A quiet evening at Battleground Cafe. It was a long way to travel from Veilstone City, but this was the only place in Sinnoh that served cucumber juice just right, so Maylene made the long trip across mountains, snow-covered fields, frozen seas, and more mountain, all to reach her favorite restaurant in the region: the one that let her eat for free.

The trip would be made much more convenient if there were just a Fighting-type that could learn Fly. Oh well.

Still, she finally had her delicious drink, and an accompanying oat bar, and sat down at a table to enjoy her snack. Like usual, the Cafe wasn't very populous; it was just her, that slacker blonde-haired guy at the other table, and there was a girl in front of the TV, wearing a dress that looked like it would disappear if she stood close to a zebra. A quiet pair; that would make it easy to properly enjoy snack-time.

SLAM!

Maylene's eyes flashed to the door; Volkner and Marley didn't flinch.

"MAYLEEEEEEENE!" Candice screamed out as she finally spotted her pink-haired companion, rushing to her side and grabbing one of her hands into both of her own. "Maylene! You have to teach me how to use Focus Punch!"

Maylene laughed nervously, pulling her hand away. "You lost another match, didn't you?"

Candice fell to her knees in front of her best friend, sorrowful, hands grasping at the floor. "YOU WOUND ME, PINKIE. But yeah. So I have to become stronger! You have to teach me Focus Punch! You're an expert on Fighting-type techniques, you have to help me!"

"Uhh..." Maylene stared at a gently clenched fist for a moment, staring at it as if some sort of revelation was going to leap out of it and into her head. Instead, Candice's fist darted out and nailed her in the forehead. This came as quite a shock, nearly knocking Maylene out of her seat. She quickly recovered and covered her forehead with her hands, sniffling and tearing up. "What was that for?!"

Candice was speechless and confused, forgetting for a second what had happened. "...I was worried you were charging the attack up. I didn't want you to hit me with it!"

Maylene pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from Candice in her seat. "Hmph! I'm not gonna teach you now!" Not that she knew how to do it in the first place.

Candice's look of shock increased, and she rushed to her friend again, grabbing Maylene's shoulders and rubbing them pleadingly. "Come ooon! It was one little mistake! Look, I can teach you a move in exchange!"

Maylene turned her head, glancing back over her shoulder, curious. "...Yeah? What kind...?"

Candice smirked and leaned in close. "Icy Wind! You know how to use it, don'tcha? You just put your lips together and blow~" And she did just that, blowing cool air onto Maylene's neck...short shivers passing through her as it happened, goosebumps forming on her skin. This apparently amused the black-haired girl. "Ah ha ha! You still haven't finished building up your resistance to the cold! Come on, let's work on that~"

"Wh-what? Candice, stop!" Her pleas fell on deaf ears, the Ice-type trainer yanking Maylene out of her chair and onto the floor...hands quickly yanking away her sweatpants and tugging at her leotard, blowing cold air on her skin as it was exposed. "Icy Wind~ Fwoooo~ Icy Wind~ Fwoooo~" The lithe-bodied girl was squirming and giggling, not trying particularly hard to escape her friend's clutches.

Volkner looked down at the two, left a tip for the cook on the table, and left. Marley just blushed and tried to ignore them, going back to watching her show.