Shalin's Romping Grounds were less a ranch and more a natural Pokémon sanctuary at Petalburg Plateau, in the foothills of the Rusturf Mountain Range. Dozens of Pokémon of various kinds were there, and curiously, almost all of them wore saddles. Even ones highly unusual for the task, like a Seismitoad and a Serperior. The proud, giant grass snake's seat swished back and forth like a banner in high winds.

The vibrations stopped shortly before Gracie's attention turned toward the young girl. The green "hair" was actually part of the Sygna Suit Shalin wore, modeled after a Flygon. She and her synced dragon were both glowing a faint green as the eccentric captain was... sitting on the Flygon's wing?

"Hi there!" she dizzily waved back before grabbing onto the wing with all four limbs again. "You're adventurous to be able to make it out here on your own. Captain Shalin Nariya, Rustboro. And who might you be?"

Shalin smiled toward Gracie, acknowledging the courage needed to approach such an eccentric, power-exuding person like herself. "A breeder, huh?" she asked as Sandy stretched her wings, forcing the wild rider to tilt her head to maintain eye contact. "I've got someone I may be able to hook you up with. Has a lot of money and a vision for how he wants his Pokémon to be."

The eye contact wasn't returned; Gracie seemed all too enthralled with how she was atop Sandy's wing, "That was us!" she confirmed. With a silent command to her Sygna Pokémon, the dragon put on a short burst of vibration to give Gracie a demonstration. Her hair beneath her suit stood on end, a delirious look on her face when it was over after but a few seconds.

In a way, Shalin's sanctuary was like a Pokémon amusement park, saddled Pokémon galloping, soaring, and seimming all about the grounds. From the more ordinary like Rapidash and Pidgeot, to the slightly more unusual like Absol and Persian, to the truly eye-opening, like Starmie and Seismitoad, the possibilities may have felt endless. The amphibian's saddle rattled and rumbled with the bumps beneath it; just who would willingly sit there?

"I do," Shalin answered as she at last slid off the Flygon's wing. "I prefer it over the big city; I only really go to Rustboro when there's paperwork I have to fill out for my job. I prefer the wild over town!"

Gracie Maw's question was one Shalin got frequently, whether it was from planned visitors to her sanctuary or ones who stumbled into it. "Almost all of them do, yes! Travel by Pokémon is something I've been passionate about since well before I joined the Rangers at all." The thrum of Bass Boost's back may have caught Gracie's attention, the seat on the Seismitoad's back partially blurred from how rapidly the bumps beneath it shook. "You much of a rider yourself, Gracie Mae?"

Even rare and powerful Pokémon were no exceptions, an Iron Leaves prancing about the sanctuary gracefully and happily. Her agility and speed looked dizzying, perhaps even intimidating for novice or even intermediate-level passengers.

As humble as Gracie was, it was true. "Well, they didn't call me Hoenn's wildest Pokémon Rider for a reason, hehe!" the green-ette returned her giggle with one of her own. "From what I find, Pokémon that love to run love it!" Her Pokémon were a different breed of fun-loving, some of them going as far as to feign anger to get as much of a rise out of her as possible.

With the number of Pokémon Shalin had, it took a few follow-up questions to narrow the field of her dozens of partners. "Depends on what you define difficulty as. Sandy here is one of them. Did you know they use their Boomburst attack by vibrating their wings?" she smiled, still atop the Flygon's wing herself. Was she implying that her suit let her sit on the wing mid-Boomburst?

"But there's more to it than that. Were you looking to see more more... pure strength, raw speed, or agility that's hard to follow?" she asked, already having a Pokémon in mind for each. As she awaited Gracie's thoughts, two such Pokémon wandered over: a Kommo-o looking ready to flourish his scales at any moment, and a Zeraora that ran on all fours much like a feral cat would. While they both wore tack much like the Captain's other Pokémon, they looked fierce to try to control.

As Gracie's eyes seemed to fix on Treble the Kommo-o, Shalin's smile grew, Sandy waddling nearer her trainer. "Treble here won't look like much at first, but once he gets going, you'll know. And if you have earplugs, you might want to put them on," Shalin recommended before she took a seat on the fighting-type dragon's back. She looked like she was riding a bipedal dinosaur the way the duo looked.

With a squeeze to the Kommo-o's sides, the two were off in a modest run. As they grew faster, Gracie may have wondered what was so rough and tumble about a Kommo-o? They didn't seem to buck or writhe like a Tauros would. What she would see was far more intense.

Once the dragon had completed an arc around the immediate shoreline, every single one of Treble's golden brown scales began to vibrate harshly, visibly rattling the Captain and perhaps causing Gracie to see doubles of her. Her exact position was masked by a green glow that grew increasingly brighter the louder and faster the vibrations became, sounding like large, musical cymbals constantly playing their tune.