Arrowroot Contest

Today the gang passed through Arrowroot Town to make their way to Lake Valor. Just then Brock noticed something. It was a poster, saying a Pokemon contest was being held in Arrowroot today.

"Well we don't need to enter this contest, do we Dawn?" Ash chuckled.

"Of course not." Dawn answered. "We already have five ribbons, so there's no point entering this contest."

Suddenly a lady in a smart uniform came up to the gang.

"Excuse me, but you must be Lady Dawn." She said to Dawn. "We have been waiting for you."

Dawn had no idea what the woman was talking about.

"Excuse me, but how do you know who I am and what do you mean waiting for me?" Dawn asked.

"Oh do excuse me. My name is Freesia and I'm here to ask you to become a princess for the day."

"What?!" Dawn gasped.

To show everyone what she was talking about, Freesia brought the gang to a palace and introduced them to a princess. Her name was Salvia and to everyone's surprise, she looked just like Dawn, as if she was a twin.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Dawn and Ash, Tomo and Brock as well."

"You know who we are?" Brock questioned.

"I'm a big fan of Dawn's and I've seen her in all the contests and other competitions on TV." Salvia explained.

"The reason I asked Freesia to bring you here Dawn is because I want to swap places with you just for today." She said.

"Princess Salvia really wants to enter the Arrowroot Contest today, because she always wanted to participate in one for once. But unfortunately due to her royal duties as an ambassador of good will in Arrowroot Town, she wouldn't be able to enter the contest." Freesia explained.

"So please Dawn, can you swap places with me just for today until the contest is over?" Princess Salvia asked.

Dawn understood her feelings.

"I'm more than happy to do it." She agreed to swap places with her.

"Are you going to be alright, Dawn?" Ash asked. "I've been told being royalty is very difficult."

"Don't worry Ash, I'll be fine." Dawn said.

"That's settled then." Freesia said.

Dawn and Princess Salvia went into the princess room and changed clothes; the princess wore Dawn's clothes and Dawn wore the princess' clothes.

"Wow." Dawn said, admiring the dress. "I've always wanted to dress up as a princess."

Princess Salvia found it strange wearing Dawn's clothes because she had never dressed up as a commoner before.

"You two really do look like twins." Brock said.

Princess Salvia took out a Poke Ball and sent out her Pokemon, a Togekiss.

"Togekiss and I have been training together a lot hoping we would enter a contest one day." Princess Salvia said.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Princess Salvia quickly returned her Togekiss. Her butler came into the room. Freesia quickly led the boys and Princess Salvia out of the palace, leaving Dawn to be the princess.

"I don't seem to recall any meeting schedule at this time your highness." The butler said.

"No need to worry, it's okay." Dawn said, nervously.

"That is not the language for a princess." The butler said.

"Don't forget about the meetings today and be sure to smile at all times." He told her, unaware he wasn't talking to the real Princess Salvia.

Dawn was starting to get really nervous now because she was going to do things she had never done before.

Meanwhile Princess Salvia and the boys were standing outside the contest hall.

"It is almost time for the contest; I'm starting to feel a little nervous." Princess Salvia admitted.

"Don't worry, your highness." Ash said. "As I've told Dawn lots of times, remember to have fun in the contest and have faith in yourself and your Pokemon. And remember you've waited a long time for this chance, so enjoy it while you can."

"Yes I will. Thank you Ash." Princess Salvia said.

The group went into the contest hall and Princess Salvia signed up right away.

It wasn't long before the contest started. Marian did the usual introductions and showed off the Arrowroot ribbon. The Arrowroot ribbon was purple with white lines across it and it had quite a big pin. Princess Salvia was in the waiting room, while the boys sat in the seating area. Soon the contestants were showing off their Pokemon in the appeal round. There were many great acts going on between the coordinators and their Pokemon. It wasn't long before it was Princess Salvia's turn. Of course everyone believed she was Dawn, so they had no idea she was someone else. Princess Salvia entered with Dawn's name.

"Come on out." Princess Salvia called out Togekiss with a line seal.

To start off Togekiss released a Aura Sphere attack into the air and then used Sky Attack to break the aura sphere into pieces. To finish it off Togekiss used Air Slash to break apart the aura sphere pieces and it created a rain of the northern lights. The audience liked it and the judges thought it was beautiful.

After the performances were over, the boys went to see Princess Salvia in the waiting room.

"Your performance was wonderful your highness." Ash said.

"Thank you." Princess Salvia said. "To tell you the truth I was really nervous when on stage. My heart is still pounding. How about you Togekiss?" Togekiss had been nervous, but she found it fun all the same.

"Relax your highness." Brock said. "I know you have passed to the second round for sure."

"Yeah and I bet you'll win the contest." Tomo said.

"Thank you for your kind words." Princess Salvia said. "You know, I am very happy I entered this Pokemon contest. Seeing those coordinators working alongside their Pokemon. I haven't had so much fun my whole life."

"With you always being busy with royal duties, I understand that." Brock said. "But it never hurts to have fun every once and a while."

"Speaking of royal duties." Ash said. "I wonder how Dawn is coping in the palace?"

Poor Dawn was not coping well at the palace. She had to meet and greet a lot of people. Then she had to attend lunch with a lot of other people. Dawn didn't know a thing about a princess' etiquette, so she ended up making a number of mistakes. As the butler had no idea about the switcheroo he didn't understand the princess' behavior and felt he needed to have words with her later.

*Back at the contest...*

The results of who were going into the second round was up and Princess Salvia was one of them. One by one the princess defeated her opponents till she finally got to the last round. When the final battle came, everyone was in for a big surprise. Dawn arrived at the Pokemon contest with Freesia and the butler to watch the final round. This was an appointment Dawn had to do as the princess. Ash, Brock and Tomo saw her too and they were surprised.

"I hope Dawn has been doing alright." Ash said.

"I hope no one has suspected she's not the princess." Brock said.

Princess Salvia's final opponent was a girl four years older than her named Emma and she was using a Probopass.

"That could be bad for Princess Salvia." Brock said. "Probopass is a rock/steel type, so Togekiss has a disadvantage against it especially considering Probopass can learn electric type moves."

"Yes, but I'm sure the princess will win this." Ash said.

Dawn watched on nervously for Princess Salvia. She wanted to call out to her to give her encouragement, but she feared that would get her into more trouble with the butler.

"Aura Sphere." Princess Salvia told Togekiss.

Probopass used Stone Edge to counter it. It then used Discharge which hit Togekiss.

"Togekiss, are you alright?" Princess Salvia asked.

Togekiss was okay, but she was a bit shaken from Discharge.

"This really will be hard for the princess." Tomo said.

Dawn looked on nervously from her chair.

"Probopass, Sandstorm." Emma ordered.

Sand flew everywhere. Probopass used it to hide itself.

"That's a good strategy. Emma is having Probopass hide itself in the sand to avoid being seen." Brock said.

Ash agreed with him.

"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere to try and find Probopass." Princess Salvia said.

Togekiss fired an Aura Sphere at the sand but it didn't hit Probopass at all, only the sand. This caused Princess Salvia to lose points.

"Probopass, use Power Gem." Emma said.

While still hiding in the sand, Probopass fired Power Gem and the attack hit Togekiss directly before it had the chance to dodge.

Things were not looking good for Princess Salvia. Her points were getting lower and her Togekiss was getting hurt. It seemed she wasn't going to win after all and she was starting to doubt herself.

*'Maybe I shouldn't have entered this contest after all.'* She thought.

Suddenly Dawn stood up and spoke up.

"You can't give up yet Dawn." She said, remembering not to call the princess by her real name. "Remember you trained hard with Togekiss, and you can't stop doing your best until the very end."

"Your highness, sit down please." The butler said firmly.

Ash, Brock and Tomo placed their hands on their faces in disbelief.

"For goodness sake Dawn, you're going to give the game away." Ash whispered.

"She's not doing well as a princess, that's for sure." Brock whispered.

Hearing Dawn's words made the princess feel confident again.

"Aura Sphere." She ordered Togekiss.

The attack hit Probopass.

"Probopass, use Discharge." Emma said.

"Quick, dodge it Togekiss." Princess Salvia said.

Togekiss dodged the Discharge attack with grace. Probopass continued firing Discharge, but Togekiss kept dodging the attack. Then Togekiss fired another Aura Sphere and Probopass was hit again.

"If Princess Salvia keeps this up, she may win." Brock said.

Brock turned out to be right in the end because after Togekiss gracefully dodged another Discharge, it charged straight at Probopass with Sky Attack. Even though Sky Attack wouldn't be super-effective due to Probopass being a rock/steel type, it was actually knocked out by the attack.

And so Princess Salvia and her Togekiss did win the Arrowroot Contest. Everyone clapped and cheered for her, even Dawn despite the fact she wasn't supposed to. This displeased the butler. Princess Salvia was very happy with her victory and was more delighted when she won the Arrowroot ribbon.

After the Pokemon contest was over Ash, Brock and Tomo went back to the castle with Princess Salvia. Dawn and Freesia were already back at the castle and in the princess' bedroom. Dawn and Princess Salvia quickly changed back into their own outfits.

"Phew it was nice being dressed up as a princess, but I'm glad to be my own self again." Dawn sighed.

Seeing how hard it was to be a princess for a day, Dawn was going to appreciate her own life more.

"Thank you Dawn and you too Ash, Tomo and Brock." Princess Salvia said. "Thanks to you three I got to enjoy the experience of being in a Pokemon contest."

"It was our pleasure." Brock said. "And you have your ribbon as a special memory of today."

Princess Salvia placed the Arrowroot ribbon in a beautiful looking box where she kept all sorts of precious items in. She had to make sure no one else knew about her ribbon.

"Oh Dawn can I ask you to do a special favor?" Princess Salvia asked. "I would appreciate it if you took Togekiss with you."

"Huh? Take Togekiss with me?" Dawn repeated.

"Correct." Princess Salvia said. "It is Togekiss' interest to go with somebody like you. As you will be in the grand festival I think it will be wonderful for Togekiss."

"From what we saw in the contest Togekiss really likes to perform." Ash said.

Dawn agreed and was delighted to have Togekiss on her team. She also promised Princess Salvia that she would take good care of Togekiss.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and the butler came in. The gang quickly said goodbye to Princess Salvia and left the castle. After the gang left the butler told Princess Salvia that her etiquette today was unsatisfactory and she had to do better in the future. The princess simply smiled in understanding. The butler had no idea what had happened today.

Today was a day the gang was never going to forget. They helped a princess get into a Pokemon contest and Dawn got her own Togekiss.