"Hi, -fessor Oak!"

The Pokémon researcher laughed as a familiar raven-haired boy came running towards him. "Aiden, my boy! I see you're all ready for another fun day!"

"Uh huh!" Aiden confirmed, tightly clutching the backpack straps that were laid over his shoulders. "And I'm not late today!"

Professor Oak snickered and glanced up at Ash, who had one of his hands pressed over his eyes. "I'm never going to live this down, am I?"

Misty giggled and reached out to touch Ash's back before turning towards Professor Oak. "Thank you for letting us stay here for a little while, Professor. Ash really thinks it'll help Michelle get more comfortable."

"Of course!" Professor Oak guffawed. "Anything for that precious girl."

He inched closer to Michelle, who was still in Ash's arms, and bent down a bit so he was at eye level with her. Michelle, who was quite comfortable with Professor Oak, didn't shy away and offered the man a sweet little smile.

"I'm sure your brother told you how much fun he had yesterday, hmm?" Professor Oak asked.

"Yes," Michelle squeaked.

Professor Oak smiled at her soft voice. "I'm certain you'll have just as much fun! Your mom and dad will make sure of that, I know."

Michelle's smile widened and she nodded her head. Beaming, Ash placed Michelle on the ground beside Aiden, while Misty knelt down and handed the little girl her own backpack.

"Daddy and I will be right here," Misty assured her daughter. "But I think it would be good if you went with your brother and tried to talk to the other kids again!"

"Ya!" Aiden agreed with his mother. "Come on, Shelly! They're so nice!"

Michelle glanced up hesitantly at her father. Ash, in turn, gave her a confident smile and a thumbs up, while Pikachu let out an encouraging "cha!"

"Okay," Michelle murmured.

That was enough to get Aiden excited. He let out a delighted whoop and grabbed his sister's hand, dragging her towards the nearby group of fellow campers.

"What a sweetheart!" Professor Oak chuckled. "I just adore how soft spoken she is. Very different for you two, isn't it?"

"It's interesting," Misty laughed softly. "I never thought I'd have a kid who was so quiet and reserved! I haven't been like that a day in my life. But she really is so sweet! It's just hard to watch her around people she doesn't know so well or struggle to make new friends. Especially when her brother could chat up a statue without hesitation."

"But I know she's going to break out of her shell sooner rather than later!" Ash added, pumping a fist. "I can feel it!"

"You keep saying that, and I'm not sure where you're getting that idea from," Misty sighed. "I hope you're right, but Michelle still seems awfully nervous when it comes to strangers."

"I told you, I just feel it," Ash replied, his voice becoming gentler. He knew Misty worried about Michelle…and carried a lot of guilt because of it. "Look how much better she's become with people she does know! It's only a matter of time before she realizes she can trust other people too."

"I think Ash makes a good point," Professor Oak warmly assured Misty. "I myself have really seen Michelle become more outgoing with people she's familiar with. These kinds of things are built on baby steps, after all. The more you encourage it, the sooner she'll get there!"

Misty smiled at the professor and nodded her head. "Thanks, Professor Oak. I'll keep that in mind!"

Nearby, Aiden had just parked himself in front of the other kids, his hand still locked around a timid Michelle's.

"Hey guys!" Aiden greeted.

One of the girls from the day before, with long, curly blonde hair fashioned into pigtails, beamed at the boy. "Hi, Aiden!"

"My sister came back today!" Aiden excitedly announced. "She really wants to have fun with us!" Turning towards his sister, Aiden nodded towards the blonde girl standing across from them and informed her, "that's Darla. She's from Pallet Town, like -fessor Oak and Grammy!"

Michelle bashfully looked up at Darla and managed to squeak out a nervous, "hi."

Darla's olive eyes lit up, and she replied with a hearty, "hiya! Did Aiden tell you all about everything we did yesterday?"

Michelle slowly nodded her head.

"She knows how much fun we all had," Aiden added. "So, she wants to, too!"

At this, Darla giggled. "Yay!"

Another one of the female campers, who towered nearly a full head over Darla, glanced at Michelle and raised an eyebrow. "She's not just gonna run away again, is she?"

Michelle frowned, but quickly turned her head when one of the other campers shouted, "that isn't nice, Hazel!"

That protest had come from one of the little boys whom Michelle had recognized from the day before as well, with his curly, dark blue hair and equally dark eyes.

"Thanks, Jacob!" Aiden gratefully thanked the boy before looking at Hazel. "No, she won't. She wants to be friends with you guys! Right, Shelly?"

It took a second, but Michelle once again slowly nodded her head in response.

"Everyone here is great, even Hazel, although she can get kinda bossy sometimes," Aiden informed his sister, simultaneously earning a glare from the girl. He then introduced her to most of the other campers, including the tiny Liv, porcelain doll looking Riko, auburn haired Pax, and green haired Seth. With each introduction, Michelle started to become a bit more comfortable, and slowly began to say more to each of her fellow campers.

"We like to go watch all the Pokémon -fore camp starts," another little boy suddenly announced to Michelle. "Wanna come with us?"

Michelle sealed her mouth shut, suddenly feeling quite shy again, but Aiden was quick to jump in and inform his sister, "that's Benji. His favorite Pokémon are grass types!"

"Grass types?" Michelle repeatedly softly before turning towards Benji. "Did you meet Bulbasaur?"

Benji appeared intrigued but shook his head.

"My daddy's Bulbasaur lives here," Michelle continued softly. "He makes sure that all the other Pokémon get along."

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Benji marveled, his eyes widening.

This seemed to loosen Michelle up a bit. With the tiniest smile gracing her lips, Michelle chirped, "I'll find him for you!"

Ash and Misty were watching on, and while Misty had a face of obvious surprise, Ash's was one more of pride.

"I knew it!" He breathed with excitement.

"That's…this is…" Misty sputtered, unable to string a proper sentence together. Soon enough, she was sporting a huge smile, her hands flying up to cover her mouth.

Professor Oak glanced over at the couple and grinned. "Well, look at that. It appears your daughter has warmed up to everyone!"

With that, the older man approached the pack of children, beginning to speak to them and gaining their attention. Michelle was no exception, spinning around to face the professor so her back was to her parents. They could no longer see her face, but they had no problem seeing her hand fly up in response to a question asked by Professor Oak, and him subsequently calling on her.

Misty sniffled a bit and let out a short sigh, Ash turning to look at her. "Sorry, I'm totally overreacting."

Ash smiled and shook his head. "I don't think so. This is a big deal!"

"I didn't think it'd hit me so hard to watch Michelle get along with other kids," Misty murmured with a short laugh, rubbing at her eyes. "That's so crazy."

Ash chuckled and slung his arm around Misty's shoulders. "It sure is great, isn't it?"

Misty hummed softly before nodding. "Yeah, it is."

In the circle of young campers, with her parents unable to see, Michelle was sporting the biggest smile on her face. She had found the nerve to answer Professor Oak's question, done so successfully, and earned the further admiration of the other kids, who were now eagerly asking her questions of their own. Aiden himself was beaming as well, happy to see that his sister was now having just as much fun as he was. After a short while, Professor Oak was able to get the children to settle down and move on to their first activity of the day. As the group of campers followed after him, Michelle stopped in her tracks to look up at her parents, grinning and waving them an energetic farewell before rejoining everyone else. Ash and Misty had returned her smile and waved back, watching as she scurried off and out of their sight.

As the campers walked through the fields, Aiden jogged up next to his sister, smirking at her. "Isn't this the best?!"

Michelle giggled and nodded her head. "Yeah!"

"You're not scared anymore?" Aiden asked, a hint of hesitance in his voice.

"Nuh uh," Michelle quickly replied. "The other kids are super nice! I want to be friends with them and learn all about Pokémon."

At this, Aiden's face lit up. "Me too!"

Michelle excitedly clutched the straps of her backpack. "What kinda fun do you think we'll have today?"

Aiden shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. But I'm really e-cited! Me and you are gonna have the most fun at Pokémon Camp ever!"

Thank you to everyone who read this story! I really enjoyed getting to share it with you. The idea of Aiden and Michelle at Pokemon Summer Camp is something I'd love to explore more of in the future, so keep an eye out!