Maylene sighed. Another day, another challenger, another win for her gym. She watched as her ten year-old opponent crumpled to the ground in defeat, clutching her unconscious Prinplup in her arms.
The pink-haired gym leader rubbed her temples and shut her eyes. She had been dealt pretty much the same cards as yesterday. In fact, she had beaten all of her challengers for the past thirteen days with only one member of her team, her Machoke. Turning away from the battlefield, Maylene grabbed her towel and attempted to place it around her neck, but realized that she hadn't even broken a sweat.
She hated to admit it, but she knew she was becoming almost as apathetic as Volkner towards battling. As Maylene offered meaningless words of comfort to her gym challenger, she remembered that it was for her weekly meeting at the Solaceon café.
Sometimes, running around barefoot with only a tight, sleeveless shirt and baggy pants grew old. Especially on freezing, frigid winter days like this. Maylene cursed her choice of clothing as she hurriedly rushed into the tiny café located just outside of Solaceon Town to meet her best friend, Candice. She knew she should be used to the weather by now, as she did this all the time in Candice's snow-covered hometown.
And she knew that she should probably buy shoes, if only for times like this.
Even though the trek from Veilstone City to Solaceon Town wasn't very far, it still took all the energy out of the gym leader. Bursting into the heated café with a sigh of relief, Maylene spotted her fellow gym leader in their usual booth. Her annual weekly meetings with Candice were now the only reason she got out of bed in the mornings, and the welcoming grin on Candice's face made the corners of Maylene's mouth turn up.
"You're late," Candice mused.
Maylene frowned. She looked at the café clock hanging on the wall opposite their table. "No, I'm not," she said, puzzled.
Candice tucked a brown braid behind her ear. "The Maylene I know always meets me at two thirty-one, not two thirty-nine." She looked questioningly at her friend.
Maylene shrugged. "Battle. Ran over time." A white lie. Machoke had defeated a Staravia, an Abra, and a Prinplup in exactly seven minutes. "Sorry." She sipped her coffee Candice had already ordered for her, a medium Caramel Macchiato with non-fat milk and sugar-free syrup. Maylene's favorite.
Pursing her lips, Candice didn't seem to buy it. "Right… just like last week?"
"Mmhmmm."
"Are you avoiding me?"
Setting her coffee down, Maylene, confused, asked, "What the- no! Why would you ask that?"
"Because for the past two weeks, you've been five to ten minutes late every time we meet here."
"Well, if you chose a closer coffee shop to where I live," Maylene growled, "maybe I'd get here sooner. And why do you care so much? We meet at two thirty every Wednesday afternoon. I'm sorry I got here nine minutes late! I didn't think you would be upset!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. How was your battle?" Candice asked quickly, trying to change the subject.
"Fine."
"Can I have more than a one-word answer, please?"
Maylene hated when Candice played these games with her. "It was okay. Nothing special. I won. For the sixteenth time in a row." She spoke the last line under her breath.
But Candice caught it. "You've won sixteen times in a row? That's amazing! I had a seven win streak, but yesterday I lost to a challenger… but I was okay with it." She traced a pattern on the table.
Maylene didn't say anything.
Candice looked up at her. "When are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?" She asked. "You've been like this for over two weeks now." She stared at Maylene questioningly.
Maylene answered, "Nothing's wrong." She looked down at the table.
Narrowing her eyes, Candice said, "Stop lying, Maylene. We're friends, and I wanna know what's up with the way you've been acting lately." She paused, and then asked, "Is it Roark?"
Blushing, Maylene answered, "No, it's not Roark." She knew Candice deserved an honest answer, but truthfully, even the pink-haired gym leader had no idea what was wrong with herself. She sighed and rubbed her hands together. "It's just…" she struggled for the right words. "I—I can't… I'm tired of battling."
Candice choked on her latte. Sputtering, she managed to get out, "What? You're pulling a Volkner on me? What the heck, Maylene?"
Maylene sighed heavily and shut her eyes. She could feel a headache coming on, but she didn't know if it came from Candice's frantic murmuring or the harsh sound of the coffee grinder. She didn't want to have this conversation with her friend if she could help it.
"I've got to go, okay? I'll see you next week." Maylene tried to stand and walk away, but Candice said firmly, "No. You're not leaving until you tell me why you feel like this."
Quietly, Maylene muttered, "I just don't know, Candice, okay? This sounds stupid but, I just feel…" She paused. "I'm getting bored because I win too much."
Candice's petite mouth dropped open. "You're getting bored because you win too much?" She repeated. Then she scowled. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life, if not worst. How can you get bored with being a gym leader?"
Shrugging, Maylene whispered, "I don't know… I'm just tired of it."
Candice frowned. "You're becoming like Volkner." She narrowed her eyes at her fellow gym leader.
Shocked, Maylene exclaimed, "No I'm not! How could you say that?"
"You must be bi-polar, then, because just a moment ago you were telling me how you were tired of battling! And guess who that reminds me of? Volkner. You sound exactly like him, and you can't deny it!" Candice hissed in anger.
"I—" Maylene started, then broke off. Candice was right. She was becoming like Volkner, apathetic towards battling and towards life in general. Maylene put her hand on her forehead and sighed, "I know."
Candice didn't say anything. She stared at Maylene. Finally, she couldn't stand the silence. "This is a problem you have to fix yourself. Either you quit wallowing in self-pity, or you go down a different path than Volkner. And as a friend, I suggest you pick the latter since I will not let you become like him." She stood up. "And it's your turn to pay the tab today."
Maylene watched as Candice wrapped her sweater around her waist and walked out of the café without a wave or a goodbye. She smiled for the first time in two weeks, since it was so typical of her friend to leave her with the bill.
Upon returning to Veilstone City, Maylene was greeted by a challenger in the gym. The Fighting-type gym leader agreed to battle, and the battle commenced.
And Maylene lost.
As she awarded the Cobble Badge to her opponent, Maylene smiled again. She had never thought she would be happy to see her sixteen win streak go down in flames, but this loss gave her something to strive for- a seventeen win streak.
She vowed never to become like Volkner. As long as Maylene lived, she was determined that her fire for battle would live on.
And Candice would surely have to pay the tab next week.
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Hey everyone! If you would like to suggest a one-shot idea for WOTW, please submit it in a review! I'm open to all ideas and criticism (but no flames). Hope you enjoyed!
-GGDeimos