"Grandma, seriously—what are you scheming again now?"
Cynthia had only recently wrapped up some major business with the Sinnoh Pokémon League. Ever since the Galactic Team's retreat, the headquarters of the Jenny Police had been in an uproar, vowing to apprehend the key senior officers of the organization.
Yet in the end, they only managed to capture a large number of regular Galactic grunts.
Saturn, Mars, Jupiter… and especially Galactic's chief scientist, Charon, all slipped through the cracks.
This put the Sinnoh League in a very awkward position.
Despite Cynthia having already handed over the captured individuals to the police headquarters, the situation still led to problems.
Even though no one would dare blame Cynthia for this, as the reigning Champion of the Sinnoh League, she was still responsible for managing the aftermath.
Now that all of that had been taken care of, she returned to the small countryside villa she shared with her grandmother for a bit of rest.
"What are you talking about, my dear? You're my most treasured granddaughter! You're the Champion of Sinnoh—how many people dream of that honor? Still, you're a young woman already. Isn't it about time to find yourself a boyfriend?"
Grandma Carolina was at it again with her usual nagging.
It was a trait shared by most elders.
Yet the moment her grandmother mentioned finding a boyfriend, Cynthia's mind involuntarily brought up the image of a certain boy two or three years her junior—Ash.
Despite the age gap, Ash was an incredibly strong Pokémon Trainer.
That incident on Mt. Coronet had truly left an impression on her—Ash's strength, determination, and clarity of judgment were nothing short of astonishing.
"This time, I even asked old Bertha to help me keep an eye on him. Her report? I'm very satisfied with the result. Cynthia, what do you think?"
Carolina rambled on as she fiddled with her research notes. Cynthia's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Grandma, who are you even talking about?"
Ah, playing dumb now?
Carolina rolled her eyes.
"Don't try that with me. Who else could I be talking about if not Ash?"
Ash…
"My minimum requirement for your partner is that they should at least be able to beat you in a battle. Ash has already proven himself, especially in that Mt. Coronet incident—and he never boasted or took credit. He's reliable, strong, and you already know him well. If not him, then who?"
Without pressing further, Carolina turned back to her work, satisfied.
"…Come on out, Garchomp. Let's take a walk."
Cynthia released her Garchomp, the champion's signature Pokémon, and silently wandered into the woods, her grandmother's words echoing in her head.
…
Ash, Dawn, and Anabel had just wrapped up a rather unbelievable experience.
In a place called Arrowroot Town, they had encountered a real princess.
Her name was Princess Salvia, and she had come on an official goodwill visit representing her kingdom.
Princess Salvia was a major fan of Pokémon Contests—especially the elegant performances.
She was so obsessed that she had watched every single Contest on video.
She had one heartfelt wish: to one day participate in a Contest herself.
But as royalty, her schedule was relentlessly packed.
Still… she happened to be an enormous fan of Dawn.
Particularly after Dawn's spectacular performance in the Wallace Cup, Salvia became deeply inspired and simply adored her.
Now, by fate, the two had arrived in Arrowroot Town at the same time. Salvia immediately sent her handmaid, Freesia, to find Dawn.
When they met, both Dawn and Anabel were stunned.
They looked… shockingly alike!
Salvia proposed an idea—to temporarily switch identities. She would take on Dawn's name and participate in the Contest herself, while Dawn would pretend to be her and enjoy a rare day without duties.
This switch would give her just enough time to taste the excitement of being a Trainer… even if only briefly.
In her kingdom, the royal family isn't allowed to marry outsiders.
Still, her father, the king, gave her all sorts of missions to hone her abilities. Participating in a Contest was one way to learn.
Salvia, disguised as Dawn, took her partner—Togekiss—and entered the Arrowroot Town Contest.
She won the Ribbon!
In the finals, she faced off against "Jessilina" (actually Jessie in one of her Contest disguises).
Salvia's Togekiss, raised with grace and precision, exuded noble poise and elegance in every move.
Even in battle, it never lost composure.
Using impeccable agility and sharp reflexes, Togekiss outmaneuvered Jessie's Yanmega and secured victory.
Salvia was thrilled.
Jessie… not so much.
"How dare that Dawn girl show up in this Contest when she's already won five ribbons?!"
Of course, she didn't realize that the "Dawn" she faced wasn't Dawn at all…
Ever the kindhearted princess, Salvia felt the ribbon was wasted on her since she wasn't pursuing the Grand Festival. So she gifted the ribbon to Jessie, who gratefully accepted it—now bringing her own total to five ribbons.
Yes… the reason Team Rocket hadn't shown up much lately?
Jessie had been out chasing her Contest dreams.
After all that, Salvia wanted to thank Dawn properly. Plus, she wanted her Togekiss to continue its journey through Contests, to shine on a bigger stage.
After checking with Togekiss—who enthusiastically agreed—she officially gifted it to Dawn.
So now, on top of her recent addition of Shaymin, Dawn had a Togekiss too!
And it was strong. Ash used his "Eye of insight" and saw its level—it was already level 42.
Now, having left Arrowroot Town and said their farewells to Salvia, the group was resting in a forest clearing, preparing lunch.
Dawn was trying to build a rapport with Togekiss.
Meanwhile, Ash was preparing to evolve his Gible.
He really liked Gible—especially because, in the original timeline, Ash never managed to evolve it even once…
That had always felt like a missed opportunity.
But now? It would be different.
This time, he'd evolve it all the way into Garchomp and bring it into the Lily of the Valley Conference.
There was still a full month left—plenty of time!
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T/N:
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