was appreciated

”Riding a Pokémon? You can do that?” Lucia asked. It was a pretty dumb question considering what Shalin had been on top of, but maybe she was part of an ancient family that could ride Pokémon like that. ”I don't really have anything.”

She was covered, as a strange Pokémon she had never seen before would be called out by Shalin. Lucia's eyes went across the surface as her eyes widened at the mysterious creature. ”Who is this?” She asked Shalin, carefully attempting to pull herself on the saddle while keeping hold of the incubator in the same hand.

One aboard, the trailer offered some small signs of affection to the Pokémon. ”She looks cool.”

Shalin Nariya

☉

”Huh?” Lucia looked up at Shalin once she showed some aversion to her getting on top of the Type: Null. It wasn't until that pause when the child began to worry. The mysterious beast didn't seem to be against her riding it.

”Ah-I'm sorry! I didn't know! I just saw it kneel down and- But if it didn't- I don't know…”

She let out a soft whine but was thankful that the Pokémon wasn't really feeling like mauling her for the bad decision. In fact, it wasn't even reacting to any sort of petting or affection. Was it upset? It was hard to get a read on it like this, but hoped Shalin could provide some support.

She introduced her and the Persian that was called out in front of her. Lathiel the Type: Null and Serena. Both of which were nice names for them. Hero waddled up to the Persian, the snake-like buddy doing his best to investigate the newly called out Normal type.

”It's nice to meet you both!” Lucia said, smiling at the pair. ”Thank you for letting me ride you, Lathiel.” She said before looking up to Shalin.

”I rode a Ponyta once back home, but I was with my Mom and I was four. I guess it's a little different from letting somebody else take charge. Do you just sit down in a saddle and let the Pokémon take over? Won't they know how to control themselves better than me?”

Shalin Nariya

☉

"Oh."

Lucia had grimaced a bit at Shalin's small chuckle. She had gave a pout at her inability to ride a pokemon the right way, even if she had never truly done something like that before. Lathiel at least was in a good enough mood to let her on her back, even if for just a small while. Lucia did offer her another soft pat on the side and then sloooooowly dismounting off of it.

"I can use Serena then, I guess..."

Lucia carried the egg inside of its incubator and then repeated the same process as she had done for Lathiel. Serena was at least easier to climb onto! Once the kiddo was all cozy and ready to go. She looked back to Shalin for guidance. "Okay, s-so how do I do this? Just tug on the Pokemon?"

Shalin Nariya

☉

"Heh, my friend in Paldea had an Persian she got from vacation once, but it was Alolan. You look just as pretty~"

Lucia happily showed her temporary ride some affection as she ensured that the egg and its container were well seated on top of its back as she took the reins in hand and listened to a summarized version from Shalin. She mimed the actions while the tutorial was given, trying to get down everything in her mind settled. There was a lot that went into it, despite how simple Shalin made it.

Even Josh Devlin made something like this look easy. But then again, he was a gym leader and doing it way longer than her.

"I think I got it then." Lucia said as she looked to Serena. "Ready to go?"

One the Persian's mark, Lucia squeezed her legs and got this rodeo started, although she might have squeezed harder than she thought had. Hero slithered off behind her, trying to catch up as he was pushing himself to go fast enough to match their speed.

Shalin Nariya

☉