The Pokémon Center spotted the trio with Togekiss at a map. Ash was feeling more comfortable since Dawn told him the truth about Togekiss' upbringing. Now came a big question: where's Princess Salvia's kingdom? "Togekiss, we feel that you know where the kingdom is," Dawn believed. "With this map, it can help us find out where the princess resides." Togekiss looked at the map but nothing could help the Jubilee Pokémon in finding the location of it's old home. The sigh from Togekiss was a rather hard blow.
"Guess we were expecting too much for Togekiss to point out a location," Brock muttered. Dawn acted defeated in asking where the kingdom was.
"It was worth a shot." Ash shot a look at the map, wondering if maybe there's something missing over the journey throughout Sinnoh.
"Can you think of anything, Pikachu?" he questioned his mouse. Pikachu plotted for a second before having a theory.
("I think I got one,") he squeaked as he leaped to address Togekiss. ("Togekiss, could you point out the direction of where your kingdom resides?") Togekiss wondered about the question the Electric Mouse Pokémon and his plan. Finally, Dawn's flier realized what Pikachu believed. It flew out the opening door and straight up with the kids following in pursuit. At it's peak, Togekiss settled itself in a fixed direction. Togekiss was playing itself off as a compass but the kids didn't recognize it right away.
"What is Togekiss doing?" Dawn wondered. The boys were just as confused about why Togekiss nosed itself in the direction it faced. Suddenly, Ash sensed the reason.
"I got it!" he yelled. The rest twisted to Ash and wanted to ask him.
"What is it, Ash?" Here came the answer.
"Togekiss is pointing to the direction of the kingdom. It can still sense an odor from Princess Salvia and is pointing us in a certain path." Princess and odor? Ash, let's hope that odor isn't what your stomach desired.
"Odor from Princess Salvia?" Brock actually knew what Ash meant.
"Trained Pokémon cam recognize their trainers through different methods, smells being one," he evaluated. "It's like a pet when you have it for a while, they sense that it's you through sight, touch or smell." A lot of ways for human and Pokémon to communicate, a fact Dawn now realized during that brief training session.
"I guess I can look like the princess but I won't get that stench Togekiss enjoyed with Salvia." She had a laugh from her own tease. Brock studied the direction and remembered which way he was facing.
"North-Northwest, huh?" The younger two wondered how Brock was able to know which direction Togekiss was facing.
"North-Northwest?" Brock reentered the Center, snagged a ruler and lined it straight up and then to the left. It's not perfectly diagonal, more like if it was a grid that the ruler would be two squares up to one square left. Ash, Dawn and the Pokémon returned to Brock's side. Soon, they found the ruler's line from their current spot and up the ruler. The ruler reached the northern-most point of Sinnoh, Snowpoint City.
"I doubt Zoey or Candice would know about any kingdoms near Snowpoint City," Ash figured.
"Perhaps but look where else the ruler cuts into," Brock pointed out. The two gazed for a little longer and spotted a landmark: Gracidea.
"Gracidea?" That stoked Togekiss to chirp wildly. Hearing all the excitement, the three had ideas that Salvia's kingdom was around Gracidea.
"There's a kingdom in Gracidea?" Dawn guessed. Were they there prior? "We didn't see any building in Gracidea, let alone a castle." Did they miss something?
"Well, keep in mind that we were only there to get a Shaymin to the flower garden," Brock reminded. "And stopping Zero from sacrificing Giratina. So if we saw a kingdom, it would've been on the mountains far from danger." In a sense, Salvia could have been watching the airborne struggle between Zero's ship and the heroes. "But if it's up there, no question that we completely missed it." Only to have Ash see optimism in the form of what the map portrayed.
"There's great news if we go," he spoke up as he approached the map. "It cuts by Lake Valor. So if we get the explanations done, we'll be in striking distance of reaching Lake Valor with plenty of time to setup for Dawn's Grand Festival run." Ash pointed to Gracidea then Lake Valor along the way.
"Hey, you're right!" Dawn gasped. "This will be perfect." Not wasting time, the three ventured the North-Northwest to Gracidea. Two days passed when the gang reached a garden of red flowers. During that duration, Brock and Pikachu apologized to Ash, Brock admitting his role and telling Pikachu not to be by Ash's side when he darted away. Ash was more forgiving to Pikachu than Brock, a note he deserved for that setup. A little mountain climbing later, the group found a glittering white castle walled in. "Togekiss, is this where Princess Salvia lives?" Togekiss chirped to say that it was.
"I can finally get answers in why Salvia kissed me the way she did." Dawn and Brock thought Ash was overreacting to a simple kiss.
"It's just a kiss."
"Then why did she hold onto my lips for a long time and why did she dress like you if to get into the Pokémon Contest?" To Ash, this wasn't a peck. This was a smother. They reached the gate and Freesia was watering the garden. Brock couldn't hold his feelings back to seeing her again.
"Freesia~!" he screamed with quite a swoon in his carry. Freesia spotted the charging Brock like Dawn's Mamoswine to her poffins.
"Sir Brock?" she stuttered in some shock and amazement. Brock got to Freesia and held her hands in a loving gesture.
"Freesia, the freedom of seeing you once more has brightened my light for love~!" BAM! Tell that to Croagunk and his Poison Jab to the pancreas. Brock may never learn. "Only...to have it...darkened...by Croagunk!" On the floor, Croagunk easily dragged Brock away as Ash and Dawn came forward.
"My, Lady Dawn! Master Ash! What brings you to the Gracidea Kingdom?" Ash was astounded to hear Freesia speak his name despite that it's the first time meeting him.
"How do you know me?" he wondered. One shot to Dawn itching an embarrassed head told a familiar tale. "Gotcha..." Dawn spoke up now.
"Ya see, the trick for Princess Salvia and my switch came apart and now Ash wants to meet the princess as she is," she said a mouthful. Freesia was dumbstruck. There was a plan that had gone south and now Ash wanted the real deal.
"Oh, dear!" she gasped. "Well, I'm not sure I should accept admittance to you, knowing how strict the butler is." Freesia was about to get a little help...from the princess.
"This is unexpected!" sounded Salvia. The three, not including the paralyzed breeder, turned to Salvia in the outfit which she appeared before Dawn and Pikachu. Ash balked. He's staring at royalty. Either that or he's shocked at how similar Dawn and Salvia looked.
"Princess, sorry for the intrusion," Dawn apologized. "But Ash caught on the switch." Ash came forward, still mesmerized with the comparison of the two blue-haired females.
"It's...it's nice to meet you...P-Princess Sal...via," Ash stuttered. Salvia giggled at how awe-stricken Ash was seeing her as she really was.
"I do not blame your actions seeing me like this," she scoffed. "I believe you think Lady Dawn and I look so much alike that the similarity is startling." Ash scratched his head in shame and humiliation.
"Y-yeah..."
"Come inside and I can explain why I confronted you as Lady Dawn." Agreeing, Ash, Dawn and the Pokémon entered the castle and into her room. As Freesia brought tea for the three, since Croagunk's Poison Jab apparently was more potent than before on Brock, and food for the Pokémon, Salvia began to explain the event back in Arrowroot. "Ash, the reason I dressed as Dawn initially to participate in the Arrowroot Pokémon Contest with Togekiss. My purpose was never to deceive you, Sir Ash, but since you didn't attend my briefing, it was my obligation to meet you." Ash was rather impressed with why Salvia switched with Dawn for the participation.
"Guess you couldn't actually compete until you met all of us, huh?"
"More or less. When Lady Dawn told me and Freesia that she mainly came to the Pokémon Contest to view any coordinators who would earn enough contest ribbons for the Grand Festival in nearby Lake Valor, it was an open invitation to swap places with her. The only way to convince that I would participate would be your acknowledgment that you encouraged Lady Dawn as a warmup. She told me you were trying to work on your Gible's Draco Meteor and grabbed the ball that was used to perfect the technique." Ash remembered that well. It was also the moment when Ash unintentionally saved the princess in disguise...and the kiss.
"So, when I saved you from the falling meteors, that's when you-" Salvia nodded in embarrassment.
"I'll confess that it was the first time that my life was truly endangered, though most of it was from my poor judgment. You sacrificed your health to defend me, much more than the guards protecting my parents, the king and queen." Health wasn't really in harm's way. "You could imagine my shock that my life had been in peril the moment the meteors landed...and the moment I felt like I found my prince." It's hard to keep a straight face, especially when your cheeks get blushing red. Ash felt that his action to save Salvia had repercussions that not even Dawn or Salvia had anticipated.
"Princess, are you alright?" Dawn asked in concern, practically ignoring her duplicate's mentioning "prince." Salvia faced Ash with something to get off her blouse.
"Sir Ash, that was my first kiss to anyone, let alone a commoner who would do anything to protect the innocent of people and Pokémon. I even saw your battle to protect Giratina with Lady Dawn from the machine that was absorbing the legendary Pokémon's life. Please, Sir Ash! Become my prince and stay with me until the end of time!" Ash was beyond able to answer. The princess wanted to have him by his side. Dawn watched in sheer awe but dismay. This boy from Pallet Town in the Kanto Region could be the future husband of an heir to a kingdom, a rare feat by anyone. From all anyone knew, Dawn wished a real prince would just whisk her away just to get back at Ash. Let's hold all thoughts because someone chose to crash the party...and not the butler or Brock. CRASH! Through the window was a man in an ivory jumpsuit with a "0" on his chest. The white-haired man flew on an airborne scooter and snagged Salvia just as Brock recovered and entered the room. Salvia let out a screech when she was snagged by the white-haired.
"Zero!" Zero held Salvia under his arm and around her waist.
"We meet again, all of you," he sneered. "How bitter I feel after being incarcerated by those close to Newton Graceland." A history involving Zero and the heroes.
"Let the princess go! She's got nothing to do with it!"
"You're right, she doesn't. But since hearing that you and she have been close..." He's using Salvia to bait Ash to helping his demands.
"Help me!" she screamed. Ash, Dawn and Brock wanted to but with the tight grip, risking harm was out of the question.
"It's off to the Reverse World!" Zero drove the hovering scooter away from the castle.
"NO!" Ash gave chase, hoping to stop Zero and rescue Salvia but Zero hauled out so fast, the head start was too great for Ash to catch them.
"Salvia!" he shouted. No one in the room could fathom what just happened. Brock had something more disturbing to say.
"Zero severely injured Freesia and the Butler!" he informed. Zero went all out to neutralize the castle...but how did Zero escape?
"Okay, you two take care of the injured," Ash instructed. "I'm going after Zero." He was ready to rescue Salvia but Dawn knew he couldn't get to the Reverse World so easily.
"Ash, how can you get into the Reverse World?" she countered. Ash knew that getting there was harder but how can Zero unless he has the technology? That's it! The technology.
"Zero has it! Trust me!" Ash bolted out and down the mountain, Pikachu by his side. It had taken them a few minutes to reach the bottom of the mountain and to their amazement, a vortex was visible. They wasted no time and leaped into the vortex just before it vanished. Ash, Pikachu, Salvia and Zero are now in the Reverse World in the dance of death. What does Zero have for Ash to save Salvia?