Colress: The Scientist Who'll Ally with Anyone to Get Ahead

He disapproves of Team Plasma, ends up leading it, and doesn't see the contradiction. Colress is a researcher who moves through Black 2 and White 2 without anyone ever quite knowing whose side he's on — until the Plasma Frigate, which reveals him as the organization's new official boss. Only one question occupies him: the power that Pokémon keep buried inside — and to answer it, he'll team up with any backer, including people whose methods he openly rejects.

Contents

• A man of science, and nothing else
• Four encounters, and always the same ambiguity
• The Colress Machine, an invention that gets away from him
• In the manga, under a hood
• Colress at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A man of science, and nothing else

With him, everything starts with curiosity: his work has only one goal, to reveal the untapped power that Pokémon hold. The game gives him no other motivation.

His rule of conduct is stated bluntly: no ally puts him off as long as the alliance advances his research. He can reject his partners' convictions and methods outright — they carry no weight in his decision.

His silhouette is hard to forget: a tall frame, blond hair swept back and crowned by a huge sky-blue lock curling like a half-halo, and the white lab coat he never takes off.

Four encounters, and always the same ambiguity

Their first meeting takes place beneath Castelia City, in the sewers. Liberating Pokémon after first drawing out their potential: that, according to him, is Team Plasma's agenda — and in the same breath, he makes it clear he doesn't share that vision.

He reappears on Route 4 to clear a path, then takes part in a major Trainer tournament. Nothing in these early encounters settles yet whether he's an ally or an adversary.

The fourth encounter is the most revealing: caught approaching a Legendary Pokémon, he gives the Colress Machine to the player, the device that brings a Pokémon under control.

The Colress Machine, an invention that gets away from him

The device is at the heart of everything about him. The Colress Machine lets you take control of a Pokémon, which makes it the dream tool for anyone who wants to "reveal" a hidden power.

The anime shows the consequences. There, Colress plans to use it to take control of Reshiram, and the machine ends up destroyed by a Pikachu and the Legendary, who resist through sheer willpower.

The manga takes the idea to its logical conclusion: the day a fused Pokémon stops obeying the Colress Machine, its inventor abandons Team Plasma. The organization only interested him as long as the experiment held up.

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In the manga, under a hood

The adaptation gives him an assumed identity: he competes in the Pokémon League under the name Hood Man, as a mysterious challenger.

His goals there are more precise than in the games. He is searching for a sacred mirror capable of restoring a trio of Legendary Pokémon to their Therian Forme, and Team Plasma funds his research.

His arc ends with an arrest, after his desertion. Yet he turns up later supplying Beast Balls to another major figure in the franchise — the scientist outlives every organization that employs him.

Colress at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is Colress part of Team Plasma?
  Yes: aboard the Plasma Frigate, he is revealed as Team Plasma's new official boss, recruited by Ghetsis, and he is the one who disbands the organization after Ghetsis's defeat. He nonetheless insists he doesn't share its ideas, his only rule being to team up with whoever serves his research.
• What is the Colress Machine?
  A machine of his own design that lets you take control of a Pokémon. He hands it to the player during their fourth encounter, on the route where he was approaching a Legendary Pokémon.
• What exactly is Colress looking for?
  To reveal the hidden power of Pokémon. It's the only motivation the games give him, and it explains his alliances as well as his defections.
• Who is Hood Man in the manga?
  Colress himself, under an assumed identity, competing in the Pokémon League as a mysterious challenger while being funded by Team Plasma.

In short

Colress is the hardest character of his generation to pin down, and that's clearly intentional. He helps out, he disapproves, he hands over a control machine, he deserts. The only constant is his research subject — and he'll leave any organization the day it stops contributing to it.