The Kommo-o in particular seemed excited, responding to the wave with a flourish of his scales, shaking like a cornered snake's tail and sounding like the revving of a toy car. "That's it! Gym Leader Nariya, but Shalin's good," she greeted the guest. "What about you? What's your name, challenger?" she asked before walking toward the table and wardrobe containing her "arsenal", gesturing toward the various objects and apparel. Had she forgotten that they had matched up in the Vital City Tournament?

It was what her Romping Grounds in Petalburg would be in a world where she was a battle savant instead of an expert with wild Pokémon. "To earn my Badge, challengers must demonstrate applied knowledge of forms of higher energy that Pokémon use, such as Infinity Energy!" As if to demonstrate, she stepped away from the table toward her Flygon. Without a second thought, she grabbed onto one of the dragon-type's lowered wings and mounted it like one would a Pokémon. As she held on with all four limbs, the wing lifted her, and a faint, green aura of INFINITY ENERGY formed around the two.

It was the energy of her SYGNA SUIT.

As frightening as the alien landscape was, Shalin realized how lucky the duo had gotten. As many DYNERGY-infused TERA CRYSTALS as there were, all the horrific threats she remembered being here seemed to be stomping on the other side of the den. They could mine in relative peace. "It ended up being the right choice," Shalin breathed a sigh of relief as the doctor's psychic-type mimed a PROTECTIVE dome around them.

"Any word on Keldeo recently?" Shalin asked Eva as her insectile dragon grappled a large crystal and stretched her wings. "The last time I saw them was in the winter, when the Giant Chasm formed. One day, I'd like to see them again." Any immediate response would be interrupted by a deafening BUG BUZZ, Shalin's Sygna Pokémon using vibration to grind the large crystal into smaller pieces that could easily be harvested.

Unlike her Gym Leader friend, Shalin was not as familiar with the Johto invasion and how the three Beasts fought to keep Rocket from taking over that region, too. She simply kept her mouth shut upon hearing of Dorian's atrocities.

Shalin's posture on the Genesect was unorthodox at best, uncomfortable at worst. She had heard of the League recovering several reject Genesect, and that Josh had been working with one. While unfamiliar with the metallic bug-type, she knew that the way her restraints were, she wouldn't sit directly on their engine. Not without her Sygna Suit, anyway.

The very floorboards of the stage rumbled as the red Pokémon's body shook powerfully, much like Treble did when Shalin rode him. For the first few seconds, she was having the time of her life, the maddening chaos making her feel free. Prince Beepboop the Sixth did not relent; that excitement turned into stress as her joints began to flare up, much like they did with the Rocket's Volcarona. On top of that, the metal composing the Genesect's engine was starting to heat up.

The Ranger's own sweat flew all over the stage, her hair a complete mess and her face looking like it was going to implode at any moment. Every breath she took was trying as the Genesect's engine worked hard to try to jumble up her insides. While not yet wide-eyes, Dorian would be able to easily tell she was suffering.

"Not just you," Shalin grinned in response to Miyako's disbelief. "Us. My Beedrill's got two wings, after all." It would even make it easier on the wasp from having better balance while buzzing the duo around, though it would put a little more strain on Sandy. Little did she know how little strain it would put on her to-be ARC SUIT.

There was more to do than just take on Shalin's Gym Challenge for her yet-unnamed Badge. The Scarlet Book was just one path the two could take. The possibilities within felt limitless, the girl having been inside many, many times and still experiencing new things. On top of that, more and more was being added periodically. "Unfortunately, I can only bring six Pokémon with me at a time into the simulation... but I'll try to bring the best six I can think of." There was also nothing stopping them from going in multiple times with different teams, if the girl really wanted to.

As for timing, Shalin had some important tasks that needed to be completed first. "I've got a lot to do to make sure the transfer of power is as smooth as possible, but after that, I can arrange something soon. My guess would be mid-fall." It might take longer than that, were she to understand what fate had in store for her.

Did she piss off Howard? It sure seemed like it, with her insistence of the Rangers' importance. Rangers that would be wiped off the map, and probably existence itself, were they not able to escape Petalburg during its invasion. So what if she aligned with Olivia, Toxrill, and Nymris? They may have been aliens, but they were still Pokémon. Powerful Pokémon at that. Unlike the Admin, she was not favored by a god... let alone two.

As the door slammed shut, her mind was left to wonder: did quashing every Pokémon anomaly include grinding Mega Stones and Z-Crystals to dust? Unlike Calpurnia Kubrick , who seemed to decry her Sygna Suit implementation, did he desire the destruction of all Sygna Suits? Rocket knew of the wondrous power of her Sygna Suit by now, enabling its wearer to both withstand and emit the most destructive vibrations known to the Pokémon world. She could ride on a living earthquake if she really wanted to.

Was his vision really like the alternate Hoenn Josh Devlin told her about? The one where only legendary Pokémon exist? It certainly didn't sound like a healthy one. Her racing mind kept her awake for well over an hour, until exhaustion finally ordered her eyelids shut...

"Traveling was nice, but it didn't come without danger," Shalin continued, trying to rein the seemingly danger-averse cop in. After all, the girl had hopped onto a bucking Tyranitar with reckless abandon. The rock-type's maddening strength gave even Shalin trouble, forcing her to dismount early the last time she rode the behemoth. As much fun as it was riding an unruly Pokémon trying to resist being broken to the bridle, even she had her limits. Limits she knew well after practicing her unique craft for so long.

The Captain frowned at the obvious question, unhappy she would need to disappoint her. "Unfortunately, no. Not in the real world. But I have a workaround. Within the RKS Simulation's Scarlet Book, there is a scenario that lets one of us become a Gym Leader. My Gym Challenge is all about educating trainers of all the types of energy that can augment Pokémon, and even give those types of energy a test run. It's got every Mega Stone, Z-Crystal, and Dymanax Band you can imagine." She smirked as she let Miyako take all of that in before delivering the punch line she was certain the thrill seeker wanted to hear.

"And that includes a complete, functioning copy of my Sygna Suit."

Though Levy needed water to swim, Milotic were known for being able to survive out of water for quite some time. Her long body could also help brace Shalin for the the trek down to the middle level, giving them a better angle with which to attack the colony. "I've got an idea." Releasing her Milotic at the opening's edge, the Captain mounted the water-type like normal at first, but quickly slid off the back of the saddle and down her scales, landing on a lower walkway at the height of the Cradily swarm's heads.

Having a better view of the wilds now, Shalin noticed a large vent beneath the Shiny one splashing water on the plants' undersides. "I think I've got it! Does your Milotic know an Ice-type move?" she cried, seeing the myriad of LEECH SEEDS covering the bottom level and plugging the water flow. "If we can freeze them, we should be able to restore the water flow."

The treasure appeared to be on the bottom level, though the girl could not sight it among all the grass Pokémon and the layer of seeds...

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X Sharpedonite (Blight & Bane Endeavors reward) - Claiming a SHARPEDONITE for Shalin!

TOTAL

do come again!

00 PD

Every location she had been to in gathering the Medallions of Eight felt fictional, though video games rather than movies as sources felt more accurate. "Some of them still exist, such as the Braviary's Nest near Fortree," Shalin explained. "It's a remnant of Hoenn's first bird trainers, from an era before Poké Balls existed. Before I became a Captain, I used to be an expeditionary, and I took people there, among other places, for my livelihood." Ah, the days when her life was simpler than overseeing the well-being of an entire city's ecology...

Shalin had to be ready to disappoint Miyako. She knew what the officer wanted, and she wouldn't be able to grant it in the way she wanted. "With the right materials and the right Pokémon, you could theoretically make a similar Sygna Suit, yes," Shalin answered. "But the suit is powered by Infinity Energy fueled from the bond between trainer and Pokémon reaching its pinnacle." If Miyako put two and two together, she would be able to ascertain that simply wearing Shalin's suit wouldn't bestow its powers upon her.

"I do have a workaround, though," her expression suddenly turned to a grin as Nymris fluttered his wings to try to impress Miyako. "How much time have you spent in the RKS Simulation?"