By the time his work out was over, Maxie was covered from head to toe in sweat. Absently, he took a sip of his protein shake (it was bitter, far from having the chocolate taste that the bottle advertised), and took one last look at the gym.

He had changed gyms a lot over the years. Even when he was a teenager and just beginning to work out, he had needed to go from place to place. Were it not for his adventures with Pokemon earlier in his youth, going from town to town to city to town across Hoenn, then he could not be sure just how well that he would actually have accepted the moves.

This one had to be one of the longest that he had ever stayed in. It was a nice place where both he and his Pokemon could work out, gaining muscle and earning new skills.

Maxie looked down to his Mightyena. "Hungry, girl?"

She whimpered.

He chuckled, and then leaned down and scratched behind her ears. "Don't worry, girl, I'm as hungry as you are. I'll make sure that we're eating in no time."

His eyes darted to his watch. "It's late. We really did work long and hard today."

His Mightyena rubbed against the side of his leg.

"We'll both get a cheeseburger." His stomach growled, and his mouth watered. "A big, fat, and juicy cheeseburger for both of us."

As they headed towards the door, passing equipment, doors leading to certain rooms, and a small number of other rooms, they passed the door by the pool. Maxie stopes for a moment and looked in.

There he was, just like always. No matter what time it was, he was always there swimming. Maxie had heard that his name was Archie but he could not be completely sure; it wasn't like he could just go up and ask him.

He was swimming laps in the otherwise empty pool. The water rippled around him, and he moved with what seemed like little effort. He seemed more like the king of an ocean or a merman who had found himself on land.

The ground was easier for Maxie to control; water was fluid, and changed constantly. Archie had no problem with it, and Maxie could only wonder how he knew it so well.

He also had a nice set of muscles, the kind that Maxie could only dream of having.

(Not that it mattered, of course. After all, they certainly looked better on him than they would ever Maxie himself.)

Mightyena whined.

"Oh," he said, turning back to her. "Sorry, I was just... Oh, what does it matter?"

He turned and took one last look, and then forced himself forward. After a few steps, his stomach growled for a second time.