Notes: Living up to my New Year's resolution: start and finish a multi-chaptered fic. This idea has just clung in my head for a while. I kind of suspect John Lennon quotes. Anyway, criticism and reviews are always helpful! Also, this is basically an OT fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Cloud Nine

Prologue: Walking on Air

I guess I just wasn't meant to be happy.

Then again, I don't even know what happiness is. I can't tell it apart from an emotion or a state. When I think of happiness, I don't think of a smile. I don't think of a light. I imagine nothing, a void of no feeling. If I think about it, it wasn't always like this.

I had a modest group of friends. On summer days, we'd go fishing for magikarp to see who could catch the largest. Then we'd see who could throw the farthest. It was a time of innocence and ignorance. When you're in elementary school, nothing bothers you other than who's the fastest and who's the tallest. I miss those days. Happiness meant something to me.

My friends and I attended the same school, the Trainer's Academy in Rustboro. It was mandatory for all people to graduate from a certified academy to train pokemon. Of course, we wanted to. We stayed at the school, only getting holidays off.

I dared to hope on that last day. We had just finished the graduation ceremony. Everyone who passed the exams received a plastic card with their name on it. They cherished it as if it was a plump diamond in their hands. They were our trainer's licenses. Our dreams were now just a step closer. The world lay ahead of us, waiting for a decision. I placed mine in my pocket the second I got it. School was finally over. I stood silently and let the scene sink in before walking out of the dry classroom and into the humid summer air.

A taillow flock flew overhead, cawing loudly. I moved down the street in a slight trance. I was unsure. Tomorrow was the day I was supposed to leave. I was having second thoughts, even though everything was set in stone. I approached the bus stop at the far end of the street. It was a small distance from the Rustboro tunnel. I remember hearing the distant screeches of the whismur as they huddled together in the depths of the cave. The single bus was parked on the pavement, its engine roaring as people entered orderly. This bus's route followed through to Verdanturf to Mauville. I lived between both cities.

I bounded up the metallic steps and through the long hall of leather seats on both sides. I hurriedly moved past the legs and arms stuck out in the aisle, most belonging to other students. I made my way towards the back and sat down.

"Hey," the girl in the seat said. Her name was Ellie. She looked away from the window and stared at me with a broad smile. She moved her backpack off the seat and onto the floor, making enough room for me.

I sat there wordlessly. I shuffled closer to her so that I was more in the seat rather than in the aisle. The full of effect of what was about to happen tomorrow hit me again. I cleared my throat and said, "This was our last day wasn't it?"

She blinked twice before reaching in her bag and pulled out her own trainer card. She beamed with pride. "This speaks for itself doesn't it?"

I smiled back.

"I'm all set too! My mom helped me out a bit with the packing, but I really got everything," she went on. "That egg you gave me hatched, so I got my starter!"

"That's great! And just in time too."

"Lucky me right?" Ellie looked at her feet as they dangled from the seat.

I sighed. It wasn't an unhappy sigh. It was content. The breath escaped my lips as if I was relaxing. I leaned back in the leather seat as the bus jerked forward and began moving forward. I looked at her and found that she had her face nearly pressed up against the window, watching the greens of the trees swish by in a blur. I felt the bus tilt as we began ascending the rocky terrain. We could see the gray sky poking out above the forest.

I cleared my throat. "So . . ."

She turned away from the window. "Hmm?"

"I was kind of wondering . . . if you wanted to travel with me," I practically mumbled. I bent my head down. My hair fell over and hid my eyes.

"I didn't hear the last part," she giggled lightly. "Can you say that again?"

I looked up with newfound courage. "Will you travel with me?"

I can remember she had a strange look on her face, one that I had never seen before on her. I was sure it wasn't disgust or some kind of rejection. It was almost excited. She parted her lips and began speaking. "Y-"

There was a roar that interrupted her. It shattered the windows on the bus so that the shards sprayed onto the other passengers. It flew in as if it was harsh snow. The only thing I heard was the pounding in my ears. I looked over at her, but she remained calm. She sat with her hands in her lap and closed her eyes.

Then I remember the sensation of falling.