Maylene x Reader || Training to the Limits

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Atop a vast and rocky mountain path, a Gym Leader climbed in search of good training grounds, you know, to blast some ground and rock types with Waterfall, or freeze some Zubats in their place. The rough terrain wasn't favorable, but if you found a nice enough space to relax, the view was wonderful. The trails wrap around the cliffs at a gradual angle.

You, the Gym Leader, were just trekking up a particularly steep slope and stopped to rest for a moment of peace.

One sweep of the area, and you realized you weren't the only person there. A short girl in oversized sweatpants without shoes stood with closed eyes in a battle stance. As to not disturb her, you fix your gaze on the horizon, admiring the midday sky adorned with fluffy white clouds.

After a minute of silence, you turned away from the girl -- who you recognize as a fellow Gym Leader, Maylene -- and began to continue the hike. The moment your shoes scrape across a patch of rough gravel, it shatters the peaceful atmosphere, and Maylene's eyes fly open and alert.

You flinch and shift your position to face the pink-haired girl, "Hello?"

"Ack! Is that you, (Y/N)?!" Maylene cries, "Aw, shucks! I'm not supposed to talk while I'm meditating..."

"I'm so sorry," You immediately apologize, as it wasn't your intention to disturb her training.

"No, no. I guess this is proof I haven't perfected it yet. If I can hear voices, it means I'm not concentrating hard enough." She shakes her head, and meets my gaze with a large, wide grin. "Sorry, let's start again. Hi, (Y/N)!"

"Hey," You reply with a smile at the energetic girl.

Maylene frowns, "Sorry if that came across as rude! I'm really embarrassed. I need more training..."

"Do you mind if I stay?" You ask boldly, nervously fidgeting with the (bag of choice) that contained my team's Poke Balls plus a lunch in addition.

"I don't really have anything I can serve you up here, unfortunately, but feel free to make yourself at home." She eagerly nods.

"Alright!" After agreeing, you sit down on a picnic blanket you thought to bring at the last minute.

Before you could settle in, she took up a battle stance, shouting, "Oh, wait! This might be a good opportunity for us to train together! What do you think, (Y/N)?"

"Of course, I'd love to!" You nod in agreement.

"I was planning on trying out the training regimen that Meditite always follows, starting today," Maylene explains, her startling pink eye glimmering with excitement. "She has one meal per day -- one Berry. She sleeps for one hour in total and spends about fifteen hours in meditation..."

"Oh...'kay."

"It sounds pretty tough, but I think it will be a great experience for us in the end!" She finishes, pumping her arms up and down to get her blood flowing with adrenaline.

"Won't you get hungry after a while?" You timidly ask in concern.

"It's fine! I've got a lot of self-discipline. I'm used to sticking to a strict diet. I've been following a pretty tough training regimen for a while now."

"I see... But won't you get sleepy?" You say, sincerely worried.

"That'll be okay too! Maybe if I hyper-focus on my training, maybe I won't think about my lack of sleep!"

"Um, alright then..."

"So yes! I'll be totally fine... I think." She says and giggles in uncertainty. Suddenly, one of her Pokeballs releases itself, revealing a small, blue and white Pokemon. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Meditite! You're getting impatient to start your training, aren't you?"

It furiously shakes its head, attempting to communicate with its trainer.

"No? Hmm... What's the matter then?"

"Maylene, I think she's trying to warn you." You tell her slowly.

"Really? Is that true, Meditite?" Her partner nods. "She must be worried about me following her training regimen... You know, maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself."

You don't want to hurt Maylene's feelings by admitting it, but she was correct.

"What do you think I should do now?" She turns to you with a questioning look.

"Let's do some training that's meant for Trainers, not Pokémon." You suggest sheepishly.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Maylene agrees thoughtfully. "I shouldn't overdo it -- I should just start with what I know, then slowly work my way up to more challenging training. After all, people and Pokémon are different, so of course they're going to struggle with different things. Thank you, (Y/N)! I think I learned an important lesson today!"

"I'm so glad I could help!" You respond cheerfully.

"Alright. I'm going to start my new training regimen with something more reasonable, like climbing up cliffs and things!"

"Climbing up... cliffs?" Your eyes widen. Maylene clearly hadn't learned anything from this. "Uh... Isn't that something people can't usually do?"

"It's fine! If I build up my leg muscles, I'll be able to keep going after battle without getting tired!" She grins with her eyes closed, and her Meditite face palms with a sigh. "Hey, (Y/N)! Wanna go climbing with me? I bet it'll be really fun!"

"Sure," You smile softly, admiring Maylene's never faltering spirit.

Though... If you didn't go with her to go climbing, she'd probably kill herself in the process trying to one-up her Pokemon. Better safe than sorry, they say.

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Author's Note:

This was a request from Herosperger

The question for you to answer today is: Who's your favorite Fighting Type Gym Leader? Mine is definitely Bea since she's so pretty in the Twilight Wings mini-anime!

Thanks so much for reading, see you next time!

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Word count: 951 words

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