Disclaimer: I do SO own Pokemon. That's why I'm writing a fanfiction.

Prologue: She Used to be Happy

This is just a prologue (as it says above). xD So not much is happening in this chapter, and it's really short. It's basically just to give you a background to the plot, and the main character. She's an OC, but the daughter of Giovanni... all right:3 Oh, and her mom's identity won't be revealed right now. :o

She used to be happy.

That was back before it all changed, before she left her old life behind.

It had only been about a year ago that she'd left Mahogany Town in Johto and traveled all the way to Kanto. Some parts of it were blurred; some parts she remembered like they were yesterday.

It had been a nice day in Mahogany Town, as it usually was. She was actually up at the Lake of Rage, swimming. It was something she used to do often. The Magikarp didn't bother her if she didn't bother them. She spent many days up at the lake, doing laps and racing and playing in the water with her friends. She was never one of the girls who had to work on her tan, because she spent so much time up there. Over summer especially. When she went back to school in Goldenrod, all the girls who lived in the city were jealous of her.

That day, none of her friends were there. She remembered they'd gone to shop in Goldenrod, but her mother had made her stay behind. She'd been so mad at her for not letting her go, but her mom had said she had too much homework that day. Of course, she'd finished all her homework by late afternoon and hiked up to the lake anyway, just to cool off. She was mad at her mom a lot lately, mostly because she was so strict.

Just before she'd left, she remembered their conversation.

"Where are you going?" her mother asked, seeing her leaving the house with her bag.

"Swimming," she said. It should have been obvious. That was the bag she always took when she went to the lake.

"Did you finish your homework?" her mom asked, suspiciously.

"Yes, Mom," she answered, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. She didn't have a quick temper unless she was provoked. Actually, she had been voted 'Sweetest Girl' at her school two years in a row. But lately, her mom didn't let her do anything. It wasn't fair. She knew that they had to be careful, but still.

"Who are you going with?"

"Nobody, Mom. They're all in Goldenrod, remember?"

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know! God, leave me alone! Will you ever stop nagging me?" With that, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her and walking angrily to the northern path.

The lake had been boring that day. Nobody was there besides the grizzled old fishermen. There weren't even many Magikarp swimming by. She did a few laps from side to side of the lake, and when she arrived back, she was breathing heavily. She didn't feel any less annoyed. A few more hours of swimming to wear out her muscles and she felt a little less angry, though she still didn't want to go back home. She sat by the lake for awhile, until the bugs began to appear and the sky was turning pale and red. She hugged her knees to her chest, but she still didn't want to go back. Maybe her mom was worried. Good! She wanted her to be worried. Maybe then she'd feel bad, and let her go to Goldenrod next time.

Finally, when the sun had set completely, and she counted two bug bites on her arms, she packed up her things and headed back towards town. She was hungry, after all, and she'd waited long enough.

When she got back after the long walk, there was a crowd gathered around her house. She hurried up, confused.

"What's going on?"

"Oh! It's you," said her elderly neighbor. She didn't even know her name.

"What's going on?" she repeated.

"There… was a robbery," she said, averting her eyes.

She couldn't remember much after that. Just a blur of everything that had happened. Pushing past the crowd, past the police, into her house. Seeing her mother's dead body, just lying there, still and pale, on the ground. Her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing, her lips parted. She'd been shot in her left temple.

She would always see her mother's dead face in her mind. It would never leave. But, after a year, it had paled in her mind, until she didn't wake up every night in a cold sweat. Until she could close her eyes without seeing her mother's wide eyes staring back at her. Lifeless.

The robber hadn't stolen much. A few antiques and valuables, but nothing else of much importance. Besides her mother's life, of course. Everything else paled in comparison to that.

She remembered she went to stay with her friend and her family for a little while. But she couldn't stay forever. And soon, of course, her father found out that her mother was dead.

And then, he called her.

He wanted her to come live with him.

All the way in Kanto. Viridian, to be exact. And could she say no? Of course not. With her mother gone, the only family she had left was her father. The one who paid child support religiously but never saw her.

She'd met him twice, she thought. Both when she was younger, he'd come to see her, and taken her out for the day. Her mother wasn't pleased, but he'd said he had a right to at least see her. The first time, he'd taken her out for ice cream, and she'd accidentally dropped it on his fancy suit. He'd swore, then told her he wasn't angry, though she wasn't sure if she believed him. The second time, she's asked too many questions and he'd looked bored with her. She asked if she could have dessert, but he said he had to get her home. Maybe he was remembering the first time.

In any case, she didn't feel she needed him. Her mother rarely spoke of him, and when she did, she wasn't exactly full of compliments. Once, when she was thirteen, she'd gotten in a fight with her over it. At school, a girl had laughed at her when she said she'd only met her dad twice. But after the fight, she knew her father didn't want her, and so she didn't want him either. Sure, he sent her a card for Christmas and each year for her birthday (though each one was severely belated), but she didn't want anything to do with him. She knew nothing about him, and wanted to keep it that way.

Only now, she had no choice.

She'd talked to him on the phone. She remembered that conversation perfectly too. It was possibly one of the most awkward ones she'd had – at least, up until that point. Once she started living with her father, it was all small talk and awkward pauses.

"How are you?" he'd asked.

"Fine." She didn't feel much, anyway. If she didn't feel pain, it meant she was fine, she told herself. And she reduced herself to mono-syllabic answers as much as she could.

"So… you're coming to live with me, yes?"

"Mm." The preparations had already been made. He knew it, and she did too.

"I think you'll like it here. I have an extra room that I'm turning into a bedroom for you."

"Okay."

"So, you're coming next week, right? Taking the train to Saffron?"

"Right."

"I'll pick you up from the station at five. That's when it arrives, correct?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well… I'll be there. You remember what I look like?"

"Yep."

"Good. So… okay… I'll see you Monday."

"Tuesday," she corrected.

"Right."

Her friends had all gone with her to the train station in Goldenrod to say their goodbyes. It was ironic. She now dreaded going to Goldenrod, where the day her mother died she wanted to go there so badly.

She'd hugged them, and smiled, and then she'd been on her way. The train ride wasn't as long as she thought it would be, and soon she stepped onto the tiled floor in the station, suitcases in either hand, and backpack on, predictably, her back.

He'd been waiting there, too, a nervous smile painted on his face. As if he wasn't quite sure how to smile. He'd rushed to help her with her bags, and led her to his town car, idling outside. He had a driver, who took her things and put them in the trunk. Then they'd sped away towards Viridian. He'd made small talk with her the whole way.

It turned out he lived in a mansion. It was barely even in Viridian, instead being tucked away in the hills. There were huge gates, and a guard who watched the cars entering and leaving. He recognized the driver, and let them in.

She looked out the window at her new home as they rolled up the circular driveway. It was a great, sprawling estate. But it was private, with trees and fences everywhere, covering pieces of it up. She thought she spotted a tennis court, but she couldn't be sure: it vanished as soon as it had appeared.

As she walked through the huge house, she was amazed at all the different things she saw. Priceless pieces of art, hanging glass chandeliers, marble floors and vaulted ceilings and furniture straight out of a catalog. It all went by in a blur, though, because all she could remember once she'd reached her new room was, well, her room.

It was on the third story, and had its own tower, with window seats and windows that looked out at the estate and at a distant Mt. Moon, with Cerulean past it. She had her own chandelier, and a canopy, king-sized bed. The room was spacious, with a fluffy white carpet, and her own 'office' area, with her own PC. And her closet was more run-a-marathon-in closet than a walk-in.

The only thing her father had forgotten, when decorating her room, was that she was sixteen, and not ten, the age she'd seen him last. The room's walls were light pink, along with the bedspread, pillows, canopy, and basically everything else in the room. She hated pink.

The whole house seemed so foreign to her. She barely could find her way around it. It was too big, and she got lost. Once she had ended up in the laundry room when really she was trying to get outside. There were maids and a cook and even a butler.

And then there was her school. It was in Viridian, but it was so small. She had what the kids there called 'a Johto accent', and she didn't get along with them very much. She didn't care. She was quiet, and wanted to be alone. The times people talked to her, she usually snapped back at them. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She already had friends, and she didn't need any more.

Yes, it had been a year since her mother died. She started to be able to navigate herself around the house better. She knew a little bit more about her dad, but not much. She knew he was the Gym Leader in Viridian, but he had another job too. He was never around, and everyone at school complained about not being able to battle him. They whined at her to tell him to open the gym up, but she ignored them.

She used to be happy. But that seemed so far behind that she couldn't even remember what it was like to laugh. It had all ended when her mother had died. Her wonderful, loving mother, who worried about her because she loved her.

It was a year later now, but nothing much had changed. Yet.

Eep, sorry if it was all broody. :3 Don't worry, it'll get more interesting soon! Remember, that was only the prologue, and really, who doesn't have an angsty prologue? xD No, you didn't miss her name: I never said it. Don't fret, I will next chapter. xD Anyway, please review!