Chapter 31: Holding onto a Dream
Summary: with the Dark Aura Masters defeated, Ash and Salvia continue on towards their next destination, but with new resolve they prepare to face their final challenges as they each announce their dreams again.
The first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, bouncing off the snow, heating up the area around Ash and Salvia, who remained back a week after celebrating new year's with their friends from Unova, Ash looked towards the distance and started to chuckle, 'even after a while I forgot who I was, so many people helped me find out more about myself, now I know which path I need to retake,' Ash thought as he closed his eyes. A flashback of him kissing Salvia played back in his mind, shaking his head, trying to erase the vision, he looked out to the distance and placed his hands over his lips, 'no matter how much I try, I cannot erase that image,' Ash confessed to himself.
Ash peered back towards the intimidating mountain where the last battle took place, his thoughts about the people whose lives were taken for no reason and the princess who saved his life, "just Sloth and Pride left," Ash whispered.
Salvia emerged from the Pokemon Centre, spotting Ash staring at the mountain where the last fight took place, she quickly pictured the moment where they first kissed, 'I don't know why I cannot erase that image from my mind, but then again I don't want to ever,' Salvia thought to herself as she placed her right hand over her lips.
Ash glanced back at the princess, unable to make eye contact with her, he took a deep breath, still trying to come to terms with what had happened during their New Year's date, "you know we have almost won the fight, I was just thinking about something important," Ash pulled out one of his pokeballs and stared at it for a moment.
"We haven't been able to train our pokemon," Salvia stated softly, she grabbed out of her pokeballs and glued her eyes on the red and white device, "I have been accused of copying other people's dreams and yet it feels like something is guiding me to those ambitions, directing," she explained the feeling she was getting. The bluenettefelt the wind pick up, her hair started to sway slightly, thinking about what she wanted to do next, "throughout my life I had been sheltered, missing out on so much, even now I am missing out," Salvia confessed her sadness, she looked up to see the clouds scattered revealing a bright blue sky with the sun shining down on her.
"I agree," Ash replied, he turned around to see the pillar of sunlight hitting the blue haired royal, "after we defeat the Shadow Lords, I am going to journey again," Ash announced his intentions to Salvia, he looked sideways and scratched his cheek nervously, "what about you?"
"I am going to travel as well," Salvia refused to look back as she answered the question, she started to shake a little, both nervously and visibly upset that her and Ash would be separated for an extended amount of time, "I will be travelling alone to see the many sites with my own eyes," Salvia announced her intentions to Ash.
"Let's go," Ash replied, not even giving the answer he wanted to give her.
Salvia followed Ash towards the eastern part of the small town, refusing to glance over to the young man, she looked, staring at the wall of fog, seeing a picture of her and Ash in her mind, 'I finally figured out what I need to do, but I am still a little frightened of asking him,' she thought to herself as the two made their way out of the now quiet town.
"I am going to enter into a pokemon league, take on the chellenges that I should be facing now," Ash informed the princess calmly.
The two walked onto the road leading to the next battle, the cold weather continued to hit them as the snow started to fall slowly, "say Ash, you intend to follow your dream again?" the princess enquired curiously.
"Yeah, I do," Ash retorted quickly. The duo continued on through the fog which seemed to be lifting, but the visibility was still not very good, "so what is your dream?" Ash questioned the blunette softly.
Silence filled the air, Salvia placed her left hand over her chin and stared at to the distance, thinking about her dream, 'I never thought of it before,' she admitted to herself, but as she continued to think about her own ambitions another idea popped into her mind, "the world, I want to see everything, catch lots of pokemon, compete in the pokemon league and contests, as well as make more friends," Salvia explained her ambitions of travel to Ash, but another thing popped into her mind, something that she felt was so close, yet she felt she was unable to reach it, "to find someone I can share it all with," Salvia informed Ash.
"That's really nice to know," Ash whispered, but was beginning to question who she was thinking of taking along, "I was also thinking," Ash gulped, but ended his sentence.
The long drawn silence continued on as they continued on through the fog covered path, "how long before we get out of this fog?" the princess broke the silence, she felt for her hair which had started to grow a little longer since she had cut it, 'oh right, I remember, I cut my hair short in order to become a new person, something I need to follow,' Salvia reminded herself as she continued walking next to Ash.
"Back to what I was going to say, when I travel next, I would like you to accompany me," Ash requested, bringing the princess in to a surprised state.
"Where to?" Salvia questioned curiously.
"I was thinking Kalos," Ash answered quietly. The bluenette stopped, then stared at the ground, she was visibly blushing, causing Ash to move in closer, putting his hand over her forehead, "are you alright?"
Salvia gulped and jumped back in shock, "I will go with you to Kalos," Salvia answered Ash confidently.
"Good," Ash quietly celebrated, he turned away pumping his fist happily and walked forward, as they exited the route that was leading to another road, 'it has been a while now, I didn't think I would be happy again, but for some reason Salvia brings me to a much clearer state of mind,' Ash admitted to himself, shooting his eyes back towards the princess, she didn't noticed Ash staring at her, 'a while ago, I didn't want her anywhere near me, but slowly but surely, something changed within me,' the young man continued to think about the effect the princess had on him.
Salvia looked up but before she could notice the stare that Ash put on her, he quickly turned away, "is there something wrong Ash?" she asked him, but no response came from him.
"We are two days walk from Veilstone City," Ash changed the subject much to the chagrin of the royal.
"Yeah I know," she replied disappointedly, almost expecting Ash to tell her what was on his mind.
"I was thinking that while we are in Veilstone City, we could…." Ash stopped his sentence, as the image of him kissing Salvia played back in his mind, 'oh man, this is stupid, why does it play back all the time?' Ash started to question why it wouldn't go away, 'I guess, this is evidence enough,' Ash peered over his left shoulder again, taking a deep breath he tried to muster the courage to say something again, but he couldn't sound the words he needed to say to her, 'I guess for all my regained confidence, I cannot tell her just yet,' Ash reminded himself almost laughing at his inability to tell the blue haired royal.
"I heard this was this nice restaurant in Veilstone City, we didn't get the chance to go there," Salvia stated while the two restarted their journey to the major city, 'it wasn't like we could at the time and maybe it still isn't a good time,' Salvia told herself, but she quickly thought about the events of the previous week, 'no I will not doubt myself,' with her confidence renewed yet again, she grabbed Ash's hand and tightened it.
With Ash turning his attention to Salvia, he tilted his head and smiled at the princess, "is there something you want?"
"Yes, I want you to take me out on a date," Salvia made her request.
"At least none of our friends are forcing it on us this time," Ash replied with a quick jab at his friends, scratching the back of his head, he thought about the previous months and started to smile at himself, "even though we don't have the time," Ash started, quickly turning to see Salvia get a little upset with his response, he looked towards the route heading towards the major city, "I am going to accept your request," Ash answered the princess with a nod. Not waiting for a reply Ash walked ahead, with his heart racing from hearing the request from the young royal, 'I cannot hold onto something that I lost, I will take this as something to help me heal,' Ash thought to himself feeling happy for the first time in over five months, feeling the wind pressing against his face and the sound of thunder rolling overhead, "come on Salvia, I don't want you catching a cold," Ash cheerfully called for the princess to follow him.
"Right, let's go," Salvia rushed up to Ash's side, Salvia looked out the corner of her eyes and proudly smiled at the trainer, 'maybe he doesn't know, that I have found the one I want to share my journeys with as well as share my life with,' Salvia thought to herself, but started to hesitate in her chance to grab Ash's hand, 'even though he said we didn't have the time, he is still making an effort,' Salvia told herself, her thoughts turned back to when she met Ash again after five years, 'could it be that he has decided that he needed to move on? Move on after the loss of Lady Dawn?' Salvia grew more curious into the mind set of Ash who kept his barrier up for an extended period.
(Hearthome City)
Greed walked around on his own, his memories of his first fight with Gluttony still seared in his thoughts, 'I cannot believe how I was beaten in that fight, but now I am going to decide a destiny that will help my friends and maybe I can finally enjoy the finer things in life,' Greed thought to himself, watching the people clean up after his fight with Gluttony, "this place is still a mess," he whispered, he continued on until he spotted a familiar woman, walking slowly towards her, "so you couldn't help yourself," Greed stated with a hint of displeasure.
Melissa spun around to see Greed standing behind her, with great excitement, she leapt into an emotional hug, "I thought you wouldn't come back," the Kanto Princess started crying, she stepped back and smiled at him gently.
"Geez it has only been a month," Greed scratched the back of his head, chuckling at the emotional royal, "I will be off to defeat my fellow Shadow Lords," Greed informed the pink haired nurse.
"Again? It seems like we only see one another for a short time, then you go off to help Ash and Salvia," Melissa complained, she turned back to the people who were still in need of medical attention, taking a deep breath she knelt down to assist the surrounding people, "they came here when Oreburgh was destroyed, so I followed them here to give them all the assistance I can possibly muster," the kind hearted woman professed proudly.
Greed approached the injured people and started tending to the children who were in need of food, "here kids, some food I got before I came here, you will need it more than I do," Greed watched the children take the food from his hand, running away happily with the Shadow Lord watching joyously.
"I thought being the embodiment of Greed, you would never do such a thing," Melissa stated while Greed stood up, with his stomach rumbling in hunger, "you sacrificed the last of your food for the hungry children, you're nothing but a big softy," she teased the Shadow Lord.
"Yeah I still am, but over the years so much has changed, seeing the people happy and making all the friends in the world kind of softened me up," Greed watched the children running around, playing with the pokemon in the local area with their parents watching on.
"So you found another reason to fight?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.
Nodding in agreement, he watched one of the balls rolling towards him, "yeah, I have," Greed picked up the ball and looked at the children, "it is thanks to my friends that I have made," Greed started to get a little more embarrassed before feeling Melissa pressing her lips against his cheek. Reacting quickly he placed his right hand where he was kissed, "it is also thanks to you," Greed admitted softly.
"Oh you're so sweet," Melissa cooed with joy.
"Hey Melissa, what is your dream?" Greed quickly asked the princess of Kanto, he looked back to find her in a state of shock, "whatever it is, I want to fight in order to keep it safe," he informed the pinkette.
"My dream? I never really thought about it," Melissa admitted as she placed her hands behind her back and started staring at the cloudless sky, "if anything, I have always wanted to see the world, experience what the thrill of a pokemon battle is like and to compete in a contest, then I want to make it back to Kanto and revive the Kanto kingdom," Melissa explained her ambitions to the Shadow Lord.
Laughing at the young royal he walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "then make that your dream, that is something I would be happy to fight for," Greed turned towards the crowd who were watching them. Quickly removing his hands, he started walking to the west again.
"Wait Greed," Melissa called to her love interest, "I want you to travel with me," Melissa requested with a hopeful smile.
Greed stopped upon hearing the request, looking at the ground, "I would love to," Greed replied, causing the woman to start jumping for joy, "but that might not become reality," he informed the princess who stopped jumping for joy and started to get a little upset with the comments.
"But why?!" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.
Looking out into the distance he let out a sigh, "maybe that is because Pride is a ruthless individual, he has a big target painted on my back," Greed answered the princess to the best of his ability, "in other words he wants me dead," a slight laugh started to emerge from the Shadow Lord.
Melissa rushed up to Greed and wrapped her arms around him, "then do your best to come back alive," she started to cry, "I want you around…..no I need you around," Melissa buried her head in the Shadow Lord's back, "I love you Greed," Melissa confessed her love to the Shadow Lord.
"Alright, how about this, we go on one date tonight and if I come back alive, we will have plenty more dates between you and me," Greed did his best to hold back on calling it a promise, but also noticed the happiness in the royal's disposition, "in fact, I love you as well Melissa," Greed answered her confession, hugging her tightly.
(Veilstone City 2 days later)
"Oh man, I haven't been on a real date since I lost Dawn," Ash exhaled heavily, he pulled out the ring thinking about the time he proposed to Dawn, "things have changed so much, my dream has been put on hold and yet I feel that I can reach for it again," Ash stared at the ring whispering to himself. He looked over his right shoulder to see when Salvia was going to emerge from the hall, "at least this time it doesn't feel forced and this could be the last chance for us to relax," Ash reminded himself of the uneasy feeling he had been feeling since their arrival at the busy city.
Humming in the room the blue haired princess was choosing her dress for the night she was going to spend with Ash, "maybe tonight I will confess to him," Salvia reminded herself with a smile, confident that she would get the chance she had been waiting for, she looked towards the door and started to think about her own future, 'when I was telling Ash about the dreams I wanted to pursue, I never told him the other dream I wanted to share with him,' Salvia told herself, she picked up the next dress, it was pink in colour and had a floral pattern at the top.
'Ah that brings back memories,' a voice echoed in her mind.
In shock Salvia scanned the room in hopes to find who was talking to her, "who are you?" Salvia asked in fear, she continued to look around in hopes of finding the person, still holding the dress and not realising that the spirit was right in front of her.
Before Salvia could turn around the apparition vanished, 'put it on, Ash will love it,' the voice encouraged the royal.
Salvia looked back at the dress and pulled it in closer, "but this was Dawn's dress, she gave it to me as a gift, Dawn did so much for me, I guess I cannot live in the past, I need to keep going forward," Salvia whispered to herself as she placed the dress back on the bed.
"I put all my dreams on hold and yet…." Ash stated while thinking about his own future again.
'What thinking of giving up are we?' a voice rung in the young man's head.
Ash shot his vision around to figure out where the voice come from, "for a moment, that sounded like Dawn, but it can't be," Ash thought aloud, trying to piece together the mystery that fell before him.
Ash turned to the hallway entrance, waiting for Salvia to make her appearance, "she sure is taking her time," Ash whispered, the raven haired man started thinking about the ambitions of Salvia, he closed his eyes thinking about the potential battle between him and Salvia, "I can see it now, in the finals," Ash started to think more about the crowd and him facing the princess in the battle to decide who was going to be champion.
"What can you see Ash?" a familiar voice forced Ash to open his eyes, upon seeing Salvia in the pink dress Ash leapt back in shock, "S-S…..Salvia?"
The blue haired royal spun around, showing off the dress she was wearing, "so what do you think Ash?" she asked cheerfully, with the dress swaying around her legs, she stopped to see Ash blushing greatly, "wow Ash, your face is totally red," Salvia teased the Kanto native.
Hitting his face and trying to regain composure with the people "No-no it's not," Ash snapped back, trying his best to deny it, 'man, now she is teasing me,' Ash complained to himself, feeling like he was also caught out by the princess, he glanced up and smiled at the royal, 'but wow, she looks really cute in that dress,' Ash thought to himself with his eyes glued on Salvia, .
The people in the busy Pokemon Centre watched the young royal showing off to Ash, they started to whisper without the two noticing, "isn't that the princess?" once of the young female patrons with long red hair asked curious as to what was happening.
"Yeah, that is the princess, but the person she is trying to win over isn't a royal, odd I thought the princess had another one in line, by decree of her father, but it seems like she is making her own choice here," a teen with short brown hair whispered to his friend, but also noticed the happiness of the princess radiating in every direction, "she also seems really happy, not like the last time she was in Veilstone City," he finished up, witnessing the bluenette taking Ash's arm and pulling him out of the medical facility.
Nurse Joy walked toward the conversation and smiled at the sight, "it is very obvious, what is happening," Nurse Joy informed the two young trainers, she watched Ash getting teased by the royal again, "it is obvious to everyone around them, but the two are basically oblivious to it," she explained while the two younger trainers watched as the two walked further away.
"You mean, that those two are basically boyfriend and girlfriend now," the red head asked the nurse, almost shocked by what was happening.
"Yes but there is one problem, it seems like both of them haven't told the other how they feel," Nurse Joy sighed in displeasure.
"So the princess loves that trainer, man I am jealous," the brown haired teen replied with a frown, but was soon jumping around in pain, feeling the foot of the older girl next to him slamming down on his, in a jealous fit.
"So you like princesses do you?" the girl asked as she clenched her fists.
Walking through the town Ash and Salvia finally made it to one of their destinations, a fine restaurant, Ash was in shock at the fancy restaurant, almost hesitating to go near it, "um, I don't know about this my princess," Ash stuttered his comments.
Salvia glanced at Ash and smiled at him, "you're nervous aren't you?" she asked him with a playful tone.
"What makes you think that?" Ash asked the royal in response.
With a cheeky smile Salvia turned to Ash, taking a deep breath she crossed her arms, "my princess," Salvia tried her best to imitate Ash.
"I don't always say that," Ash denied quickly with the people watching the duo.
"If you say so," Salvia teased the young man, showing a greater amount of confidence.
The raven haired trainer walked up to the entrance and looked at the menu, in shock he noticed the pricing of the food on the menu, "how would I be able to pay for tonight?" Ash asked, scratching his head in shame, he looked at the ground, "while I was dating Dawn, I would always pay for all expenses," Ash complained with a frown.
"Well you aren't dating Dawn, plus this is kind of my treat for you and I was the one who suggested it after all," Salvia replied, grabbing the hand of the trainer and leading him into the restaurant, "no need to worry," Salvia assured the trainer leaving him disbelief at what he had heard.
"I always pay all the expense and yet this time, I am being told not to," Ash continued his complaining, he looked around to see the rich people looking at him, "um Salvia, I am not sure about this," Ash whispered but was ignored by the bluenette, as she led him towards one of the tables.
Salvia looked back and grinned at the trainer broadly, "don't be so uptight," Salvia continued to pull Ash towards one of the tables, "relax, it isn't like we will get that chance for a little while," Salvia ordered Ash.
The duo finally reached one of the tables, Ash pulled out one of the chairs to allow for the princess to sit down, Ash took his own seat, Ash looked up to find Salvia looking at the menu, with a smile on his face, he placed his right hand over the menu, "you know, I saw us having our battle at the Kalos League, in the finals," Ash informed the princess quietly.
Salvia lowered the menu and tilted her head, "great, so after we deal with the Shadow Lords, we better make that our priority, plus, you are the one I want to battle," Salvia responded quickly, confessing her interest in battling the man in front of her, "also order what you want, I know you want to pay all expenses, so don't concern over it, I will pay it, after all I am the princess of this region so naturally I am very rich," Salvia explained to Ash much to his chagrin.
Ash picked up the menu and noticed how expensive the place was, he scanned the menu, now feeling even more ashamed, 'oh man, Salvia isn't worried what I order?' Ash started to question himself.
The waiter walked up to the table, prepared to take the order, "I am your waiter for tonight, is there anything you would like to order?" the man dressed in white with black pants asked the two.
"I would like to have the mixed Sushi Platter please," Salvia replied with a broad smile, confident in her choice.
Ash looked down and much to his shock discovered the sushi platter's pricing, 'oh man, that is expensive,' Ash almost hit the floor, he continued to scan the menu, panicking for a moment, 'she intends to share the Sushi platter with me,' Ash thought ignoring the call of the waiter and Salvia, "can we follow that up with a riceball plate as well please?" Ash requested, feeling a guilty that the princess was going to pay for the meal.
The waiter walked away with the menus, leaving Ash and Salvia alone for a moment, "so Ash, after this, how about you choose a place?" Salvia suggested to Ash who was still feeling upset that Salvia was going to pay for the meal, "you're still upset that I am pay for the expenses?" she laughed at the trainer's expense.
"Humiliated more like it, I really wanted to pay all the expenses," Ash reminded the princess of his disdain.
"You take pride in being a gentleman don't you?" she continued to tease the young man, she noticed Ash crossing his arms, still not pleased with the situation. Salvia started to giggle at the trainer placing her hand over her mouth, "sorry about that Ash, but I also needed to talk to you about Kalos," Salvia placed her hands on the table, "what is it like?" she asked curiously about to jump out of her seat.
"Kalos, well, it is a beautiful region, but I will tell you about some of it," Ash answered, he remembered the people he travelled with and the sites he had seen, "there is this amazing palace, where at night you can stand on the balcony to watch fireworks, it has an amazing garden that where pokemon are allowed to run around freely," Ash explained to the blue haired royal as her eyes lit up.
"The palace with the fireworks kind of sounds…. No forget it," Salvia started to blush a little, she started to imagine the fireworks display with her standing next to Ash, 'I can picture it now, Ash and me at the palace watching the fireworks together.'
"Then in the biggest city in the region, there is this tower in the middle of the city which also doubles as a gym for the trainers," Ash interrupted the blue haired royal in her thought process, "at night time my friend, lights up the tower which illuminates the rest of the city," Ash explained the site to the young royal.
"Wow Dawn must have loved those places," Salvia replied, but was soon met with a loud thud on the table, witnessing Ash hitting it angrily.
"I never took Dawn to Kalos," Ash retorted in disappointment, leaving Salvia saddened by his words, she lowered her eyes at the table and showed signs of being moved to tears. Ash looked up and noticed the sadness in Salvia's expression, extending his hand out he wiped away Salvia's tears, "we both wanted to take our own paths for a while, after returning from Kalos, I decided it would be nice to revisit Kalos, but with Dawn, before I got the chance…..well we both know what happened," Ash explained to the princess who was shocked to hear Ash talking about it, almost happy at the same time.
"You never talked about how you were feeling before, it really seems like you are trying to move on," Salvia expressed her joy to Ash.
"I have accepted reality a while ago, I needed to move on and find someone I needed to share my life with," Ash responded quietly, the Sushi Platter was placed in front of them, he watched Salvia picking up a sushi roll and moving closer to her mouth, "plus I have found someone that I would love to share my life with," Ash confessed.
Upon hearing Ash's comment Salvia halted and started to shake, now she was hoping that Ash would tell her, "really?" Salvia tried to bottle up her excitement.
"Yeah, I just don't know if she feels the same way," Ash answered softly, picking up a one of the sushi rolls.
"Well then you need to tell her," Salvia instructed Ash with a gentle tone, she placed the sushi roll in her mouth and started eating her meal.
"It's you," Ash responded causing Salvia to almost choke on her food, "I was lost for a while, but you showed me the way I needed to take," Ash expressed his gratitude to Salvia, but soon stopped when he noticed Salvia struggling to swallow her food, he picked up a glass of water and handed it to the princess, watching Salvia gulp down on the water he admired her for a moment and smiled broadly, "thank you."
Salvia placed the glass down and looked up with her face turning bright red, 'he thanked me, that I didn't really expect,' Salvia thought to herself, she started to remember the times she felt Ash shrugged her off, then the Christmas Day conversation with their friends, 'is it true, does Ash really love me?' she started to question herself as she continued to eat the food in front of her.
After enjoying their meal, Salvia paid the bill, leaving Ash feeling a little bitter about him not paying, 'why did she insist in paying the bill?' Ash asked himself, the two walked towards the Pokemon Centre, on the way there the raven haired trainer felt Salvia gripping his hand, he looked down and then looked back up, he turned his hand around and walked back to the medical facility holding hands.
Salvia focused her eyes on Ash and smiled at the young man, "have you decided where we will be going tonight?" she asked him, but he didn't respond, she grew a little perplexed by the silence Ash was displaying, "if your silence has anything to do with me paying for tonight, I would be a little upset with you," Salvia continued to defend her decision to pay for the meal.
"Don't worry, I was thinking about something else," Ash replied quietly, "I am going to travel through Kalos again, this time, I want you to travel with me," Ash stated his intentions to Salvia, wanting her to go with him.
With the group of friends edging closer to the final battle, declaring their dreams, they head to Arrowroot Town with the mission of defeating Pride once and for all.
Next time chapter 32: before time runs out.
almost done folks, the last lot of chapters are on their way.