Keep in mind that if you have been following on FFnet, this and the past chapter were posted together, so make sure you read that before this!

Opening notes:

Sorry for the delay, I wanted to make sure there were no major errors on other platforms before getting it on here, since it's a lot harder to edit! Without further ado,

Yes, this one didn't have as long of a wait as the previous ones had, but that's because it's half the length of the usual chapter. I felt it was best that the content here was its own thing. As a consolation, the first chapter of my Ikarishipping story, "Don't Hide Yourself From Me" will be published a few minutes after this. Please give it a shot! It takes place after this, but won't directly reference it until this story is finished.

There are a lot of impact in this chapter! Hope you enjoy!

There are review answers at the bottom this time!

Chapter begins below

Ash looked to the sky. Purple all over Wyndon.

"Ash, come back! Look what Kukui sent you!" Goh told him. Chloe and Diantha were taking Sonia to a room.

Ash opened the box.

Acerola found this, I managed to recreate it so it's not actually that valuable now, but I think you deserve the first use of it - K

What?

Why?

Why would Kukui insult him like that?

Kukui knew not to do something like that.

"…You never know if you need it. If he needs it. Because you know what that purple is." Goh told him.

Ash continued to look at the sky, wondering what Kukui was trying to tell him.

Iris tried to chug a whiskey bottle in the empty bar, but she quickly spat it out. It tasted terrible. There was also still that dragon looking at her that she needed to deal with anyway.

Walking out, Iris wasn't scared. In fact, she was annoyed that some big Dragon Pokémon was interrupting her fun.

"Why the fuck are you here? Isn't there a cave you can sulk in? Or do you want me to capture you?"

Don't give me any sass. I could shred you apart before you can feel the pain.

"Then do it! I'm done with drama!"

Hahaha, I'd love to, but I require your services. I fucking hate being in that lab, floating around behind a window, while people generate numbers about me or some shit. But you'll let me expedite the process. So, I'm going to be one of your so-called "Pokémon" for a bit, but make no mistake, in reality, you're my human. If I'm using the words right.

"You want to go around in my possession?" Iris, in this state, was heavily considering just taking out a ball and capturing it in that out of nowhere. She really gave no fucks at the moment.

I'd like to go somewhere. South of here. On the snowy mountains.

Where she caught Duraluden.

"Piss off. I'm not going anywhere I don't want to. There's someone who I'm gonna teach some manners to." She was really thinking of showing off what she wanted to do to that goth.

Look at you. You did everything right. Trained as hard as you could. Did nothing illegal. Became the champion. And you're still a joke! Researchers poking around me called you not likable and said you were there to show how cool Blondie was, making it even more hype when her little bro finally beat her.

"I earned my way there! You literally can't say that! And I'm about to bite anyone who's ever told me that!"

Anyway, I know of a place, it will allow you to fully master your Dragon Powers…you'll be able to influence people's opinions of you, boost the power of your Pokémon…and you'll be able to change your history. You can get revenge later.

"I could make things right with Cilan? Like, make it so he's been here the whole time? So I can show him how much of a badass I am and kick him for abandoning me?"

Yes, exactly that. If you take me there, in a Poké Ball. I can't exactly move around without getting noticed.

Without responding, Iris put it in one of her Poké Balls. She then released Dragonite.

"South. Now."

Dragonite was usually a tough pill, but he was suddenly terrified when he heard those words, he got the instinct to never disobey his trainer again, at least while her hair was white.

And off she went, Eternatus' voice telling her when to turn.

Ash and Pikachu ran in the direction Iris went. Not just the sky…the air felt off. All the windows had their curtains closed, he surmised that everyone nearby had taken shelter in the lower levels of these buildings.

"Ash!"

Marnie.

"Where is she? What did you do?" He asked her, as sternly as he could.

"She was being a prick!" She said back, her voice a little shaky, clenching her fists.

"What did you do, I know what clenching the fists and trying to sound tough means." He again asked her

"Sh-Well…ugh." She turned away from him, putting her head against a wall so she wouldn't have to say it while looking him in the eyes. "I aggravated her, she became a MONSTER, and that killer Dragon from a few months ago came to her! And she put it in a Pokeball and she flew away!"

"Why didn't you stop her?"

"I didn't want to die!"

Ash sighed. Some deep breaths while he pushed his hat onto his head.

"I…I think I know where they went to." She admitted, saying it softly like it was taboo.

"Really?"

"There's a cave in the mountains…it's full of bones, we think it's a Dragon graveyard. But its bones of Pokémon that don't exist anymore."

"All right, show me." Ash said, releasing Dragonite

"This ain't my fight." Marnie said, stepping back.

"What if Spikemuth is Eternatus' first target?" Ash asked her.

Sighing, she got on. He wasn't a very complex person, but she never heard him say anything wrong.

"Send a message to Goh."

Marnie sent Ash and I are going to Dragon Grave, don't come if we don't come back

"Sent." She confirmed.

Oddly, it was very peaceful in the sky, other than that purple color that unsettled them both, and even Pikachu looked paranoid.

It was a bit of an awkward position, she sat right behind him, though at least she was wearing shorts under her skirt, not that anyone would get a view since Dragonite was so big.

"Say, have you and Piers ever gotten into arguments?" He tilted his head a little so she could hear him better, though he couldn't trust himself to completely turn his head.

"All the time, why?"

"You don't have to keep forcing that neutral accent. It sounds forced anyway. But anyway, has it ever been because he didn't trust anything you did?"

And then she realized it. She subconsciously suppressed her accent. She swore that she'd never worry about it again, but all it took was a taunt and she was subconsciously trying to sound "neutral".

"It's so damn frusteratin'! People either hate ma' accent or tell me ta' keep it, I can't bloody win!"

"Honestly? I think it's kind of cool. It makes you memorable. But anyway, what was it about you and Piers fighting?"

Why was she looking at this book again?

It only brought back bad memories.

Why did she even still have it? She already knew where the Lake Guardians were. And found the remains of someone they killed, even.

No, she can't let that stop her from such a high-quality book, the best research in the world.

Azelf is said to have given humans willpower. While it is known to reside in Lake Valor, it only ever shows itself to people who have an unquantifiable high amount of willpower. That said, it is often seen observing moments of bravery without revealing itself, so seeing it fly away is a high mark of honor.

Figures she opened to that. She sure saw that.

He was kind of like that too. And it cost her everything. She realized that she didn't really like Azelf. It seemed like more of a curse-bringer than a balancer of the universe.

There was a voice in her head telling her she needed to apologize. While she dismissed it at first, she couldn't help but agree, now that the dust was settled, it was stupid of her to confront him like that.

They say the people it reveals itself to tend to be very reckless.

Then the laughter she was hearing got louder and louder.

Most experts agree that it forms upholds a balance along with the other Lake Guardians and Creation Trio (Dialga, Palkia, Giratina), some say they do Mighty Arceus' duty for it, and they certainly were the first six It created.

More laughter. Even she found it hard to focus with the noise around. She hated outside noise to the point where she had an antipathy for most music since she had grown so frustrated with people playing it when she was trying to work. Classic music was good, but of course, that wasn't the type people wanted to listen to.

Sighing, she got up and listened further. Of course, it was coming from Diantha's room.

Opening the door, she found Diantha, Goh, and his Grookey, Chloe, and her Eevee, as well as a drunk ginger-haired woman.

"I did not expect you to come, Cynthia!" Goh told her.

"You forced me to with how loud you all were." Cynthia responded.

"I get to do what I want in my room. Just wear earplugs!" Diantha told her.

"I shouldn't have to wear earplugs in my room!"

"Well, sorry we're having fun."

Cynthia just grunted after that. But then she saw Ash wasn't there. Why not?

"Where's Ash?"

"After the sky turned purple, he ran off, probably figured Iris had something to do with it, you know how weird shit always happens to them." Chloe explained.

"And you just let him go?"

"We had to help her." Chloe clarified, pointing to Sonia.

"I've just accepted that Ash will always be cleaning our messes. He dealt with a bunch of stuff that we should have when he was in Sinnoh and Kalos."

"I remember that you just watched Ash and Chloe go into the portal that time we went into the other world. And we literally had to pray to Arceus to save us, which it did." Goh noted.

"And you think I'm happy with that?"

"Seem to b-be." Sonia chimed in, having recovered a bit.

"And what's this about Ash not being serious about Iris? It's baffling you'd treat him like he's nine years old." Diantha said, accusingly.

Goh and Chloe nodded their heads.

"You think I wasn't worrying my ass off, almost crying that I couldn't let help you all? That I might have just watched Ash and you all-"

And then the unthinkable happened.

Tears were coming out of Cynthia's eyes.

Absolutely everyone was shocked.

This wasn't like her usual calculated smiles, it was someone who just broke apart.

"You want to know something? Fine. But it's not pretty."

He had done it! He and that stupid Bibarel had gotten seven badges. With Swords Dance, Return, Superpower, and an Aqua Jet, which she had to admit was a good move set. Of course, Scizor, Pachirisu, Clefable, Froslass, and an Eastern Gastrodon of his own had certainly helped. She only wished their Gastrodon didn't always try to fight when they saw each other.

Of course, she was mostly outside the house now, but he had a knack for finding her every now and then.

One day, something really surprising occurred.

"Sis, this is my girlfriend, Homura."

"Greetings, Cynthia. I'm a descendant of the Yoshida dynasty, though, of course, my family doesn't rule anything now. It is an honor to be with your brother. I got so used to doing contests with nobody supporting me since my family is still rich, I can't describe how much of a game changer his support has been." She said with a respectful bow.

"I've heard of you, your father once had a front-row seat to one of my Gym Battles after I became more publicized." Cynthia said, shaking Homura's hand.

"It's interesting, he never became a trainer but still enjoys Pokémon Battles." Homura responded.

"Well, he asked me for an endorsement." Cynthia revealed.

"And you turned it down? Impressive."

They continued their conversation as they all joined Cynthia's parents for dinner. Homura was genuinely nice, but that didn't negate the fact that her father was, in addition to being a prominent legitimate businessman, was an Oyabun, the head of one of the syndicates in Jubilife City that trafficked kidnapped Pokémon, sold illegal drugs, and a list of other dirty activities, known collectively as the Yakuza. That was the real reason Cynthia turned him down.

Months went on until Cynthia got a call from her mother.

"Your brother is a playboy, Homura caught him cheating on her with some Paldean trainer he met at a Doubles Tournament in Hearthome. Went for about a week until she went to a Contest to support a friend, who faced Homura in the finals.

Cynthia felt something she seldom felt.

Fear.

"I never saw him after that. He just disappeared. All I got was a letter that said "The debt has been paid." With that Arceus-damned symbol at the bottom right. But I know what the Yakuza did, I'm not going to pretend there's a chance he's still around. You don't mess with an Oyabun's daughter. They pride their families above everything else. So what if Ash-"

She couldn't finish. The tears had overridden her. Nobody else in the room had seen someone cry like that. She had to cover her left eye since her hair was now messy, so they wouldn't see what it was.

Diantha got up and sat next to Cynthia, patting her on the back.

"What if I see on the news he disappeared? What if I'm the closest one he's associated with that will get the note? And guess what, I have to be the one to tell him that Alola doesn't have the money or resources to have a Pokemon League. I always had to be the bad guy to Cai and now I'm having to be it to Ash, and nobody else has the guts to say any of that to him!" She spat out in her crying.

They let her cry for a few more minutes.

"And guess what? Garchomp won't come out of her ball because she's mad that I didn't Mega Evolve her in our battle against Ash. So I just can't win!"

And she kept on crying.

"Ya' know," Marnie began, "He thinks I'm too youn' to do somethin' or I just don' know what I'm doing, the basic stuff like that."

"Did it ever get so bad that he told you he hated you?"

"Well, once, when I was like twelve. I, uh, accidentally paralyzed his Obstagoon and he got totally embarrassed in a battle. His foe laughed at em for a bit, so I get why. But we were good the nex' day. If it 'appens, it never sticks, thin' about it!"

"Well, someone close to Iris, you could call him her brother, they got into a spat, he said that, but they haven't spoken to each other since."

"They clearly weren't that close, 'cause that wouldn' happen if they were. Makes no sense!"

Were they never as close as Ash thought? As they thought?

"…did he lose his gym?"

"Yeah, why?"

"…Iris tried to tell me about that but I pre' much spit in 'er face…"

"Well, that doesn't sound like you." That was all he told her.

And indeed, Marnie felt horrible.

"What were you really looking for?" He asked her.

"I…I can sometimes beat the Gym Leaders, and can get to the Ultra Class, but I can't beat anyone when I get there! I thought…since she doesn't have a record of beatin' anyone either, that could be my high-level win…"

"How can you be so sure that makes her easier than Alain?"

What Ash said was short and simple like usual, but it pierced Marnie hard.

"That win against a high-profile opponent will come eventually, but you don't need to rush it. Rushing always causes problems. Heck, I delayed it by constantly resetting the team I was using."

"But didn't resettin' yourself upon going to a new region just keep settin' you back?"

Ash had always known in his heart of hearts that he always hurt himself doing that, but he never truly questioned it. His go-with-the-flow nature pretty much demanded he never question his actions until lately.

"I…I guess I just loved that part of the journey, setting up and raising Pokémon. I felt the most…free doing that! I guess I could have done this two years ago if I just kept using the Pokémon I caught in Kanto and Johto but…I guess I didn't want this until lately, though I'm not sure why."

"Think of how awesome you'd be if you kept yer nose to the grindstone! You'd be where Leon is, you'd be makin' things we'd never seen before if ya were just focused! Team Rocket and all of those would be over! You'd be a god among men! Hell, you kind of already are, takin' out all those Evil organizations and all those Legendary Pokémon they say you've met."

A god among men…Arceus didn't seem too into that Ash thought, not continuing the conversation.

There was a long period of silence as they flew.

"I'm sure you'll find someone great. But don't rush it. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you picture me wrong. And picture Iris wrong. Kind of like how people picture Spikemuth wrong."

Using her phrases like that... this flight really was eye-opening.

"You're right. On all counts." "Gosh, what I was doing was pointless."

"I'm beginning to realize that many things we get mad about end up being that." He noted.

Marnie was now feeling incredibly bad. She had been horrible to Iris, and the fact that she got a lot of buzz doing it made it worse. There had to be many people latching on to what she said. Worst of all, what Iris had told her previously was right. Most girls her age were looking to stab someone in the back. And she now realized she was one of them.

"When we find her, I'm going to help Iris find that guy."

"That's… definitely a start." Ash responded, nodding his head.

The buildings were well in the distance, and they were entering the snow-covered region. Gazing vaguely at the area they found Duraluden, Ash hoped he and Iris were okay.

"About earlier, I…never really wanted that, but it just keeps getting thrust into me. If you really want to know, resetting my team was my way of trying to stave it off, of trying to shake that off, but it always came back. No matter what I did. But I guess there's no avoiding it now, whether I win or lose tomorrow."

"Everyone has to do stuff they don't wanna' do." Marnie told him.

Ash just grunted. She wouldn't know how it felt like, always getting to stay in Pierce's shadow, doing things her own pace. Not getting shoved into a Radio Tower to do an interview, or getting bonded to a Pokémon that lives in a lake. Not having to set up a League for a group of islands he was realizing couldn't do it. So he just left it at that. It's easy to say that when it doesn't apply to you.

Soon after, a group of Dragapult came up to them. Both Ash and Marnie readied Poké Balls, but they made what had to be a "peace" formation and beckoned the two to follow them.

They spoke to Pikachu, and he pointed after them when they started to fly away.

"They're wantin' us to check somethin' out. Mus' be Iris and Eternatus." Marnie pointed out.

They made their way to a valley with a cave opening on the west side.

The grass was black. Devoid of any color, as black as something could be. It was certainly not natural.

"What's with this place?" Iris asked Eternatus.

"This used to be a settlement where humans lived with a huge amount of Dragons. But the people were terrible to them, working them day in and day out, killing them if they thought there were any signs any of them would act up. Of course, they pampered a select few Dragons to prevent any uprisings, much like how you humans sometimes kiss up to any threats to save their skin at the expense of others. The tears of the...what was the word? Pokémon, gradually turned the grass black, and it will never revert, even though it's been hundreds of years since then before even those balls you keep us in were a thing. Humans call me bad, but they were doing worse things before I was banished, and I bet they still are up to vile things now. It's hilarious!"

"I'm just glad it's over. Hopefully, the Dragons eventually killed those humans. They deserved that, I would have killed them!" Iris shouted.

I don't know, maybe we'll find out, but nice to know humans would know how GREAT killing feels. Snickered while projecting that to Iris, leading her inside.

Skeletons. Masses of skeletons all around.

Actually, I do know what happened. Some humans decided they wanted to run the place, so they got some of the Dragons to kill the other humans. The other humans retaliated with Dragons of their own. When I first got to Earth 20,000 years ago, I was drawn to this place. I heard their pain, their rage, and I knew I needed to get revenge for them. And I would have gotten it against the humans too if it wasn't for those damned dogs.

"I notice you've failed twice."

Just unlucky. I saw you lose because the humans studying me watched, so I'm sure you know the feeling.

"It won't happen again!"

Neither will I

Humans just suck. Change the planet to their whims, pollute the atmosphere, kill each other a bunch, and then they try to regulate the behavior of so-called Pokémon. What hypocrites! We should be the ones putting them in the balls!

"Enough chit-chat. Just show me where I can change history! Make it so Ash and I got together a long time ago, me and Cilan never fought, so I'm already the monarch, and the Village of Dragons isn't a shithole…"

"Follow me."

And they both went to the far side, as away from the opening as they could be.

There's a statue that you can suck the power out of that we'll see in a few more steps.

But after a few steps, all she saw was the wall.

"Where is the statue?"

But Eternatus just laughed.

"Why are you laughing? Where is it?"

Such raw power, but no way to use it. You idiot, of course, you can't influence people's opinions of you, nor boost the power of your Pokémon, and you certainly can't change your history. All you're doing is turning into a dragon. A stupid one at that! But there are enough Dragons in the world, so all you can do is give me your power!

And it began pulling the purple energy out of Iris. And it was painful.

Eternatus wasn't lying about Iris turning into a dragon. Nothing physical had happened, but at this point, she was mostly acting upon instinct.

"What? You lied? No no no no NO NO NO NO!"

Iris quickly tried to return Eternatus into a Poké Ball but it did nothing.

You really think I can't negate that? You really are an idiot! And it was still laughing.

"So I'll start by killing you!" She then tried rushing towards it but collapsed.

You don't have claws quite yet, unfortunately. Well, not that it would matter. But hey, thanks for making it easier for me!

Iris fell unconscious soon after.

Too easy Eternatus beamed into Iris as she faded away, never stopping its laugh in the real world.

However, six beams of light came out right after she passed out.

Haxorus. Dragonite. Excadrill. Emolga. Gabite. Duraluden.

Pathetic beings who aren't dragons and dragons who support them, you have no place on this Dragon planet!

The resolve of each of them became stronger than the steel that Excadrill and Duraluden were partially comprised of.

They all swore to themselves at that point that they would not lose. They had already failed their trainer too many times before.

But they were not going to fail her again.

Ending notes:

Of course, Cynthia didn't tell the whole story. Just the parts she could bring herself to tell. As you all guessed, the girl in the flashback was her. If you've seen The Godfather, the Yakuza are basically the Japanese counterpart of the Mafia. I mean, Sinnoh counterpart, with the Oyabun being equivalent to The Don. Paul and Dawn might encounter them in their story. I have some super extra stuff concerning Eternatus, that I can't wait to show you next chapter. I'm making it way different than any Legendary ever, but I hope in a good way. I have not forgotten about Alexa! Just because it'll be hard doesn't mean Ash won't try. I will explain more about Iris' situation next chapter, but I want it to stay a little mysterious for now. I saw the movie Elemental and the fire girl, Ember, was just like Iris. It was a bit shocking. Or am I totally off the mark? Either way, she's certainly not like Oppenheimer, which I also saw and might be my new favorite movie of all time. Responses to FFNet comments: To "Me again" - Marnie's quick change will be a plot point, but it's hard to talk about with spoiling stuff, so stay tuned! Thanks for the frequent comments, though I think you should set up an account to make it easier to respond to you! The story is complex, but I promise that I'll always clarify something if someone asks me in a comment. The thing about being a champion or something similar is that there's a lot of BS that is a part of the job and having a darker tone is what allows me to explore that, that's why the anime itself never actually went into it, and the interesting part is, I haven't scratched the surface yet!

To Ultimate CCC - It is a purple aura, but it's not like the Aura Ash uses. I'll further distinguish them as we go on.

To Glaxy - I sure hope Iris gets along with the Alola girls as well. She needs more friends! And they need some outside exposure because Alola is kind of its own bubble and its hard to experience new things there, which is one of the reasons Lillie is so different now, since she saw those different things.