Joss's room was dark, and there was nothing in it. No noise, no light, no smell or taste. No sensation against her feet as she ran, frightened and confused through the empty void, arms outstretched, flailing frantically to try and feel something. But there was nothing. Joss was terrifyingly alone.

Or so she thought.

Something cold and scaly brushed past her legs, sending a shiver up her spine that caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand erect. She froze, immobilized by the unseen force. The frigid, scaly beast began to coil around her, binding first her legs and then reaching her chest, and yet still, Joss could not bring herself to move or even try to escape.

The creature tightened its grip around her, squeezing harder and harder until Joss could barely breathe at all. A sharp crack came from her ribs, and with a shrill cry of pain, the last bit of air was forced out of her lungs.

She struggled to try and breathe in, but there was no air. Her head was heavy and she could feel her heartbeat throughout her entire body. Even in the darkness, she could tell that her vision was beginning to fade as she started to pass out, but right before she could lose consciousness, a flash of red lightning struck across the void, illuminating what appeared to be a mirror in front of her.

All she could see was the silhouette of her body hanging limp in the clutches of a giant shadowy serpent that stared down at her with insidious red eyes. The creature tightened its grip around her one last time, but right before her vision faded to black, a small being clothed in pink light appeared, banishing the shadow. And she was free.

Joss awoke startled and gasping for air. She jolted upright, screaming, her heart beating so fast that it felt like it might explode out of her aching chest. Her body was covered in goosebumps from the cold feeling of dread that had sunken deep into the pit of her stomach, and her mind was racing with questions. What the Hell was that?

She checked her surroundings to make sure that everything was back to normal. Her sheets were a mess from thrashing about in her sleep, strewn across the foot of her bed and dangling onto the floor. Her room was also quite messy from packing her adventure bag the night before, but nothing was out of the ordinary. Maple, who had been sleeping at her feet, was now on high alert. Her fur was even more puffy than usual and her back was arched with her ears flattened backward, but as soon as she saw that there was no danger and that the scream which woke her up came from her trainer, her posture softened and she carefully padded over towards Joss, brown eyes filled with concern, pressing her head against her arm.

Upon feeling her Pokemon close to her, the tension in Joss's body faded. She ran her fingers through the Eevee's soft fur, earning some purrs as a reward. She let out a sigh of relief. Everything was fine.

Before Joss had time to lay back down, Cynthia busted open her bedroom door.

"Are you alright!?" The blonde panted, eye bags dark as ever, "I heard you screaming bloody murder, what happened?"

Sheepishly, Joss spoke up, "It was just a nightmare . . . A bad one, though."

Cynthia stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at her with analytical gray eyes, and then walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. She rested a hand on her shoulder and let out a long sigh.

"Are you perhaps . . . nervous about leaving home today? When I first had to leave home I was so anxious that I had nightmares nearly every night." She confessed.

"No, not at all." Joss shook her head, "I've been excited about today for the past few months . . . Actually, I've been wanting this my whole life. That dream came out of nowhere."

"Hmm." Cynthia stared off into the distance, eyes fixed on nowhere in particular, "I guess that's true. You've had much more time to prepare than I did."

"What do you mean? Grams always said you had a natural talent for training Pokémon." Joss asked.

Cynthia scoffed, "Is that what she told you?"

Joss's brow furrowed in confusion. That's exactly what she had grown up hearing. Cynthia left home at ten years old and quickly became a skilled trainer. She climbed her way to the top with her talent and passion and became the most powerful trainer in Sinnoh . . . Right?

"Sorry, I shouldn't bring you into old family drama." Cynthia apologized, "Your Grams and I didn't always have the best relationship, but that's in the past now. We've grown closer, so it doesn't really matter anymore. I understand why she wouldn't want to tell you the truth."

"What actually happened then, Aunt Cynthia? You have to expect me to want the truth when you say something like that." Joss probed, a bit annoyed by how much has been hidden from her, "I've been sheltered my whole life and I'm sick of it."

"Alright, fine," Cynthia sighed, shifting her feet against the hardwood floor uncomfortably, "I . . . didn't want to leave home. I was thrown out of the house."

Joss stared at her aunt, stunned, "What!? Why?"

"Our family tree dates back to the beginning of life in Sinnoh, so we have a lot of history in this region. My grandma was the elder and lorekeeper of Celestic Town, and she was very . . . Traditional. Your Grams is the same way." Cynthia began, taking a deep breath before continuing, "I never wanted to be a trainer. I wanted to study mythology and become the next lorekeeper of the region. My grandma was going to pass down the sacred knowledge to me . . . But the  I fell in love with someone that she didn't approve of and was kicked out of the house because of it. She refused to tell me anything after that and my mom— your grams— sided with her. With my future plans and home gone, I became a trainer more for survival than passion. It was just how I made enough money to scrape by."

"That's . . . awful." Joss frowned, still processing all that information. Grams had always been bossy, but she never imagined that she would do anything like that to her own daughter, "What about my mom?"

"She was always mother's favorite. Aurora was beautiful, gentle, a great Pokemon coordinator, and never really got into trouble, unlike me. To be honest, I was always a bit jealous of her, but she was always kind to me. She tried to help me after I got kicked out of the house, sending me meals and other trainer items when I first left and didn't have any money. That's probably the only thing she ever did get in trouble for." Cynthia replied.

Curious, Joss continued, "And what happened to the person you loved?"

Cynthia's expression turned dark in an instant.

"She left me for someone better . . . so I became the best to spite her."

Joss sat there in silence for a few moments, averting her gaze away from her aunt, "sorry."

"It's fine." Cynthia stated, and then quickly changed the topic, "So this nightmare you had . . . What happened?"

Joss explained the dream to her aunt; the feeling of nothingness, the shadowy serpent that tried to crush her, and the pink light that snapped her out of the nightmare. Cynthia listened intently, brow furrowed as if she was thinking deeply.

"Hmm, perhaps you were visited by a guardian spirit that didn't want you to be afraid. Our family has a deep connection to Sinnoh, and I have similar dreams too sometimes, so it's not too far-fetched to think that you may have a minor deity looking out for you." She explained, and then got up to leave the room, "Hold on, let me go grab something for you. I want you to have it before you leave today."

Cynthia left the room and Joss was alone for a moment. Her aunt knew so much about mythology that sometimes she thought it might drive her a bit crazy. The thought of having a guardian spirit was both comforting and cool, but not entirely based in reality. She doubted that her dream earlier was anything more than just her subconscious running wild, but she would humor her aunt anyway.

"Here it is." Cynthia came back into Joss's room holding a book, "This is a book I wrote documenting my personal research of Sinnoh Lore. I thought it might be useful to you if you ever encounter anything strange. I highlighted the most important information."

"Thank you." Joss smiled and took a quick glance at the book. It was quite impressive, nearly two and a half inches thick and bound in black leather. She opened it up to find a short chain of red beads marking a page. Curious, she held them up to her aunt and asked, "What's this?"

"It's a special bookmark— a family heirloom passed down by generations of Sinnoh lore keepers. Make sure it stays safe."

Joss nodded in agreement and packed the book into her travel bag. If nothing else, reading it would help her feel close to Cynthia when she inevitably began to miss her during her travels.

"Well, I should probably get dressed and say my goodbyes." Joss said. Cynthia nodded and left the room.

That's when it finally hit her . . . she was starting her adventure today!

She could barely contain the smile that crept up into her freckled cheeks as she put on the outfit she'd laid out last night for the occasion. It was a simple white blouse and the new pair of overalls Grams had given her on her birthday— she hadn't worn them yet— she'd been saving them for this very moment.

She put them on and twisted her strawberry blonde hair into her usual twin braids that kept all the loose strands out of her face, tying them off with sage green ribbons. Then, she stepped into her sturdy combat boots, and, of course, what new trainer outfit would be complete without a hat? She grabbed the straw sunhat she had sitting on top of her outfit, placed it on her head, and did a little twirl in her mirror.

Maple jumped up onto her shoulder, nuzzling  her trainer cheek to cheek. Now the look was complete.

**********

After family breakfast, it was finally time for Joss to leave. Grams hugged her for what seemed like a solid ten minutes, and when she pulled away, her usually-stoic eyes were glassy.

"I need ya to stay safe for me, darlin'." She said between sniffles, wiping away the tears as if no one could see them, "I know yer aunt taught you all kinds of fightin' moves . . . Use 'em if ya need to . . . But ONLY if ya need to, I mean it."

Joss held up her scabby, bruised knuckles, "Don't worry. I have a mean uppercut."

Cynthia gave her a hearty pat on the back, "That's my girl! You'll be just fine. You did train with Sinnoh's champion, after all."

That was an understatement. Three months of Cynthia's "boot camp" had whipped her right into shape. She'd never felt stronger, faster, or more capable of throwing a punch in her life. As loathsome as the trainings were, they also strengthened the bond between Joss and Maple. They were able to battle together without speaking, communicating solely with body language and synergy. Cynthia had taught the Eevee quite a few unique attacks as well, courtesy of technical machines and "egg moves" that she had bred into her DNA.

"Thank you both. For everything." Joss pulled both of her only remaining family members into a long group hug, "I'm going to miss you."

"Please call back home sometimes, yer ol' Grams'll be worried sick and wanna hear all about yer adventures." Grams pleaded, and Joss nodded in agreement.

"Goodbye Grams, I promise I'll update you."

She walked out the front door with her aunt, Grams waving goodbye with tears in her eyes.

Once they got outside, Cynthia pulled out a map.

"The first gym you'll want to challenge is in Oreburgh City. It's the most recommended for beginner trainers and is decently close. It's just on the other side of Mt Coronet, so make sure that flashlight you packed is charged. You don't want to get caught alone there in the dark— Zubats aren't really a threat on their own, but if they swarm you while you're blinded they are terrifying." The blonde warned her niece.

Joss pushed down the nerves that statement brought up, "Okay, noted."

"I have faith that you can handle it." Cynthia replied with a proud smile, "Now go on, I hate goodbyes."

And with that, Joss turned around and walked away without looking back.

Hello there! If you're reading this after the two years it took me to find my way back to this story . . . Thank you so much! It means the world to me. I updated my author's note photo since it's been a while and I look quite different now, although the pic of me eating the fries was quite fun.

Some spooky elements got introduced at the beginning, we got a bit more Cynthia lore, and Joss finally started her Pokémon journey! (Took her about two years to leave the last chapter lol)

QOTC: What's something you hope Joss encounters/ experiences at some point in her journey?