Horrors of Camping

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CHAPTER ONE
Just Bad Luck

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"Sleeping bags?"

"Check!"

"Tents?"

"Check!"

"Sunglasses?"

"Check!"

"Swim suits?"

"Check!"

"Bug spray?"

"Check!"

"Sunscreen?"

"Check!"

"Clothes?"

"Check!"

"Shampoo? Conditioner? Body wash?"

"Check, check, and check!"

"First Aid Kit?"

"Check!"

"Your six pokémon?"

"Check!" Seven voices echoed.

"Hmmm…" A pair of sea green eyes scanned over a sheet of paper. "I believe that's everything!" Taking out another list, and flipping perfect hair which shone like gold in the sunlight, Daisy called out the first name on the list.

"Dawn Berlitz?"

"Here!" A cheerful blunette called, grinning broadly as she swung a large pink tote bag over her shoulder, her tote bag matching the embellished coral pink tank top she currently wore with some faded and fringe-edged denim shorts and flip-flops. The sunglasses perched on top of her head almost fell off as the weight of the tote bag hit her, but she caught them just in time.

"May Maple?"

"Here!" A brunette with bright sapphire eyes responded cheerfully, looking sweet and innocent in the bright red sundress she was wearing, her hands folded behind her back.

"Zoey Nozomi?"

"Here!" A red-haired tomboy called back calmly, leaning against Tracey's old faded red Expedition, dressed in simple white capris and a crimson red tank top, her sunglasses perched like usual on top of her head.

"Mist—"

"Here!" A carrot top interrupted impatiently. "Violet and Lily are here too. We're all here, Daisy, so let's get going already!"

"It's not nice to interrupt, little sister," Daisy responded calmly back. "And I have to double check! Now I would appreciate it if you don't interrupt me next time, that way we can get to the camp faster."

Misty sighed impatiently.

"Misty Waterflower?"

"Heeeeere," she called lazily back, folding her arms in front strapless pale yellow top she wore with distressed capris.

"Lily?"

"Like, here!" Misty's pink-haired sister chirped, dressed in an orange sundress.

"Violet?"

"Right here, sissy!" Violet giggled, wearing a green dress identical to Lily's.

"And Tracy's here, and so am I, of course," Daisy said. "So that's everybody and everything, which means it's time to go camping!"

Everybody cheered at this announcement, excitement filling the air like static.

"And everything is already packed in the car, so all that's left to do is to get in! It's camping time!"she called, stuffing her own huge bags in the back of the Expedition

Quickly all the other girls began to rush towards the car, determined to fight for the best possible seat on their long drive northeast.

That was about three hours ago.

Dawn sighed, fighting back another yawn as she returned her gaze to the window which displayed the boring scenery of rocks and more rocks. It was so boring! The land was all gray, matching the color of the large rocks, and as far as she could see, the landscape only continued like that for what would probably be another hour unless there just-so-happened to be some trees or a lake behind those mountains which looked just as boring as the rest of the landscape. The landscape wasn't even worth taking pictures of.

We're going camping, Dawn thought. So where are the pine trees? The green mountains? The lakes and rivers? The streams? Where's the green? All I see is gray.

Tearing her gaze away from the window, she quickly glanced at everyone else in the car.

The Expedition had eight seats; eight seats were taken up.

Tracy and Daisy, who had been married to each other for a little more than a month now, sat in the front with Tracy in the driver's seat. Tracy was busy concentrating on the road, his eyes once in a while flickering to a map he had laid out on the dash board in front of him, or Daisy, who was busy chatting to him about some shoes she bought a week ago.

Meanwhile, Misty and her other two sisters were seated in the middle row. Lily had her pink earphones on with her bright green iPod nano playing on full blast. Meanwhile, Violet was texting rapidly to someone and playing games on her cellphone, and Misty, stuck in the middle, had her head in her lap, looking as if she could be asleep. The carrot-top had fought for the backseat but had been forced to sit in the middle after losing to a fierce game of rock-paper-scissors with May.

In the very back of the car sat her, May, and Zoey. May sat on the left side of the car and was doodling randomly on the back of a notebook she had in her lap, and whenever she wasn't doodling, she was staring out the window, biting her lower lip anxiously. Zoey, like Misty, was seated in the middle, and had her arms folded behind her head as she stared out either Dawn's window, May's window, or the window in front of her. Meanwhile, Dawn also spent most of her time staring out the window and waiting for the color green to pop up out of nowhere or playing with the apps on her pokétch.

How far away is the camp we're going to anyway? Dawn wondered to herself. It was supposed to be on the far side of Kanto, towards the east coast, so she guessed it was pretty far away considering their drive started in Cerulean City which was closer to the west side of Kanto.

What time did we leave anyway? Didn't we leave around ten o'clock? Quickly, she glanced at her pokétch. It was almost one o'clock. And still no sign of greenery. Or a restaurant. Now that Dawn thought about it, she was kind of hungry.

As if reading her mind, Misty, waking from her nap and stretching her arms high above her head while yawning loudly, called to her sister, "Hey, Daisy, when are we stopping for some lunch? I'm starving!"

"You're not starving," Daisy responded back. "We like, fed you this morning."

Misty glared at her sister. "Hey! Don't talk to me as if I'm a pet you have to feed and take care of!"

Daisy laughed. "But, little sis, you are like a pet!"

Misty narrowed her eyes at her blonde sister, but chose to ignore her last comment. "So when are we stopping to eat, Daisy?"

"Like, how am I supposed to know?" she responded. "When we enter the next town, I guess. Or the next time we see a restaurant."

"A strawberry milkshake sounds really good right now," Dawn commented. "And a yogurt parfait… Mmm!"

"I'm craving noodles," May spoke up.

Misty snorted. "As soon as we find a place to chow down on, I'll burst into that place and demand a big fat double cheeseburger with extra bacon and a side of some greasy fries!" The red-head declared.

"I'm with Misty," Zoey agreed, laughing.

The car filled with was filled with chatter for about twenty minutes as the girls discussed food, camp, and somehow even wandered across the topic of how big some boys' butts were. But it wasn't long though before silence filled the car once more.

Finally, unable to take the silence, Dawn took out her pink iPod and was about to put on a song (Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-A-Lot – their discussion on boys and butts had inspired her to listen to it) when she glanced out the window.

"I see green!" May declared excitedly, as she spotted the first sign of green since what felt like a lifetime. "I see a forest! And a mountain!"

"Wilderness, here we come!" Dawn pumped her fist into the air.

Excitement and chatter began to fill the car once again.

"I wouldn't get too excited if I was you. We still have a three hour drive," Daisy informed them. Everybody's face deflated and the chatter ceased.

"Ugh," Misty groaned, her head dropping to her lap.

"I hope there's a gas station somewhere nearby," Tracy mused. "The car is getting low on gas again…"

"Hopefully there's also a restaurant nearby," Misty sighed. "My stomach is beginning to feel as if it's going to eat me if I don't feed it soon!" Just then a growl ripped through the car.

"You're beginning to sound like Ash," Dawn teased.

Just then the car darkened as they rode down a road that cut straight through a mountain. Gray, rocky walls speckled with grass rose up on both sides of the car, shielding them from the sunshine and instantly cooling the car. The air conditioner was turned off soon after.

"So, where is this camp we're going to?" Dawn questioned, turning to Misty. "And um, what's the camp's name again? Camp Maroon? Burgundy?"

"Close. It's called Camp Scarlet," Misty told them. "It's supposed to be located behind one of these mountains, so its location is kind of hidden, which is why the towns around it, and the camp itself, aren't really well-known."

"I knew it was a red color!" Dawn proclaimed under her breath.

"Camp Scarlet," Zoey mused. "That's a pretty name. I think I may have heard of Camp Scarlet once."

"It is a beautiful name," Misty agreed. "And the camp itself is very beautiful. It has mountains, a forest, a lake, AND a beach since it's near the ocean. It's also supposed to have spectacular sights. Like I heard it got its name because every ten nights the moon glows red there."

"Sounds kind of freaky," May commented quietly. "Why does it glow red every ten nights?"

Misty shrugged. "Nobody knows why. I mean, there's probably some reasonable explanation behind it. Anyway," she said, continuing on, "There's also this rumored waterfall hidden someplace in the mountains that glows red in the moonlight."

"Glowing red moons? Glowing red waterfalls? This sounds like a place a werewolf would be hanging out at," Dawn commented.

"It's not a place for werewolves, but it is a place for a monster!" A voice said eerily.

All eyes turned towards Daisy who grinned creepily back at them, her sunglasses pushed back to the top of her head so her eyes glowed in the eerie light. Dawn frowned, an uncomfortable feeling settling over her.

"What do you mean a monster?" Dawn questioned.

"A monster?" Zoey also queried.

"Yeah. Like, haven't you heard of it?" Daisy asked. Not even waiting for a response, she continued, "Screams heard in the middle of the night, missing counselors, bones found in the woods! Every year, or so the story goes, a counselor goes missing from Camp Scarlet, usually a girl, a very pretty girl I may add, and usually the only thing found left of them are their bones. Their deaths are a mystery, but I've come up with a very logical explanation for their deaths and disappearances: a monster got them!"

"That doesn't mean a monster got them, Daisy, just because bones from missing counselors have been found," Misty snorted, crossing her arms. "Besides, like you said, their deaths are a mystery!"

"Like true, it is a mystery little sis, but—" Just then her voice dropped, and her eyes began to gleam mischievously. "—whenever a counselor goes missing, these footprints appear the next day. Large footprints. Footprints that can't belong to any normal-sized pokémon that is in the woods."

By then Lily had taken off her earphones and Violet had stopped texting; they were also listening in on the conversation, worried frowns beginning to paint their features.

"Isn't the camp also supposed to be, like, haunted?" Lily questioned. "I heard the campground Camp Scarlet is on is the same place these pioneers died on a few hundred years ago."

Violet nodded, her blue eyes widening. "Yeah! Like I heard that one time this girl and this boy were canoeing in the lake, and suddenly their canoe flipped over, even though there wasn't a single wave or breeze!"

"I heard that story, too," Daisy said, smiling. "Just like I heard ten days later the same girl from the canoe went missing and she was never found. Not even her body."

"Creepy!" Lily declared.

"Wait," May interrupted, turning to Misty. "I thought you said the camp wasn't well-known?"

"Oh, it is well-known," Daisy laughed. "It's well-known for its horror stories! Camp Scarlet may not be the most known camp out there, or the most popular camp, but it is a popular setting for stories, most of them, if not all, creepy."

"Hmm… No wonder why Mom didn't want Max to go to camp alone," May murmured, glancing out the window worriedly.

"Wait – so you're taking us to a haunted camp?" Dawn asked, beginning to feel even more uneasy. Mixed in with her uneasiness though she felt a small sense of excitement.

"Oh, relax," Daisy said, rolling her eyes, a playful grin on her face. "These are just some of the things we heard about the camp. Like, there's no guarantee these things really happened. As far as we know, they're just stories."

"I guess," Dawn responded, frowning.

"So what other stories have you heard about this place?" Zoey queried.

"Well," Daisy said, grinning. "Since you asked, there's also this story about this one boy counselor who—"

Just then there was a screeeeee! and the entire car started to spin out of control. Screams filled the car until Tracey finally managed to hit the brake. More screams filled the car as there was a final THUMP!, and the car came to a jerking stop just as the Expedition crashed into a large oak.

"Shit!" May heard Tracey curse from the front. "Is everybody okay?" he called after checking on Daisy who had hit her head on the dashboard and had her head between her knees. "Is anybody hurt?"

"N-no need to worry!" Dawn called back first, her blue eyes wide as she said her usual catchphrase. Her head throbbed where her head had briefly hit the window, but other than that, she was fine.

"I-I'm fine!" May squeaked back, still shocked after the small crash. "M-Misty?"

"I'm good," The carrot-top responded, laughing nervously. "How about you, Zoey?"

"I'm fine," she responded, her fire red eyes wide. "Just shocked."

"U-um, how about you, Lily? Violet?" Misty asked next.

"We're good," they responded simultaneously. "Daisy, are you like, okay?" Lily asked worriedly, having seen Daisy's head hit the dashboard.

"F-fine," Daisy responded, sniffing loudly, her voice muffled by her hands. "J-just have a, ow, headache…" Finally, Daisy held her head up, breathing unevenly. "Are you okay, Trace? What happened?"

"Yeah, like what happened Tracy?" Violet demanded, her voice high-pitched from shock. Clearing her throat, she continued, "Like, everything was going perfectly fine, and then next thing I know, we're spinning out of control!"

"Yeah!" Lily agreed. "Did we get a flat tire or something?"

"I don't know," Tracy responded, frowning. "I'm going to go check right now. Everybody stay in the car."

"Well, this is just perfect!" Misty said sarcastically, clearly upset. "Our first camping trip together and the car gets lodged into a tree!"

"That's going to leave a big dent," May commented quietly, sweat dropping, as she saw the tree the car smacked into. "I certainly hope Tracey has insurance for this thing…"

"I'm sure he does," Daisy responded, turning towards them. Dawn flinched as she saw the red bruise beginning to form on Daisy's forehead. "After all, he's Tracey, and he's like, prepared for everything! It's one of the reasons why I love him." She giggled.

Misty cringed while May and Dawn also giggled.

"Save the gushy things for later," Misty sighed, slumping back down into her seat and laying her head between her knees. "Ugh, I have such a terrible headache right now…"

"Hey, how do you think I feel?" Daisy asked. "I got my head slammed into the headboard." This information only seemed to worsen Misty's headache.

"Relax, Misty," Lily said, rubbing her little sister's back. "We'll be back on the road in no time!" Just then Tracey returned.

"Like, what was it, Trace?" Daisy asked immediately. "Did we get a flat tire?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Tracey sighed. "We have a spare tire, thankfully, but it's going to take a while to put on. Fortunately, the front of the car was spared minimum damage. You guys don't mind waiting about half an hour do you?"

"Of course not," Daisy chirped, ignoring her younger sister's disagreeing groan.

"I wonder what gave us a flat tire," Zoey queried suddenly. "The tires were perfectly fine when we left, weren't they?"

Daisy nodded. "Mhm. It was like, probably just the road. Probably ran into a nail or something sharp. Or the tires may have just gotten worn after so much driving. Just bad luck. That's all."

"Hopefully camp won't be like this drive," Dawn sighed. "Boring and full of bad luck."

"It shouldn't be," Misty said, lifting her head back up. "It has a lake, a beach, a forest, mountains, not to mention various activities," as she said this, her eyes brightened. "A beach and a forest…surrounded by the mountains and fresh air…it's gonna be perfect! Perfect!" Misty whispered, over and over again to herself, as if to convince herself it would be.

Dawn felt sympathy for the younger sister. She was still clearly upset about the small accident, and although the carrot top didn't say it, Dawn knew she was worried about Daisy.

"Sounds like the perfect summer camp. Mountains, forests, a lake and a beach," May whispered.

"And boys," Daisy added, smirking.

"Oh yeah, and boy counselors," Misty added. "Not to mention plenty of snotty kids who won't want to listen to a single word we say," she sighed.

"Hey, my brother is one of those 'snotty kids'," May giggled.

"They're supposed to be five to thirteen, aren't they?" Zoey asked. "Perhaps they won't be so bad."

"Maybe," Misty grumbled.

"Hey, Dawn, isn't Kenny going to be one of the male counselors at this camp?" Zoey asked suddenly, turning to the blunette.

She nodded. "Uh-huh. He mentioned it to us at the last contest we were all at together." She smiled, excitement suddenly bubbling up inside of her. "That was like forever ago though! I wonder how he is now. Aren't you glad we know one of the boy counselors, Zo?"

Zoey nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Misty rolled her eyes, smirking slightly. "Hey, maybe you guys can get him to introduce us to the rest of the guy counselors."

"Or you can get Ash to, like, introduce you," Daisy chipped in. "He's going to be a counselor at Camp Scarlet too!"

Misty's eyes widened slightly, and then went back to normal as she folded her arms across her chest. "And how exactly do you know this, Daisy?"

"I know this since I'm like, the Camp Director, duh!" the blonde responded, giggling. The red mark on her head was beginning to show hints of blues and purples. "I have a list of everybody attending the camp, not to mention the names of all the activity directors and other staff members. Like I bet there's a whole lot of people you guys are going to know here, after all, most of them are friends and acquaintances of Ash that he like, gathered up."

"So Ash is really going to be a counselor?" May questioned, giggling as she saw a small smile spread across Misty's face.

"Yup!" Daisy chirped. "And there are three other guy counselors too! Um, I think their names are Paco and… like, something that starts with a D, or something. Hold on, let me check." Humming to herself, Daisy began to sort through a small tote bag of hers for a list.

"Paco?" Dawn giggled. "I'm not going to forget that name."

"Oh, Paco? Did I say Paco?" Daisy laughed, her list now in her hands. "Oh, um, I like meant Paul. The other counselors are Kenny Solomon, Paul Strongman and Drew Rosalind."

"Paul Strongman?"/"Drew Rosalind?" May and Dawn both asked simultaneously, blinking.

Is Paul Strongman the same Paul who was Ash's rival in Sinnoh? Dawn wondered, frowning. Daisy had said the counselors were acquaintances and friends he had gathered up. But Paul was Ash's rival… wasn't he?

"Drew Rosalind," May repeated his name, also frowning. "Huh. So Drew's a counselor? I never saw that coming."

"I don't think anybody did, assuming this Drew Rosalind is that green-haired dude who gives you roses whose name also happens to be Drew," Misty responded. "So, Daisy, do you have what activities we'll be in charge of planned out yet?"

"Of course I do! You will be in charge of swimming and canoeing since I know you love water so much, and so will Ash since I know you have a crush on him—"

"Shut up, I do not like him like that," The redhead grumbled, red staining her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Whatever you say, sis," Daisy responded, smirking. "And May will be in charge of Arts and Crafts along with Drew, since they are both from Hoenn and are coordinators." May frowned at this. "Zoey and Kenny will be put in charge of bird watching and pokémon tracking, and Dawn and Paul will be put in charge of the hiking activities!"

"What about us?" Violet questioned, referring to her and Lily.

"Ah, right! You two will be in charge of the training activity, which is basically just you two supervising the kids ten and older as they train their pokémon or battle and making sure the ones younger than ten don't kill each other," Daisy responded. "There are only ten counselors, so there are only five main activities."

Just then Tracey reappeared. "Okay, got the tire on!" Tracey chimed, putting on his seatbelt. "Time to hit the road again!"

"Great!" Daisy said cheerfully. "Then let's get moving!"

Minutes rolled by in silence, and as they drove deeper into the mountains, Dawn started to notice the gray clouds in the distance. They were eerie, clouds that threatened rain. Looking at them, Dawn couldn't help but recall what Lily had said about the camp.

A haunted camp…

"Is Camp Scarlet really haunted?" Dawn asked Misty, her voice soft and questioning, as she leaned forward in her seat. Misty glanced back over her shoulder at the blunette and then twisted in her seat so she could face the blunette better.

"I highly doubt it. Daisy likes to exaggerate on things," Misty said. "Like the story about the monster. She just made up the thing about the footprints to scare us I bet. I mean, I've heard no such things about footprints showing up after a counselor disappears, and I've heard just as many stories as Daisy has."

"But did pioneers really die on the land that camp is on?" Dawn asked again.

"Well…" Misty scrunched her eyebrows together. "Yeah. I suppose they did. It was in the eighteen hundreds though. You know, before everything got so advanced."

"How did they die?"

"Well, if you asked Daisy, she would say the 'monster' got them, but it was actually from the winter. From what I heard, the pioneers had lived on that land for only a few months and had just finished building these small cabins when there was a bad winter storm. It snowed for weeks. The pioneers were trapped in their cabins – you know, snowed in. Those who didn't die from hypothermia died from starvation."

"Freaky," May murmured quietly.

"I think that's actually kind of cool," Zoey responded. "I've always wanted to go someplace haunted. You know, maybe see a ghost."

"It is pretty cool," Misty agreed. "Like there's even a graveyard for the pioneers somewhere deep in the forest! Not that I've seen it, but I've heard about it."

"Wait a minute, have you been to this camp before?" May questioned.

"Only once," she said. "I went with my sister when she was checking out the camp and deciding whether or not she wanted to be the camp director."

"Why does your sister want to be the camp director?" Zoey asked. "Not to seem rude or anything, but I just never saw your sister as the outdoorsy kind. She always struck me as some shopaholic that just so happened to have a leader role at the Cerulean Gym."

"She wanted to try something new," Misty explained. "She saw a flyer about it needing a new director, remembered some stories she heard about it being haunted and stuff, and yeah. I guess she wanted to see if it was true, and then when she got there and saw the ocean and lake, she was hooked. Tracy kind of had to talk her into it too though."

"That's pretty cool of your sister," May said. "So what does the camp look like? Are there any shower stalls or anything?"

"It's very pretty. It has pretty evergreen trees that surround the camp, but then there's a lake about a few hundred feet away from the cabins. It is like the deepest blue you'll ever see! Seriously. The cabins there are made of maple wood and are very old. Like very, very old. The shower stalls aren't nearly as old though and are right outside the counselors' cabins which would be pretty cool if it wasn't for the fact that the boys could probably spy on us while we're showering if they wanted to. Oh! And then the beach… Oh my gosh, it is like behind the mountains, and it's only a few hours walk away if you take this one trail that cuts right through them. The sand there is so white; when I first saw it I thought it was snow! And then the ocean is absolutely beautiful! It is just so amazing, especially at night time, it is just simply indescribable but I'll try to describe it anyway…"

Dawn listened to Misty's cheerful description of the beach with half an ear, daydreams starting to cloud her mind as she imagined her following weeks at Camp Scarlet.

Two months out in the wilderness, working on my tan, and going on long hikes with small kids and some guy named Paul Strongman, whoever he is.

Paul Strongman… She thought, repeating his name in her mind. She liked the way the name sounded on her tongue. Paul Strongman… Strongman…

Suddenly an image of a lavender-haired man with piercing onyx-colored eyes entered her thoughts.

"Hey! Hello! Earth to Dawn! Are you there?"

Dawn blinked, and she blushed as she saw all her friends were staring at her with questioning looks on their faces.

"Um…hi?"

"Daisy asked what you wanted to eat," Zoey told her.

"Huh?"

"We're stopping for lunch. What do you want to eat?" Zoey repeated.

Dawn frowned but then felt another blush crawl onto her cheeks as she realized the car was parked by a small café and a gas station with one pump.

"Oh. Um, anything is fine," she told Daisy.

"Gotcha," the blonde said as she exited the car. "I'll give you a parfait then if they have any, and maybe a salad. What do you want to drink? Is Sprite fine with you?"

"Yeah, it is," Dawn said. "Like I said, anything is fine with me."

The car door slammed as Daisy, along with Misty's other two sensational sisters, got out to buy lunch. A minute later Tracy got out to fill up the Expedition with much needed fuel.

"Geez, what's with you," Misty asked. "Daydreaming about hunky twelve-year old boys already, Dawn?"

Dawn blushed furiously at this comment. "O-of course not!" she stuttered. "I was just…just…" Dawn shot a glare at the carrot top as the beginning of a smirk curved the youngest sensational sister's pale mouth. "I wasn't think about twelve year old boys!"

"Whatever you say," Misty laughed.

Dawn just turned away from her, sniffing indignantly, and turned her gaze to the sodden gray clouds outside the car and the dark green pine trees that were swaying in the wind. For the second time she noticed how eerie it looked outside with the dark clouds hiding the sun and casting a large shadow over the land. And for the first time, she noticed the goosebumps starting to cover her arms and legs.

"Whew, it's chilly in here…" May's soft voice commented, echoing Dawn's exact thoughts.

"That's because we're getting close to the beach," Misty told her. "It's usually pretty chilly next to the ocean because the wind blows in the cold from the water."

"Is it going to be like this all summer?"

"I don't think it will be," Misty replied. "Don't worry, it'll get warm. Maybe not blazing hot like we want, but it'll be decent."

"Oh, okay."

"How much longer do you think it will be until we reach camp?"

"Not too long," Misty said. "Maybe about two more hours. The camp is right over this mountain and then we just go through this small cave, a forest, and then we're there."

"Finally," Dawn sighed, stretching her long limbs out in front of her. "My back is killing me!"

Dawn's eyes widened in awe when she first saw the camp. It was amazing! Immediately she felt a tingle of excitement as she imagined the days she would be spending there. Even if it was chilly out, she refused to dismiss the idea of getting a tan.

The camp was like a scene you only saw in a painting, a cleverly painted picture that although beautiful, could only be a figment of someone's imagination. The camp was full of evergreen trees that shimmered in the sunlight, and in the distance Dawn could make out the glittering surface of a lake that was the most stunning shade of blue she had ever seen.

About twenty ancient-looking cabins lined the camp, but like everything else, the cabins went very well with the rest of the scenery. Most of the campsite had been cleared of any trees, but behind the cabins there were evergreen trees as far as the eye could see, surrounding two-thirds of the camp. Behind the forest Dawn could see more mountains which towered over the forest and camp, being both rocky and gray and also green with forests. The lake was a good forty to fifty yards away from the camp, stretching far both east and west, surrounding the part of the camp that wasn't surrounded by trees. The lake was a beautiful blue, the most brilliant shade of blue Dawn had ever laid eyes on. The lake's coast was fair, the sand being almost as white as snow, giving the lake an even more stunning appearance.

"Wow! This place is beautiful!" May exclaimed, her blue eyes widening in awe. "You weren't exaggerating Misty when you told us how beautiful this place was! In fact, I think you were under-exaggerating.

Misty just grinned. Zoey glanced around and nodded her approval. Dawn dug through her pink tote bag and pulled out a digital camera. She snapped a few pictures, trying to memorize every detail of this beautiful place or at least document it.

"Okay, so, if you would follow me, I'll show you to your cabin," Daisy told them.

"Will we all be sharing the same cabin?" Zoey questioned.

"Well, not all of you," Daisy responded. "You, Misty, May and Dawn will be sharing the same cabin; Lily and Violet will be sleeping in the one next door though."

"That's fine with us," Dawn said.

"Yeah, like totally," Violet agreed. Lily nodded. "Yeah, more space for us!"

Daisy led the six girls over to their cabins. Lily and Violet were given the smaller cabin since there were only two of them, while Dawn and everyone else were put into the cabin next to theirs which was closer to the shower stalls; pass the shower stalls was the cabin the boy counselors would be staying in when they finally arrived.

"I call the bottom bed!" Dawn called immediately.

"Ditto!" May chirped.

Zoey just shrugged. "I'm fine with the bunk."

"Me too," Misty said. "So who's getting what bed and which bunk?"

"Ummm, I'll sleep on the bed on the right," Dawn offered. "And then Zoey can have the bed above me, and we can share the right side of the room. Then you and Misty can share the left side of the room. How does that sound?"

All four girls exchanged glances.

"Fine by me!" May chirped. "Your bed is closer to the door, so if any monster comes in through that way, you'll be the first to know!"

"And I'll also be the first to escape if the monster comes in through the window," Dawn told her, grinning, pointing a finger towards the small framed window next to May's bed. May looked at the glass window warily, as if expecting some hairy monster or mutated creature to climb through it and abduct her.

"May, don't worry, I'm sure there's really no monster here," Zoey told her, rolling her eyes. "You know how camp is. Scary ghost stories over a campfire; some kid probably just mixed some fiction in with the story about the pioneers and now everybody's thinking there might really be a monster."

"Yeah," May said, still sounding doubtful. She shook her head, sighing. "You're probably right."

Daisy smiled as she listened to their conversation. "Well, if you need anything just let me know." Daisy was about to turn away, to leave them to unpack, when Dawn stopped her suddenly.

"Wait, um, I wanted to ask you something," Dawn started, a sheepish blush beginning to form on her cheeks.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Well…it's just May, Misty, and Zoey all know who their, um, what do you call it? Well, who they're be directing activities with—"

"Their buddy," Daisy informed her. "Here at Camp Scarlet they call it a 'buddy'. Or you can just call it your partner. It sounds less kiddish, right? Anyway, go on."

"Okay… well, May, Misty and Zoey all know who their 'buddy' is, or partner, and I don't know who mine is, so I was kind of wondering…"

"Yours is like, that Paco Strongman dude," Daisy replied, misunderstanding what she meant.

"Paul Strongman," Dawn corrected. "And I actually meant, like, I know his name but I don't know who he is. Like, do you have maybe a picture of him? Or a biography or document or something on him that I could look at?"

"Of course!" Daisy chirped as she dug through her bright green tote bag and pulled out a file. "Just don't lose any of the papers in this or else! You can bring it back to me in the morning." Daisy got ready to leave again, but then paused, and added, "For anybody who's wondering, the boys won't be arriving until tomorrow. They were supposed to be here today like us, but they called and explained they wouldn't be here until tomorrow due to some like, circumstance I guess."

Daisy left for real that time, and Dawn stared at the file in her hands.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" May asked, stuffing lace bras and panties of every color in her drawer as she unpacked. Zoey quirked an eyebrow at the lingerie, secretly wondering if she wore those every day or if the sixteen year old had plans.

Dawn plopped down on her bed, cross-legged, as she leaned against the wall. She looked at the folder with the name of her future 'buddy' on it, thoughts and queries racing through her mind.

Would he be cute? Strong? Was he a trainer or a coordinator like her? Would they have a lot in common?

These thoughts still running through her mind, she opened the folder. The first paper just had his basic information on him.

First Name: Paul
Last Name: Strongman
Occupation: Trainer
Height: 6'1'' (nine inches taller than her…oh boy).
Weight: 193 lb.
Age: 17
Birthday: June 8th, 1995 (oooh, so he was about a year older than her)

Dawn blinked, thinking back to what today's date was.

Hey, his birthday is tomorrow! She realized, smiling to herself. I'm going to have to remind myself to tell him happy birthday!

"Oooh, Paul Strongman must be cute," Misty teased playfully. "Look, she's smiling!"

"I haven't even seen his picture yet," Dawn told her. "I was just reading his basic information, and, well…just never mind." She turned to the next paper in the file where it gave a brief biography of his life.

Paul Strongman is an aspiring trainer aiming to someday be one of the strongest trainers in Sinnoh. He grew up in Veilstone City with his older brother. He has competed in 7 Pokémon Leagues, including the Sinnoh League twice, and won the Sinnoh League on his second try at the young age of 15. He has also completed the Kanto Frontier, but he refused the offer of being the new Head of the Battle Frontier. Paul has also… … …

Dawn was no longer reading the biography though. While reading the biography, her eyes had wandered to the profile picture featured of Paul Strongman that was neatly printed to take up the last third of the page. She stared at the picture with a blank face, too shock to show any expressions. Her friends stared at her, waiting for her to say or react or anything.

"Uh oh…" May murmured worriedly. "He must not be cute. Poor Dawn, she's going to be stuck with some creep who'll be hitting on her all summer!"

Dawn looked up at this exclamation and blinked, shock finally becoming evident on her face as her eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly. She turned back to the picture on her lap, back to the picture of shoulder-length plum-colored hair, intense black eyes, and tanned skin. She turned back to the picture of Paul. Paul Strongman.

The same Paul she had met her first day as a trainer, the same Paul who had mistreated his pokémon, the same Paul Ash had battled countless times and had lost to countless times too until he finally defeated Paul Strongman at the Sinnoh League.

Paul Strongman. Strong, indifferent, cold.

Or so he was seven years ago, the last time she had seen him.

Zoey frowned. She walked over to the blunette and sat down next to her on the bed, peering over her shoulders to see the picture of Paul Strongman. She finally understood the surprised look on Dawn's face.

"Oh."

"Oh what?" May asked. "Is he cute or what? Is he hot?"

Misty sweat dropped, narrowing her eyes at May. "Geez, calm down May. What does it matter if he's cute or hot or if he isn't? It's not like Dawn's going to date him."

"Well, maybe, but that doesn't mean I might not want to date him," May responded.

"But what about Drew?" Misty asked.

"What about him?"

"I thought you liked him."

"Nooo. I don't like him," May denied, a pink blush quickly making its way on her cheeks. "Well, not anymore, at least…" Misty patted May's shoulder sympathetically. "Well, Dawn? Zoey? How is he?"

"It's…Paul." Dawn whispered.

"Mhm. Paul Strongman," Misty agreed, winking. "Can you be a little more specific?"

"No, I mean, it's…Paul. He was this, this rival of Ash's in Sinnoh. We use to run into him all the time. The last time I saw him was at the Sinnoh League when he battled Ash and lost. I don't think I've seen him ever since." Dawn's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Paul, huh?" Misty said thoughtfully. "I think I may remember Ash mentioning him. Actually…I think he mentioned him just a few weeks ago. He came to visit me a few weeks ago at the gym and he mentioned some summer plans he and his friends had. He wouldn't tell me what his plans were though." Misty clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Well, now I know. Anyway, I remember he mentioned something about this intense battle him and one of his friends, who is also a rival of his, had and I think he may have said the guy's name was Paul."

"Weird," Zoey said. "That guy was a jerk." A smile suddenly crept on the red-head's face. "But who knows, maybe he changed." Dawn just shrugged doubtfully, frowning.

"Hey! I just realized we all know who our counseling buddy will be!" May exclaimed, grinning. "Like Misty knows Ash – well, technically we all know Ash – I know Drew, Zoey knows Kenny – and so does Dawn – and then you two also know Paul! Talk about a small world, huh?"

"Yeah, a really small world," Dawn agreed, still staring at that picture in her lap.

Zoey also nodded, watching Dawn through narrowed eyes. "Hey, aren't you going to unpack?" she asked after a while. Reluctantly, Dawn tore her eyes away from the picture of Paul. Sighing, she closed the file.

"Yeah. I'll go unpack right now."

Late into the night, after everybody was done unpacking and had eaten dinner, everybody lied in bed but not everybody was asleep.

Dawn tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable. The bed sheets felt too hot to be under, but whenever she tossed them off, she felt as if she was sleeping in snow. It was a battle between hot and cold and which one she preferred. Sighing, Dawn stuck her leg out from the covers along with her left arm.

"Zoey?" she asked softly, wondering if the redhead was having trouble sleeping like she was.

"Yeah?"

Dawn smiled. "So you're having trouble sleeping, too?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. See, my crazy bunkmate can't fall asleep apparently and she keeps kicking my bed and as a result that's keeping me awake…" she explained.

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay," Zoey reassured. "So, what's keeping you awake?"

"The temperature," Dawn responded. "I'm like boiling and freezing at the same time."

"Really? Maybe there's a draft down there or something. I'm perfectly fine up here. It's like the perfect degree, warm but not blazing hot."

"Lucky," Dawn whispered. It was quiet for a moment. "Zoey?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… looking forward to tomorrow?" the blunette questioned.

The red-head was so quiet, for a moment Dawn feared she may have fallen asleep. "I don't know. Kind of, but not really. I mean, it'll be great to see Kenny and Ash again, but I'm not overly excited, you know?"

"I guess…"

It went quiet again, and then…

"Do you think he changed?"

"If who changed?"

"Paul."

"Oh. Maybe. You never know. Why?"

"Oh, no reason…" Dawn murmured.

Silence.

"Well, actually it's just… I dunno… it's just I'm going to be going on hiking trips with him for two months, so I'm just wondering if he's like…different now or something," Dawn explained. "I mean, it's not like I ever really got to know him personally, you know, but…"

"You better hope so. You don't wanna be stuck doing everything with an ass," Zoey told her.

Dawn was silent for a moment. "He's not really an ass… I mean, yeah, he kind of was, but not that much. He was just harsh, especially towards his pokémon."

Zoey raised an eyebrow, but Dawn didn't see it (for obvious reasons). "He was just harsh?"

"I'm not defending him or anything," she added quickly. "It's just, I mean, I'm trying to say…!"

"You're trying to say…?"

Dawn sighed. "I don't know what I'm trying to say. It's just, one of the last times I saw him, which was right before his and Ash's battle, he just seemed… I dunno. It's like hard to explain. Do you think he's misunderstood though?"

"Misunderstood?" Zoey laughed. "Wow, you had a lot of time to think about this, didn't you?"

Dawn shrugged, her face burning in the dark. "No… well, kind of. I just started thinking of it today. When I saw his picture. I was just thinking of the old days, back when I was still traveling with Ash and all of our old adventures, when I suddenly remembered this…talk we had right before the league."

"You two talked? That's surprising."

"Hey! What does that mean?" Dawn asked, her voice growing in volume. Misty mumbled something, half-asleep, in the next bed about loudmouths and flopped down on her stomach and buried her face in a pillow, still grumbling under her breath.

"Shhh, keep it down. May and Misty are actually asleep." Zoey hissed.

"Whoops. My bad," Dawn whispered guiltily.

"And I just meant I didn't think you two talked that much. Like you haven't mentioned any conversation between you and Paul in the seven years I've known you, so excuse me for assuming."

"Sorry," Dawn huffed. She sighed, turning over in bed. "All I know is Paul better remember my name and who I am, or I'm going to raise some hell and finish what I started at Oreburgh Gym."

"And what did you start at Oreburgh Gym exactly?" Zoey queried.

"Something," Dawn answered mischievously, smiling to herself in the dark. "Sweet dreams, Zoey. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Whoo! Finally uploaded this! :p By darn time, I've had this chapter written for what, half a decade? Idk, when did I finish Pretender's Fairytale or start Diamond and Pearl? Meh, I don't even know when I first started working on this story. O-o

In other words, I've been writing this story for like, years now (I think I started about 4 years ago? Maybe longer) and ever since have been working on this in my free time/when I'm not busy/when I'm in the mood to write about monsters, ghosts, & shippyness. As of this moment, I've finished 10 chapters (50% of this story) and am working on Chapter 14! :D (which really isn't that impressive considering how long it took me to write those chapters… and how much this chapter still kind of sucks despite how many times I've reread this :p haha…).

So Paul, Drew, Ash and Kenny are all counselors at Camp Scarlet with the girls. Predictable and obvious. Which is why I figured it would be kind of useless to have Dawn wait until the boys show up to figure out who her "buddy" is. :p

In other news, lots of foreshadowing this beginning chapter! (Lots more foreshadowing than I probably first intended when I wrote this forever ago xD hahaha)

Anyway, feel free to leave a review! ;D Next chapter the boys will arrive along with potential shippyness!

Oh yeah, I also decided the events of this story happened last summer (June 7, 2013 - August 5, 2013). Just an FYI. In case anyone begins to wonder that for whatever reason.

Next Chapter: Doomed From the Start