"There's nothing like the water," Misty sighed happily as the boat set sail in the direction of Mangrove Island. "I just love the ocean and all those wonderful water Pokémon in it. Maybe I can catch a new one while we're out here."
"We won't arrive at Mangrove Island for a while," said Professor Oak. "I've got to calibrate some of my research equipment, so you kids can entertain yourselves until then." The scientist headed for the opposite end of the ship.
"Speaking of entertaining themselves, why don't we let our water Pokémon out to get some exercise?" suggested Ash. He tossed a Poké ball into the air and Totodile appeared in the waves with a bright flash and a happy cry.
"Good idea, Ash." Misty reached for her Poké balls. "Come on out, everyone!" Poliwhirl, Staryu, Goldeen, Corsola, and a floundering Psyduck materialized in the water below. "Except you, Psyduck," Misty sighed as she recalled her drowning Pokémon.
The three friends watched as the water Pokémon swam and played alongside the boat. Togepi, who was standing on the ship's railing, waved to its friends below. Suddenly, the boat hit a large wave, knocking the little Pokémon off-balance and into the water below.
"Togepi!" Misty shrieked in horror as her Pokémon plunged into the ocean.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried as it dived in after its drowning friend. The brave Pokémon swam up to the floundering Togepi and grasped it in its paws. But the force of the current was too strong and Pikachu struggled to keep both itself and Togepi above water.
Seeing that the two Pokémon were in trouble, Ash leapt over the railing into the ocean. "Hang on, buddy! I'm coming!" Ash swam out to the two Pokémon and seized Pikachu by the scruff of the neck. "I've gotcha, Pikachu. You're okay now."
"Pika," the waterlogged Pokémon said gratefully. Togepi, who was in Pikachu's front paws, coughed and sneezed out seawater as Ash held the two above the water's surface.
"Ash! Behind you!" shouted Brock.
Ash turned and saw a huge blue jellyfish with blood-red spots on its head bearing down on him with amazing speed.
"It's a Tentacruel!" yelled Misty. "Ash, watch out!"
Totodile leapt in front of its trainer to block the giant jellyfish's path, but was immediately knocked aside by the much larger Pokémon. Totodile sailed into the air and landed with a splash atop Misty's Pokémon. As the five water Pokémon attempted to untangle themselves, the Tentacruel continued its path forward.
"Hang on, everyone!" Ash quickly pulled Pikachu and Togepi out of the path of the oncoming Tentacruel. As the huge jellyfish swept past them, the large wake produced by it swept over Ash's head and the boy and the two Pokémon disappeared underwater.
"Ash! Pikachu! Togepi! Where are they?" Misty cried as she frantically scanned the water's surface.
A moment later, Ash and the two Pokémon in his arms resurfaced, all three coughing and sputtering. The Tentacruel, seeing that it hadn't succeeded in drowning its opponent, turned and charged again.
"Corsola! Poliwhirl! Staryu! Goldeen! Keep that Tentacruel away from them!" Misty ordered. Her four Pokémon surrounded Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi, blocking the Tentacruel's path.
"Goldeen, drive the Tentacruel away with your Horn Drill attack!" Misty shouted.
"Goldeen!" the orange and white fish cried as it stabbed viciously at the attacking Tentacruel.
"That's it! Now, Poliwhirl, hit it with your Hydro Pump!"
Before it had time to react, a torrent of water shot out of Poliwhirl's abdomen and hit Tentacruel directly in the face.
"Now, Corsola! Spike Cannon!"
The Tentacruel, already desperately trying to fend off Goldeen and Poliwhirl, roared in pain at the added attack by the little pink Pokémon.
Even though he was half-drowned, there was no way Ash was going to sit out of a Pokémon battle. "Okay, Pikachu, now finish it off with your Thundershock attack!"
"Wait, Ash! If you electrify the water, you'll hurt Misty's Pokémon, too!" Brock warned.
"Don't worry, Ash! I can take care of Tentacruel!" Misty yelled down at him. "Now, Staryu! Drive it off with your Swift attack!" A stream of golden stars hit the Tentacruel's body repeatedly and painfully. Realizing that there was no way it could defeat four attacking Pokémon, the Tentacruel retreated and swam off.
"All right! Great job, everyone!" Misty leapt into the air and gave a cry of triumph.
"Grab hold of this, Ash." Brock threw down a rope ladder and Ash, still holding Pikachu, who was still holding Togepi, climbed back aboard the boat.
"What in the world is going on here?" a frantic Professor Oak exclaimed at the sight of the half-drowned boy and the two Pokémon dripping on the deck.
"Togepi fell off the railing, Professor Oak," Ash explained. "Pikachu jumped in to save it and I jumped in to save Pikachu."
"And you nearly got attacked by a Tentacruel, too."
Ash's eyes widened in astonishment. "Professor, how did you…?"
"I saw the whole thing on the other side of the ship. Ash, what in the world were you thinking? You could've been killed."
"I'm sorry, Professor. But I couldn't let Pikachu and Togepi drown."
"Why didn't you let Misty's water Pokémon rescue Pikachu and Togepi?"
"I…I don't know," Ash said.
"Ash, one of these days your impulsive behavior is going to get you hurt or killed! You need to stop and think before you just rush headlong into a dangerous situation!"
"I…I know…I'm sorry, Professor."
At the sight of the shivering boy's forlorn face, Professor Oak immediately felt sorry for being so harsh with Ash. His anger was not so much with the boy's impulsiveness but from fear for the boy's safety. "All right, Ash. I know you meant well." Professor Oak knelt down to where Pikachu and Togepi sat huddled together shivering. "Pikachu, Togepi, are you two all right?"
"Pika."
"Togi."
"And are you all right, Ash?"
"Yeah. I think so, Professor."
"All right." Professor Oak took off his lab coat and put it around the shivering boy. "The three of you go down in the hatch below, find some towels, and dry off. I don't want any of you getting sick."
"I'll make you guys some of my Indigo Spice tea," Brock said, reaching for his backpack. "That'll warm you guys right up."
"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe, Togepi." Misty picked up her Pokémon and hugged it. "Thank you for saving Togepi, Pikachu." Misty gave the little yellow Pokémon a kiss on the top of its head.
"Pika." Pikachu started blushing.
"And thank you, Ash." Misty stood up and kissed Ash on the cheek. "Thanks for helping save Togepi, too."
Ash's face turned as red as Pikachu's cheeks.
"Are you okay, Ash?" Misty smiled.
"Yeah. I don't feel so cold anymore." Ash continued to stare at Misty with a goofy grin on his face. "Actually, I'm feeling pretty hot now."
"Come on, loverboy." Brock pulled Ash in the direction of the hatch door.
---
In the hatch below, Ash sat wrapped in a blanket while sipping his cup of steaming Indigo Spice tea. "Mmm, this is good."
He offered some to Pikachu, who was curled up on his lap. The Pokémon took a sip of the hot tea and licked its lips happily. "Pika."
Ash smiled and scratched Pikachu's head affectionately. "Yeah, Brock sure knows how to make good tea, doesn't he?"
The hatch door opened and Misty stuck her head in. "Ash?"
"Misty!" Ash quickly pulled the blanket tightly around his naked body. "For crying out loud, Misty! At least knock before you barge in on a guy like that!"
"Sorry, Ash. I just wanted to see how you were doing. And I wanted to give you your clothes back." She held out his neatly folded socks, shirt, jacket, and blue jeans, with his familiar red baseball cap on top of the pile. "They dried in no time at all in the sea breeze."
There was no way Ash was going to stand up and take the risk of the blanket falling open to reveal parts unseen. "Um, that's okay, Misty. You can put them down on the table there."
Misty laid the pile of clothing on the table in front of Ash. "I wanted to show you this. It wasn't my fault." She held up the pair of blue jeans to reveal a rip several inches long in the bottom right leg.
"Oh man, Mom's gonna kill me when she finds out that I ruined my new jeans," Ash moaned.
"Don't worry about it, Ash. Brock can sew it up or put a patch on it," Misty reassured him.
The boy inspected the tear. "I don't remember doing this. Maybe it happened when I was in the water or something. Guess I caught it on a nail when I dived in to save Pikachu and Togepi."
"Oh, yeah. Here." Ash's face turned crimson as Misty pulled out a pair of boxer shorts covered with bright red Poké balls. "I didn't know you liked Poké balls so much, Ash."
"Give me those!" Ash snatched the shorts away from Misty.
"I'll leave you alone to get dressed, Ash," Misty smiled.
"Pikachu, make sure that door is locked," Ash told his Pokémon as soon as Misty had left. There was no way he was going to take the chance of Misty barging in on him again while he was getting dressed.
"Pikachu." Pikachu leapt up from Ash's lap and locked the hatch door.
"Thanks, buddy," Ash replied as he stood up to get dressed. "We guys need our privacy, right, Pik…? Ow! What th'…?"
"Pika?" The Pokémon looked questioningly at its trainer.
Ash looked down at his right leg and saw a red mark several inches long just above his ankle. "Huh? Wonder what I did to my ankle?" Ash touched the red welt and winced. "Man, guess I must've cut myself or something. Guess that must've been when I tore my new jeans."
"Pika?" Pikachu looked at Ash with concern.
"It's okay, Pikachu. It only hurts when I touch it." Ash carefully pulled his underwear and then his jeans over the wound on his leg. "See? It's not so bad now…ow!" He winced as he attempted to put his socks on. "Maybe I ought to forget about the socks for a while." Ash tossed his socks aside, finished getting dressed, and pulled his baseball cap atop his unruly dark hair. "Come on, Pikachu. We ought to be close to Mangrove Island by now."
To be continued…