A large shockwave raced above Haoyu's head as the deafening noise reached his ears. It would be high enough above him that he was in no danger of being knocked down, but could feel some of the moving air inside it. Were he to turn his head toward the shockwave, he would see a most unusual sight: a Venusaur that towered over most of her kind, well over the height of a one-story building.

The Venusaur also had an unusual, green glow surrounding her entire frame, though it was most intense at the giant vines extending from the base of her flower. There was a silhouette at the end of one of the vines, colors blocked out by the late afternoon sun casting a shadow. Were Haoyu to get closer, he would be able to see what the silhouette on the end of the vine was.

It was a girl, dressed in a Venusaur-themed Sygna Suit, sitting atop the thick pod at the end of the vine like one would ride a Pokémon. And she looked way too joyful after such a terrifying crash rumbled through the wide-open, grassy Petalburg Plateau. Not far from the Venusaur was a Type: Null who looked worried about the exertion her trainer was putting herself through.

Shalin huffed as she came down from the Infinity Energy high, though some still flowed between her and her Venusaur. It manifested as a faint, green slow, most concentrated on Shalin and the vine she was seated atop. "I'm alright!" she replied. "Her Vine Whip can get a little loud sometimes is all!" Was she implying she had been a passenger on the end of her Venusaur's Vine Whip attack? It may have been too ludicrous for Haoyu to consider.

She had slid so far back that she couldn't even reach its tip. Patting the vine gently, Shalin coaxed her Venusaur into swinging it so that she would slide down it and back onto its thick tip. The sliding motion looked as quick as the steepest water slides in Slateport's most well-known water park. "Captain Shalin Nariya, Hoenn's wildest Pokémon rider," she introduced to herself. "You... kind of stumbled into my back yard, which is impressive on its own. What brings you out to this neck of Petalburg Woods?" she asked, the Type: Null a little more relaxed now.

It was innocent enough of a reason; Haoyu's presence was coincidence. Even so, the plateau was not easy to get to from the main road connecting Petalburg and Rustboro. Her expression soured slightly upon the mention of the damage Elisabeth Fiorelli had done to her home, making so many of her Pokémon sick. "Don't remind me..." she trailed off, the vine giving Shalin a small flick that jerked her back and forth. The thrilling motion restored the smile upon her face.

"Since then, it's mostly recovered," Shalin answered, Saria extending her vine so that the Captain and guest were within normal talking distance of one another. It would also give Haoyu a closer look at how she held onto the vine. It looked like a well-practiced technique. Even so, during the attack, an object like Venusaur's vine moved so fast as to cut like a sword. And she rode this thing?

"It's my Sygna Suit," she gestured toward the Venusaur-themed suit she wore. "Saria and I have perfected our bond to the point where this is possible. I've got another one in me if you want to see -- just cover your ears!" she teased as a saddle-wearing Shiny Beedrill buzzed and bobbed not too far from them.

Shalin froze for a bit when she was asked the question. Her Sygna Suit was a special product created by League scientists, from one of the earlier waves of Sygna Suits produced. "...Sygna Suits in general are produced by scientists with specialties in Infinity Energy, from what I understand," she replied, "but I'm under NDA for my specific suit. Otherwise I'd tell you."

Shalin waved her hand toward the Beedrill and the ground, the Shiny insect getting the hint and landing, silencing her wings. Haoyu could now more clearly see the scale of the Pokémon. Wearing a saddle and reins like a horse Pokémon, the creature was a true anomaly. Just who would willingly sit between two wings producing such a noisy buzz?

As Queen Zing extended the flat of her foreleg sting to greet the Grookey, Shalin's Venusaur drew her vine back and began flinging it in circles, much like a pendulum-style carnival ride. The faint, green glow of Infinity Energy grew brighter as the vine accelerated.

All of a sudden, Saria swiveled back and forth once on her four legs, sending a giant pulse down the vine!

Shalin took in what Haoyu was saying, but didn't respond; Infinity Energy alone wouldn't keep her seated on Saria's vine as the pulse raced toward her trainer. The rider experienced an odd sensation of being lifted upward with the pulse, yet moving backwards as a loop built up at the end of the vine. That loop became tighter and tighter until it could no longer hold itself together. When the pulse's peak reached the end of the vine, it cracked with a loud, thunder-like noise that drew the attention of many of her Pokémon on the property.

Shalin's Sygna Suit, and the Vennusaur herself, gleamed a brilliant green as the Vine Whip swung in a circle in a split second, The Captain was hooting and hollering, coming down from the Infinity Energy high needed to survive the feat she had just pulled off. Perhaps she really did need a psychological evaluation.

After all, she had just been a passenger on a whipcrack!

Even after the supersonic lashing motion was over, Saria's vine twirled around wildly, Shalin still needing to keep her focus while the vine slowed. An unexpected flick could send her flying even at the lower speeds. Once it was mostly still, the girl exhaled, shaking from the enormous Infinity Energy discharge necessary to keep her from being flung miles away.

"And that's what a Sygna Suit is capable of!" the female chirped as she fully regained her overloaded senses. After Shalin hopped off and was a safe distance away, the Venusaur flicked her vine one more time to give a clear demonstration of just how fast it could get.

Shalin got that question so frequently; so frequently, her answer may have sounded canned and well-practiced. "Not at all! The suit keeps me safe from the harmful effects of whiplash," she answered with a giggle. It was harder to imagine more intense whiplash than being hurled around by a natural whip like the one Saria used. Much of the power behind the Sygna Suit was the perfected bond. The Infinity Energy the suit harnessed was but a conduit, the suit enabling its wearer to transcend human limits with the Pokémon it was attuned to.

She took a few deep breaths before resuming normal breathing. "Not after just one lash, typically! Two or three usually wears me out," she explained, stumbling as she turned around to whistle for another of her Pokémon. "Some Sygna Suits are advanced enough to have two sides. This side is for Venusaur, and the other is for a Flygon." Responding to her whistle was the buzzing dragon, this one geared up in full riding tack much like many of the Captain's partners.