Once Josh was certain of Alina's balance on Kion's large saddle designed to mitigate the jostling from his powerful, flexing spine, he would begin. "Controlling a Pokémon mount is simple," the veteran assured Alina as he climbed onto Kovu's back, the Illumina Pyrpar dimming his natural lights. "His reins are what you pull on to control his direction. Pull on them in the direction you want him to turn. The harder you pull, the faster he'll turn. If you need to reverse course quickly, you can pull back on both of them at the same time. Just be careful and ready for him to rear." He gave a demonstration of the abrupt maneuver to set expectations, the Pyroar standing on his hind legs and roaring for a split second before sharply turning around.

"Second, you can control your mount's speed with your legs. Squeeze Kion's sides tighter to speed up, and ease that pressure to slow down. Just try to be careful -- if you squeeze him too hard, he'll go way faster than a horse Pokémon." He wasn't kidding, either; the jungle predators were fast, even in the wild. Under Josh's guidance, they were among the fastest feline Pokémon in the world. "Think you got it?"

From how slow she was to accelerate Kion past a trot, Josh felt Alina was nervous about the trot-to-canter transition. It was one of the most frightening parts of riding a big cat Pokémon for those who had no idea what to expect. Even for new riders of horse Pokémon, the sensation of moving slightly from side to side to bouncing up and down on a stable back was jarring. A big cat's body was designed for burst speed, and their flexing backs showed it. Even at the lowest speeds necessitating full strides from the Pyroar, Kion's gait was far bouncier than even the strongest equine Pokémon.

"No sweat, Alina! How are you adapting to Kion?" Josh asked, riding alongside her on Kovu's back and keeping an eye on her posture and how she held the reins. "Once you get used to it, we'll be there in no time!" Unlike most Pyroar, these were meant for racing. Whether they had more endurance than wild Pyroar or they could reach higher top speeds than ones in the open, it was his pride's expertise -- one very useful in higher stakes situations. This one was not; their victim was stable and out of danger. "We have time. The guy's not in danger. He just can't get back to Mauville on his own." It was a perfect rescue for a first timer. The stakes were low, there was no sign of injury, and the threat of a wild Pokémon seemed minimal. It was less a rescue and an escort.