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

[Neo Emolga]

The Diamond Ladies
Battling Arena Waiting Room
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster @Desolate Divine

Cassandra had to admit that experience with Jirachi was going to stick with her. She was also touched when Jirachi had thanked her and everyone else that had joined in on Jirachi’s wild game of tag, realizing at the end, it was all he really wanted.

It was soon time for Cassandra’s battle with Jon. Given last night’s events but still under the order to keep the Ladies under close watch, Sami tried to assure them that she and Kyle could at least be more trusted than “the other guys,” and while Violet and Jarena wanted to believe that, there was still a bit of uncertainty.

“No offense…” Jarena smiled though she didn’t want trouble. “If something crazy happens like last night, we’re going to have to bust a move. That whole incident could have been ugly.”

“Still hoping it doesn’t come to that…” Sami shrugged, hoping it wouldn’t come to that, but understanding Jarena’s side of things.

In the meantime, Kyle had escorted Cassandra to the arena grounds after Victini had met up with her once again. Despite all that had happened on this cruise and how it had changed her, she was looking forward to her battle with Jon, win or lose. While he was willing to risk all on the Zoroark ploy, to her, it didn’t feel right playing another game of deception with people.

As she walked into the arena, while there were some cheers, but also some booing in the crowd. Cassandra knew they had probably read some of the articles about her and her friends that were posted earlier that morning. She still decided to smile and wave, knowing they were here to see a real battle, not an act. Though she knew there were going to be many out there that hated her now or felt she had no business being a trainer, she decided to at least have this one last battle before the final lifetime ban was enacted.

Upon arriving in the arena, Cassandra had looked to Jon and smiled.

“Good luck to you, Jon,” she smiled. “Things may be different, but I’m not going to make this easy!”

She had then sent out Hatterene, and Jon had deployed his Nidoking. After attacking with Poison Jab, Cassandra’s Hatterene had not been able to take the blow well, causing Cassandra to wonder if she should already consider withdrawing her for one of her other Pokémon. She decided to keep her in the game, telling her to use a Psychic attack, which Nidoking had had painfully endured before a powerful reprisal attack with Earth Power. Hatterene had been thrown off her feet, left face-down on the arena floor, followed by the referee declaring Hatterene had been defeated.

Prior to this battle, Cassandra was almost never behind her adversary, and the audience didn’t seem to be impressed with this “new look” for Cassandra, even if she was coming out clean. Still, it wasn’t over yet.

Cassandra had then deployed her Espeon, relying on a second Psychic attack from the lavender-colored cat-like Pokémon. The telekinetic force was powerful against the hulking juggernaut drill Pokémon, which was enough to bring him down and get her back on level with Jon’s team. Jon had then deployed Scizor, and it was already another moment of concern for Cassandra as she knew there was nothing in Espeon’s arsenal that could take advantage of Scizor’s one and only weakness to fire.

After Scizor had used Double Team to make itself even more difficult to strike, Cassandra suspected Jon’s Baton Pass strategy was now being deployed, attempting to take advantage of Espeon’s lack of strength over Scizor. Cassandra had decided to withdraw Espeon to use Victini instead, hoping now that she had fire power on her side, Victini could make short work of Scizor and get ahead. In the meantime, Scizor had empowered itself even further with Swords Dance. Cassandra knew she couldn’t allow this to escalate, urging Victini to use a Flame Charge attack and hope it would hit the true Scizor and not one of the illusionary copies.

The attempt, however, had failed, and where Victini thought he would strike hard against the authentic Scizor, he hit nothing but an illusion. And instead of connecting, the attempt backfired as Scizor struck Victini from above with a Brutal Swing attack, resulting in a horrifying cracking sound.

Virtually everyone in the arena was shocked to see Victini go down crashing, never expecting the mythical Pokémon of victory go down so easily. Cassandra was horrified at the sight, while many members of the audience had become gravely disappointed.

“Victini is unable to battle, victory goes to Scizor!” the referee had called out.

Amidst all the booing, Cassandra had recalled Victini, feeling bad that she knew going out like that in the final round was going to do a lot of damage to Victini’s spirit and he might never forgive himself for it.

“Ah Victini, don’t worry about it,” she told him as she spoke to his Pokéball. “You still did an awesome job out there! You tried your best, that’s all that matters.”

Now, however, her shoulder felt cold, empty, and vacant without his cheerful and optimistic company. Meanwhile, many in the audience had become outright disgusted with Cassandra and how far she had fallen behind Jon, especially after losing her flagship Pokémon so easily. Where before there were doubts about the authenticity of her performance, some people were willing to give her a chance despite the accusations. Now, however, the supporters she had left were rapidly losing their faith and morale with supporting her.

Cassandra did her best to try and focus on the battle and not on the jeers and slurs that were being thrown out. Since she had already deployed Espeon, she was forced to have to bring her out a second time, and she knew if Jon’s Scizor could take out Victini in one strike, the same could apply to Espeon as well, and she was not looking forward to it.

Still, she decided she wanted to try as hard as she could, though she could admit, she knew why this was happening. Jon’s training was authentic and he came prepared with a tactical and diverse team and a strategy while she only had a smaller, less-diversified team of her favorites that had become too reliant on illegitimate support. Her only regret was she was never going to get the chance to rectify that and rise up from the ashes again. After tonight… it would all be over for her trainer career. For good.

Once Espeon had been summoned again, Cassandra had urged her to use Shadow Ball, realizing it was at least one attack that Espeon could use for some sustainable damage, though she knew it would not be enough to stop him entirely. After launching the Shadow Ball, Jon had ordered Scizor to Baton Pass, but Scizor had taken the blow to its burnt claw before the transition had been made.

It was then that Latios had made his rather jovial appearance, putting on a whimsical performance before the audience, though it seemed to confuse many of them. While Cassandra herself found it a bit comical, she knew it might be a ruse and she still needed to keep her head in the game. With that, she had ordered Espeon to use another Shadow Ball attack, which had caught the eon Pokémon off guard. She felt bad about it, but she was already far behind and it was a very high-stakes final battle. She already knew Latios had inherited Scizor’s empowerment, which was already devastating in addition to Latios being a powerful legendary Pokémon as well.

Latios had become invisible, although Espeon was able to detect this and still sense his location and presence despite not being visible to the naked eye. With limited options for damage, Cassandra called for another Shadow Ball, though its failure to connect was giving signs that she had become too reliant on the same pattern of attack, despite it directly attempting to strike at Latios’s weakness.

Latios had then attempted to strike at Espeon with an Outrage attack, which Cassandra knew would be painful if she didn’t come up with a response. Calling for a Reflect, Espeon put up a shield barrier just before Latios made contact, allowing Espeon to resist some of the damage. Now, Latios was locked into this frenzy, which Cassandra was hoping to take advantage of. Still, upon the second assault, despite the Reflect barrier, Espeon had been struck off her feet and just barely managed to land with only a stumble, but she was now running on fumes.

While Espeon hadn’t been struck unconscious, she appeared to be weak and exhausted. Some trainers might have decided to try and carry on despite the risk, but Cassandra felt it wouldn’t be right to do that to Espeon. The next blow might be something she’d never recover from, and it could become something Cassandra would have to live with over pride. She felt her Pokémon were far more important…

“Call it,” she told the referee.

He nodded, and then raised a white flag into the air.

“Espeon is unable to battle, victory goes to Latios, making Jon Drake the winner of the first Pokémon High Seas Tournament!” the referee shouted, his voice carried to the loud speakers.

The outcome of the battle had been a surprise to many. There was a sudden abrupt fanfare with cheering, confetti, loud horn noise, and falling balloons for Jon’s victory. And while this was the ultimate end for Cassandra’s career, at this point, in her heart, it didn’t matter. Instead, she just wanted to spend some time with her Pokémon as he knelt down by Espeon’s side, even while some members of the audience were shouting slurs at her.

“Es-pee…” (“I’m sorry, I wish I could have kept going…”) she muttered, looking very tired.

“It’s quite alright, you did a wonderful job out there,” Cassandra told her with a smile, easing the tension by stroking her back. “All of you were up against a lot this whole tournament, but I’m proud of each of you.”

“Esp-e…” (“Thank you…”) Espeon nodded with a tired smile.

Cassandra had returned Espeon to her Pokémon, and tried hard to be optimistic and in strong spirits despite what had just transpired. But after closing her eyes, she accepted Jon was the better trainer. Unlike her, he had done the right thing from the beginning, and she knew where she went wrong. Her only regret was knowing she’d never have the chance to correct that and try to reach the top again. Still, she was thankful for this last battle, as the League could have easily stripped her of this and Avery never would have been questioned if they had decided they would rather have Cassandra disqualified after what had been discovered about her. Still, to her, she counted her blessings that she was able to have this final, meaningful battle with Jon, and she was willing to accept he was the better trainer. To have the Zoroark ploy take the place of this… it just wouldn’t have felt right to her in the end.

“You put up a heck of a fight, Jon,” Cassandra smiled to him, ignoring the slurs and criticism that were being shouted at her. “Both with your fists and with your Pokémon. Many congratulations on your victory, and thanks for giving me this opportunity and allowing this to happen.”

“All the best out there,” Cassandra told him, shaking his hand. “You’re both a great battler and a great teacher.”

After that, she headed toward the arena exit. In those final moments in the stadium, while there were some people in the stands that insulted her, ridiculed her, and tossed jeers at her for tonight’s defeat and the controversies surrounding her careers, there were a few that still cheered her on. Cassandra wasn’t sure if they knew the truth, accepted it, and understood tonight’s defeat was due to the fact she had to come clean, but she knew deep inside, those were the ones she did it for.

She smiled and waved to them giving a supporting salute, up until every last step had been taken before she approached the exit and stepped inside. Kyle had been there to take her back to Jarena and Violet, and still, despite the defeat, despite the insults, Cassandra still felt content.

She never had any regrets about her decision that night, even despite how things had turned out. To her, it felt like these were the way things were meant to be.

---

The Diamond Ladies
Solarium
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster @Desolate Divine @Noblejanobii @Shruikan @SlickSlack

After getting her Pokémon healed, Cassandra had met up with Jarena and Violet, and they had already seen the outcome of the final battle and now the victory celebrations were being held for Jon Drake and his team. Based on Cassandra’s recommendation, they had decided to head up to the Solarium on the top level above the stadium, just for some quiet time and to have a nice view of the night sky as the S.S. Wishmaker was preparing to dock in Castelia City. They had already been informed by Sami and Kyle that the captain had announced they would be approaching port, marking the end of a cruise that had a profound but positive impact on their lives.

“Vic-tiiii!” (“I’m so sorry!”) Victini cried. “Vic-tinini!” (“I don’t even know what happened, I just woke up and found out we lost!”)

“Victini, it’s okay,” Cassandra smiled to him as she sat on one of the recliners. “Things like that happen. I know it’s harder now that battles and things have been different for all of us.”

He nodded, but he still didn’t feel that great about it. He had also known that this had been Cassandra’s last and final battle, and now their lifetime ban would be instated. Already, the confirmation about the Shadowcraft cheating and the confession was circulating around, and the pieces were coming together to anyone who had doubts about the Diamond Ladies. The three of them knew that as soon as they stepped off that ship, the respect they once had everywhere they went would never be the same.

Jarena, unable to hold back looking at how other people were reacting online and through social media, had seen reactions to tonight’s battle were already looking very grim. Jon’s victory was already circulating around and an ugly smear campaign was being laid on the three of them, but especially Cassandra. It was everything they had dreaded, but somehow, even though the nightmare was really becoming true, Jarena felt like somehow she was tolerating it to some degree. At least for now.

“I still enjoyed the trip, even though… it got hectic toward the end there,” Jarena told Cassandra and Violet. “I mean, sure, there were some times that sucked, but you know, there were some cool moments as well.”

“It was a wake-up call we needed,” Cassandra nodded in agreement. “Thinking about what I was like when I first stepped on this ship… I was a brat. A lying, cheating, over-privileged, egotistical brat. I think what happened these past two days… happened for a reason.”

“It’ll never be the same after this,” Violet told them, looking up at the stars. “It’ll be bad in some ways, better in others. It’ll mean changes, but we’ll figure something out.”

And that was when a sudden announcement on the loud speaker had called out to all guests on the ship.

Attention all guests of the S.S. Wishmaker, this is your captain speaking! We have arrived at Castelia City Port, Unova! At this time, we ask you to please collect your baggage, personal belongings, and Pokémon to make your way to disembark the ship. Gift shops and stores in the Royal Prominade will be open for one more hour for any final purchases before you leave the vessel. Thank you for joining us on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Wishmaker and we hope to see you again with us soon! I would also like to congratulate Jon Drake on his prestigious victory in the first Pokémon High Seas Tournamement! All the best to all of you!

Before, there were times when Cassandra couldn’t wait to get off the ship, and now here they were, finally at the end of this life-changing voyage. She looked around her, and she couldn’t help but get the feeling that despite the captain’s words, this would be the last time she ever saw this place. And certain things came back to her, playing with Jirachi, that moment of victory in her battle with Avery as her meaningful legitimate win, and even the moment of her confessing, finally coming to terms that she needed to change and move on. She would not forget the pleasures and pains, but in the end, they had made her a better person, even if the world didn’t see it that way.

“Guess we’d better get going,” Jarena spoke up as she stood out of her beach chair, looking up at the stars one last time before turning toward Sami. “Think you can help us to Safe House LZ again? All our stuff is there and yeah, we’d like our Pokémon back now.”

“No problem, I can take care of that,” Sami agreed. “I’ll talk to the Champs, they’ll come up with an arrangement to make sure you get them back before you leave or they’ll have someone waiting on the docks. I’ll ask how they want to handle this.”

“Sounds good,” Violet agreed. “Hell of a trip this was.”

(OOC: I plan on making only one more post for the Ladies after this (besides the final epilogue post for them), so if you want to interact with them one last time before they get off the ship, this is your chance!)