"I don't know, maybe he'll explain?" Jubilee asked.

The rest of the crowd settled down enough for the man to continue. "I'm sure most of you believe that we humans and Pokémon are partners that have come to live together because we need each other. However..." He paused for a moment or two. "...is that really the truth?" Another pause. "Have you ever considered, that perhaps... we humans only assume this is the truth?"

He noticed the crowd starting to talk again, but did not pause. Instead, he projected his voice better. "Pokémon are subject to the selfish commands of Trainers... They get pushed around when they are our 'partners' at work... Can anyone say with confidence that there is no truth in what I'm saying?" A few "No"s came out of the crowd's members.

Jubilee couldn't understand this guy. "I... I don't get it. Mr. Ghetsis, I don't get any of what you're saying!" He dressed in a weird way and he spoke about things she couldn't comprehend. "...sniv snivy ivy?" That specific member of the audience looked their way a little more.

The boy was not looking at them, but at their Pokémon. In any case, Jubilee looked back at him. He was a little taller than she was, but not by much.

"Young lady," the man asked after being so rudely interrupted, "How long have you owned your Snivy?"

"Not very long," Jubilee answered him.

"And how many battles have you forced him to fight?" he asked.

Jubilee frowned at the 'forced' part. "Two, and I didn't for--"

Ghetsis spoke back to the entire crowd, "Pokémon battles, where the objective is to injure the other Pokémon until they faint. Some Pokémon have even died during these savage battles. I would like to take you back to something that happened a long time ago, in the Kanto region. A boy and his rival fought on a cruise ship called the S.S. Anne. The boy was defeated and rushed his Pokémon to the nearest Pokémon Center as fast as he could... only to get stuck for hours in the confusion and have his Raticate lose more than just a battle; it lost its life. Did his rival care?"

He paused to let that sink in. "No. This is but one of many examples I can give you of the cruelty of trainers. We humans destroy their wildlife habitats by cutting down the grass and making buildings on top of where they used to live. We hurt them in so many ways and don't care if they suffer."

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," he continued, "Pokémon are different from humans. They are living beings that contain unknown potential. They are living beings from whom we have so much to learn. Tell me, what is our responsibility to these wonderful creatures known as Pokémon?"

Several "What"s and "Huh"s came from the members of the audience. One of them asked, "Liberation?"

He hid the slightest bit of a smile. "That's right! We must liberate the Pokémon! Then, and only then, will humans and Pokémon truly be equals. Everyone, I end my words here today by imploring you to consider the relationship between people and Pokémon... and the correct way to proceed. We sincerely appreciate your attention." The people in uniforms took their banners and made a circle around what seemed to be their leader, shortly before they took their leave.

"Liberate Pokémon?" one person asked.
"How do we do that?"
"I don't think that's even possible.."
The crowd separated, all leaving but the boy. He wore a black cap with a strip of white on the front, as well as a loose, white shirt, brown pants, and sneakers. Something hung off his belt; the first iteration of a Menger Sponge, a geometric figure with a simultaneous infinite surface area and zero volume. If you were a big enough nerd, that would seem pretty cool.

The green-haired boy spoke very fast as he approached the two girls. "Your Pokémon. Just now, he was saying..."

The boy looked toward Gabrielle. Speaking quickly, he told her, "I hope that's true. Lots of trainers make their Pokémon fight, regardless of what the Pokémon wants. A lot of them can be really cruel toward their Pokémon and my friends."

Jubilee knelt down and looked her Snivy in the eyes. "Have I been cruel to you?"

Despite not being able to speak human words, Terry was emotive enough to get his point across. He stomped his foot, shook his head and said some things in Pokése. The girls heard him say, "Vy vy! Sniv sni ivy!"

Jubilee smiled. "Okay. I guess we're cool, then."

The boy heard something different. "<No way! You're my friend!>" It was... an alien sound to his ears. And then the trainer replied to the Pokémon? A grain of hope entered his heart, one that wondered if... maybe there was someone like him. "Did you just talk to your Pokémon?" Again, he spoke quickly.

"Huh? Well, um... I know he can understand me, so it's not like it's weird or anything. I wish I could understand him, though. That would be really really cool if I could do that," Jubilee replied as she stroked little Terry on the head. "I mean, if Pokémon can respond to trainers' commands, then they just have to be able to know what you're saying. I'm Jubilee, this is Terry." She motioned to herself and the Snivy. "Those two are Gabby and Gideon!"

The boy's hopes were crushed and blown away with the soft, spring breeze. "You can't hear them...? How sad. My name is N." Natural Harmonia Gropius, to be exact, but the writer was not a total nerd for knowing that at all. "Let me guess. You're working on the Pokédex, right? You'll have to confine many, many Pokémon in Pokéballs for that. I'm a trainer, too, but I can't help wondering... Are Pokémon really happy that way?"

Jubilee tilted her head. "When you get more than six Pokémon, they go into a box in the PC. I read that somewhere. Whoa, I wonder what being in a PC is like. That's kind of weird."

N hadn't really talked to a Pokémon that had been in a PC. He couldn't quite answer that with certainty. He kept silent for the time being.

Terry, of course, had to be insanely talkative and emotive. He ran circles around N, speaking a LOT in Pokése while he did that.
"<Wait, wait, you understand me? Your friends, do they want to battle? I do! Battles are fun. Gideon haaates them. He's a big scaredy-cat! I'm not, though, because I know my friend's gonna be there for me.>"
Yet again, the boy had never heard anything like that from a Pokémon before!

"You... want to battle?" he asked the starter, a little slower and rather dumbstruck. Terry affirmed this with a BIG nod.

Jubilee nodded. "Maybe you should take Celes and Gideon to the Center. I saw a commercial for those once. The nurse looked really nice." She motioned toward the Center with her hand, a modern building with a roof the color of the Professor's lab.

"<Of course I want to see the world!>" Terry exclaimed back. "<But I want to be strong enough to do that, so I gotta battle!>"

The writer, having a vague idea how N would react to this... assumed he would urge them to stop arguing. "You two, Pokémon shouldn't fight each other. Pokémon should be friends." A Purrloin walked to his side with a yawn. "But if you really want to fight... Meet my friend, Purrloin!"

Pokémon Trainer N wanted to battle! Jubilee was confused, but Terry was ready to go! Hyperactive Snivy indeed.

As Gabrielle came back, the Purrloin was midway through a scratch in Terry's face. The Purrloin was covered in bruises by that point... Poor little guy.

Terry skidded back for a moment. "<Hmph! That's nothing! C'mon, actually try for once!>"
N couldn't believe his ears. How could a Pokémon be so violent?

The Purrloin stared in fear at the Snivy. "<I don't want to fight any more... This guy is scary...>"
N apologized to the Purrloin promptly. "It's just a little longer, I promise. I'm sorry, friend."

Jubilee said but one word, "Tackle." Terry whole-heartedly lunged for the Purrloin, who subsequently staggered ...
lost his footing ...
and passed out.

"I never expected Pokémon to say such things... especially not things so violent toward other Pokémon," N said, a horrified stare directed straight toward the Snivy. "As long as Pokémon are confined in Poké Balls... Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends." He picked up the hurt Purrloin and left, presumably to heal the poor thing.

Terry wiped off a bit of 'sweat' from his forehead.

"Oh," Jubilee remembered, "I heard on TV once that Pokémon can only use their moves a certain amount of times. So, even if they're not hurt that much in a battle, you have to take them to the Pokémon Center anyway to rest. C'mon, Terry, let's get you some sleep."

Terry didn't seem to like that idea, but he went with Jubilee anyway...

The nurse took Terry back to a room with just a few beds for sleeping. Despite the Snivy's protests, he fell asleep seconds after getting into the bed.