The morning had come all to quickly. It had taken a long hot shower to get her to take up all the way, and her long red hair was heavy with the water by the time she'd felt alert enough to get out.

Serenity had struggled to sleep the night following the announcement. The war was not news to her, nor was the knowledge that soldiers had to come from somewhere. She had even become used to the idea that someday she might be faced with the reality of joining herself. And yet, none of that had prepared her for having to begin her Pokemon journey under the threat of deployment. It wasn't that she wasn't ready to leave home and explore the world, or even that she wasn't looking forward to finding and capturing Pokemon of her own. 

But there was a decent chance that none of that was going to happen. She and her ponyta had been together for years, and they were good together. Her charmander, though, was new. He seemed to have a pleasant personality, but he wasn't trained yet. And she would have to use both of them to grow her colletion, and then train those to the best of her ability. And her survival- and that of her pokemon- would depend on her skill in that area.

Breakfast was a tough affair. Her brothers-twins and only 7- wept against her legs as she made pancakes for the last time. Her father paced the front room the entire time she was cooking and making sure the boys ate, and only when she had gathered her pack onto her back did he stop her. His hug was firm, and the wallet he tucked into her hands was heavy with the savings that could be spared for her.

And that parting- so like her mothers from almost a year ago, weighed heavily on her. She'd dressed for travel though, in sturdy black and blue pants and tank top. There was a jacket in her pack, along with a few changes of clothes and the freeze dried food that served as the staple for most Pokemon trainers.

Her Pokemon were both in their pokeballs on her belt as she approached the fountain, staring around at the familiar town square as though she'd never seen it before-- for she might not see it again.