[RP] Spiritwater – Tides of Witchcraft

[[Desolate Divine]]

Latios
Above Eon Squad HQ
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga

Creative License with Neos Permission

As the meeting happened, Latios resumed sentry duty, remaining invisible above the villa, ready to reach out to Jon if anybody approached with nefarious intentions. Whilst people could disguise themselves, their emotions were on display for him. Whilst it wasn't an exact science, as not any angry person meant harm, the different mixtures of feeling people displayed to Latios allowed for educated guesses. Someone displaying anger and contempt together was liable to be a danger.

"Latios… brother, if you can hear me, please. I’m here… and we need your help. They’re…

…they’re preparing something truly horrible, and… it involves me… and you…"

Latios jerked around, looking everywhere for the source of the voice in his head. The voice was feminine, but he didn't have a sister... At least, not one he knew of. Whilst Latios didn't keep track of time the way humans did until he met Jon, Jon estimated that Latios would be roughly twenty years old based on his size and, as Jon put it, 'maturity or lack thereof'. Fourteen or so of those years were with Jon, and at a guess based on Latios' size in his own memories, Latios left Southern Island two years before he met Jon, though he couldn't remember why. He didn't remember a great deal of the first four, give-or-take years of his life. Only really learning to communicate with telepathy in the last four years, he learnt that most creatures, people or Pokemon can't remember their early days. But he'd know if he had a sister?

The presence in his mind lingered for a second as the message faded, and Latios had a sense of familiarity, and now that he was having it, he recalled having that same sense many years earlier in a tournament, distracting him and losing the battle.

Feeling the consciousness that had scraped his own start to fade, Latios used his own telepathy to jump on it, trying to strengthen the link, and figure out its source. Jon would not approve of such a risky manoeuvre during a mission, as it could be a ploy from Agatha, however he knew it wasn't. He had felt this sense of familiarity well before Agatha was in the picture, and there was no way she could have mimicked it so perfectly...

As Latios dove into the consciousness, the familiarity grew, as he suddenly remembered something from before he left Southern Island, as well as experiencing someone else's memories, causing pieces to come to together.

He was still small, barely even two feet tall, sitting alone under the shade of a tree on Southern Island, trying to stay out of the storm that was billowing outside, and stay dry himself. However, more important than that, was the white and red egg, a little under a foot tall, he huddled around, trying to keep it warm.

Latios didn't know his mother. She had left long before, as she knew her time was nearly up. She had told the native Pokemon of Southern Island her story, and the cruel luck of Legendary Pokemon. The reason those that can breed are still so difficult to find. Very rarely can they reproduce, it usually taking years, and when they are able to, it usually took too much of a toll on them to live much longer. Because of this, most Legendary Pokemon grow up alone, with no parents, and the cruel cycle continues.

He had hatched a year earlier, and been told by the other Pokemon what became of his mother. Laying not one but two eggs took all the strength she had, and not wanting her offspring to hatch, only to find her decayed body, she left. The Pokemon presume she died somewhere in the ocean between Southern Island and the Hoenn mainland. She had left one other message.

"Look after each other."

Latios was the first to hatch, and hear the story. He stayed by the egg, only leaving when absolutely necessary, until two years later, the egg hatched, bringing Latias into the world. From then, the pair were inseparable, as only they truly understood each other.

The next two years, they both grew, Latios reaching four feet tall, and showing a natural talent and creativity for psychic abilities, limited only by his own physical strength he harnessed to use them. Latias was three feet tall, still too young to be able to use these abilities, however starting to learn how to refract light, to change her appearance to anything she wanted, at the time though, she only knew the Pokemon on the island. Whilst they could both fly, Latios quite quickly given his age and size, leaving the island wasn't possible. Latios could potentially make it to land before needing rest, but Latias wouldn't have been able to make it.

This however all changed, when Latias heard strange noises coming from the beach of the island, early one morning...

"I'm telling you, my source is legit, there is this gem that is supposed to be on this island. They call it the Soul Dew?"

Latias couldn't understand the voices, however was curious, wondering if new Pokemon had arrived on the island. Latios was still asleep, and not wanting to disturb him, she made her way towards the noise, curious to see what Pokemon had found their way here, and how.

She made her way out of the home her and Latios had built in the trees, and found three, strange looking Pokemon, nearly twice her height, and standing on two legs. She had only seen flying and water type Pokemon on the island, so this was new. They all looked slightly different to one another, which was odd for Pokemon, yet still all seemed similar.

She cried out, greeting them, catching them by surprise.

"Is that... A Latias?" said one of them "I heard rumors they were here, but didn't think it was true..."

"She'll fetch a better price than any gem..." said the other, as he slowly moved his hands to his waist, "Go get the net from the boat..."

Feeling uneasy, Latias slowly backed away, however the strange Pokemon noticed, before throwing a strange object in front of her. It exploded, revealing a black Pokemon with yellow markings the same size as her. It had red eyes, and looked at her intently.

"Mean Look." Said the stranger, causing the four legged Pokemon in front of her to glare at Latias. Suddenly she felt paralyzed, as if she were too terrified to even flee, as the other stranger returned with a large metal tube, before pointing it at her.

There was a boom, as both the strangers staggered, as if shoved by an invisible force, as a white and blue blur darted out from the trees, tackling the four legged Pokemon in front of her.

She felt the presence of her brother in her mind, telling her to flee, but she couldn't.

"Just our luck, there is one of each, and they're too young to do any real damage..." Laughed the stranger who summoned the black Pokemon.

"Surrender..." said the black Pokemon, before darting towards Latios. It slammed into Latios knocking it back, as Latios prepared to lift it using his Psychic abilties, however the Pokemon seemed unaffected.

"Quit wasting time, and capture it!" Said the stranger to the one with the tube, who pointed it at Latias. A moment later there was a bang, as Latias found herself trapped under a weighted rope.

"Brother!" she called out. Latios looked back in horror, before taking another hit from the black Pokemon. Roaring in anger, Latios lashed forward with insane speed, gripping his jaws around the black Pokemon's neck, and forcing them shut, as a loud crack pierced the air.

"Umbreon!" Said the stranger, "You'll pay for that!"

Latios turned to face both of them, tossing Umbreon's limp corpse towards them, his eyes beginning to glow. This time he focused his telekinetic abilities into a smaller area, instead of spreading it in every direction. He had learnt the neck was the weak spot on the black Pokemon. Maybe it was the same with these strange Pokemon.

The stranger with the tube saw Latios, quickly darting behind a nearby tree. The other wasn't fast enough. Latios focused all of his psychic power into a concentrated blast, aimed at the strangers neck. There was another loud crack, whilst the stranger was blasted backwards, alongside his Pokemon and thrown off the edge of the island.

Fatigued from the psychic attacks, but not willing to give up, Latios darted to the other stranger who had emerged from its hiding place, and mauled it between its neck and shoulder, causing one of its arms to go limp. It screamed in pain, before smacking Latios hard over the head with the metal tube, knocking Latios unconscious.

Latias watched as the stranger threw Latios to the ground.

"He is too much of a liability to bring along... Caused too much trouble..." The stranger said, "But you, I think you will behave yourself..."

The other Pokemon of the island had already fled, and as the stranger gathered the net that bound Latias, tying it off and taking it back to the boat it used to arrive, Latias could only cry out desperately, hoping her brother would wake up and rescue her. She continued to cry as the boat departed, leaving Latios alone on the island.

Latios awoke hours later, alone on the island, with no memory of anything that happened before. He was too young to understand that this wasn't normal, nor was there anyone around to tell him. He knew he existed, and was on this island, but nothing more.

Over the coming days, Latios felt drawn to the sea north of the island and what was on the other side. He eventually found the courage to leave the strange island, and see what was on the other side. Eventually he reached it, finding it full of other Pokemon, and strange creatures that they called humans.

After a few close calls due to Latios' ignorance, being saved by the local wild Pokemon who understood something was wrong, they informed Latios of how special of a Pokemon he was, and that humans would want to capture him for no other reason than wanting to have a special Pokemon. If he wanted to survive, he would have to avoid humans. And he did just that.

The next two years were spent wandering Hoenn, learning about the world around him, and avoiding humans, as almost any he was unfortunate enough to run into would try and capture him. And whilst he wasn't opposed to being friends with a human like some Pokemon did, he certainly didn't want to be friends with one who only wanted him for some sort of status he held, and had no choice in whether or not he held it.

After two years wandering the Hoenn mainland, Latios met a strange human. He was being attacked by another Pokemon, under the orders of their human friend, when another human intervened, allowing him to escape. The human who attacked him was angry, but the human who helped didn't seem to care. He barked back just as ferociously until the first human left.

Latios wondered if this was the sort of human he wanted to be friends with. Curious, he watched the human from a distance, however he was unsure if this human wanted to be friends. Maybe he just wanted to help and that was it. In order to be sure, Latios came up with an idea. Latios would let the human see him, and point towards where the island he came from was. That way if the human did want to be friends, he could come find him.

Latios tried it, before returning to the island, waiting to see if the human would arrive, however he didn't. Latios returned to the mainland, trying to find this human, and when he did, did the same thing. He pointed to the south, where the island was, crying out, before flying towards there. He waited and still the human didn't come. Latios wasn't sure if the human just didn't care, or was dense, so tried six more times, when finally, the human arrived at his island. However, he had one more test for the human. He wanted to be friends with someone strong, and the human had to prove it.

And he did. The human proved his strength to Latios, who then let the human capture him in one of their strange capture balls. That was how he became friends with his now best friend Jon.

Latias on the other hand, was taken by the human, and when they reached the mainland, locked in a cage. Her psychic powers hadn't manifested yet, and eventually the human gave her to another human, in exchange for a black case that the other human seemed to want very much.

The human she had been given to lived in a large house, out the back of which was dozens of glorified cages, each containing fake mementos of the original homes of the Pokemon inside them. Whilst she hadn't seen most of the Pokemon, she came to understand that they were rare. Their coloring was different, or they were a type that only lived in certain places. And a couple of them, the human said were like her. Legendary.

She was placed in a cage, where she would spend the next two years. She grew, and soon after learnt how to use her Psychic abilities, as well as mastered the ability to turn invisible, or make herself appear differently, however the grounds outside the cages were patrolled by Pokemon that were trained to fight, and she knew she stood no chance of defeating them if she had to.

The time in the cage was made slightly better by the friend she made in the cage next to hers. It was a Charmander, which according to the other Pokemon there were uncommon, but not enough to justify this. Not that anything could justify it. However this Charmander was black. Being prisoners together, the two developed a strong bond. However as time went on, the light in Charmander's eyes dimmed slowly and slowly with each passing day. Eventually, Charmander stopped getting up in the morning, just laying in the same place it had slept, not wanting to talk to or see anyone. Until one day, Charmander just didn't wake up. It had just lost the will to live.

Latias realized at this point that if she didn't escape, she would die like Charmander. And if she did, she would never see her brother again. So she planned an escape.

By the time she reached that point, she had become strong enough in her psychic abilities to destroy the lock containing her, however didn't. She couldn't escape the Pokemon guarding her, and didn't want to give away the fact she could break out until she knew it was possible. She had also not let any of the Pokemon guarding her see the illusions she could create in her place.

The Pokemon that guarded her weren't treated much better. They slept outdoors, rain, hail or snow, which worked for her. She waited until she could see one struggling a lot in their sleep, having a nightmare. She pressed her consciousness against its own, and began to see what scared it, taking note of it.

After this, every night for weeks, when that Pokemon slept, she would press herself against its consciousness, and force that same image from the nightmare. When it was finally time to enact her plan, she waited for that Pokemon to be the one guarding her cage, before using her ability to change her appearance in the eyes of those around her, turning her into the monster of that Pokemon's nightmare, before blasting the cage door open.

The terrified Pokemon fled, as she darted through the door, seizing freedom. She wanted nothing more than to try and free the others but knew she couldn't do this now, and would just get caught if she tried. Instead she promised herself she would return one day, and free the other Pokemon there.

Latias returned to the island, however found it empty. When she arrived back in the mainland, she made herself appear human, and tried to track down Latios. It took nine months before she did. She was in the city the humans called Lilycove, when she felt the familiar presence of her brothers mind. She followed it into a stadium, making her way through the crowds to see Latios, now nearly six feet tall, battling against an Incineroar. Behind Latios at the end of the field was a young man in his late teens, directing Latios, as he fought the Pokemon opposite him.

Latias, still disguised as a human, walked through the stands, going to the seats closest to the human directing Latios, which were empty due to being in Incineroar's firing line. Whilst she wanted to wait until the battle was over, she had already waited nearly three years, and couldn't wait a second longer. She reached out to Latios' consciousness with her own, seeing Latios jerk at the contact, and swing his head around, looking at her, though the emotion he felt, and the look on his face showed he didn't remember her.

Suddenly, Latios was hit hard by Incineroar, knocking him back towards his trainer. He groaned in pain, and tried to go back into the battle, before his trainer spoke up.

"I resign." the trainer said, "Latios is hurt."

Latias hadn't noticed the harsh bruise that had already manifested where Latios was struck by Incineroar under the wing.

"You alright?" she heard the trainer say to Latios with a gentle voice, "What happened out there?"

Latias watched, realizing that Latios had found someone he was safe with. He seemed genuinely happy with this trainer, and was now safe from people capturing him to be part of a collection, or worse, part of a private zoo...

Latias left, listening to the commentator refer to Latios' trainer as Jon Drake, taking note of the name. She wanted to be able to know he was okay.

Latias travelled Hoenn, trying to find a safe place to call home. The island was empty after the disaster that had occurred there, and she didn't want to live in isolation, away from other Pokemon. Within a few weeks she found a place to call home in the depths of Meteor Falls, where she remained undisturbed for a few months.

However, one day, she heard the sound of footsteps in a nearby cavern. Human footsteps. Remembering the last time this happened, she froze with fear, unable to move, as she saw a light coming from around the corner. The footsteps grew louder, until a human walked around the corner, and stood facing her, holding a lantern. She was in her late teens and looked shocked to see her. Latias prepared to fight, however stopped when the human spoke.

"I'm sorry, is this your home?" said the girl, "I stumbled across these caverns and wanted to explore. I didn't mean to intrude..."

Latias eased a fraction. The girl didn't stare at her with that aura of greed or possessiveness she had seen in most humans who saw her in her true form. The only other one who was the same was Latios' trainer, Jon.

"To say sorry." the girl said, pulling a wrapped sandwich from her pocket, and removing the plastic wrap. She placed it down at her feet, before saying goodbye and leaving.

Latias looked at the food left for her, and realized for the first time around a human, she felt the same way Latios must feel all the time. Safe. What if this human could be to her, what Jon is to Latios?

Latias picked up each half of the sandwich, before following where the girl had gone. When she caught up, she cried out, getting the girls attention, before handing her half of the sandwich. That was how Latias met Willow...

Willow had already beaten the gym challenge in Hoenn, however didn't get past Victory Road, instead pursuing whatever interests she had at the time. Her and Latias were inseparable, becoming even closer when Latias learnt to communicate telepathically with her.

As the years passed, Willow helped Latias keep tabs on Jon Drake, and by extension, Latios. She watched in horror at the footage of Latios seemingly attacking civilians on the S.S. Wishmaker, and breathed a sigh of relief when Jon revealed they were investigating allegations of witchcraft, and her brother was really some sort of spy doing good, and not a destructive maniac. Willow also watched these events with great interest, discovering the existence of Shadowcraft, and beginning to partake in it herself. And life was good.

Until Agatha came into the picture. A vision that Willow received, given to all Shadowcraft wielders, summoning them to Alola. Willow had gone hoping to learn more of Shadowcraft, and was now in too deep, and Latias was now also at risk...

"Latios… brother, if you can hear me, please. I’m here… and we need your help. They’re…

…they’re preparing something truly horrible, and… it involves me… and you…"

Suddenly, it all made sense to Latios. Those missing years, and that feeling of familiarity. The calling to fly north to Hoenn...

Now he just had to tell Jon...

Jon Drake, Abbee Strauss and Dylan Squier
Eon Squad Meeting Room
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga, @Chakramaster @Shruikan

Jon was curious to know the effects of the spells Brianna had referenced with the page numbers, and hearing this, he was almost excited. Rayquaza only lost against Giratina because of a cheap shot from a witch. But with this protecting it...

This cemented his stance on Brianna. She was in no way their ally, and they weren't going to compromise their mission or safety to get her assistance. But if she kept giving them advice like this, they would take it warily. They needed all the help they could get to beat Agatha...

Cassandra began describing other plays which in theory would work, but would be uncomfortable to say the least. He trusted her when she said she wouldn't transform someone if she didn't know she could transform them back, but naturally the other operatives were apprehensive. He sighed quietly to himself at what he was about to do.

"She's right. We can have actual Pokemon who know how to fight other Pokemon holding off their Ghost Types, and have people who volunteer to become Pokemon giving hell to the witches. If their magic is ineffective, they are human, and a flamethrower will still burn them..." Jon said, before hoping his own confidence would inspire others to be willing to try something out of the box, "I volunteer to temporarily become a Pokemon. My own team are trained in how to battle without my direction, and Latios can act as a central hub for communication between myself and them. Rayquaza is an exception, but I have faith I can get it trained reasonably will if I have a little time to spend with it..."

Jon waited, hoping at least one other would volunteer as well...