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

[[Desolate Divine]]

Jon Drake
Battle Arena
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Chakramaster

Latios went invisible again, as he had been taught to do, as Jon watched as Cuddles threw a temper tantrum over the nickname, before turning his attention to Avery. The Buizel dug through the pile of clothes, pulling out a Pokeball, before throwing it, releasing a Girafarig, before copping a Pokeball to the face. The whole ordeal reminded him of the cartoons he used to watch as a child, when his dad was too hungover to hit him...

"If you want me to help with that, just pass me the ball." Jon explained, "Those little Pokemon paws aren't cut out for catching these things."

The Buizel began conversing with the Girafarig before turning to Jon, bowing its head, as its eyes began to glow. After a moment, Jon could hear a voice in his head.

"Testing testing, 123. Mr. Jon Human, can you hear me?"

Jon couldn't help but chuckle at the testing 123, remembering the sound engineers at shows he had been to see.

"Loud and clear, but just Jon is fine." Jon replied to the Pokemon, before noticing someone entering the room, "But we may have to continue this conversation later..."

"Jon, what's going on?" Came a familiar voice, as the person approached. Though he had traded his usual somewhat formal champion attire for board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, dyed his hair a chestnut brown, and wore a baseball cap, Jon recognized the voice as that of Steven Stone, the Ex Hoenn Champion.

"You weren't followed in?" Jon asked, knowing full well how easily certain Pokemon can listen in.

"I have operatives posing as ship security at the door, sending anyone else away." Steven explained, "Told them there was a meeting taking place between the organizers of the tournament and the contestants."

"Great minds think alike. I said the same thing to Alyssa to get her to leave before..." Jon replied.

"She doesn't know about the operation?" Steven asked.

"No, it's for her own good, though she would never admit it." Jon explained, "I love her, dearly, but honestly, she can't sit by and know there is something out there she doesn't know. She is here for her own work, which means she is tracking down competitors to get statements, and whilst she does want to interview Cassandra, there are plenty of other people to occupy her. If she knew there was something sour going on, she would hone onto that, and get herself into trouble. Between us, you don't wanna know how many times I have had to bail her out of jail for trespassing or harassing people in the name of the truth."

"I understand." Steven explained, "So what happened?"


"I saw on comms that you guys made another attempt to breach the targets room, and that you had lost contact. When I heard you were sending in backup, I had Latios track down the targets and follow them to gather intel, and was watching via his sight-sharing while it all happened." Jon explained, as Latios materialized again, looking uneasily at Steven. Due to his history of trainers attempting to catch him on sight, Jon had taught him to be wary of them, only ever letting himself be seen for the occasional battle that Jon had him participate in, or around trainers who knew of him.

"What did you learn?" Steven asked, not seeming too shocked at the Legendary Pokemon materializing, "And what's with all the Pokemon? Is that a Shaymin?"

"A lot. Good news and bad." Jon explained, "Those books that were seen? The witchy looking ones? They aren't for show."

"You're kidding?"

"No, there is some supernatural bulls**t going on with these chicks." Jon explained, as he tossed Jimmy's wallet to Steven, "Meet Operatives Avery Miller and Cuddles."

Jon gestured to the two Pokemon, as Steven looked at Jimmy's ID, before muttering something along the lines of "I'm not even going to ask..."

"So you mean to tell me these girls turned these two operatives into Pokemon?" Steven asked, "I take it this is the bad news, but what's the good news?"

"Well the good news is we have solid reason to believe the other four operatives who are missing are still alive." Jon explained, "And Latios managed to overhear a little about how to undo this spell, which Violet and Jarena were frantically trying to find, because their brilliant leader managed to turn herself into an Eevee..."

"Wait what-" Steven asked in shock.

"I'm not too sure how, because I didn't see it happen, but Latios tailed them into the chapel, and they kept referring to the Eevee as Cass, and were looking frantically through these books for a way to change her back." Jon explained, "They found a spell, and Latios and I heard what ingredients were needed for it, but Latios blew his cover before we could hear what we needed to do with them."

"How did he blow his cover?"

"He tried to steal a book they were practically staring at, then when they realized, fled, and left them something to remember him by." Jon sighed as he pointed to the Latios shaped hole in the roof.

"Damn, your insurance renewal is going to suck..." Steven replied, admiring Latios' handiwork.

"I have a Fire and Electric type, so it already isn't good." Jon explained, "Anyway, the ingredients for the spell to turn them back are a cup of water, a gold nugget and a sample of their original form. Violet and Jarena were talking about getting some hair from Cassandra's brush. But beyond that, I don't know what to do. It could be as simple as throwing them all in the cup and tipping it on Avery and Cuddles here, or there could be some incantation or something. It's hard to say since I didn't even realize witchcraft was possible until half an hour ago..."

"I know you're technically the commander here, but you need to order every operative on the ship to buy out every single Gold Nugget they can find." Jon explained, "Firstly so we can turn these two and the other operatives back, and secondly, so that they can't return Cassandra to normal without complying with us. I get the feeling without her calling the shots, they may just slip up enough for us to get the upper hand. It seemed like they were focusing on getting Cassandra's hair first, and that was about twenty minutes ago."

"No you're right, CO or not." Steven explained, "Cassandra is too proud to let herself lose this tournament by default. If we can control whether or not she can return to her normal self and compete, we may have the best bargaining chip we could ask for."

"One other thing, and this goes for all of you." Jon explained, turning to the Pokemon, "Currently the only people who know that I am Latios' trainer are the people in this room, Alyssa, and the odd battle fan who may have seen me use him in one of the few battles I have actually used him in. Steven made sure any record of me online was hidden before this. This next bit, only Alyssa and Steven know. My name isn't really Jon Drake. Jon's my middle name, and Drake is Alyssa's surname. My legal name is Ryan Mason, but I go by Jon Drake because my dad is a piece of s*** and I don't want him to find me."

"The reason I tell you this, is because I don't know what these girls are capable of. One of them was laughing about a spell that could make people see their own worst nightmares or something, and last night all the operatives who attempted to intercept them wound up passed out drunk despite not touching any alcohol. Them having a spell that forces someone to tell the truth is not unlikely." Jon explained, "So if you end up being caught, and they ask about the Latios, you are being more truthful by saying his trainer is Ryan Mason than Jon Drake. Steven made sure nothing on the ship links the name Ryan Mason to me, and unless these girls can somehow hack the Drivers License Database, they should never know. Even if he got himself seen, Latios is still an ace in the hole for this operation, and the less they know about him, the easier he can make things."

"I think that's everything for debrief though. Anything you guys want to mention? That's why you let out the Girafarig, right?" Jon asked.

Once all had been said, Steven approached Latios, the dragon looking at him slightly uneasily, as Jon's phone buzzed, the encrypted message being an order of utmost importance to buy out any nuggets they could get their hands on.

"I knew you had Latios when I met you, but I have never been this close." Steven said, as he looked the Pokemon in the eyes, who seemed confused by the attention. Most of the time when trainers other than Jon or Alyssa were this close, it was in attempt to capture him, "How is it raising a Legendary Pokemon? I was league champion for years, but never got the privilege to raise a Legendary Pokemon myself..."

"It's not easy, I will give you that much." Jon explained, "Most of the resources out there are myths and hearsay. I could go online and find out everything I know about an Eevee from when it hatches to the day it dies, and how to care for it, but there is next to nothing for Latios. Most of it is looking at how Pokemon of similar types and biology that are more common are raised, and trying to figure out what applies and what doesn't. Avery probably went through the same thing with their Shaymin. I don't even know how old Latios is..."

"Really?" Steven asked, "When most people think of Legendary Pokemon, they think of ancient and wise beings."

"Well he is still learning the wisdom part, but in all honesty, I think he is still a juvenile." Jon said, walking over to give Latios a scratch behind the fins on his head, "When I first caught him he was about 5ft tall and weighed about 100 pounds. Now he is 6ft 7 and over 130, and seems to have stopped growing. He always did well with sight sharing and invisibility, but still can't communicate telepathically like Avery's Girafarig and Alyssa's Gardevoir. He can definitely fly faster than when we first met, and broke the sound barrier last year, though I think he will still become faster. People say they can fly at almost double that, but it's hard to say. And like any teenager, he doesn't make the best decisions on his own. So he still has a bit of growing to do in here."

Jon tapped his head, as Latios looked at him with a scowl.

"What, I bragged about you breaking the sound barrier? Do I need to remind you of that?" Jon explained, pointing at the hole in the roof, before turning back to Steven, "Once he has matured fully, he will be incredible."

"You're a very lucky trainer." Steven replied, "Few have the opportunity to meet such a Pokemon, and fewer get to train them.

"Before you go, there is one last thing." Jon explained, before turning to Avery and Cuddles, as well as their small band of Pokemon followers.

"I can't take them with me." Jon explained, "Alyssa found them and brought them here thinking their trainers might be around. I figured out what had happened, and told her that the trainers were here and I would return them so she would leave them with me. If I return to our room with them, and the other Pokemon that seem to keep popping up, it will make her start asking questions, and if I am seen with them by the targets, I will be compromised."

"That's true." Steven muttered.

"Think you can find another operative for them to tag along with?" Jon explained turning to the Pokemon, "Until we can get them turned back? Is that okay with you guys?"