Ash and Misty

It was a rather dark day for Ash's return to his beloved town of Pallet. It was raining heavily and a storm was starting to brew. Thunder was roaring and lighting was sure to follow. Pikachu was rather ecstatic but Ash was starting to get worried. They had decided to take a boat back from Sinnoh, Dawn's suggestion of course, and the water was starting to churn and bumped the boat. Brock was asleep down in the ship's interior and asked him not to come to the room tonight. Something about "putting the moves on that swimmer trainer" and showing her everything "rock" about him. Ash didn't understand… if they wanted to battle then why were they doing it in their room?

Ash was now fourteen years old. He decided to visit all the regions after beating Cynthia to reprove his worth, and Brock of course was there the whole way. It had taken him longer than he thought it would to go through all four regions the second time, seeing as the first time he trudged through all of them, beat four crime syndicates and even had a little side adventures while meeting all respective legendary Pokémon and making new friends in under a year. (Really, Ash is in Unova now… and he's still ten!)

Johto was to be the last region he visited before setting off for Unova, where he hoped was far enough away for both Team Rocket and whatever new bad guys to reach him. Vermilion seemed to be the only city in the entire region to have a port, so Ash wondered how his old friend Lt. Surge was doing. This reminded him of Pikachu, who wanted to go back before him to reunite with the other Pikachus in Viridian Forest. Over the four years he learned how to speak Pikachu, and it said something about "wanting to sow its wild oats." This pun went straight over his head as well. This left Ash with only one Pokémon, as he sent the rest to Professor Oak to rest in his now plateau of Pokémon.

The storm started to get worse, and the boat rocked more and more. Ash held on tightly to the railing, his grip harder than iron from his time training fighting type Pokémon. He did not, however, expect a lightning bolt to strike behind him, surprising him and causing him to lose his grip, just as a wave hit the boat and catapulted him over the edge. Ash was able to hold out for a little while in the storm, but his consciousness was soon lost to the sea.

Ash awoke to the sounds of waves splashing against a shoreline. He opened his eyes and rubbed his head groggily.

"Ouch, why do I always have the worst luck when I go out to sea?" he asked himself, before looking around. He saw that besides the beach, there was a small forest enclosure behind him.

"I'd say you have good luck boy" Ash heard a voice behind him say. He was a little worried about who it may be, but suddenly the loud and obnoxious ringing in his ears and the growing feeling in his stomach told him who it was.

"Sup Misty, what brings you out here to the middle of nowhere?" Ash asked with a sneer, not even turning around.

"Still bad with directions and using your brains aren't you? It looks like I will have to do all the thinking, as usual… You were sleeping in the tide off the Cerulean Cape… That better?"

"Pssh, you used to think about as much as a metapod… who I think I may have on me right now…"

"Yeah right, I know you were in Sinnoh. Metapods are about as common there as ice in a desert." Misty responded confidently, until Ash reached around and put his hand in one of his pockets, where she squealed a little, something not missed by Ash.

"Not over your fear yet are you Mist?" said Ash pulling his hand back out his pocket, "I don't have any Pokémon on me right now… I sent them all except Pikachu to the Professor…"

Misty got angry at this. She had every reason to, but she seemed to get a little extra angry whenever Ash was around. Just seeing him made her blood boil to a point where she was a little red in the face. Whenever she saw him laughing and happy, it made her feel warm inside as well. She started to wonder if she was a bad person.

"Ash Ketchum! How dare you play a trick on me!"

"Well, how dare you call me… um… not smart!" said Ash, whipping his body around in order to argue with his long time arguing foe. What he saw made him stumble a bit, and what he was about to say seemed to take second fiddle as his breath was now taken away from him.

Misty looked radiant. She was only wearing a t-shirt and her trademarked jean shorts, but she had let her hair grow longer but still kept it in a ponytail. Her face, while still angry, seemed absolutely stunning to him. She was pouting in that way she always did, but Ash wondered why it never looked so cute to him before. Seeing her now made him want to apologize to her, something he would never allow himself to do. He expected her to yell at him for staring at her for so long, but the yell never came.

Misty's reaction was similar to Ash's. From the way he was sitting she couldn't get a very good view of him beyond his never changing hair. Now that he was standing up she could see that his mischievous face was now ridden in shock, presumably at her face. She started to pout, but couldn't quite keep up her façade after looking into his eyes after so long. What used to carry fire that burned almost as brightly as the one in her own eyes was now calm and soothing, almost inviting. She almost wanted to stay there forever… almost.

There was a rather still silent between them, broken only by the waves, until one of them couldn't stand the silence anymore. That person was, of course, Ash.

"So… um… you said I was in the tide of the Cape… how did I get out?"

"I sent my Starmie in to get you… Before you get any ideas, I didn't know it was you… I did it on impulse, it's not like I care about you or anything… How did you get like that anyway?"

"I fell off the edge of a boat after a lightning bolt struck right behind me, and a wave knocked me off… Wait, how did you know I was back in Sinnoh?"

Misty blushed a little, why was Ash the only one to make her mad like this? "I went to go visit your mother… she and I have become very close"

"Oh really there Mist?" asked Ash. He didn't know what, but something about Misty made him want to poke fun at her… to make her angry… Did he like her better when she was angry? Eh, maybe he was shocked a little too many times by Pikachu's thunderbolts… "Then what is her first name?"

Misty hesitated to answer, before stopping herself from making a fool of her. Instead she mumbled an answer and turned to storm away. Her arm was grabbed however, stopping her from proceeding. Ash wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"What were you doing there Mist?" Ash asked playfully.

Misty was getting frustrated now. Why was this boy the only one able to get so far under her skin like that? Part of her wanted to answer, but an even bigger part didn't want to lose.

"Fine, I came to visit you, you idiot."

"Haha! And here I thought all this time that you hated me!"

"I do, I was just getting bored beating these trainers around at the gym. You were much more fun to beat around." said Misty with a smirk.

"Oh? I'm easy to beat around eh?" Was Ash's answer before flicking her in the forehead.

Misty flinched a bit, before collecting herself and going to return the favor, but Ash was already running down the beach, and away from her wrath.

"Where do you think you're going?" screamed Misty, before chasing him. She managed to catch up to him, but Ash seemed to be able to duck and dodge her every attack. His time training different Pokémon and in different regions increased his reflexes drastically. She knew she was at a disadvantage, so she pulled a desperate move…

She jumped…

Ash wasn't expecting her to do that. His shock was enough to keep him in place long enough to let her capture him. He stumbled backwards, before losing his balance and falling. When they hit the ground, the momentum from the fall pushed Misty forward, and for a second, their lips met.

But only for a second, before hell came.

Misty blushed deep red, before jumping back

"I CHOOSE YOU! GYRADOS, GOLDUCK, STARMIE, SHARPEDO, SEAKING, TOGEKISS!"

"M-Misty… It was an accident… no need to get h-hasty…"

"DRAGON RAGE, PSYCHIC, WATER GUN, CRUNCH, HORN DRILL, AURA SPHERE!"

Ash has fainted! Ash blacked out!

Ash regained consciousness and heard the waves hitting the beach. His head was resting on something very soft and comfortable. He opened his eyes, and saw a lack of monsters shooting various things at him or stabbing him with sharp objects. The fact that they were gone allowed him the see the orange sun setting on the horizon, seemingly into the sea. He turned his head and saw Misty looking down at him, her eyes gentle and… loving? "Wait, if she is there… then what I'm lying on is…"

"Sorry about that Ash"

"It's cool Misty, I've been through worse"

"So wassup? Are we going to talk about what happened?"

"Do we have to?"

"Yeah we have to! That was something very important! Listen here Ash Ketchum I don't know what you were taught when you were growing up but a girl's first kiss is very important and it shouldn't be taken for granted and..."

"I understand Mist-"

"… it should only be given to someone she cares about and loves with all her heart and I mean I do care about you Ash and stuff but I don't know if I… at least I think I don't… maybe and… and…" Ash had reached in and pulled her in for another kiss, this one intentional. She kept talking, but soon surrendered and kissed back.

"You talk too much Mist. I understand, now… you're ruining the mood."

Misty smiled and let Ash lay back down on her lap. He complied, and sighed, seeming to try to sink in to her to find more comfort, before closing his eyes and returning to sleep.

Misty sighed as well, "And here I called him… not smart… dammit Ash… You're rubbing off on me already."