Author's Note:
British Warning - I have used some nods to Unova's American inspiration in the language/spelling but for the most part I write in British English.
Character Age – Thankfully most Pokémon characters don't have canon ages, so I've taken some creative liberties with them. As the story starts during Colress and Ghetsis' school days, I have opted to make them (and other characters) younger than they probably would be during the events of Black and White, in order to avoid a 20 year time skip. Please enjoy the Seven Sages as handsome young men, I know I do.
Spotify Playlist - https/open./playlist/1t3g3tWWc8pMsyw38YsNTG?si=b722c2e3b6c740d8
Fic is complete, cross-posted from AO3.
Part 1: Blueberry AcademyChapter 1 – Considering
Colress spent most of his free time in the library. Today was no different. He sat in a quiet corner, pouring over a textbook about Pokérus. The virus wasn't covered in their current syllabus, but he had already mastered the material for his final exams. With university on the horizon, he had decided to get a head-start on topics that might come up during his undergraduate degree.
It was a cold January at Blueberry Academy. Colress Achroma was sixteen years old, on the slow but inevitable road to becoming a scientist, just like his parents before him. The academy was newly built, a futuristic dome suspended in the ocean, just off the coast of Unova. Only the best and brightest young adults were accepted to study here. And Colress was indeed one of the best.
The library door crashed open and a tall boy with sage green hair stomped into the quiet room. Ghetsis caught sight of Colress and stormed toward him, some wrinkled papers clutched in his fist.
"Change your handwriting. Professor Fennel knows I didn't write these." he slammed the essays down on top of Colress' textbook. Colress gave a sigh and looked up at his classmate.
"I don't suppose you've considered the possibility that she'd believe you wrote them if you did, in fact, write them?" Colress asked, his lips pressing into a cold smile.
Unlike Colress, Ghetsis didn't get into Blueberry Academy on merit. He got in because his wealthy father bought his place. And it showed.
"Why would I write them myself when you write such perfect essays?" Ghetsis seethed.
"Ghetsis, you flatter me." Colress laughed.
Before he could react, Ghetsis launched himself across the table and caught Colress by the collar.
"Are you laughing at me, ignorant fool?" Ghetsis barked. Colress rolled his eyes and shrugged his way out of Ghetsis' grasp.
"Of course not. I'll have your essays over to you by tomorrow," Colress said lightly, as if they were having a totally normal conversation. "With different handwriting."
"Tomorrow," Ghetsis reiterated before turning on his heel and stalking out of the library.
Colress sighed and picked up the crumpled essays. Ghetsis was a bully and a thug; if all it took to keep him at bay was a couple of essays Colress could write with his eyes shut, it was a price he was happy to pay. 'Completing them in different handwriting will be an interesting challenge,' Colress thought to himself.
The final period was Battle Studies and Colress filed out into the terrarium with his classmates. As the class paired up into battle partners, Colress found himself face-to-face with Ghetsis, as usual. To his chagrin, Ghetsis was the only other social pariah who never had a friend to pair with, so they always ended up together.
"Splendid, let's begin then." Colress smiled thinly as they made their way to a battleground.
"Remember, your next paper will be on status moves, so let's try to make good use of those today!" Mr. Hodge called out across the field.
No sooner had they taken their places, Ghetsis sent out his Deino.
"Deino, use Slam!" his face split into a grin as Deino charged forward. Colress fumbled for his Poké Ball, sending out his Magneton just in time for the attack to collide with it instead of him.
"Nice status move." said Colress icily.
"I don't need to use status moves, I'm not the one writing the paper." Ghetsis sneered.
"I suppose your logic is sound," Colress nodded. "Magneton, Thunder Wave."
Magneton shook off the attack and sent a shockwave that paralyzed Deino.
"Push through it or I'll make you regret it," Ghetsis threatened the little dragon. "Now, Dragon Pulse."
Deino pushed through the paralysis as ordered and unleashed a powerful attack that sent Magneton hurtling backwards.
"A strong move, you've been training." Colress noted. "Good to see you do something yourself."
"Once I'm out of school, being strong is all that will matter. My battles won't be won or lost by Unovan Literature."
"And what battles will these be, Ghetsis? Magneton, Double Team." Colress commanded and Magneton cast its reflection around the field, creating an army of decoys.
"Prolonging the inevitable, Colress? Deino, Incinerate. Hit all of them." Ghetsis smiled malevolently as flames engulfed the battlefield. "There's more to my life than academics, Colress! I'm destined for greatness! I can feel it!" Ghetsis shouted through the flames.
Colress met Ghetsis' burning red eyes and a shiver ran down his spine. Seeing the young man, surrounded by fire, with the metallic screech of pain from Magneton ringing in the air, Colress almost believed him.
The flames subsided and Magneton lay unmoving in the dirt.
"You've gotten much stronger." Colress said as he recalled his Pokémon.
"And you've stayed the same." Ghetsis smirked.
"Perhaps I have been neglecting the practical elements lately." Colress agreed thoughtfully. This wouldn't do. He made a mental note to come and train after classes.
Together, they made their way to the small Pokémon Center at the edge of the terrarium. Colress turned Magneton over to the nurse.
"Oh, poor Magneton!" cried Rood, a fellow classmate. He ran a hand over Magneton's melted exterior as it passed him. "Do you ever wonder if Pokémon like battling? It looks so painful sometimes."
Ghetsis scoffed, but Colress spoke first. "It would certainly be fascinating to hear Pokémon's opinions on it."
"I've been reading this book about how Poké Balls change their brain chemistry to make them more docile. I think that's kind of messed up when you think about it. We make them obedient and then make them fight until they..." Rood's eyes landed back on Magneton as it was being treated.
"And what would you suggest we do, Rood? Release them all?" asked Ghetsis, with a dangerous edge to his voice. To his credit, Rood stood his ground.
"Well, maybe. If it's proven that we are enslaving them and forcing them to do things that they wouldn't do otherwise, then maybe releasing them all is the right thing to do." Rood said quietly.
Rood was a short, dumpy boy. He had big brown eyes and curly hair. He reminded Colress of a Teddiursa. He once cried during a film in class when a Pokémon had died and people had never let him forget about it.
Colress thought for a moment, mulling it over. If everybody had to release their Pokémon, that would seriously stunt his planned career in Pokémon research. To his surprise, Ghetsis seemed to be considering Rood's words too. 'He can't seriously be moved by this, can he?'
"If it's proven, indeed." Colress replied pragmatically.
Ghetsis stayed quiet. As Rood left to talk to the nurse, Colress turned to him with a curious expression.
"You're not considering releasing your Pokémon, are you?"
"Of course not," Ghetsis snapped. "But I am... considering."
"Colour me intrigued, Ghetsis. What are you considering?"
Ghetsis' thoughtful expression snapped back to his usual sneer.
"I'm wondering why you're still standing around in the Pokémon Center when you have two of my essays to get done tonight."
The following day began as all his days did – Colress woke up, drank a cup of tea as he revised for a degree he wasn't yet undertaking, then he made his way to his first lesson. He always sat alone, but he didn't mind too much. He'd never known how to make friends. It was much easier to fill every spare second with studying, rather than endure the lukewarm reactions people seemed to have to him.
Before he could reach the classroom, however, he caught sight of Ghetsis sitting hunched over on the floor in the sunlit hallway. Colress approached him, pulling his essays from his bag. As he drew closer, he saw that Ghetsis was engrossed in a book titled: The History of Poké Balls.
Colress dangled the essays in front of him and he snatched them without a word.
"So, you can read. Interesting." Colress said snarkily, sliding down the wall to sit beside him and craning his neck to read the page. Ghetsis snapped the book shut and glowered at him.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"Something Rood said has got inside your head. If you're planning some kind of Poké Ball-style mind control, I must warn you, even the best scientists haven't managed that yet."
"It's not that." Ghetsis muttered, his voice low, "I'm well aware that I'm not a scientist. That's why I keep you around."
"Charming. What, then?"
"Pokémon enslavement and liberation... It's an emotive topic, isn't it? If people really started talking about it, it could be quite divisive."
Colress considered his words. "And you're interested in causing that divide?"
"I am," a smile curved the corner of Ghetsis' lips, "I told you, Colress. I'm destined for something bigger than this school. Bigger than any stupid essay or test. This might be exactly what I've been waiting for."
"To what end? What would you gain from Pokémon liberation?"
"Why don't you join me and find out?" Ghetsis' blood red eyes sparkled with promise. Colress couldn't help but be drawn in by him. 'He's just a teenage thug, he'll be lucky if he doesn't end up in a juvenile detention centre. But... There is something about him.'
"Well, Ghetsis. As tempting as your vague offer sounds, I'm going to go right ahead and get my doctorate and become a renowned scientist. But fear not, every time I see an enslaved Pokémon, I'll think of you." Colress smiled pleasantly as he stood up and made to leave. Ghetsis caught his arm firmly.
"When you see me on the news, know that the offer still stands. I'll need someone like you."
Colress scoffed and twisted out of Ghetsis' hold. 'Someone like me, eh? All he'll need is a good lawyer.'
As the week progressed, Colress noticed a change in Ghetsis. He was usually so disruptive and hostile at school. He was prone to explosive outbursts and storming out of classrooms. He'd slump in his chair or throw pens at people as they tried to listen to the teacher... But this week was different. He was quiet. Not subdued, no. More like... Waiting. Coiled like an Arbok, waiting to strike. This new Ghetsis spent his time reading, writing feverishly in a notebook or simply staring out of the window at the Unovan Sea beyond.
Colress found himself watching him with quiet intrigue. He had little else to do beside read textbooks anyway. Colress had known the boy for the three years they'd been at Blueberry Academy together, and in all that time, Ghetsis was the only one that had ever shown any interest in him. Granted, that's because Colress was the only one who would do his homework without complaint, but it was enough of a connection that Colress couldn't help being fascinated by Ghetsis' new obsession.
Not that he told him that, of course. Colress didn't speak to anybody if he could help it. He didn't even speak to his Pokémon much. He would sometimes let Klink out of its ball in the evenings to hover over him as he worked. He liked the quiet whirring of its gears, the way the sound would soften his dorm room like white noise. But he wasn't sure what he should say to it – if anything.
Colress tried not to think about his social deficiency too much. He had ambition. Mingling with friends - as he watched others do in the academy halls - looked pleasant, but was ultimately unnecessary for his trajectory towards being a scientist. His battles would not be won or lost by his ability to connect with people, or lack thereof. There was nothing to be sad about. He had long since accepted that he was alone in every way that mattered.