When Zachary poked his head through the thick woods after reaching Petalburg Plateau, he would catch sight of many of the Captain's Pokémon roaming its vast grounds. Her bug Pokémon were present, but at a great distance. Hearing the young man's cry, her eight Shiny Eeveelutions, all but the green Espeon wearing saddles, sounded cries before Endry pointed her feelers toward Shalin. She was by the plateau's small lake where her water Pokémon were frolicking.

Shalin herself was not far from its shores, seated on the back of an Alolan Ninetales. Purposefully not wearing her Sygna Suit, she wanted to fight Letheia with her own strength, like she did with Altagracia Contreras when she caught the fairy-type in the first place. Hooking the vulpine's reins at the end of her saddle, Shalin buried her hands in the Pokémon's cold fur. "Alright, Letheia! Buck 'em!" she enthusiastically chirped.

And buck Shalin the Ninetales did. Not wasting any time, she pranced around the shore, feigning anger as she kicked back and forth as fiercely as a Blaze Breed Tauros. She reared high, then abruptly shifted her weight forward, hurling her rear legs skyward in a nasty-looking kick.

Shalin let out a loud whoop at the top of the kick, looking like she was having the time of her life as she was yanked about on the fox's back. How were her arms and legs not on fire from the stress of each heave? The harder Letheia flailed, the more entertained she seemed to be, even throwing bursts of AGILITY into the mix. With a loud cry, the Ninetales crouched before flinging her back upwards in a spinning jump that left Shalin dazed for a few seconds after landing. "Wheeeee-hee-hee!!" she exhaled, the rodeo ride over. "You don't disappoint, Letheia!"

With that misadventure over, she at last greeted the blue-haired trainer. "Zachary!" she weakly waved. "Is that an Alolan Raichu?!" she gasped. "He's huge! Like the ones you'd find out of a Distortion."

"...That's one way to put it," Shalin sheepishly replied as she got to her feet, giving the now-calm Alolan Ninetales a hug. "But I'm okay! I love it, Letheia loves it, and it's a lot of fun! That's how I caught her a couple years ago - by riding her!" It was one thing to do what she did with a tamed Pokémon that knew her limits. It was another to sit on a wild Pokémon's back and "battle" it by holding on for dear life.

She really was a different kind of crazy, wasn't she?

Once she had recovered, she noticed the Pokémon before her performing crazy tricks. "This must have been the Pokémon Josh recommended for me. Hermes must be one wild ride."

LEtheia made small talk with Dizzy, trying to get to know the Delphox better as she was still recovering from the ferocious thrashing she gave Shalin in a real-looking, but still playful, rodeo. Hermes seemed impressed by something she did. With the psychic-type being more intelligent than most Pokémon, she tried to communicate with him, even if he couldn't talk back.

"You must have been really impressed by Letheia's little show, huh?" Shalin asked, gently rubbing the part of the electric Pokémon's back where she intended to sit, given the chance... provided he allowed so, of course. "You look really nimble yourself... and so sweet!" she added, looking like she could embrace with Zachary's Pokémon at any moment.

Letheia looked more concerned for Shalin, the nuzzling more to draw Dizzy's attention there than to focus on the Alolan Ninetales. Yes, the ice fox was strong, but Hermes looked to be on a totally different level.

Could the psychic rat actually unseat Shalin? The eccentric captain was one to find out by doing.

With excitement thumping from within her, she gently rubbed Hermes' back, right where one would sit on a Kantonian Raichu, before clinging to it and mounting up. If this Raichu was as rambunctious and energetic as Josh described, it would be a true challenge for her. One she looked forward to.

Hermes' cry was loud and agitated. Why, then, did Josh suggest Shalin hop onto him? Was he wrong about Hermes, despite all the experience he had with his own Raichu? She knew she couldn't remain on the electric Pokémon, or she would lose consciousness from a severe electric shock. Even so, she was going to make the fun last as long as she could.

Hermes dashed past many of Shalin's fast Pokémon, causing them to rear in fright. The rider let out a loud whoop with every turn, her gut hurled to one side from the Raichu's tremendous agility. With a sudden turn from the psychic-type, the cowgirl cried out again. She was loving every bit of it... until an even harsher swerve in the opposite direction send her rolling toward Zachary at great speed.

Shalin closely watched the way Zachary mounted Hermes - not like an ordinary Pokémon, but like surfing behind the psychic-type on his levitating tail. "Right, because these Raichu are psychic-types," she answered. "I've got an Espeon and a Wyrdeer that do something similar, where they hold you in place so you don't fall off when riding them." She appreciated the slow speeds the duo went at to show the balance and techniques that she would need to maintain her own footing. She imagined Hermes would allow some freedom of movement while still keeping her harnessed up via psychic power.

At Zachary's cue, Shalin nodded toward him, then the Raichu. "Alright, like this, right?" She reached for where Hermes' back was the largest, letting him support her before climbing onto the yellow tail behind him. "It feels different from any other Pokémon I've been on before." She took a deep breath and steeled herself for one wild ride. "I'm sorry about the misunderstanding, Hermes," she gently pat the Raichu. "Now that I know how the right way... let's ride!"