Basking in the Brilliant Light of Victory

Jane dropped down to her knees, a look of complete satisfaction upon her face as she gazed at the Mathecube within her hand. This marked her second captured Mathemon; the excitement of catching yet another one kept her spirits up. She looked up through the tops of the trees at the clear blue sky. "We did it Derivee, we're one step closer to our dream..." she said while she continued to look at the brilliant blue sky, her eyes again burning with determination.

A sudden nudge on her leg alerted her and brought her back to the present situation. Derivee whimpered towards the direction of the stranger that Jane had helped. Jane slapped her forehead for nearly forgetting, how could she have forgotten about the injured man? She had even promised that she'd come back for him! Staring at the Mathecube with the newly captured Deratee in it for the last time, she then hooked it onto her belt and ran back towards the injured stranger.

The Blossoming of a New Friendship..and More?!

Together with Derivee, Jane continued to run as fast as she possibly could back to where she had left the injured man. They continued back down the road until they saw him still collapsed under the tree where they had left him. Jane slowed her pace as she approached him. Getting a closer look at the man's face, she was able to see that he was barely that much older than herself. Though unconscious, his face appeared to be that of restful sleep. Her heart raced as she watched him.

"Vee...?" Derivee cocked its head at Jane with a look of utter confusion on its face.

The sudden noise causing the man to awake, being greeted with Jane's blushing face inches away from his own. Jane continued to stare, her face becoming more red as the seconds passed. "I...I'm sorry!" She said with complete embarrassment as she hurriedly got up to give the man some room, only to trip backwards onto her bum. The man laughed at her, seeming to ignore the fact that she had been staring at his face with complete awe a few seconds ago. Jane's face became even more red with embarrassment and finally managed to get up. "Ha..ha! I said I'd come back didn't I?!" She tried to say with complete confidence but ended up saying it with complete nervousness in her voice.

"Are you okay," the man asked as attempted to get up, a look of pain across his face.

"N..no! You don't have to get up! I'm fine! See?" Jane said as she pushed the embarassing encounter to the back of her mind. "You're still injured so don't force yourself to get up, okay? Here," Jane crouched down again with her back facing the man and offered the him her shoulder. "I'll help you get to the nearest town so we can get a doctor to treat your wounds."

"I'd like to think that I can walk by myself..but obviously I can't in my situation. I'm sorry if I'm being a burden to you....uh.."

"Jane! My name is Jane Solvem." She grinned, giving off a peaceful radiance. "What's your's?"

"Ah..my name is Devon Ohnyne." He said as he supported himself onto Jane's shoulder.

"Devon...Ohnyne.....That's a nice name," Jane thought to herself as she carried Devon's weight on her shoulder and stood up. She turned her head to say something to Devon and then realized how close they were yet again. Jane blushed and quickly turned her head away and began to walk down the road towards the next town.

Noticing how uncomfortable Jane suddenly appeared to be, Devon asked, "Is there something wrong? I'm not too heavy am I?" He laughed, a boyish smile upon his devilishly handsome face, causing Jane to blush even more. Unable to respond, she just shook her head to show that nothing was wrong and continued to walk while feeling like a complete idiot.

A Heated Predicament

After having a peaceful walk with Devon supported on her shoulder, they finally arrived at the next town, Yohgert Nom Nom. The town was just a bit bigger than Kuro Town, but had a similar atmosphere, causing Jane to feel just a little bit nostalgic. She quickly snapped out of her daze and remembered that she had to find a doctor to treat Devon's wounds before anything else. "I wonder where there doctor is...?" Jane wondered aloud, taking a look around the town.

"Wait a second Jane. Its over there by the Mathecentre to our right!"

Jane took a look to her right and definitely saw the Mathecentre. She then drew her attention to the small building beside it, a sign hung on it which read, Dr. Evia Tar's Clinic. "Dr. Evia Tar ..huh.." Jane thought to herself.

"We should first drop off my Mathemom at the Mathecentre since they were pretty beat up from the previous battle. Speaking of that Mathemon..did you get it?" Reminded of her recent victory, a triumphant smile appeared on Jane's face. She touched the Mathecube on her belt and nodded in response to his question. Devon's face was in shock, "Whoa, I didn't think you'd actually beat it to be honest!" He laughed in response to his own statement.

"What did you say?! That's not something to say to your savior!" Jane puffed her cheeks at him, clearly dissatisfied with the teasing.

"Aha! Anyways, let's head to the Mathecentre first."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After dropping off Devon's Mathemon, they ventured to the clinic to get Devon treatment. Luckily since the waiting area was nearly empty, it was easier for Devon to get medical attention. The nurse guided them to the treatment room and as battered and wounded as Devon was, he was helped onto a bed to await treatment by the doctor. Jane took a seat beside the bed and took a look around the room. It was nice and cozy, the window was opened slightly to let in a gentle summer breeze. The bedside table had a flower vase on it, although it was empty.

"Well..I guess you don't have to stay here with me anymore. You've done enough, thanks.." Devon said, his face was showed a slight sign of sadness. The look on his face made Jane sad that they had to part ways. She didn't want to leave quite yet and besides, now was a good time to take a quick break from her journey. After all, she had already caught two Mathemon, which was quite an achievement.

"Um..I think I'll stay here for a bit longer. Its a good chance to take a break since I haven't taken one since I left Kuro Town." Her eyes dropped to the floor, trying not to show her sadness of parting. She quickly got up and got out of the room before Devon could say anything. Catching sight of the nurse, Jane asked if there was any drinks she could offer to Devon and for herself.

"Why of course, we can have tea prepared for you." The nurse answered in a friendly manner.

"Oh, is it okay if I prepare the tea myself? I need something to keep me occupied while he's in there waiting for the doctor."

"Sure, right this way." Replied the nurse as she guided Jane to the kitchen near the back of clinic. It certainly wasn't anything that special due to the size of the clinic itself, but it had its own charm, making it feel like home.

Jane found herself a teapot and filled it with water to boil. After having it boil, she looked around for the tea bags and found some green tea in one of the cupboards. She dropped a tea bag into the boiling water and let it sit for a few seconds as she grabbed some cups to pour the tea in. After pouring the tea, she realized that the tea was too hot to give to Devon. "This isn't good...I heard that drinking very hot tea increases the risk of getting throat cancer.." She thought to herself.

"Deriv! Deriv!" Cried the little Derivee, obviously aware of the predicament that Jane was facing at the moment. A worried look upon its face, as it cared for Devon as much as Jane did.

"It'll be okay Derivee. If you're here with me then we can get through this. I know it! First we'll have to find out the exact temperature of the tea is right now so we can calculate when the best time to give it to him will be." She pondered for a second as to how to measure the exact temperature. After giving a quick look around the room she spotted a thermometer and dropped it into the hot tea. It measured at 190°F, which was indeed too hot to serve at the moment. "Uhh..let's try waiting for 10 minutes then.."

Ten Minutes Later

"Okay! Let's measure it now Derivee!" Jane said excitedly to her little companion as she dropped the thermometer in for the second time to measure. This time it read 167°F, which was still too hot to serve. "Dammit, this is still too hot. What are we going to do?"

"Vee..Deriv..!" Cried the Derivee as it brought some pencil and paper in its mouth towards Jane. Quite a smart one it was. Jane had almost forgotten that she was supposed to calculate the best time to give the tea to Devon! Thinking even further, Jane remembered that the best temperature to serve tea was at 151°F. Not too hot, not too cold. She took the pencil and paper from Derivee's mouth and started calculating the time she would have to wait to have the best damn tea Devon would ever have.

Devons Hot Tea

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Living Towards a Hopeful Tomorrow

"Alright, Derivee! I think we've waited about eighteen minutes already. Let's go serve this tea before it cools down any further!" Jane cheerfully said, as she put the tea on a tray and carried it away towards Devon's room. She hoped that she hadn't kept him waiting for too long, after all, she had just abruptly left the room for nearly twenty minutes! "I wonder if anyone checked on Devon yet..." She thought as she made her way to the treatment room where he was being kept.

The short walk from the kitchen to the room left Jane with little time to think about her journey to become a Mathemon master. She thought to herself that after serving the tea, she would continue her journey. In front of the treatment room door, she stood there and took a deep breath. Finally, she brought her hand up to knock lightly on the door, only to be interrupted as a short, mid-aged woman with short grayish hair came out from the room. She wore glasses, and under her white coat she wore a black vest over a white shirt. The name tag on her coat read, Dr. Evia Tar.

"Ah! You must be the girl that helped this young man here! He's told me all about you! It would've been really dangerous if he had been left in that forest with all the wild Mathemon around!" The doctor said cheerfully, taking off her glasses.

"I just did what any normal person would've done!" Jane said bashfully.

"No need to be shy now. Well, you can go in now. I've just finished my check up on him. He's fine now thanks to my trusty Mathemon here." She pointed towards a small Mathemon that was hiding behind her. It was a cute scene, as it looked to be shy of strangers.

"That is a Healix. It is a Biology and Chemistry type Mathemon and its specializes in healing humans." The Mathedex said in its monotonous robotic voice. It had been a while since Jane heard it talk so she was quite surprised at its sudden outburst.

"Healix, huh..." Jane said as she took a look at the frightened Mathemon behind Dr. Evia Tar's back. Derivee also stared at it curiously, trying to approach the Mathemon without scaring it away, only to fail, causing Healix to run away into the waiting room. Saddened by this, Derivee let out a small whimper.

"Hehe..Well I'll let you give that tea to Devon now. Excuse me." The doctor said politely and then went after the frightened Healix, with Derivee deciding to come along too.

Finally alone, Jane went into the room and was surprised by what she saw. Devon looked as if he hadn't been injured at all! She stared with amazement, as she thought how amazing Healix was. "Wow..." She thought aloud.

Devon took notice of her and smiled. "Is that for me?" He said, still continuing to smile. Jane nodded, feeling her face turn slightly red. Avoiding eye contact, she walked up to the bed and placed the tray with the tea onto the bedside table beside the empty flower vase.

"Thanks for everything you've done for me Jane. It's not every day I meet a girl that can beat such a strong Mathemon."

Jane thought it was impossible to blush any further but her face said otherwise. She was honored to have been told this by him, but not wanting to sound arrogant she said, "You weakened it enough for Derivee and I to catch so it wasn't that big of a deal," Jane said with a big smile on her face. "You look so much better now...uhh not that you looked ugly before...no I mean never mind," Jane rambled.

"Yeah that Healix worked wonders for me. It hasn't even been that long since I was treated but I think I'm feeling good enough to leave," he said with a hint of sadness. They left the hospital together with the mood being quite somber. "So Jane, where are you off to?"

"I'm on my way to Sixtopia to face the gym leader there," Jane said, trying to hide her sadness as well.

After picking up Devon's Mathemon together at the Mathecentre, the two stopped at an intersection on the road. One road led to Sixtopia and the other to Devon's destination. Devon felt quite sad that he was already parting with Jane so shortly after they had just met. They had already formed a special bond between themselves in such a short amount of time and he was curious to know more about Jane but the timing just wasn't right for the two of them.

"Well I guess I'm going this way...," Jane said as she pointed towards the opposite direction of Devon's destination.

"Good luck at Sixtopia, even though you don't need it. I know you'll do just fine."

Jane and Devon had already started to walk in their opposite ways till Devon looked back at the shrinking image of Jane. He didn't know what got over him but he was overcome by a strange feeling. Without thinking he followed the urge to run after her.

Jane heard loud footsteps running up behind her. "Jane, wait!" She turned around to see Devon standing behind her, out of breath. "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well again," Jane asked worriedly. Out of nowhere he took out a calculator from his pocket and held it out to her. "This is for you...I didn't want you to forget me."

Jane was taken aback by his actions but felt touched that he would do such a thing. "Thanks Devon, I'll never forget you..." In an attempt to hide the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, Jane looked down at the dirt road beneath her. She held the calculator in her hand and dug through her pocket with the other to grab her special handkerchief. It had been given to her from her father when she was still little, a few years before he passed away. Still looking down, she stuck out her trembling hand and gave the handkerchief to Devon. "T-Take this...Its my treasure.."

Devon took his hands and wrapped them around the trembling hand Jane had outstretched towards him. Startled, Jane brought her attention upwards and was surprised by Devon's next move. By the time her eyes met his, his arms were around her, holding her tightly. "We'll see each other again, I know it. When that time comes, I'll give this back to you..." He whispered into her ear.

This time the tears wouldn't stop. Jane let them flow without holding back. She tightened her grip around Devon and got a grip on her emotions. "Yes..." She sniffled, "We'll meet each other for sure. When that time comes, I'll be a Mathemon master!" She broke free of his embrace and stared up into his eyes with complete determination. No further words were needed. The two nodded at each other and both went their separate ways, expecting to be reunited in the near future.

Frightening Reunion

It had only been about an hour since her bittersweet parting with Devon, yet the sun had already started to set. The evening twilight brought upon the forest gave Jane a sense of calmness. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she left the village till she was bathed in the evening glory. Her tears from the parting had dried and turned to determination. She was up and ready to achieve her life long dream. After all, she had been dreaming about becoming a Mathemon master since she was just a little girl. It was as if she was born for this.

Surprisingly, though they had been walking for about an hour through the forest, they had not run into any wild Mathemon. "Strange..." Thought Jane, although Derivee seemed to not take notice, instead, taking the time to enjoy the peaceful evening walk with its master. As they continued their silent walk towards Sixtopia, Jane started to feel as if she was being watched. There was a strange hostility in the air, it was as if the whole forest was being fearful of something.

"Derivee..." Whimpered the Mathemon, finally becoming aware of the surroundings.

Still feeling the strangeness of being watched, Jane thought she caught sight of something in the bushes to the side. Shaking off the feeling of nostalgia of her first Mathemon encounter, Jane gathered her courage and took a look into the bushes. She was shocked by what she saw. It was a severely injured Mathemon. "What the...who did this to you?" Jane asked the injured Mathemon. She then realized that the fear she felt in the forest was from all the injured Mathemon. No wonder she hadn't come into contact with one wild Mathemon. Someone had beaten them all! A chill ran down her spine as she thought who could possibly be this strong.

After treating the injured Mathemon's wounds, she continued to walk along the road. It wouldn't be long before she reached Sixtopia, plus she had a feeling she'd come into contact with the trainer who beat all those Mathemon. Her body shook with excitement, yet at the same time she felt a hint of fear. She wondered what kind of person this trainer could be to be able to do something so terrible. Continuing along the road, Jane thought she heard someone further down the path.

It was getting darker as they furrowed deeper beneath the bushes. Swish!! SWISH! They struck the bushes out of the way and they struck back. After several minutes of the same routine, the stinging became bearable. "Derivee, whatever you do...try your hardest to be quiet, okay?"

Derivee gave a quick shudder and an anxious nod and they continued towards the source of the shouting...There she was. There they were. "Revoloo, don't you DARE give up on me now!! We've spent hours going through this forest and we've SUCCESSFULLY beaten all those Mathemon DOWN!!! You can't stop now!"

Revoloo knew what was coming as it quivered in fear. Revoloo was struck by none other than Jenny. She was about to move in for another, but Jane barged in and startled Jenny flailing out of the bush. "Don't lay another FINGER on that Mathemon!!"

Jenny glared at the quivering Revoloo and turned to snarl at Jane. "Or what?!! Janey-poo? What will you do?! Call your mama?"

"The Mathemon in this forest are suffering because of you, and so are your own! Why can't you just let things be? They've caused you no harm!! The only reason why they're fighting against you is because you're attacking them! If you don't stop this, I'm just going to have to defeat you!"

She snickered once more. "Really now, you and what army?"

Jane didn't respond and Jenny took that as a sign of submission. "Well, if you aren't going to say anything, I guess you didn't mean it. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't need to waste anymore time with a phony coward. I have better things to do with my time."

She started to walk away...until something put her into an abrupt halt. The night went silent and only a single gust of wind was heard. Suddenly, Mathemon began to surround Jenny from all directions. Not fully recovered, they limped closer together and held each other up, and stood to fend for themselves. Jenny was left with nothing to do but stay and fight.

Jenny vs. Jane

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"You've won this battle...for now. But I assure you, this won't happen again-- LET'S GO REVOLOO! We don't want to stick around with these losers. It's probably contagious."

They found a gap between the mob of Mathemon and sprinted towards the skinny paved road that led to Sixtopia. Seconds later, no one in their direction was visible-- only darkness.

"Mathemon? I realize a lot of you are really hurt. I'm sorry that you were all disturbed from living in peace and I apologize for the way she behaved. Not all humans behave that way. If you just give us a chance, I'm sure we will never betray you again."

Mathemon loosened the hold and made a path for them to walk through, proceeding to Sixtopia.

Taking the First Steps

Sixtopia, the city in which the gym leader, Pat Wa, resided. He was revered for his mastery of many various forms of math, although he was most skilled in the art of Calculus, the deadliest kind. Many who've challenged Pat Wa failed, living with the fearful memories of the battle with him. There were even some who quit being a trainer after challenging him. But it is said that the few who have won against him ended up becoming true Mathemon masters. The thought of it all excited Jane, yet at the same time she felt a bit of fear. Beating Pat Wa was only the first step towards becoming a Mathemon master and she was completely ready to take that first step.

The first few steps Jane took into Sixtopia were exhilarating as she first caught sight of the gym in all of its glory atop a hill in the distance. It was an amazing view even though she was still quite far from reaching it. The six pillars at the front of the gym were amazing to look at, although Jane would have to get closer to get a better view of the gym. Her heart fluttered at the thought of finally challenging Pat Wa to a Mathemon battle. But before charging in blindly at the front steps of the gym, Jane would need to prepare herself first. She took a quick look around to see if she could find the Mathecentre and the shop.

"Are you lost, lady?" A small voice asked from behind, startling Jane for a moment.

"Lady...?" Jane muttered displeasingly as she quickly turned around to see a small and fragile looking girl holding a cup of taro flavored bubble tea in one hand.

"Uh, yeah, would you happen to know where the Mathecentre and shop is? I want to make sure I'm ready before I go face the gym leader here," she said as she looked at the small girl, thinking to herself that she'd buy some bubble tea herself after she had defeated Pat Wa.

The girl took a sip from the cup and stared at Jane with curious eyes before saying, "I can show you the way, lady. Follow me." she said, her auburn hair doing a quick swish as she turned quickly, signaling Jane to follow.

"Lady? Do I really look that old?" Thought Jane as she quickly followed the girl.

"Here it is," the girl said as she pointed towards the building in front of her, "You should rest your Mathemon here first kay, lady?" She took another sip from the cup of purple goodness and then pointed towards another nearby building, "There's the shop!"

Jane stared towards the buildings the girl was pointing at. She was surprised at how big they were compared to the last town she had been to with Devon. This place truly showed the difference between a city where a gym leader resided and a small town within the forest. "Thanks a lot... um.."

"Betsy."

"Betsy huh...Thanks Betsy!" Jane said, giving her trademark smile. "Well, I'm going to get ready now, thanks again." Jane said as she began to make her move into the Mathecentre. She was quickly stopped as she reached the doors only to be poked in the back.

"Wait..." Betsy's small voice said from behind, not removing her finger from her back.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"Here, lady..," The girl said as she outstretched her hand, handing over the bubble tea to Jane. "Good luck," she added.

Though a simple childish gesture, Jane was touched by the girl's actions. She gave another smile and replied, "Thanks, I'll do my best!" Jane took the bubble tea from the girl's hand and waved farewell to the girl, entering the Mathecentre to prepare her Mathemon for the challenging battle that awaited them.

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.