Colress took his usual seat in the history classroom, by the window, with an empty desk beside him. He was a straight-A student, he excelled in every subject, but he secretly despised History.
Today, it was the day of their presentations. These were graded, so Colress picked a safe subject that had scored well in previous years. He placed his slides in the projector screen, methodically running through the mundane timeline of the Kanto war. He didn't need to read the slides, he knew it by heart.
"Very good, Colress." Professor Cedric Juniper said as he ushered Colress back to his seat. "Ghetsis, have you prepared your presentation?"
The class turned to Ghetsis in unison.
"What do you mean: Have I? Of course I have." Ghetsis said, looking outraged as his chair screeched back. He swept to the front of the class, holding a stack of slides. Colress suppressed his surprised expression. 'I didn't prepare a presentation for him. He didn't ask me to. Did he do this himself?'
"Fellow students, I stand before you today not as a classmate, but as a voice for those who have no voice - a voice for our Pokémon, who suffer in silence within the confines of their Poké Balls!" Ghetsis began, his red eyes gleaming. He was reading from his notebook, yet keeping strong intermittent eye contact with the students before him. It was a far cry from his usual grunts and sneers.
The class sat in a stunned silence as Ghetsis began to detail his research into Poké Balls and their effects on the brain. As he moved through the slides, he illustrated how Pokémon had been used and sacrificed in wars they hadn't started. He showed studies into the way abandoned Pokémon would wait for their trainer until they died. He showed the Pokémon battle mortality rates laid out in neat graphs. Ghetsis had been thorough.
"Think of your Pokémon," he continued, "What do you see? Friends, partners, allies in battle? Or do you see the truth? The harsh, undeniable truth that these creatures are nothing more than prisoners - slaves bound by our whims, trapped within the cold, unyielding steel of their cages!"
Colress cast an eye around the room, expecting to see his own baffled expression reflected on the faces of his classmates. But, to Colress' surprise, they looked enraptured. Rood was hastily wiping his reddened eyes as he listened. Even Professor Juniper was nodding slightly at Ghetsis' words. 'They're actually buying this... Fascinating.'
"We've been told from childhood that it's our right to command these creatures, to force them into battles," Ghetsis continued relentlessly, "But is that truly just? What gives us the right to wield power over them, to play the master? We call ourselves their protectors, but what are we protecting them from? Freedom? The joy of roaming the wilds, unbound by Poké Balls? No! We are their oppressors! But it doesn't have to be this way. We can choose a path where Pokémon are treated as equals, as beings with their own wills and desires. Release them! Let them live as nature intended, free from the burden of our control. Tradition is not truth; the time for change is now. We are the ones who must make it happen!"
As Ghetsis reached the climax of his speech, this was where he noticeably lost some people. Colress' peers cast anxious glances down at their own Poké Balls, their thoughts turning to their own bonds with their beloved partners. Colress smirked. 'How predictable. Everyone is noble until they actually have to sacrifice something.'
"Come outside with me now and release your Pokémon, and you will not only be freeing them, but yourselves as well - from the guilt, the shame, the burden of knowing that you have perpetuated this cycle of oppression." And with that, Ghetsis walked assertively to the door of the classroom and looked back expectantly.
Rood jumped immediately to his feet, clapping. Ghetsis disappeared out of the classroom and Rood followed close behind. Slowly, several boys rose to their feet. Colress looked around in amazement as six boys followed Ghetsis from the classroom.
'Now this I must see,' he thought, curiosity dragging Colress to his feet. He followed the group of boys down the long stairwell and into the terrarium.
When he got there, Rood was already waving a tearful goodbye to his Lampent. The other five boys nervously sent out their own Pokémon and deactivated their Poké Balls as Ghetsis encouraged them.
Ghetsis released his Skorupi with a dutiful expression. 'He's not releasing any of his strong Pokémon. I see how it is.' Colress sent out a Magnemite he'd only caught recently and released it.
"Thank you, all of you. By releasing your Pokémon, you have proven that you are not just students of Blueberry Academy, but true visionaries. But our work is far from over. The liberation of your Pokémon is only the beginning; a first step towards a greater cause. Your courage and your commitment to what is right - these are the qualities we need to forge this new world. Join me, and together, we will ensure that the sacrifices you have made today are not in vain, but the foundation of a movement that will change our world forever."
"I'll join you." Rood said. "You listened to me at the Pokémon Center the other day and you decided to do something about it. You're the courageous one, Ghetsis."
'Oh please,' Colress thought, rolling his eyes.
"I think I misjudged you, Ghetsis," said Gorm, another of the boys, "But as I always say: If you make a mistake and do not correct it, that is a second mistake. I'll join your cause."
The rest of them nodded and agreed heartily. There were six boys in total: Rood, Bronius, Gorm, Zinzolin, Giallo and Ryoku. It was a strange mix, Colress thought.
Gorm, Bronius and Zinzolin were – as Colress understood it – the school's social elite. They were popular, outgoing and usually surrounded by girls.
Giallo and Ryoku were nerds. Not nerds like Colress, the type that formed large groups and made the IT suite insufferable to be in.
And Rood... was just Rood. Simultaneously everyone's friend and nobody's friend. Everybody made fun of him, but he seemed to like everyone anyway.
And they were all gathering under the mighty umbrella of Ghetsis, the unanimously disliked thug that had never done a shred of homework until today's presentation.
'Truly... Astounding.' Colress shook his head in disbelief as they fawned over Ghetsis' powerful words. 'To think that three years' worth of thuggery could be undone in a single well-rehearsed speech. Mind-blowing.'
Colress lingered silently beside the group until Professor Juniper appeared beside them.
"A very rousing presentation, Ghetsis. But I must remind you that we're in the middle of a lesson." he said, ushering them back inside.
As they were escorted back to class, Colress hung back to talk to Ghetsis in a low voice.
"Quite remarkable, I must say."
"Hmm, it didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I only got six." Ghetsis said, disappointment lacing his voice.
Colress raised an eyebrow, "You're not counting me?"
"You didn't release anything important." Ghetsis shot him a withering look.
"I was following the example of my wise leader." Colress chortled.
Ghetsis merely scoffed in response.
"Still," Colress continued thoughtfully, "Convincing six people to release their Pokémon on the spot is quite impressive. Do you not think?"
"It is a start." Ghetsis agreed, a dark flame kindling in his eyes.
The final lesson of the day was Physics. Although Science was Colress' favourite subject, he often found himself incredibly bored in lessons. He was advanced far beyond the abilities of a typical teenage boy. His parents had taught him about the four fundamental states of matter when he was just a small child. He should probably have been riding around the neighbourhood on a scooter or climbing trees, but he hadn't known that. Where normal childhood memories should be, Colress only had data.
"Plasma is a state of matter in which the negative electrons and positive nuclei that usually form atoms become pulled apart and separated." Professor Fennel explained. Colress suppressed a yawn and looked over at Ghetsis, who was once again scribbling in his notebook.
"Pulled apart and separated..." Ghetsis muttered to himself as his pen scratched on the page.
'I've never seen him work so hard. Who knew he had it in him?'
When Physics class ceased, Colress made his way to the canteen with the intention of sticking to the same routine he'd had since his first day at the academy. He'd get dinner, decant it into a Tupperware, then eat alone in his room as he studied or tinkered with inventions. However, as Colress crossed the noisy lunch hall, a hand reached out and caught him by the back of his sweater.
"Sit down." Ghetsis commanded, yanking Colress into an empty chair. Around the table sat the six boys from earlier who'd released their Pokémon.
Colress' stomach growled in complaint, but he acquiesced.
"You're late for our first meeting," Ghetsis turned to him.
"That would be on account of not being invited." Colress retorted with a stiff smile.
"You should have assumed, everyone else did." Ghetsis gestured at the other boys.
"How foolish of me." said Colress dryly.
Ghetsis turned to face everyone. "From this moment on, you are now members – no – founders of Team Plasma. Together, we will liberate all Pokémon from their captors."
"Team Plasma?" Colress repeated curiously.
"Weren't you listening in Physics? Plasma is the element that pulls apart and separates a cell. Just like how we'll be separating Pokémon from their oppressors." Ghetsis explained like he was stupid.
'Wrong, but close enough, I suppose.' Colress thought, nodding along reluctantly.
Colress listened quietly as Ghetsis laid out his plans for Team Plasma. Ghetsis had his notebook laid out on the canteen table in the middle of the boys, although his handwriting was barely legible. His scrawl looked rushed and chaotic, with sentences sloping downwards to stay on the page. Colress could just about make out his own name, followed by the words: Head of Research & Development.
Ghetsis had so many plans, from the immediate to the grandiose. He waved his arms around as he described rallies, missions, TV appearances and top-secret headquarters. Colress felt the tug of the familiar vacillation between how insane Ghetsis sounded versus the creeping suspicion that Ghetsis was capable of anything he set his mind to.
"Do you think we can afford to do all this? Travelling is expensive and eventually having our own headquarters? We're just students." Giallo pointed out with a disbelieving frown. Ghetsis didn't faulter.
"We aren't just students. We're the future. And," Ghetsis wore a smug smile. "One day the Harmonia fortune will be mine, along with the mansion. We'll have all the resources we'll ever need."
The table grew quiet as each boy pondered what this could mean for his life, Colress included. 'Perhaps this alliance could work in my favour. A group of associates would be invaluable to my future career. Mom and Dad have lots of people they can call upon for their research, but I...' Colress looked ashamedly down at the table as the thought occurred to him. Ghetsis was the closest Colress had ever come to having a friend. What a depressing thought.
"As long as Team Plasma doesn't interfere with my education, I would be delighted to assist with your..." Colress pulled the messy notebook towards him and read aloud. "Research and Development."
"Do the rest of us have job titles already?" asked Rood, a flushed look of excitement crossing his face.
"Yes," Ghetsis replied, sliding the notebook toward Rood, "If you have other skills that I'm not aware of, these can be fine-tuned."
The boys passed his notebook around, exclaiming with delight about their best characteristics having been noticed and utilised. Colress realised as Zinzolin boasted about his new role of 'Head of Operations' that Ghetsis had been watching them, quietly noticing their strengths and weaknesses for as long as he'd known them. Ghetsis had probably done the same thing with him. In that sense, maybe he and Colress weren't so different.
Passionate, empathetic Rood as Head of Communications.
Smart, confident Zinzolin as Head of Operations.
Popular, charismatic Gorm as Head of Outreach.
Big, sporty Bronius as Head of Enforcement.
Analytical, reliable Giallo as Head of Resources.
Quiet, thoughtful Ryoku as head of Intelligence.
Colress wouldn't have been able to delegate these roles better if he'd tried. Ghetsis was no thug. He was a manipulator. He only applied himself to things that mattered to him. He didn't have Colress doing his homework because he was a schoolyard bully. He had Colress doing his homework because he realised that he could. Colress couldn't help but mentally catalogue this realisation.
If Ghetsis wasn't a stupid bully whose father bought his place in Blueberry Academy, then perhaps Colress was wrong about other things too. Perhaps this 'Team Plasma' was a bet worth taking.
As he considered the possibility, Colress' stomach interrupted with a growl. He rose to his feet with a flourish.
"I will leave you to the rest of your meeting. I have other matters to attend to." Colress said loftily. 'Other matters like getting dinner before the cafeteria closes.'
Ghetsis scowled at him. "I wasn't finished."
Colress chortled, unbothered by the disapproving faces of all seven boys at the table.
"Good evening, gentleman." Colress turned on his heel and stalked away through the cafeteria.
"Library, tomorrow night!" Ghetsis barked after him.