Summer on Cianwood was very unbearable, especially for someone who was used to the cold weather of Sinnoh.

It had been a few months since both Gardenia and Candice left Cianwood, and Chuck revealed why Brawly was training, and for the longest duration of her life, Maylene felt alone. The only person who was there for her was Chuck, but she found it very difficult to spend significant time with him without feeling guilty about lying to him.

And then there was Riolu, who became so engulfed in his training that he and Maylene grew apart. The pair had only spent time together when they were battling, and with Maylene barely battling Brawly anymore, she found a new training partner in Nob, a trainer she first battled when she had initially arrived at Cianwood.

Nob, like most Gym Trainers training under Chuck, wore the uniform that Chuck demanded everyone should wear with pride. It was a common Karategi that represented the Trainer's ability not only to fight with Pokémon, but on their own as well, and the only Trainers that were allowed to train in the Gym were those with black belts, such as Nob.

Standing by her side was Riolu, and by Nob's was his Machop. The pair was stationed against the mountain where she last battled Brawly, only this time, it was Maylene with her back to the mountain.

'I hope you're ready to lose,' Nob shouted. 'It's time for me to take the lead, and break the tie!'

'You can hope to,' Maylene responded. 'But I've been training the hardest since our last battle! You can never defeat me now!'

'Machop, let's show her what we're truly made of!' Nob shouted. 'Use Karate Chop!'

Machop sped before Maylene even had a chance to think of an attack to counter Machop's. The side of his hand threw Riolu towards the sandy ground as soon as it connected with him, and he prepared to launch another attack.

'Copycat, Riolu!' Maylene shouted. 'You're faster than Machop!'

Riolu grinned at Machop, who began another Karate Chop attack, and responded with the same attack. And as Maylene predicted, he was faster, and his attack landed first, causing a succession of quick Karate Chops to follow, leaving Machop in a hopeless state, desperately trying to block the coming attacks.

'Did our last battle teach you nothing, Maylene?' Nob said. 'Use Revenge!'

As soon as Nob gave his order, a cloud of dust rose around the Pokémon with a quiet explosion, and seconds later, Riolu flew out of it towards the mountain, and Machop ran after him. A singly punch managed to break through the rocks that were in his way, but it gave Riolu a chance to respond with his own attack.

He tackled Machop to the ground before delivering the attack that Machop had just used; Rock Smash. A smaller cloud rose as Riolu pushed his opponent further into the ground, before jumping upwards and avoiding Machop's attack.

'That's unfortunate for you, Maylene!' Nob shouted. 'Looks like I win this match, Focus Blast!'

'Force Palm, Riolu! Don't give him a chance to attack!'

Machop began to prepare his attack, while Riolu descended to the ground, ready to knock Machop down again, but his opponent quickly fired a light ball of energy that smashed against Riolu and consumed him, before dragging him to the ground with a smash.

'End the battle with a Karate Chop!'

Machop jumped towards his opponent before Nob could finish his instructions, and delivered the final attack to Riolu before he had a chance to get up, ending the battle with a grunt from Riolu.

'That's eight wins for me!' Nob exclaimed. 'I have the lead now!'

'Congratulations, Nob,' Maylene said as she picked up Riolu. 'But the next battles are all mine! You did a good job, Riolu, but we still have to train harder.'

Riolu looked up at his trainer and nodded slowly before jumping back to the ground, and rushing towards Machop to spar, while Maylene walked over to shake hands with Nob, something that she picked up from watching some of Chuck's Gym Battles.

'I keep forgetting that you also train,' Maylene said. 'I always think that I'm the only one getting stronger.'

'Everyone is getting stronger, even Chuck,' Nob said. 'I don't think there is a limit to how strong we can get.'

'I guess not,' Maylene said. 'We can never be our Strongest.'

'Maylene!' A single call from Chuck ended their conversation abruptly. 'Come here! There's someone here to see you!'

'You better go see that person,' Nob said. 'I'll look after Riolu and Machop while they train.'

'Thanks, Nob,' Maylene said. 'Let's battle again sometime soon!'

And with a final wave, Maylene ran towards the Gym, where Chuck was waiting for her by the door. He gave her a pat on the head before urging her inside, when she couldn't find words to describe her happiness.

Even though she had spent the majority of the past four months with Nob, and they grew so close that they developed a sibling-like relationship, she still found herself alone and homesick. But at that moment, when she went through the door of the Gym to be greeted by the one person she admired the most, Crasher Wake, all of her feelings were replaced.

She rushed towards him as he opened his arms to greet her, and in the spirit of their first meeting, she decided to show him how strong she had gotten, and delivered a punch that was able to knock him down.

'You've been training!' Crasher Wake exclaimed as his body smashed into the ground. 'Soon enough I can make you wrestle with professionals!'

'Yeah, I got stronger while you were away!' Maylene said. 'Nob has been teaching me how to fight!'

'You got 'stronger'?' Crasher Wake looked puzzled. 'Don't you mean 'Strongest'?'

'You two seem to have a lot of catching up to do,' Chuck said. 'And I have a very busy schedule.'

Chuck excused himself from the Gym, and walked out towards the mountain, where Nob and the other Trainers would take a break. As soon as he left, Crasher Wake got back up to his feet, and faced Maylene; she had changed a lot since he last met her. She didn't seem to be the free-spirited child he once knew, and became too focused on becoming a Gym Leader.

'Maylene,' Crasher Wake started. 'I can tell you got so much stronger; I'm really proud of you. Care to let me know how Chuck has been taking care of you?'

'He's very strong, and his Poliwrath, they taught Riolu some good techniques,' Maylene said. 'I also trained with Nob a lot, and sometimes on my own, but that's about it.'

'What about Brawly? Haven't you been training with him?' Crasher Wake said. 'And what happened with you and your friends? Candice seemed different back in Sinnoh, and Gardenia is missing.'

'I don't know what happened,' Maylene said. 'They just left. But Gardenia is missing?'

'Well, knowing her, I'm sure she's okay,' Crasher Wake gave his signature, unnecessarily loud laugh. 'Anyway, I've been talking with Chuck about your training, and I want to see what you're made of! We'll battle, and if you're strong enough, we'll go to catch you a Pokémon!'

'Seriously?!' Maylene jumped with joy. 'I want a Floatzel! Just like you! Or a Machop! Like Nob!'

'We'll decide that later!' Crasher Wake exclaimed. 'We have to battle first! Are you ready?!'