Long-time fans of the Pokémon franchise will be keenly aware of the games’ penchant for Easter eggs and flirtatiously vague encounters. From the ghost girl of Lumiose City, to the mysterious Zoroark that led us to N’s castle, the Pokémon Company has always enjoyed giving the passionate and observant members of its fan base something to discover.
With every Pokémon Sun & Moon new trailer, CoroCoro edition and Nintendo Direct comes rampant speculation over the origin of this Pokémon, the motivation of that character and the nature of the Alola region its self. While there has certainly been plenty to discuss over the course of the marketing campaign, the one topic of conversation that seems to have caught the most attention is the mysterious Aether Foundation.
Most observers are by now aware that there are striking similarities between the new Ultra Beasts and a handful of characters in the Alola region, including the figurehead of the Aether Foundation, Lusamine. She and her band of white-clad scientists and apparent do-gooders rescue and care for Pokémon affected by Team Skull on an artificial island called the Aether Paradise. It didn’t take long for Pokémon fans to grow suspicious of them, however, with many speculating they may be the true villains of the seventh generation. After all, why do the Ultra Beasts seem to spawn in their facility? Why are they researching them in the first place? Why does their leader resemble UB-02 Beauty? And is it just coincidence that Type: Null is an artificial creation, designed to match the strength of legendary Pokémon?
Of course, these rumours are cosmetically easy to buy in to. The Official Pokémon website is practically steering us towards the realisation that Lillie and UB-01 are one of the same. Far more intricate fan theories regarding the Aether Foundation are doing the rounds, however, and perhaps the most interesting one of all, is the possible inclusion of a former character.
For those who have never been fortunate enough to play both White 1/White 2 or Black 1/Black 2 from generation five, the name Colress may not mean much to you. To those that have, the name should immediately pique your interest.
Colress is the white coat wearing nomadic ex-scientist of the newly established loyalist branch of Team Plasma. He joins the group for his own scientific research, hoping to uncover the true power of Pokémon in spite of the consequences of Plasma’s work on the world around him. He is an opportunist – an “ends justify the means” kind of guy, ready to forgive the kidnapping of Pokémon and the destruction of the Unova region so long as he retains his platform for scientific discovery. Once Team Plasma is defeated, however, Colress changes his tune.
In the post-game, Colress can be battled aboard the Team Plasma frigate every day, where he claims to have remained to atone for his actions with a band of repenting Plasma grunts. After his capture in the Pokémon anime, the scientist muses that his next project will be a device that allows people and Pokémon to communicate.
Fast forward to 2016 and the Sun & Moon release – how do we connect the dots between the Aether Foundation and Colress? Well, let’s start with the aesthetics – the Aether Foundation are clad in white coats and suits, and all of the main characters seem to have a different colour woven in to their attires. Lusamine has yellow, Faba green, and Wicke purple. They all feature a jewel pattern somewhere on their person, too. Now compare these features to Colress, and hey, what do you know? He checks every box. A white lab coat, blue clothing, and jewel shaped coat buttons. “Coincidence,” you say? Then let’s continue.
Let us revisit one of the earliest features revealed in Pokémon Sun & Moon – the Rotom Dex, a device that now allows the pseudo-legendary Rotom to directly communicate to the player. The Dex will show the player’s current location, points of interest and help remind them of their objectives. Whose ambition was it to create a device that allowed Pokémon and people to communicate, again? Ten points if you said Colress – twenty points if you knew that Colress also had a Rotom in his post-game team.
But what would Colress be doing in the Alola region? Well, the goals of the Aether Foundation seem similar to his on the face of it – at least, if his reformed nature at the end of Black & White 2 is to be believed. There, he says he hopes to atone for his errors, having aided and abetted the kidnapping and mistreatment of Pokémon. The Aether Paradise seems the perfect place to repent, especially when one considers the finance and scientific equipment clearly on offer to the Aether Foundation. Colress made no secret of his desire to discover the hidden potential of Pokémon while working for Team Plasma. Perhaps he’s just the man to help the Aether Foundation create a new Pokémon capable of challenging legendary creatures, or maybe to simply research the unchecked destructive force of an Ultra Beast.
We also know of course, that Colress has not been forgotten in Pokémon lore. In Pokémon X & Y, a Backpacker on Route 10 tells the player that Colress once told him that the stones on the route and in Geosenge Town emit a special energy. We already know that Dexio and Sina will be reappearing in Pokémon Sun & Moon in their pursuit for Zygarde and its cores. Is it out of the realm of possibility that Colress will be appearing too?
The final piece of the puzzle is the unknown figure standing in the background of the Japanese Aether reveal trailer. During a cutscene with Faba, a thin figure in a white lab coat with some kind of headgear stands in the far right hand corner of the screen. The figure does bare a striking resemblance to Colress, it must be said. But would the Pokémon Company be as careless as to reveal a character like Colress in the background of a trailer?
What do you think? Have we put 2 and 2 together and found 5? Or is Colress’ re-emergence at the wheel of the Aether Foundation a genuine possibility?
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