"So you three are back earlier than expected." Professor Cerise said.
"I made some adjustments to get us back." Ash said cheerfully.
"So how was Unova?" Professor Cerise asked.
"Weirder than normal." Ash said.
"Dry, then hot, then cold." Chloe replied.
"I caught three Pokémon!" Goh said happily.
"So what was this about a camp happening here?" Ash asked.
"So normally Professor Oak would run this, but I offered to have us help out and run it this year instead." Professor Cerise said. "So while you three were in Unova we set up cabins, and events to go on for while this camp is happening."
"Cool, can we participate?" Chloe asked.
"Of course, I have shirts ready for you three already!" Professor Cerise said with a smile. "Goh, you're captain of the Red Team. Chloe you'll be captain of the Blue Team, and Ashley will be captain of the Yellow Team."
"You mean Ash, right?" Ash asked.
"You want to explain why a twelve year old boy looks the way you do, be my guest. I'm just trying to make it easier." Professor Cerise replied.
"I've been to this before, isn't there supposed to be a Green Team as well?" Goh asked.
"There's supposed to be, but the Green Team's equipment never made it over here." Professor Cerise said. "Which means the teams might be a bit larger than normal this year."
"So, when does camp start?" Ash asked.
"Tomorrow morning seven o'clock. Don't be late." Professor Cerise said.
"Ash, where are you going?" Goh asked.
"We've been on flights and in airports since yesterday afternoon. I'm taking a shower, and getting some sleep before tomorrow happens." Ash said.
"Oh Ash, can you call for Impidimp, I think he has my laser pointer." Professor Cerise piped in.
"Hey Impidimp, come on out!" Ash called.
A few minutes passed by with no response.
"Impidimp you in there!" Ash shouted into the vent. "Sorry Professor, I don't know why he isn't responding. Do you desperately need it tomorrow?"
"We should be fine, I just want him to know he can't borrow that all the time." Professor Cerise replied.
"I'll try calling him from other spots, maybe he can't hear me from here." Ash said, heading to another part of the lab.
"You knew we were coming back didn't you." Chloe said.
"I had a sneaking suspicion." Professor Cerise said.
"And the Ashley thing. Revenge for leaving Impidimp?" Chloe asked.
"No, I was being honest with that part. While it is largely not Ash's fault. The fact is that he doesn't look like a he anymore." Professor Cerise said.
Five AM the next morning
"I feel ridiculous." Ash said.
His shirt was more yellow than Pikachu was. With big block letters on the front saying 'Pokemon Camp Counselor' and on the back saying 'Ashley'. Goh and Chloe were in similar shirts red and blue respectively with their own names on them.
"Why are we up this early, if the camp doesn't start for another two hours." Goh complained.
"To go over what you're going to be doing today. Ren, Chrysa and I will handle registration, while you three make sure everyone gets set up in their cabins. After that, meet and greet, lunch, afternoon races and games, followed by dinner and opening campfire. That reminds me, I'll need to borrow Charizard and Infernape." Professor Cerise rambled.
"Any luck finding Impidimp?" Chloe whispered.
"None, I sent Scraggy in to look for him last night, but still nothing." Ash replied.
"Oh, one more thing. I need your phones." Professor Cerise said.
After collecting the three phones he continued. "Okay, now there's no distractions for you three."
"Here's your camp binder. You get one, don't lose it. This holds schedules, flags, and instructions. Eventually it will also hold the names of the kids on your teams." Chrysa said handing each of them a binder. "Be glad you are counselors, Ren and I get the joy of prepping and hosting events."
Registration had gone smooth for the most part, a few minor hiccups especially at the start. Ash had to get used to going by Ashley again, at least for the next few days. Meeting the teams didn't go much better. It seemed Ash got all the kids whose parents made them go to camp. Pria a girl who clearly wasn't a fan of the dirt. Morty a bit of a larger kid who somehow had gotten a bag of chips. Scotty, who was confined to a wheelchair, Rika the oldest who Ash could tell didn't have any interest in being here, and finally Ken and Kim the twins who hated each other.
"Professor what am I supposed to do! I can't even figure out how to connect with them." Ash said privately at lunch.
"Ash, I've seen you work with all sorts of Pokémon, how hard can these kids be?" Professor Cerise asked.
"I can use Pikachu against other Pokémon, I can't do that to these kids." Ash hissed.
"You'll do great." Professor Cerise reassured.
The afternoon's first activity was an obstacle course. Marty and Scotty couldn't do it. Pria refused to try, Rika didn't even respond, and Ken and Kim kept fighting over who would go first. This repeated for the other activities throughout the afternoon. At dinner, Ash finally decided to take it one at a time.
"Hey Rika, anyone sitting here?" Ash asked sitting down.
No response.
"So, having fun yet?" Ash asked.
No response.
"Where are you from?"
Rika turned to look away from him.
"Can you at least say something?"
"Fine." Rika said angrily.
"You don't even want to be here, do you?" Ash asked.
"Of course I don't! My dad does this every year! I've never enjoyed it!" Rika burst out.
"Have you ever even given it a chance? You didn't even try anything today." Ash said.
"My dad doesn't want me. He sends me to who knows where any chance he can, all I want is to spend time with him. Do you have any idea what that's like." Rika broke down.
"More than you know, but I learned to make the most of what I had available. I went on a journey and tried a bit of everything. Even had fun most of the time, maybe you would too." Ash said.
"I guess it could be some fun." Rika said.
"That's the spirit, now I just have to figure out those five." Ash admitted.
"Yeah, I'm willing to try the activities. You're on your own for them." Rika said.
"I see you've made some progress." Professor Cerise said, sitting down next to Ash.
"I had to stop looking at them all as one problem and it suddenly became easier." Ash admitted. "I already have a few ideas to help the other kids, and there's still four days left to work at them."
In the Vents
Impidimp was panicking. He thought he had finally caught the intruder and went on a full on attack to stop them. Unfortunately it turned out to be Scraggy. Even worse, scraggy doesn't have claws, so whoever ate the apple was still in there. Impidimp quickly dropped off the body before continuing his search. Only he could protect the vents.