On the way to continue the clockwise loop, going via Chargestone Cave to Mistralon City, the friends met up with someone again.

"Bianca!" Cilan smiled. "It's wonderful to see you. How are you getting on with Kangaskhan?"

"Oh, I think we're working out okay," Bianca replied. "She can get a bit intense sometimes, but I know it's coming from a caring place so I don't mind."

"Well, it's not like I'm going to accept you skipping meals to focus on your work," Kangaskhan replied, hands on hips. "I think it's my right as a caretaker to get intense about something like that!"

Bianca laughed.

"It's great to see you less stressed," N said. "I don't think we realized it was going on until it stopped."

"I have felt a lot better lately," Bianca admitted. "Oh, but I was going to say, Professor Juniper's in the area and she wanted to do an experiment with me – recording data about what happens when a Shelmet and a Karrablast evolve!"

Her Xtransciever beeped.

"Oh, that might be a message from Professor Juniper," Bianca said, taking the device out and opening it up. "It is! She says, um… Ash Ketchum would invalidate the entire experiment. Oh, well, we'll just do it later then."

She shrugged. "Things like that happen! Professor Juniper says that even a failed experiment is worth recording, and even publishing, because it lets people know something doesn't work."

"So, what's Chargestone Cave like?" Ash asked. "I know there's a big mountain in Sinnoh which has strong magnetic fields, is this the same kind of thing?"

"There is?" Bianca replied. "That sounds fascinating. Chargestone cave, well, it has lots of charged stones in it, I suppose that's obvious from the name. Electric types tend to like it in there."

"Oh, maybe my friend Dawn would like it," Ash wondered. "I'll have to ask her, if we're still around here when she's likely to be awake…"

"Aha!" Aten said. "At last, I am a giant Pokémon!"

He winced. "Admittedly I have quite a strong headache, but it's worth it to be a massive, intimidating Pokémon who strikes fear into the hearts of all around me!"

"See?" Zorua said, tail wagging. "You can push Illusion a lot further than people think! Like we discovered, though, it does help to just be a giant version of you which is why your headache isn't worse."

Zacian grumbled something about copyright.

"Plus, this way you're helping out Ash's Mom!" Zorua added.

Aten frowned, turning, then stopped halfway through turning because his head started to hurt.

"How?" he asked.

"You're drawing in a crowd," Froslass explained. "And you're next to the cafe. A giant image of a rare Pokémon next to the cafe is doing wonders for its ability to attract in clients."

"It is?" Aten replied. "...how? I've only been like this for a few minutes."

"You're also visible from Viridian City," Pidgey pointed out. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but you're floating. I'd also say adorable but I know how you respond to that word."

She shrugged. "Plus, Absol was fairly sure this would happen. I think it's why she persuaded Zacian to help…"

"Ah, hello there!"

An elderly gentleman waved to the friends. "I don't suppose you're that group my daughter talks about?"

"That depends," N replied. "Who's your daughter, and who does she talk about?"

"Good point," the man admitted. "Well, my name's Cedric Juniper! I'm a researcher who studies Reshiram and Zekrom."

"That's neat!" Ash smiled. "So your daughter's Professor Juniper? What do you know about Reshiram and Zekrom?"

"I'd like to know that as well," Reshiram agreed. "There's a lot that Pokémon don't necessarily know about themselves, and I'd like to find out."

Cedric looked a bit confused. "...to be honest, I definitely thought Reshiram were bigger than that."

"Yeah, they are," Ash agreed.

Cedric looked at Reshiram, then at Ash.

"I know Minimize," Reshiram said, hoping to dispel the awkwardness of the situation.

"Oh, I see," Cedric realized. "That makes more sense. So you're the Hero of Truth?"

"I think I'm a Hero of Ideals," Ash replied.

"No, Reshiram is the Dragon of Truth, so you must be the Hero of Truth," Cedric said.

"Actually this is my Hero of Truth," Reshiram clarified, tapping a claw on N's horn. "And yes, Ash is a Hero of Ideals. He's got a Zekrom, who, to tell the truth, I'd have expected to appear already."

"I was waiting for the ideal time!" Zekrom retorted, emerging with a flash.

"This is… quite an experience," Cedric said. "But, ah… why aren't the two of you fighting? That's what the Hero of Truth and Hero of Ideals are supposed to do."

"Only if they disagree on something, right?" Ash asked. "And I mean, really fundamentally disagree so they can't decide what to do without a fight."

He shrugged. "I guess the times when they're fighting are much easier to notice, but back when we were dealing with the Sword of the Vale Reshiram and Zekrom and Zekrom were all cooperating pretty well."

"About that… you mean there's more than one Reshiram and Zekrom?" Cedric checked. "I've found evidence of different resting places for Zekrom or Reshiram, but if they're different ones then that's something I hadn't realized before… I'd just thought they were rumours and only one was right. There's one of them not far from here, perhaps we should have another look at it?"

That sounded interesting enough that everyone agreed to go, and a short while later the friends were outside what Cedric referred to as the Hero's Ruin.

"So, Zekrom, does this seem familiar?" Cedric asked. "It's fascinating to be able to ask questions like that."

"Not really, though I like the style!" Zekrom answered.

"...oh," Cedric frowned. "Did something stop working?"

"I forgot to let Emolga know I was turning over the translation role to her for another test," Lokoko apologized. "Again, Zekrom?"

"Not really, though I like the style!" Zekrom repeated.

The old researcher blinked. "You'd like a stylus?"

"Lokoko makes this look very easy," Emolga grumbled.

Zekrom repeated for a third time, and this time the translation worked.

"Well, that's going to make this interesting," Cedric decided. "Let's go in and have a look… can Zekrom Miniaturize as well?"

"I should probably learn that," Zekrom allowed. "Until then, back in the Pokéball."

"Be careful in here," Cedric warned. "The ruins are full of traps. For example…"

He pointed to a Venipede. "Turning that statue to the left should not be done, or it'll trigger a trap."

"What kind of trap?" Ash asked. "...hold on a minute, I just thought of something. How do you know it'll trigger a trap?"

Cedric gestured. "The runes around here give warnings. I'm deciphering them to give you advice."

"But then those would just be things anyone could read, back then," Ash complained. "So it could be a double bluff, and the traps are what happen if you don't follow the instructions."

"Hmm, a good point," Cedric admitted. "So perhaps we should turn the statue?"

Cilan turned the statue, and a wall slid aside to unleash a giant rolling boulder.

"No," Arc declared, materializing into the form of a golden Arceus between the friends and the boulder. "None of that. Shame on you."

Their ring lit up in gold.

The boulder disintegrated with a flash of brilliant orange light, turning into a small pile of fine brown dust.

"Good," Arc decided. "That worked. The alternative was to let the boulder hit me in the face, which would have not been ideal."

"Thanks, Arc!" Ash said. "So now we know it's not okay to trust the opposite of what the runes say!"

With Cedric's help, and the knowledge that the runes were providing good instructions, the little group got quickly to the centre of the not-very-ruined ruins.

That also involved checking what most of the things you weren't supposed to do actually did, just for interest's sake, but by the end of the trip everyone was very impressed with how the Hero's Ruin was built to last.

"Most modern buildings wouldn't be able to collapse the floor and then have everything working again later," Cilan said, approvingly. "That really is a sign that this place is well built. It almost makes you wonder why they left."

"I wonder if Aten knows something about that," Ash pondered. "Or maybe Giratina? I should know someone who does… anyway, it looks like we've found the middle!"

A Cofagrigus floated towards them, spectral hands forming. "Interlopers!"

"No, the correct term is archaeologists," Cedric corrected. "Since this is a building. I suppose it's also anthropology if we're studying ancient cultures."

"Anthro-pology?" N repeated. "That sounds wrong, because anthros is an ancient word for human, so it would mean it's the study of human cultures. We're actually looking at a culture of humans and Pokémon together, so the word should reflect that… otherwise it's a violation of Rule 13 of the Code of Conduct of the Unova University."

"Rule 13," Ibid said. "No student will submit for any part of a qualification work that has been done by their Pokémon partner. I do not see the relevance."

"No, I mean the researcher code of conduct, not-" N stopped, and restarted. "Why was that you?"

"Arc offered to let me do the next one," Ibid informed him.

"This place is sacred to the Hero of Ideals," the Cofagrigus intoned, reminding them that it was still there. "None may enter without showing they understand the nature of the Hero of Ideals!"

Zekrom came out of his Pokéball.

"It's okay, they're with me," he said.

Cofagrigus looked Zekrom up and down, then used Skill Swap. Zekrom remained shaped like a Zekrom, and Cofagrigus re-used Skill Swap.

"Good enough," it said. "Please don't set off any more of the traps, we have to put them back together and it's a bit of a pain to do so."

"And that is the Golden Dark Stone," Cedric said, pointing at a glimmering golden orb inside a row of blue crystal pillars. "It's said to be what the Hero of Ideals used to summon Zekrom."

"Huh," Ash replied. "I wonder how it works… Cofagrigus? Is this a dormant Zekrom, or does it just call a Zekrom from somewhere else?"

"If touched by a Hero of Ideals, it summons Zekrom," Cofagrigus replied. "It is not a dormant Zekrom."

They glanced at Zekrom. "Did it ever happen to you before?"

"Not that I remember!" Zekrom answered. "Though I wonder what would happen if Ash touched it now. Can it tell which Zekrom it's meant to be, or would it just take a random one?"

"What I want to know is why my heroes didn't have one of these," Reshiram grumbled. "Unless there is one somewhere and it's just never summoned me. It seems like it would have been a much more convenient way of doing things than hanging around a Hero for a long period of time, at least before the invention of the Pokéball."

He patted N's neck. "Or this, which is better."

"It sounds like it'd be Ideal for me to learn Minimize!" Zekrom said, and did so.

Reshiram watched as Zekrom shrank down to about the size of a normal Pidgey, then shook his head.

"That's not going to work for you every time, you know."

"So… just as a curiosity?" Cedric tried. "Do you think you'd allow this to go in a museum?"

Cofagrigus shook their face.

"Worth a try."

They were about to leave again, when Cedric coughed and raised his hand.

"I know I've asked a lot of questions," he admitted. "But… I really want to see how the Golden Dark Stone works at least. Is that something that you can do?"

Cofagrigus considered that.

"It is permitted for the Hero of Ideals to touch the Golden Dark Stone," they replied. "Though I can't really see why he'd want to."

"Actually, I am interested in what would happen," Ash said. "I can think of several ways it could work… I'm just not sure which one it is. If you're sure it's okay…?"

The Ghost-type confirmed it, and Ash reached out to touch the golden stone.

There was a flicker of motion, and a Zekrom materialized overhead at full speed before skidding desperately to a halt – managing it just before they crashed into the far wall, their turbine keening before settling down to a low electric thrum.

"What just happened?" Damon said, on Zekrom's back. "We were – wait, are we underground?"

"Hi, Damon!" Ash called. "Sorry about that! We found something called the Golden Dark Stone which summons Zekrom for a Hero of Ideals!"

He frowned. "It's a bit weird that it called your Zekrom, though. Maybe my Zekrom's too close to trigger it?"

"That sounds a lot more convenient than sleeping for hundreds of years," Damon's Zekrom admitted. "Is there a way to make it send us back to where we were? We were on final approach to Phenac City, in Orre."

"Well, uh… I don't know if the stone can do that," Ash said. "Sorry. But Hoopa can probably get you there, if you book a package on Hoopa Holidays."

"Now I'm curious," Cedric announced. "Damon, is it? Why don't we see what happens when Damon touches the stone?"

Bemused, but willing to help, Damon and his Zekrom set down next to the Golden Dark Stone – or, rather, Zekrom did and then Damon got off – and the Person of the Vale crouched down before putting his palm against the stone.

Another Zekrom appeared, this one with a pulsing green turbine and in the middle of doing something.

"Oh, poot," they said, realizing where they were. "That's not ideal."

"What isn't?" Ash asked.

"Hmm," the newcomer frowned, leaning closer and spreading their wings until they were almost completely upside down. "Pikachu, understands Pokémon… you're Ash Ketchum, right?"

They waved. "I work with Dawn to give Volkner a good challenge with dealing with Electric moves! Since I have Teravolt, it stops most of Volkner's team from just absorbing the latest tricks, you see."

"That's cool!" Ash replied. "Speaking of electric tricks, I'm guessing you're using electrostatic stuff to avoid crashing like that?"

"Yep!" the shiny Zekrom confirmed. "I think this might count as ring out, though."

"This stone is surprisingly disruptive," Cilan summarized.

"Most Zekrom aren't doing anything that important, most of the time," Ash's Zekrom mused. "My source for that is that I wasn't doing anything that important, most of the time, and I assume I'm typical."

"I was a stone for most of the last thousand years," Damon's Zekrom agreed. "If we kept doing this would we end up pulling in a Zekrom still in their hibernation mode?"

"I'm actually not sure," Cofagrigus said. "I think you've used that thing more than it's ever been used before."

"What about if we see if I get my Zekrom if he's a long way away?" Ash asked. "Hoopa, can you help with an experiment?"

A few minutes later, Ash's Zekrom was in Dahara, and Damon was negotiating with Hoopa for a trip to Phenac City after the whole thing was finished.

"I might take the long way back, if you can let Dawn know where I am," Shiny Zekrom said.

"I sent a text as soon as I worked out where you were from," Arc told them.

"Oh, that's helpful!" the Dragon-type smiled. "Wouldn't you have trouble with signal underground, though?"

"I'm technically the understudy for the Creator," Arc replied. "Underground isn't a problem, at least not since I got hold of a nice earthenware plate."

"Okay, here we go!" Ash said, and put a hand on the Golden Dark Stone again.

A Black Kyurem appeared overhead.

"-technically do have to," they said, then stopped. "Oh, what now?"

"I think we are going to have to put this thing inside a safety glass shell," Cofagrigus decided. "With a nice runic sign on it, saying, break glass if Zekrom needed."

AN:

It's convenient, in a sense, because you get to immediately find out when it's a false alarm.