Author's Note: Just a cute one-shot of what I think Ash and Misty would do on a trip to the beach. They are about eighteen here.
Sun, Sea and Shanties
The golden sand was hot from the blazing summer sun, scorching Ash's bare feet as he pumped up a small purple inflatable boat. Behind him, Misty reclined on a white deckchair in an orange bikini and red sunglasses, while Pikachu lay on the sand beside her. Their tiny cove was hidden from view of the rest of the beach by a series of tall, sloping sand dunes. Sweat trickled down Ash's forehead as he attempted to fill the boat with air.
'You nearly done, Ash?' asked Misty lazily, moving her head an inch to look over at him.
'Almost … some help would have been appreciated,' said Ash through gritted teeth.
'Don't be ridiculous – two people can't pump up a boat at the same time,' she scoffed, reaching down for her strawberry smoothie. She took a sip and sighed with relish, before taking off the lid and letting Pikachu try some.
Ash refrained from throwing a biting remark back at her and put a burst of extra energy into the last few pumps. Finally, the little boat was full of air and ready to go. He collapsed onto the sand in exhaustion and wiped a hand over his forehead.
'About time!' said Misty, jumping up from her chair and picking up the two oars. 'Let's go sailing!'
'Just a minute …' panted Ash, holding up a hand while he caught his breath. But Misty ignored him and gleefully pushed the boat out onto the sparkling water. 'Pika!' cried Pikachu, leaping onto the prow in delight.
Ash groaned and clambered to his feet to follow her before she left without him. A flock of Wingull soared far overhead, cawing tranquilly. Misty was waist-deep in the still water before Ash caught up to her. She jumped athletically into the boat and scooted up to the tail end. He made a half-hearted leap towards the boat and crashed into the side. Misty laughed.
'Come on, Ash! Just one big jump!'
'It's not so easy when you just spent the best part of an hour pumping up the stupid thing,' he muttered.
'Oh, cheer up,' she said brightly, poking him in the face with an oar. He glowered at her.
He gathered himself and tried to board the boat once again. While his entrance was not exactly graceful, he at least managed successfully to get inside. There wasn't much room to manoeuvre, however, and he ended up landing on his back with his legs up in the air resting on Misty.
'Ash!' she complained, shoving his legs away from her.
'Sorry – there's not a whole lot of room here,' he said in a slightly muffled voice as he attempted to right himself. He whacked his foot off her shoulder and stubbed the other on one of the oars. Pikachu ducked and scuttled along the plastic rim to avoid being knocked overboard. The boat rocked as the two of them tried to collect themselves, while they shouted complaints and insults for every misplaced limb that went awry. The Wingull who had been riding lazily on the air currents above them took fright at the noise and flew swiftly away.
'Now,' said Ash happily, sitting up straight at the head of the boat with both oars in hand.
'You quite comfortable?' said Misty grouchily. She had been forced to sit in a tightly cross-legged position to accommodate Ash's long legs.
'Yep,' he grinned. 'Right – let's go sailing! Know any sea shanties?'
'Don't even think about singing out here,' she shot at him. 'The main beach is just behind that sand dune and sound carries far on water.'
Ash assumed a look of mock insult.
'Are you saying I'm a bad singer?!'
'Yes,' she replied with a dead-pan expression.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs. With a huge grin on his face, he broke into song:
'Aaaaaaaaa sailor went to sea, sea, sea – to see what he could see, see, see - '
'Ash!' protested Misty loudly, putting a hand to her forehead in embarrassment. 'Why am I going out with you?'
'Because you love me!' he said with a wink, nudging her with his foot. 'Amn't I such a keeper?'
She shot him a look of pure exasperation and he snickered. He stuck the oars in the water and began to row them out further from the beach. Soon they caught sight of the larger strand beyond the sand dunes. Dozens of people were milling about on the fiery sand. They looked like toy figures from this distance.
'Ash, don't go too far – we could get caught in a current,' said Misty warningly, looking about her nervously.
'Don't worry so much,' said Ash airily. 'We'll be fine – right, Pikachu?'
'Pi – Pikachu!' chirped Pikachu in agreement.
'Seriously, Ash, we should turn around,' she insisted, reaching for the oars.
'You were the one who wanted to come out here in the first place,' he countered, holding them out of reach.
She cast him a withering glance and climbed on top of him in an attempt to snatch the oars. He laughed and stretched further. A moment later, however, she knocked his arm and they both froze as two 'plops' sounded behind them. There was a moment of silence.
'Did you just drop the oars?' she said, looking him in the eye.
'Eh … no?' said Ash, clasping his now empty hands into fists before scratching his head.
'I can't believe you just dropped them!' exclaimed Misty. They both looked back behind the boat and saw the oars floating sedately away, far out of reach.
Ash cleared his throat awkwardly and folded his arms.
'Well, looks like we have loads of time to chat now. You always like that deep, bonding stuff, right?'
She rolled her eyes towards heaven and sighed.
'Not today, boyfriend.'
'What do you mean?'
She pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it into the air. Starmie appeared with a splash in the sea beside them.
'Wha - ? Where did you even pull that from?' he exclaimed in bafflement, ogling her bikini.
She stood up in the little boat and winked at him.
'That's for me to know and you to find out – when you get back to shore, that is.'
Before he had a chance to respond, Misty made a perfect dive into the water. She surfaced and grabbed hold of Starmie, who promptly began to power away towards the beach. Ash stared after her, slack-jawed in disbelief. He slowly turned around to exchange a bewildered look with Pikachu, who gazed back blankly at him.
'I don't suppose you're much of a swimmer, buddy?' he said ruefully.
'Pika pi,' replied Pikachu.