Thank you so much for reading!
This project originally started as a small side experiment, something to help me break through a bout of writer's block on another story entirely. But once I went back and finished Lenora's half-written sequence, the ideas started rolling faster than I could keep up with… and the whole thing spiraled out of control in the best possible way.
What began as a simple Pokémon journey somehow grew into a story about friendship, grief, determination, healing, and the strange family we build along the way.
Reaching the end of this book feels surreal. When I first started writing, the battles against Gym Leaders like Roxie and Drayden felt impossibly far away. Victory Road felt distant. The Elite Four felt distant. Cynthia felt distant. Yet somehow, after countless late nights, rewrites, and ideas put down at unreasonable hours, we made it all the way here.
And speaking of late nights, it is currently three in the morning as I type this.
I'm exhausted in that warm, satisfying way you only feel after finishing something that genuinely meant a lot to you. Especially some of the battles near the end. Those took everything I had, but in the best possible way.
A huge thank you to the author of The Book of Otto (you know who you are) for helping inspire parts of Atrea and Dakashi's relationship. Several of my favorite moments in this story would not exist without our conversations.
As for what's next... don't worry. Atrea's story isn't over. In fact, some of its most difficult chapters are still ahead of her. I already have plans for the sequel and am several hundred pages into writing it.
If you've made it this far, I hope you'll join me for the next part of the journey.
Until then, thank you for spending your time with this story.
I hope you enjoyed Pokémon: Solemn Light – A Journey Begins.
See you in the sequel.
This story is a fan interpretation and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company.