"AHHH!!!"
Even with Ash and Froakie by her side, and Clefairy humming up ahead, Serena had been extremely nervous when they first entered the forest.
But as time passed and her fear slowly faded…
She realized something strange — walking through a dark forest late at night with Ash wasn't scary at all.
In fact… it was kind of romantic.
And maybe… just a little thrilling.
Just as Serena began to truly relax and enjoy this midnight stroll together, something suddenly appeared within the beam of Ash's flashlight — a dark, shadowy figure looming eerily in their path.
The moment she saw it, Serena's fear spiked like lightning. She shrieked at the top of her lungs, clutching Ash's hand with a crushing grip.
Flap-flap-flap—!
Startled by her high-pitched scream, a whole flock of sleeping bird Pokémon took off from the trees around them, beating their wings in a chaotic blur.
"It's okay, Serena. Don't be afraid," Ash said softly. "That thing's not dangerous — it's just one of the props set up by the professors."
"We've probably reached the 200-meter mark. This is where the first number tag is located."
With his Aura Sense, Ash had already spotted the spooky statue from afar. But he'd deliberately chosen not to warn Serena.
Why?
Because tonight's event was a trial of courage — something Professor Oak had designed specifically to help campers develop bravery.
Even though Ash could easily guide Serena through the whole challenge without issue, that wouldn't really help her grow.
And of all the statue props hidden along the forest path, the one here at 200 meters was the least scary.
So Ash figured this was a good chance for Serena to face her fears in a manageable way.
"Really?" Serena asked, still clutching his hand tightly. "This is where the tag is?"
Ash nodded, explaining that it was just a prop made to look like a ghost-type Pokémon. Hearing that helped her calm down — a little.
Still holding Ash's hand with one of her own, she covered her eyes with the other and peeked cautiously through her fingers at the thing ahead.
It was a statue — a black orb-like body with floating tufts of purple mist around it, pale white eyes, and a wide mouth lined with sharp fangs.
The statue was modeled after Gastly, the classic ghost-type from the Kanto region.
"This is just a statue of Gastly," Ash reassured her gently. "Nothing to worry about."
"Mmm…" Serena nodded slowly, patting her chest as her heart rate began to return to normal.
Ghosts and ghost-type Pokémon were two very different things.
Real ghosts — spirits of the dead — were naturally frightening to most people.
But ghost-type Pokémon? They were just another species.
Once you understood what they really were, the fear tended to fade away.
"…Still, the staff here really went all out," Ash muttered as he approached the statue. "They actually hid the number tag inside Gastly's mouth? In a forest this dark and creepy?"
"Even if someone knows it's fake, I doubt many campers would have the guts to reach into that thing's mouth in the middle of the night."
"No battles involved… but still tough to score points. Guess that's why this is considered the hardest event in the whole camp."
As Ash reached out and retrieved the number tag from the creepy statue's mouth, he couldn't help but complain a little.
Serena, eyes still covered, didn't dare look at the statue — but she nodded in agreement with his words.
"Serena, do you want to keep going?" Ash asked gently. "If you're too scared, we can just turn back now. We can always make up the points later during other activities."
Serena hesitated — but only for a moment.
Even though she was scared, what she feared more… was becoming a burden.
What if Ash started to dislike her because she couldn't keep up?
"No, Ash. I'm okay," she said firmly, her eyes filled with determination. "I'm not afraid anymore. Let's keep going!"
"This trial is scary, yeah… but it's also the perfect chance for us to get ahead in the rankings. Let's aim for first place tonight!"
Ash was surprised for a moment — then smiled warmly.
He could feel the resolve in her words, see the fire in her eyes.
Whether boy or girl, beauty wasn't just about looks.
Real charm came from having a dream in your heart, and the courage to chase it with shining eyes.
Right now, in Ash's eyes, Serena looked more radiant than ever.
"Alright," he nodded. "Let's go get the rest of those number tags. There's still four more ahead — at 400, 600, 800, and 1000 meters. Let's score full marks and take the top spot!"
"Mhm!"
With that, the boy and girl — both filled with dreams — gripped each other's hands tighter and took off at a jog, their two Pokémon following close behind.
…
Forest Tag Locations:
200m – Gastly [✓]
400m – Haunter
600m – Gengar
800m – Duskull
1000m – Dusknoir
…
A thousand meters wasn't far.
With Ash holding Serena's hand, they jogged from marker to marker, quickly collecting the remaining tags.
Once they had all five, they followed the arrows pointing toward the forest exit and began heading back — not retracing their steps, but taking the designated return route.
That path had no more spooky surprises.
No disguised staff jumping out to scare them.
No ghost-types casting illusions.
No more fear.
Ash and Serena returned to the campsite hand-in-hand, having conquered the whole challenge together — without any further fright.
To them, it felt almost… easy.
But that was because they'd braved the fear and succeeded.
For many other campers, the forest was still very much a nightmare.
Even as Ash and Serena stepped back into the warm glow of campfire lights, they could still hear distant screams echoing from the trees — frightened yelps and panicked cries of those who had lost their nerve and were running back the way they came.
…
…
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals