For that entire hour, Goh went through one misfortune after another.
He had barely escaped the swarm of Diglett and dragged himself forward when his bad luck struck again.
A flock of Pidgey happened to be flying overhead.
Goh looked up.
At that exact moment, bird droppings fell straight into his open mouth.
Goh’s eyes went wide in horror.
He stuck out his tongue and tried desperately to spit it out, wiping at his mouth with both hands.
The sight was almost impossible not to laugh at.
And his misfortune still wasn’t over.
He hadn’t gone far before accidentally stepping on an Oddish hidden in the grass.
Startled and angry, the Oddish released a large cloud of Stun Spore.
Goh had no time to dodge.
The spores blasted him right in the face.
His body stiffened.
His limbs began to tremble, and the muscles in his face twitched as despair set in.
Over the course of that hour, one unlucky incident followed another.
By the end of it, Goh was dizzy and disoriented.
Bruises covered his body, and he looked completely exhausted.
He barely had enough strength left to stand before finally collapsing to the ground, unable to move on his own.
With no other choice, the camp staff called for medical help, and Goh was carried away on a stretcher.
He lay there staring blankly at the sky, still mumbling something under his breath.
Ash watched him leave and hid a smile.
“This is only the beginning.
From now on, you’re getting one of these every day.”
Once Goh was gone, Professor Oak cleared his throat and gathered everyone for the next activity, treating what had happened like nothing more than a minor incident.
Everyone gathered around the bonfire, roasting Berries while excitedly talking about Goh’s disastrous afternoon.
“Did you see him getting chased by those Diglett?
That was hilarious!” a girl with twin ponytails said, covering her mouth as she laughed.
Another boy joined in.
“And the bird poop!
How did it land right in his mouth?
Hahaha!”
Everyone burst out laughing.
Leaf, Green, and Chloe were talking about it too.
“I really didn’t expect him to be that unlucky today.
It was almost like he was cursed,” Chloe said, shaking her head sympathetically.
Green scoffed.
“That’s what he gets for being so full of himself.
Maybe karma finally caught up with him.”
Ash sat nearby grooming Pichu’s fur, pretending not to pay attention while listening to every word.
Goh’s string of disasters had already become the hottest gossip in camp.
As for Goh himself, he was recovering in the hospital with no idea that everyone was laughing about what had happened.
Still, summer camp continued as usual.
With Pokémon all around them, the campers went back to enjoying the day’s activities.
Professor Oak stood in front of the group and counted everyone.
He went through the roster, quietly murmuring each name.
“Hm?
Why am I missing someone?”
Professor Oak checked the list again and soon realized who wasn’t there.
Serena.
Just then, Ash walked over with Pichu perched on his shoulder.
“Professor Oak, what’s wrong?”
“A camper named Serena is missing,” Professor Oak said.
“I don’t know if she wandered off somewhere or got into trouble.”
“Don’t worry, Professor Oak.
I’ll look for her.
I know this forest pretty well, so I should be able to find her.”
Pichu hopped onto Ash’s shoulder and chirped, as if agreeing with him.
After all, this was the forest where it had once lived.
Professor Oak nodded.
“All right.
I’m counting on you, Ash.”
Ash ran into the woods.
He took a deep breath and concentrated.
A pale blue wave of Aura spread outward from his body.
As an Aura Guardian, Ash had trained extensively and already learned how to control this power.
His Aura spread farther through the forest, searching for any sign of Serena.
Ash closed his eyes and focused on what it detected.
Images and impressions appeared in his mind, giving him a clear sense of the area around him.
Then he felt something.
Ash opened his eyes.
He had found Serena.
He ran toward her location, dry leaves rustling beneath his feet.
As he got closer, he could sense the fear in Serena’s Aura.
Finally, he spotted a small figure behind a patch of bushes.
It was Serena.
She was curled up among a pile of decaying leaves with her knees pulled against her chest.
“If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve come.
I hate summer camp!
This is all Mom’s fault…”
“Is anyone there?” Serena called out, frightened.
Branches rustled somewhere between the trees.
Then a playful voice came through the fading light.
“Did someone get lost out here?”
Serena quickly looked up.
Through the thin mist between the trees, a boy appeared with a Pichu perched on his shoulder.
“You are…”
She hurriedly wiped away her tears, only smearing the tear tracks across her cheeks.
“Hi.
I’m Ash.”
He smiled at her.
“Are you hurt?”
Ash noticed the blood on her knee.
Before Serena could answer, he pulled out a pain-relief spray.
He sprayed the wound, and Serena sucked in a sharp breath when the cool mist touched it.
“Hang in there.
It’ll be over soon.”
Ash took out a clean handkerchief and wrapped it around her injured knee.
Once he finished tying it, Serena looked at him.
She felt a little safer now.
“Th-thank you…
Ash.”
Ash checked her knee one more time, then crouched down in front of her.
“Come on.
I’ll carry you.”
Before she could say anything, Ash slipped one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, lifting her into his arms.
Serena’s eyes widened.
“A-Ash?”
“You hurt your knee.
It’ll be easier this way.”
Her cheeks turned red.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as Ash started walking back through the forest.
Serena nodded and rested her head against his shoulder.
After a while, she stopped feeling so afraid.