Disclaimer: Nope, nope, Pokèmon doesn't belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

Authors' Note: A little drabble (well, longer than most drabbles, but still) that came to mind and that I thought I'd type up and post. This is in response to all those fics and fanarts out there that depict "older" Misty with long, gorgeous hair, and pretty pretty dresses, and . . . well, to put it bluntly, and like a supermodel. I'm not saying Misty is ugly, by any means -- far from it. I'm just saying that Misty is called "The Tomboyish Mermaid" for a reason, and I feel somewhat put-out by the idea that being tomboyish is something you "grow out of," or that tomboyish girls aren't attractive -- probably because I'm pretty tomboyish myself. :) I think that Misty is just Misty, and while she may mature and calm down a bit as she gets older, that doesn't mean she'll change who she is. She's Misty, and if being Misty means that Ash or anyone else doesn't want her, well, then, screw them. She doesn't need 'em, so there.

Anyway, if you read it, please review and let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Just

Misty would never be beautiful.

She would never grow her hair out so that it was long and red and flowing. When she did need to have long hair -- for those times when she put on the water ballet at the Gym with her sisters (and those times were getting to be less and less frequent with all the challengers to the Gym) -- she used hair extensions. But Misty didn't like having long hair -- didn't like the way it clung to her arms and back when she came up out of the pool or the mess of tangles and knots it was in the morning -- and so she would never grow her hair long.

And Misty would never wear make-up, either -- at least, not on a regular basis. It was too much of a hassle, especially when she couldn't find the waterproof kind. Who wanted to look like a total nightmare because the spray from a stray Water Gun messed up her mascara? And lipstick felt cakey and gross on her lips. It took too much time to get right, and was too much of a bother to fix when it went wrong. So, Misty would never wear make-up.

And unless it was a really special occasion, Misty would never dress up. Some girls went out of their way to look cute -- wore special cardigans and miniskirts, and tall boots with those miniskirts that would draw even more attention to their long legs. They would put special clips in their hair and would spend more time fussing over their appearance than they would over their own health and well-being. Misty never bothered to dress up when she knew she was just going to be taking Gym challenges in the morning, and especially didn't when she was going to be out traveling. Who cared what she looked like when she spent the night sleeping in a sleeping bag? So long as she bathed and brushed her teeth and wore clean clothes, that was good enough for her. Misty's sisters teased her about being too tomboyish, said she'd never get a boyfriend that way, but Misty didn't care. Not really. Unless it was a special occasion, Misty would never dress up, and that was that.

So, Misty would never be beautiful. She'd never be beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, lovely, or cute. It simply wasn't her style. Misty wasn't her sisters, who were elegant in every way. She wasn't like Erika, who had classic beauty, or Sabrina, who exuded cool grace with every step. She wasn't like May, who was cute as could be even with her girly figure, or Dawn, who was just downright pretty. She wasn't perky Whitney, or beautiful Jasmine, or dangerously stunning Clair. Instead, she was just tomboyish, flat-chested, short-haired, hot-tempered, sometimes clumsy, brazenly independent Misty.

And, as she would tell you any day of the week with her Gyarados backing her up, she preferred it that way.