[Pokémon] The Appreciated Series

[ShivaDF]

Summary: Two interrelated works about important relationships between villains or former villains. These pieces were originally posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net.

Part one of the Appreciated series is "Wounds," and part two is "Routines."

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Wounds

Summary: Guzma goes to visit Lusamine in Kanto so that he can challenge her. They end up having a much-needed conversation. Takes place after the events of the games.​

Guzma met up with Lillie on Route 4 at golden hour. As they approached Cerulean City, he saw the tops of the buildings enveloped in the soft glow of the sun and the river gently flowing alongside the path. He was not impressed. It wasn't much of a city, in his opinion. As soon as he laid eyes on it, he was reminded of Iki Town more than any city he knew. In fact, Guzma thought that Kanto was the least exciting place he'd ever been. Lillie had claimed before he decided to visit the region that the trainers there were strong, but since arriving in Kanto, he had only run into schoolkids.

"So are you the Champion yet?" Guzma asked Lillie as they walked down the grey stone path.

Her eyes went wide. "Oh, no! I only have four badges. It's only been a month, Mr. Guzma."

Guzma squinted down at her. "It didn't take your girlfriend that long to become the Champion of Alola."

Lillie just blushed and pouted in response.

"Forget it. What's the Gym Leader like here, anyway? I'm sick of all these Picnickers! It's no fun beating people down if they're not a challenge!"

Lillie looked down at the path while she walked. "She uses water-type pokémon and is very bold and strong—and Mr. Guzma, you shouldn't say things like you want to 'beat people down' in front of my mother." She stopped in front of a very small house, and glanced at the door before looking back to Guzma. Lillie parted her lips slightly and drew in a breath as if she wanted to elaborate, but she stayed silent.

"No way the president's living in a dumpy shack like this," Guzma muttered to himself. He glared at Lillie. "What's eating you now? And how am I going to challenge her without saying stuff like that first? Why shouldn't I tell her I'll beat her and her pokémon down when it's true?" asked Guzma, annoyed.

"Our house is not dumpy. And you know she's still recovering after—" Lillie was cut off by Guzma suddenly banging on the door with far too much force. Before she could tell him to stop, the door creaked faintly. It slowly opened, revealing Lusamine. Between her high heels and Guzma's slouch, the two of them were about the same height. She stared at Guzma with a dull look in her eyes.

After a few seconds, Guzma started to sweat and could not take her look anymore. "L-Long time no see, ma'am. Look who's here. It's your boy, Guzma!" he said, a bit too loudly even for his taste.

Lusamine smirked just slightly. "Of course, Guzma, I've been expecting you. Come inside and I'll get us some tea." She slipped back inside before he could answer. Guzma frowned and went inside after her. He was willing to endure tea and small talk if that could give him the opportunity to battle against her later. Lillie followed after him and closed the door behind them very softly.

The house was very plain. There was a kitchenette, where Lusamine was boiling water, a bed, a very small dining table, and a bookshelf stuffed full of especially old, thick books. The only decoration was a small potted berry plant. Guzma sat down at the table, where he felt cramped. It was apparent that Lillie and Lusamine did not often have company. Guzma propped up his head with his hands, despite his noticing Lillie shooting him a dirty look when he put his elbows on the tabletop. Lusamine took her time with making the tea—she poured the hot water and ran the tea through the strainer slowly and deliberately. Lusamine's tall, stick-like figure usually made her look imposing, but now she looked more like a frail, poorly-made marionette.

When she finally finished preparing everything, she set out the cups of tea and sat down across from Guzma with a blank smile on her face, a smile that quickly fell when he glared at her. "Did you have to take so long with that? Just take the tea and the water, smash it together and it's done!" he snapped. Lusamine frowned and looked down into her teacup.

"Guzma, no!" Lillie crossed her arms over her chest.

Her mother looked back up and blinked at Lillie before covering her mouth with one hand and laughing. "Oh ho ho, you always were so impatient, Guzma. Tell me, what have you been up to?"

"I've been training to become even bigger and badder!" Guzma grinned. "I'm stronger than you now, ma'am, and I came here to prove it."

"Oh, so you think you can defeat me? I wouldn't count on it... I've had to keep training now that Lillie's going off on her own journey, you know," said Lusamine.

Lillie looked between the two of them before she smiled softly. "Mother, Mr. Guzma, I'm going to Fly to Celadon City to pick up a few things. Please remember not to battle inside the house!" Lillie walked to the door.

"You're sounding like the mother now, Lillie... don't worry, we'll be good," said Lusamine. Guzma rolled his eyes.

Lillie nodded as she left.

"So first of all, I caught and trained a ton of powerful pokémon—Liepard, Toxicroak, Scizor, Bisharp, and Toxapex," said Guzma.

"Only one new bug-type?" asked Lusamine.

"Yeah, well, I'm already the toughest bug-type trainer, and that's not enough for me." Guzma didn't mention the way that he had failed against Hala and the Champion with only his bug-types.

"That makes sense... diversifying your team is important. Why only capture pokémon of one type when there are so many beautiful pokémon of all types? Unless you're training to become a Gym Leader or some such thing." Lusamine looked thoughtful. "That wouldn't be a bad profession for you, in fact. The Gym Leaders in this region are very prestigious, and I know how much you crave prestige."

"Gym Leader? I'm aiming higher than that!" In truth, Guzma hadn't been thinking of what to do with the battling abilities he'd been honing. "But I'll think about it if it sounds good to you, ma'am."

Lusamine looked surprised. "Thank you?" She paused to sip her tea. "Oh, and Guzma, you don't need to call me 'ma'am' anymore."

"Why not?"

She crossed her legs. "There's simply no need to now, after—there's no need to call me anything other than Lusamine."

Guzma eyed her suspiciously. "Yeah... okay. Lusamine," he added awkwardly.

She nodded. "Also, it's good that you caught a Toxapex. That's one fewer Toxapex putting Corsola in danger."

"Huh, I never thought about it like that. But you never actually cared about the environment or sick pokémon or any of the stuff you said you did, right? So why are you thinking about it now?"

Lusamine choked on her tea. "W-Well, I am still an environmental scientist at heart... even though. Ah." She did not finish her explanation.

Guzma was quiet for a while before he unceremoniously took his cup of tea, tilted his head back, and guzzled the entire cup in one sip. He set it back down on the table, hard. "But I didn't come here to catch up, I came here to battle you."

Lusamine paused before speaking with a melancholy expression on her face before she shook her head and forced a grin. "Of course you did. I hope you came to lose, as well."

Guzma grinned back at her. "No, I can't say I came for that. And it's no problem since there's no chance of that happening." Guzma stood up, shoved the chair away from him, and crossed his arms. "I need to beat you and then beat that creepy upstart kid who became Champion! I told her that the next time she steps to me, I'll skip her pokémon and beat her black and blue directly, but I want to beat her pokémon as well!"

Lusamine stood up as well, still moving slowly and deliberately. Her gaze became glassy and dull once again. "Ugh, Guzma, what an awful thing to say to such a young trainer."

"What do you mean, awful?" Guzma asked, annoyed. "Didn't you beat your kids?"

Lusamine's eyes widened and she looked off in the direction of the door, lost in thought. "I never... beat them." Lusamine clenched her hands into tight fists. Her arms were tense and shaking slightly.

"But you did something nasty to them, yeah? Something much worse than pummeling them?"

Lusamine's frown twisted into a scowl. She snapped her head back to look Guzma dead in the eyes. "Why would you come all the way to Kanto just to make these horrible accusations?!"

"They're not accusations if they're true." Guzma shrugged a bit. "We all know what you did. Why're you so mad all of a sudden?"

Lusamine dashed across the room and stopped in front of Guzma. She pointed at him by jabbing a finger at his chest. The dangerous gleam in her eyes, which had been missing since she had been separated from Nihilego, returned. "I can't believe how foolish I was, thinking that this time it would be different—thinking you were different from everyone else! Now I see who you really are, and I am sick of it!" she yelled. "Why couldn't you just follow my lead?! If you had done that, everything would have turned out perfectly! Why are you not listening to me?!"

Guzma leaned away from her touch. "You're not making any sense! You sound like you did when you were possessed by that Beast!"

Suddenly the door swung open. When Lillie saw the scene before her she cringed and covered her mouth with her hands in shock. "Mother, why are you so angry? Mr. Guzma, what did you do?!"

Lusamine did not even seem to notice her daughter. She smirked at the mention of the Ultra Beast. "Oh yes, I almost forgot the feeling of my beautiful Beast, so sweet... unlike you!" she shouted into Guzma's face. "I should have left you as a dirty thug on the street instead of ever taking you in, Guzma, because that's exactly where trash like you belongs!"

No one spoke. Lillie stood quivering in the doorway with tears in her eyes. Guzma's brows furrowed. He stood staring into Lusamine's eyes for a few seconds. He reached out and grabbed her left shoulder roughly. When Lusamine tried to jerk out of his grasp, he took the opportunity to pull his other arm back. He growled and swung his arm forward and punched her in the nose, hard. Lusamine immediately yelled in pain and covered her face with her hands. She reeled back, unsteady on her feet, before regaining her balance and lifting one leg into the air. Guzma prepared himself to block a kick, but Lusamine instead slammed her leg back down and crushed his left foot under her high heel. The crunch reverberated throughout the room. Guzma screamed and fell to the floor. Lusamine stood over him, shaking in disbelief as blood from her broken nose poured into her hands.

Lillie rushed into the house and threw a Poké Ball. "Blissey, help me!" she yelled as her pokémon appeared with a flash. "Blissey, use—" her command was cut off when Lusamine turned and ran out the door, shoving Lillie and Lillie's pokémon aside.

"Mother, come back! You're bleeding!" Lillie called after her. Lusamine kept running until she was out of sight. "No..." Lillie mumbled, defeated.

Guzma writhed on the floor. "What are you doing?! Get your pokémon to help me already!" he snapped.

Lillie nodded. She wiped her tears away. "Blissey, use Heal Pulse on Mr. Guzma." Blissey took a few steps toward Guzma, and shuddered with empathy. It closed its eyes and began to glow a soft pink. When the glow became warm and intense, Blissey directed it to Guzma and it washed over him like a wave. It eventually dissipated, leaving Guzma's foot completely healed. Blissey took an Egg out of its pocket and offered it to Guzma, who shook his head. Blissey put it back with a dejected look on its face.

"Don't look at me like that," Guzma muttered. "I heard eating those makes people feel nice and happy—and I have to stay angry! What the hell happened to Lusamine?!"

Lillie recalled her Blissey and sighed. "I want you to explain what you said to her before I came in, Mr. Guzma."

Guzma stood up and tried putting weight on his foot. He did not feel any pain. "So you're saying it's my fault she said those things and broke my foot?! I'm not the bad guy here!"

"Explain it right now, Mr. Guzma."

"You're such a brat. Maybe you're the one I should be beating up," he muttered. "All I did was mention some of the bad things she did, like hurting you and your brother and fusing with that Beast, and she just snapped!"

"You brought that up?!" Lillie almost shrieked. "Why?!"

"I don't know! It just came up! Besides, it's not like she doesn't know about what she did, right? Why can't she just accept that it happened?" He paused, then spoke in a softer voice. "Wait... did she ever even say she was sorry about what she did to you?"

Lillie's eyes widened and she frowned. "She—you know what, Mr. Guzma? You've done enough damage for one day. I'm going to go find my mother, and you're going to stay right here in Cerulean City until I bring her back and get you both to apologize for what happened here. She can't have gone far without a pokémon that knows Fly..." She turned and left without saying another word.

"What's wrong with kids? Even they're telling me what to do?" Guzma muttered to himself.

He left the house soon after Lillie left. The sun had nearly set, and the golden glow over everything was gone, replaced with cold blue tinge. He walked for a while back down the path he had taken into the city, when something caught his eye. He saw some object near the river, shimmering in the last light of the sun. He ran up to it and picked it up—it was a pink and blue scale. "Huh, wonder how much this is worth..." Guzma trailed off as his eyes widened in realization. He looked up, and noticed that on the other side of the river, there was a cave inside the low cliffs that surrounded the city. Guzma grinned, thankful that his Toxapex knew the move Surf. "Wait until that brat sees that the big bad Guzma can fix things as well as break 'em!" he said to himself.

After surfing across the river, he stood outside the cave and squinted into it, but he could not see anything from outside. He then rushed in. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and when he opened them again he had adjusted to the darkness and the cold, damp atmosphere. He found Lusamine quickly. She was sitting in an unnatural position against a large cluster of blue crystals, on the edge of a deep pool of water that was not far from the cave entrance. As Guzma got closer to her, he noticed that her long hair was hiding her body like she was a Cloyster with its shell closed up. The ends of her hair were trailing in the dirty water of the pool. Guzma crouched down beside her, and Lusamine did not visibly react.

Guzma waited for her to say something, but she refused to speak. He broke the tense silence himself by clearing his throat. "Hey, Lusamine, aren't you tired of your hands being sticky with blood? How about we just say sorry, go back to your dumpy house, and get the Blissey to fix up your nose like it fixed my foot?" he asked in a softer tone than usual.

"...Why did it take so long for you to finally become angry at me?" Lusamine asked, her voice hoarse.

"What? I think I got mad at you pretty quick after you called me trash and broke my foot!"

Lusamine looked away from him and into the pool. "I'm not talking about today, Guzma."

"I don't understand. I mean, you hurt your kids and almost all of Alola, but you never hurt me till today."

She suddenly turned her head toward him, her hands still covering her nose. Guzma felt the sting of guilt when he saw that she had two bad black eyes. "Do I need to spell it out for you?! Think, Guzma. I know you aren't stupid!" she snapped.

He stared at her in silence as he tried to think back to their last few interactions. He tried to remember if she had hurt him in the past, but could not. "...I'm not stupid, I'll give you that. But I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Trying to keep you in Ultra Space!" Lusamine smacked the surface of the water, hard. The ripples traveled into the darkness. "When Lillie asked me if I cared about you, I couldn't even answer her! How can you not remember?!"

Guzma did not flinch. "That was the best I could hope for, right? If you'd said 'yes' it would've been a lie like everything you said, and if you'd said 'no' you would've meant that. And besides, you took me there because I was one of the things you liked. You said you wanted to surround yourself with only the stuff you loved or something like that... and you definitely didn't ask me to go with you because you needed help capturing the Beast. If I was one of the things you wanted with you, that's more credit than I've ever gotten! You've still been better to me than anybody else about your age."

"That that was the best you could have hoped for from me might be true, but you deserve more than that." Lusamine's eyes looked more dull than ever. "That does not excuse—wait, what do you mean by 'better?' Trying to force you to stay in Ultra Space and letting you get possessed against your will were both terrible, Guzma!"

Guzma let himself fall backward and lie down. He put his arms under his head—he had a feeling that he would be in the cave for a while. "It's way better than ignoring me like the Kahunas did or beating me black and blue like my old man used to."

"Your father beat you black and blue?" Lusamine asked, her voice becoming more hoarse. "And then I tried to collect you and order you to do what I wanted while I still manipulated my own, poor children?" Lusamine bent over and covered her entire face with her bloodied hands as more of her hair fell into the water. She let out a low keening sound.

Guzma blushed slightly. "Don't you dare think I'm weak!" he snapped as he looked up at the distant ceiling of the cave. "He stopped that as soon as I returned the favor with some golf clubs!" He sighed. "Besides, that's not important. Just say you're sorry if you feel bad about it, and then tell Lillie you're sorry. Why haven't you done that already instead of sitting around and sulking?"

"It is not that simple," Lusamine muttered. "I've been this way since—apologizing will not fix any of this!"

Guzma raised an eyebrow. "You've been this way since when?"

"Don't you know enough to know not to pry?" She leaned even closer to the water.

"Don't blame me for wondering why it's easier for you to take a punch in the nose than it is to say you're sorry!" Guzma rolled over onto his side. "Also, you'd better show me your nose. You really shouldn't have run off like that—what if it's really bad?"

"Then it's what I deserve," she said softly.

"Even if that's true, you don't deserve to bleed out and die... we can agree on that, right? Actually, don't answer that."

Lusamine took a few deep breaths before straightening up and leaning back against the crystals again. Her hair was weighed down and dripping with dark, dirty water. She slowly removed her hands from her face and turned toward Guzma again. Her nose was swollen and caked with dried blood and fluid.

"It's puffy but not that crooked, and the bleeding's stopped," said Guzma. "I've had my nose broken before and I think it'll be all right—just get Blissey to fix it. You might need it set first or something, though. I don't get how pokémon HP translates into human health."

"Blissey's Heal Pulse is what you mean, isn't it? It heals fifty percent of a pokémon's HP, and they face far more than punches to the face in battle. It should heal it completely." Lusamine looked back to the water, and then into the distance. There was not enough light to see the other walls of the cave. She kept staring for a while, watching as everything became even harder to see. The clusters of crystals lost their shine. Eventually, she spoke again. "I thought you would have left by now, considering how impatient you are."

Guzma yawned theatrically. "I can just take a nap till you're ready to talk!"

Lusamine laughed and the sound echoed throughout the cave. She stretched her legs and dipped the toes of her boots into the pool. She shivered slightly and crossed her arms over her chest, but she did not take her feet out of the water. "It's been this way... I've been this way since my husband disappeared into Ultra Space. He was the first one to truly research them—the Ultra Beasts. One day, during one of our experiments to open a portal to the other dimension, something went wrong. I still don't know why it happened the way it did, but almost as soon as the portal opened, he was simply... gone."

Lusamine swallowed hard. "After that day, I just kept thinking to myself that it was my fault for not keeping things under control. I thought that if I just opened the portal enough times, if I completed his research, I would be able to see him! When it became clear that that wouldn't happen, I thought that I could replace him, that I didn't need him again. All that mattered was the Ultra Beasts, and that maybe if I developed a way to capture them and control them, I wouldn't feel the pain anymore. I applied this idea to everything in my life... to pokémon and even to my own poor children. I went too far with my experiments... I hurt so many people and pokémon... you know everything else." Her black eyes looked even darker, and she was too tired to cry. "Sometimes I wonder if it was not an accident that my husband disappeared. What if it was all my fault? What if I was always this way, so that even the other dimension was more appealing than I was? What if I was poised to tear my family apart from the beginning?"

Guzma sat up. "That's all stupid!"

Lusamine immediately turned her head toward him. "What," she said flatly. Her eyes were wide and her teeth were bared.

"If your husband left on purpose, then that was a dirty move on his part as well! He wasn't just running out on you, but his kids as well! And you've got to be able to see what's dumb about the rest of it. Becoming obsessed with the Beasts and hurting your kids and their pokémon right after their father disappeared was never gonna help you! It was just gonna make you feel even worse after you came to your senses!" Guzma spread his arms wide. "Now I see you have to apologize even more than I thought!" He pushed himself up to his feet and cracked his back. He pointed down at Lusamine. "You know what? It's time you listened to your boy Guzma instead of ordering everybody else around. First you're going to get up off your ass and end this pity party. Then you're going to tell me you're sorry to get that off your chest, and then you're going to go and tell Lillie you're sorry. I bet she's worried sick about you right now! Got it?!"

Lusamine scowled and looked up at him. "How can you say something insensitive as that after what I just shared with you?! Maybe you really are trash! You've been nothing but rude to me all day! I told you, this is not that simple! An apology is not going to fix anything!" she shouted.

"Well it'd be a start! Sitting around and feeling bad isn't going to fix anything either, but you've been doing nothing but that!" Guzma sighed. "Look, if it'll make it easier, I'll go first. Lusamine, I'm sorry I acted like a jerk, and I'm sorry I busted your nose. Now you go."

Lusamine looked up at him. Her lips parted, but she said nothing. She drew her legs out of the water and stood up so she could looks Guzma in the face. But a few seconds later she turned away and looked down again. She closed her eyes and frowned.

Guzma frowned back at her. He turned around but not so far that he could not see her out of the corner of his eye. He walked back towards the cave's entrance, made visible by the faint light from the faraway streetlights.

Lusamine stood frozen in place. Just as Guzma stepped into the light, she cried out. "Wait!" she screamed, loud enough that her voice made Golbat screech deeper in the cave. Her shout echoed. "I can't bear to see you go, not now!" She ran toward the entrance, nearly slipping due to her wet boots. She stopped in front of Guzma, and he turned around to look her in the eyes.

"Yeah? What is it?" he asked.

"I've been a failure for so long, and I've failed you so many times—from the first time I met you and tried to control you to make myself feel more powerful, to when I tried to force you to stay with me in Ultra Space, to when I let you get possessed... I apologize. For everything. The reason I wanted you to visit me today... the actual reason... it was because I wanted to make amends. I truly did. But apparently I can't even bring myself to do that." She looked down at her feet.

Guzma grinned. "Really? 'Cause it sounds like you just did." He held out his hand, much to Lusamine's surprise. She managed to smirk before shaking his hand and squeezing it lightly.

The two of them left the cave, had their respective pokémon use Surf in order to cross the river, and traveled back to the path, whose grey stonework was illuminated by the soft orange glow of the streetlights and the blue light of the bright moon. They took their time walking back to Lusamine's and Lillie's house. Once they reached it, they stood outside, waiting for Lillie to spot them. It was only a few minutes before they heard the loud cry of a pokémon reverberate from the sky and throughout the city. Lillie swooped down from the night sky riding a Mega Pidgeot.

Lillie didn't even bother to recall her pokémon before running up to Lusamine and nearly pulling her into a hug. Lillie stopped at the last second. "M-Mother—your eyes, your hair, your nose, your hands—are you all right?! What happened?! Where were you?!" Lillie stared at Lusamine's bloodstained hands for a moment before processing that her mother was also holding hands with Guzma, who didn't seem bothered by the blood."Wait... did you find her, Mr. Guzma? Where was she? Have you two forgiven each other?" Lillie asked.

Guzma pointed in the direction of Cerulean Cave and Lillie blanched. "Mother, why did you go into Cerulean Cave?! It's dangerous!" She took out a Poké Ball and withdrew her pokémon. "Just tell me that you're all right, please..."

Lusamine smiled softly. "Yes, Lillie. In fact, I feel better than I have in a very long time." Her smile fell and she bit her lip before continuing. "Lillie, I apologize for running off and hiding. It was terribly irresponsible of me, and I was too focused on myself to remember how upset it would make you. And..." She glanced at Guzma, who nodded. "...and I also need to apologize for everything else I did to you, your brother, and everyone else before I was separated from Nihil-Nihilego." Her voice cracked on the name of the Ultra Beast. "I should have told you this long before we ever came to this region. I'm sorry. I know that an apology is not enough, but—"

Lillie held up one hand. "I'm glad to hear this, mother, but it's late and I'm just feeling exhausted," she said quietly. "Why don't you wash your hands and nose and I'll send out Blissey and have it heal you up the way it healed Mr. Guzma." Lillie went back inside without waiting for an answer, but not before smiling tiredly at her mother and Guzma.

"She is such a beautiful, sweet, strong young woman," Lusamine said in awe. She opened the door for Guzma. "Come inside... I don't know how to even begin to thank you, Guzma," she said quietly.

"Aw, you're welc—wait!" Guzma snapped. "You can begin to thank me by finally giving me that battle! The battle I can't believe I still haven't had yet! Can't we just have it right here in the street after you get cleaned and fixed up?"

Lusamine laughed loudly and clearly.

THE END

 

[ShivaDF]

Routines

Summary: Colress's vacation in Alola is interrupted when Ghetsis calls him on the phone.​

Bright moonlight illuminated the Vast Poni Canyon. The normally dusty yellowish earth looked almost blue under the full moon, and there was enough light to read by. This made Colress's research simple to record, even at night. He walked until he found an open space with no wild pokémon and vegetation around, then sent out his Metagross. Metagross groaned and slowly turned around, disoriented.

"Oh! The electrical fields must be influencing its four brains," Colress said to himself. "Will the electrical charges cause its Mega Evolution to become even more powerful? Or will the combined stresses cause it to shut down?" He held out his Key Stone and waited. Soon his Metagross was engulfed by a blast of rainbow light. The pokémon screeched and when the light dissipated, it had completed its Mega Evolution. Mega Metagross thrashed its legs and slammed the ground.

"Mega Metagross, be quiet so that we can begin the experiment, please," said Colress. Mega Metagross continued to struggle.

"Well then, it appears that you're in no state to follow orders. Go, Beheeyem!" Colress's Beheeyem appeared in a flash. It shook and moved behind its trainer, keeping its distance from Mega Metagross.

Colress smiled down at Beheeyem. "Mega Metagross is too distressed to participate. Could you use your abilities to remove its sensation of pain?"

Beheeyem slowly floated toward Mega Metagross, but stayed far enough away to avoid its thrashing. Beheeyem held out one arm and its fingers flashed different colors. As the flashes became faster, Mega Metagross calmed down. It levitated lower to the ground and stopped moving its arms.

"Splendid! Thank you!" Colress almost squealed with delight. He turned to Mega Metagross. "Use Meteor Mash on Beheeyem and I will record your damage output. I put my trust in you!"

One of Mega Metagross's arms glowed bright orange and shone brilliantly under the moonlight. Beheeyem covered its eyes with its hands as it braced for the impact. Mega Metagross fired its arm out and sent Beheeyem flying through the air before it slammed into the other side of the canyon and fell to the ground. Dust scattered away from the impact.

Colress took out his phone and made a few notes on it before recalling both pokémon. "...It seems that the strength of the attack was the same as before. I suppose this again demonstrates that trusting and being kind to your pokémon does not always ensure that they will become more powerful. Nevertheless, a useful experience," Colress said, cheerfully. He took his time walking back out of the canyon. He occasionally ran his hand over the walls and examined the striations in the rock.

As soon as he stepped back into the Poni Wilds, his phone beeped. He checked the caller ID, and noticed that it was an unfamiliar number. He swiped the alert off the screen and answered the call. "Hello, this is Colress the scientist."

Faint, low breathing came through the phone's speaker.

"Who is this?" asked Colress. "Excuse me, is this some kind of prank call?"

"What do you think, you two-faced fool?" Ghetsis said in a raspy voice.

Colress nearly dropped his phone. "Oh!" He clapped a hand over his mouth before removing it a second later. He smiled vacantly. "This is unexpected. It's been a very long time. You aren't a gibbering vegetable? That is what that trainer told me you became after your defeat..."

"Shut up!" Ghetsis tried to raise his voice, but it cracked. There was a pause, and he continued speaking in a lower tone again. "Have your ears stopped working? Of course I'm not. I'm more coherent than you were whenever you were babbling about science."

Colress walked past the ruins that littered the Poni Wilds. He looked toward Seafolk Village before he stopped and leaned back against a rock formation. "My ears are working perfectly. I'm not the one who has to worry about his body parts suddenly failing! ...Though I understand your point. You're definitely more of an incompetent maniac than a gibbering vegetable." Ghetsis tried to make a sarcastic retort, but Colress cut him off. "Where are you?"

"You talk almost as fast as that freak. You traitors would have gotten along. If you must know, I'm being held in an asylum in Unova." Ghetsis coughed and the speaker let out a crackling noise.

"I'm sure I would have liked to meet him! I can appreciate anyone who humiliates you. An asylum, you say? I would tell you the proper term is 'psychiatric hospital,' but an outmoded facility fits a broken-down person like yourself." Colress looked up at the moon. Because it was full, no stars were visible. "Do they have you and the other patients color all day? Is it difficult to draw with only one hand and no depth perception? I'm asking for science, of course. Oh, and how are you walking without your cane? I imagine that it was confiscated before you could kill anyone with it!"

"Keep asking those disgusting questions and I'll send the Shadow Triad—" Ghetsis managed to snap before breaking into another coughing fit. Colress held the phone farther away so he did not have to hear the feedback. Eventually, Ghetsis was able to speak intelligibly again. "Someone is coming. Do not think that you're rid of me yet!" He hung up.

"Yes, yes, I can see that," Colress said to himself. "Of course Ghetsis would want the last word." He rolled his eyes and started walking again, as he wondered why Ghetsis would have waited years to find his contact information, if it had been public information ever since he disbanded Team Plasma. "How intriguing... in time I will determine the reasons."

----------------------​

The next morning, Colress traveled to the dilapidated Thrifty Megamart to search for Klefki. He had heard that the pokémon was excellent at setting up traps on the battlefield and disabling the opponent. Although normally only trialgoers could enter the site, Colress had come early enough to avoid any passersby, and he had his Magnezone lift him over the fences. Before he could go inside the ruined store, his phone began to beep again. He picked up and it was Ghetsis, as he expected.

"I would tell you that it's only fair for you to tell me where you are, but you are foolish. Anyone can search for your contact information and learn that you are in the Alola region. I can't believe that you haven't been committed as well," Ghetsis said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. His words sounded strained, as if he was holding back the urge to shout.

Colress walked to the other side of the store, where he could see if people were approaching without anyone noticing him in return. "It must be my cheerful mindset that kept the authorities away... or maybe it's the fact that I'm intelligent enough to avoid conflict, unlike a certain someone. Oh, why are you speaking so softly?"

"It can't be either of those reasons, since your personality is grating at best and you have no intelligence inside your head!" Ghetsis breathed heavily and wheezed, trying not to cough. He continued, "This asylum has a small library, and the staff monitors this room less closely than the phones. If I call from one of the PCs here and speak quietly, they are less likely to notice me."

Colress did not see anyone in the area, so he tried to open the back entrance. It was locked, so he sent out his Magnezone again. Colress gestured to the door, and his pokémon started using its magnets to manipulate the lock. "I'm glad to hear your manipulative personality is intact," Colress said to Ghetsis, sarcastically. "That's a terrible cough. Are you dying of tuberculosis? Maybe you should be in a sanatorium and not in an asylum."

"I do not have tuberculosis. It's the soap and detergent they use here—they're all trying to poison me, but none of the other patients can smell how toxic it is. Their senses have all but gone!"

"But your senses are in completely working order. Is that what you're about to say? How appropriate that you would have environmental allergies—even inanimate objects and compounds must detest you," said Colress, as the lock clicked and the door swung open. He slipped inside the building and Magnezone followed him. The light inside the store was incredibly dark compared to the bright morning sunlight, and he had to wait for his eyes to adjust. "Did you ever ask for a hypoallergenic alternative?"

"Of course I asked for one, but do you think they listened? Of course not! It's more evidence that they all want to hurt me!" Ghetsis snapped.

When Colress's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he noticed that torn up pokémon merchandise was scattered all throughout the store. "I wonder why they would hate you... it couldn't have anything to do with how terrible a person you are, could it?" Colress feigned shock. "Excuse me, but I have to end this conversation now so that I can capture a Klefki for my team."

"A Klefki? Did you finally decide to catch pokémon that are as annoying as you are? What a surprise," Ghetsis muttered.

"I wouldn't be critical of Klefki, if I were you! That pokémon could easily destroy your Hydreigon... oh, but your pokémon must have been confiscated as well, so it wouldn't even have to, would it?" Colress asked. He shut off his phone before Ghetsis could yell at him. A Mimikyu cried in the distance.

----------------------​

After that, Colress became used to Ghetsis calling him three times a day, once in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening.

"...and then I told her Rotom-possessed pokédex that if I had been born a pokémon, I'd also want to be genderless!" After he left the caves and approached the peak of Mt. Lanakila, Colress had to speak loudly and press his phone against his head so that the speaker could pick out his voice over the howling winds and rustling dried grass. To Colress's surprise, Moon was running around in the grass, with nothing warmer than her leggings on. She turned to face him and stared with a blank smile on her face. Her eyes were hidden by her reflective sunglasses. Colress stared and smiled back, but tried to focus on his conversation.

"...If you were a genderless pokémon, I'd capture you so that I could call you an 'it' and command you to use Self-Destruct," said Ghetsis.

"I'd be a very rare specimen, and difficult to catch. Considering your poor aim, you would need a Master Ball to have a chance. It's too bad for you that I stole the one you had in storage and gave it to the trainer who defeated you!" Colress said, still looking at Moon.

"You did what?!" Ghetsis roared. "I will send the Shadow Triad to Alola, you—" Colress ended the call. He covered his mouth and laughed softly as he walked closer to Moon. "Hello again, young trainer. I traveled here because I'm interested in the potential of a pokémon called Drampa. How are you?"

Moon ignored his question. "Was the person you were talking to Ghetsis Harmonia?" she asked excitedly.

He kept smiling down at her, but paused for a few seconds. "...You really are as astute as I expected you to be!" He fiddled with the temperature settings of his suit.

"When you told me about Genesect drives and came to the Battle Tree, I knew you weren't just another scientist! I looked you up," said Moon. "It sounds like you're a bad guy. You betrayed a child like me, hurt pokémon, froze a city and a whole lot more?" She stuck her tongue out and caught a few snowflakes on it. She licked her lips.

Colress kept looking at the controls of his suit. "Well, I—"

"It's okay, I understand. I know the leaders of the Aether Foundation and Team Skull, and they were evil, but I heard from my best friend that they talked through their problems, and now they're helping each other get better! Is that what you and Ghetsis are doing?"

Colress's smile did not fall even slightly. He reached over and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. She tried to shake his hand off, but it was too heavy for her. "Ghetsis isn't the kind of person to suddenly get 'better' after a couple of conversations. He was, is, and will always be a complete monster. He's been calling me to punish me." Colress tilted his head to the side. "As for myself, I've changed my ways and have learned that the way to be most successful is through trusting and loving one's pokémon!"

Moon mimicked his action and tilted her head as well. "He's punishing you? But you seemed to be having a lot of fun talking to him on the phone just now! And—"

Colress released her shoulder and stood up straight. "And I think you should stay out of the business of other trainers! That aside, good luck to you!" he said cheerily. He suddenly turned around and started walking back to the icy cave system.

"Hm... okay!" Moon said as he left.

----------------------​

A few days later, Colress was sleeping restlessly in a motel room on Akala Island's Route 8 when a loud knock on the door woke him up. He yawned quietly and put on his glasses before he opened the door, revealing Moon, smiley as usual, and a wide-eyed man in an unbuttoned brown trench coat.

"Hello, Moon," said Colress. He turned to the man. "If it's not an inconvenience, may I ask who you are?"

"Elite member of the International Police, code name, Looker!" he yelled. "And I'd recognize that electric blue forelock anywhere, former Plasma Boss Colress!" He looked back at Moon. "Thank you again for reminding me of this case, Champion."

Colress blinked several times before he grabbed a Poké Ball from his nightstand and sent out his Klinklang, who spun its gears quickly and made a grinding noise. Looker took out a pair of handcuffs and rushed forward, but Moon grabbed his arm.

"Wait, Looker, Colress, there's been a misunderstanding," she said. "Colress is a good guy now, making up for his past actions... by being in the business of helping other villains become good people." She stared Colress in the eyes and smiled even wider. "...Isn't that right?"

Colress looked horrified for a split second before forcing a grin. Sweat dripped down his forehead. "Oh! That's exactly right. It fits very well with the theme of my research, which is bringing out the full potential of pokémon through kindness. I apply that idea to human beings as well, Officer," he lied.

"Really?" Looker scratched his chin. "I suppose that would be enough to make up for your past villainous actions... and who are you rehabilitating now?"

"None other than Ghetsis Harmonia, of course! I actually called you, Looker, because Colress needs help arranging a trip back to Unova," Moon piped up. Colress kept grinning, but his eyes became extremely cold and hard as he looked down at Moon.

"I'll do that for you right away then, Colress. Sorry if I scared you there. I'm just doing my job! I'll make sure you get to Unova ASAP." Looker nodded approvingly and left.

Colress could not even say anything to him. He continued to glare at Moon and took a deep breath before speaking. "...You are a very unkind person. You can't possibly think that anything good will come of this."

Moon shrugged. "Well, I just figured that it wasn't fair that you got to have fun at the Battle Tree and go on vacation and everything and never got in any trouble for what you did. Also, if you lied to a child, isn't it good that now you've been manipulated by one?"

Colress gestured to his Klinklang, who floated closer to Moon and ground its gears even faster. Moon covered her ears to shield them from the awful sound. She ran after Looker. Colress peeked out of his motel room, and saw that Moon and Looker were waiting for him to get ready and follow them. He sighed, recalled Klinklang, and moved to change out of his bedclothes.

----------------------​

On the place ride to Unova, Looker spoke incessantly of all the "daring" and "heroic" deeds he had done as an Officer, and Colress was forced to smile and nod at every single anecdote. Looker had also taken the window seat and his hair blocked the view, so Colress could not even look outside. The only time Colress smiled genuinely was when Looker explained that his partner had been killed while he was on duty.

Colress's phone started beeping. "Officer, if you'd be so kind, I need to take this call to better complete my important job."

"Of course, go right ahead! I can't wait to see a real villain rehabilitation master at work!" Looker said loudly. A few of the other passengers turned to glare at him.

Colress's smile thinned a bit as his phone continued to make noise. "I understand that it's fascinating, but I think... they're serving... Casteliacones... down the aisle, and you wouldn't want to miss that, would you?"

Looker did not say anything. He stood up and squeezed past Colress before racing away. Colress answered the phone and let out a relieved sigh. He turned down the volume, not wanting to risk any other passengers overhearing the conversation. "...Yes? You are calling much later than usual... I was hoping you wouldn't call at all," he lied. "I have so many better things to do than entertain you, especially today."

It took Ghetsis several seconds to respond. He breathed in shallow gasps. "You have no idea how they all humiliated me this time!"

Colress smirked. "Please, do tell me! I'd love to hear every single detail."

"This is no laughing matt—" Ghetsis stifled another cough.

Colress giggled quietly.

"I can't describe how I loathe you, Colress. And yet I still despise the freak without a human heart more than I despise you. You aren't even important enough to bear the brunt of my hatred," Ghetsis said quietly.

"Well then, I'm not surprised that you can't describe how you feel! You are so..." Colress spoke more softly so that the other passengers would not hear him insult Ghetsis. "...ignorant, I'm surprised that you can still speak in coherent sentences."

"I don't have time for your games. The accursed staff forced me to change medications, and after I took them it felt like my body had been set aflame! I vomited whatever poison was in them, and the disgusting workers stood and watched and didn't even bother to hold my hair back! And now I can't even wash my hair properly because the scented products exacerbate my condition! Do you see that they're all trying to murder me slowly?!"

Colress felt at peace as he stared out the window at the unobstructed view of the blue sky. "...Simply astounding. Tell me, what is the name of this place with such neglectful staff?"

"Severance Psychiatric Hospital. Appropriate, considering they do everything in their power to sever my soul from my body!"

"Excellent."

"What do you mean, 'excellent?'" Ghetsis asked. "Does my suffering delight you so much? You must have little to entertain you."

Colress saw Looker barreling down the aisle. "I'll see you!" Colress ended the call.

----------------------​

Vines snaked over the siding of Severance Psychiatric Hospital, and the cream-colored paint that covered the front of the building was cracked and peeling off. Even the letters of the sign outside were dull and difficult to read. The hospital building was very small and looked like it had been intended to be occupied by a single wealthy family, but had been bought and re-purposed. Colress and Looker walked across the dry lawn and up the few steps to the entrance and went inside. Colress was struck by the overwhelming smell of artificial Gracidea flowers that only became stronger as he went farther into the hospital.

A secretary with was sitting at the front desk with her head down. "Are you two visi—"

Looker flashed his badge. "This is Looker, officer of the International Police!"

She snapped her head up and flung a few papers off her desk. "W-What?! Has there been a problem?"

"Hm... perhaps I should start introducing myself by listing my hobbies instead." He gestured to Colress. "This man is Colress, and I'm his police escort. He's here to rehabilitate villainous mastermind Ghetsis Harmonia!"

"Colress...?" The secretary blinked. "That name sounds very familiar."

Colress smiled warmly. "I'm a famous therapist and pokémon researcher."

"It's been a long time since Mr. Harmonia had a visitor. You two can go see him, but..." She lowered her voice. "I'm not really supposed to say this, but he's known for assaulting the nurses. And—"

"Yes, yes, that won't be an issue," said Colress. "You could say I'm already an expert in the study of Ghetsis Harmonia."

The secretary looked like she wanted to ask a question, but did not. "All right, then. One more thing... please keep your pokémon inside their Poké Balls at all times. We only allow the nurses to have their pokémon out."

Looker and Colress nodded. The secretary called a nurse and explained that the two of them needed to be led to Ghetsis Harmonia's room. Soon, the nurse and his Audino came up to Colress and Looker. He led them down the halls of the wards, and Colress noticed that nearly all the doors in the hospital were slightly open so that staff could see inside. The artificial smell of flowers become even stronger as they came closer to the Crisis Stabilization area, and Colress barely suppressed the urge to start coughing himself.

Eventually they reached Ghetsis's room. The door was shut, and was slightly rusted.

"Thank you, Looker, nurse. As a therapist, I will need to be alone with the patient," Colress said quietly.

The nurse sighed. "Good luck... I'll keep my pokémon at the ready. If he attacks you, just yell and I'll help. There is nothing that Mr. Harmonia won't do. He once sharpened the black tips of his eyepatch and stabbed my poor Audino with it..." His Audino shivered at the memory.

Colress giggled.

The nurse, Looker, and the pokémon all stared at him with horrified expressions.

"Oh! That must have seemed very rude!" Colress exclaimed. "I was feeling empathy... it was simply so terrible, there was nothing to do but laugh," he lied.

The nurse nodded and opened the metal door, and Looker relaxed.

Colress went inside and shut the door behind him. Ghetsis was sitting on his bed, facing away from the door. He did not react to Colress entering the room. He was trying to run a small black comb through his hair, which was tangled and matted with many split ends. The comb continually became stuck, and he had to rip the hair each time to get it to move.

"Excuse me, but even you should know it's bad form to ignore someone who came all the way from Alola to visit you," said Colress. His warm smile from earlier was still plastered to his face.

Ghetsis turned to face him slowly. He stared at Colress and grimaced for a moment. His eye widened. "At first I thought you were another blasted hallucination, but only your warped mind would not see how hideous that bulky suit you're wearing looks."

"You're projecting!" said Colress. "You are the one who looks terrible... I see they took your robe and your jewelry and sanded down your eyepatch. And your hair—incredible! Are there still traces of your vomit in it? Oh, and of course the dark circles under your eyes—"

"So I manipulated your mind and heart with no effort! You've become so obsessed with me, you had to come back to Unova!" Ghetsis grinned. "How pathetic."

"Actually, I was involved in an incident with Moon and an International Police officer. The officer is incredibly incompetent and believes I'm rehabilitating you, and he dragged me here against my will," said Colress. "It's a strange turn of events."

"Moon? The trainer you mentioned? Finally, an unknown child is ruining your life the way it deserves to be ruined!" Ghetsis cackled until he had another coughing fit.

Colress shrugged. "I wouldn't call this a life-ruining experience. It's more of an annoyance and an inconvenience. In fact, I'll be leaving shortly. I just need to declare you a hopeless case so I can continue my productive vacation!" He took a few steps toward Ghetsis and leaned over him. "It's very, very interesting that you were trying to hide it this whole time, Ghetsis."

"Hide what? I couldn't have made my hatred for you any clearer." Ghetsis cringed away from Colress.

"You kept threatening to send the Shadow Triad after me, but they've abandoned you as I suspected! If they were still loyal to you, they would have never let your health degrade so much! I see why you reached out to me!" Colress's smile twisted into a cold smirk. "Even they grew to despise you, I suppose. I wonder why that could be?" he asked sarcastically.

"Shut your mouth!" Ghetsis shouted. He suddenly grabbed Colress's blue forelock and pulled it to the left as hard as he could.

Colress gasped as his head was jerked to the side, but Ghetsis was too weak to injure him. Colress stayed standing with his forelock pulled taut. "...That feels rather pleasant, actually. You should practice head massage!"

Ghetsis muttered curses under his breath when the nurse opened the door and rushed in. He saw Ghetsis holding onto Colress's hair and commanded his Audino to use Dazzling Gleam. The Audino ran into the room, let out a cry, and flashed with a painfully bright light. Ghetsis yelled in pain and covered his eye, releasing Colress, who stood up straight and left the room. The nurse sighed, recalled his pokémon, and slammed the door as he left.

Looker was waiting outside. "Well, I guess this just proves that it's important to pick your battles. I'm surprised it took him that long to snap and scream at you, Colress!"

Colress nodded. "Kindness and trust is always worth an attempt, but I see that Ghetsis has no potential to bring out."

"You're Colress?!" the nurse yelled. "You're the one who keeps baiting and insulting Mr. Harmonia over the phone!"

"...I think this is another misunderstanding," Colress said with a friendly smile. "Now then, where did you get an idea like that from?"

"Yes, do explain this!" said Looker. "What a twist! So Colress hasn't been redeemed after all...?"

The nurse crossed his arms over his chest. "Recently, Mr. Harmonia has been using the library computers much more than usual. We did some digging, and learned that he'd been calling the same number again and again... so we set up a hidden mic to record some of the calls. Mr. Harmonia is an unstable person, you of all people should understand..." He glared at Colress. "You were the one he was arguing with! I heard him say your name on the recording... I should have recognized your giddy voice! 'Therapist' Colress, this toxic relationship ends right now. I'll make sure he won't be making calls anymore. You should really feel ashamed of yourself—your added negativity must be making Mr. Harmonia an even more violent man."

Colress stood frozen, and his expression did not change.

Looker was applauding the nurse. "You've brought two former criminals to the justice they deserve without even making a citizen's arrest! Amazing!" He turned to Colress. "It's time for you to get out of here. Think about what you've done. It's a shame you don't, in fact, help turn evildoers good! That's the kind of help you need right now!" He started walking away, but Colress did not follow. Looker doubled back and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him along. Colress looked down at his feet as he walked back down the halls, but he stayed silent and his smile did not fall.

"I've never seen someone mope with a big smile before," said Looker. "You look like a Gengar."

Colress ignored his comments. After the two of them left the building, Looker put his hands in his pockets. "Normally I'd be angry that you wasted the valuable resources of the ICPO, but I think you've learned something very important. I can't believe your mama never taught you not to bully others. In any case, another job well done for Looker!" He scratched at his chin once more as he turned and walked away. "Maybe I could get some more Casteliacones."

After Looker was out of earshot, Colress let out a hacking cough. He stood awkwardly in the yard in front of the hospital. He stared down at the dark shadow he cast in the searing noon sunlight and kicked at the dead grass on the lawn. Eventually he rubbed his temples and sent out his Beheeyem, who quivered nervously as it levitated. Colress motioned for it to follow him back inside.

The secretary looked up. "You're back so soon?"

"I'm afraid I left behind something important. I won't be long," Colress said pleasantly.

"I understand, but you have to return your pokémon to its Poké Ball first."

Colress shook his head. "Oh, but I'm allowed to have my pokémon out. In fact, you're glad that it's with me. I'm supposed to be here!" He tilted his head to the side. "Beheeyem..."

"What do you..." before the secretary could protest, Beheeyem floated upward and flashed its fingers into her eyes, altering her memories. She calmed down immediately. "That's right. Sorry! Go right ahead!"

Colress nodded to his Beheeyem, and they went to Ghetsis's room. The door was ajar, but when Colress looked inside, no one was there. He turned back around and walked slowly through the Open Ward. He saw a few patients walking around, and all of them seemed to assume he was a Doctor. After wandering around for a while, he heard Ghetsis's voice.

"I won't allow you or anyone to stop me!" Ghetsis screamed.

Colress quickly determined the room Ghetsis was in, ran up to the door and peered inside.

Ghetsis was sprawled across the floor with his hand grasping at the pant legs of the nurse from before. Audino was crying loudly and holding Ghetsis back. There were small rows of bookshelves and tables with computers on them farther into the room, and Colress realized that this was the hospital's library.

"That's enough, Mr. Harmonia! Remember that workshop about cutting relationship deadwood from the tree of your life? I don't know what you and Colress are to each other, but you're both getting hurt!" The nurse kicked his legs out slightly, and Ghetsis fell flat onto the floor. Audino pinned him down with an annoyed expression on its face.

"You fool... you don't know anything..." Ghetsis wheezed and tried to push himself back up, but Audino was too heavy. "I need Colress! He's the only one who understands me! We're two sides of the same coin, and it would be horribly cruel to separate us. Without him I'm nothing..." Tears streamed from Ghetsis's undamaged eye. "Everyone else I know is hurt by my actions and abandons me, but Colress will never run from me, and I'll never run from him. Ours is not a toxic relationship. Please, if you have mercy and allow me to talk to him again, I'll be forever in your debt."

The nurse paused and looked away as he considered Ghetsis's words.

"Use Calm Mind twice in a row," Colress whispered to his Beheeyem. Beheeyem shut its eyes and complied. After it became intensely focused, Colress pushed inside the library with his pokémon in tow.

The nurse noticed Colress and his pokémon immediately. "What is happening?!" he yelled. "Audino, use Dazzling Gleam on that Beheeyem!" Audino leaped off Ghetsis's back and glowed bright pink. It hit Beheeyem with the light, but Beheeyem did not even quiver in response.

"Use Psychic, please," said Colress. Beheeyem floated higher and blasted Audino with a powerful telekinetic force. Audino screeched and fell back, unconscious.

The nurse withdrew his pokémon and took out a phone.

"You won't call for help. You'll keep calm and stay quiet, and leave Ghetsis and me alone in this room," said Colress. Beheeyem rushed forward and flashed its fingers into the nurse's eyes. Once the pokémon drew back, the nurse's eyes closed partway, and he shambled out of the library in a daze.

Colress sent out his Magnezone and made it use its magnetism to lock the door, and Ghetsis used a chair to push himself to a standing position.

Colress withdrew both of his pokémon. "So sentimental!" he squealed. "You need me and you're nothing without me? I never thought you would admit how weak you are out loud! And the crying... what a disgusting display."

"Surely you've heard enough of my speeches to know that everything I said was a lie?" Ghetsis gave Colress a pleasant smile as he wiped away tears. "I'm constantly on the brink of tears from the terrible scents they use here and from all the dust in this place. It is easy to make myself cry."

Colress smiled pleasantly back at him. "But to what purpose were you lying if you don't need me in your life?"

"I always called you from the same PC, the same number," said Ghetsis. "Tell me, to what purpose were you refusing to block my number, answering all of my calls, having long conversations with me, returning to the hospital, and incapacitating that nurse, if you don't need me in yours?"

Colress felt a tightness in his chest. His smile fell and he frowned. "I-It's rude to ask another question without answering mine first..." He looked away and paused for a few seconds. "You seem to be trained in the art of deflecting people's inquiries," he said softly.

"You seem to be as well." Ghetsis grinned at Colress's change in expression. "I thought you were a sadist, but a true sadist wouldn't have come back. You can't even cause pain correctly. You're the one who is weak!"

"I am very good at causing pain. But if I want to successfully research your degradation, I can't push you to the point of death." Colress smile returned. He looked back to Ghetsis. "If you want me to hurt you more, well then... I know, I can break you out of here. With Porygon-Z and Beheeyem, that would be easy. And then I can build a new metal cane for you. One that's remote-controlled and that will allow me to send a debilitating electric shock through your body whenever I want!"

"What are you talking about?! You want to use me as a test subject?! Do you think I'm a pokémon?" Ghetsis scowled.

"You could stay here and rot instead, if you don't want me to study you—life is full of possibilities! Is that second option more appealing to you? Somehow I think it isn't." Colress reached over and brushed a stray lock of hair out of Ghetsis's face.

"It isn't, because if I choose the first option, I can personally ensure that you always suffer." Ghetsis smacked Colress's hand away. Colress giggled.

THE END