{RP} The S.S. Wishmaker - Tides of Witchcraft

[Noblejanobii]

Avery Miller (They/Them)
Royal Promenade
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga @Chakramaster @Shruikan

Avery watched quietly as the back and forth exchange began between the ladies and Champion Cynthia. True to their word, they came forward with a genuine confession to their crimes, even providing an origin story to it all.

Avery couldn’t help but feel somewhat… sympathetic towards their cause. While the decisions they made had been the results of their own choices and interests in life, in an alternate timeline the Diamond Ladies might have been just as successful without the use of hexes. Youth leant itself to mistakes, and big ones at that. But they at least appeared genuinely sorry for what they had done and wished for it all to be over.

Cassandra proposed a plan to get everything back in order as best they could. The pool did seem like a somewhat ideal location for the reversal spell. It wasn’t Avery’s top choice by any means, because even a bunch of towels were more revealing than what they were really comfortable with. But they could understand Cassandra’s reasoning behind it and they were willing to suck it up if it meant behind human again. They’d just have to make a note of the closest unisex bathroom to dash to once the spell was over. What a headache.

“I do have one problem with your proposed plan,” Avery responded quietly. “You have no reason to lie so I don’t doubt your honesty when it comes to the spell reversals and doing so in time for the battles tonight. But I take issue with the fact that you seem to assume I won’t be able to battle you this evening.” Avery crossed their arms and smirked a little. “I may not be a battler by trade but this little escapade has allowed me to speak with my team and they were actually looking forward to facing you tonight even if it was assured we’d lose. I’d hate to lose that opportunity. Perhaps there’s a way the League can let us face off?”

[Neo Emolga]

The Diamond Ladies
Royal Promenade -> Main Pool
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster, @Noblejanobii, @Desolate Divine @Shruikan

Cassandra was still anxious, knowing that while some people were accepting of her, Jarena, and Violet waving the white flag of surrender, others still felt she was lying and was only preparing her next scheme. And the problem was she couldn’t blame them for thinking that.

“I do have one problem with your proposed plan,” Avery told her in a quiet voice. “You have no reason to lie so I don’t doubt your honesty when it comes to the spell reversals and doing so in time for the battles tonight. But I take issue with the fact that you seem to assume I won’t be able to battle you this evening.”

It was another thing that was concerning Cassandra. Everyone would be watching her try and pull off a spell she had never done before. Any kind of slip, mishap, or adverse event and she felt she was dead meat even if she didn’t mean for anything like that to happen. Everyone who doubted her would be ready to shoot her down thinking what was an accident was completely intentional and was another one of her tricks. Especially Cynthia.

Avery crossed their Buizel arms and smirked, trying to help Cassandra feel a bit more assurance. But it wasn’t working that well…

“I may not be a battler by trade but this little escapade has allowed me to speak with my team and they were actually looking forward to facing you tonight even if it was assured we’d lose,” Avery told her. “I’d hate to lose that opportunity. Perhaps there’s a way the League can let us face off?”

While Cassandra couldn’t help but smile at the thought for just a moment, it quickly faded as she sighed and shook her head.

“Ee-veee…” (“Yeah, wouldn’t that be nice…”) she replied softly, still looking down and unable to look at Avery. “Eeve-veee-vee…” (“At this point I’m just hoping not to be wrapped in chains with a shock collar around my neck in some solitary confinement cell in a maximum-security prison on some remote island that doesn’t even exist on a map…”)

She sighed again, shivering a bit, very anxious about what the sentence would be, anxious about the spell actually working and doing what it was supposed to when there was so much at stake with it. And she was not even sure if her Pokémon, her lifetime companions and partners, would still be with her at the end of all this, or if they would be seized and become League property before being given up for adoption to other trainers. As Avery mentioned, with her becoming an Eevee, she would have liked to have that chance to talk to them, thank them, and give them a final goodbye in their own unique language. She had this one golden opportunity to do it and now she was going to miss her chance…

She closed her eyes, not sure of what the future would hold for them as the thoughts swam in her mind. But if there was nothing she could do, she wished the best for her Pokémon, because they always did their best for her and the rest of the team, and she felt they all deserved a good companionship with a good trainer. If she couldn’t be the one to give that to them anymore, then she hoped with all her heart that whoever would take them in would give them love, kindness, and appreciation… and hopefully they would still remember her wherever their new path in life would take them, even if they never saw each other again.

She shivered as a tear fell from her Eevee eye.

“Ee-veeee… vee…” (“Best of luck in the finals, Avery…”) Cassandra told them, trying to smile to hide her sadness. “Eee-veeee-veee… Vee-vee? Eeveee…” (“I think it’s really cool that a coordinator has come so far and has done so well. How amazing would it be if you go all the way? I… I’ll see you upstairs, hopefully this all works out and… things can go back to normal for you and your team. And… I’m sorry…”)

And it was all she could say before her throat and eyes started to burn too much while she sniffled a bit. She then headed toward the Main Pool while trying to pretend everything was okay… not wanting anyone to see her so miserable… so broken… and so defeated and ashamed…

---

Main Pool

Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet didn’t say a word on the way to the Main Pool. They knew all the cameras were watching them and all eyes made sure they didn’t deviate in their path to the Main Pool. Cassandra didn’t want to look to see if they were being followed, but it was safe to assume at least someone was making sure they weren’t fooling around. She knew they didn’t trust her and she tried to keep in mind not to make any sudden movements or take a wrong turn. She admitted she didn’t know the full layout of the ship by heart and was worried if she did take a wrong turn, the operatives and the League would think she was trying to deploy some malicious scheme.

They found their way to the top level of the cruise ship and made their way to the Main Pool. As Cassandra expected, there were a few dozen operative trainers and their Pokémon to make sure they didn’t try any nasty schemes or attempted to cast something that was anything other than the Affliction Reversal Spell.

To the Diamond Ladies, it was strange and odd to see the Main Pool again, the place where they had been just that morning, only now it seemed so different. The night sky was growing darker overhead while everything seemed so much bigger and more intimidating. As an Eevee now, Cassandra couldn’t help but feel so much smaller and overwhelmed at the sight of it all, especially with her being watched carefully by all these experienced trainers and their fully evolved, intimidating, and powerful Pokémon to ensure they didn’t attempt to attack or flee.

When they arrived toward the center poolside, they saw some clear plastic cups for water were prepared and the large, folded beach towels were set aside in a pile. There wasn’t any sign of the golden nuggets, the DNA hair samples, or the page printouts, yet, but Cassandra figured they were probably on their way, along with the operatives that wanted to be transformed back and possibly the Champions, if they felt it was safe enough. The whole time, Cassandra felt like an inexperienced surgeon heading into a cold, unnerving operating room as she was about to perform a very difficult pancreatectomy.

“Bunnne-earr…” (“Cass, you look… awful…”) Jarena couldn’t help but tell her, feeling very sympathetic. “Bunearry…” (“If you’re not feeling up for it, please…”)

But she kept thinking about how much she regretted all of it. How much she wished she could turn back time, have another chance, and do the right thing from the very beginning. But it was too late now and there was no way to repair the damage. It was like trying to wash a stain out of a favorite childhood blanket, only to end up ripping and destroying it.

“Furr…?” (“Cass?”) Violet asked, looking very concerned.

Her heart was racing, her eyes were burning, and her throat felt hard with a bitter taste in her mouth. She shivered like an Eevee left outside in a frigid blizzard, alone and forgotten by the world in a cold, dead place no one ever knew of. As they waited for the others to arrive, she tried to hug herself with her own Eevee arms for warmth against the chill of her own raw fear and anxiety.

If Latios could see her aura now, he would see it had become so dark blue that it was nearly black… just before the moment when someone loses all will to live…

“Ee-vee-Ee-vee…” (“Never go back… never go back…”) Cassandra muttered in repetition in an almost eerie auto-pilot like state.

“Bunea-earry…” (“Cass, take it easy, we’ll be okay…”) Jarena told her, placing her Buneary paw on Cassandra’s beige Eevee collar fur to try and comfort her.

“Fur-ret…” (“Okay, that’s it…”) Violet firmly declared, stomping her Furret foot on the tiled floor. “Furr-furr-et…” (“Let me handle this crap, she’s in no condition to be trying to cast anything.”)

Cassandra couldn’t help but bow down on the tiled pool floor and bury her face in her paws and collar fur, just wanting to hide herself from everyone. The whole time, Jarena and Violet could swear they had never seen her so crushed and miserable like this…

“Bunnearr…?” (“Cass, what’s wrong?”) Jarena asked, softly approaching her shivering Eevee friend. “Bunn-earryyy…” (“I’ve never seen you so sad before…”)

“Ee…” (“I…”) Cassandra tried to speak, but struggled as she sobbed. “E…ee… vee…. Vee…” (“I don’t… I don’t want to… go to prison… don’t… want to… say goodbye…”)

Jarena nodded softly, understanding what Cassandra was so afraid of. In truth, she was worried about an especially punishing sentence, too, even though it wasn’t to the extent that Cassandra was experiencing. She felt maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as Cassandra was imagining it with chains and shock collars in solitary confinement, but she had a bad feeling about what the League might declare as a verdict even with a confession, a guilty plea, and even if they tried to cooperate with these transformation reversals and undo as much damage as they could. Cynthia’s words and warnings seemed to imply something truly merciless was about to unfold in terms of their punishment and though Cassandra was able to endure the initial shock, now the words and the thoughts about what it may result in were eating away at her like a bloodthirsty cytotoxic poison burning her heart and body apart.

“Bunn… eee…?” (“Let’s… not assume the worst, yet, okay?”) Jarena rubbed Cassandra’s collar fur with her paw to comfort her. “Bunn-eaaryy… Bun-bun-earyyy…” (“Remember what Victini said, it’s not too late to turn over a new leaf, and that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s all cool, we’re doing what we can to make it better, so don’t think about the future so much.”)

Cassandra nodded, still with her head buried in her paws, trying to take a deep breath and reduce her shivering. Though Violet volunteered to take her place and perform the spells, she was trying hard to pull herself together to step back up and prove she could do this and keep her promise all in hopes of some sliver of redemption… even if it wouldn’t amount to anything in terms of the League’s verdict. When it came to her own conscious and how she’d look back at this moment to take a stand, it meant so much more…

…she didn’t want to look back twenty, thirty, or forty years from now and wonder why… just why couldn’t she do it when she said she would. She got through the entire confession without breaking down, so why now…?

“Eev… vee…” (“I just… need a minute…”) She whispered, swallowing hard, pushing herself off the ground.

Her amber Eevee eyes were hot and wet, but she managed to get back on her feet. Wiping her eyes clean with her paw, she slowly stepped forward, trying to purge out the “what ifs” about the future and not think about the punishment. Money, prizes, fame, glory… all those things meant nothing to her anymore. They could take them all away and it would be nothing more than taking the trash out. She could lose every last penny and she realized that wasn’t what mattered. All this time, those material things obstructed the things that did matter. The truth was… the more she had, the less she had. It clouded her from seeing the real prizes. Her friendship with Jarena and Violet and the company of Victini and her other Pokémon. Seeing the world together.

As she looked up and saw the depiction of Jirachi, the mythical Pokémon of wishes, on the S.S. Wishmaker’s hull, she made a wish of her own, hoping she could have that all back again, being okay with the idea of being broke but happy, even if all it meant was being a free and wandering tomorrow’s nobody.

They would all be here, soon. She was hoping by the time they came she was able to pull it together, just long enough to do the job, and do it right because she said she would. Even if in the end it was all just to say “yes, I kept my promise” before they closed her cell door…

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jon Drake
En Route to Main Pool -> Main Pool
Affected RPers: @ Neo Emolga

As Jon neared the pool, he called out into seemingly thin air, looking insane to anyone nearby.

"Run ahead, and let me know what you see. I will be there soon."

As he kept up the pace he felt in his mind's eye, another vision, from Latios who was flying faster to get to the top of the ship, though far from his breakneck top speed. After a few seconds the invisible Eon Pokemon was above the pool looking down on the four Pokemon by the pool.

Jon focused just enough on the vision to keep connected whilst trying to walk in a straight line, noticing the aura of the three girls. Cassandra's was nearly black whilst the other girls were still a somewhat deep blue.

"Giving up." Latios explained.

"Well that's good!" Jon replied.

"No... Latios continued "Giving up on everything..."

Jon continued, thinking about what the Pokemon said, before rounding a corner and finding himself by the pool. He made his way towards the girls holding the bag. So far nobody else had arrived yet. This suited him, as he did want to talk.

"I don't know whether you want to hear it, but I will say it anyway." Jon began, "My offer from before, still stands. I can't guarantee the league will listen to me, especially now that civilians have been involved, but I promised I would try regardless, if you handed yourselves over and turned the others back. And regardless of what happens, I will do what I can to get you back on your feet once this is all over."

Jon opened the bag, pulling out the baggies each containing the hair for Avery, Cuddles and the three ladies, and a gold nugget each.

"I have these for Avery and Cuddles, but I wasn't able to get any DNA for the other two you got, or any of the ones from the raids. I don't think they will be easy to find, but doing what we can is a start." Jon explained before pulling showing the baggies he held at the back. "Your clothes and a hairbrush were in the bag, so I even have these for the three of you. At least, I think these two are Violet's and Jarena's. You don't have any Pokemon that would leave hair on your clothes? Either way, if you turn back who you can now, I am happy to give you these, if you like. And finally..."

"I know you have what it takes to do the right thing here. You wouldn't have radio'd in and offered to turn yourselves in if you couldn't. And to show I mean it when I say that and am not just trying to blow smoke up your a**..." Jon explained as he removed the book from the bag, "I brought this. Not a photocopy but the real thing."

"I will hold onto it, and open it to the page you need it on for you to read off, but this is the real deal. Latios is watching from somewhere, and if there is any funny business, he will intervene, but he really doesn't want to and I don't want him to either. We'd be silly to not be prepared for the possibility." Jon explained, "I brought this, against the better judgement of my superiors, who will skin me alive if this goes pear-shaped, to show that I have faith in you that you can cooperate with us, and do the right thing by everyone, yourselves included."

"So now we wait for the others to arrive..."

[Chakramaster]

Jimmy Kendo
Royal Promenade -> Main Pool
Affected RP'ers: @Noblejanobii @Neo Emolga @Desolate Divine @Shruikan

Avery and Cass started discussing about their battle that was supposed to take place. As Cass mulls over the thoughts. Then what would become of her, her friends, and partner Pokemon. Unsure of what would happen next.

Not long after the group breaks off. Everyone had taken in what happened today. In just a few short hours. The ladies went off and caused damage to operatives in fear of being caught by changing them into Pokémon. Both directly and indirectly. Jon's Latios probably caused the most damage to the ship itself. Lucky with precision. Otherwise we'd all probably be swimming right now. Jimmy didn't wanna get on Jon's bad side by saying anything though. He'd rather not be learning how to swim as a Pachirisu and much more would like to be turned back into his human self.

Once things cleared out enough. Jimmy hopped onto Salamance again and was about to head for the pool where everyone else went. He wanted to make sure his team would be okay. His partner Pokemon jumped back onto Salamance and they took off at an easy pace to make it to the pool. Once arrived, they noticed The Diamon Ladies were just arriving. Along with a large group of other operatives watching over them closely.

"I don't blame them for being cautious, but this is a little....excessive. Don't you think?" Pikachu looked saddened at Jimmy.

"Yeah. I mean just look at Cass. She looks totally defeated. Like there's a pitch black void left in her stomach now. That's clear enough from her expression...or is this just Pokémon instinct?" Jimmy says. He couldn't help, but feel down himself since his last conversation with them.

It gave Jimmy and his Pokemon a heavy heart. Not knowing exactly how hard this had hit the ladies. With what he said to them probably making it even worse. He couldn't help, but to feel bad for them.

As he thinks about this. Jon arrives. He tried talking with them to let them know his offer still stands. That he also had DNA samples of Avery, the three ladies, and Jimmy himself. He also mentions he brought a gold nugget for each one. He even told them he brought one of their books. Most likely the one that mentions the reversal spell to change anyone they turned back. Doing this against better judgement. Even Jimmy knew that was a risk. As bad as the three ladies felt right now. Especially Cass. He didn't think they'd do anything too crazy.

Jimmy walks up and motions for Pikachu to follow behind him before speaking up to the ladies. Before speaking, Cass looks upward towards the ship. Where there was a giant plasters picture of Jirachi on the ship's hull.

"You know, at first it was all business for me. Just another job. I wasn't one to think about nothing, but the job itself. I still had my own concerns. Now, I see you...three defenseless and defeated people...err, Pokemon?" Jimmy said tilting his head to the side a little.

"Anyway, so far you've done enough to prove to me that we can trust you. So once everything is all said and done. You can count on me to vouch for you every step of the way. So long as you still cooperate with everyone here. I'll do whatever I can to help make this easier." Jimmy says to the ladies.

"I'm sure your Pokémon Victini may know too. He's said to bring victory to whoever it's around. Since he is yours after all. Maybe victory here means something else entirely." Jimmy said looking a little puzzled, but trying to bring their hopes up. Even if a little.

Jimmy looks to that same picture of Jirachi like Cass. Speaking to her from behind in hope she would hear him out. He put on a brighter smile to help try and bring up their mood.

"Jirachi here has its own way of bringing goodness too. While it's known as the wishgranter. It can also be seen to bring hopes and dreams to light. Where someone can wish for something so deeply they find that's their passions or dreams in life. Where others may wish for it their entire life and find it wasn't what they wanted. It's where they phrase be careful what you wish for comes from. Overall though. It's what you make with what you're given in life that makes it a REAL wish come true. It wouldn't hurt to have a real wish come true, but. Who knows. Maybe we'll be lucky and get to see a real Jirachi someday. The power of wishes coming true is beyond what magic any of us can understand." Jimmy smiles while trying to look toward Cassandra and cheer her up.

"But for now. Please take this easy and slowly. You've already got support from a few of us here. So long as things go well. I'm sure we can help work something out." Jimmy once again phrased to the ladies.

[C0L0R3D]

Ozona Reverie
Battle Stadium > Ozona's Room
Affected RP'ers: N/A

Everything had happened at once, but at minimum nobody had talked to her. That was probably the biggest relief she had all day, now she thought about it. When the crowd finally died down, Ozona took the chance to head back to her own room without much of a worry. Besides, her team could hold her own pretty well in battle, so she didn't fret over something so simple. But this was different, with all this weird stuff unfolding. But hey, this girl's seen a Trainer in the semifinals of the PWT, and of all times in the world they just kept raising their Mienshao's Defense, although it was handled easily with the aid of her trusty Altaria. So to put it lightly, Ozna's seen some idiots.

[Noblejanobii]

Avery Miller (They/Them)
Royal Promenade=>Main Pool
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga @Chakramaster @Desolate Divine

Avery couldn't help but feel sad at Cass's response to their proposal for a battle. Deep down they had known it was a long shot, but Avery had hoped perhaps the idea would bring Cass more cheer. Instead it only seemed to lower her spirits even more. As the Diamond Ladies headed towards the pool, Avery decided they should follow them, but at a distance. There was something they wanted to do before they changed back. Hanging back, Avery hit the buttons on all their Pokéballs, sending out all of their teammates. Aside from Gloria, they all towered over Avery. It was an unusual feeling, being so short, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"I don't have a ton of time to speak with you," Avery said quietly, "but I don't want to waste this opportunity. I've never been able to speak with you before, not like this anyway." Avery looked over each of their Pokémon before continuing, "I just wanted to thank you, each and every one of you for all that you have done for me. Without you, I would never have gotten this far as a coordinator or a battler. After this operation, I want us to sit down and seriously discuss what path we take in the future. Whether it's continuing our lives as a coordinator and team or as the newest coolest battlers on the scene, I want your input. Okay? We're a team, and I never want you all to forget that."

"It's been an honor serving with you," Daybreak responded first. "Whether it was battling in the Galar circuit or winning the Wallace Cup, so long as you are by my side, I'm happy to do whatever you choose." Daybreak paused before shaking his firey mane a little, "Though maybe dabbling in the Galar Circuit again wouldn't be such a bad idea. Fighting in this tournament here has been a blast."

Acacia chimed in next. "Challenging gyms is fun and all but I much prefer the contest circuit. Getting to dazzle and shine is just too much fun," she said excitedly. "Maybe we could do some more of those Unovan musicals too? Please?" Acacia asked with big eyes.

Avery chuckled and nodded their head. "Sure, Acacia, I'd like to visit Unova again too," they answered, "Perhaps we could challenge the Nimbasa City gym while we're in town to see who has the better Zebstrika."

Knautia snorted and stomped his hooves. "It's me, of course! Whether it's matters of style or power, I'm definitely the best Zebstrika in town." Electricity crackled down his back as a wide grin spread across his face. "And I'm game to prove that in any way you'll have me, Boss."

"Boss?" Avery couldn't help but laugh at that. "Is that what you've been calling me all this time?"

Knautia seemed to get a bit shy at that, his ears flicking backwards and his gaze lowering to the floor. "Well.... yeah. You're the boss after all. Would you prefer I not call you that?"

Avery shook their head and shrugged. "Hey I won't stop you if you want to, but I want you to remember something, Knautia. We're friends. I may be your trainer but that doesn't mean I'm your boss, okay?"

Knautia lifted his head and nodded. "Of course, Boss. I'll never forget that."

"If I may add in something," Mint interjected, "I'd love to visit Unova too. I haven't gotten to travel much outside of Galar yet, and it would be rather nice to see what all else the world has to offer. These musicals sound rather fun too, so maybe I can try them out too, yeah?"

"Oh I think you'd love musicals, Mint!" Acacia said excitedly. The Girafarig tapped her hooves as she began to explain the concept to Mint, who listened with intent fascination.

Avery couldn't help but smile as their team seemed really on board with heading to Unova and exploring musicals or perhaps the gym circuit more. It'd be a bit of a new experience for them, but it's not like anything could be quite as rattling as this adventure thus far. Avery looked over at Picotee, the Sawsbuck having remained silent up until now. "I assume you're on board with this too?" they asked.

Picotee nodded his head. "It's been a while since I visited my home. Perhaps after we finish our business in Nimbasa we could also make a stop in Driftveil and see if my herd still lives in the area. It would be rather nice to see my family again."

The thought hadn't even occurred to Avery but Picotee made a good point. "But of course!" Avery looked over the rest of their team. "We could visit all of your families if you'd like. I hadn't even realized that you might miss them. Rather selfish of me really but... if I take you back to where I first caught all of you, perhaps even if we can't communicate like this, we can still figure out where to go from there yeah? Go ahead and tell me where your families used to live, I'll do my best to commit it to memory."

Before long, Avery had made a mental note of their team's entire familial locations. It'd be a journey across the world to some degree, but it was something they definitely could commit and look forward to doing. Gloria watched with amusement and a smile on her face. They really were a big of a ragtag bunch, but there wasn't anyone else she'd rather be traveling with. "Avery," she interrupted, "we need to head on, unfortunately."

Avery couldn't help but feel disappointment when Gloria brought them back to reality. She was right, though they didn't want her to be. Avery looked at their team. "I can't take all of you to the pool, it'd be too crowded. But given the circumstances, Daybreak? Picotee? Would you mind staying out to help... keep me hidden, so to speak?" Both Pokémon nodded. It didn't even really need to be asked of them. Avery sighed and gave one last look at their team. "It's been great talking to you, like this, but it'll be nice to be human again too. Don't be afraid to give me a piece of your minds a la Acacia every once n a while though, okay?"

The group laughed at the idea of the excitable Girafarig trying to translate one of Knautia or the other teammates's outbursts. Might be more than a little tough. Tapping the Pokéballs again, Avery returned everyone except Daybreak and Picotee. The trio made their way down the hall and arrived at the Main Pool after everyone else. It seemed like things were just about ready to start, even though not everyone seemed to be mentally or emotionally ready.

[Neo Emolga]

The Diamond Ladies
Main Pool
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster, @Noblejanobii, @Desolate Divine @Shruikan

While the Ladies had been preparing and Cassandra had been struggling to try and pull her emotions together, Victini had been trying to track down and find the other missing operatives. Though many wouldn’t think it from looking at the little pointy-eared orange Pokémon of victory and his usually happy-go-lucky personality, he was quite organized and was keeping pretty accurate mental records. Thankfully for him, humans turned Pokémon tended to act quite differently from Pokémon that had been that way their whole lives, especially on a cruise ship like this.

Meanwhile, Jon had arrived, once again presenting his offer. The Ladies, especially Cassandra, were a bit surprised he was willing to give them this additional chance, especially after they had given him the cold shoulder last time. He had brought along their clothes, strands of hair to use as their DNA samples, and the necessary gold nuggets to make it possible. It all came down to if the spell did what it was supposed to.

Cassandra had mixed feelings at first, not entirely sure if she even really wanted to go back to being human and then stacking that up against what the League might rule, but at this point, she knew she didn’t have anything to bargain with after all. Jon was taking a risk, and if she turned him down yet again, she might regret it if the League had declared an especially rotten sentence. But then again, things were different now than they were when he last presented this. Where she once thought she could be in charge and on top with using her witchcraft as leverage, that was not the case, and she realized just how far she had tumbled and fallen.

“Ee-vee…” (“We’ve got nothing else… nothing left…”) Cassandra muttered softly, before looking to Jarena and Violet. “Ee-vee-vee…” (“I think… maybe we should…”)

“Bun-earyyy…” (“It’s now or never, I know that,”) Jarena smirked a bit with a shrug. “Bun-earryyy…” (“Sounds crazy but I think this guy’s the last and final safety net we’ve got, and he ain’t gonna keep on asking until his face goes blue.”)

“Furr-ret…” (“Got no future otherwise, Cass.”) Violet agreed. “Furr-ret-et…” (“That whole plan to get them to drop the charges and run off as Pokémon is a dead stick. We tried it, you saw what happened.”)

Cassandra gave a little nod, and it settled in that what she first imagined wasn’t the way she was going to walk away from this. After sighing, it all came down to her telling herself that beggars couldn’t be choosers, and after trying almost everything else, they were begging for forgiveness here. The whole black sickness in her heart from her absolute dread of the League’s verdict… Jon’s offer would be all that she’d have left. Otherwise, when the League brought down the hammer, they were at the full mercy of it and no one would step in to help.

It was then that Jon had presented the Evangtin Tome, which to Cassandra, was a major surprise. Where before she felt she couldn’t trust him, this was a sign he had some faith in her. He wouldn’t have done this if he truly felt they were an entirely lost cause, even when the League would think he was out of his mind giving her access to the whole tome.

Cassandra nodded, feeling a bit better… a bit more hopeful. It was her chance to prove Jon was right that they could be trusted and that he was putting his faith in the right place. Now that… that was how she really wanted to prove the League wrong. That a few wrong turns in life shouldn’t be the end.

Shortly after, Jimmy Kendo came to her side, telling her about where he was coming from before all this happened, and that it was just another job when it all began. But now, things were different. But most of all, that he felt he could trust her, too. Even if the League had their doubts.

“It’s what you make with what you’re given in life that makes it a REAL wish come true.”

She was touched, no longer feeling alone. She took a deep breath, and she felt like she was able to focus again. The support helped her push out the pessimism and depression, and even if it wouldn’t change the League’s punishment in the end, there were those out there that didn’t see her as a rotten scoundrel anymore despite what she had done. Maybe her journey to this point hadn’t become an unsalvageable train-wreck, but was more of someone just trying to get out of the woods and back on the right path again.

“Ee-veee…” (“Thank you, Jimmy.”) Cassandra replied to him, able to break a smile past the pain and anxiety.

When Violet got another good look at Cassandra, she saw she seemed to be doing better, not looking so emotionally beat-up as she did moments before. As she figured, it looked like what she really needed was the reminder to forget about the things she couldn’t control.

She looked around, wondering where Latios was, though she knew he had the power to go invisible. Could he read her thoughts? Could he sense her feelings? Jon had mentioned he was nearby, and even though she couldn’t see him with her eyes, she was hoping he could feel her with her heart…

Latios… wherever you are out there… if you can feel this or hear this… please let Jon know…

…

…we really do need his help… and I thank him for it…

When Victini had arrived shortly after, the Ladies could see he had managed to track down and find the last remaining operatives that had been transformed, though it was also due to some help from Ethan and Natalie. First, there was Sami Culver as a Minccino and Kyle Parker as a Yamper, the first two operatives that had been transformed after they had broken into the Ladies’ guest room. Both of them looked tired, as if they had been running frantically for many hours trying to get someone to listen to them, only to come up short as the other guests simply thought they were someone else’s Pokémon running loose. But finally someone managed to track them down and get them up to speed with what was going on.

And with them was Nathan Jones as a Zorua, who obviously still wasn’t friends with Cassandra in the slightest. Even just by looking into his blue Zorua eyes with his red eyelids, she could get the sense he was definitely not a fan of her work. In a similar fashion, Doug Henderson as a Azurill was the least forgiving about the whole situation, outright aggravated about what the Ladies had done to him and how humiliated he was. Still, Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet had a feeling they were never going to be friends with him anyway. They still hadn’t forgiven him for that stolen golden nugget either.

Then there was Jimmy Kendo, who seemed to understand where they were coming from, and Avery Miller, who was on their way. Cassandra was relieved as least some of these operatives were willing to give her and the other Ladies a chance to make things right. Things like that were helping her go on. And finally, there was Ethan Caldwell as a Skwovet and his girlfriend Natalie as a Dedenne. They seemed neutral about the whole ordeal, not really sure if the Ladies could be entirely trusted, but they didn’t want to throw slander at them in case there was a chance. Cassandra felt maybe with a few good actions, maybe she could convince them, too.

When they had gathered around, Cassandra took a deep breath and looked at them.

“Ev-vee-vee?” (“So, who wants to go first?”) She asked the group, expecting no one to want to be the first volunteer.

“Skwoo… ovett…” (“Please, I gotta get ready for that battle with Jon, tonight.”) Ethan pleaded. “Skwo-woo-vett…” (“I sure hope you can do this quickly.”)

“Azu-zu!” (“You idiot!”) Doug Henderson insulted him. “Azu-zurilll!” (“They’re freaking witches for crying out loud, wait until we’ve got a League Champion here to gut them alive if these women don’t do what they’re told!”)

Cassandra just looked at him for a brief moment, eyelids down and not at all amused. After rolling her eyes, she figured there were still going to be at least some transformed operatives that were not going to ever give her the benefit of the doubt, especially Doug. Even beyond that, she strongly felt having yet even more Pokémon breathing down her neck wasn’t really necessary. There was enough security to the point where Cynthia could add a hundred more snipers, a swarm of overhead attack drones, and a dozen legendry Pokémon ready to blast her to pieces and it really wouldn’t make any difference in how she was going to approach this whole situation.

“Skwoo-oo…” (“Whatever, dude, stay as a pint-sized Azurill if you really enjoy that.”) Ethan rolled his eyes.

While Doug spat some obscenities at Ethan now, Cassandra opened the Evangtin Tome and saw that Jon had bookmarked the pages she needed, right on the Affliction Reversal Spell pages. She had absolutely no intention of looking at anything else in the book, even though Nathan and Doug were looking at her thinking she was going to flip it to some other page and then nuke the entire ship with nefarious witchcraft.

The first step was to cover Ethan’s entire Skwovet body with the entire white beach towel. If he transformed back, he was going to need to quickly wrap himself, or else a few hundred people and Pokémon would see him in what Jon described as his “birthday suit” and that wouldn’t have gone down well for anyone. Revealing only his Skwovet face and front paw from under the now tent-like towel, he looked to Cassandra, waiting for her to begin, really wondering what new bizarre kinds of witchcraft he was going to see unfold before him.

As she read the instructions carefully, she realized the way the spell worked was almost as a salve. It started first with the water, speaking the incantation to make the liquid a conduit for the spell, similar like wind to power a windmill. The golden nugget would then go in next, which then needed a second incantation to prime it to be used almost as a salve fuel of sorts. Lastly, the DNA sample, in this case one of Ethan’s human hairs that Natalie had carefully held onto, would serve as the instruction program for the salve to follow in terms of how to restore someone back to their previous state. Once it was placed upon the golden nugget, which would be glowing, all Nathan had to do then was simply touch the glowing nugget. It would then purge out the Pokémon transformation affliction and restore him to a normal human…

…if everything went as it was supposed to.

Taking a deep breath, Cassandra decided it was time to get started. With the water in the cup, she then looked to the page, reciting the Shadowcraft words and following the instructions to the letter.

“Ka-na-si-entza…” Cassandra chanted, carefully and precisely, trying not to think about the stakes that were involved with this spell working or not.

With the water primed and rippling, she then took her Eevee paws, wrapped them around one of the golden nuggets, and then dropped it into the water. Now, the water was reacting to the nugget, creating almost a whirlpool-like vortex around it. Then, Cassandra began part two, holding her paws above the nugget. All the while, they all watched, most of them enraptured by the sight of seeing these supernatural effects unfold before them.

“En-ta-suri-oika-na-ma-usko…” Cassandra continued.

The golden nugget then began to glow as the water swiftly wrapped and swirled around it, and then Cassandra looked to Natalie, carefully handling the single strand of Ethan’s hair as it attached to a single piece of masking tape to keep secure and easy to track.

Carefully, both the Eevee and the Dedenne slowly and carefully placed the strand of hair onto the glowing nugget, just barely able to make out the nearly-invisible thin strand of hair. Once it made contact, they detached it from the tape, and it was absorbed by the glowing nugget.

“Eev-vee-eee…” (“You’re up, put your paw on the nugget.”) Cassandra instructed Ethan, swallowing hard and hoping this worked.

Ethan was a little unsure and almost regretful he didn’t let someone else go first just from the strange supernatural effect that was unfolding just before his eyes. To him, this witchcraft could do anything for all he knew, and he had to place all his trust and faith in Cassandra that she was true to her word and she knew how to do this spell to the best of her ability. He took a deep breath, closed his Skwovet eyes, and then placed his paw on the glowing nugget.

The next effect was almost shocking and then suddenly there was deep concern…

The glowing nugget had become a glowing ooze-like liquid that soon covered his paw, then creeped up his arm, then began to cover his body, face, and head while his body was covered by the towel. It looked very surreal and almost frightening as the glowing ooze covered every square inch of his squirrel body… which then turned into a shapeless, blob-like mass that started growing. It almost looked like the towel was trying to cover up some bizarre, sentient glowing jelly.

Cassandra was starting to cringe, frantically looking back at the book to make sure there was a mention of this effect, but the details were vague. The only thing it mentioned now was that it would purge the affliction, and that was it. She had already done everything the spell prescribed and there was no other steps after that. She almost panicked, but then as the growing, glowing mass began to take shape from under the towel, she saw it become human in form, and human legs and arms began to appear. When the reformation was complete, the glowing diminished, and at long last, Ethan’s body had returned to normal… his original human self, just as he was before he was transformed.

“Ev-ve-vee?” (“Are you okay?”) Cassandra couldn’t help but ask.

But then she felt silly, realizing that he was human now and wouldn’t understand what she-

“Yeah, just… feeling a little… weird,” Ethan replied, blinking his eyes as he wrapped himself with the white beach towel to get ready to head off to the locker room to get dressed. “I think… seems like it worked! Wow… that was really odd.”

Cassandra’s jaw nearly dropped when she came to a possible realization.

“Ee-v-vee-vee!?” (“Seriously, can you actually still understand what I’m saying as a Pokémon!?”) Cassandra asked in earnest surprise.

And then he realized why Cassandra seemed so shocked and it hit him as well. He couldn’t believe it either, but he could still completely comprehend every word she said even as an Eevee.

“Bun-ea…?” (“You’re kidding, you understand this?”) Jarena asked him, totally in awe. “Bun-bunearyy-ryyy…?” (“Here’s a test, what’s your favorite color?”)

“…Blue,” Ethan replied, almost laughing. “I don’t get, I totally do.”

“Ee-vee-vee?” (“I mean, it looks like the spell worked, didn’t it?”) Cassandra asked, really wondering if something went wrong. “Eeevee-ee?” (“Did it miss something and not change him back completely?”)

It was then that Victini came forward, almost snickering. The Ladies had looked to him, wondering what he had managed to figure out.

“Vic-ti-ti-ni…” (“Now… funny thing is all Pokémon are born immediately knowing how to speak and communicate in our own unique language.”) Victini couldn’t help but chuckle. “Vic-tini-ni…! Ti-ni!” (“And that’s instinctive knowledge you humans gained when you joined our Pokémon party! Looks like that spell doesn’t consider that part of the affliction! How’s them apples, you get to take that with you on your trip back! I guess it’s kind of just like how you kept your human memories when you all became Pokémon!”)

“Bun-eeeearry…!” (“Holy smokes, that’s weird!”) Jarena exclaimed. “Bun-bunearry…!?” (“Ha ha, so now you little buggers can’t have a private chat behind our backs now, can you!?”)

Victini couldn’t help but look at her and smirk mischievously.

<Ha, or so you think!>

“Bun-earry…” (“But telepathy… that’s… that’s cheating…”) Jarena remarked, looking disappointed.

Cassandra couldn’t help but laugh a bit, and for a moment, it was as if she had even completely forgotten about her earlier troubles. Maybe… there was a silver lining to all this after all if everyone who was affected by all this at least got to go home with this extra little gift.

“Ee-vee-vee?” (“So who’s next, now that you know this works?”) Cassandra asked, looking around to see who would be the next volunteer.

[Shruikan]

Luneth Tarot
Royal Promenade > Main Pool
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Chakramaster, @Noblejanobii, @Desolate Divine



As the crowd began to head out, Luneth briefly considered if she should continue searching after Glimmer, but with the Diamond Ladies caught, the operatives would likely be converging on them, so Glimmer wasn’t as likely to get caught in the crossfire anymore.
Meanwhile, there was going to be more actual magic here.
Mind made up, Luneth proceeded to tail the procession of Pokemon towards the pool.

As she followed at a good distance, Luneth quickly flicked through her phones menus, copying the previous recording to her cloud storage, as a backup if she lost the phone in any way. This recording might have the names of the books is she ever forgot.

Arriving at the Pool, Luneth quickly noticed there were very few good hiding places. She ended up crouched behind a beach chair and hoped everyone would be too distracted by the whole Magic Diamond Ladies thing going on.

Looking for the Diamond ladies, Luneth saw several new Pokemon in the crowd, as well as the scary Latios dude from earlier. Something looked familiar about the Pokemon now escorting a Buizel that Luneth assumed was a transformed operative, but she couldn’t place what it was exactly. But before she could think on it too much, She saw the Zorua from earlier. So he was an operative. Luneth almost ran over to him, but quickly stopped herself. She didn’t want to blow her cover. Not yet at least.
But still, if the Zorua was here, then that meant… Yes, there was Glimmer, floating shyly at the back, a distance away from all the other Pokemon, like she didn’t want to intrude but still needed to watch the Zorua.

After the initial relief that Glimmer was indeed safe, it occurred to Luneth that Glimmer could help get a better recording of the spell casting, or maybe even the book itself! But how to get her attention without anyone else noticing… Aha! Got it!
Luneth called out in a yipping sound that was almost indistinguishable from an Alolan Vulpix. To everyone else, it would just be another Pokemon vocalizing it’s happiness, but as she’d hoped, Glimmer recognised the call, head swiveling towards her, before the Shaymin casually flew over to her hiding place, hopefully without being followed.

As soon as she landed Luneth hugged Glimmer tightly. “You did a great job following Zorua.” Easing up on the hug, she looked the Shaymin in the eyes. “But I need your help again if you’re up to it?”

Using Glimmer’s scarf, Luneth tied her phone to the Shaymin’s neck, with the camera lens poking out above the fabric while the rest was mostly hidden.
“There, now can you get as close to those three over there, the Eevee Furret and Bunneary? Try and record what they say and do, unless you can get a good shot of the book the scary guy’s holding.”
Glimmer nodded intently, before taking off, trying to blend into the crowd of Pokemon while getting a good overhead shot of the Ladies. By this time, they were almost done with their first spell, and a mound under a blanket revealed itself to now be a human. Luneth was a little annoyed that she’d missed it, but now Glimmer was in position, ready to record the next spell from start to finish, so hopefully there’d be no problems…

[Neo Emolga]

The Diamond Ladies
Main Pool
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster, @Noblejanobii, @Desolate Divine @Shruikan

So far, things had gone well in terms of Affliction Reversal Spell. Ethan had gotten changed and shortly after, Cassandra was able to perform the spell on his girlfriend, Natalie Barone. As a form of courtesy, the Ladies volunteered to allow all operatives to be transformed back before the Ladies got to work on undoing their own transformations as a way of “closing the door behind everyone else.”

Sami Culver, as a Minccino, wasn’t too aggravated about the whole ordeal. She cooperated once she saw it worked just fine on Ethan and Natalie, and shortly after, Cassandra had gotten her transformed back, followed by Kyle Parker changing from a Yamper back to his normal human self. If anything, they felt the ability to understand their Pokémon was actually worth the trouble.

That left Jimmy, Avery, Nathan, and Doug besides the three Ladies themselves.

“Zorr-uaa!” (“See, I always knew you three Ladies were a con!”) Nathan laughed from under the beach towel as he was next up. “Zorrrur-uraaa?!” (“Ain’t gonna do much witchin’ after this now, are ya!? Lookin’ forward to that lifetime ban from the League, eh?”)

“E-vee…” (“Whatever, dude.”) Cassandra dismissed his comments, getting his reagents ready. “Ee-veee-vee…? Eve-veee-eee.” (“I just need to ask before we get started, you know how to dress yourself, right? Because I don’t think mommy is here to do it for you.”)

Nathan just laughed sarcastically and Cassandra started with his Affliction Reversal Spell. By now, the whole reaction didn’t spook her as much as it did the first time around, and with every operative Cassandra transformed back to human, it was making it clearer that she was willing to cooperate. At the same time, it was getting her mind off the possible sentences the League might be considering, and the more of these she got done, the more persuasive it would be. But even beyond that, Cassandra felt better about just putting a hard stop to the downward spiral and now she was coming out of the hole she had dug herself into.

Once Nathan was restored back to his human self, he wrapped himself with the towel and looked down upon Cassandra, smirking that now he was fully back to being human while she was still an Eevee.

“That’s more like it,” Nathan smirked. “See, everyone will like ya more when ya just shut up and do as you’re told.”

Nathan then just stuck his tongue out at her and then left to go head to the locker room to get changed, leaving Cassandra hoping she’d never have to see this punk again. And then Doug was up next, and Cassandra wasn’t looking forward to this. Doug attempted to give her a snotty look, but it wasn’t effective at all with him as an Azurill.

“Zuzurr-illl…” (“Make this quick, b*tch, I don’t have all day.”) Doug demanded.

Cassandra figured the sooner she got this done, the sooner she wouldn’t need to see this creep again. By now, she had memorized the spell by heart and had it prepared quickly. Once it was ready, Doug was forced to have to use his bouncy bubble tail to make contact with the nugget because he didn’t have hands.

Once he transformed back to being human, he wrapped himself with the towel and then looked down upon Cassandra, standing over her with a possessive smile like he owned her. In his scorn, he spat on her, landing a repulsive wad of saliva on her beige collar fur.

“I’m going to love watching you cheap con-artist b*itch witches rot,” Doug snickered. “Being an Azurill sucks ass, but at least it beats being a woman, ha!”

As Cassandra used one of the spare towels to wipe off the disgusting wad of spit in displeasure, Jarena was furious, stomping her way toward him.

“Bun-earryyy…” (“Boy, try saying that to my face, you sexist, pile of-“)

“Eev-veee.” (“Leave it, he’s not worth getting into trouble for.”) Cassandra interrupted her, just relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with him again. “Eeveee-vee… veee.” (“He’s trying to trigger us on purpose so we fling a spell his way and give everyone here a reason to attack us. He knows we can’t stand up for ourselves, now.”)

“Bunnnn…” (“What a schmuck…”) Jarena growled as Doug walked away to the locker rooms, laughing at their discontent.

Truthfully, Cassandra was just glad dealing with him was over. On any other day, she would have had him on the ground reeling in nausea and would have left him a sarcastic sympathy note, but today, she just wanted to put an end to all this.

Besides the Ladies themselves, it was now just down to Avery and Jimmy. Cassandra turned to Jimmy, still as a Pachirisu. He had been waiting patiently for his turn and she was ready to turn him back if he was now ready for it.

“Ee-vee-ee…” (“Well, at least you’re nothing like that guy.”) Cassandra sighed before looking back at Jimmy. “Eevee-vee-eeee…?” (“So, Jimmy, think you’re ready to become human again?”)

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jon Drake
Main Pool
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Chakramaster @Shruikan @Neo Emolga

Jon watched as an operative whom he didn't know made sexist remarks towards the girls before spitting on Cassandra and walking away. Whilst Jon figured he should bite his tounge, he didn't want to sit back and do nothing...

"Hey a**hole!" Jon called out to the operative who was walking away, "If you wanna have a problem with them, have a problem with what they did. The whole women suck schtick you're going for screams incel pretty badly."

"And one more thing..." Jon continued, "If I ever see you spit on someone, regardless of what they did, I'll break your f**king jaw myself, and you can try spitting with that..."

"Jon..." said Latios' voice in Jon's head.

"I can handle this p***k. Make sure the girls don't run away." Jon replied, waiting to see how the operative would respond...