Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned pokemon, all of the stuff I wrote would’ve happened by now, and Ash would still have half of his pokemon.

A/N: This is my first shot at a pure romance. There won’t be any Brock-bashing, since the jerk won’t be in this story at all. It’s about Ash and Misty stuck alone together and what happens to them during that time. It isn’t as suspenseful as my first story, or as funny as my other two, but I hope it’ll be pretty good romance-wise. Well enough talking and on with the intro!

Stranded

Chapter 1: Looks like we’re stuck here...

Note: This is one of those “What if” stories. It takes place right after Brock left to stay with Professor Ivy, when Ash and Misty’s blimp crashed on an island in the episode “The lost lapras”. In the anime, Ash and Misty assumed that the island they crashed on was deserted and wild, but really turned out to be a tourist island of some sort. In this story, the island they landed on really was deserted and wild, and we’ll see what (I hope) would’ve happened to them if they really did have to be stranded alone on an island together. Did that explain some things or did I just confuse you? Either way, on with the story......

Ash and Misty had been walking through the humid jungle-like wilderness of the strange island for hours. Ash had managed to calm Misty down a bit after she had panicked, but she was still a little uneasy at the thought of having to eat bugs and berries on some remote little island for the rest of her life. Ash however, had been a little excited by the thought of being out in the wild for a little. Who knew what kind of pokemon were out there in the jungle waiting for him? The thought of unexpected adventure always excited him. He just wished that Misty would stop freaking out. Being out on their own for a bit wouldn’t be so bad...

Misty was starting to feel herself get tired again. She felt guilty asking Ash to let her rest again, and didn’t like to let him think that she was weak in any way. After debating with herself, she finally decided to speak up. “Ash!” She called to her traveling companion, who was pretty far ahead of her by now. “I think we should rest for a while again!” Ash turned to her with a slightly annoyed look.

“Again?” He said impatiently. “I just let you sit down a few minutes ago!” Misty herself got a look of annoyance.

“A few minutes? It was more like a half hour ago! And what exactly is the point in all this walking anyway? I know that thinking is hard for you to do Ash, but when you do sit down and think about it, you’ll realize that you have no idea as to where you’re going or what you’re doing! We should at least sit down and think about what to do here!” Ash felt angered by her insult, but realized that she did have a point. Just where was he going, anyway?

“Okay, we’ll sit down for a little... again.” He was still a little annoyed by her behavior. Misty gratefully allowed herself to rest on a rock they had stopped by. She pet Togepi on its front spike, comforting it. She looked over to Ash.

“Any ideas yet?” She asked him. Ash thought for a little. Misty was right, it was hard for him to come up with a good suggestion. After a few minutes, an idea finally came to him.

“Well, I guess the first thing we should do is look for the shore of the island. Maybe we can see if there’s any other land nearby or somthin’.” He suggested. Misty looked a little surprised when he said this. “What?” He inquired about the look on her face.

“Nothing,” She replied. “That was actually a pretty good idea.”

“So? Can’t I have good ideas?” He asked angrily.

“Sure you can.” She said calmly. “Just not often.”

“And just what’s that supposed to mean?” He demanded.

“That your brain power isn’t exactly that of an average person.”

“Are you callin’ me stupid?”

“Well, duh!”

“Well I may not be the brightest of everyone, but at least I’m not a scrawny little blabbermouth who doesn’t know when to control her temper!” That pushed Misty over the edge.

“Why you egotistical little worm! How dare you say things like that to me! If it weren’t for me you’d still be stuck crying at the Indigo league right now!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Yeah?!”

“Yeah!”

“YEAH?!”

“YEAH!!”

During all of this Pikachu had tried its hardest to calm the two fighting teens down, but its tiny mouse voice was drowned out by their yelling. Frustrated, it decided to resort to its usual tactics, and gave them each a quick thundershock. The jolt was enough to make Ash and Misty stop yelling and realize that they were upsetting their pokemon. The two of them did their best to calm down, and soon they were off in search of a shore. Pikachu and Staryu were in the lead, their trainers both hoping that they would either hear or sense the ocean if they were nearby. While walking, the two trainers decided to talk to one another about the recent argument. “You know Ash, it’s been a while since we’ve gotten that far into an argument.” Ash nodded in agreement.

“You’re right, usually Brock would’ve interrupted by now.” His face became a little more solemn at the mention of the recently departed rock trainer. “Things just aren’t gonna be the same without him, you know? It’s only been a little while since he left, but I kinda wish he’d stayed with us.” Misty understood Ash’s feelings. Brock (the squinty demon) had provided Ash with another male to talk to, someone he could share things with that he would be uncomfortable sharing with her, or that she might not understand. Still, she’d had to deal with that throughout the entire journey. There was almost never another girl around for her to share things with, especially when she desperately needed someone to talk to. This was one of those times. She didn’t know what to think of this whole situation. On one hand, she and Ash are stranded on an island that could be in the middle of nowhere, on the other hand, she and Ash are stranded alone on an island that could be in the middle of nowhere. She decided not to think too much about her own feelings at that moment and concentrate on what Ash had just said.

“I know how you feel, Ash.” She said in an understanding tone. “Don’t worry, we’ll see him again someday, I know it. And remember,” She smiled at him slightly. “you’re not completely alone.” Ash smiled back at her. He seemed comforted by that thought.

“You’re right, Misty. Thanks.” Misty loved it when he smiled at her. She began to think more about her and Ash being alone on an island together, and became more and more glad that Brock had left as she thought about it. You know, she thought, maybe this won’t be as bad as I thought.....

Not long after that, Pikachu and Staryu had successfully found the shore of the island. Ash and Misty gazed off in either direction as far as their eyes could see, but they could see no land anywhere in sight. Ash released Squirtle and told him to swim around the perimeter of the island, looking for any signs of land. Squirtle returned after his search and reported that there wasn’t any land in sight. It was anyone’s guess as to how far out at sea this island was. Ash and Misty decided to go over their options. “Well,” Ash started. “We could always swim out with Squirtle and Staryu and see if we run into any land...” Misty shook her head.

“If land is too far away for either of them to reach, they could wind up getting tired in the middle of the ocean. That would leave us stuck out there, either to drown or be gyarados bait.” Ash didn’t like the thought of either one of those. He tried another suggestion.

“How about if we made a raft for our water pokemon to pull?” Misty again looked disapproving of the idea.

“That’s almost as bad as riding out on Squirtle and Staryu. Again, there’s a chance of the pokemon getting tired, and us not knowing how far off land could be. There’s also a chance of us going in the wrong direction and getting lost at sea. We could even starve to death if we tried that idea. It’s just too much of a gamble.” Ash gulped. Starving to death was definitely not how he wanted to go. “Man, I wish Pidgeot was still here. Then it could’ve flown us back to some mainland, or at least tried to find some. And using Charizard is no good. It still won’t obey me....” Ash sighed and thought of one more idea. “Well, there’s always..... smoke signals!” Misty fell over in stupidity.

“Ash! If there’s no land nearby, how do you think anyone would even see smoke signals?” She yelled at him angrily.

“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any bright ideas, miss know-it-all!” He retorted.

“Hmph. As a matter of fact, I do have one.” She pulled out a poke ball from her bag. “Go, Goldeen!” The goldfish pokemon was released into the ocean. “Goldeen!” It cried.

“What are ya gonna do with Goldeen, Misty? It’d be even harder to ride than Staryu.”

“I won’t be riding Goldeen at all, Ash.” Misty answered. She turned her attention back to her pokemon. “Goldeen, I want you to swim out as far as you can until you find land. Once you do, come back and tell us how far it is, or try to get help somehow. I know you can do it.” Ash looked unsure.

“Misty, won’t Goldeen get tired too? You yourself said it could be a pretty long swim.” Misty shook her head.

“Goldeen spend their entire lives in the water, unlike Squirtle or Staryu. Not to mention that they spend a good part of their lives traveling from the ocean and up rivers to breed. It’ll be no problem for Goldeen to eventually find land.” She said confidently. Ash gave in and decided to trust her judgment.

“If you say so, Misty. Good luck, Goldeen.” Misty kneeled down in front of her pokemon and gave it a hug.

“I know that you’ll bring back help, Goldeen. Just promise me that you’ll be careful.” She spoke to it gently. Goldeen responded with a nod. It lightly rubbed its cheek against hers and then turned and swam off to find help. As she watched her pokemon go, Misty felt tears forming in her eyes. She had great confidence in Goldeen, but would still miss it and worried for its safety. She turned her head away, not wanting Ash to see her tears. Ash noticed the glimmer in her eye caused by the moistness. He knew that she worried for her pokemon and tried to comfort her. Not something he was used to.

“Don’t worry about it Misty, Goldeen will be ok. That was a pretty good idea you had.” Misty quickly wiped her eyes and turned toward Ash with a smile. It was so nice of him to try and comfort her like that. She didn’t exactly know how to respond to it except to say,

“Thanks Ash.”

Later on, Ash and Misty went over what they’d have to do if they were going to be staying here for a little. They went over the basic necessities for survival: food, water, and shelter. Ash sent out Squirtle and Bulbasaur in search of any source of fresh water, while he, Misty, Pikachu and Togepi went in search of food. Ash teased Misty by suggesting that it would be easier if they ate bugs, but he was given a good whack by Misty’s mallet for his antics. It didn’t take them long to find a few fruit bearing trees. The fruit was recognizable to them and wasn’t unripe or poisonous. They picked a few and headed back to their spot. Ash thought it would’ve been smart to camp right by the shore, but Misty knew what would happen when the tide came in. So they decided to make camp near the shore, but not too close. Not long after the two trainers returned from their fruit gathering, Squirtle and Bulbasaur also returned with news of a nearby freshwater spring. Things were going pretty well for the two trainers and their pokemon. Now only one thing was left: shelter.

Taking a break for a little, Misty was busy feeding Togepi some of her remaining poke chow when she saw Ash putting together a little tent made from sticks and palm leaves. “Ash, what are you doing?” She asked, noticing that the little tent probably wouldn’t hold up for very long.

“Just makin’ a place for us to sleep.” He answered, and kept working.

“Us?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He gestured toward the nearly finished tent. “There’s enough room. It’ll save time and energy, and we’ll be able to stay warmer at night.” Misty looked very uncertain and a little surprised. “What is it?” Ash asked.

“Well, Ash... it’s just that...” She sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy to explain. “You’re a boy, and I’m a girl.”

“Yeah, so?” Ash asked, his mind still innocent and unclouded by dirty thoughts.

“Well, boys.... and girls... it’s just not right!” She finally concluded.

“Aw, come on Misty, we’re friends. It’s no big deal.”

“I still feel uncomfortable with it, okay?” Misty was half lying. The thought of sharing a tent with Ash did make her uncomfortable, but another half of her was screaming at her to accept. She ignored it. “I think it would be better if I just made my own shelter. Besides, it doesn’t look like that thing will hold up very well.” Ash got defensive.

“Whaddya mean? My tent’s great!” He said with a frown.

“Well,” Misty said with a challenging tone in her voice. “I bet I could make one ten times better than that!” Ash knew what that tone in her voice meant, and he was never one to turn down a challenge.

“You’re on!” He declared. “I’ll make another one that’s just as good as yours, and then some!”

“We’ll see about that!” And with that, they both started working. Ash called Bulbasaur and Squirtle out to help. The two of them and Pikachu worked together with Ash to build his shelter. Misty was at a slight disadvantage in that area, since the only one who could really help her was Staryu. As she called it out, a second pokemon appeared next to it. Misty sighed in frustration. It was Psyduck. On Ash’s side, Bulbasaur was cutting down trees and reeds for walls, and on Misty’s side, Staryu was doing the same. Pikachu and Squirtle helped carry vines over to Ash’s site, while Ash helped Bulbasaur carry the materials that it had gathered. Psyduck tried helping Misty carry some of the things that she needed to bring back, but dropped most of them on her foot. “Grrr...PSYDUCK, YOU’RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!! GO SIT UNDER THAT TREE AND DON’T BOTHER ME ANYMORE!!” Psyduck did as it was told and sulked under a tree. Misty knew that Ash had more help than she did, so she made herself even more determined to outdo him. Both of them worked furiously for hours, pounding away, building, and tying together, only stopping once in a while to give each other a challenging look in the eye. With both sides using logs and reeds for walls, vines to tie them together, and palm leaves and hay for a roof, soon Ash and Misty’s shelters were finished at nearly the same time. Both trainers and their pokemon were out of breath. Misty and Ash both shot triumphant looks at each other. “Ha! Mine’s better!” Both shouted at the same time.

“No way!” Ash protested. “My hut has a nice even square shape! Look at yours, it’s a dumb old circle.”

“Dumb old circle?” Misty said with slight sarcasm. “I’ll have you know Ash, that a circle shape is much harder to build than a square! Face it, I’ve got you beat.”

“You do not!”

“I do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

Pikachu didn’t bother saying anything this time and simply shocked them. Once Misty had recovered, she looked in the direction of Ash’s hut and started giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Ash asked.

“Um, Ash? Just how do you plan to get inside your hut?” She asked him, still holding back giggles.

“Huh?” Ash turned to look at his hut and noticed.... “Wah!! I forgot to make a door!!” Misty couldn’t take it anymore and burst into laughter. “Aw, shut up.” Ash said dejectedly. “I can take care of that problem easily. But right now.... we’ve gotta eat!” Mentioning food brought some happy spirits back in the boy, and he got out one of his cans of soup from his backpack.

“Ash, shouldn’t we be saving that and having some of the fruit we got for now?” Misty asked him. Ash shook his head.

“The fruit can wait, I wanna have some real food on our first day here.” Misty rolled her eyes.

“Whatever you say... Wait, don’t we need a fire to cook that?”

“Way ahead of ya, Misty.” Misty looked at Ash and saw that he had already made a pile of sticks and surrounded them with stones for a campfire. He was holding two sticks over the pile and vigorously rubbing them together.

“Ash, why don’t you just use matches?” Misty asked him, wondering if there was any end to his stupidity. Ash put his hand behind his head in embarrassment.

“Well, uh... I kinda ran out a couple of days ago.... Brock had the spare matches...” Misty hung her head.

“Do you know how hard it is to start a fire by rubbing sticks together?”

“No.” He answered. “How hard?”

“Very hard!” Misty replied angrily.

“Fine then.” Ash said calmly. “I’ve got a solution to that problem too.” He reached for a poke ball. Misty gulped.

“Ash, you don’t mean...” Too late.

“I choose you, Charizard!” The large fire pokemon materialized with a roar. It looked down at Ash and snorted in his direction. Misty ran behind a tree. Ash didn’t look too scared. He looked like he was ready to give his relationship with Charizard yet another shot. “Charizard buddy, we’ve got a little problem here. Me and Misty and the rest of the pokemon are all stuck here on this island.” He gestured to their surroundings. “I know it’d be a lot to ask if I wanted you to get us off of here, but for now, I don’t think it’d be too much trouble to light our campfire for us, would it?” Misty noticed that Ash was trying a different tactic with Charizard. He was talking to it calmly and reasonably. Not something she’d expect from him. Maybe it would work... Charizard simply snorted again and turned its head away. “Come on, Charizard. We really need your fire to light those logs!” Ash started pleading. Charizard still ignored. Ash started getting impatient. “Charizard, we need your fire! Come on Char-” Before he could finish, Ash was given some of Charizard’s fire in the way he usually was given it, straight in the face. The angry dragon then continued to release its flame around their campsite, burning the tops of the trees, but thankfully not the huts. With a frustrated grunt, Ash held up Charizard’s poke ball. “Charizard return!” The unruly flame pokemon was drawn back into its ball. Squirtle and Staryu immediately rushed over and used their water guns to put out the fire on the trees that Charizard had caused. Misty looked at Ash smugly.

“Great idea, genius.” She spat. Ash grinned sheepishly and gestured to the now lit campfire.

“Well, I got the fire lit.”

After dinner, the sun had set over the little Island. Misty had set up her sleeping bag inside her little shelter, and she still wondered how Ash planned to get into his.

“So Ash,” She started. “just how are you going to get in there anyway?” Ash smiled confidently.

“Easy.” He turned to Bulbasaur. “Bulbasaur, use your cut attack to make a door in that wall!” Bulbasaur faced the wall.

“Bulba!” It shouted as it unleashed its cut attack on the wall, forming a perfect sized door. Perfect that is, if you were a bulbasaur. It was only about two feet tall and two feet wide. Ash looked at the small door his pokemon had made. “Bulbasaur, that’s not big enough for me to fit...” Bulbasaur just looked at Ash.

“Bulba. Bulbasaur.” It answered. Ash looked surprised and jumped back a little.

“What did Bulbasaur say, Ash?” Misty inquired, not being able to understand the pokemon as well as Ash could.

“It said that it knows the door is too small, and that’s the point.” Ash and Misty looked over to Ash’s hut and saw Bulbasaur walk in, followed by Squirtle, Psyduck, Staryu, Pikachu, and even Togepi. They covered up the entrance with a palm leaf. “Hey you guys, open up! That’s my place!” Ash shouted angrily. Pikachu poked its little head out. “Pi pika.” It stated.

“Pokemon only? Hey, that’s not fair!” Ash said, standing upright. He turned toward Misty. “Well what am I gonna do now?” He knew that the pokemon wouldn’t come out at their own will, and he would never be such a jerk as to force them out. Misty knew that too.

“I don’t know Ash.” Was all she could think of at that moment. Before either of them could think any further, Togepi came out of the hut walked over until it was behind Ash, and used a large amount of strength to give him a strong push in Misty’s direction. “Toge toge!” It chirped happily. Ash fell forward and stopped himself directly in front of Misty, putting them both at a very close proximity. Their faces, which were only centimeters apart, both instantly turned red and the two turned away from each other as quickly as possible. Misty looked at Togepi, still blushing.

“Togepi, why did you do that?” She asked sternly.

“Toge, toge prrrrrri!!” It answered happily. Its response only made Misty blush more. She had understood its words: “Mommy and Daddy can stay together!”

“What did it say?” Ash asked, wondering why Misty’s face had suddenly become redder.

“N-nothing.” She responded nervously as Togepi scampered back inside the pokemon hut. Ash decided not to push her any further. He was still a little shaken up by what Togepi had just done, and his own reaction to it. He shrugged off the strange feeling in him and started setting up his sleeping bag outside. Misty did the same and set up her sleeping bag inside her hut. After a few minutes, Misty noticed that the wind was blowing and making it a little chilly outside. Worrying for Ash, she peeked outside at him. He looked very uncomfortable, tossing and turning, trying to prevent the part of his sleeping bag that was covering him from blowing off. Misty couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, as she frequently did. Poor guy, he really doesn’t deserve this... maybe I could let him stay in here with me... just for tonight. It won’t be so bad. I actually wouldn’t mind having him in here. Just can’t let him know that! Oh well, might as well give it a shot. This is a chance to be nice to him. Misty got up and walked over to Ash, her heart aching for him and the discomfort he must have been feeling. She shook him lightly and gently said his name. Ash woke easily due to his uncomfortable position and looked at Misty.

“What is it Misty?” He asked her. Misty looked uncertain.

“Well.. um.... Ash, you don’t look too happy out here, maybe you’d like to come... share my hut with me?” She was extremely nervous asking him this, and it was showing in her voice. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice. Ash also felt uncertain about what to say.

“But Misty, you said before that.... you know... we shouldn’t...” Misty cut him off, trying to sound more confident.

“I know, but it’s more important to me that you’re happy, Ash. It wouldn’t be very nice of me to just leave you out here, would it?”

“Well...” Ash still didn’t know what to say. He did want to be in a warm place, and despite his denying it, he would like it even better if he were with Misty. But he still didn’t want her to give up anything just to accommodate him. “You don’t have to, Misty...” He said shyly.

“I know... but I want to.” She smiled at him, and Ash couldn’t help but smile back. She took his hand and helped him up. “Come on.” And he followed her into her hut.

Once inside, Ash and Misty set their sleeping bags next to each other, but a few feet apart. After thanking Misty for her kindness one more time, Ash fell asleep. Misty felt really good to know that she had helped Ash feel happier. She smiled at him, then took the opportunity to simply stare at the boy she loved. She wished she could be close to him always. Maybe just for tonight.... Misty started slowly inching her sleeping bag closer to his, until she was only a few inches away from him. She had ignored that side of her that told her to accept Ash’s earlier offer before, but now she was listening to it completely. Satisfied with her closeness to the trainer, she whispered a final goodnight in his ear and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Ash slowly started opening his eyes when the sun shone down on them through the roof. He yawned once, but before he could move, he felt something slightly weighing him down. It wasn’t unpleasant, it actually felt quite comfortable. It felt like something light and warm resting on his chest and filling him with it’s warmth. He hadn’t fully woken up yet, and with the good feeling he had just then, he didn’t feel like he wanted to. But then he felt something tickling his face, something that reminded him of when Pikachu slept near his face. He turned his head downward to see what it was. Once his vision had fully come into focus, he saw that it was... Misty! She was fast asleep, her head nestled comfortably on his chest, and her arm wrapped slightly around him. Ash was surprised, but didn’t get up. She looked so happy, he didn’t want to disturb her. Oh great, now what am I gonna do?

To be continued.

Well, what do ya think so far? Like it? Hate it? This chapter took me long enough, I just hope that I get encouragement to write more. Thanks for reading and I hope alla you peeps out there remember to R&R!

-Wild Growlithe-