[The rest of Marik's team joins Kaiba's by the lake's edge. The Egyptian sets Chenzira over his shoulder and organizes the contents of his pack for a bit, making sure his deckbox and the mask polish are safely stored.]

Hm? Oh, no. Not at all. I'm... I don't think I'm ready to take on the gym, honestly.

[He smiles sadly before standing back up.]

Mine are about the same level as Falkner's right now. You've... absolutely surpassed me on that front. Even if Mizuchi doesn't evolve, you'll have no trouble beating him. We'll probably be here for another month before I think my team or myself are ready.

I said I didn't want to hold you back. I was only interested in beating the gym anyways for the HM.

[Chenzira shares his trainer's expression. Marik has never pushed him to battle, not unless he was ready. He still isn't fully comfortable with it but... this is something important to him so... he just needs to be brave and train more! The Yamask utters a few noises. Marik looks down at him.]

What? No. I'm not going to push you like that. I know you're uncomfortable with battling. Challenging a gym is a big thing.

[Chen sinks a bit.]