Happy to ferry a guest around, the gold-and-pink Kommo-o's throat rumbled in approval, reminding Miyako that while the two were friendly, they were still dragons. They were still frighteningly strong among Pokémon. She let any tingling sensation that Miyako may have felt from the vibrations calm before the two took off westward, back toward the hollow tree Shalin called home.

What made the ride on the Kommo-o different from all her other Pokémon was the fighting-type was a broad-backed biped. It almost felt like being on a Dodrio, a Tyrantrum, or another similarly-shaped Pokémon. The duo passed by a lake filled with Shalin's water Pokémon, including a Shiny Floatzel who pointed his golden tails in Miyako's direction and whirled them about like a propeller. "Still haven't been able to crack the code with Prower," Shalin mused as the two Kommo-o passed the excited sea weasel. "Could be a type of motion my Sygna Suit's not set up for."

There were not just one, but two Kommo-o; the second one looked gorgeous, her pink and gold scales contrasting one another, making the two look like a musical king and queen. Both of the saddled Kommo-o approached Shalin and Miyako, the wear on their knuckles apparent from how much they used their vibrating fists to not only fight, but to landscape. "Be really careful with Treble or Sonnet, okay?" Shalin subtly introduced the two as part of warning her. "Kommo-o fight using vibration. When they flourish their scales, they ring really loud, and they shake harder than an Arbok's tail."

As to give Miyako a visual caution as well, both of them shook their scales at low power, showing what they could do with their NOBLE ROARS. Their tails were going full tilt, but the scales on their backs looked only mild; the cop would be able to get a preview were she to rest her hand upon one of the muscular dragons.

"Will do," Shalin nodded, quickly giving her name as well before the Visionary blinked away. "Shalin Nariya, Petalburg Captain. If you need me, I should be easy to find. And if you can't, get in touch with my office, and they'll show you how." Little did she know that office wouldn't exist soon.

Perhaps Mauville's Gym Leader was right. There were people on the other side that truly understood what was going on. People who saw the war as folly, opening both sides up to a third front that would threaten both their existences.

"Need a lift back to town?" Shalin asked Eddie. "We'll have a lot to talk about in the next could days, but I need time to think on this. Might not hurt us to go back in the simulation, either." Provided Eddie complied, she would offer the stout young man a lift on one of her sturdiest Pokémon.

Shalin couldn't believe it, even after Thomas confirmed her thoughts. How an Arcanine's legs could move back and forth fast enough to hum was incredible. Being trampled by Rufus in that state would be painful, if not lethal. The added power behind the fire-type's strides left almost her entire body feeling like jelly. She was still dizzy, swaying about even after Rufus had come to a stop, but she was at least conscious enough to carry on a conversation.

"That sounds like a good way to pass the time while my body gets... acclimated to not moving fast as a bullet," the girl exhaled, able to see the benefits of having Storage System integration. Little did she know such a project would have to wait longer than she wanted...

While Shalin had never been to a League penitentiary before, Calpurnia was right; as deporable as she had heard of conditions being there, it was still better than what she had experienced here. The League wouldn't perform illicit experiments upon her, for instance. "Behind closed doors, perhaps. As it turns out, badmouthing the people that pay you, and with a handsome salary at that, is not the greatest idea."

The way the purple-haired scientist was going about altering her suit was wrong, and Shalin suspected she knew it. "If you're the one that developed the technology, then you should know it adapts itself to its wearer," she barked back. "You watched what Dorian did to me, I assume? Then you'd know. He wore it and he has a totally different build than I do."

"We don't know details," Shalin frowned. "I'm sure they'll be forthcoming once arrangements have been made, but he's no longer with us." She dropped the subject at that, not wanting to pollute the happy place they were in with sad thoughts. They were here to saddle up and have fun before it got too cold, right?

At the suggestion of one last run on one of her Pokémon, Shalin perked up. "Right - we're pretty far from the main road between Petalburg and Rustboro. Gotta get you back there, hee hee!" Even with the ones Miyako had already seen, there were some truly outlandish Pokémon still around. Sceptile, Volcarona, Kommo-o, Salazzle, Skeledirge... who would want to sit on the backs of Pokémon like those? Of course, there were more common, but still unusual, Pokémon prancing about, including a few dragon-types flying overhead.

What would catch the fellow eccentric's eye?

Shalin exhaled as the Genesect at last calmed down and gave her a chance to breathe. It was not just the engine's vibrations that bothered her, but the heat, too. While it wasn't a burning heat (yet), it was growing uncomfortable. "Might want to get your buddy's engine looked at," she quipped dryly. "I felt a lot of knock."

The bug-type's High Speed form was more comfortable to sit on, though not by much. Their first trip around the city was harrowing, Shalin still rocked and rattled by the technological marvel of a biological engine beneath her. It was the start of the second trip around the city that Shalin lost sight of her surroundings. Prince Beepboop the Sixth activated their rear thrusters, every turn violently whipping her from side to side and even causing her bonds to tear into her ever so slightly. Every time they zipped forward, her bonds dug into the backs of her limbs; with every time they slammed on the brakes, they dug into the fronts.

It was the final trip around the city when they really kicked it into high gear. Deactivating one thruster, the Genesect whirled about like a Rapid Spinning Starmie... only to switch to the other and spin the opposite direction, the girl feeling like she was smacked with a whip from the reversal of momentum.

There was certainly an aura of naivete to the Petalburg Captain. To a more war-minded individual, Shalin in her suit was an extension of her Venusaur's vine, capable of cleaving away the heads of soldiers and Pokémon fast as the flick of a whip. To the Captain, the suit was a device of entertainment with combat applications. There was just something thrilling about being flicked and flung about with power well beyond what even the strongest, meanest Tauros was capable of, and being able to absorb all that force without consequence. Something else no other Pokémon could replicate.

The indentured female brushed Violet Fairbanks ' argument off as Rocket propaganda. Yes, individual situations weren't as black-and-white as Shalin made them out to be, but it was her stance. Those who wanted out deserved to be able to get out, not go down with the blindly loyal ones on their sinking ship. She gave the scientist the silent treatment, groaning and awaiting her trip back to her cell.

Queen Zing would, of course, have to restrict the arcing of her wings some; if she fanned them at her full range, the two passengers on them might slam into one another, and that would be the end of their RKS run. It was not an issue with just one person -- only with two. That would be an issue for future Shalin to deal with. "To clarify, it's less the simulation pods being busy, and more the transfer from one city to another goes smoothly. It's really important. With DEREK HOFFMAN 's passing, no one's really there to defend Petalburg until everything gets signed over." That process would be one of the keys to its fall.

It seemed like she would easily be able to get Miyako hooked on the simulation; if there were more than six Pokémon she wanted to get the out-of-body experience with, she might see the woman challenge her "Gym" several times. "You can always explore other scenarios with other people. Finding someone to go into the simulation room with shouldn't be hard," she suggested. "Feeling any better? The sun's getting a little low in the sky, but we should still have some time depending on how much you've got left in you."