"This place looks amazing" Miette exclaimed upon arriving at the camp, where they would be trialled. The group had a large debate prior to arriving, but in the end, all of them knew that they had to show their worth in order to get Lance and the others to cooperate with them.

"I'm lucky, I didn't have a bed sorted for the week" Gary chuckled to himself as they all walked through the gates. 

The camp was covered in sand, being positioned right by the beach. There were 5 small buildings, white in colour, on the left side and another 5 small buildings on the right, all of them symmetrical to the building opposite. In between the buildings sat a small pool of water, shimmering brightly from the sunlight, Magikarp diving up and back into the water every so often, creating tiny splashes onto the sand. Over the lake, there was a bridge, made out of oak wood and painted white. Two pillars sat on either end, creating a doorway, with flower pots full of various flowers across the region hanging down from the pillars. At the far end of the camp stood a large building. It was the same size as five of the smaller buildings combined and there was clearly a giant arena at the back. The camp had various other parks and courtyards, creating a lot of space for the various water and ground type Pokemon that were wandering around.

"Okay, you will all be staying here for a week. We have already set up various tests and other things. I will be assessing you all throughout. If you want our full cooperation, we need to know you can handle yourselves. Of course, you proved most of this last year, but this danger is unknown and could be much more dangerous than we can imagine, so we must ensure we are ready. The ten buildings in front of us are the dorms. Pick whichever one you want, they are interconnected by tiny bridges, so you can always visit anyone on that side or just walk across to the other side with ease. Any questions?" Lance spoke fast, making it hard to soak in the information. Everyone took another few seconds to digest it all and no questions were asked. Lance said his goodbyes and headed away from the camp, towards another site down the path.

"So... I am going to call the first dorm on the left!" Gary shouted, before sprinting off towards the building. It was relatively small but big enough for one or two people to live in. Everyone picked and realised two people were left out.

"Bonnie can come with me. I will be responsible for her after all" Clemont said. Bonnie agreed although she wanted to stay with Serena. 

"Are you sure she should be getting involved? Does she even have Pokemon?" Misty asked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I can't just leave her wherever, so she has to stay with us" Clemont shrugged and Bonnie shot him a look that said 'Thanks for the vote of confidence' and Clemont could only return a smile.

"Fair enough, I suppose that's true" Misty settled and walked over to her chosen destination.

"Uh...what about me?" Miette looked around, realising she hadn't gotten a pick. Serena stopped and raised a hand to get Miette's attention.

"You can come with me" Serena suggested and Miette stopped worrying, her face immediately turning into a smile. She rushed over to Serena and hugged her. 

"Thanks!" Miette said with enough energy to power the whole camp.

"How do you have so much energy?" Serena asked as they headed to their dorm.

"I am just excited, we are all back together again. Aren't you?" Miette couldn't stop smiling, it made Serena smile.

"Of course, I am, but I don't have as much energy as you" Serena laughed, before opening the door.

Meanwhile, Ash was entering his own dorm, hauling his bag into it while Pikachu was getting in first to hop onto the spare bed at the other end of the room, just opposite what would be Ash's bed. Ash took in the complex, a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, the only room with a door. The rest of the building was just one giant room, separate into different rooms, with a lounge in the centre, complete with a TV set and a nice sofa, diagonally facing the door. The kitchen was on the other side, with everything a kitchen has to offer. Ash opened up the fridge and it was already loaded with snacks and drinks, it made him grin like a little kid on a sugar rush.

"We're eating good tonight!" Ash exclaimed, Pikachu peering from behind him to stare into the fridge.

"Pika!" Pikachu smiled and ran back to his bed when there was a knock on the door.

"The first test is starting, just a heads up" Cilan called from the other side of the door.

"Gotcha, I'll be out in a minute!" Ash called back, adjusting his hat and turning to his best friend who was about to start resting comfortably. "Looks like we have work to do"

"Pika.." Pikachu mumbled lazily, feeling slightly agitated that he had lost his opportunity to rest. They stepped outside and met with the others next to the large building that towered over their dorms. 

"Okay, today we will have quite an eventful trial" Lance folded his arms and a grin was on his face. "Today you will be put through an obstacle course that is pretty standard around here. Most of the other people that have been in this very camp have failed the course, so this will be a good starting point for you all"

Everyone looked around for a moment, taking in the fact that the obstacle course was going to be difficult. Ash was determined as ever, not mirroring the others.

"Let's do it!" he said, returning the grin to Lance.

"Well, it looks like your ready. As soon as you step inside it begins" Lance was about to move away from the door, but he raised a hand up before everyone began to move. "I almost forgot, you can only go in one at a time, every 5 minutes"

While Lance was walking away, everyone gathered around to confer about who should go first. 

"Let me go" Ash immediately stated his intention and looked around to the others, waiting for a reply.

"I don't care who goes first" Misty stated, shrugging. "Just as long as we know the whole order"

"Yeah, we need to know who is second and so on" Dawn nodded, also looking around. "Any volunteers for second?"

"I think we should all draw straws, except for Ash, to see who goes where" Brock suggested, when May jumped into the middle of them all from out of nowhere.

"Well, it's a good thing I just gathered all of these! I have 11 sticks right now if Bonnie is participating of course" May held out the 11 sticks in a clenched fist, not revealing the numbers at all.

"Of course, I am!" Bonnie exclaimed just as Clemont opened his mouth. He instantly shut it and mentally groaned.

One by one, each person took a stick until the whole order was decided.

"Okay, so Ash is first, then me, then Gary, Cilan, Miette, Misty, Brock, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Dawn a 

"I like it that I am going last. Obstacles are my kind of thing" Iris decided to sit down on the bench near the bridge, relaxing on the seat as Ash stepped into the building, the door closing behind him almost immediately.

"I didn't even get to see inside" May frowned, stepping up to the door. Just then, a timer appeared above the door and the five minutes began to tick down.

Meanwhile, Ash was in an empty hall. There was no obstacles out in the open, just six doors, three on each side. Ash was looking left and right, trying to decide on a door, when Pikachu hopped off of Ash and stood in a defensive position, staring hard into the darkness at the other end.

"You okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked, tracking Pikachu's vision towards the shadows.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu called out in warning when footsteps began to clatter against the tiles. 

"Oh, Ash, dear old Ash. Do you always think you can stay away from us? We are everywhere, so long as there is a shadow to dwell in" Elizabeth, one of the Team Shadow members, came walking out, her heels echoing around the hall. 

"How did you...?" Ash stopped his question and realised he was going to have to battle her before moving on. 

"It was quite easy, I have been here waiting specifically for you. Now, let's battle. Shall we?" Elizabeth took out a Pokeball and threw it up into the air. Her Greninja came out, arms folded and ready for battle. 

"Pikachu, you ready?" Ash wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew he was going to have to battle Elizabeth. Whether or not this was part of his trial, Ash was ready to do anything to defeat Team Shadow. 

The tests were just beginning and, unbeknownst to Ash's friends, an enemy like no other was preparing to strike.