After his major breakthroughs in the area of friendship Colress returned to Aether Paradise to reevaluate the bonds not only between the employees and the pokémon they protected, but also those between the employees themselves. After reconciling with Ghetsis, the bond between the president and Guzma had certainly been brought to light! Colress walked with a spring in his step, enjoying the way his shoes' metallic enhancements clicked against the clean surface of the VLFS. He recounted the purpose of his replication study to Ghetsis. Colress kept the cell phone pressed to his cheek with its volume low in order to avoid alerting the Aether employees. The phone screen felt pleasantly warm!

As he took the lift up to the Conservation Area and took in the sight of the lush vegetation of the botanical garden, he could not contain his gleeful anticipation! "My theory that pokémon unleash their full power through bonds with humans is in context! I now know to analyze the bonds between humans themselves," said Colress. "It's all very, very interesting… I'm so glad we have nurtured this bond we share—I love you!" he exclaimed.

"And I love you, Colress," said Ghetsis, his voice filled to the brim with joy. "Why, I've always known you like me… especially now that we're friends, but I never realized you like me this much!"

Colress sprinted down a path glancing at the smiling Corsola on the rocks, but then skidded to a halt. He held the guardrail tightly. "What is this?! Why-Why did you—I said I loathe you! The audio must have been distorted, and the reception—" He paused to collect his thoughts. "Well then, if you love me, you certainly will not be winning any verbal sparring matches with me from this point on!"

"Ah, but that statement wouldn't have followed from your discussion of 'nurturing our bond,' and you know it," Ghetsis said. "Why should I care? Whether I'd said anything or not, it's obvious I love you. There had never been anyone so close to my heart—you're my dear friend!"

Colress made a sound that was the fusion of a mewl and a sigh. "...Oh, I suppose I don't have the heart to deny it when you're saying such pleading, sentimental things. Yes, I do love you, and our singular bond is more precious than words can express!" He fiddled with his collar and buttons, before looking back into the landscaped areas in order to examine the pokémon. "I must conduct my research now—I will send you photographs after I file away the data!"

"How kind of you. Farewell, Colress."

Colress ended the call, and watched a Corsola send bubbles streaming toward a Starmie, who spun its arms as if it were a fan, popping the bubbles and send water droplets flying. As the droplets were falling, the light let in by the massive windows made them resemble glitter, and when they touched the clear pools, little ripples spread out. It was strangely satisfying to see. After gazing at this scene for a while, Colress noticed something wheat-colored in his peripheral vision. He turned to look. Lillie and Moon were standing right behind him. Lillie's eyes were wide and eager, while Moon was stone faced as ever. Colress froze. How long had they been standing there—how much had they heard?! Had they recognized Ghetsis's voice?! But they were smiling—quite happily, it seemed. Relief washed over him—he was safe. Yet something about their excited staring still prevented him from being at ease.

Lillie intertwined her fingers—she looked like someone who had just taken a bite of something overwhelmingly sweet. "I am really happy to see you're feeling better after taking my advice, Doctor Colress! I just knew the friend you mentioned was more than a friend!" She calmed down a bit. "I hope you'll always be able to smile together."

"I don't understand?" Colress glanced down at his feet—he was so taken aback, he felt vertigo setting in. "May I ask to whom are referring, Miss Lillie?"

"Come on, you know I meant your new girlfriend," said Lillie. "You look happier than ever before!"

"That's right!" said Moon. "You're usually somewhat distant, like you're in a different world. Sort of like the Ultra Recon Squad, but in terms of your emotions… I was surprised when Lillie told me you were in love!"

Lillie came closer to Colress. "Doctor Colress, is she a strong trainer like you?"

Colress's mind was still reeling. He was pressing hard on his console's screen, struggling to stay grounded. It did make sense—hearing him profess love for his friend could have sounded like some romantic confession in the mind of a stranger… if only they knew who that friend truly was! His eyes became half-lidded and he fell back into his usual tactics. "I see you don't understand," he said. "I don't have a girlfriend, the-the one I was speaking to, he—"

"Oh!" Lillie cringed. "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. Is your boyfriend a strong trainer, Doctor Colress? Could I see him at the Battle Tree? I would love to meet him and show him my full power! I know I couldn't defeat you before, but that's all the more reason for me to keep trying."

"I could battle in a Multi Battle with you as my partner, while Colress battles side-by-side with him!" said Moon. Lillie nodded profusely in reply.

Colress felt himself blush, even though it ought to have been an amusing situation. Questions began to creep into his mind—his urge to study was in full-force. Lillie's ignorance was easily understood, but the Champion herself thought he was in love? What signs were she misreading in order to reach that conclusion? Could these signs include the sort of blush that was spreading across his face at this very moment? He squeezed his eyes shut and hastily adjusted his glasses. It was ridiculous to question their misinterpretation! All that mattered was that they were foolishly convinced of this silly scenario, and that the most convincing lies contain a touch of truth—words Colress had always lived by. "Oh, we met in graduate school… we always had an engaging relationship," he said, in a flat tone. "And we—we only recently became a c-couple, after I listened to Miss Lillie's excellent guidance. Initially, he and I were… overly guarded, and prideful, and Miss Lillie insightfully led me to realize this for myself."

Lillie beamed.

"But you won't be having any pokémon battles against him! He lives in Unova, and the two of us are in a long-distance relationship." Colress pictured the two of them learning this was not his boyfriend, but Ghetsis—imagining their appalled expressions as he and Ghetsis thoroughly corrected them was thrilling! Of course, it was an impossibility, or a least would result in quite a bit of hassle. But perhaps he could lead Moon and Lillie into another situation. He grinned and looked down at them with his eyes only. "Oh, I learned something very interesting recently! Have you heard of the Ultra Beast Nihilego, who can fuse with other beings? It is an interesting case study, considering the research I conduct on the subject of bonds."

"I know, it attaches to its prey and makes them violent," said Moon. "Why do you ask?"

"Well then, I see you are not fully aware! Please, allow me to inform you." Colress gestured to himself flamboyantly. "Nihilego only damage the minds of beings who do not treat them with respect. If the subject—that is, the being treats the Nihilego with kindness, they will fuse together and unleash their full potential, with no ill effects! Unfortunately, the merciless nature of humankind has resulted in too few instances of this phenomenon for me to study. If it's not too much of an inconvenience, may I ask you and Miss Lillie to investigate for me by approaching a Nihilego with compassion?"

Moon and Lillie shared a look. One of them whispered something like, "How strange," before they turned back to him. "Why not?" said Moon. "Thanks for telling us. By the way, I did find a Shiny Staryu, finally!"

"But it preferred to live here with the other Starmie," said Lillie. She looked to another pool, where a silver and blue Staryu was splashing around with its evolution. "Seeing it playing so happily was the best gift Moon could have given me!"

Moon grinned, and she took Lillie by the hand. The two of them bid Colress alola and walked away together, almost skipping as they walked. Colress watched their every move until they were out of sight. He mindlessly typed on his console, not certain what findings he was even recording. Later, he would likely look back at these notes and find them impenetrable, but it did not matter. As he wandered through the beautiful labyrinth that was the Conservation Area, he thought about his lies. Had he spun them in order to punish them for their infraction? If yes, what infraction was it…? What unspoken law had they broken? Why was he so flustered by their childish misunderstanding of his friendship? No, no, that was all impossible. His actions were only to amuse himself by preying on their ignorance in order to gain an interesting new subject for study!

A few days later, Colress finished another long winning streak at the Battle Tree, this time participating in Multi Battles. This was an excellent method for gaining a lot of data about a trainer's strategies in a short amount of time, and fit cleanly into the new direction of his research! He had been battling alongside Anabel, a high-ranking member of INTERPOL. Colress could not help but grin occasionally while battling beside her, soaking in the irony—he had stayed out of the public eye during his time leading Team Plasma, and that trainer he had tested still trusted him enough to never report him even after learning of his unlawful activities! His little gifts had served him well, as always!

Colress stood outside the Battle Tree, beside the PC. He filed away his findings on Anabel—she specialized in high offense. She was quite the powerful trainer, who even had legendary pokémon under her control! However, he had discovered something else very interesting, not about her, but about himself—while battling, he wished he could have stood with Ghetsis instead, even though he already knew him well and did not need to continue studying him. No, this longing resulted from their friendship. Ghetsis was the only one who could understand his true self, and thus Colress's full potential was only unleashed through their bond! It was very interesting, and his heart as imbued with pride at the thought. After typing up his notes, walked away from the Battle Tree. The little waterfalls and the flora were tinged with gold, as the sun was beginning to set. He was passing the sign when he noticed Guzma was loitering beside it. Colress suppressed the urge to sigh and kept smiling, knowing it was only polite and logical to speak to him after how strangely he had acted the last time they had met, especially since he had obviously noticed him.

Colress was in the middle of turning to say something to him when Guzma punched him in the arm! "How rude!" Colress pulled his arm away and felt his console for damages. The parts were intact. "You should know that there is delicate equipment in my Achromatic Wearable Console!"

Guzma smirked. "Achromatic Wearable Console, huh? That's the stupid thing that let you take a punch from big bad Guzma?"

Colress's mouth was open slightly, in a look of dull surprise. "What's this?! How have I offended you? Why would you be so uncouth as to resort to violence? Oh, if you were angered by my earlier behavior, you'll have to forgive me for my rudeness. The issue I was faced with has been resolved." There was no better time to resort to flattery. "Your advice was invaluable."

"Yeah, I know! Why else would I be congratulating you, Skull style?" said Guzma. "Anyway, good job comin' out of the closet and embracing your gay side."

"Oh." So Lillie and Moon had spread the "news" he had found a boyfriend—he was again glad he had sent them off on an impossible quest. They deserved it for their carelessness! Colress's smile dropped slightly, but he quickly willed it back. "I'm glad you're happy for me," he said, out of obligation, "but while I have a b-boyfriend now, I'm not gay."

"Whaddya mean, not gay? If two guys are into each other, it's gay! Your lookin' like a girl just proves it."

Colress quirked an eyebrow. He glared down at Guzma, whose slouched posture was an accurate representation of his pathetic character. "Stop saying such things before you embarrass yourself further. The simplicity of your worldview is astounding, I see. Why, I'm not even a man!" He reached for one of his Colress Machines—now, which one would be most fitting?

"Sayin' you're not a man is just what some feminine gay guy would say!" Guzma kept his head down—Colress realized he was watching his body language, waiting for him to pull out a weapon so he could disarm him and counterattack. Colress placed his hand on his Colress Machine No. 4, but then put it back. Fighting a thug like Guzma would only lead to unfortunate results—his inventions could be broken beyond repair, and anyone with close ties to Guzma would be disposed to distrust Colress from that point onward. He would have to walk away dissatisfied, without making Guzma writhe in agony for his words and deeds—how unfortunate!

Colress sneered. "I must reiterate that you are in error, but I will leave you to it." Colress spun on his heel and hurriedly stormed off. Once he as out of sight, he let himself frown shallowly. How unfair it all was! He stayed close by the sea as he passed the rocky outcroppings of Poni Island. The waves were choppy, and the golden sunlight glinted off the water. He decided to pay Seafolk Village a visit—he wanted to be close to the sea.

He reached the village in good time—the sun was still not close to the horizon, and the sky was a rosy hue. He walked to the end of the docks and sat down at the edge, watching the water beneath him alternate between sinking and swelling. Behind him, people were laughing and chatting with each other, and there were spherical lanterns in many different colors strung between the houseboats. He knew that soon, it would be too dim for his console's cameras to capture the moment, so he quickly took a few photographs of this event and emailed them to Ghetsis, using pastel green stationary with a Shaymin design.

As Colress had hoped, Ghetsis noticed the message, for his cell started beeping! He picked up and felt a surge of relief—he could finally express the full range of his emotions! "If it is not inconvenient for you, may I rant about what I was subjected to today?"

"Rant, you say…? How uncharacteristic of you. Of course I'd love to bear witness to your rage!"

"Splendid." Colress was ready to leap into the context of how others assumed the two of them were a couple—how amusing it would be for the two of them to laugh about the misconception together! But he felt some strange pressure in his chest. He could not fathom why, but he decided to gloss over that aspect. "Today, an unruly trainer told me that because I'm feminine—already a flawed construct created by an oppressive system—I must be gay, and he said that my appearance and mannerisms prove it!" He brought his knees close to his face, letting the weight material of his console drape over them.

"Did you correct him thoroughly?" Ghetsis asked, full of anticipation.

Colress bit his lip slightly and pouted. "I longed to, but it would have resulted in trouble due to his connections. I told him off, but couldn't use my Colress Machine No. 4 on him..."

"Such a shame, you know how I love to watch you use it on hapless fools." Colress could picture Ghetsis's little smirk. It was so ad—abhorable to imagine! "I trust this isn't the full extent of your rage?"

"Oh yes, there is far more of it! It is offensive enough that he and others assume I'm gay, but I have also had enough of the base assumptions behind such assertions!" Colress snapped. He drummed his fingers against the wood of the dock. "I simply can't stand that the public values 'love' and 'romance,' yet nearly unanimously agrees that it is acceptable for individuals to base who they love on gender! Gender is simply a fabrication created by human beings. If love is such a pure connection, why should anything fake be a deciding factor?! I wonder how many supposedly-loving people would abruptly leave their partners if their genders were suddenly different?!"

"My word, I've never before heard you recite such an angry speech…" He sounded impressed! "Who hurt you, Colress?"

"Oh…" The words, "There's this lady who's just perfect for you!" rang in his head. "...my parents, perhaps."

"Myah-ha-ha, then we're in the same boat!" Ghetsis coughed. "It seems the definitions of identity politics are to blame… your troubles have a storied history. For instance, when societies have integrated genders beyond the standard binary, such as a third gender, the people of those genders have usually been forced into a fixed class for other members of the culture to use. In Japan, for instance, a class was built around the concepts of..."

Ghetsis was highly knowledgeable about the formation of gender in other cultures, particularly during the 19th century! It was very interesting! Colress knew he should not be surprised—after all, if Ghetsis intended to rule a nation through pulling the strings of the public, he would have to understand how the characteristics of the marginalized were preyed upon by mainstream society. He said as much, and the two of them soon shifted to an entirely different line of thinking, and another, and another...

Colress pushed himself up to a standing position in order to stretch his legs. He gasped as he looked to the horizon—the sun was nowhere to be seen, and the moon was rising in the powderpuff blue sky, its yellow light fuzzy behind a soft green cloud. He felt like he had blinked and it had immediately transitioned from sunset to evening in an instant! "Oh! It's already so late?!"

There was a pause and quiet rustling, as if Ghetsis was turning to look at something—a clock, most likely. "My word… it's been hours," he said, dazed.

Colress felt heat rise to his face. "Yes, it-it has..." The waves were gentle now, glittering with tender moonlight. "Oh, I wish you could see the wonderful seascape I'm looking at right now… I know a photo can't capture it."

Ghetsis made a small, questioning sound. "Well now, can you describe it?"

"The multitude of blues and the sparkling moonlight brushed over the waves cause it to look resemble something out of a fairy world."

"I'm reminded of a painting by Jean Delville," said Ghetsis. "You say I should embrace the arts, but you have such a grand way with words yourself—your intensive descriptions are more intricate than the most wondrous finery! Perhaps that is… why I lose track of time talking to you," he said, shyness coloring his voice.

Colress spun around and made a small sound! "Well, j-just listen to yourself speak! And I could just as easily compel you to become a scientist—after all, you created that program that would affect all the PCs in a region and cause them to release pokémon en masse… that was incredible! Your intelligence and way with words ensure our conversations are time w-well spent..." His cheeks were doubtlessly dusted with pink now! "Now that I think about it, you didn't mention whether or not you agree with my theory about falling in love transcending the modern concept of identity."

"I can agree with it, yes."

"You do? Ah, I mean—of course, the truth of my statements is evident!" Colress walked toward the single tree that grew at the village's heart. The full moon looked like it could fit right in, strung side-by-side with the lanterns. "Still! Inform me of your reasons. Is it because the classical literature you've studied takes different approaches? Because love flourishes due to many unknown factors, which may be entirely separate from gender?"

"Certainly, those are factors," said Ghetsis. "But mainly I agree with your theory because I… because… I—" He stopped abruptly.

Colress slowly traversed the area around the tree, watching people disperse and return to their houseboats. It looked like whatever event it had been was now over, leaving a peaceful calm to fall over the village. He could hear the sea sloshing gently beneath him—the sound must help the citizens fall asleep! Ghetsis was not responding, so Colress tried again. "Excuse me, are you still there? Did the line go dead?" He turned up the volume, knowing no one was around to eavesdrop. He could hear a faint scratching sound, along with heavy breathing—was Ghetsis clawing at the desk? "Are you there—are you feeling ill? Ghetsis...?"

"I'm still here, I just—I mean, someone was passing the library door," Ghetsis said, his voice deep, yet raspy.

"Oh? But I didn't hear footsteps! Are you cer—"

"Don't you dare question me!" Ghetsis slammed something against the desk.

Colress flinched away from the phone. "What's gotten into you?! You should know not to shout!"

"...My apologies…" he answered, weakly.

Colress leaned over and touched the treebark, which was illuminated with different colors. "Please forgive me if I sounded harsh. I only want to know if you're all right."

"Don't apologize—you're wonderful..." he said, in a voice so quiet Colress could barely hear it even with the phone's volume at its maximum. "I mean to say, nothing has changed! Don't let this add to your troubles—I don't want you to think about this anymore!"

"Excuse me when I say, none of that sounded reassuring."

"I suppose not."

"But when you say nothing has changed, do you mean that…?"

"Yes."

"And you don't want me to ask you how you're feeling? Would you prefer that I change the subject?"

"Yes!"

Colress turned away from the tree and approached a vacant lot. It was highly uncharacteristic of Ghetsis shut himself away like a Cloyster. But forcing his hand might result in more pain, and he did not want to add to his friend's troubles. He gave in. "Well then… if you truly think so, there was something else I wanted to discuss tonight. I've been analyzing the bonds between humans and the effects of human interpersonal relationships on the potential of pokémon… but this research doesn't feel exciting anymore. I'm beginning to reach another low point in my study—I've explored every inch of Alola. I need help deciding what to do next."

Ghetsis thought this over. "...Why don't you infiltrate the Aether Foundation and study their Type: Null experiments? Wasn't that pokémon based on the potential of Arceus itself? And I already know you're an excellent thief…"

"Oh, what an interesting idea! I've already earned the trust of Aether's new Branch Chief and the Ultra Recon Squad, so it should be easy!" He smiled ruefully, glad Ghetsis was at least attempting to return to his normal manner of speaking. But his knowledge of some underlying issue made it bittersweet. He looked to the moon, which was now blurry and at its peak in the deep night sky. "I'm very grateful to you, Ghetsis. I hope you'll be able to enjoy our strategizing together..."