The stinging cold of the seawater jolted his senses, and Ash snapped awake from his stupor. He found himself sprawled across a shattered piece of ship decking, bobbing up and down with the rhythm of the waves.
He immediately scanned his surroundings, his heart sinking like a stone Brock was nowhere to be found. In the distance, all he could see was the lingering vortex where the S.S. Anne had finally disappeared beneath the surface.
"Brock! Pikachu!" Ash shouted desperately. The only response was the cry of gulls and the relentless crashing of the surf.
"Ash..." a weak voice called out from nearby.
Ash turned his head to see Misty. She was clinging to another piece of driftwood, her face ashen and her short orange hair plastered wetly against her skin. She looked incredibly fragile.
"Misty! Are you okay?" Ash asked with deep concern, paddling his way closer to her.
"I'm... I'm alright. I just don't have any strength left," Misty replied, her voice trembling with lingering fear. "Brock and the Pokémon..."
"They'll be fine. They probably got picked up by the other lifeboats," Ash said, suppressing his own anxiety. He spoke with as much conviction as he could muster to comfort her. "Our priority right now is finding land!"
Though his Aura Power had a limited range across the vast expanse of the ocean, it could still provide a faint sense of direction. He told Misty to grab onto his clothing while he exerted every ounce of strength to paddle toward the nearest sign of life he could perceive.
Time blurred as they fought the currents. Just as their strength was about to give out, the silhouette of an island covered in dense vegetation finally appeared. With a final surge of effort, they allowed the waves to push them onto a stretch of soft sand.
Lying on the warm beach, the two of them gasped for air, filled with the overwhelming relief of survivors.
"We finally... made it," Misty said, her voice shaking.
"Yeah," Ash said, sitting up and looking around the strange island. "Looks like we've drifted to a deserted island. We need to figure out how to survive and then find a way to send a distress signal."
He tried to use his Pokédex to contact the outside world, but there was no signal. Most of his Poké Balls were temporarily unusable due to water damage except for Pikachu's, which he kept close at hand, though even that needed checking. With neither Pikachu nor Bulbasaur by their side, their situation was dire.
"Let's find a place that can block the wind and rain first, then build a fire," Ash said, displaying a steadiness that went beyond his years.
Drawing on his experience in the Viridian Forest and his travels in the wild, he quickly located a dry cave beneath a rocky cliff near the shore.
They spent the next few hours gathering firewood, struggling to start a fire through friction a process that took their combined efforts to succeed and searching for fresh water and edible Berries.
Throughout it all, Ash and Misty worked in close coordination. Ash handled the heavy labor and determined their direction using his Aura, while Misty used her keen eye to identify edible plants and used large leaves to collect fresh water.
As night fell, the campfire crackled in the cave, driving away the darkness and the biting chill. The two sat by the fire, sharing the few Berries they had found.
"I never thought something like this would happen," Misty said softly, hugging her knees as she watched the dancing flames. "If you hadn't pulled me along, I might have sunk." She remembered clearly how, when her strength had failed her in the open sea, Ash had gripped her hand with a death grip and refused to let go.
"Don't be silly," Ash said, taking a bite of a sour Berry. "We're a team. I'd never leave you behind."
He said it naturally, but the words made Misty's heart skip a beat. She stole a glance at Ash. The firelight reflected off his focused profile, and the eyes that were usually so full of competitive fire now seemed incredibly warm and reliable.
She thought back on their journey from their first meeting in the Viridian Forest to fighting Team Rocket together, and everything he had done for her and her sisters at the Cerulean Gym. This guy, who seemed so reckless at times, was actually more attentive and gentler than anyone.
"Hey... Ash," Misty said, her voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible tremor. "Thank you... for everything."
"Hmm?" Ash turned his head, looking a bit puzzled by her sudden gratitude.
"It's nothing!" Misty said quickly, lowering her head as her cheeks began to burn. Fortunately, the firelight acted as a mask for her blush.
The night on the deserted island was far from quiet. The cries of unknown Pokémon echoed in the distance, and the wind rustled through the trees. Misty subconsciously leaned a little closer to Ash.
"Are you scared?" Ash noticed her movement.
"I am... not! I'm the Cerulean Gym Leader!" Misty snapped stubbornly, though her body betrayed her as she huddled closer.
Ash smiled but didn't tease her. He added a branch to the fire, making the flames burn brighter. "Don't worry, I'm here. My Aura tells me there aren't any large, hostile Pokémon nearby. Tomorrow morning, we'll head to a high point to see if we can find a way off the island or wait for the others to find us."
His voice carried a reassuring strength. Misty looked at his serious expression, and that racing sensation in her heart returned. She suddenly realized that she didn't hate being alone with him like this. In fact... she almost wished the night would last a little longer.
"Ash," she whispered, "what if... what if we never find our way back?"
Ash blinked, startled by the question. He scratched his head and flashed his trademark bright grin. "Then we'll just build a raft and row back! Or we'll just explore the whole island who knows, we might find treasure! Anyway, don't worry, we'll find a way. Don't forget, I have to collect all the Badges and enter the Pokémon League! And you... you have to stay by my side the whole time!"
"Stay... by your side..." Misty's brain felt a bit fuzzy at Ash's blunt words.
She shook her head, looking at him the same optimistic, driven, and sometimes blockheaded Ash. But it was exactly that version of him that made her smile despite herself, and the unease in her heart dissipated.
"Yeah! You're right!" Misty nodded vigorously.
Just then, a heated argument erupted from the other end of the island, shattering the silence of the night.
"It's all your fault, you idiot! Why did you have to buy that useless Magikarp? You spent all our funds!" Jessie's shrill voice pierced the air.
"How was I supposed to know it only knew Splash?! That salesman cheated me!" James shouted back defensively.
"Stop fighting, meow! Let's just figure out how to get off this rock, meow!" Meowth interjected, trying to play peacemaker.
"It's Team Rocket! They washed up on the island too!" Ash and Misty immediately became alert, creeping toward the source of the noise.
Under the moonlight on another stretch of beach, the Team Rocket trio stood around a flopping Magikarp that was doing nothing but "plop-plop" Splashing on the sand.
"I've had enough! This fish is worthless!" James's pent-up anger and frustration finally boiled over under Jessie's scolding and Meowth's complaining. He swung his leg and delivered a powerful kick to the flopping Magikarp. "Do something useful for once!!"
The Magikarp, fueled by the sheer resentment in James's kick, was sent flying high into the air, tracing an arc across the sky.
At that exact moment, something extraordinary happened. The Magikarp's body was suddenly engulfed in a blinding, brilliant Light of Evolution! Its form shifted and expanded rapidly within the radiance.
"No... No way?!" Jessie gasped, stunned.
"It's evolving, meow?!" Meowth's jaw dropped.
James remained frozen in his kicking stance, eyes wide with disbelief.
As the light faded, a massive, ferocious creature with a terrifying aura crashed into the sea, sending up a gargantuan wave. It was a Gyarados. Its blood-red eyes locked onto the paralyzed Team Rocket trio, and it let out a deafening, thunderous roar.
"ROAAAAR!!!"
"Waaaaah! Help us!"
"We're blasting off again!!!"
With a powerful Hydro Pump, Gyarados sent the Team Rocket trio and their desperate screams flying into the sky until they became nothing more than a twinkling star on the horizon.
Ash and Misty, having witnessed the entire spectacle from a distance, looked at each other, unsure of what expression to make.
"...It can evolve like that?" Misty murmured.
"Team Rocket... they really do have a knack for creating 'miracles,'" Ash couldn't help but criticize.
Following that little interlude, the two returned to their cave, the atmosphere feeling significantly lighter. As the night deepened, they took turns keeping watch.
When it was Misty's turn to rest, she leaned against the rock wall and watched Ash's back as he sat by the fire, alert and vigilant. A sense of peace she had never known mingled with a faint fluttering in her chest.
Perhaps this accidental shipwreck wasn't entirely a bad thing.
(I kept a bit of the classic scene, mainly to push the romantic subplot forward.)
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