Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or Titanic.

Rated T for language, violence, and sexual references

SUNKEN

I saw my whole life as if I'd already lived it. An endless parade of parties and cotillions, yachts and polo matches. Always the same narrow people, the same
mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice, with no one to pull me back, no one who cared... or even noticed.

Chapter One

My mother loved money. She still does. Every night she hides in her room with her door locked and counts her money for hours. When I was four, I asked her why she was doing it. I remember that day as clear as the crystal earrings she wore. She slapped me, telling me that it was rude to ask that. Then she turned and left, saying that it was for my father. I heard that she wasn't always like this, but she is now and that's all that matters.

My father died on the day I was born. It was a car accident. They say there was heavy fog, but no one really knew what happened. I was named after the fog that supposedly killed my father and the tears that my mother shed that day, Misty Waterflower. At least that's what my sisters told me.

As a child, I was curious and well, dumb. I asked them why they were named after flowers and I was not. I expected my name to be Rose or something since it would make more sense to be the name of a sister of Daisy, Violet, and Lily. They are as lovely as their names on a fine spring day.

We used to be rich. Filthy rich. But after my father's death, we stopped getting income. My mother never worked in her life and she does not plan to get a job, ever. Since the Waterflower name is respectable in the league, we had to live up to that reputation, as in wearing expensive clothes and attending fancy parties. I must say these things are quite expensive.

Over the years, my family has been running out of money. That is why my mother counts her stack every night, so that she'll know for sure that she'll have enough for her manicure the next day. But just to be fair, she isn't the only one that spends the money. My sisters and I attended the Royal Academy, the school for the royalty and the most prestigious families. The fees were definitely not cheap. It was twelve years of living hell. Everyday, we learn to become good ladies. My sisters were great at it, each of them were the model student in their graduating years. They taught us cooking, sewing, and french, because it is an elegant language. We were trained in walking in ladylike manners, sitting in ladylike manners, eating in ladylike manners, and even talking in ladylike manners. The most excruciating lessons were the ones where they taught us how to seduce rich, old men. It took me twice as long as the other girls to learn how to flutter my eyelids while giggling in the sweetest way possible.

"Darling, aren't you excited to see Gary?" My mother asked suddenly as she glanced at me from her champagne glass. I gave a childish grunt in response.

Daisy, who is accompanying my mother and I on this trip to the Orange Islands because her 84 year-old husband just passed away, replied for me, "Of course she is, mother. It's her fiancé!"

"Excuse me," I said as I wiped my mouth mock delicately with my napkin and walked away from the dinner table. I could almost see my mother's stare of distaste as I walked out of the dining room. I needed air, lot's and lots of air.

I stepped on the deck of the S.S. Tethys, which was named after the Titaness in Greek Mythology. It did not have the most extravagant living quarters, which my mother has already disproved of as soon as she stepped on the boat, but the deck was vast and uncrowded. I loved the ocean. It makes me feel free to extricate myself from the world of wealth and pesky manners when I smell the ocean breeze. But it also makes me think about Gary.

Ah yes, Gary Oak, my fiancé. Everyone says I'm lucky, since Gary is only three years older than me. He's twenty, and I'm seventeen. Most girls in my society would marry men that are at least 10 years older than them. I would consider myself lucky too if it this weren't an arranged marriage so that my mother can get her greedy hands on the Oaks' money. The Oaks are an family of researchers. The best in the world. Gary inherited this career from his late grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak.

I have known Gary since I was three. I thought he was the best older brother in the world. Every summer when I come back from school, Gary would take me to his grandfather's lab in Pallet town. He would show me all the pokemon that his grandfather was researching, which I was never allowed to do. Gary never treated me like one of those girls at school, a porcelain doll that was fragile and needed to be praised for her beauty. He was the first one that cared about me. That's why I was in love with him.

Gary changed after his grandfather died. He began to bury himself in work and women. He had won many awards for his researching breakthroughs but also, as improper girls would say, slept with many women. He changed, and it scared me. We got engaged on my seventeenth birthday, and it was definitely not the happiest day of my life. Even though he stayed faithful to our engagement by not sneaking around with other women, I still felt unsafe around him. I knew that I did not love him anymore.

It hurts like hell because he was the one that taught me how to swim.

I'm suffocating.

My brain suddenly lacked air. My mind was spinning. With staggered breaths, I walked to the stern of the ship and stopped in front of the railings. Looking down for a second, I saw my million dollar shoes, glistening under the moonlight. I hated them. The four-inch heels seem to mock me as my feet, which hurt like a thousand knives only poking into my skin and pulling out but only to stick back in over and over again.

"They match your dress dear."

I angrily kicked of my shoes and picked them up. Not even giving them a last glance, I threw the shoes that are probably worth more than someone's life savings over the railings. The ocean waves soundlessly swallowed them. For the first time in months, I smiled.

I hated my dress too. The waist is too tight. The chest-line is too low. The only good thing about it is that don't have to wear a corset underneath. After getting rid of the shoes, I felt almost free, almost.The ocean seemed so inviting, as if it was begging me to jump in and go for a swim...

"Those shoes looked expensive." A voice came behind me, snapping me awake from my trance. I turned around swiftly, half expecting a smug smirk, but I was wrong. There stood a boy around my age. Messy black hair, tanned face, black t-shirt, dark worn jeans, everything about him told me that he was poor. Not the needy type, but the type where they didn't have to go through crap because their parents wanted more money and power. He had a pokemon on his shoulder. I think it's a Pikachu. I've seen one before in Gary's lab.

He was smiling. The type of smile that Gary used to have when we were young. So simple, so non-calculating, so naive. And his eyes, those dark brown eyes that flashed something that I could not understand because I have never seen it before. Was he mocking me? Or was he genuinely concerned?

I took a step back in surprise, but only to notice that the ship railings were a lot lower than I had expected. To make it even better, the deck was wet from the light showers earlier and my bare feet slipped as I fell backwards. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that it would be the end. If the wall wouldn't kill me, the propellers will.

As if in slow motion, I was falling, and falling, and falling, and I stopped. I guess death just wasn't planning on knocking on my door that day.

There was an arm under me, thin but muscular. An arm that men who lock themselves in their offices with money and women who weren't their wives would never possess.

I snapped my eyes open and met with those dark brown ones that showed so much concern that it hurts. I felt myself being pulled up slowly until I was standing up straight. The arm never released me, and for some reason I was glad.

Since I am a lovely girl brought up with manners and class, I said, "I just wanted to go for a swim, you're in my way."

His eyes changed into a warm shade of chocolate brown. He laughed as he let go of me. "Of course you did, Miss. I truly apologize for my actions. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to kill yourself. I mean, you took off your shoes and all."

I grunted in response, unable to come up with another insulting statement. In my heart, I knew that it was time to say "thank you" to this stranger. But being brought up as I was, it is impossible to show gratitude to someone who is poor. I began to walk away, "Tell me your name, I'll make sure to transfer some money on your account."

Damn. I sounded exactly like my mother.

Feeling like a monster, I stopped and turned back around. He smile did not falter. I was confused.

"Ash Ketchum," he said, "just call me Ash."

"Well, Mister Ketchum -"

"Ash."

"Okay, Ash," I gritted my teeth at his over-friendliness, "I just wanted to say - than-than-thank you." No, that didn't sound pathetic at all.

"You're welcome!" He beamed, "I really don't want your money though."

In that instant, I realized that he's an idiot. "No, Miste - Ash, I really need to show my appreciation for um, what you did."

"It's fine, Miss. But if you really want to thank me for disrupting your swim, then you can become my friend." Can his stupid grin get any bigger?

Just like what all of the rich, prejudiced girls would say, "Fine, let's be friends."

Oh and yes, his grin got even bigger. "What's your name?"

"Misty. Misty Waterflower."

"Can I call you Misty?"

"Why not?" I groaned inwardly. My mother would kill me if she found out that I've become friends with a peasant. Damn you Ash Ketchum and your stupid little smile.

He sat down on the deck and leaned on the railings. His Pikachu jumped into his lap and made itself comfortable as Ash scratched his ears. I watched in fascination and jealousy. My new friend glanced up and grinned at me again. He patted to the spot next to him and motioned me to go over. I stared at him for a while, but walked over anyways. I sat down with a thump and crossed my legs like an Indian. The school forbids it, and so does my mother.

"You know, for a girl who went to the Royal Academy, you seem a bit too clumsy" He said nonchalantly. "I thought you were taught to walk with books on your heads and sit tall and straight like princesses."

I faced him in shock. "How did you know I went there?"

A look of realization slapped him across the face. He stared down into his lap where his Pikachu was sleeping. I could see red creep up his ears under the dim moonlight. "I saw you in your uniform once."

He was like a little boy. Filled with pride and confidence, but also easily flustered. I did not question him because he could have seen me anywhere and he didn't seem like the stalker type. My family was famous in all of Kanto so I could have been featured in a magazine or newspaper or something. "Hmmm..."

My gaze landed on the sleeping pokemon in his lap. It looked so peaceful. It was not look as filthy as my mother described pokemon to be. Ash lifted his head and stared at me. I could still see some red in his face. It struck me as cute. He smiled at me again.

"You can pet him if you like. He won't bite."

I was surprised, but excited. I've only seen pokemon up close in cages, but I've never actually touched one. I looked at him and he give me a reassuring nod. My hands crept slowly to where the Pikachu was. I stopped right above its, no, his head and hesitated for a very long time. Just when I was about to pull back, he grabbed hand and pulled it down on Pikachu's soft fur. He made a "chaa" sound under my, no, our touch. I couldn't help but look up and smile at Ash. Of course, he stared back. I pulled my hand back and we fell into a comfortable silence.

At that moment, I felt like forgetting about my mother, who was probably drinking all the champagne she can get her hands on because Daisy had just inherited a huge estate from her husband's death. And Daisy's sorrow from the same situation. As big as the age gap was between Daisy and her husband, they actually had feelings for each other. I also wanted to forget about my other sisters who were married to rich men at very young ages and are currently on ships from Hoenn and Johto to come to the Orange Islands. Most of all, I wanted to forget about Gary and our wedding that is going to take place in a month, the reason why I am on this ship.

"I'm nineteen," Ash said suddenly. "How old are you?" So he didn't read about me on the tabloids? Or is he just trying to make conversation?

"Seventeen," I replied, "I expected you to be younger though."

He didn't seem offended by my comment. "A lot of people say that. I guess I inherited it from my mother." His mother must be lovely. She must have the most beautiful smile and have the same expressive eyes as he does.

"So, what do you do for a living?" It was a question for the men in my society. As women we are supposed to ask them about their jobs and praise them for their power. For some reason, it seemed like an unnatural question to ask right now.

"I'm a trainer," He said, "I travel around the world to meet new people and pokemon. I've been to Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova already. The Orange Islands is my last stop before I challenge the Indigo League again" He sounded so far away. So free. I couldn't help but to feel envious.

"You must love that," I said softly.

He beamed at me, "Of course! I love making new friends." So innocent...makes that little monster in me scream in glee.

"Then I guess you're applying for the Orange League?" I asked thoughtfully, suppressing my urge to punch him in his cute little face for being so damn lucky. He nodded excitedly. We fell into silence again, not because we had nothing to talk about, but because it felt the most comfortable. We stared into the twinkling stars, something you can't see in a city of tall, prosperous buildings and fancy city lights.

"Misty! Oh Misty!" It was my mother. I guess she finally decided to look for me after all this time. She's probably making me try on a bunch of dresses for tomorrow when I see Gary. Yippee.

"I guess I have to go." I stood up and smiled sadly at Ash. I smoothed my dress so that my mother won't scold me even more after she finds out that I lost the shoes.

"Okay. You can find me anytime you miss Pikachu." I knelt down and give Pikachu a soft kiss on his cheeks. He made the "chaa" sound as he released some electricity that tickled my cheeks. I stood up, giggling.

I started to walk away and turned back with a genuine smile, "Thank you for saving my life, Ash."

"Thank you for being my friend." Then he gave me a smile that I would never, ever forget.

I walked back inside to find my mother. It was time for me to step back into reality, but I would always remember the night where the mysterious boy with a Pikachu had set me free.

Outwardly, I was everything a well brought up girl should be. Inside, I was screaming.

I just watched Titanic (for the first time) in 3D and I loved it, which is why I'm dedicating this story to it as my inspiration. This is not going to be on a ship, well not entirely. I mainly incorporated the basic plot and character backgrounds so don't worry, its not exactly the same.

This is my first fanfiction so hope you stick around and don't forget to leave a review :)