A Look Into Lusamine
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Art by Iyarito.
Introduction
In the Pokémon multiverse, villains have usually been the main focal point of the storylines in each generation. From capturing legendary Pokémon for evil purposes to complete world domination, the main villains and their respective organizations play an important role in developing and shifting the plot for our audience. Prior to the official release of Pokémon Sun & Moon, many fans were excited to visit Alola. During the reveals, players were introduced to Team Skull, with Guzma as the main boss. At the time, it was assumed that Team Skull were the typical villainous obstacles the players would have to overcome in the next adventure in the Pokémon multiverse. However, during the reveals, the Aether Foundation was also introduced, and unlike Team Skull, their appearance was somewhat obscured from the players. Primarily an organization for protecting Pokémon, the Aether Foundation was seen as a organization to trust, as we were introduced to Lusamine and her employees. Many, however, noticed that the golden logo of the foundation resembled the face of Type: Null, and soon began connecting the dots. There were even more conspiracy theories surrounding the introduction of Lillie, Guzma, and Gladion, as they awfully resembled the mysterious Ultra Beasts throughout different reveals (Lillie as Nihilego, Guzma as Xurkitree, and Gladion having a Necrozma appearance with his clothing design). After the release of Sun & Moon, many found out that their initial assumption of Team Skull was false and that the Aether Foundation played a bigger role in Alola. As the boss of the foundation, Lusamine contributed to the fresh new plot of the 7th generation games. As the first official female boss of a organization, Lusamine's unique design and personality made her one of the most polarizing characters in the Pokémon multiverse. From protecting Pokémon to literally becoming a Pokémon herself, she was the star character that vitalized our adventure throughout the four islands of Alola.
At first glance, many will note of the colors that Lusamine wears throughout the series: a white dress with a gold "external layer" added to the dress. Through the Pokémon multiverse, dark colors were used to distinguish villains and even resonated their personalities (example: Giovanni with a dark suit symbolizing his ideal of Pokémon being used for business; Cyrus in a monotonic "suit" resonating his emotionless ideal of creating a new universe by destroying the current universe). With Lusamine, however, one can be fooled by her appearance, as light colors, particularly white, tend to symbolize purity. The light colors of her clothes can also interpret Lusamine as not being evil by nature but rather as an individual with true good intentions that took a wrong turn after being in contact with the Ultra Beast Nihilego. The distinct feature that could put her on the pedestal of villains is the dark greenish "crystal-like" object centered in her chest area. Green is often associated with villainous or misunderstood characters in animation (like Scar from Lion King and Slytherin's green color scheme in Harry Potter). However, none of her physical appearances pointed towards suspicion of being a villain. Players soon befriend Lillie and eventually Gladion, who had their own opinions about their "innocent mother".
The key context clue that allows the players to put the pieces together about Lusamine is her relationship with her children, Lillie and Gladion. After the disappearance of her husband, Lusamine was driven into insanity trying to rescue her husband. The obsession of finding Nihilego drove Lillie and Gladion away with the keys to unlocking Ultra Space: Nebby (Cosmog) as the literal key to Ultra Space and Type: Null as the Pokémon created to fight Ultra Beasts. But how was it that Lusamine turned into the abusive mother she was known towards her children? Though not explicitly stated, it was more than likely the side effects of the neurotoxins that Lusamine was exposed to during her husband's disappearance. Wicke describes how the neurotoxins works on the host: "When Nihilego latches on to a host, it does not manipulate its actions directly. Rather it awakens the host's own capabilities and boosts them to an extreme extent in order to protect itself. It injects the host with a sort of neurotoxin to achieve this effect. This neurotoxin of Nihilego's is incredibly stimulating and inspires feelings of extreme excitement and a lack of inhibition in its host." Key phrase: does not manipulate its actions directly. This would explain how Lusamine's obsession of Nihilego was taken to another level prior to the inevitable fusion in the Sun & Moon story and why she did not need prolonged contact with the jellyfish-like beast. Lillie is the physical embodiment of Lusamine's obsession, with Lillie being dressed similarly to the physical appearance of Nihilego. Lusamine's main focus of the Aether Foundation was shifted towards the capture of Nihilego and abandoning her ideology of Pokémon conservation, which can be seen with several Pokémon preserved frozenly in her lab near the climax of the plot. In an ironic twist of fate, Gladion temporarily joined Team Skull, who were looking for Nebby and Type:Null since their secret alliance with Lusamine. Throughout the dialogue of Lillie and Gladion, it was somewhat clear that their relationship with Lusamine was fringed, with Lillie initially refusing to talk to the player about her mom and Gladion refusing to give up Type: Null to the Aether Foundation. When Lusamine began making contact with her children, she believed that children should always listen to their parents, even at one point stating that Lillie was ugly in comparison to Nihilego. The psychological effects of the neurotoxin amplified her true nature, in which her abusive obsession drove her children away.
Although the relationship between Lusamine and her children is clearly fringed after their initial interaction in Sun & Moon, it's important to note other relationships in the plot. Team Skull Boss Guzma gave players typical obstacles as some would expect in a Pokémon story plot. Traditionally, the villainous group compromises a large portion of Pokémon battles through story mode, with defeating the antagonist being one of several components of completing the game. The villainous group is often confronted frequently to remind the players that there's more to catching Pokémon and training to conquer the Elite Four. Lusamine's Aether Foundation served a key point in Sun & Moon, using Team Skull as a fantastic decoy into making players think that Team Skull was the true pesky group. The deceit was furthered contrived in the story, as it's important to note that although Lusamine denounced Team Skull as a nuisance to her goals, she really did not give the player any assistance into stopping Team Skull from their shenanigans. It did not seem possible at first, but many players theorized that Lusamine partnered with Team Skull to find Type: Null and Cosmog to make her life easy. This was proven true when Guzma appeared before Lillie, Gladion, Hau, Lusamine, and the player prior to traveling to Ultra Space. It was then revealed that Guzma and Lusamine were scheming the entire time, showcasing her manipulation has deceitful and cunning. In addition, Lusamine's relationship with Wicke and Faba was somewhat interesting. As both were assistants to Lusamine, they each represented polarizing personalities. Wicke was the calmest and sincerest of the two, giving Malasadas to Hau during the player's trips to the Aether Foundation and helping the player throughout the final Aether Foundation plot before Ultra Space. She could possibly represent the motherly personality that was absent in Lusamine. On the other hand, Faba was seen as narcissistic and shady when he was first introduced. Faba was driven to finding Type: Null and continuing experimentation with it, representing Lusamine's unhealthy obsessive personality and cruel behavior towards those who got in his way. Lusamine's assistants were the perfect examples of symbolizing the personality conflict she was going through in Sun & Moon.
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon provided the players with an alternate story, with Lusamine being less impactful to the plot and the shift of attention being placed on Necrozma. She did have one large change to her history between Sun & Moon and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon: her first meeting with the Ultra Recon Squad. The presence of the Ultra Recon Squad could explain the change of Lusamine's personality. The Ultra Recon Squad had vast knowledge of other dimensions and Ultra Beasts, meaning that they gave Lusamine a source of hope, unlike in Sun & Moon, where she was becoming desperate to finding answers in regards to her missing husband, which was amplified due to the exposure of Nihilego's toxins. This would make sense, since the Ultra Recon Squad was with the Aether Foundation throughout the story mode. In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Necrozma was the main Pokémon of focus, which gave Lusamine a focal point of attention rather than being driven by Nihilego in the original series.
Ultra Sun & Moon also displays Lusamine treating her kids different prior to the events occurring in each respective game series. This can be seen with the player's interaction with Gladion and Lillie. In Sun & Moon, during the Poni Island plot, Gladion says he took Type: Null in order to protect it, as he states that "I'm sorry... I wasn't there for you when you needed me. All I could think about back then was finding a way to save Null... That was the battle I was fighting." In Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Gladion states his motive differently: "I'm sorry... All I could think about in those days was how Null and I had to be stronger... But we'll use the strength that we found to protect the foundation in Mother's place." Due to the treatment of the kids, Gladion and Lillie ran away from the foundation to avoid being treated abusively by Lusamine, but in Ultra Sun & Moon, Gladion wanted to protect his family from the imminent threat of Ultra Beasts. Furthermore, in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, Gladion asks the player to save his family, while in Sun & Moon, he only asks the player to help Lillie. It seems reasonable to believe that Lusamine's treatment of her children might have been altered prior to the events of each series. Lastly, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon provided players a hidden event where Mohn visits the Aether Foundation and briefly talks to Lusamine. Mohn is the owner of Poké Pelago, where he builds islands for your Pokémon stored in the PC, and they can participate in certain tasks, such as finding items, harvesting berries, and Effort Value training with specialized drinks. Prior to the announcement of USM, many players theorized that Mohn was the actual husband that vanished during the Nihilego incident and lost his memory during the process. This could explain why he does not recall his past but his ideology of Pokémon conservation has stuck with him ever since. During their conservation, Mohn was in awe of what the Aether Foundation has been doing with Pokémon conservation, as his Poké Pelago reflected similar goals. As the dialogue came to a close, Lusamine asked Mohn if this was the first time he visited the Foundation, to which he replies yes. After Mohn leaves, Gladion asks if things should be left the way they are now, and Lusamine reassures her answer, bringing closure to her family and to the many players who theorized the disappearance of her husband.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lusamine was a great villain with interesting and emotional motives that provided players a great experience in Alola. As the first female villain and the first to undergo an alternative story, she brought players an interesting and mysterious experience during the trips to the Aether Foundation. Even before she fused with Nihilego, her personality and characteristics shined among the Pokémon multiverse villain, setting the standards to what futures villains could be expected in the near future.
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