Final Preparations

The previous thoughts that Jane had of the overly large Mathecentre was nothing compared to when she saw the inside of the building itself. Compared to the last town she had been in, the facilities here were much better, along with the much larger staff. Taking a large gulp, Jane walked up to the counter to check in her Mathemon. "Derivee...Gralinte....Deratee...Rest up, I'm counting on you guys to help me defeat Pat Wa..." She thought as she handed over the Mathecubes. "I'll be back in ten minutes," Jane told the nurse, who strangely resembled the one at the previous Mathecentre she had been at.

Feeling slightly lonely without her Mathemon, Jane went over to the shop across from the Mathecentre. After all, it would be a disaster if she wasn't stocked up on all the necessary items. "Better safe than sorry," Jane thought as she approached the automatic glass doors to the shop.

Taking her first step into the shop was equally amazing as the Mathecentre's. They had much more in stock and to choose from. Various brands of Mathecubes and Diagrams could be seen lined up against one wall. There were even some aisles dedicated to different calculators, though they looked high class and expensive! "This is amazing, I wish the people at Kuro Town could've been here with me to see this...or even...," She stopped as she thought of Devon. It hadn't been that long since they parted and her thinking of him made her feel too clingy. Shaking off the thought, she continued to look through the various gadgets and such and bought the things she needed.

"Awriiight! I'm ready to do this! Time to get Derivee and Gralinte back!" Jane thought as she came out of the shop. First adjusting her purple knapsack on her shoulders, Jane then made her way across the street towards the Mathecentre, her sneakers making a tip tap noise as they hit the cement road beneath her, which strangely appeared to have some sixes engraved into it every now and then.

"WAAAAAAAAHH!! I JUST WANT TO DIE!!" Cried someone from the distance, although the crying eerily appeared to be getting closer to Jane. Though she didn't take notice, as she was looking down with a hand in thought against her chin, her head in the clouds thinking about her upcoming battle with Pat Wa.

"Ah! Watch out over there!" Someone cried out as the crying stranger ran straight into Jane, knocking her right over, her right elbow bruised from the heavy fall onto the cement.

"Ow...OWW!!" Yelled Jane, "Watch where you're going!!" She continued as she grasped her scraped elbow in pain while looking at the strange boy in front of her, his nose was dripping with snot as tears welled down his face. A pathetic sight.

"Oh my gooood!! I'm so s-s-s-sorryyyy!! WAAHH!!" He cried as he dropped to his knees in front of her, bringing his hands to his face to wipe the never ending flow of tears and snot.

Seeing the boy in such a state made Jane feel guilty for even yelling at him. He was obviously very disheveled at the moment, she only added to his grief. After grabbing a large band-aid from her first aid kit and placing it over her bruise, she got up and helped the crying boy up on his feet. "Ahh...I'm sorry for yelling at you! So stop crying, okay?" She told him in a poor attempt to calm the boy down.

"N-N-N-Noo..it was my fault for b-b-bumping into y-you! *hic*"

"What have I gotten myself into now...," Jane thought as she stared at the crying boy. She took a look at her wrist watch to check the time, it read 7:34 PM. Time had really flown quickly and it finally dawned upon Jane that it wouldn't be such a good idea to go challenge Pat Wa at such a late hour. Still looking at the helpless boy in front of her, Jane decided that it would be a good idea to try and calm him down, afterall, she would feel terrible to just leave him in the state he was. "Alright...what happened? If something happened you can tell me!"

"Well...I-I...went to challenge the gym l-l-leader but he *sniff* ...It was horrible! I never want to challenge someone so scary ever again!" He said, appearing to have calmed down a bit.

The response caught Jane off guard for a moment. She blinked confusingly at the boy in front of her and thought, "How could he have challenged Pat Wa? He doesn't even look like he's reached the age to become a trainer!" Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked the boy straight in the eye, "How old are you again..?"

"Nineteen..."

"Whoaaa~! No way! You only look like you're fifteen! I refuse to believe that you're a year older than me!!" Jane said in complete utter shock, though she regained her cool after realizing how rude that may've sounded. To her surprise though, the boy managed a weak smile through his glistening, tear filled face. "C-Cute..," Jane thought in embarrassment.

"Its okay, I get that a lot," He smiled again, tears still flowing down his face a bit, "I..I shouldn't have become a Mathemon trainer afterall. Challenging Pat Wa made me realize that..."

"What?! What are you saying? Becoming a trainer was one of the best things to have happened in my life! There's no way that facing one person will make you feel that way after losing!"

"That's what I thought too before I battled him... The rumors surrounding him are all true! He really is scary..." Tears began to well up in his eyes again, "Whatever you do...don't challenge him! Just stop now before you get hurt!"

His words, though heartfelt, made Jane angry. She couldn't comprehend what he was going through, nor could she understand how someone would be so traumatized from one Mathemon battle that they would feel like they'd have to quit being a trainer. She'd been dreaming about becoming a Mathemon master since she was young There was no way that one battle would be so bad that she'd quit! "No matter what you say, I'm not going to give up! This has been my dream since I was a little girl. There's no way I'm going to lose!"

Jane's words of determination left the boy speechless. The girl in front of him was clearly crazy, he thought to himself. But her will to fight was truly touching. Wiping the tears away from his face, he stared into Jane's eyes and said, "You know...looking at you really does make me feel pathetic. I can't believe I gave up on being a trainer that easily."

"Why did you become a trainer in the first place anyways?" Jane asked curiously, cocking her head to the side slightly.

"Promise not to laugh..?" He asked Jane sheepishly, avoiding eye contact.

"I promise!"

"Well, I was planning on opening up my own Mathemon daycare but to do that, I'd have to be able to understand them really well. That's why I thought going on a journey as a trainer would help me understand them..."

"Hmmm...that's nothing to laugh at all! That actually sounds really cool! If I hadn't decided on becoming a Mathemon master in the first place, I would probably think that taking care of Mathemon all the time would've been fun!"

"..You think? I always used to get laughed at for wanting to open up my own daycare...," He continued, his face now dried of his tears as he continued to open up to Jane. Clearly he hadn't really had someone to talk to about his life and future aspects without being ridiculed.

"Yeah, I really do think so. But I don't think you should quit being a trainer just because you lost against Pat Wa. After all, losing or winning a battle doesn't mean anything when you're just trying to understand each other! In fact, I think the battle helped strengthen your bond with your Mathemon. When you think you're going through hard times, just remember the harsh times you had when you fought Pat Wa." Jane told the boy with a smile on her face. Her words clearly having an effect on him. She was glad that she would at least be able to help him fulfill his dreams, after all, she knew the feeling of wanting to make that one dream come true.

Tears again to well up in the boy's eyes, but this time they weren't that of sadness but of gratefulness. "I'm really glad I bumped into you. I can't believe I was going to give up on my dream that easily! I'm not going to let this loss let me down! You watch, I'm going to make the best Mathemon daycare that anyone will ever see!" He wiped the welling tears from his face, revealing a face burning with determination. For the first time since she first bumped into him a few minutes ago, Jane actually thought that he looked his age.

"Well, I'm glad that I was able to help! I've gotta go and pick up my Mathemon now. Tomorrow is going to be the day I defeat Pat Wa and get one step closer to my dream!" Jane said, now joining the boy in his time of determination.

He giggled, "Good luck, if its someone like you, then I'm sure you can beat him."

"Ahah, thanks. I feel even more sure that I can beat him now! Well, glad to have helped! Bye!" Jane said in complete glee as she ran towards the Mathecentre. She realized that that she had forgotten to exchange names with the boy, but shook it off and just settled with the fact that she was able to help someone who was stuck in the dumps.

Without any more distractions, Jane quickly picked up her Mathemon and decided to call it a day. The sky had quickly changed from a beautiful evening orange into a peaceful, starry filled darkness. As she made her way around to find the inn, her Mathecube containing Derivee fell, releasing the freshly rejuvenated Mathemon.

"Derivee!! Vee!"

"Whoa! Derivee!" Jane cried out in surprise at the sudden appearance of Derivee. She picked up the fallen Mathecube from where it came from and patted Derivee on the head as she got up. "You're going to give me your best tomorrow, right?"

"Vee!" Derivee cried out with delight, appearing to be excited for the challenging battle that tomorrow had.

"Okay! Let's go rest up at the inn first. We need to be completely rested and prepared for tomorrow after all!" Jane told her little friend who nodded back at her as if to agree with what she had to say. Tomorrow was the day, her first gym battle, and with the fearsome gym leader, Pat Wa. Nothing was going to stop her now. Together with Derivee at her side, the two nonchalantly walked around the city for a bit longer and then went to rest at the inn, awaiting the new challenges that the morning would bring upon them.