[SUDS] The S.S. Wishmaker - Tides of Witchcraft

[[Desolate Divine]]

Name: Legal Name: Ryan Jonathan Mason, Goes by Jonathan ‘Jon’ Drake (Drake is his wife’s surname).

Spoiler:

Age: 29
Gender: Male
Role: Operative
Appearance: Standing at 5ft 11, Jon is a well built individual weighing in at about 80 kilograms. His naturally blonde hair is dyed dark brown, however to make sure that the roots are never visible he is rarely seen in public without a black slouch beanie.

Whilst he wore glasses as a child, he now wears contact lenses, and the majority of his forearms are tattooed, hiding scars from his childhood. If Jon were to remove his shirt, the first thing one would notice are the scars scattered across his torso and his upper arms.

In order to hide both the scars, and his physique, he mostly wears loose fitting clothing, a size too large, even at the gym, or when swimming.
Personality:
Jon is a staunch believer in self discipline, and remaining in control of himself at all times. His emotions, his body and health, and his actions, mostly due to seeing the consequences of lack of self discipline shown by people around him, and how people were hurt by that. He follows a strict routine, eating well, working out, and training with his Pokemon. He knows where he stands on moral issues, and is willing to act accordingly, showing little indecisiveness. The only questionable thing to this he partakes in is the occasional drink, however he never drinks enough to be noticeably inebriated, or at a time when he needs to be completely focused.

Whilst this self discipline may make him sound like a stick in the mud, Jon actually has a surprisingly good sense of humor. Once one gets to know him, they will see that when the situation calls for it, he can be rather easy going, whilst still maintaining discipline of himself.

Jon’s strength, both in and out of battles, is his belief that there is always a way out, and ability to come up with new ideas under pressure. The amount of battles, where even the commentators had declared it over, that he has managed to turn around in a moment's notice is credit to this.

Whilst Jon is a little confused about the current job of investigating the Diamond Ladies, as his usual work with Steven was regarding drug and Pokemon trafficking, he knows that he wouldn’t have been called if Steven didn’t think there was reason for concern.
History:

Spoiler:

Jon, or Ryan as he was known by then, was the result of an accidental pregnancy followed by a shotgun marriage. When they found out about the pregnancy, his parents relationship was already close to nothing and on the verge of breakup, and due to the threat of being cut off by his own parents if he didn’t step up, Ryan’s father, proposed to his now pregnant girlfriend, who said yes, more so out of fear of having to raise the child on her own. Ryan was born in the Johto Region, in Goldenrod City.

By the time Ryan was five, he had ended up in hospital with a concussion and his head split open. His dad had been out drinking, and as he came home, he violently opened the door, knocking Ryan against the nearby wall. He was told by his parents to say he tripped and hit his head if anybody asked.

As Ryan grew up, his dad's drinking turned to substance abuse, and after he lost his job, he began getting involved with the production of said substances. As time went on, the abuse Ryan suffered became more direct, whilst his mum shut down, fearing what would happen if they left.

When Ryan was eleven, his paternal grandparents gave him his first Pokemon, an Eevee. They didn’t have a clue about the abuse that was happening at home, as they lived in Kanto, and Ryan’s parents were well practised in playing happy families, with his mother begging him for his own safety.

Ryan adored this Pokemon, as they had never had one in the house, only ever seeing them when he was out and about. However it was around the same time that Ryan realized two things. First that his new Pokemon was another target for his dad, and second, that no matter what, he was always going to be hit, and the best he could do is tough it out, and stand back up.

After that, when it seemed like his dad would be violent, Ryan would make a point of putting the target on him, so that his Pokemon would be spared, and for the most part it worked. However over that time, the abuse got worse, leaving Ryan scarred both physically and emotionally.

When Ryan was fourteen, he awoke in the night to screams and gunshots. He laid in bed, terrified, hoping it was all a nightmare, until the sounds of sirens approached, and a police officer entered his room, before leading him out the back door to the police car.

That night, somebody who bought drugs off of Ryan’s father arrived at the house, high off of something, with a gun, wanting to steal drugs. He held Ryan’s mum hostage, however instead of giving him what he wanted, Ryan’s dad attempted to shoot him, missing, causing the intruder to shoot and kill Ryan’s mum. His dad let off another shot, this time hitting and killing him, however knowing that the neighbors would have heard it, and fleeing. The neighbors called the police, who arrived to find two bodies in the living room, and a teenager in one of the bedrooms.

Ryan’s father attempted to run and for a few weeks was able to, before being caught stealing fuel from a service station. Ryan spent a few days in foster care, before being taken in by his paternal grandparents. Feeling guilty for not knowing what their son put him through, they agreed to take care of him as long as he needed them.

Ryan’s grandfather used to battle Pokemon competitively, and when Ryan found out, begged him to teach him how to battle. His grandparents saw this as a good hobby for him, and encouraged it however they could, enrolling Ryan in young trainer programs, helping him compete in junior tournaments, and teaching him how to raise his Pokemon well. When Ryan was sixteen, he left school, deciding he wanted to travel and compete like his grandfather did.

Ryan went on to build his team, competing in the smaller local tournaments around Kanto, before taking on the gym challenge. However, when it came time to face the Pokemon League, he decided not to, instead wanting to relocate to Hoenn, and attempt their gym challenge first. As silly as it sounded, he wasn’t in it for the titles, and knew that becoming champion, whilst was the dream of most, could be a nightmare for him. The reason being that whilst his father was rotting in prison for many years to come, he didn’t want to be found by him should he somehow get out. When Ryan competed, he went by his middle name, Jonathan, with a pseudonym surname for anything that wasn’t official. He had attempted to change his appearance, so that if he ever appeared on TV, he wouldn’t be recognized, dying his hair, going to the gym, and covering his scars. Should he somehow beat the Kanto/Johto Elite Four, his name and face would become more known, and the higher the risk of being recognized would be. Instead he chose to travel Hoenn, making it his long term goal to collect every single gym badge.

When Jon was eighteen, he encountered whilst travelling a Pokemon he didn’t recognize being harassed by a trainer. The pokemon was white and blue, and shaped like a jet plane. Whilst Jon wasn’t against catching wild Pokemon, he only made a point of catching Pokemon that approached him. This Pokemon however seemed desperate to run, but was being blocked off by the trainer’s Pokemon’s attacks.

Jon intervened, fending off the trainer’s Pokemon with his own, and letting the wild pokemon escape, much to the dismay of the trainer, who attempted to fight him personally after.

After this, Jon continued to travel, and for the next year, would see this Pokemon watching him in the most obscure of places around Hoenn. Whenever Jon would approach, it would look to the south, crying out, before fleeing in that direction, not to be seen for a few more weeks until it would appear before Jon again.

Doing his own research, Jon discovered this Pokemon was Latios, a legendary Pokemon, and eventually discovered myths of a small island south of Hoenn, where it roosted. Finding a ship to take him, Jon searched the south of Hoenn, eventually finding this small island, where Latios awaited him. The duo battled, this time Latios not attempting to flee, before Jon was able to catch it.

A few years later, when Jon was twenty one, he was competing in a televised tournament, using Latios to battle a Dragonite. There was a blast as Latios’ attack clashed with one of the Dragonite’s own attacks, with the shockwave causing Jon’s signature beanie to be blown off. Seeing this, Latios used his telekinesis to catch it and place it back on Jon’s head, leaving himself open to an attack from Dragonite and costing him the match.

Whilst not many people noticed this, and wondered why Latios seemed to freeze, it was noticed by a journalist, Alyssa Drake, who approached Jon after the match for an interview, to ask him about it, and also pointing out that she could not find any records of Jon anywhere. Having thought at this point that nobody had noticed, Jon asked Alyssa not to publish that, as he didn’t want the attention, and had good reason for it. Eventually she offered that if he explained it to her over dinner, she may keep it between them.

The two got dinner, where Jon explained what had happened in his childhood, and why he was desperate to stay out of the spotlight. He explained that he loved battling, but didn’t want his father to know how to find him, so used a pseudonym, and intentionally changed his appearance in order to do that. Alyssa ended up deciding not to publish what she had discovered, and after that, the pair ended up running into each other at tournaments, where Jon battled, and Alyssa covered the events. Eventually they started dating, before getting married when Jon was 26, where he took her last name (socially, legally retaining his own), having tried not to use his own for many years at that point.

Not long after meeting Alyssa, Jon was contacted by someone who he could have never expected. Steven Stone, the Champion (at the time) of Hoenn.

Steven believed that the tournaments were being used as drops for drug trafficking, with production rings having their own people entering multiple tournaments in order to smuggle product in and pass it on to suppliers. However he knew that trying to investigate this himself, or have the police investigate it would tip off those involved. He had no idea which competitors were in on this, and had been investigating them, before coming across Jon. Being suspicious of the fact that the name he battled under appeared on no official records, he investigated further, before learning about Jon’s past. Steven figured that Jon was his best option to investigate. Somebody who had lost almost everything because of the drug trade, and was already in the competitive scene and familiar.

Jon agreed to the job, seeing it as his way of trying to stop someone else having the childhood he did, and investigated, passing on information to Steven, who then took care of coordinating with the police to take action.

Really happy with how Jon was able to help, Steven kept in contact with Jon, every so often, calling him with more work, with the most recent being to investigate three rising star trainers, who had managed to dethrone him and other league champions, with the job being aboard a cruise-ship.

Pokémon Team:
-Latios
-Jolteon
-Blaziken
-Absol
-Nidoking
-Scizor

Likes:
-Good food and drink
-Battling
-Setting and reaching goals
-Laughing
Dislikes:
-Drugs
-Injustice and abuse
-Arrogance
Fears:
-His father getting out of prison, and finding him
-Losing Alyssa.
-Turning into his father.
Fondest Memory:
-The first dinner with Alyssa.
Strangest Dream:
-His Pokemon having him battle other Pokemon’s trainers (roles reversed). He couldn’t speak, only say his name, and was having to try and tackle this big guy until he surrendered.

Name: Alyssa Drake

Spoiler:

Age: 32
Gender: Female
Role: Civilian
Appearance: Alyssa stands at 5ft 6 with a slender figure. She has light brown hair that hangs a little below her shoulders, with piercing blue eyes, and a lightly freckled face.

Alyssa has a large wardrobe depending on the occasion and need. Whilst Jon tends to wear the same somewhat baggy style of clothes day in and day out, Alyssa will dress based on the occasion, even going as far as to have a set of wigs and fake piercings in order to try and go somewhere unrecognized if she thinks it will help with the story she is writing.
Personality:
Alyssa is naturally curious and has solid intuition. She always wants to learn more, and very rarely finds herself satisfied with what she knows about a situation. She wants to know all she can, so she can tell a story and cover everything.

Whilst in her professional capacity she can be pushy, demanding and a little callous, deep down she is a very empathetic person, and does try to make sure that what she writes is to the benefit of all those involved, much to her employers dismay at times. Because of this however she has made good connections which helps with finding out details she may not be able to find on her own.

Alyssa tends to take risks, and at times, not plan properly. She has had to become good at thinking on her feet, however all of this has lead her to some bad situations, such as being banned from venues for sneaking into restricted areas, or being arrested for trespassing.

History:

Spoiler:

Alyssa grew up as the youngest child, having an older brother and sister. One of the things that drove her growing up, was feeling like she was being kept in the dark. It always seemed like her siblings and her parents knew things that they were keeping from her. As a child, it was usually something that was probably going to be upsetting, or a joke somebody made that was inappropriate but to her, she wanted nothing more than to know what everyone else knew, and be involved.

This desire grew as time went on, and evolved into understanding how people tick, and understanding the finer details in a chain of events, and how they lead to the consequences they did. Alyssa was the type to ask a lot of questions, both in terms of the world around her, and the people in it.

She found her passion for writing when she was nearing the end of elementary school, and was asked along with her other graduating classmates to write pieces for their yearbook. As she moved through middle and high school, she found herself drawn to the school newspapers, writing for them, trying to dig up the truth, and find the little details that lead to that, that were often overlooked.

She graduated high school, before studying journalism, and landing her first job at a battling magazine that focused on the tournaments being held. Whilst she wasn’t the biggest fan of this at first, she witnessed a match that caused her to love it.

A match with her own brother, who had dreamt of competing professionally. She knew how much he wanted to be the best, and how hard he trained. She went to his match to write on it, expecting him to win, however was shocked when he was beaten so easily by a trainer who didn’t seem like they were anything too special.

After this, Alyssa couldn’t help but wonder what it was about this trainer that made her able to beat her brother so effortlessly. Did she train harder? Had she been battling longer? Was she more determined?

Asking herself these questions changed the way she saw battles, and eventually, this job that was supposed to be a stepping stone to something better, was what she wanted to be doing. She poured her heart and soul into it, wanting to learn everything she could about the trainers she saw battle, and what made them so exceptional.

When Alyssa was 23, and had been in this job for a few years, she was covering a televised event, where she witnessed something strange. A trainer near her age in baggy clothes and a beanie, who had won all his battles and made it to the semi finals of this competition. In his last match, he was down to his last Pokemon, a Latios, which was fighting against a Dragonite. The Dragonite had already been fighting and it seemed like the Legendary Pokemon would take the win, but it didn’t. Something strange happened. A blast of wind from an attack knocked the trainer’s beanie off his head. Seeing this, the Latios stopped focusing on his fight, using his telekinesis instead to quickly get the beanie back on his trainers head, before taking an attack and being knocked out, ending the trainers time in the tournament.

Knowing something was up, she called in a contact to do some digging on this trainer, and was half surprised to find that his name was not on any official records. There were no licenses or bank accounts tied to this name, the only evidence it even existed were tournament results and fixtures.

Once the tournament was over, Alyssa approached him, and asked him about it. He didn’t give her an answer, instead asking her not to publish any of this. Not wanting to let this story go, but also knowing she needed more if she were going to write anything about it, she offered for him to try and convince her why she shouldn’t publish it over dinner.

The two of them got dinner, and the trainer explained his childhood. His abusive father, who was now in prison on murder and drug charges, and his mother who was killed by one of his fathers customers. As he explained this, she started to notice the scars that were somewhat hidden by the tattoos on his arms.

Realizing that this trainer had seen real trauma, and it wasn’t her place to share this, she agreed to keep it between them and not share anything she found out that day.

Over the next few months, Alyssa kept covering events, where she would run into Jon battling. The pair eventually started spending more time with one another, before dating and when Alyssa was 27, they married, with Jon taking her surname socially, whilst legally retaining his own.

Alyssa was aware of Jon’s involvement with Steven, though usually he wasn’t allowed to tell her until after it was said and done. Recently, she found out Jon was invited to participate in the first ever High Seas Tournament. Wanting to cover that event, she called in some favors with her boss, who was happy with her work, and arranged for her to go on the cruise as well, doing media coverage, surprising Jon with the news that she was coming. Alyssa is not aware that Jon is there investigating the Diamond Ladies.

Pokémon Team:
-Gardevoir
-Alolan Vulpix
-Ditto

Likes:
-Learning
-Good food and drink
-Writing
-Meeting new people
Dislikes:
-Bureaucracy
-Keep Out Signs
-Groupie wannabes
-Having to throw in the towel on a story
Fears:
-Losing Jon
-Getting the story wrong
Fondest Memory:
-Her wedding.
Strangest Dream:
-Fusing with one of her Pokemon. First it was with Gardevoir, lifting things with her mind, then it was with Vulpix, freezing everything around her. Lastly it was with Ditto, and turning into other people.