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

[[Desolate Divine]]

Spiritwater: Episode 3: Motives

Spoiler:

It was mid morning when the abandoned hut on the southern end of Royal Avenue was disturbed again. What hadn’t been touched in years, had now been visited once a week for the last three weeks. To anyone who walked past, the derelict shack was simply a small cabin from a previous time. An old rest stop for travellers crossing from the eastern edge of the island, to the western edge. However, it hadn’t been used in years, and when the lock began to suddenly function, the hut was part of the scenery enough that nobody even noticed. No key however, would unlock the door, and anyone who tried to force their way in would be shocked at the durability of the derelict building. However, if they looked closely, they may notice that any attempted blows would never actually strike it, but instead, be stopped by an invisible barrier less than a millimetre above the surface.

The door opened, with a flash of white light through the keyhole, as a lone figure entered the room. Whilst in the sunlight outside her wavy hair was dark brown, matched by her eyes, the moment the door clicked shut behind her, she began to change. Her hair went from being dark brown to ash blonde, while her eyes became a piercing ice blue. The freckles of her face began to vanish, as her facial structure shifted ever so slightly, making her practically unrecognisable compared to ten seconds earlier. The lines in her skin began to disappear, reducing her apparent age by a factor of ten to fifteen years.

Looking around the hut, making sure nothing had been disturbed since her last visit, she nodded contentedly, before waving her hand over the ground in the centre of the hut without a word. A white light flashed from her hand, as eight pebbles scattered on the ground began to glow, and rise up, arranging themselves into a rough circle. Once in place, the pebble on the eastern edge of the circle began to glow brightly, causing the woman to grin.

She knew Agatha was here, having received the same dream as so many other Shadowcraft wielders, inviting her to come to Akala Island for the Spiritwater Festival, with the promise of knowledge and power, more than they’d know what to do with. But she hadn’t come for that. She had these in excess, more so than Agatha herself, having used Shadowcraft to see into the void, the things that humans should not see.

She had hoped to find Agatha, however that was not a priority for her. Especially since Agatha’s location would be revealed as a side effect to her own goals. And it just had.

The eight stones correlated to eight gemstones that the woman had hidden in various places around the island. They formed a circle themselves, with the shack she stood in being the centre point.

One piece of knowledge she had gleaned by peeking into the void, was the side effect of all Shadowcraft, that few knew of. Every spell performed, generated energy, which would simply be dispersed into the world, in the forms known to mankind. What even fewer knew, was that this energy could be harnessed.

Each of the eight gemstones was placed to blanket the island in an enchantment, which would syphon this energy released from performing Shadowcraft, and store it, to be used for a larger purpose that a Shadowcraft user could not fulfil on their own. And as such, the one stone that glowed far brighter than the rest, indicated the presence of many Shadowcraft users, casting many spells. However the stone on the eastern edge wasn’t the only one. On the south western edge of the circle, another stone glowed, albeit far dimmer, but still brighter than the others, which had syphoned next to nothing.

She grinned. She and Agatha’s group weren’t the only spellcasters on the island. Likelihood was these two groups would clash at one point or another, which would result in numerous spells being performed, and a multitude of energy syphoned from the conflict. However, based purely on the glowing stones, she guessed the group on the south western edge of the island, where a stone had been hidden in Heahea City, was much smaller.

For maximum efficiency, she knew she would need to intervene. If conflict came to pass, Agatha and her group of witches would wipe out this smaller group, and for what Brianna Levine wanted, that would be a waste. A long, drawn out battle over a couple of days, or even weeks however, would provide her with all the energy she needed...

“I guess I will be taking sides…” Brianna muttered. “For now…”

Brianna waved her hand again, without speaking another word, as all hint of life in the stones vanished, before they all fell to the ground. She walked away, opening the door, her hand flashing white as she did, unlocking it, as her appearance shifted, causing her to resume her persona of a brown eyed, brunette woman in her mid thirties, still younger than she really was...

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

“I don’t get it,” Jarena said irritably, as she crashed down onto the couch in the cheap motel room that the three of them rented. “Seriously, it makes no stinking sense!”

“Yeah, I know,” Cassandra replied with a sigh, as she took a sip of the iced tea she had bought from the vending machine outside. The best before date was two weeks earlier, however she had survived for three years with no best before dates, and figured there was enough sugar in the iced tea to keep it relatively safe.

Triad had arrived in Heahea City, Alola, a week earlier, having stayed in the dirty motel room since they arrived. Based on the sounds they could hear from the room next door, they figured the people who came here didn’t want to be recognised, or didn’t want to recognise anyone, and until the formal operational team arrived that afternoon on the S.S. Wishmaker, that suited their needs well.

What had Jarena so irritated however, was that in the last week that they had been on the island, they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of any sign of Shadowcraft. Considering Agatha had sent an open invitation with promises of power and knowledge, they figured they’d throw a rock with their eyes closed, and manage to hit a witch. But so far, no sign. Nothing unnatural around the city. No person who seemed to be suffering from some hex or curse. Whilst they wanted to believe that potentially they and Agatha were the only remaining Shadowcraft users, and Agatha’s plan had been a massive bust, they knew they’d be stupid to think that.

“Are we sure we didn’t miss anything in the dream?” Jarena asked. “Like ’by the way, when you arrive, you can find us at 123 Fake Street’...”

“We missed nothing,” Violet answered, not peering up from the tome she had been reading since the evening before. “Agatha isn’t stupid. She’d be accounting for someone seeing her vision and ratting her out…”

It had taken them a little over three weeks to arrive in Akala, having stopped by the place in Johto where they had buried their Shadowcraft tomes years earlier, to retrieve them, as well as visiting a dozen different Pokemon adoption centres, and whilst it was convenient for their current goals, there were sadly numerous Pokemon to choose from, all having been given up, taken away for their own wellbeing, or abandoned by their trainers.

“I think I might have a hunch about what is going on…” Violet said, laying the tome down on her lap. “And honestly, if I am right, we aren’t going to find them short of scouring the island with a fine tooth comb, or one of them revealing themselves to us…”

“What have you found?” Cassandra asked.

“Lumen Ostende,” Violet explained. “A light illusion spell. Requires tungsten, charcoal and ice-water…”

Jarena took the book and read it, as Violet explained it.

“It allows the caster to create light based illusions that are only visible to people who fit their criteria,” Violet explained. “Honestly, I wish I had known about this back home…”

“So what, Agatha has left a bunch of arrows of light around the island, that are only visible to those who don’t mean her any ill will?” Cassandra asked.

“Not that exactly, but it would make sense…” Violet said with a sigh. “She could leave an easy to follow trail, that is invisible to anyone who would take her down…”

“If we knew about this back home, we could leave markers to help lost Pokemon get back to the Starglade, without outsiders being able to see them…” Jarena said, seeing what Violet was getting at.

“Honestly, we looked so little into these books outside of what could make us rich and famous,” Violet lamented. “Hell, two pages after the transformation-reversion spell, is one that would protect us from our own curses…”

Cassandra chuckled at the sentiment, knowing their downward spiral started with her accidentally triggering her own curse, turning herself into Cinnamon the Eevee...

“So what now then?” Jarena asked. “If we stand a snowball’s chance in hell of finding them on our own, do we just wait?”

“We might have to,” Cassandra answered, not necessarily pleased about that idea herself. “Remember, Latios is pretty good at tracking people down…”

Violet scoffed, knowing full well what Cassandra was referring to.

“The S.S. Wishmaker arrives this afternoon,” Cassandra continued. “Let’s get packed ready to leave, and spend the afternoon hunting down reagents for basic curse removal spells…”

Violet nodded in agreement.

“Honestly, just as likely as Latios tracking them down, is an operative accidentally stumbling across it, and if they do, they will likely need some curses removed, if they get out of the Beedrill nest at all,” Violet said in agreement.

Cassandra looked between her two friends.

“In that case, we pack, and leave one after another, with an hour's gap between. Violet, you go first, then Jarena. I booked the motel room, so I will check out,” Cassandra explained. “Be at the docks at three, but don’t make contact with one-another unless it’s important…”

Her two companions nodded, before beginning to gather their limited belongings, and prepare to leave their temporary home…

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

“And what is your take on last night’s match, Mister Drake?”

Jon sat opposite the young reporter, after having lunch, who seemed to be trying to come across as confident and professional, even though he seemed very intimidated by Jon, as the ramen restaurant where Jon had last spoken to Jimmy Kendo, on the S.S. Wishmaker four years earlier. Jon didn’t necessarily blame him. Even without Jon’s growing reputation from the success of the Eon Academy, especially since their win over the College of the North Wind last summer, Jon had a bit of a reputation of not handling media appearances well, which was ironic, considering his wife worked in media. Case and point, Jon’s last interview on the S.S. Wishmaker, involved some comments directed at all who continued to condemn the Diamond Ladies after they came clean, that weren’t victims of their actions themselves, which made up most of the population at that time, telling them to go f**k themselves, in addition to other harsh words.

This was one of many interviews Jon had agreed to, with the public now being well aware of the Eon Academy cancelling that summer’s program, due to property damage that couldn’t be fixed due to time constraints and budget, which wasn’t covered by insurance. The evening before, Jon had even been recruited to be a guest commentator for the grand final match, in which Lara Winters, a twenty-five year old woman from Kalos, had taken the win from Ray Spencer, a man from Sinnoh, ten years older than her. Jon had to admit that whilst Lara had battled well, he had a solid hunch that if she had battled against Charlotte, even without Deoxys in her corner, she would have found herself fighting a much tougher battle.

“Both trainers battled very well and earnt their spots in the final round,” Jon explained. “However, Lara was simply a cut above Ray, and the way her Gardevoir handled itself on the battlefield was evident of intense and intentional training. The two worked extremely well together, and despite being disadvantaged against Ray’s Empoleon, the synergy between them was what allowed her to take the win.”

Light reflected off the lens of the television camera that was held by a slightly overweight man dressed in plain blue jeans and a black polo shirt. He tried not to look directly at it, knowing that for the angle the camera operator was working, it would be less than flattering, if not somewhat unnerving.

“And what advice would you give to any potential battlers, who want to win the High Seas Tournament themselves?”

Jon thought this over for a moment, before answering, trying to not sound cliche.

“More than anything, your skills, creativity, and ability to think on your feet, will help you improve as a trainer. I’ve seen Legendary Pokemon beaten by a standard Pokemon with a huge disadvantage, and I’ve even seen a championship level Muk, helped brought down by a freshly caught Litwick,” Jon answered, remembering his own battle against Camilla Blakely’s Suicune, and Dylan’s battle against Blake during his second summer at the Academy. “Work to improve those things, just as much as you would work to improve your Pokemon’s ability to battle. And never underestimate your opponent. Even I go into every match with the mindset that if I am not careful, my opponent will beat me and humiliate me on the battlefield, if I give them the opportunity…”

“That sounds like good advice,” the interviewer said, before asking his final question. “And what can we expect to see from the Eon Academy?”

Jon sighed, feigning a sadness at the turn of events that had supposedly led to it closing that summer.

“What can I say, our luck had to run out eventually…” Jon said, somewhat joking. “In all seriousness, whilst it is nice to be here and reminisce about my own time in the High Seas Tournament, it is heart-breaking, not only for me, but my interns and students as well, that we had to cancel the program. However, the property’s electrical system suffered heavy damage, making the property unsafe to run the program, and there was no facility in Hoenn that could accommodate what we were attempting to run…”

“What about outside of Hoenn?” the interviewer asked. “As I recall, Camilla Blakely offered for the Eon Academy to run their summer program at the College of the North Wind, as it was largely empty of students over summer…”

Jon remembered seeing the message from Camilla, and swearing to himself that she had been considerate enough to offer. Really, if the Eon Academy did need to shut down due to a property emergency, the College of the North Wind would have been a perfect substitute location to run the summer program. And Jon knew his rejection of that offer would raise questions.

“Yes, it was very kind of Camilla to offer to host us, and I do wish I could have taken her up on the offer,” Jon explained. “However, it was late Wednesday evening when the Rotom caused the damage, with employees due to arrive on Saturday, and students due to arrive on Sunday. They would need to cancel flights to Lilycove, and book others to Jubilife, which they would have paid a premium for to do at such short notice. It was better for everyone involved to simply offer a refund, and a discounted rate for next summer, and move forward…”

The interviewer seemed content, and concluded the interview there, thanking Jon for his time, before leaving with the camera operator, as Jon sighed, before leaning back in his chair, albeit trying to not be too obvious about this. Despite his fame, Jon hated being in the spotlight, and disliked interviews. There was too much wrong he could say, and his natural inclination was to say it all. However, it was part of the cover up for him not being in Mossdeep, which made his involvement in the mission possible. The S.S. Wishmaker was due to arrive on Akala Island in a matter of hours, and this was the last scheduled interview he had. However, he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be cornered by another reporter as he tried to depart the ship.

Jon looked towards the entrance to the restaurant, where outside, people walked past, going through Central Park, where the S.S. Wishmaker’s many stores and restaurants were located. From where he sat, he could see the bench in Central Park that had to be replaced after Latios destroyed it during his dive bomb to steal the Diamond Ladies’ belongings four years earlier, which had the potential to sink the ship, and cost Jon a fortune to pay for the damages for.

“I didn’t think I’d end up back here,” Jon said to himself, continuing to look through the doorway. However he was pulled from his thoughts by the familiar clash of green and purple hair, of someone who walked past the doorway to the restaurant, hand in hand with a man similar in age, that Jon hadn’t met officially, however had seen photos on Facebook of.

Avery Miller and Abital Ecke.

Jon sighed. Avery and Abital’s wedding was a little over a week before, and despite the summer program being planned, he had organised to leave the Eon Academy in the hands of Dylan and the interns, so he and Alyssa could attend. However, Jon had spent the two weeks prior to boarding the S.S. Wishmaker in a military facility in Slateport, undergoing training for the mission, and not being allowed to be seen by the public, with the story being that he was in Rustboro, staying with Alyssa at her brother Leon’s house.

Knowing that a phone call would result in questions being asked that he couldn’t answer, Jon had instead sent Avery an email with he and Alyssa’s apologies, and not much more than that. He hadn’t even considered the fact that Avery, like he was pretending to be, may be sentimental about their time on the S.S. Wishmaker, and had planned their honeymoon there…

Jon breathed a sigh of relief that Avery hadn’t noticed him. He knew that they probably knew he was on the S.S. Wishmaker. Within days of Jon agreeing to come onboard and do media appearances, it was all over social media that he would be present, the organisers of the High Seas Tournament hoping to sell a few more tickets. And whilst Avery wasn’t the confrontational type of person, Jon also knew that he owed them an explanation as to why he bailed on their wedding with less than a fortnight to go, only to then show up on the S.S. Wishmaker as, as Jon described it, the media’s w***e. And right now, he couldn’t give that explanation.

Jon groaned to himself, half wishing they were on the island, fighting witches already. He was sick of the secrecy and cover-ups already. At least when the s**t hit the fan, he would only have one secret left to keep, and if he played his cards right, he may not even need to keep that secret any longer…

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

“This has been Silver Wing News, speaking with First High Sea’s Champion, Jon Drake at the conclusion of the Fifth High Sea’s Tournament,” the interviewer on the large television said, before the TV went black, the power button having been clicked on the remote. Chris sat back on the couch, grabbing his phone, and flicking through Instagram, bored.

He was at his family’s home in Blackthorn City Johto, having arrived a few days earlier to compete in a tournament. His next tournament was going to be in a little less than a week, in Goldenrod City, which would take him half a day to reach on his motorbike. Whilst he had considered departing for Goldenrod straight away, he could stay at his family’s home for free, with proper food, a real bed, and all the luxuries of civilised living, that weren’t present on the many nights he spent, camped in his swag on the side of the road somewhere between cities.

Despite all these luxuries however, there was one thing he couldn’t avoid. Boredom. He tried booting up his PC to play some games while he had the opportunity, however between waiting hours for nine months worth of updates to install, and realising the metagame of most of his favourite games had shifted, with some characters being boosted in power, and others nerfed, he quickly dismissed the idea.

Whilst he had trained with his sister Clair the afternoon before, he knew there was little point to much more. He had taken first place in every tournament he competed, with the exception of a few that Charlotte had also competed in. In some cases, he beat her. In others, she beat him.

Honestly, he didn’t mind losing to Charlotte anymore. Whilst a few years prior, it would have grated on him, and stung his pride, after actually getting to know Charlotte during their first summer at the Eon Academy, a mutual respect was found between the pair of trainers. He knew Charlotte was one of the hardest working trainers he knew, and if he lost to her, chances are it wasn’t due to any glaring weaknesses he held, or vice versa. It was simply that in that battle, Charlotte had performed better than him.

It had been six months since he had last seen Charlotte, and hadn’t seen Justin since the night he got drunk and began causing problems with Dylan and Abbee, needing to sleep on Justin’s couch, where he thankfully, didn’t vomit. He however had been in somewhat regular contact with him though. Dylan and Abbee he hadn’t spoken to since that night. Dylan, because he still held a grudge, and Abbee, because he was embarrassed by his actions that night.

Jon, he hadn’t seen since he left Jubilife Airport the summer before, and whilst Jon had tried numerous times to call, from both he and Alyssa’s phones, Chris hadn’t answered. He figured Dylan had told Jon what he had said that night after drinking too much. He was too scared to face him. Scared that Jon may take it badly, and even more scared that Jon may look past it, and give him another chance.

As such, when he saw an article posted to twitter claiming the Eon Academy wasn’t running their summer program, he had been surprised to say the least. He had asked Justin, and been told about the Rotom that had snuck onto the property in Abbee’s laptop, having hidden in it since she left Johto, and the damage being too vast to fix before students arrived, and too expensive to fix all at once. Chris however, hadn’t bought it, and when he asked Charlotte about it, she had given him the same story. Despite the rift between them, he knew Jon too well, and knew he wouldn’t let something like that stop him from running the summer program. Something was at play.

Adding to his suspicion was the fact that Abbee and Dylan were also on the S.S. Wishmaker. Abbee had posted photos to her Instagram, and Dylan, who had gained a following of fans since his win over Brad Jenkins the summer before, had been spotted as well. He wasn’t sure what Justin would do during the summer. He figured either return home to Kalos and spend time with his family, or spend summer in Snowpoint with Candice. As for Charlotte, he had been surprised when he was sent the competitor list for the Goldenrod City Tournament he was competing in in the next week, to see Charlotte listed as a competitor. Whilst he knew that this would be one of the few difficult tournaments, Charlotte being the only one who competed in them that was his own match, he looked forward to it. A battle with Charlotte, even a loss, was always interesting, and he figured it would be harder for her to keep secrets about what is going on at the Academy, if she didn’t have a phone to hang up or ignore.

Chris was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the doorbell ringing. He stepped to his feet, walking out of the lounge, towards the front door, and opening it. On the other side, stood a man in a khaki uniform, made up of a button up shirt, and a pair of shorts, which was the uniform of the Johto Courier Service. He looked at the small scanner he held on top of a small box, before looking up at Chris.

“Christopher Kingswood?” he asked, glancing at Chris.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Chris replied, somewhat confused. He hadn’t ordered anything, and his birthday wasn’t for months. The man nodded, before passing the scanner, which had a stylus attached by a thin wire, as Chris quickly scribbled his messy signature on the touch screen. The courier handed Chris the package, before saying goodbye and walking back to his truck.

The box was plain, wrapped in brown paper, with a white adhesive label, printed on which was Chris’ name and address. However there was no return address. This left Chris feeling even more confused by it. Not looking up from the box, he closed the door behind him, locking it, before making his way to the kitchen, where he placed the package on the table, before pouring himself a glass of water. He sat, taking a drink, before placing the glass down, and tearing off the paper, revealing a wooden box, on top of which was a folded, hand-written note. He opened it, his confusion growing even more.

”For a trainer who will make proper use of it…”

Chris placed the note aside, before opening the box. Inside of it, sitting on a maroon, felt cushion, was a Pokeball that seemed to be worn with age and use.

“What the-” Chris said to himself, confused, and knowing there was one simple way to find out what was in the Pokeball…

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

“I hate being famous,” Dylan muttered, as he and Abbee walked the hallways towards their rooms from the main pool, Latios floating behind them. During Jon’s first trip on the S.S. Wishmaker, Latios had wanted to swim in the pool, however given the fact Jon wanted Latios to be kept a secret, he hadn’t been allowed until after the Diamond Ladies had been detained, by which point the cruise was almost over. As such, Latios had visited the pool at least once a day since Jon, Abbee and Dylan had boarded the S.S. Wishmaker, although usually one of the three had timed their swimming with that to keep an eye on him. Today it was Dylan’s turn, and Abbee had decided to keep him company.

Dylan wore a pair of blue and white board shorts, which were made up of a tropical, leafy pattern, with an old, black singlet, the latter of which didn’t dry as fast as the shorts did, leaving his top half damp and chilled until he could get changed out of it. Abbee had her hair tied back in a simple pony-tail, and wore a plain black bikini with a matching sarong around her waist, whilst Latios simply floated along with a comically large beach towel draped over either side of his long neck, content at being able to swim in the pool there every day since they had boarded. Dylan wasn’t a hundred percent sure why it excited him so much, given the fact they lived on an island surrounded by water, however Latios did mention swimming one time in the water around Mossdeep, and encountering a shiver of Sharpedo, all of whom were very territorial and hostile.

“Get used to it,” Abbee remarked, pretending not to notice the people they walked past recognizing them. “As much as it sucks now, if you decide to run your own business like Jon did, it is publicity you’d normally spend millions on…”

She was right. If Jon hadn’t made waves by winning the High Sea’s Tournament, after causing some trouble on the S.S. Wishmaker, most people wouldn’t know about the Eon Academy. And Abbee knew what Dylan dreamed of doing long term, which would definitely benefit from all the attention.

“Honestly though, it does worry me that this has put a target on our backs before,” Abbee added, remembering the Whirl Islands incident. “Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came after us specifically, if they were to realise Jon is giving them trouble…”

She was referring to Agatha and her group of witches. Dylan nodded in agreement.

“Why do you think I’ve got someone watching our back?” Dylan said quietly, causing Abbee to look down to the space on the ground where their figures blocked out the light. For a moment, she saw the flicker of a bright blue eye, as if Darkrai was letting her know it was there. It didn’t surprise her. Most of the time, Dylan kept Darkrai in his shadow.

“Besides, Jon ended up admitting that we are the best battlers in his squad, short of himself,” Dylan added. “Honestly, as long as we are careful, I think we will be okay…”

Abbee nodded, however couldn’t help but doubt her inclusion in Dylan’s statement, without Victini. Jon had said himself that Abbee’s strength was the bond she shared with Victini, and the mutual trust they shared. Abbee’s trust that Victini knew what he was doing in a battle, and Victini’s trust that if Abbee gave a command, even while he was acting instinctively, it was the right thing to do. However, without Victini…

“You’re thinking about Victini, aren’t you…”

Abbee sighed, wondering if Dylan had telepathy, and just never told her.

“Yeah…” Abbee admitted, knowing where Dylan was going, having heard it before from both him and Jon.

“You shouldn’t have let him go…” Dylan said. “Triad can turn anyone who tries to get in their way into a Dunsparce. Victini wouldn’t have offered them much more than they could already do, and as strong as he is, I know that he is only that strong when he is battling with you…”

“I know,” Abbee sighed. “I knew he wanted to go with them, and I was scared that I was being self-centred, and getting in the way of his happiness by being jealous of Cass. So I did what I thought was right for everyone…”

Dylan went silent for a moment, knowing Abbee had been lectured already about this and not wanting to labour the point any more than he already had. He sighed.

“Nothing to do about it now,” Dylan said. “Hopefully when we arrive on Akala, Triad will have got some Pokemon, and he will be confident in letting them look after themselves…”

Abbee nodded, though the worm of fear that Victini would want to stay with them, with Cass, even if they didn't need him, was still ever present. She quickly buried this feeling as Dylan spoke.

“To be safe, stick with me until you have Victini with you…” Dylan said quietly. “Jon let you on this mission thinking you had Victini to back you up, and if he had found out before we left Mossdeep that Victini was gone, he wouldn’t have let you come.”

“So what, I’m just good for my Mythical Pokemon?” Abbee asked, although knew that wasn’t the answer.

“No, this is dangerous and you’re safer with your Mythical Pokemon,” Dylan answered evenly. “If I didn’t have Darkrai hiding in my shadow every time I left the room, Jon wouldn’t have let me come either…”

“Even though his Legendary Pokemon is with us?” Abbee asked, nodding over her shoulder where Latios hovered behind them as they walked.

“Latios isn’t his only ace…” Dylan retorted. Before the conversation could continue, they were cut off by the sound of someone speaking over the PA system.

”Good afternoon passengers, this is your captain speaking. We are now close to Akala Island, where we will be docking at Heahea City. Due to local speed limits, the S.S. Wishmaker will be slowing to a more manoeuvrable speed, before docking at Heahea Harbour in a little over an hour. Thank you for sailing on the S.S. Wishmaker…”

“We’d better get dressed and ready to depart,” Abbee said quietly. “I get the feeling Jon won’t feel like dawdling on the ship…”

The pair spent the next ten minutes, followed by Latios towards the section of cabins where their respective rooms were located, the pair getting dried, and changed into dry clothes, before packing their belongings, and emerging, to find Latios still waiting for them.

“How come you aren’t hanging around with Jon?” Dylan asked Latios, who was now dry, but not showing any indication of leaving their side. Latios looked a little crestfallen, glancing down at the ground.

”Jon has banned me from going anywhere near Central Park…” Latios said telepathically, as Dylan sighed, knowing exactly why Latios was banned. Both reasons. The obvious one being his antics around Central Park on his previous visit, and the not so obvious one being the availability of beer for Latios to potentially drink unsupervised…

“Fair enough,” Abbee remarked. “I guess you can keep us company…”

The pair walked to the bow of the S.S. Wishmaker, where Akala Island was slowly coming into view. They made their way to the furthest point forward, looking towards the island that they suspected would not be this peaceful for long. Realising something, Abbee grinned, causing Dylan to worry.

“What is it…” Dylan asked, his tone implying his mood was liable to change depending on her answer.

“We’re at the bow of one of the biggest cruise ships in the world…” Abbee said, before being direct. “Can we recreate that scene from Titanic?”

Despite it not normally being his sense of humour, Abbee had presented the opportunity far too well for him to not make the most of it. He knew exactly which scene Abbee was talking about, but played dumb. His eyes widened, as he looked to the deck, gesturing towards the cargo hold.

“That scene?” Dylan asked, feigning shock. “That’s a little forward Abbee…”

Abbee shook her head in disbelief, muttering a string of words along the lines of 'f**king idiot' under her breath, before answering Dylan properly.

“You know damn well what scene I am talking about…” Abbee said, overplaying the irritation to hide the embarrassment she felt, as Dylan couldn’t help but laugh. His laughter however was cut off, by a sudden jolt in the S.S. Wishmaker, causing both of them to lose balance.

“You make a Titanic joke, and this happens,” Abbee said, however Dylan was past the point of jokes, having a hunch that this wasn’t as harmless as mild turbulence in an aircraft. It took him a moment to realise that the S.S. Wishmaker was gaining in speed. Whilst they were out of its path, with the bulk of the above deck buildings blocking it, gales of powerful wind were blowing from sea towards Akala Island, driving the S.S. Wishmaker forward.

“Something’s wrong,” Dylan called out, looking over at Latios, who looked concerned. Latios quickly began to fly up, before being caught in the wind for a moment.

“Careful!” Dylan called out, as Latios quickly adjusted the angle he was flying, adding to the overall distance he would fly, but using his aerodynamic shape to cut into the wind and make progress. Dylan felt the brush of another consciousness making contact with his own, as his own vision was replaced by what Latios saw, initially causing him to feel uneasy on his feet, apparently being many metres above the deck of the S.S. Wishmaker, where many auras that Latios could see, began to shift to worry and panic. However, after getting past that shock, Dylan could see it through Latios’ perspective. A dark grey cloud that seemed to sit on the surface of the ocean, hundreds of metres behind them.

It seemed unnatural, both in the size, position and colour, and seemed to be the source of the unforgiving winds. As Dylan regained his own vision, he looked towards Akala Island, roughly eight kilometres away, which was now growing larger, at a concerning rate.

“We’re gonna crash…” Dylan muttered, before looking over to Abbee.

”Not if I can help it…” Latios said telepathically, taking Dylan by surprise. ”Nobody gets to wreck this ship but me…”

Dylan tried to argue, however was too distracted to focus his thoughts on a message Latios could hear clearly. Before he could attempt again, Latios, now higher in the air than any of the buildings in Heahea City, flew to the stern of the ship, struggling against the headwind, looking for something in particular. Finally, he saw it. Attached to a heavy chain, was a thick, heavy duty sheet of nylon, shaped like a parachute, in the water drifting behind the ship. He had remembered seeing it during their last trip on the S.S. Wishmaker and asking Jon what it was. He had been told it was a drift sock, to prevent them from accelerating too fast. It was filled with water to pull the ship back and give it a more constant speed.

Reaching out to Dylan telepathically, he gave a simple order.

”Evacuate the back of the ship…”

Not giving any opportunity for Dylan to question him, Latios began to fly towards and over Akala Island, accelerating at breakneck speeds, being assisted by the tailwind, and creating a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. However by the time he crossed over the island, he felt the tailwind shift into a headwind, slowing him down. He created a telekinetic barrier in front of him, shaped specifically to improve his own aerodynamics, which created some relief, and urged forward, seeing that in the distance, were the same clouds that had been present from behind the S.S. Wishmaker, also blowing their gale winds. Latios looked around and realised they formed a ring around the island, forcing all boats that got within range towards it, and trapping everyone there.

Dylan, having told Abbee, sprinted across the main deck of the ship, through Central Park, avoiding crashing into people, Jon included, who spun around to see what had Dylan so worried, before beginning to run after him.

Breathless, Dylan had reached the stern of the S.S. Wishmaker, before shouting out to those there, despite his stinging lungs.

“Evacuate the stern!” Dylan shouted, being buffeted by the wind. “We have an emergency! Evacuate the stern!”

Jon arrived fifteen seconds after Dylan, seeing what he was doing, and the panic in his voice, before stepping out from behind cover and being barraged by the wind himself. Knowing Dylan wouldn’t be doing this without damn good reason, he joined him, calling out for all to evacuate. Thankfully, most people had wanted to get out of the way of this deadly wind, and it took little to no convincing for the stern area of the deck to be emptied, people taking cover indoors, but continuing to watch.

“What’s going on?” Jon asked Dylan, shouting to be heard over the wind.

“These winds aren’t natural, and are going to crash the ship into the shore…” Dylan shouted back. “Latios is doing something, but told me to evacuate the back of the ship…”

Jon’s eyes widened hearing Latios having an idea that required part of the ship to be evacuated, and swore to himself, though had no clue what the Eon Pokemon had planned.

A minute passed, as Akala Island grew ever closer in the distance, its speed not reducing. Jon and Dylan at first watched the skies, however having heard the sonic boom of Latios breaking the sound barrier as he had flown towards Akala before, realised quickly that they wouldn’t see Latios in the sky, and instead watched in horror at the now empty stern-deck, with a rough idea of what to expect.

In a flash, something descended over the above-deck buildings, crashing through the deck so suddenly that the only evidence was a perfectly shaped cut out of Latios. A split second later, Jon and Dylan lost their balance as the ship jerked back, even harder than it had jerked forward before, seeming to have been grabbed at the rear by an invisible hand.

“What the f**k…” Jon said, before running towards the railing at the rear of the deck, stepping around the Latios shaped hole, which he had only been able to believe that morning, would not be present on this trip on the S.S. Wishmaker. Dylan followed, and looked over the rail, unable to believe what he saw.

Latios had flown through the deck, as well as through eleven other surfaces, emerging underwater from the hull of the ship, in an airtight telekinetic bubble, directly into the heavy-duty nylon drift sock, and was continuing to force himself to fly against it. And whilst Latios wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to normally pull a sixty-five tonne cruise ship, the fact it was floating in water greatly reduced the strength needed to pull it, and Latios flying at his top speed was enough to make an impact. Additionally, underwater, Latios wasn’t flying against a headwind, which was more difficult to fly through than water itself, and Latios wasn’t trying to tow the S.S. Wishmaker himself, or even stop it. Just slow it down…

“What the f**k is he thinking?!” Jon said in panic. “He needs air just like everyone else! That bubble won’t last long, especially if he’s working himself so hard!”

Dylan was just as worried about this as Jon, however noticed something below them. Bubbles in the ocean coming from underneath them. He recalled their briefing in Slateport during their training, where he saw blueprints for the S.S. Wishmaker. A small crowd began to gather around the railing, looking down, and pointing at the Eon Pokemon, furiously pushing its telekinetic bubble against the drift sock…

“Latios doesn’t need to stay there the whole time…” Dylan said, pointing down at the bubbles. “He has put holes in the ship, and they’re filling with water!”

“So we’ll sink?” Jon retorted, his composure well and truly gone.

“No, we won’t!” Dylan replied. “The S.S. Wishmaker has over twenty watertight compartments in the hull, and six can be flooded without it sinking!”

Dylan grabbed from his bag a map of the S.S. Wishmaker, looking at it briefly, and the hole Latios had left. Tracing a line on the map, he guessed Latios’ path.

“He has put holes through four of them, maybe five…” Dylan said, an ecstatic smile of relief crossing his face. “They’ll fill with water, weighing the back of the ship down, and slowing it down even more. Then, the back will beach on the ocean floor when the water shallows out…”

Abbee arrived, seeing the crowd as Dylan finished explaining, and Jon looked over at Latios, shocked that his habit of putting holes in the S.S. Wishmaker may just be its salvation. Abbee looked over the stern of the ship, to see what Dylan and Jon were looking at, before finally noticing Latios.

“Is he trying to stop the ship?!” Abbee asked in shock.

“Not trying…” Jon answered in disbelief… “Succeeding…”

The ship was gradually slowing down, and after a minute, Latios telekinetically cut through the centre of the drift sock, and surfaced, gasping for air. Whilst the ship did gain momentum for a moment without the drift sock to slow it, as the watertight chambers below began to fill with water, it resumed its deceleration, and continued. Jon, Dylan and Abbee watched in anticipation, as the bubbles erupting from under the surface of the water began to slow, and the back of the ship began to sink a little lower…

The trio ran back towards the bow of the ship, noting the slight incline as they did, where Akala Island was becoming concerningly larger in the distance, while Latios flew alongside them.

”Was that enough?” Latios asked, and Jon struggled to answer.

“It’s the best you could do…” Jon answered, still in disbelief that Latios had managed to break his previous record of holes in the S.S. Wishmaker, and it be in the ships best interest.

There was a loud metallic clang, as from either side of the bow, large and heavy anchors dropped into the ocean, and Jon realised the captain had been waiting for this moment. All on deck were jerked forward as the anchors struck the ocean floor, digging in against the movement of the ship, before being pulled themselves.

“We’re gonna make it,” Dylan said, more so trying to convince himself than anyone else. The ship continued to slow, as people on the harbour became visible as specks in the distance, when finally, the partially sunken stern of the ship, began to beach along the ocean floor, slowing the ship even further, finally to the speed it was intending to approach at. The captain, having been planning on using the anchors, though not being certain they alone would work, had lined up the ship the best he could, so it would sail directly into its designated port.

The S.S. Wishmaker continued to slow, as it sailed to its designated place, just missing scraping the side of the moored S.S. Anne, and bumped not so gently against the concrete harbour of Heahea City. People were thrown off their feet, and whilst the bow of the S.S. Wishmaker was definitely worse for wear, the ship remained afloat, just, as those present began to cheer, voicing their relief at the near miss that had occurred. Some, who had been present at the stern to see Latios fly through, before slowing down the ship the way he knew best, began to cheer for the Eon Pokemon, causing him to look around in shock, before a satisfied smile crossed his face.

“Don’t get used to this…” Jon said to the Eon Pokemon. “I can’t afford to keep fixing the ship…”

Latios grinned at Jon, making him feel even more nervous.

”Jirachi might be on all the signs…” Latios said telepathically, extending his reach to all present, as he audibly cried out a victory cry. ”But this is my ship!”

The cheers continued, as Jon realised that he had created a monster…