After a couple more boosts from her Buizel, Shalin's feet at last approached the shoreline, the girl shifting her weight to collide with it sideways instead of feet-first. Crawling to her feet, she shivered in the dropping temperatures, withdrawing her Buizel for Kiara in an effort to warm up.

"...Yeah, it's getting a bit too late. We might have to leave empty-handed," she exhaled, dejected that her trip might not yield the Vulpix she was looking for. "I think we'll give it until you have me dried off, then we'll head back to Briarbane."

As fun as Sandy's wing runs were for Shalin, she was in no condition to go on one. She was racing the clock, too: the white orb that cast light upon UNOVR was about to sink beneath the horizon, leaving the sky in oranges, reds, and purples that would not be sufficient to see. "Sandy, let's pick up the pace just a little bit!"

The Vibrava's wings buzzed louder and harder, a tingling sensation creeping up the girl's limbs, though it only became intense when they turned via differential thrust. Trees whizzed past the two in the twilight, a silhouette of Briarbane's skyline visible in the distance. Though they would not make it back to town by nightfall, they would at least be in an open field where the moon could light the way!

DIRECT MESSAGE> I did. Thanks so much! Luna and I are on the way.

Josh was stoked to get his hands on another Vulpix. As much of a partner as Rime was, the boy was lacking in psychic-type Pokémon, and with Keleth being a Support, having something even psychic-adjacent would be helpful. The scout clicked open all three Poké Balls on his belt, Thunder jumping for joy as Storm began to fly on his own for the first time. Both of them were starting to grow up, too heavy and too large to roost in his arms. He already missed being able to cuddle them while he traveled. One day, he would be able to again, only they would be ferrying him instead. It was a role reversal he looked forward to.

The crackling from Storm grew more and more profound with every adventure Josh took his young legendary Pokémon on. He wondered if Shalin would pay attention to the adorable flying-types. She may have been too busy holding off the Vulpix. "Alright, let's get out of here!" Josh called, Storm taking the rear as Thunder and Luna raced one another to their destination marker. Even as a baby, Thunder was fast. Reining him up when he became an adult was going to be a huge test in and of itself. If he was already this fleet of foot as a kid, what he was capable of as an adult had to blow even Raiden out of the water.

Once Josh was in the encounter zone, the only warning Shalin would get as Luna charged in with a blistering fast FAKE OUT would be a single-word message.

DIRECT MESSAGE> Incoming!!

Josh looked disappointed he didn't get a reaction from the green-ette as Thunder and Storm frolicked about, teasing the wild Vulpix. "Not even going to say hello to them?" he asked his friend, though she seemed to be ignoring him in favor of concentrating on the battle. That was fair; there would be plenty of time to chitchat about the two Zapdos when they weren't trying to score a rare Pokémon.

Reining his Liepard around for a second pass, Josh jabbed at the dark-type's sides: a command to sprint toward the Vulpix. Storm even got in on the action, discouraging the elusive fox from breaking away by spreading his spreading his wings, small sparks flying outward from them. Just as he was about to run the wild over, the rider yanked back on his mount's control cords, causing the feline to slam on the brakes and trip the Vulpix with a nasty NIGHT SLASH.

The high-speed passing attack, combined with Storm's electricity guiding it into Josh's path, left the Vulpix in an unconscious heap. Before Josh could capture it with his GOLDEN Poké BALL, Thunder slid his foot underneath the fire-type's unconscious body before showing off how strong he had become. Even still young, he catapulted the wild skyward with a sharp-looking flip kick. "I know you're trying to impress the girls, but that's not funny, Thunder," he chided the Galarian Zapdos. "I'm blaming you if this Vulpix despawns when it touches down." Thankfully for both of them, it didn't, and he was able to encapsulate the fire-type with little trouble.

Turning to Shalin, Josh at last responded to her. "You were there for one of them! Remember the Pokémon race?" he asked, perhaps a bit too aggressively. "The other one came from grinding the Arena. I couldn't decide whether I wanted a Kantonian one or a Galarian one, so why not both?" The two would continue to catch up with one another on the way back to Briarbane, soon to be wrapped up in one of the most brutal dungeons and boss battles they had experienced to this day...