Jon Drake, real name Ryan Jonathan Mason, was a competitive battler, relatively successful, but largely unknown due to avoiding larger tournaments, and using connections to the League and media to keep his name and face out of the spotlight, in order to remain hidden from his abusive father. Eight years before the S.S. Wishmaker Incident, Jon was approached by the Hoenn Champion Steven Stone, and asked to work for the League to help investigate tournaments being used as drop points for drug trafficking, hoping that Jon's history and his fathers drug use, as well as already living under an alias, would make him a beneficial operative.
After this job, Steven would occasionally contact Jon with other operations he needed operatives for, eventually leading to Steven contacting Jon, asking him to compete in the High Seas Tournament, and investigate suspected cheating by the top three trainers at the time, The Diamond Ladies. Whilst Jon intended to go on this mission alone, not wanting to drag his wife Alyssa into danger, she had heard Jon was going to compete, and got a media pass from BattleNET, the battle-news website she reported for, and joined him, unaware he was there to do more than compete.
The cruise departed Slateport Hoenn, and Jon competed in the opening rounds, winning and earning himself one of the four slots in the semi finals. Things seemed normal, until the evening of the third day of the cruise. Whilst Cassandra, Jarena and Violet of the Diamond Ladies ate dinner, operatives breached their room, finding evidence of something supernatural, but triggering a trap, and losing contact with their commanding officers.
On the morning of the fourth day of the cruise, Jon went to the arena on the S.S. Wishmaker in order to train for his battle that night, whilst Alyssa attempted to track down any of the semifinalists for an interview, though setting her sights on Cassandra, who was competing in the prestigious tournament. After a brief interview with Avery Miller, who was due to battle Cassandra that evening, Alyssa noticed an altercation between Cassandra and a fan, and after getting changed into a disguise decided to tail the Diamond Ladies to try and get an interview. Little did she know that operatives Avery Miller and Jimmy Kendo had also decided to tail the Diamond Ladies, a few steps ahead, having heard that a breach of their room was attempted, and contact was lost with the operatives. Receiving this same message, Jon sent Latios to tail Violet and Jarena, with the Eevee they carried, whilst Cassandra was unaccounted for. The Eon Pokemon turned invisible, sharing his vision with Jon, and leaving the arena via a hole in the wall he created, and following the Diamond Ladies.
Alyssa turned a corner and found a Buizel and Pachirisu, tangled in some clothes, some of which she recognized as Avery Miller. Believing that the two were Pokemon who had stolen some guests clothes, she picked up the pair to take them to the Battle Arena where she figured Avery might be training, as Jon was there for that purpose.
As Latios followed the Diamond Ladies, transmitting what he saw and heard to Jon, they discovered that through some form of witchcraft, Cassandra had been turned into an Eevee, and Violet and Jarena were looking through their tomes, trying to find a spell to restore her, confirming to Jon that witchcraft was being used, and the missing operatives had probably been turned into Pokemon.
Jon wanted Latios to leave, however Latios' telepathy was not strong enough to communicate easily with Jon at the time, and instead, Latios attempted to steal the tome, tipping off the Diamond Ladies to his presence, before fleeing empty handed back to Jon. Shortly after Latios returned, Alyssa arrived at the arena with the Pokemon, and explained where she found them and how she thought they belonged to Avery and had stolen their clothes. Putting the pieces together, Jon lied to Alyssa, telling her Avery got hit by a stray sludge attack, and was showering in the change rooms, and Jon would return the Pokemon and the clothes, much to the confusion of Avery Miller the Buizel, who was standing next to Alyssa, whilst Jimmy Kendo, was being carried tightly by Alyssa, who was none the wiser, because he's just so cute...
Leaving the two Pokemon and the bag of belongings with her husband, Alyssa left, as Jon arranged for Steven to join him at the Arena to share his findings, and plan next steps. The Diamond Ladies required a sample of Cassandra's DNA, which they were currently searching for, and a gold nugget to turn her back, so Jon suggested that Steven make the call to all operatives to buy every Gold Nugget they could get their hands on on the ship. Once the Diamond Ladies realized they couldn't turn Cassandra back without the league's help, they could negotiate turning the other operatives back.
Meanwhile, having managed to acquire a nugget by asking a trainer who had approached them for an autograph, Jarena and Violet were horrified when Doug Henderson, a league operative stole the nugget from their hands. Violet tackled Doug, however Jarena had already cast a hex, intended for Doug, which hit Violet, turning her into a Furret. In response and frustration, Violet then used a hex of her own to turn Jarena into Buneary.
Receiving an update as to what had happened, Jon dispatched Latios to steal their belongings. Their clothes, spell tomes, and ingredients. Latios succeeded, though had not been stealthy, and was seen 'attacking' the Diamond Ladies, when in fact, he had just brushed past them very quickly, leaving more holes in the ship, and bringing his total up to seven, much to Jon and Steven's horror.
With the Diamond Ladies now disarmed, Jon and Latios approached them to take them in, however Latios finally used his telepathy to communicate with Jon. Being able to see their emotions, and understand how lost and confused they were, he asked Jon to try talking to them first, wanting to give them a chance, instead of just having Latios immobilize them and handing them over. Deciding to listen to Latios, Jon approached them wanting to talk. He offered to advocate on their behalf to the league for a lesser punishment, if they came with him willingly, and did what they could to undo the damage they caused, and help cover up the existence of witchcraft. He told them his own story, and asked for theirs, trying to understand how they found themselves where they were.
The Diamond Ladies originally didn't take Jon up on his offer, and fled, finding more reagents for their spells, and going on a minor rampage, turning civilians into Pokemon, in order to force the league into a position where they would rely on the Diamond Ladies, and therefore be willing to negotiate a deal for immunity. However, they were approached by Jimmy Kendo, who managed to convince them to hand themselves in.
Jon met with them by the pool to give them what they'd need to turn the other people back into Pokemon, before taking them into custody, giving them what they need to turn themselves back, and then leaving them while he met with Cynthia, Steven and Lance, who were overseeing the operation.
Knowing the league would not want people realizing witchcraft was real, and copying the Diamond Ladies, Jon proposed a much reduced punishment, a private ban, that would be published under the guise of the Ladies taking a break, whilst Jon would let himself be caught during a battle with a Zoroark, creating an illusion identical to the scene in Central Park, when Violet and Jarena turned themselves into Pokemon, effectively making himself out to be the mastermind behind a massive hoax, and taking the fall, with only those in the know realizing that Jon Drake wasn't his name, and that he would start going by Ryan Mason, and start a new life with Alyssa, with the League compensating them heavily for it.
Steven and Cynthia approved the idea, however Lance was against it, outvoted, and wanting to throw the book at the Diamond Ladies. Returning with Alyssa (who by this point was made aware of Jon's real reason to be here) to where the Diamond Ladies were being held, Jon explained the plan, and they agreed. That evening, Cassandra battled Avery Miller, taking her first win without the use of witchcraft. During this battle however, Lance found Violet and Jarena, and attempted to have his Dragonite kill them and frame Jon and Latios for it, only to be found by Jon, who intervened with Latios, before brutally beating Lance. Jon battled and defeated Ethan Caldwell, using questionable tactics in order to start causing people to believe he might be a cheater. After the battle, Jon was approached by Ethan, who picked a fight with him, before being knocked to the ground by Jon, in order to turn the public against him and make the coverup more believable.
The next day, the media reported the use of witchcraft by the Diamond Ladies, using information that was held by the League. Meanwhile, Cassandra was receiving text messages from someone harassing her and threatening to blow the cover-up story they had planned for Jon and Cassandra's battle that evening. Eventually the decision was reached for the Diamond Ladies to come clean, with the League letting them get away with a lifetime ban and having to pay off their debt, and not prosecuting any further since they were attacked by an ex-League Champion. Jon and Cassandra visited Lance in his guarded infirmary room, where Jon rubbed salt in his wounds by making it clear how much Lance had lost in his pursuit of revenge, and Cassandra managed to record a psychotic rant, which would further destroy Lance's reputation, and make sure he spent a long time incarcerated.
That evening, Jon and Cassandra battled, and whilst Cassandra put up an admirable battle, it wasn't enough to match Jon's own experience and unique way of battling, with Jon taking the victory and being named the first High Seas Tournament Champion. The cruise ended, with everyone going their separate ways. Jon and Alyssa used the prize money, and the reimbursement from the league to purchase a large property in Mossdeep City, that once upon a time was a monastery, but with a little work, would be home to Jon's new project.
The Eon Academy.
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