The Eon Academy [S.S. Wishmaker Side-Story]

[[Desolate Divine]]

Spiritwater Episode 1: Reunions

Spoiler:

“It’s two in the afternoon,” Jon said, his patience wearing thin…

Latios cried out in objection.

“It’s five o’clock in Kanto…” Jon understood Latios to be saying. “Time is a construct to control the masses…”

“Since when were you so anti-establishment?” Jon asked, knowing the answer. “I never knew you to stick it to the man?”

“I’ll stick it to the man when he tells me I can’t have a beer…” Latios replied verbally, Jon understanding thanks to his stint as an Altaria, three and a half years earlier.

It was Tuesday May 25th, 2021, with the Eon Academy’s summer program due to start in a week. Abbee had arrived at the Eon Academy a few days before, having gotten more paid leave from Elesa’s gym in Nimbasa City than she was expecting, and decided to come a week earlier. Whilst she had told Jon it was to see him and Alyssa, Jon knew they made up ten percent of her reason for coming early, with the other ninety percent being in the stadium with her, training.

Jon had seen Charlotte over New Years Eve, after she had competed in a tournament in Rustboro City two weeks earlier. She had stayed at the Academy with Jon, Alyssa, Amelia and Dylan for a few days before heading out to her next destination. Whilst Jon hadn’t seen Justin since they parted ways in Jubilife City the September before, they had kept in contact, and like Charlotte, Jon was expecting Justin to arrive on Saturday.

Chris however was a different story. Whilst Charlotte mentioned she had battled against him at the tournament in Rustboro, and had beaten him, Jon hadn’t heard from Chris since they parted ways at Jubilife Airport the summer before. Jon had attempted to get in touch with Chris in the nine or so months since, however Chris had been avoiding Jon’s calls, and ignoring his messages. Dylan and Abbee had seen him last November, however that meeting went poorly, with Chris, having just turned eighteen, drinking too much, and saying things that Jon couldn’t convince Dylan to repeat.

Despite the rift between them, Jon still held out hope that he might hear from Chris in the next week, wanting to come back, however knew he was probably setting himself up to be disappointed.

Jon sat in the kitchen, with Latios hovering outside, his head through the open window. He had been asking Jon for a beer, citing the heat, and how refreshing it would be, with Jon refusing, on the basis of it being barely two in the afternoon on a Tuesday. On the small dining table in front of Jon sat a PVC card printer, hooked up to a laptop. With the summer program beginning Sunday, and a hundred and fifty people signed up for it, he wanted to be ready with all the ID cards that would double as keycards for the Eon Academy buildings, so had set aside the afternoon. Alyssa was at work in Lilycove, and Amelia was with Abbee and Dylan, watching their training session with Victini and Darkrai. Whilst Jon originally thought Darkrai may scare Amelia, she seemed to have an innate curiosity surrounding any and all things Pokemon, and Jon was yet to find one that she was more scared than curious of. Sure enough, she saw Darkrai, and was entranced by it.

Now, Jon had what should have been his first afternoon free of distraction to get this task done, but there was a distraction he should have foreseen. Latios…

“What if I have one now, but don’t have one tonight with dinner?” Latios said . Jon scoffed.

“You really think you will be content not having a beer with dinner?” Jon asked, not convinced.

“Let’s find out…”

“Latios, I love you, really…” Jon said. “But keep this up, and I’ll put you in your Pokeball, and next time I let you out, it will be in rehab…”

“You honestly think rehab could keep me?” Latios retorted, though Jon had enough.

“Goodbye Latios,” Jon said as he pressed the button on Latios’ Pokeball. “Enjoy rehab…”

Whilst Jon didn’t want Latios drinking any more than he did, he knew that Latios didn’t care as much about having an afternoon beer as he made out. Really, Latios was bored, and pestering Jon for a beer and arguing with him about it made for good entertainment. Not for the first time, Jon considered it might be time to start competing again, for Latios’ sake. Whilst Latios and all his Pokemon were kept busy during summers, outside of their weekly training session with Steven, and the odd session with Dylan, they were growing a little restless. That however, was a decision to make after summer was over, and this summer's participants had all gone home…

The next half hour, Jon spent changing the ID card template with information and photos of those attending the Eon Academy’s summer program. The first he made were the five for his interns, Chris included, a mark of Jon’s hope that Chris would come back. The rest were all the campers coming. He changed the photo, adjusted the name and date of birth, before double checking them against the registration form, and finally printing it. Each card took approximately two minutes when he was in the rhythm of the task, and he had over a hundred and fifty to make, expecting this to take five hours.

Search Trainer ID.

Copy Image.

Paste Image.

Change Name.

Change Date of Birth.

Proofread.

Print.


Search next trainer ID while card is printing.

Repeat.

The task was monotonous. The sort Jon hated, but knew he needed to complete before students arrived. He forced himself not to tune out of the task, knowing that’s when mistakes would be made. However, it was inevitable that he would eventually begin to get caught up in his own thoughts, and forget the name he printed on the last card he had produced. He was pulled from his thoughts however, by the sound of the front door opening…

His first thought was that Dylan and Abbee had returned, however they both knew during the day, the back door that led into the kitchen was unlocked, and came through there by default. He quickly stood, readying Scizor’s Pokeball, with Scizor being the Pokemon best suited to fighting in close quarters without destroying his house.

He stood by the doorway into the main hall, quickly poking his head around the corner. The door was ajar, ringing alarm bells in Jon’s mind. The front door was normally locked, and Alyssa’s last message had been an hour ago from work. Even if she left early, it was a two hour ferry trip back to Mossdeep. One she only made once a fortnight.

Jon crept through the hallway, looking at the door, before looking out, to where he and Dylan’s cars were parked. Alyssa’s wasn’t there. He closed the door, locking it, before hearing the sound of something moving in the lounge. He darted into the lounge, to see it empty. However something wasn’t right. It took him a moment to see it. One of the cushions from the couch had been pulled off, and left on the floor by Amelia that morning while she watched TV. It remained on the floor, however with a small smear of dirt across it, as if something like a dirty boot rubbed against it as the wearer walked past, very recently.

The lounge was connected by a doorway to the kitchen, which was a cosy room. A bench jutted out into the room itself, dividing it into a dining area and food preparation area, and Jon could hear something moving behind the island. Something big.

“I know you’re hiding there,” Jon called out the person he imagined hiding behind the island. The sound of movement stopped, as whoever hid behind the bench stopped moving. “Come out now, or I get my Scizor to play bouncer…”

“One…” Jon called out, using the same tactic he did with Amelia when she wouldn’t go to bed. “Two…”

There was the sound of movement again, and Jon readied Scizor’s Pokeball, half expecting someone to be attempting a surprise attack. However he was shocked when no person emerged from behind the counter. Instead of one big form, it was three smaller forms. An Eevee, a Furret, and a Buneary…

Jon’s eyes widened as he realised who he was looking at.

“Were you seriously going to set Scizor on us?” the Eevee said, sounding far from impressed. “I still hurt when I remember what it did to Victini…”

“I thought I had some psycho creeping around my house!” Jon said, though the answer wasn’t satisfactory.

“We had to make sure you were alone in here,” the Furret interjected. “Cass recognized your car, but not the other one, and didn’t think it would be Alyssa’s…”

“Nobody else is in the house,” Jon said. “But why are you here?”

“Hello to you too,” the Buneary retorted indignantly. “It’s only been four years, most of that with no contact! We could have been dead for all you knew, and we don’t even get a stinking hello?”

“Where was your hello?” Jon asked, and the Buneary was silent…

“Well… We were trying to be inconspicuous until we knew there weren’t any strangers in here…” the Buneary tried to explain, though the Eevee was growing impatient.

“Jarena, now isn’t the time,” the Eevee said. “Can we talk somewhere, where we won’t be interrupted?”

Jon nodded, gesturing towards the lounge.

“Nobody else will be here for at least another hour,” Jon said. “We’ll talk in the lounge…”

Unsure of what these Pokemon ate in their day to day lives, Jon got a bowl of water, as well as some fruit, placing it on the coffee table, and the trio of Pokemon jumped up. Jon watched in disbelief as the three of them quickly had something to eat and drink, Jon knowing they had travelled a long way.

Whilst Jon figured this Tuesday in particular would be mundane and ordinary, he never would have predicted he’d be visited out of nowhere by Cassandra, Violet and Jarena, the presumed dead, former Diamond Ladies…

When they seemed content, Jon spoke.

“So why are you here?” Jon asked. “When Cass helped me with Rayquaza, she made it abundantly clear you guys were happy being Pokemon…”

“We are,” Violet answered. “But something happened, and it doesn’t look good…”

Jon’s brow furrowed. If something happened that was enough to draw Cassandra, Violet and Jarena out of hiding all the way to Mossdeep, he figured it doesn’t look good was going to be an understatement…

“Two weeks ago, we all had this dream,” Cassandra explained. “The same dream, at the same time…”

“It was of Agatha, the former Elite Four member…” Jarena continued.

“Agatha?” Jon asked. “The one who was forced to retire because of her age? Right after the S.S. Wishmaker incident?”

“That’s her,” Violet answered. “The ghost specialist…”

“But it turns out, she is a specialist in more than just ghosts,” Cassandra explained. “It takes powerful shadowcraft to make a vision like that, which can reach as far as hers did, or as many people…”

“Wait, you weren’t the only ones?” Jon asked, confused where this was going. Jarena nodded.

“The vision was a call to rally for all shadowcraft users…” Jarena explained. “At the end of June, to meet on Akala Island in Alola for the Spiritwater Festival.”

Jon had heard of the Spiritwater Festival only recently. As a former High Seas Champion, especially one who had achieved as much as he had since, he was offered complimentary tickets to this year's High Seas Tournament, which would end this year with the S.S. Wishmaker docking on Akala Island, for the Spiritwater Festival.

“Why does she want to gather so many of you?” Jon asked, and Violet answered, her tone far from optimistic.

“She promised to strengthen them in their power and knowledge of Shadowcraft,” Violet answered. “The thing is, if fulfilling that promise wasn’t going to come at some sort of cost, I doubt she would have used such an indirect way to reach out…”

Violet was right. Shadowcraft, whilst socially a taboo, was not illegal in and of itself, and had grown in popularity the last few years. Using it to harm someone was no more illegal than simple assault, just as using it to cheat in tournaments like the Diamond Ladies had, was simply just fraud in itself. The only difference the revelation of it made, was that people now knew it existed and could actually be aware of the effect it may have.

“And if she is using the promise of power to draw them in,” Cassandra said. “She will be attracting the worst kinds of Shadowcraft wielders…”

Jon nodded in agreement. Agatha was up to something nefarious. He had little doubt of that. He looked to his unexpected visitors.

“I’ll inform Steven, and make sure he keeps your involvement out of it,” Jon said. “He can mobilise the League, and they can handle this…”

Jon looked around the house, before speaking again.

“You’re welcome to stay here and recover from the trip before you head back to Johto,” Jon explained. “Though there’ll be a hundred and fifty teenagers on the property as of Sunday, which could make it hard to remain inconspicuous in.

There was silence between the three Pokemon, before Cassandra spoke.

“Jon, I don’t think you understand. We have a really bad feeling about this,” Cassandra explained. “This isn’t looking like it’s gonna be a few people made dizzy, or turned into Pokemon. I think that this is going to be a war…”

Jon’s eyes widened a little hearing that. She was right, he had mistaken the severity of it, seeing it as the three of them offering a tip off for a potential witch problem as their due diligence, before being on their way, back to their lives as Pokemon. Any doubt in the severity of the situation Jon may have had, disappeared, when Cassandra asked her next question.

“Do you still have our DNA samples?”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Steven’s on his way here now…” Jon said, as he entered the lounge, where the former Diamond Ladies, now in their reverted human forms, sat, seeming to be unused to being human again.

“So you never told us where you got our old clothes…” Violet said, while Jarena put a hairbrush through her somewhat matted hair, and Jon couldn’t help but grin. However, before he could answer, Cassandra cut him off.

“Don’t ask…” Cassandra said, her voice showing how much she meant it. “You don’t want to know… Trust me…”

Jarena looked between Violet, Cassandra and Jon, trying to figure out how Jon got them, before realising she probably should take Cassandra’s word for it. She shrugged, as she continued brushing her brunette hair.

“So where’s Alyssa?” Violet asked.

“At work,” Jon explained. “She takes the ferry into Lilycove one day a fortnight, and works from home the rest of the time so she can keep an eye on Lili…”

At the reference to Lili, Jon saw blank stares from all three, before realising.

“S**t, I haven’t seen you guys since before Lili was born,” Jon said, before clarifying. “My daughter. Amelia. She just turned three…”

“I guess we’re a little late in offering congratulations…” Jarena said with a weak smile. “Is she with Alyssa?”

“No, she’s with Dylan and Abbee,” Jon began before realising he was making the same mistake. “Two of my interns. They’re in the stadium training…”

Hearing this, Jon realised there was another miscommunication, as all three of his guest’s eyes widened.

“You said that there was nobody else here?” Violet said, her tone suspicious.

“Yeah, nobody else in the house…” Jon clarified. “Abbee, Dylan and Lili are all in the stadium. They’ll be coming back soon…”

“Jon, we can’t be seen by your workers…” Cassandra said, shocked at how seemingly careless Jon was being.

“They’re not just my workers, they’ve been my students from day one. I trust them with my life…”

“You trust them,” Violet corrected. “We don’t know them…”

“You can trust them,” Jon said, his tone leaving it not up for discussion. “Two years ago, I was off the island and Abbee, Dylan, and the other three interns, who I trust just as much as them, were keeping the place running while I had to go to Slateport. The one weekend I was gone, and a Legendary Pokemon attacked the island, nearly wiping it out. The five of them kept it at bay and caught it-”

“Sure, they’re talented, but that doesn’t mean they won’t tell anyone about us being here!” Jarena objected.

“The five of them kept it at bay and caught it, while Dylan kept Rayquaza in its Pokeball,” Jon explained. “He is my second in charge here, and he knows everything about Rayquaza. When Deoxys attacked the island, Alyssa gave him Rayquaza’s Pokeball, and told him he was in charge of the evacuation. Dylan led the others to fight tooth and nail to beat and catch this Pokemon, refusing to use Rayquaza until he had absolutely no other choice, because he knew Rayquaza needed to be kept a secret for my sake. And he succeeded…”

Cassandra couldn’t help but take Jon’s word for it, hearing that. His tone left no room for mistaking just how dangerous the situation was, and Dylan had kept Jon’s secret even in the face of that.

“Fine, Dylan seems trustworthy. I can’t argue with that…” Cassandra said. “What about the other one?”

“Abbee?” Jon asked. “Well she has been Victini’s trainer for nearly three years, so if you can’t take my word for it that she can be trusted, take his…”

Cassandra’s eyes widened at Jon’s revelation. Not the fact that Victini had found another trainer, but something even simpler.

“Victini is here?”

Jon nodded.

“In the stadium…” Jon explained. “I was that surprised to have you three show up and tell me Agatha is bringing about the apocalypse, that it slipped my mind…”

Cassandra leapt to her feet, before darting for the door.

“Cass wait!” Violet called out, to no avail, before following her. Jarena glanced at Jon, shrugging before following after the pair.

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Victini, V-Create!”

Cassandra heard the unfamiliar voice, as she stepped into the doorway of the stadium. On one side stood a girl who looked to be eighteen, with straight, black hair that hung to just below her shoulders, and determined green eyes. Opposite her stood a guy in his early twenties, who was tall and well built, with shaggy brown hair, standing behind a Pokemon she had never seen before.

Victini cried out, before encasing itself in a crown of flames, and rocketing towards the Pokemon, and Cassandra was proud to see the flames burning much more fiercely than when she had battled alongside Victini on the S.S. Wishmaker.

Standing behind the girl that Cassandra presumed to be Abbee, holding on to her jeans, was a toddler, with shoulder length fair hair, and curious eyes, grey like Jon’s. She watched Victini in awe, however seemed to notice before anyone else that they had company. She tugged at Abbee’s jeans, causing her to look down, then towards the entrance where Cassandra, Violet, and Jarena watched.

“Can I help you?” Abbee asked, her voice friendly, although somewhat suspicious of the three. They didn't blame her. Dylan looked over, and the Diamond Ladies could see in both trainers, a sense of recognition that was moments away from registering to them. Before that however, Victini looked over, his eyes widening immensely, before beginning to tear up.

“Cass?!” he called out verbally, neither Dylan nor Abbee understanding, before darting towards them. Cassandra stepped forward, kneeling down to meet Victini at ground level, and it wasn’t until then that Abbee and Dylan realised who had just entered the stadium…

“Holy s**t…” Abbee muttered, before realising Amelia was listening, and wincing at her loss of composure. She walked towards the visitors, Dylan joining her, as Victini enjoyed his tearful reunion with his former trainer.

“What are you doing here?” Victini asked. “All of you? Why aren’t you in Johto? And why are you all human?”

“Something came up, and we wanted to let Jon know,” Cassandra said to Victini. “We’ve been here for nearly an hour and Jon only just told us you were here…”

Abbee arrived to hear Cassandra’s last words, before speaking herself.

“Miss Silvers?” Abbee asked, wanting to confirm what she was already near certain of. Cassandra looked up, seeing Abbee, with Amelia behind her, still clutching at her jeans. Whilst Amelia was curiously confident around Pokemon, she was a little on the timid side with people she didn’t know.

“Cassandra,” Cassandra replied, cringing a little as she was reminded of her Miss Silvers outburst on the S.S. Wishmaker that was hardly her first. “I take it you’re Abbee?”

Abbee nodded, unsure of how to respond. Based on what she had heard of Cassandra from Jon and Victini, she knew Cassandra had not been planning on becoming human again. And given what she had just said, about something coming up and wanting to let Jon know, she didn’t have a good feeling. Though, the more she thought about it she wasn’t sure if that not-so-good feeling was what she was telling herself it was, or something else. She looked at Victini, who looked up at Cassandra in ecstatic disbelief, and felt a pang of jealousy, before a wave of guilt at said jealousy.

“Thanks for taking such good care of Victini,” Cassandra said. “I know he can be a bit of a handful…”

“So he was a fiend for ice-cream when you had him?” Abbee joked, trying to mask her feelings, and earning a grin from Cassandra. “And chose to ignore polite boundaries when it came to his telepathy?”

“Ice-cream, definitely. He’d have eaten himself into a diabetic coma if I had no say in the matter,” Cassandra explained. “But he wasn’t overly chatty with other people when we were together. He tended to keep to himself a little more, though it has probably been good for him, being around more trainers and Pokemon…”

”He is right here…” Victini chimed in, this time telepathically to include Abbee and Dylan in the conversation, a little indignant that he was the subject of a conversation that he wasn’t necessarily a part of, when he was present.

“The adults are talking Victini,” Dylan said patronisingly, though Victini knew that it was all in jest. Dylan looked from Victini to their surprise visitors. “I’m Dylan. What’s come up that’s brought you out of hiding?”

Violet went to answer, however Jarena nudged her quickly before nodding to the toddler who hid behind Abbee, who she presumed to be Amelia, Jon’s daughter.

“Maybe don’t bring up a potential apocalypse in front of her…” Jarena said quietly, and Violet realised she was right, before nodding.

“We just filled Jon in, and Steven is on his way here,” Violet explained. “Maybe we should discuss it at the house…”

Cassandra looked somewhat uneasily at Violet, not sure that Dylan and Abbee should know everything, however Violet disregarded it. Fact was that whilst Steven had proven himself to be trustworthy after the incident with Rayquaza, both in his keeping their existence a secret, but also working to protect the Starglade, which had made their roles notably easier since, they had intentionally come to Jon first for a reason. And if things played out the way they wanted, Abbee and Dylan, as well as Jon’s other workers, may be running the summer program without him…

Dylan, having seen the exchange between Violet and Jarena, understood why, and led the way back towards the house. Abbee was the last to leave, watching Victini walk alongside Cassandra, speaking verbally, which she knew Cassandra could understand, but not herself.

“Why is Victini with her?” said a small voice from next to her.

Abbee looked down to see Amelia looking at the pair as they walked away.

“She was friends with Victini before you were born,” Abbee explained. “He hasn’t seen her in a while, and is just happy to see her again…”

She held out her hand for Amelia to grab onto, before joining the group that were walking towards the stadium entry, though found herself not necessarily believing what she had just said herself….

************************************************** ************************************************** *****
“Jon has filled me in,” Steven said, as the seven adults sat on various couches and chairs in the now cramped lounge of Jon and Alyssa’s house. Victini sat on the coffee table, whilst Latios kept Amelia company in another room, telepathically linked to Jon, so Latios himself could be a part of the conversation, and Jon could see Amelia through his sight sharing. Whilst Jon was now used to the phenomenon enough that he could see through Latios’ eyes whilst retaining his own sense of sight, he did this by not letting his focus be drawn to either vision, resulting in a few instances of him seeming to be staring into space, or staring dumbfounded directly at someone, until he explained himself.

“I’m glad you have let us know,” Steven continued. “Agatha didn’t take it well when she was stood down. Especially since she was hoping to take Lance’s place as Indigo Champion after his arrest. Had we known she was capable of using Shadowcraft, we would have kept a closer eye on her, given her bitterness about retiring…”

Cassandra nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, everything about this makes my skin crawl,” Cassandra answered. “I know we caused enough problems, only having known how to use Shadowcraft for less than a decade. But I get the feeling if Agatha hasn’t been caught, she isn’t a novice. Chances are she has been practising Shadowcraft for decades…”

Steven nodded gravely, as Violet interjected.

“So what happens next?” Violet asked. Of the three, she was the most forward thinking, albeit that came from a slight pessimism and years in the spotlight spent looking over her shoulder. Whilst Jarena was more likely to consider how things were at present, and Cassandra would consider more how they got to where they were, Violet tended to focus more on ’what next?’

“I’ll reach out to Cynthia, as well as my superiors in the Hoenn Government, while Cynthia does the same in Sinnoh. I’ll also get support from the Kanto and Johto Governments, since Agatha was a member of their Elite Four, and the Alolan Government, since this is happening under their noses,” Steven answered. “From there, we will begin an operation, similar to the one that we launched into you three…”

“Minus Lance,” Cassandra said, though there was no hint of a question. Steven nodded in agreement.

“Minus Lance…” Steven agreed. “I’ll call on a few people from the S.S. Wishmaker, as well as some contacts I have made since…”

“Anyone we know?” Jarena asked Steven, and he nodded.

“Jimmy Kendo and Avery Miller,” Steven said, though noticed a concerned look cross Jon’s face.

“I don’t know that that would be a good idea…” Jon interjected. “After things got thrown into disarray with Lance leaking information to the media, and we finally seemed like we just needed to get through the cruise, Jirachi almost made everything worse…”

“Jirachi was young,” Jarena said, a little irritated that Jon still held suspicions against the Pokemon. “And don’t forget, Latios left more holes in the ship than there were days at sea…”

“Latios followed my orders to the letter. I was the one who told him to get your backpacks after you turned each other into Pokemon, no matter what it took…” Jon said evenly. “If you’re going to blame anyone for the holes in the ship, blame me…”

Cassandra shifted uncomfortably hearing the disagreement between Jon and Jarena. Whilst she did like Jirachi, she also respected Jon, especially after their trip to Sky Pillar years earlier. She was thankful when Steven ended this discussion, his tone indicating this wasn’t up for debate.

“Jimmy Kendo has been an operative for us on numerous other operations over the last four years, with Jirachi being one of the key tools at his disposal,” Steven explained. “Jirachi is still a little immature, however follows Jimmy’s orders…”

“Look, it’s your call whether to include them in this. You know where I stand,” Jon explained. “I’m not going to bulls**t myself by trying to think I can change your mind. But if anything bad happens at Jirachi’s hands, it’s your responsibility.”

“Same goes for if something good happens,” Steven retorted. Jon shrugged.

“You think I’m that childish to not give you credit where credit’s due?” Jon joked. Steven shrugged it off, and the banter was cut short by Dylan interjecting.

“You said no to approaching Avery Miller,” Dylan noted. “I thought you held a lot of respect for them…”

“I do,” Jon said. “And if this were a month earlier or later, I’d be saying call them…”

“Why not now?” Violet asked, wondering why Jon was against asking Avery.

“They’re getting married the weekend before the S.S. Wishmaker departs, and it seems like all of this s**t Agatha has planned will come to fruition during the Spiritwater Festival the week after,” Jon explained. “You really want to call on Avery and tell them to postpone their wedding?”

“No…” Cassandra said in agreement. “Let them have this…”

Jon nodded, as Violet continued.

“Okay, so we have us three incognito of course, Jimmy and Jirachi, and Jon…” Violet said, more so to process the information herself, however to everyone’s surprise, Jon shook his head.

“Jon, surely you’ll come to Alola?” Steven asked, struggling to hide the shock in his voice.

“You can’t seriously be sitting this out to run a summer camp,” Violet added. “This could be apocalypse level s**t going down! Let Dylan, Abbee and the others run camp!”

“It’s not that,” Jon answered. “Think about it. It’s common knowledge I was involved in the investigation into you three. I revealed that, when I said on TV that you three had earned my respect, and part of that was because I said that the S.S. Wishmaker was my last operation…”

“That was before we knew about Agatha…” Cassandra answered, disappointed in Jon for refusing. Jon shook his head.

“Every summer since the S.S. Wishmaker, I have run the program here, and it’s been quite public. Now, Agatha has just gone and sent out an open invite to all Shadowcraft users to meet her on Akala Island,” Jon said, as Steven realised where Jon was going. “Now out of nowhere, Steven and Cynthia, two of the most famous people in the world, will happen to be on Akala Island for when Agatha’s little party begins, and for the first time, I have not attended my own summer program in order to be there as well. Three famous trainers, all involved in a previous sting, happen to show up where Agatha has something planned…”

“You’re not wrong…” Steven said with a sigh. “If you do go, it could tip her off that we know she is planning something and are investigating her…”

Cassandra realised that Jon was right. If he stayed in Mossdeep as if nothing were happening, it would help their chances of being undiscovered in Alola.

“I want to be there, really,” Jon said. “If something big happens, and I didn’t do anything to stop it, I’d hate myself for it. But I also know that me being there in the front line puts you four, and any other operatives at risk.”

“What if you were to not be in the front line?”

Jon looked at Steven, puzzled by his question.

“I’m a battler. If we are going up against a former Elite Four member, my talents are best suited in the front line…” Jon answered, though Steven shook his head.

“On the S.S. Wishmaker, you weren’t in the front line until these guys slipped up and turned themselves into Pokemon. You had Latios tail them and figure out that they were using Shadowcraft, then had Latios grab their belongings, all while you were in the arena, supposedly training for that evening. After that, you were in the front line,” Steven explained. “Let’s say I give you a squad to oversee. A mixture of more covert operatives, as well as some who are more suited to battling. You remain anonymous until the endgame, giving orders and planning ahead like you did on the S.S. Wishmaker, then surfacing, alongside Latios and Rayquaza when secrecy can be damned and we have a fight on our hands…”

“That could work,” Jon said. “But Charlotte, Justin, Abbee and Dylan can’t convince a hundred and fifty kids that I am here with none of them seeing me for a few weeks. Even if we weren’t short an intern. It would get out within a week that I wasn’t at the Academy…”

“Then we cancel the summer program…”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Dylan who suggested it, his expression remaining neutral.

“Wouldn’t that be even more suspicious?” Jarena asked. “Jon cancels the summer program for the first time, a week before it’s due to start, and then decides to take a leisurely trip to Alola?”

“Not if we play our cards right…” Dylan explained. “Let’s say we told everyone that a swarm of Rotom got loose in the property’s electrical grid. Fried everything. Lights, appliances, outlets, the works. Jon can’t safely keep kids on site…”

“A swarm of Rotom?” Cassandra asked, finding the excuse to be a little flimsy.

“Doesn’t have to be that, but effectively the property is damaged to the point where one, it is not safe to run the summer program, and two, it is too expensive and time consuming to fix before students arrive,” Dylan explained, before looking to Jon. “Are the organisers of the High Seas Tournament still pestering you to make a guest appearance? Sending the free tickets and s**t?”

Jon nodded. Whilst he understood Cassandra’s concern, he also knew Dylan well enough to know this plan was worth listening to.

“After the property is damaged, you get in touch with them, and offer to do whatever media appearances on the S.S. Wishmaker they are after, for a large sum of cash, which will be so you can do the repairs to the Academy,” Dylan explained. “It gives you a pretty strong alibi for being away from the Academy. And it means I can come with you…”

“Wait, what?”

“Steven’s giving you a squad made up of people who are good behind the scenes, and those who can handle themselves in a fight…” Dylan explained. “I’m not the best battler by any means, but I can help out behind the scenes, and I am less likely to be recognized than you…”

“And if Dylan and I come with you, it adds to the story of you being there to fund the repairs to the Eon Academy,” Abbee added in, though choosing not to argue Dylan’s statement about his battling prowess. “Surely nobody would suspect you’ve recruited your students to be operatives with you…”

“Surely they wouldn’t, because I’m not,” Jon said to the pair of them. “Agatha is dangerous-”

“All the more reason we should be there to back you up,” Dylan interrupted. “If Charlotte and Justin were here, they’d agree…”

“Jon, they both raise pretty valid points…” Steven noted. “You want people in your squad you can trust? I don’t think you’ll get any better than your interns. And Abbee is right. You going on the S.S. Wishmaker alone will be a little suspicious. But bringing them will add to the cover-up Dylan has proposed…”

“Abbee’s barely eighteen!” Jon protested, Abbee flushing red with the embarrassment of being pointed out to be barely an adult.

“You were barely Dylan’s age when I recruited you…” Steven said calmly. “And both of them are far better trainers than you were at their age…”

Jon couldn’t argue with that. He would happily say all of his interns are stronger now than he was when he took the High Seas Champion title.

“Jon, we could really use you there,” Steven said. “All three of you really, but you especially, and Dylan and Abbee coming will make it easier for you to not draw suspicions…”

Jon was quiet, knowing that Steven was right. All present watched on the edge, when he finally answered.

“Look, I want to come, and you’re right. We can make it work,” Jon said, though didn’t want to get their hopes up. “But I need to speak to Alyssa about all of this. We’ve got Lili now, and this sounds like the most dangerous operation you’ve asked from me to date…”

Steven nodded, content with Jon’s answer. Cassandra however realised something.

“If the three of us are going to Alola, we need to be prepared,” Cassandra said. “Just like you two and Cynthia being in the same place would draw attention, the three of us being seen together will likely draw attention as well…”

“You’re not wrong,” Steven said. “Especially given that it is right around the anniversary of the S.S. Wishmaker incident…”

“You can’t be saying we split up?” Violet asked, and breathed a sigh of relief when Cassandra shook her head.

“We stick together, but that means we gotta cover ourselves completely,” Cassandra said, before looking back towards Steven. “Think you could get us some fake identities?”

“I can arrange that,” Steven answered. “But will that be enough?”

Cassandra shook her head.

“Honestly, we’re in the same boat as Jon. If we’re noticed, it raises a lot of questions. So think of us less as operatives, and more as Shadowcraft advisors,” Cassandra explained. “We will generally stay at HQ, and try to make a point of not leaving the building together. We’ll make our own way to Akala, avoiding the S.S. Wishmaker, and avoiding notice. Fake names and IDs will be enough to convince someone who thinks one of us may be familiar that we aren’t who they think we are.”

“It wouldn’t be enough to prevent the three of us together being noticed,” Violet agreed. “But if I duck out on my own to buy lunch, and the person serving me thinks I’m familiar, I have something to hopefully cover myself…”

“It also means that we don’t have to tell everyone involved in the operation that we’re alive…” Jarena said solemnly. “Other than Dylan and Abbee, nobody new has found out we are alive. The only people who know are everyone in this room, Cynthia, Alyssa and Jimmy…”

“You’ve seen Kendo?” Jon asked, somewhat surprised, and intentionally not telling them that Chris and Charlotte both knew they were alive as well.

“He wandered into the Starglade as a Pikachu, with a head injury,” Cassandra said, before reiterating. “An accidental, self-inflicted head injury. He was struggling to recall anything, so we healed him and he went on his way…”

Jon raised his hands in a placating gesture, knowing Cassandra’s reiteration was to cease any suspicions of Jirachi that Jon may be brewing.

“Point being, that once we have fake IDs, we can remain hidden from the rest of the operatives, and the story can be that we were just trying to do our due diligence, and approached Steven…” Jarena explained. “That way, if we play our cards right, when this is over, we can go back, and not have to worry about word spreading further about us…”

“Beyond individual aliases, a group alias would be beneficial as well,” Steven explained. “For logistical purposes, I think our best bet is to assign you three to your own squad. Very few operatives operate outside of a squad, and if operatives found out the three of you were independent of any squad in this operation, it would raise questions as to why. Jimmy Kendo is a good example, due to Jirachi being a one Pokemon squad himself. If Jon weren’t leading a squad, he’d be an independent as well.”

“So what, we’re going to be our own squad of three?” Violet asked, to which Steven replied with a nod.

“In that case, we’ll figure out our aliases soon, but for this,” Cassandra said, taking charge, like she did in their Diamond Ladies days. “Call us Triad…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

Steven had left not too long after the conception of Triad, knowing that there was little more they could come up with until Steven had made all the calls he needed to make, and Jon had spoken to Alyssa about joining the operation as the commander of his own squad. Eon Squad.

Jon, not having had the chance to do so before the meeting with Steven, went to Amelia’s room, where Latios was keeping her entertained, watching Super Sylveon Smile Squad with her, though Jon knew Latios secretly liked the show. Picking up Amelia, he walked out into the lounge, where Triad had been talking and sat down.

“Everyone, this is my daughter, Lili,” Jon said, as Amelia looked anxiously between the three new faces. Amelia did seem to be more anxious around people than Pokemon, and Jon had an idea.

“Lili,” Jon said to Amelia, who looked at him. “This is Eevee, Buneary and Furret…”

Violet rolled her eyes slightly, figuring that Jon was being a smarta**, whilst Jarena couldn’t help but grin, especially when Amelia seemed to relax nearly immediately after having them introduced that way. Cassandra however realised there was more to it than that. Jon wanted to introduce them to his daughter, but knowing the need for secrets, had found a way to tell her, and be truthful, without telling his three year old daughter something that they didn’t want her repeating in front of other people, and giving away their identities.

“It’s nice to meet you Lili,” Cassandra said, trying to sound friendly and welcoming, and holding out a hand. “We’ve known your mum and dad since before you were born…”

"Latios too?" Amelia asked, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice, as she cautiously took it.

"Latios especially…" Violet answered, forcing the dryness from her tone so as to not potentially have Amelia think she disliked her. Jarena choked back a laugh at the statement.

Alyssa returned home in the early hours of the evening, before practically tackling their three unexpected guests in a hug, expressing how thankful she was the three of them were okay, however not knowing details of why they had arrived. Whilst Jon had told her, somewhat cryptically over the phone they had three guests who he was not expecting to see, he hadn’t even tried to explain why, on the very slim chance his phone had been tapped. They explained to Alyssa why they had come to see Jon, before Jon and Alyssa went to another room, leaving Amelia with Abbee and Dylan, so Jon could talk to her about joining the mission in Alola.

After an hour of discussing, Jon returned, informing those present that he had Alyssa’s blessing to join them. Whilst Alyssa didn’t want to stop him, knowing that whilst this was dangerous, his presence there could be the difference between the mission being a success or a failure, and with the stakes as high as they potentially were, if the mission failed, he was hardly going to be any safer in Mossdeep than in Alola. However, she wanted to make sure that Jon was asking her blessing whilst understanding completely the ramifications of anything happening to him. She wanted to know he wasn't just viewing this as a chance to relive his younger, glory days as an operative, and actually was going because he would be needed there.

Whilst they had no idea what Agatha was planning, they weren’t going to make the mistake of underestimating just how dangerous she was. They had made that mistake with the Diamond Ladies, and nearly had a half dozen people doomed to spend the rest of their natural lives as Pokemon. The same mistake had been made with Lance, underestimating just how far he would go to restore his damaged pride, and Jon and his interns had won many battles by letting their opponents underestimate them.

Jon showed the Diamond Ladies to the lodge, where they would spend the next few days as they prepared for their own separate trip to Alola, planning on setting up there before the main force of operatives arrived over the next few weeks. Dylan and Abbee had their own rooms, which had been their rooms in previous summers, and were practically home to them, whilst Cassandra moved into Chris’ old room, Violet into Justin’s and Jarena into Charlotte’s.

That evening, when everyone was settled, Jon left the property, driving to Steven’s house. In light of what was to come, he needed a few favours from Steven, some somewhat unrelated to the mission. When he arrived, he knocked on the door, and Steven opened it, holding a phone to his ear in one hand, that looked to be outdated by a factor of fifteen years. He didn’t seem surprised to see Jon, quickly letting him inside as he continued the phone call.

Steven lived in a modest home, contrary to his very high ranking title, and the fact he was the heir to one of the wealthiest companies in Hoenn. This surprised most people at first, as well as his modest car, that seemed to be one of the most common in Hoenn. Jon knew that like himself, Steven wasn’t too fussed about living lavishly, instead, using the bulk of his income to fund life after he decided to step down from being Hoenn Champion. Whilst he did opt to spend a little more on things such as his car, or appliances, it was usually not in the reason of excess or glamour, but simply the quality, and the prospect of going longer without needing to replace it. Steven did have a passion for collecting minerals, and had quite an impressive collection, however showed restraint in his collecting, buying far less than he could actually afford to buy, figuring the more he saves now, the sooner he can retire, and spend his days living a life of leisure. Until then however, he had responsibilities, such as overseeing an operation to catch Agatha before she caused trouble…

Jon found his way to the comfortable kitchen, sitting at the table which was covered in loose pieces of paper, freshly printed, and folders, next to a large, yet slim laptop. The papers were a mixture of files on Agatha, her Pokemon, known associates, and Akala Island itself. Additionally, there were pieces of paper that Jon recognized as handwritten notes by Steven, likely while he was on one of his numerous phone calls, taking note of important things, and linking individual pieces of this operation together visually to comprehend it a little more.

Steven ended the phone call, before entering the kitchen, grabbing two beers from the fridge, and handing Jon one, before getting the bottle opener. There was no need to ask at this point. Most evening meetings between Jon and Steven, both professional and social, involved a beer, and given the weight of that day's news, they both appreciated it.

“I spoke to Alyssa,” Jon said. “I’m coming on the mission…”

“I figured you would,” Steven answered. “But you have other reasons for coming all the way here…”

Jon nodded. He could have vaguely notified Steven with a phone call along the lines of ’I’m in, however there were some things he wanted from Steven before the mission.

“Got a few things I want from you,” Jon explained. “Firstly, I have someone I want specifically on my squad, that Cynthia should be able to recruit.”

“And that is?”

“Peter Miller,” Jon explained. Steven nodded, appreciating Jon’s thinking.

When Steven had been detained by the military to prevent him from interfering with their plan to catch Rayquaza, Cynthia sought the help of a computer expert in the Sinnoh League by the name of Peter Miller. Whilst he was a systems engineer for the League, he had spent his university years hacking, and Cynthia was aware of his talents. He had been the one to find the security footage of Steven being detained, and create a means of contact between her and Steven, in addition to the window for him to escape through to meet Jon and Cassandra, and brief them about the mission. And since then, Peter had been planting false sightings of Rayquaza in the Pokemon League’s database, in order to keep the attention away from Hoenn.

“I was thinking of recruiting him to work directly under me,” Steven noted, before considering it.

“I’ll be directly under you, and you’ll still be able to give him orders,” Jon explained. “But having someone like that in my squad, especially since we’re going to be a hybrid of recon and assault, will be great…”

“It definitely would be,” Steven said, before nodding. “He can join Eon Squad…”

Jon hadn’t shared the idea for his squad’s name with Steven yet, however grinned as Steven, who knew him too well, had predicted his actions perfectly.

“Additionally, I want Peter to start flagging Rayquaza as being seen migrating towards Alola,” Jon explained. “Rayquaza is more than safe to be around other people and Pokemon if I’m there to keep it in line, and if the s**t hits the fan, I don’t want to be avoiding using Rayquaza, like Dylan did against Deoxys…”

“So what, you’ll officially capture it in Alola?”

“That’s the plan,” Jon said with a shrug. “I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to arise for me to do this for a year or two now. Before last summer, Hill was watching me too closely. And every time I have left Hoenn since he was sacked, it either was too short notice to create a convincing trail for Rayquaza to be there, or Rayquaza was supposedly too far away from where I was going.”

“That, and God help you if you get caught trying to smuggle an unregistered Pokeball onto a plane…” Steven remarked, as Jon nodded.

“Exactly. This is the best opportunity I have to not have to keep Rayquaza a secret, and if things go as s**t as we think they will be, I’ll need that…”

“So what else?” Steven asked.

“Two more things,” Jon said, as Steven sighed in feign exasperation. “I want to use your secure line to make a phone call, but before I do that, I want to look someone up in the League Database…”

Knowing that Jon wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important, Steven obliged, opening a window on his laptop before sliding it across the table to Jon. Jon nodded his thanks, before searching a trainer, specifically, where they were registered to compete, and where their Pokeballs had been scanned by healing machines, security scanners and other such devices. When he had an idea, he dialled the number into Steven’s secure line phone.

”Hello, Charlotte speaking…”

Her voice sounded confused, Jon figuring it being an unfamiliar number phone number, and likely one that looked different to any she had seen calling her.

“Charlotte, it’s Jon,” Jon said. “You got a minute to talk, where we won’t be overheard?”

Charlotte spent a minute walking through her house, going to her own room, before speaking quietly.

”Jon, what’s going on?” Charlotte asked, concern evident in her voice. ”Why are you calling on this number?”

”It’s a secure line,” Jon answered. “Near impossible for anyone to listen in on…”

”Why do you need a secure line?”

“Something’s come up, and we’ve had to cancel the summer program…” Jon said, continuing quickly before Charlotte could object. “Something big. The League is running another operation, and I’ve been asked to join it. As have Dylan and Abbee…”

”What sort of operation?” Charlotte asked. Steven glanced at Jon, however figured that if someone as sceptical as Jon trusted Charlotte to keep this a secret, she could be trusted. She had kept Rayquaza a secret since finding out a year earlier, after all.

“We received a tipoff about witchcraft, potentially a f**kload worse than the S.S. Wishmaker, and are going to investigate, and hopefully prevent any damage being done…”

”I’ll come too,” Charlotte interrupted. ”And I know Justin would as well…”

“I know you guys would happily come, but I need you to do something else…” Jon said, ending that discussion.

”What’s that?”

“I’m worried about Chris…”

There was a silence, as Jon tried to figure out how to explain it.

“Honestly, from what I have seen and heard, he is at a tipping point. One way, he grows from it, and is better off for it. The other, and he just continues to plummet…” Jon explained. “It was the same when you guys all saw him in Jubilife for his birthday, but the problem was all his wounds were still fresh, and made it hard to help him. We’re lucky he hasn’t shifted any further, and now that this long has passed, I think we might have a better chance at getting through to him…”

”Why now?” Charlotte asked. ”Before this mission, Justin and I would have been flying out to Hoenn in the next few days. So why do you suddenly want to try and do something about Chris now?”

Charlotte’s question was to give Jon a chance to disprove the suspicion she had. That Jon asking something of them involving Chris was simply to make them feel like they were doing something without actually being on the mission themselves.

“Because even if I take every precaution I can, there is a chance I might not make it back from Alola…” Jon said solemnly, as Charlotte went silent. “If this were going to be a normal summer, I’d more than likely have the opportunity to try and help Chris myself once the summer was over, and he had time to work some stuff out. But I might not make it back, and I figure if you and Justin already had set time aside to come to Mossdeep for summer, and that is now off the table, that time could be spent catching up with Chris and trying to help him work some stuff out…”

Charlotte remained silent, not liking the fact Jon was taking on a mission that he of all people was saying could be his last, and not for the reason of retirement.

“What do you want us to do?”

“Chris arrived in Saffron City earlier this week,” Jon explained. “He is currently registered for a string of tournaments around Kanto, before he travels across to Johto to compete there as well…”

“You want us to go to Johto instead and meet up with him?” Charlotte asked. Whilst the list of registrants for any tournament was only released to the public a week before the tournament itself, she figured if Jon had access to a secured line, and was working on an operation with the League, then he likely had access to Chris’ League profile as well.

“In five weeks, he is competing in a larger tournament in Goldenrod. I want you to compete as well, and give him a good battle. One he’d enjoy,” Jon explained. “Catch up with him after, and hell, if it isn’t going to come across as you guys trying to save him see if you can stick with him for a few days after. I think it’d be good for him to have some company, and have a little bit of Academy life, without myself, Dylan and Abbee there to bring up old hurts…”

”I’ll go see Justin tonight,” Charlotte replied. ”Perks of him studying in Jubilife…”

“Good. I really appreciate this,” Jon said. “Good luck…”

”You too Jon,” Charlotte replied. ”Come home safe. And tell Dylan and Abbee that as well. Alyssa and Lili aren’t the only ones who rely on you…”

When the call ended, Jon handed Steven the phone, who took it, his expression crestfallen.

“So you feel it too?” Steven asked. “That this is going to be dangerous?”

Jon sighed.

“Yeah, I do,” Jon said. “The S.S. Wishmaker incident was sheer dumb luck that we had no real casualties, especially considering what we were up against. But this…”

“Not everyone who goes will come home…” Steven agreed.

“And as selfish as it is,” Jon said, before taking a swig of his beer. “I can only hope every operative who doesn’t, isn’t currently in Mossdeep…”