Colress opened his eyes. His body felt stiff and sore, and there was a throbbing pain in his neck. The sunlight filtering in from the balcony through the break in the curtains formed a long, golden bar of light in the middle of the floor. He had slept until embarrassingly late in the afternoon. Colress struggled to get out of bed and checked his phone. It was indeed late, and he had not missed any calls. Ghetsis was being more frustrating than he had anticipated. Fortunately, Colress had only one research expedition planned.
Unfinished business remained for Colress on Mount Lanakila. He returned that evening and maneuvered through the narrow, uneven passageways, climbing the icy inclines. He passed under several natural skylights that let in the frigid night air. When he looked up, he could see stars, but the moon was not visible. He ventured farther into the mountain caves—the ice glittering on the walls looked similar to the sparkling stars above. In this place, everything he could see was monochrome blue. Eventually, Colress reached an open area, with a fence to his left that had been erected to prevent any rash trainers or bygone veterans from falling to their deaths and striking the jagged rocks that lay below. He looked past the fence and saw that the base of the mountain was obscured by a dark veil of ice fog that resembled sheet metal. He got back on the main path. Ahead of him was a pitch-black cave entrance, which he knew led to a final steep hill and his destination.
He took his hand off his console in order to keep balanced and climbed the hill. It took an extreme amount of effort to stop himself from falling. The terrain evened out. There he stood, gazing into the vast crater where Necrozma had impacted after it unfused and vanished from Ultra Space. The evidence of its crash was littered everywhere, even outside the obvious impression—sharp rocks jutted from the earth and shards of ice lay scattered. Colress stepped down into the crater slowly and approached the impact site. He looked down at the dark smear at the center. It looked like the frozen dirt had been scrubbed with an ink-soaked cloth. Colress ran a test using his console—just as he had suspected. There was still a greatly decreased photon count in this area. Perhaps Necrozma's ability to devour light had activated after the stress of colliding with the hard ground. In fact, Colress could still make out shallow claw marks, preserved by the freezing temperatures, in the dark area. It seemed after its fusion had broken, Necrozma was left desperately clinging to nothing but ice and detritus.
Colress's eyes hurt—his face must have gotten too cold. He turned away from the darkness and looked into the distance instead. He blinked hard. It was strange—he was responsible for altering the Ultra Recon Squad's device so it could grant Necrozma the ability to fuse. He had created an interesting situation that resulted in incredible events. Yet his pride was now a husk, like a Shedinja. He rubbed that area under his eyes and they still hurt, but his cheeks felt as warm as usual, so why was he in pain? He let out a long breath and watched the water vapor condense and drift through the air. His glasses lenses fogged up, and for a moment everything looked ghostly. The image of the Giant Chasm in Unova seeped into Colress's mind. He remembered paying that crater a visit and entering the deepest part of the cave some time after disbanding Team Plasma. The evidence of Kyurem's distress was similar to that of Necrozma's. Colress could even picture Ghetsis's cane standing beside him like a long-lost monument. Suddenly, Colress heard a low howl echo around him, but there were no pokémon in sight. It was only the wind. It had sounded just like Kyurem—just like the cries it had let out whenever Colress had peered into its yellow eyes through the glowing glass of the containment unit he had designed in order to make use of its power. Interesting, how Kyurem and Necrozma were both leftovers of some greater specimen—broken pokémon who had lost pieces of themselves, who nonetheless still held such potential and surpassed their limits through fusions with others.
Colress felt small, standing in such a dark place, beneath the shadowy peak of the mountain. He felt warmed by his console, yet his core remained cold and empty. Surely it was because he stood in one of the rare open spaces on Mount Lanakila and he could see the indigo sky and the stars it held. He felt the urge to call out to someone—to stumble upon a pokémon, even one lacking in potential. How childish of him. Although he had scarcely conducted any research, he decided it was time to leave this place behind. He turned and walked away, resisting the temptation to look back and consider what he had found.
The next day, he woke up early to the twittering of Pikipek. He pursed his lips and buried his head in his pillow, blocking out the infuriating noise. Ghetsis was so patiently stubborn! But of course he was. He was willing to spend many painful years keeping up a facade—his games ran long, taking a deeper toll on his mental and physical health each time… Colress got up and went through his morning routine, eager to leave the confines of his hotel room and locate a subject to study. All he had for breakfast was a smoothie made from a random assortment of berries he had picked without thinking—he knew it was not a properly nutritious meal, but he had to get out.
He spent a fruitless hour visiting the base of Mount Lanakila this time—it should have fascinated him, the way Crabrawler had clearly developed a dependency on humans so that they could be brought out of their usual habitat and evolve into Crabominable, but what did it matter? It was only more evidence for conclusions Colress had reached long ago. He wandered away from the shadow of the mountain, which hung over him like a guillotine. He headed in the direction of the Aether House on Route 15. He passed a small patch of coast that had eroded away from the grassy fields of the route. As usual, that disgraced former member of Unova's Elite Four was standing there, staring out to sea, his black scarf swaying in the wind like a Reaper Cloth stuck to a dead branch. He was pitiful, standing there and contemplating what he had lost through such a petty, meaningless pursuit. Colress would never choose to analyze someone like that.
He pressed on. He passed the sign for Route 15 and noticed two figures standing on the Aether House's porch—Lusamine and Guzma. Lusamine laughed and covered her mouth as Guzma nodded. Colress came closer. He stood to the side of the porch in order to listen to their conversation while avoiding detection.
"But I didn't come here to catch up, I came here to battle you," said Guzma.
"Of course you did. I hope you came to lose, as well," said Lusamine.
"No, I can't say I came for that. And it's no problem since there's no chance of that happening!"
"Oh, so you think you can defeat me? I wouldn't count on it... each and every day now, I'm trying to understand what it means to be a truly great trainer. I'm even stronger now, don't you see?" Lusamine clicked her high heels against the shiny porch.
Colress could not stand to listen to their friendly ribbing. This bond between Lusamine and Guzma was odd and should not exist—how had he failed to notice before? Lusamine had been selfish, and had endangered Guzma when she ordered him to follow her before she took the device into Ultra Space. Guzma had witnessed her unjust behavior firsthand on multiple occasions and had been victim to it, yet Colress observed him confront Rainbow Rocket in order to save her. Why had Lusamine and Guzma made amends, and so quickly? It should have been impossible. Colress had to interrupt them and determine the reasons, even if it was rude to do so.
He strode up to the Aether House. "Oh, I'm glad to have run into you again. If it's not an inconvenience, may I ask you a few questions?"
"Ah, Colress, " said Lusamine. From below, Colress could see both of her eyes—a gleam was present in them. It was yet more evidence for the unfathomable, mutually-enjoyable bond between her and Guzma.
"You again? Can't you stay out of people's business? Don't mess with our battle!" said Guzma.
"I'm glad to see you, Lusamine. My visit to Aether Paradise was a great help," he said, out of obligation. He looked to Guzma. "I have no intention of 'messing' with anyone's battle. I only want to request information to assist me in my research into the power of pokémon." He typed on his console at a frenetic pace. The beeping noises caused Guzma to scowl, but Colress barely registered it. "You see—the data I've collected show the latent potential of pokémon is brought out by the bonds they share with their trainers. Now, I am curious about the bonds between trainers themselves."
"Heh, are you out lookin' for a dating service? We can't help you with that."
Lusamine laughed softly.
Colress felt a dull ache in the back of his neck. "It seems you don't understand. No, I have no interest in a dating service. I hope you will excuse me, I had a rather... difficult day…" He trailed off and looked away, back to the dark form of Mount Lanakila. He hoped an appeal to emotion would make his targets defrost.
"I'm glad you want to learn more about not just pokémon, but the care between people as well," said Lusamine. "Guzma, I know this may be delaying our battle, but I say we should humor Colress."
"Because if we help him bring out the best in himself and others, we can prevent him from wrecking things like we did?" asked Guzma.
"Yes. It would be quite lovely to share what we've learned, don't you think?"
Their words made it clear—they were patronizing him, lording their bond over Colress. They believed they were better than he was. Colress longed to tell them he could see through their rhetoric, but knew it would not lead to him gathering the data he needed. He held his tongue and took their response as his cue to climb the porch steps. The little fence that enclosed the Aether House looked like sharp-cut zirconium crystal, but while aesthetically pleasing, it stood pathetically short next to Colress. "I see you are happy to answer my question. I appreciate the help with my research. Now, I would like to hear more about the bond you two share—I don't quite understand it. Why are you two on friendly terms? I'm asking in order to better understand the way trainers' bonds affect their skill with pokémon."
"That's easy." Guzma put his arms behind his head and leaned against the side of the building. "The prez was the first person her age to see how strong I was!"
"Guzma is not only strong, but intelligent as well. He thinks on his feet," said Lusamine. "Even better, his bonds with his pokémon are unshakable, a quality I appreciate as someone who wants to keep pokémon safe—his Golispod has been with him from the very beginning!"
"Interesting…" Colress tilted his head down and pretended to record these meaningless responses. "And why do you still appreciate each other when Lusamine exploited and endangered you, Guzma?" he asked, feigning nonchalance.
"What!" Lusamine flinched. Her teeth were bared. "How can you ask such a thing?!"
"Oh," Colress tried to sound surprised. "I heard from the Champion and the Ultra Recon Squad that you selfishly stole the device I created, attempted to defeat Necrozma yourself, and ordered Guzma to follow you… was I misinformed? I must hear the truth, if this is incorrect."
"I may not be one to talk, but you're stupid if you think we'll buy that! You just want to put us down because you're messed up or somethin'!" Guzma snapped.
Lusamine moved to stand between them. "Guzma, wait," she said. "Perhaps he has a point, however clumsily he's made it." She shot Colress a frigid look before turned back to Guzma. "What I did was terribly dangerous… taking you to Ultra Space just because I wanted to be the one to solve everything myself was awful. You could have been killed and Alola could have been swallowed by darkness for eternity!"
"Y'know, that was the best I could have hoped for. You had me go with you because I was one of the things you liked, unlike your kids. You were still being better to me than anybody else your age," said Guzma. Focusing on Lusamine calmed him. "It was more credit than I'd ever gotten…"
"That that was the best you could have hoped for from me might be true, especially since I couldn't even be a mother to my poor children. But you always deserved far better." Lusamine's hair bowed over her body like the shell of a Cloister, as if it was a barrier keeping herself and Guzma in their own little world away from Colress, as if their emotional connection was not enough to mock him.
"Yeah, but the Alolan wind's still blowin' and you already said sorry for all of the stuff you did." Guzma closed his eyes. "And look, ma'am—I mean, Lusamine—I used to beat my homies when they didn't do what I wanted 'em to. I thought your room full of frozen pokémon was just proof of how big and bad you were at first. So I'm not much better than the creep who's standin' behind us right now."
Colress's eyes narrowed. He moved in close to Lusamine, close enough that the bristly ends of her hair brushed against his covered arm. "Forgive me for interrupting this tender moment of yours, but is this the entire explanation of your continued friendship? You have forgiven each other for your flaws, and somehow that is enough to ensure your bond's viability? Is that a truthful answer?" With each phrase he spoke, his speech became more frantic. "Please tell me the truth," he pronounced the word as a plosive, as if it were a curse.
Lusamine and Guzma turned back to him. Their eyes were wide, most likely with pity—probably to grind this indignity even deeper into his heart. "What's going on with your mouth?" asked Guzma.
"W-What? I…" Colress's mouth was indeed quivering, revealing flashes of his gritted teeth.
"We are telling you the truth, Colress," said Lusamine. She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Rest easy. May I suggest you enter the Aether House…? We have Pecha tea inside. You need not worry about a thing..." She was babying him like he was some broken pokémon. How twisted.
Colress finally understood. The two of them were sad, flawed halves reaching out for each other, and that was why their bond could be sustained. Kyurem, Necrozma, the two of them… they were all alike. They were of no use to him anymore. "...Forgive me," he said. "I hope I have not offended you—you have shown me your ideal truth. The stress I'm experiencing has nothing to do with you, so I will leave you to your battle." He walked down the stairs, holding his arms close to his chest. He continued down the dirt trail.
He did not need to turn around to see their confused faces—he could picture their lack of understanding himself. "Hey, you creep!" Guzma yelled from above. "If you're lonely or whatever, don't worry—when you've lost everything, that's when you'll find something new!"
Colress flinched. He kept walking.
"And if you don't care, and are hard of heart, you may end up with nothing…" Lusamine's voice was soft, yet she managed to project it. "But learning can lead to forgiveness!"
They were quite a pain, but Colress should not have expected any other result. No one could feel what he felt. He felt nausea bubbling inside him, and his mouth tasted sour. His head was throbbing, a pain exacerbated by their distant voices and the morning sun. Colress knew he had not eaten enough, but he was too sick to consume anything more.
He flitted aimlessly from one island to another, never settling in any one place for long. He thought to visit Alola's urban center, Hau'oli City, but he could not stand watching the strangers playing on the beachfront and basking in each other's company. He then tried Malie, which at the very least had the Recycling Plant, which was relevant to his interests. But all he could picture as he wandered the cobblestone streets was Ghetsis's voice and what he would say about the cultural significance of the Johto-inspired architecture. He had to escape that place as well. Eventually, it felt like the world was spinning, and he realized he had to choose between eating or collapsing. After forcing himself to stop at the Pokémon Center Cafe near the Battle Royal Dome, he decided that in addition to needed nutritious sustenance, he had to give himself a familiar treat—something that would remind his base senses that there were many things in the world he enjoyed that he had not lost. He picked up a large Casteliacone, and savoring it was all he could look forward to as he made himself eat lunch. Afterward, he took the ice cream to Wela Volcano Park. How fun it would be to eat the cold dessert and feel the contrast between it and the radiating heat.
Colress leaned against one of the large rocks close to the shore. The ice cream was melting, so he had to lick it up quickly. Each bite pleased his senses for a moment, but the sweet flavor was fleeting, leaving nothing behind but numbing cold. After finishing what should have been lovely, his eyes and palate stung.
A loud beeping sound rang out. Colress's heart skipped a beat! He dropped the cone on the hot sand and crushed it underfoot. He needed his hands free. He snatched his phone and stared at it. He was grinning so wide, it hurt. He pressed a button on the phone to take the call—but there was no call. He listened more carefully, now transfixed—the sound was not coming from his phone after all, but from something else he was carrying. After a slow search, he found the source—it was the device that informed him a Staryu he had tagged with a radiometer was close. And when Colress looked to the surf, there was indeed a flickering ruby light, faintly visible through the harsh sunlight reflecting off the water. He stood there, staring at the ever-changing lights.
He yelled and whirled around, slamming the device into the dark rock. The mechanism shattered on impact and metal and plastic splinters shot through the air. Those Staryu could go free! What did it matter?! Nothing would have come from this study aside from more useless data holding up conclusions he had reached long ago! Colress looked down at the broken pieces of his invention that lay scattered on the beach. His grin twitched, but did not fall—his day may have been ruined, but at least he could gain some satisfaction through destroying.
Colress stood half-hunched over, and he took fast, shallow breaths, like a rabid predator. Through his mental haze, he thought he could see a figure in his peripheral vision, but why try to alter his behavior? Human were unworthy subjects, and even if a powerful human grew disgusted by him, he could simply turn his back on Alola and flee to other shores—no region held any answer. They were all alike!
His suspicion was proven correct when he heard a familiar, cheery voice. "Mr. Colress, hello!" Lillie waved to him from the ridge of igneous rock. Her hair was large and painfully bright, like a halo. She slowly lowered her hand. "A-Are you all right? Wait, I'll come down to see you..." She ran to the nearest slope, then across the beach to meet him. "Oh no, you look like you might be heatsick. Here, I have a Fresh Water in my bag—let me get some for y—"
"Stop!" Colress stood up straight again. He kept grinning like a Gengar. "It seems you misunderstood my situation! The gift of items will not sway me. I'm not like that young trainer, who trusted my judgment because I simply gave them one Protein..."
Lillie held her bag in front of her, putting distance between her and Colress. "Please, you're rambling just like someone who's heatsick. You're not making any sense!"
"Then maybe you will answer a few questions, so I can begin to make sense of things from now on," said Colress. Lillie was a forgetful, weak novice who could not be independent. But despite this, she had taught Lusamine how to begin sorting out her life's many errors. Lillie was also well-liked by many powerful trainers. She was not unintelligent, at least in the ways of pokémon. Was it possible that she could offer him assistance after all?
"Well, I'll answer your questions if you drink some water in return..." she said.
"Then I will! Well now, tell me—do you think bonds of friendship are the only key to bringing out true power and potential? Or are there other ways to accomplish such a feat?"
Lillie thought for a moment. "I really, really am grateful to my friends, and they helped me bring out my full power… but I guess I don't agree with the premise of your question?"
This was quite the unexpected response! He thought she would have agreed on impulse, considering her extreme transformation. "And what do you not agree with, Miss Lillie?"
"I may not be understanding, but it seems like power and potential are what's more important to you. But… but friendship for its own sake is more important."
Colress considered telling her that the topic of his research necessitated a focus on bringing those things out of his subjects, but something stopped him. He waited for her to continue.
She looked down at her bag, to a Poké Doll whose face was peeking out of it. "You could be the most powerful person in the world, but without helping others and being friends with them, you will still be missing something... you will still be alone."
Something hot—no, sparking and vibrating—like a fluctuating orb of plasma felt lodged within Colress's chest. The urge to destroy came back to him in a crashing wave. He could not help but consider how simple a procedure to neutralize Lillie would be. Was this true hatred? It was exhilarating, but unfortunately distracting from his goal. "...I see… and how do bonds of friendship form? I'm referring to friendship between human beings." He then gave her the same excuse about moving from researching bonds between trainers and their pokémon to researching those between trainers themselves.
Lillie quirked an eyebrow. She was staring as if he were a Ditto pretending to be a human. "Um… just think about all the friends you've made here in Alola."
"And what friends are those?" Colress asked. Hearing how little she understood of his true self was somehow comforting.
As expected Lillie simply listed people who liked Colress. "The Ultra Recon Squad, Moon, the other trainers at the Battle tree, and me, not to mention pretty much everyone at Aether, like my mother and Ms. Wicke... maybe not Mr. Faba. I shouldn't be gossiping, but I think he's jealous of you—"
"Do not use that phrase!" Colress snapped. He put his foot down, cracking one of the broken pieces of his device in the process. "You should not stick your neck into something you cannot understand!"
Lillie sucked in a breath. She ran to the edge of the surf and hastily put on her bag again. She pulled out a Poké Ball and gripped it tightly. "Mr. Colress, please stop! I'll have Ribombee use Pollen Puff to try and heal you if you won't calm down." She dug the heels of her Mary Janes into the wet sand. They sank in, leaving behind dark impressions that were sucked away by the rushing water.
Colress drummed his fingers against his console and let out a curt sigh. His own apathy had been clouding his judgment, and he realized that if he wanted the chance to fix things, he would have to return to his well-worn, tired tactics. "Oh, Miss Lillie, please forgive me. I've been having a very stressful time." He had to sanitize what happened—he previously referred to Ghetsis as an "old friend" when Moon asked, so Colress built a story from there until it was sound. "...I was speaking to an old friend of mine… they were venting to me, and I callously made light of their suffering. I think they were hurt by what I did. I'm having trouble deciding what to do next, and how I should handle everything from now on..."
Lillie's mouth fell open slightly. She brushed her bangs away from her eyes. "So that's the reason… do you want my advice? I want to help, Mr. Colress. I know a thing or two about care."
The words, "You know far less than you think" nearly left Colress's mouth, but he suppressed them. Normally, such language was appropriate with Ghetsis alone—and yet, it netted him all this trouble. It was so frustrating! "Yes. If you would, please share your knowledge with me."
"You should say you're sorry for how you hurt them, and them the next time the next time they confide in you, you will make sure to listen and help as best you can. This will give your friend the chance to smile again." Lillie herself was smiling brightly now. She had put a strange emphasis on that one word… was she amused? Or was she being sarcastic? It was yet another unknown factor. "This is all I ask of you."
That white-hot feeling came surging back, full force. The only potential Lillie held was the potential to let him down. He had been hoping it could not be true, but as he suspected, all of the other options had been exhausted, leaving only one treacherous path ahead. He had no choice. "Then I will take all you've said into careful consideration. I appreciate your cooperation." Colress did not bother willing his usual smile back to his face. He knew his pinched expression would help him appear gravely sincere, an emotion she would expect given his explanation. It was time to turn his back on Wela Volcano Park as he had every other place—he only had himself to rely on, an arrangement he had long preferred. But as he made his way to the main path, he could not help but glare back at Lillie and the blazing shoreline. "Oh, and Miss Lillie? It is Doctor Colress."
Colress paced around the hotel room, his footfalls heavy. He had procrastinated as long as possible by training his Klefki, but by now the sun was setting. It was time to act.
Lillie, Lusamine, and Guzma had been useless, but this was not a surprise. Their words hinged on friendship and were tailored based on their own past experiences. They could never understand the complicated, deep-rooted bond between Ghetsis and himself. As frustrating as it was, he would have to craft a response unique to him. Colress wandered out onto the balcony and walked in circles. Hopefully, the beautiful pink clouds and the sunset over the sea would inspire him.
Though Colress had the number Ghetsis had been calling him from, if Ghetsis had enough willpower to keep from calling again for days, it was unlikely that he would happen to be there if Colress called that PC. An incoming call to a PC in the psychiatric hospital might also seem suspicious—it was unlikely the staff considered that most modern PCs shared voice call functions. It would be particularly unfortunate if someone other than Ghetsis saw Colress's number and recorded it. No, he could not call Ghetsis. Instead, he would have to send him another email, which would be waiting for him. Colress could only hope that eventually, Ghetsis would choose to open the message and reply.
Colress ran his fingers along the railing, feeling its smooth, gentle curve. He stopped and began composing with his console. "Dear Ghetsis," he wrote, then paused. Was the use of "dear" appropriate for someone who was not a friend, but instead someone Colress variously cast as a friend, enemy, or rival to suit his interest? This was the traditional opening, however, and nothing else was suitable. It was a lack of civility that had landed him in such an unfortunate situation in the first place, and after all, were he to begin the message with, "To Ghetsis:" instead, Ghetsis would "myah-ha-ha" at him and say he truly was robotic. Colress felt himself blush at the thought.
"Oh, I will simply search for the proper stationary instead," Colress told himself. He leaned against the railing and scrolled through the options. Normally, he would choose a colorful, blinding backdrop, but that would undermine his efforts. He pursed his lips. Not one of the backgrounds suited an apology! The closest he could find was one with sunbeams in the upper left corner and raindrops in the bottom right corner—a smiling Sunny Form Castform and a frowning Rainy Form Castform were floating amidst their respective weather phenomena. Behind the area set aside for the message stretched a pastel rainbow. Could this stationary be the best of both worlds? It included many colors, and Colress always had enjoyed cutesy details, but it also conveyed a message of hope during hardship. He selected it and tried to move on.
He returned to writing. "Dear Ghetsis, Please forgive me." Colress stopped and deleted the word "please—" it sounded too desperate! He was left with "Forgive me," but these words unsettled him. It was his usual phrasing, but it was written as a demand, and he could not demand that Ghetsis forgive him. He rephrased it as, "I apologize for hurting you by making light of your suffering in your time of need…" But that was rather presumptuous of him, for he had no idea whether or not Ghetsis had actually been hurt by his actions. It was true that he had been exhausted, then broke down, but as he had always known, these were Ghetsis's idiosyncrasies and the two of them were occasionally enemies. Would Ghetsis not resignedly expect such behavior? It was possible he had not been deeply hurt, and was refusing to call out of stubbornness or a desire to teach his rival the lesson that behaving immaturely was not without consequence. Colress struck the part about his being hurt. "I apologize for making light of your suffering in your time of need." Lillie's advice included reassuring Ghetsis that next time, Colress would be helpful. But such statements were not included in his and Ghetsis's dynamic. Instead, Colress wrote, "I promise I will refrain from insulting you when you next confide in me, and will instead wait until you are ready!"
As Colress stared down at the complete draft, he considered sending some comforting item to the PC along with the email in order to prove his dedication. A Casteliacone came to mind, but he shuddered at the memory of Wela Volcano Park and rejected the thought. Ice cream was messy, as well, and that would only exacerbate was was undoubtedly a fraught, violent relationship between Ghetsis and the staff. It would have to be something more dense, like chocolate. Unfortunately, a Sweet Heart would appear either overly sarcastic and color his message with humor, or would come across as—no, he would have to choose something else. A Shalour Sable was an easy solution! It was simple, dense, and adaptable. But wait, there was no way item delivery would be allowed to the ward. It would be too risky, and the last thing he needed was to cause Ghetsis more trouble. Even more unfortunately, gifts from Colress were always intended to cause his subjects to be compliant and suggestible, and Ghetsis knew this well.
Colress's mouth quivered. He took his hand off the console and looked out into the red sky. He was overthinking every detail of his response. If only Ghetsis knew, he would certainly laugh at him, but he could not. He would only be able to receive Colress's written words, and he could not send his true thoughts. It was impossible! It was too ironic—in Alola, Colress was so free. Nobody knew who he truly was inside. But by wearing masks for so long, he ended up in a bind—were he to respond lightly, his message would sound insincere. If he were to respond honestly, it would sound even more insincere coming from him!
He closed the draft and shut off his console. He went back into his room, closed the curtains, hung his coat on a chair, and sank into his mattress. He would sleep on this dilemma and hope for a better solution to dawn on him.