2. Route One

The next day saw our trek to Accumula Town. It was a far walk, but we covered the ground effectively and we always started early. Marcus and Candace carried our banners today. I shouldered only supplies. It was a light burden, though. We would make Accumula by tonight and we intended on resting at the hotel, as usual. Very little camping happened when one traveled with a sage, although Ghetsis was never adverse to it, we all suspected that he preferred being under a roof. Us grunts would not disagree, as it meant less time packing and unpacking camp, and fixing meals besides.

On the down side, it required us to haul a fair amount of unnecessary gear. That never bothered me. I had always been strong, and I had lived a strong life. The kids were feeling it though. They groaned and complained, but whining together seemed to give them strength. On most days, it amused me to think that these young teens and twenty-somethings could not keep up with an old thirty-two year old like me; however, I was very preoccupied today.

I had barely slept last night, driven by the euphoric sensation of finally discovering my new goal in life. At my age, life had been pretty well planned out. Then N came and flipped my world, leaving me reeling and directionless. The despair had slowly overtaken me, but now I knew! I wanted to be a speaker. I wanted to take N's message to every town and to every person in it. This thought, though, was what had dampened my spirits. I could not speak.

Speeches had never been a part of my life. Inspiring others had no place in my word of absolutes. I knew what had to be done, and I gave the orders that got me there. If a person or pokémon could not fulfill those orders, than I had no use for them. The thought of inspiring others was a foreign concept.

Until Lord N, I had never felt that dizzying sense of awe. I would have been contemptuous of those who did, but now it was different. What I felt for Lord N was deeper than mere awe. It was a fierce devotion that I felt without really understanding. That would have worried me before, but now it just seemed right.

Ghetsis did awe me though. I would have been incapable of feeling this before N, but now I could understand what it was like to be deeply moved and impressed by another. Everything seemed so easy for him. Everything he did, he did with decision and power. Facing down hostile crowds did not faze him. With only his words, he turned them into his followers and brought them to the true knowledge of Lord N.

He was perceptive, too. He had never spoken to me before, yet was able to reveal my life's purpose after only a minute's conversation. He was in control of everything, like I had been before. I admired and coveted that. I missed the feeling of being in control.

"I see that you did not sleep well," Ghetsis said.

I looked up in surprise. Ghetsis was speaking to me here, in front of the others! After last night, I was sure that our little talk would be a one-time thing. Despite his words, Ghetsis was too important to speak to the likes of me. That he would speak to me now...!

"You are correct. I... could not sleep," I admitted.

"You look more than tired. I trust you spent your time last night in thought. What have you discovered?" Ghetsis asked, falling into step with me.

"It was just... well, there was so much to process, I just..." I stammered.

"Rex," Ghetsis spoke with an indulgent humor, but there was a hardness to his words, "take your time. There is no need to fill your sentences with prattling. It evidences an indecisive mind, and it does not lend itself to clear, concise oration."

"I apologize, Lord Ghetsis," I said. A flush rose in my cheeks and I looked away.

The old me never stammered. The old me never apologized. The old me knew what he was about, and he knew the steps that would take him there. This new man, he was not so confident. Things did not make as much sense as they used to.

"Just speak your mind. Tell me what you know," Ghetsis prompted.

"I want to be a speaker," I said, taking time to make sure my words were clear and precise.

Ghetsis nodded. I waited for him to say something, but he was quiet. He walked alongside me without looking at me, hardly seeming to pay me any mind at all. This emboldened me, and I mentally readied my thoughts.

"I want to speak. I want to take Lord N's message to everyone. I want to do like you do. I want to walk into a strange place, somewhere I've never been, and bring the truth to them. I want to do that, and I want to do it without fear. I want to speak; I want my words to ring with confidence. I... I want to see... I want to see the looks on their faces," I finished weakly, cursing myself for the stammer.

"The looks on their faces?" Ghetsis asked.

I flushed. I had not meant to say that. I started to take it back, but Ghetsis was looking at me again. It was the same look that he had used on me last night. It was funny, that so much could be expressed in one look, but I could not retract my words. They had interested Ghetsis.

"Yes," I admitted, "I watch the crowd as much as you. You can see it, how your words hit or miss. You know this, I know you do, but I... the part I like best is the moment when a person... loses his defenses. Because, that's the moment when they really understand. I like that, that moment," I finished.

"I see," Ghetsis said after a beat. He looked pensive a moment, then said, "So, you are certain that you want to be a speaker."

"Yes, I'm sure. I want more than anything to spread N's message," I sighed, remembering the problem. "I want to, but I can't speak!"

"Really? What are you disappointed with?" Ghetsis asked.

"Don't jest. You heard me yesterday! I couldn't say a word!"

"I did hear you, but what I remember is very different," Ghetsis said sharply. "I heard an old man question my followers, and I heard one of my men respond. He responded with confidence and without rancor. He was not afraid to speak up. He was not ashamed of what he believed."

I was stunned. I would never have viewed it like that.

"He was in the background, yet many gave him their attention. He was at the center of all that attention, good, bad, and indifferent, but he was so assured that he did not mind. He had the potential to turn minds and hearts. He only faltered when he became uncertain of what he believed. I never 'jest,' Rex," Ghetsis said.

There was a coldness to his tone that frightened me. He looked remote suddenly, deep and unfathomable. He was angry, and I had made him that way.

"I presumed too much," I said. "I apologize, Lord Ghetsis."

"You did," Ghetsis said quietly.

He looked stormy for a moment more, but then his entire manner changed. He smiled and touched my shoulder.

"You are hard on yourself," he said gently. "You can't expect to give great speeches without any practice, or without any instruction. Watching me has taught you a little, but you don't understand what you're seeing."

I watched him warily. His sudden change of mood was disquieting. I was sure that it was forced. I was wise enough to know that Ghetsis was still angry, but suppressing it. He was trying to achieve something, something that I should probably have no part in; but I was starving for instruction, for anything that I could learn to help me reach my new goal. So far, Ghetsis had taught me more than anyone else, and this was only our second conversation. I would not jeopardize this, so I nodded wordlessly to encourage more teaching from him.

"Practice will come later. First, instruction. I'll tell you the secret to an amazing speech, the kind that turns people's hearts, the kind that changes people's minds. You think that you can't speak, so you despair. You think the words are everything, and why shouldn't you? The very name, 'speech,' is misleading. It brings to mind empty text, simple words, as if you are reasoning with logic. This is a lie. Words aren't the most important thing."

Ghetsis did not gesture much as he spoke. This surprised me. When he gave speeches, he used grand, expansive gestures that punctuated his words, underscoring them without seeming silly or forced. It looked so natural when he did it that I always imagined that he used them constantly, even in everyday life. It was jarring to see that was not the case.

"The most important thing you can say is nothing. It's what you convey. The most important part of your speech is earnestness and conviction," Ghetsis said. "If you have those, people will listen to you. Even if your words are simple at first, they will grow as you progress. On most occasions, if you want people to truly understand, it is best to be as simple as you can while still stating your point. You should state all your points, elaborating only as necessary.

A person's most important asset, and the one they are most likely to give you, is their time; however, if you want to be a really great speaker, you can't just take their time. You have to steal it," here, Ghetsis clenched his fist. He continued, "You have to believe that what you're saying is important. So important that they have to stop everything and listen. Do you really think that what you believe is worth their time? Do you believe that it is worth my time?"

I was staggered. I was listening to him, absorbing what he said. I was not ready to answer questions. I looked askance at him, to see if it was really a question or just rhetorical.

Ghetsis was watching me steadily, with an almost exaggerated look of patience. It was if he were teaching a small child. I bristled.

"But, Lord Ghetsis, you are taking the message to the masses! You already know this!" I said.

"Do I? Are you that certain that you and I believe the same things? It is rare, extremely rare, for two people to agree that completely," Ghetsis' smile was sharp again. "If I teach you, you will be instructed with knowledge and practice. Now I have taught you. Show me what you've learned."

"But I... I don't know where to start! And here..." I looked at Justin behind me, who was pretending not to listen, and Wilhelm to the side, who may not have been listening, and up to Marcus and Candace, who were talking animatedly and could not have heard. Then there was Zarah and Helena, already snickering to each other although they were probably jealous of the attention I was receiving. It was yesterday all over again.

I looked back at Ghetsis, expecting to see the stormy look back on his face; however, he did not look disapproving. Instead, he looked encouraging. Even his smile had softened.

"Conviction, Rex," he said. "The belief that what you know must be shared. Start with your most basic belief. Tell me your truth."

"I believe that it is wrong to keep pokémon in pokéballs," I said.

I felt foolish, telling Ghetsis the most basic tenet of our belief. After that, I was not sure what else to say.

"Is that it? Is that the depth of your conviction?" Ghetsis asked. He looked disappointed.

I did not want him to lose interest in me. I needed his instruction. I would have to do better.

"I believe that it is wrong to imprison pokémon in pokéballs, or in any other way," I said, a little louder than I had before.

Ghetsis still looked doubtful, so I continued.

"Pokémon, like humans, are sentient creatures. We would never keep a human in slavery, so why do we enslave pokémon? It is slavery. The nice words, like 'partner,' 'codependence,' 'friend,' and.. and 'ally,' they are empty words. Phrases we've made up to disguise the ugly word. Slavery. Pokémon are our slaves. We take a free creature from its environment and force it to do our will. When it stops struggling and obeys us without question, we call that... that..." I stopped. The word I had been about to say had vanished,

"We call that the 'bond' between a trainer and a pokémon," Ghetsis prompted.

It was not the word that I had lost, but it was good enough.

"That 'bond,' when the pokémon submits to us, is the moment that pokémon loses all hope. That 'bond' is the moment the pokémon gives up all dreams of freedom. That 'bond,'" I said, liking this idea better than my other one, "is the moment the pokémon realizes that its soul is bound to that little ball you carry in your pocket."

Zarah and Candace laughed.

"A pokémon's soul?" Justin asked, "Who says they have souls? Who says any of us do?"

"You should hear yourself," Candace snickered," 'we keep the souls of pokémon in our balls!' "

She said it in a comically deep voice that she projected as loud as she could. Her hysterical giggles did not help her projection, but she conveyed her point. Marcus and Justin laughed.

Wilhelm did not say anything, although he shot a disapproving look at Candace.

"Of course pokémon have souls!" Helena shot back at Justin, "How else do we have ghost pokémon?"

I felt that familiar blush creep up my neck, but beyond embarrassment I was angry. That was what I really believed! This is what they should believe!

"This is the will of my lord N!" I shouted. "Lord N, the king of Team Plasma! Lord N, the man that all of you serve, the man that you all obey!"

"Who said anything about Lord N?" Wihelm said finally. "Calm down, Rex. N isn't everything."

"If you didn't join Plasma for N, then why did you join at all? Team Plasma exists to implement his will. We serve to make him King of Unova. If you aren't serving N, you aren't serving for the true reason," I said.

"Are you calling him a traitor?" Zarah asked.

I turned on her, ready to continue. Maybe I was. Maybe everybody here was a traitor to Lord N. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder.

"That's enough. Everyone here is loyal to the goals of Team Plasma. You were all chosen specifically because of your tireless work and devotion to the cause," Ghetsis said. I bristled, but Ghetsis gripped my shoulder hard.

"I want you all to understand this. Even N works to forward Team Plasma's glorious assent. N is the people's king. He is the embodiment of us all. All of our hopes and desires are his hopes and desires. N is our one truth, the cumulation of all our ideals. N serves Team Plasma, even as Plasma serves him. So, no more talk about loyalties. There are no sides, there is only Plasma," Ghetsis said.

I felt his hand twitch, as if he were repressing a gesture. It would have been something simple, a sweep or a fist clench. This message had been a speech, I realized, not instruction.

"Plasma!" All the others cheered heartily.

"Plasma," I chimed in softly.

The atmosphere was mostly restored now and the talking resumed. Helena and Justin argued over pokémon souls, while Candace seemed to be imitating me to the amusement of Marcus amd Zarah. Wilhelm continued his silent way. I felt drained and slumped under Ghetsis' touch.

"I did badly," I said.

Ghetsis was silent. He appeared to be deep in thought. I was not even curious to know how I had done. I had failed. I had nearly torn apart the entire group. That was not how people were united. Now, Ghetsis would never teach me again.

"You see now why I try to avoid questions from the crowds," he said at last. He gave my arm a reassuring squeeze before letting his hand fall to his side. "You did well."

I stared at him. It was on my tongue to ask if he was joking, but I remembered how well that went over last time and refrained.

"Don't look so incredulous. Your voice burned with conviction and anyone who could not see your earnestness is a fool. Everyone listened to you. They were quiet while you spoke, until you used an unfortunate metaphor. I'm a little disappointed," Ghetsis sounded wistful and I looked up in mild panic, but he continued, "I wanted to hear the end of it."

"You did?" I asked. I felt so light, I thought I must have been glowing.

"You have a very incendiary method of speaking. It is dramatic, but also a bit abrasive. You need to keep better control of yourself while you're speaking."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis," I said, still nearly bubbly with happiness.

"And something else. No more talk of treason. Team Plasma is a group made up of many diverse people with many diverse views. No one view is the correct one, and different reasons for enlistment are simply that. I see you joined because of N, and I hear that you are truly loyal to him. N will need people like you when he becomes king of Unova, but try not to persecute your teammates. I... N will need them too."

"Yes, Lord Ghetsis," I said.

Something about his words seemed strange to me, but I could not hold them in my mind. I had done well and Ghetsis was still beside me. We walked in silence to Accumula Town, but it was companionable and Ghetsis stayed with me the entire trip.