Trainer and the Princess 5: return to Sinnoh

Summary: Ash and Salvia return to where it all began, the Sinnoh region, with no one chasing them around the world and no danger present they can begin to enjoy the last leg of their journey, Ash begins his goal again to get the final three pins for the Master's League while Salvia competes in the contest with Madeline watching from the sidelines. All the while Dawn struggles to keep someone from the past at bay with hilarious results.

Salvia: 20

Ash: 21

Lucas:21

Dawn:20

Madeline: 9

Episode 87: Home at last.

The ship had docked in the Sunnyshore harbour, it was a sunny day, just like when Ash and Salvia first met a few years prior, the city seemed to have changed a little, but still not enough to make it unrecognisable, the trio walked off the ship with Ash holding a large plush toy, "do I have to hold this all the way back to the palace?" Ash started complaining a little with the people looking at him weirdly, they all looked at him as if to say he was a complete idiot, "oh man, I don't carry this thing all the way back to the palace," Ash complained about the plush toy in his grasp.

Salvia turned to the complaining trainer and frowned at him, "now darling there is no need for you to complain, you lost the bet remember, you have to carry my massive plush Dragonite as well as the smaller one," Salvia reminded Ash of his plight.

"A bet, you mean he made a bet with you? It back fired and now he has to carry that as punishment?" Madeline asked the princess with a playful smirk.

Salvia nodded with great pride in her achievement in humiliating Ash, "oh we had a bet and he lost it, now he has to carry my prize all the way home," Salvia reminded the trainer who was starting to cry a little, "nothing to worry about, it is only another two hours Ash, I am certain you can survive for that long," Salvia cheered on her love, playfully teasing him at the same time.

"I don't like the way you are cheering for me here," Ash replied, frowning as the two girls started laughing at him.

"There is no way I would ever date you!" Dawn's voice rang through the air.

Ash looked up to see Dawn turning away from a man who was about Ash's age, wearing a red shirt and blue jeans, with a red hat, he tried his best to reason with Dawn, "oh come on, I haven't been chasing after many beautiful girls for the last three years I have grown up," the boy tried to explain himself as he watched the furious Dawn walking away.

"Oh right and you used to brag about how many girls you used to chase a day, ten girls wasn't it?" Dawn glared at the young man, "so if you have grown up, how many skirts do you chase?" Dawn continued to asked the man, making him feel nervous.

"I don't know, maybe nine a day," the man replied with a scratch to the head.

"Nine! Stay away from me you pervert," Dawn snapped at the man as she stomped away from him, "I don't want to see your face again Lucas," Dawn growled at the trainer. Walking towards Ash and Salvia without realising she looked up to see Ash carrying a massive plush toy, she soon burst out into laughter upon seeing Ash, "Ash, why are you carrying that massive plush toy?" Dawn laughed at the trainer.

"And I thought you were my sister," Ash whispered as the man approached the trainer.

Lucas soon turned his attention to Salvia and grabbed her hand, "today is my lucky day, another beautiful woman," Lucas stated.

"Why you filthy…." Dawn started but was soon stopped by Salvia, "Princess?" Dawn asked her friend.

"Let me deal with this," Salvia assured her friend.

"Oh a princess even better," Lucas happily moved the royal's hand towards his mouth.

"This isn't going to end well." Ash tried his best to hold back his laughter.

With her free hand Salvia slapped Lucas across the face, feeling the heat of the hit Lucas stepped back quickly with a fearful expression, "hey what was that for?" Lucas asked while cupping the impact zone on his face.

"Let's see, harassing my best friend and hitting on me soon afterwards, also why not have a look at my left hand," Salvia explained while liting up her left hand revealing the ring that Ash had given her, "I am not the sweet little princess anymore, I am a strong woman who can stand up for herself now," Salvia glared at the trainer.

"Wow Salvia, you and Ash are now engaged, that's awesome," Dawn celebrated quickly grabbing her best friend's hand to get a closer look at the ring, "I have to be the maid of honour, make it so," Dawn was quick to push her claim on the maid of honour role.

"I would be honoured," Salvia replied.

"Hey what about me?" Lucas asked the two girls.

"Lucas right? You chase after my fiancé and my sister, I will hurt you," Ash threatened Lucas with a smirk.

"Yeah, says the man holding a plush toy," Lucas retorted with little to no respect for Ash.

"Says the man who got slapped by the princess not thirty minutes since she got of the ship after arriving home," Ash snapped back with a cheeky smile, he leant in and smirked at the young man, "you know Dawn?" Ash asked him with a smirk.

"Yeah, I have known her since childhood," Lucas admitted gently having a look at the bluenette who was admiring the princess' engagement ring, "I was always getting into trouble in school, but she was always a good little girl," Lucas explained with a smirk.

'I can see why, this guy is an idiot,' Ash thought while looking down at Madeline.

"Come on we need to get to the palace, unless we want to embarrass Ash further," Madeline suggested quietly, she walked ahead leaving the princess and Ash behind to deal with their friends, "hey you two we need to get that trophy home as well," Madeline informed the royal couple.

"Well, I need to get my eighth badge and I am off to the Sinnoh League," Lucas said before walking away from the group, he looked over his shoulder with Dawn being his focus, 'I am trying my best to change myself, one day Dawn, you will see that I have grown up,' Lucas thought as he left the three girls and Ash to walk away.

"Can I come as well? I haven't been in the palace in years," Dawn requested with great hope, "plus I want to laugh at Ash some more," Dawn turned her attention to Ash, she could only seeing him holding a plush toy, "you must have lost a bet to get stuck with holding a plush toy that big," Dawn teased her friend doing her best to hold back her laughter.

"Oh can it Diamon Dandruff," Ash retorted, but the nickname had no effect on Dawn, she shook her head and walked up to the princess, 'oh forgot, she doesn't care about that nickname,' Ash reminded himself he followed the girls with the immensely sized plush toy in his grasp.

"You know Ash, when we reach the palace, we are going to be doing some planning, so you can travel ahead of me, I will catch up with you a little later on," Salvia explained the plan to Ash, the princess started to think about the special day that was coming, "so Dawn, you tell me you have a some ideas for mine and Ash's wedding," Salvia turned her focus to her best friend.

"So what about Madeline?" Ash asked in reply as the four people walked through the city and towards the exit with people looking at Ash from all over the city, whispering much to his dismay.

"She will be staying at the palace with me, there is some important things that need to be arranged," Salvia pointed out the situation.

Ash looked at the ground feeling like he was being left out, but also knew what was going on at the same time, "be safe alright," Ash requested of the princess.

"Nothing to worry about Ash, Salvia can look after herself, plus I am here as well,| Dawn replied to Ash's concerns, the three girls walked on while Ash filled with concerns followed behind, 'what if there is something that she cannot handle?' Ash thought to himself, walking slowly towards the exit of the city.

After making it to the exit of the major city Ash and the three girls made it to a shore line which was bordered by vast fields of grass, "we are almost there," Salvia's excitement became more apparent, she kept looking around in hopes that her palace would still be standing, but it still wasn't in sight, "I wonder how Alex and Colin are, the workers and the other guards, this is so exciting, I get to see the palace again," Salvia happily remarked, resisting the urge to rush ahead of her friends and Ash.

"She hasn't been home in a while hasn't she?" Dawn asked her friend, keeping an eye on the royal.

"No she hasn't this is the first time in over four years that she has been home, she might think that some things haven't changed," Ash replied to Salvia's look-a-like, " there is something I need Colin and Alex to do for me," Ash stated while struggling to hold up Salvia's prize.

"Bet you cannot wait to put that down," Dawn teased her friend, she looked over to Salvia who was getting happier at the prospect of being home for the first time in years, "you have nothing to be concerned about Ash, you go ahead on your journey, I will make sure Salvia is alright, she doesn't want to hold you back while the planning for the wedding is going on," Dawn told Ash, he nodded in approval as the group continued on.

"Say Dawn, about Lucas, he isn't a bad guy you know," Ash tried to compliment the man that Dawn was yelling at.

"Yeah I know, but he has one major flaw, he is a skirt chaser," Dawn replied to Ash, turning her head away, not wanting to talk about Lucas.

"Oh come on Dawn, at least give him a chance," Ash tried to plead with his friend.

"No way, if I want to date someone, I would be dating you, but since that cannot happen, I will just have to look for another guy," Dawn explained with a frown.

"Alright, but I do sense that he might mature soon, but I will not force the issue Dawn," Ash retorted as the trainer walked ahead of his friend.

"Even though I cannot be with you in that manner, I think we made the right choice by making ourselves like brother and sister," Dawn whispered to herself, she walked slowly, for a second the bluenette looked back and nodded, "I hope you're right Ash, Lucas does have a lot of growing up to do," Dawn continued to whisper her thoughts to herself.

(2 hours later)

"I am home!" Salvia yelled with joy, excited to see the palace for the first time in four years, she pressed the PA system to announce her return to the palace and waited for the gates to open, "come on in," Salvia invited Ash, Dawn and Madeline with Raichu following the others.

Salvia looked around to find that the garden had grown since the last time she was there, the building hadn't changed much, the royal's excitement grew as she looked around the palace grounds, "so is everything as you remember Salvia?" Ash asked his fiancé.

Salvia looked back and smiled at her love, nodding with great joy she ran up to the main entrance of the palace, opening the door, she looked around to find that the main foyer hadn't changed one bit, the workers were still the same and the royal guards were still working for her family, "everyone I am home!" Salvia yelled with even more joy.

"Lady Salvia, congratulations on winning the Grand Festival," one of the maids walked up to the princess with a smile.

"You all watched me?" Salvia asked her maid with a shocked expression.

"Yes ma'am, we all made sure everyone watched you, they were all surprised at how much you had grown," Colin walked in explaining the news to the princess, "oh and guess what, everyone watched the…" Colin started with a smirk as he looked over to Ash, "Ash you dog, you finally proposed to the princess," Colin teased the young man with a smirk, he then noticed the large plush toy in the trainer's grasp, holding back laughter he turned away.

"Yeah laugh as you hard as you want, not like everyone wasn't laughing at me," Ash confessed with a hint of frustration.

"You lost a bet didn't you?" Colin asked his friend with a grin, "let me guess, she threw a ball at a stack of bottles and knocked them over in one go?" Colin continued to enquire, Ash nodded in disbelief, "she never loses in that game," Colin pointed out proudly of the royal.

"Oh so now you tell me she never loses at carnival games, and I was the one that paid for her to play," Ash walked towards the staircase with the large Dragonite, 'certainly glad this isn't the real thing,' Ash thought as he started to go up the steps on his own.

"Wait up Ash, you guys stay here, I have to direct Ash to my room," Salvia informed her friends, she quickly rushed to the stairwell to help Ash out.

"Hmm, you two might be hungry, I will tell the chef to prepare something for you guys," Colin told the other two girls, turning to the left and walking towards the dining area of the palace.

"So, Dawn, what is the food like here?" Madeline asked her friend, spotting that Dawn was a little nervous the little girl started to smirk, "you ate here before?" Madeline asked the blunette questioning as to what it was like.

"Yeah, I ate here before," Dawn answered, she looked up to see Salvia running towards Ash, "that was when I first met the princess, I was shocked to find that she looked exactly like me, beck then I had a huge crush on Ash as well, so I dressed up as a princess to impress him," Dawn admitted, starting to laugh a little.

"So you took her place as the princess?" Madeline enquired even further as the story started to pique her interest.

"Yes, meanwhile she would participate in the contest, I thought it would have been easy, but man being a princess is really hard, I don't know how she dealt with it," Dawn explained as she confessed how difficult it was for Salvia, "I still don't understand how difficult it is, but I still envy her, but in a way, I am also really happy for her, she has Ash to support her every step of the way," the blunette started laughing as Madeline tilted her head, "I feel sorry for Ash, he has no idea what he is getting himself into," Dawn's laughter rung through the main foyer.

"He is starting to learn, right Raichu?" Madeline looked down at the electric mouse pokemon.

"I thought Ash and Raichu were inseperable," Dawn wondered to herself, looking at the two friends.

"Well about that, Ash makes sure that I am safe, so he has Raichu look after me, while we have journeyed we have become really good friends," Madeline explained the bond between her and Ash's Raichu.

"I have heard from Ash and Salvia that you are really a tough girl, not scared of anyone," Dawn continued to talk to Madeline.

"Lady Dawn and Lady Madeline, the meals are almost ready," one of the workers informed the two girls calmly.

"Thanks, we will wait for the princess and Ash," Dawn acknowledged the maid with a nod.

In another part of the palace Ash followed Salvia to her room, holding onto the plush toy which was starting to get a little heavy, "you know Salvia, this toy is starting to get a little heavy," Ash complained as he started to lose his grip.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Salvia asked the trainer, glancing over her shoulder.

"Yeah, it was during my first journey in Sinnoh," Ash replied while following Salvia, "I was surprised when I first met you, you looked exactly like Dawn, in fact you still do, I thought you two were twins," Ash admitted to the princess.

"I see, I am sorry," Salvia apologised to Ash, she placed her hand on the door to her room.

"For what?" Ash questioned the young royal.

"For getting between you and Dawn, I noticed when we first met she had a huge crush on you and I could sense you did as well," Salvia explained to her fiancé.

Ash started laughing at the princess, "you know, when you grow, sometimes things change, like my friendship with Dawn, we now treat one another like siblings," Ash replied as he waited for Salvia to open the door to her room.

"Yeah, but you still didn't seem to mind Lucas acting like the way he did, even to me," Salvia pointed out, she showed Ash where to go in order to put the plush toy down.

"Because I trusted you to act the way you felt you needed to act," Ash replied proudly.

"You did ha, so then what about Lady Dawn?" Salvia enquired with a puzzled tone.

"Yeah well, Dawn was angry enough as it is, no need for me to get directly involved," Ash explained to the princess, he looked around the room and let out a quiet whistle, "you know Salvia this room yours is rather large," Ash complimented Salvia on the size of her room.

"Yeah it is one of the smaller rooms in the palace," Salvia retorted much to the shock of the trainer who tried his best to digest what his fiancé was saying.

"This room is small? I would hate to see what the large rooms look like," Ash commented while swinging his gaze to the closet of Salvia, he walked over to the closet and spotted three sets of Dawn's original attire, "Dawn, gave you these?" Ash asked the princess.

"Yeah, she gave them to me as a present," Salvia replied before walking up to the closet and closing the door. She walked back to the door of her room and looked back to see Ash following her, "I can show you around the rest of the palace if you want me to," Salvia suggested, leading Ash out of the room.

"No need to, we should see the others, plus…" Ash placed his hand on the grumbling stomach, his face turned a little red while Salvia shook her head in dismay.

"You want something to eat, alright Ash, let's get you something to eat," Salvia giggled walking down the hallway. Down the hall with red carpets and paintings on each wall, Ash looked at them for a moment, "my family has held the line of succession for the last two hundred years, being an only child I need to make sure the line continues," Salvia explained to Ash, she looked at the red carpet and frowned at the duties that she had to go through, "over the last few years, I was able to lead a somewhat normal life, outside these palace walls, I was for the first time a girl who could enjoy life without any pressure in who I am," Salvia continued to explain leaving Ash in awe at his fiancé's explanation.

"Is that why you didn't want me calling you princess all the time?" Ash asked the young royal.

"Yes, that's right, I want you to just call me Salvia, because you calling me princess would always remind me of the duties I was leaving behind," Salvia confessed as the couple made it to the stairs, "it's funny really, the very same walls that I escaped from, is the very same walls that will keep me here after our journey is over," Salvia started laughing at herself.

"You proved that those walls mean nothing, you need to live your own life," Ash replied, but Salvia walked down the stairs ignoring Ash, "listen to me, the only one restricting you from being the person you want to be is you, I am standing still, I cannot improve as a trainer, because I am already at the highest level I can be, but you are capable of so much more, I can sense it in your aura," Ash assured the princess but she still walked down the stairs, "Princess Salvia, are you listening to me?" Ash asked the young royal.

'Yes Ash, you're right, that is the reason for me being your next rival, it isn't just you I need to prove that I have grown, it is me as well,' Salvia reminded herself of her goal.

Ash walked down the stairs wondering what was on Salvia's mind, he spotted Colin and approached him, "Colin there is something I need you to do for me," Ash requested while pulling out the keys to his family home in Pallet Town.

"What is it sire?" Colin asked the trainer.

"I need you and Alex to pick up my stuff from Pallet Town," Ash instructed the royal guard.

"Of course," Colin replied with a salute.

Colin started walking towards the door, Ash turned around and watched him open the door, "Colin, what about team Plasma, Team Rocket and the Shadow Triad? They went very quiet," Ash enquired about the enemies of the past.

"They all disbanded, when the Slateport situation was resolved they lost all their money and left the Hoenn region," Colin replied before walking out of the palace to collect Ash's possession, "you have nothing at all to worry about," Colin assured his friend, closing the door leaving Ash with a concerned expression.

"Great, so in a way the rest of this journey will be peaceful," Ash whispered, but knew that everything was going to be just fine, the raven haired trainer rushed to the dining area to get some food, "but then again…that isn't so bad," Ash grinned at the situation. Entering the dining room he spotted Madeline scoffing down her food while Dawn and Salvia were sitting on opposite sides eating their meal with respect.

"OH Ash, glad you can make it, there is plenty for you," Dawn called to one of her best friends, she watched the trainer pile up the food on the plate and watched him sit down, "you know, while we are here, we should get stay the night," Dawn suggested leaving Salvia to nod in approval.

"So wait a minute, I am going to travel on my own for a little while, I thought Salvia and I were going to travel together," Ash remarked with disdain.

"Yes, but Ash, the planning for your wedding needs to be taken into consideration, I will be calling our other friends to assist in the planning, but once that is done, I will be catching up with you as soon as possible," Salvia explained to Ash who hit the table in frustration, "I don't want to hold you back, leave the wedding plans to me," Salvia informed the trainer who was visibly annoyed at the princess' choice.

"But what about your contests?" Ash questioned his fiancé, not looking pleased with Salvia's decision to stay behind.

"I have to settle things here in the palace as well," Salvia explained everything to Ash.

"You were going to teach me how to be a royal, yet here you are telling me you need to sort out your royal duties and plan the wedding," Ash kept questioning his future wife.

"It takes time to plan this," Dawn tried her best to reason with Ash.

"That's correct, if we don't plan this and do everything in the last minute, it will be rushed and nothing will go right, I am certain you want the day to go perfectly," Salvia continued to explain to Ash who was having a hard time accepting the situation, "I know, you wanted me to travel with you, but once everything is done, I will make it up to you I promise," Salvia promised the trainer while moving the next fork full of food towards her mouth.

(The next day)

Ash was walking towards the front gate, having an uneasy night's sleep Ash looked down at his partner pokemon, "buddy, I guess it we will be alone when competing against the last three pin masters," Ash informed his Raichu, he looked up to see Salvia walking up to him, "I will be back soon," Ash promised the princess.

"Good luck Ash, I will catch up with you soon, once the planning and the catching up of royal duties are done, I will be by your side again," Salvia assured the trainer as he turned towards the gate, she quickly embraced the trainer from behind, "don't anything stupid please," Salvia requested with a concerned tone.

Ash chuckled as he picked up his backpack, "you know me," Ash replied gently.

"Yes I do Ash, I know you very well, you're reckless," Salvia remarked one of Ash's traits, "so please don't rush yourself," Salvia requested as she slowly let go of Ash, she stepped back and watched him leaving for the rest of his journey.

"I will see you again soon," Ash said as he called out his Dragonite, he climbed on and took off leaving Salvia behind, he looked down and nodded at her, tho which she replied in the same manner, "come on Dragonite, time to end this Master's League.

"Salvia! Here is a pokeball!" Dawn called to her friend.

"A pokeball?" Salvia asked herself.

"And a note too," Madeline pointed out handing over the note to the princess.

'Salvia, I am not taking any legendary pokemon for the rest of this journey, I am going to rely on the strength of the pokemon that I have caught in the past,' Salvia read the note, she turned her attention to the pokemon, she immediately knew that Ash had left behind Latias, "I see, so he didn't take Latias with him," Salvia commented as she looked towards the sunrise, "that's just like him," Salvia whispered with great pride in the trainer.

"Lady Salvia, we have a thief! Someone stole three books from the library," one of the guards pointed out with his fists clenched in anger.

Salvia looked back at the note and turned it around, 'Salvia, I have borrowed three books, to help me learn more about being a royal, apologise on my behalf,' the note requested the princess, leaving her with a smile from ear to ear, the princess looked up at the guard and shrugged her shoulders, "don't worry about the books, he will bring them back, he still needs to learn about being a royal before we retake our vows," Salvia assured the royal guard with an assured expression.

Separated again, but this time Salvia is planning for a wedding with the assistance of Dawn and Madeline, Ash is off to complete his pin master's challenge.

Next up: Episode 88: the planning begins.

Coming up soon is a separate Ash and Salvia story, I think it will be one that a lot of you (the readers will like) the opener is something I am a little proud of also, a fan favourite will be killed off in the first chapter to set the tone of the story.

Oh and I am working on some forgotten pieces so like I said keep an eye out for them.