Lysandre

"I want to be the kind of person who gives... But in this world, some foolish humans exist who would show their strength by taking what isn't theirs."

- Lysandre

Lysandre is the main antagonist of the 2013 Pokémon video games Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, and the anime season XY & Z. He is the boss of Team Flare.

History
Lysandre is first met in Lumiose City in Professor Sycamore's lab. Lysandre shows enthusiasm towards the player and their friends, applauding them for embarking on the Pokemon journey and calling them the "chosen ones." He also reveals that he is close friends with Professor Sycamore, having carried out research projects together in the past.

The player interacts with Lysandre during their journey, learning of his ideals: to create a beautiful world, one without any suffering. Lysandre tells the player the story of the King of Kalos, who attempted to destroy Kalos via the use of a secret weapon as vengeance for humankind's horrific acts during a huge war. He also reveals that he is a descendent of the King's younger brother. He repeatedly expresses remorse for mankind's condition, similar to the sentiment which the King of Kalos felt, and tells the player that be believes that mankind is selfish and constantly takes what is not theirs. He says that the acts of the King of Kalos were "reprehensible," but admits that these actions were what allowed the world to be "cleansed of that era's filth."

He contacts the player occasionally to talk about Mega Evolution and continues to talk of "cleansing" the world. Eventually, he reveals himself as the leader of Team Flare, whose motivation is to repeat what the King of Kalos once did and reconstruct the world, inviting the player to join his cause. This would mean eliminating all humans and Pokémon, letting only those of Team Flare survive, and creating new world consisting purely of Team Flare's members.

Lysandre shows genuine remorse for having to destroy all these lives, openly crying in front of the player. He claims that this path was the only option due to resources, space, and energy being limited on the planet. Lysandre argues that the number of Pokémon and people on the planet had reached an unsustainable level, and that if Pokémon and "corrupt" people continued to exist in the world, it would lead to even more suffering. He believes that Pokémon are wonderful beings, but that humankind abused them in wars and used them in theft, and, thusly, decides that destroying them is the only answer.

When facing the player, he says:

"When there is only one of something, it can't be shared. When something can't be shared, it will be fought over. And when something is fought over, some must survive without it. The only way to create a world where people live in beauty, a world without conflict or theft, is to reduce the number of living things." In battle, Lysandre is confirmed to have access to a Mega Ring, like the player's. When defeated for the final time, a desperate Lysandre tries to force immortality on the player and their companions (in Pokémon X) / to destroy the entire building by firing what little power remains in the ultimate weapon (in Pokémon Y). The blast from the weapon destroys it, causing the building to become buried in the rubble. The player and their companions are able to escape the blast. Lysandre's fate, as well as the fate of the individual members of Team Flare, is left ambiguous. After these events, however, Team Flare disbands as an organization. After the event, Professor Sycamore apologizes to the player on behalf of Lysandre. Professor Sycamore thanks the player for thwarting Team Flare's schemes, and says that, in doing this, the player was able to "save" Lysandre. Professor Sycamore also says that he is partially responsible for what Lysandre did, as he never talked to Lysandre directly about how flawed the man's plans were.

In the Anime
Lysandre made his debut in the anime in Mega Evolution Special I. Though he was not identified as the caller at the time, he contacted Alain via the Holo Caster, directing him to where a new Mega Stone could be found. He also was seen observing the power of Alain's Mega Charizard X during its battle with Siebold's Mega Blastoise. He appeared again in Mega Evolution Special 2, in which he traveled to Hoenn. He intervened in Alain's battle with Steven, and introduced Alain and Steven properly to each other. It was revealed that in the past, he defeated Alain in a battle over an Ampharosite, then took Alain to Lysandre Labs and recruited him to work in a project to harness the energy of Mega Evolution for peaceful purposes. Lysandre was also the one who awarded Alain his Mega Ring and Charizardite X, though he asked Alain to not tell Professor Sycamore of the research, fearing that people with bad intentions would bring harm to him in order to obtain it. Later, he traveled with Alain, Mairin and Steven to a ruin, where they uncovered an ancient megalith. However, his research on the megalith accidentally summoned Rayquaza, who destroyed the area. After the encounter with Rayquaza, Lysandre discovered a similar energy reading to the megalith near Rustboro City, and asked Alain to go there and investigate. He also covertly ordered Alain to keep a close eye on Steven, for the Hoenn Champion had precious information on Mega Evolution.

He reappeared in Mega Evolution Special III, where he gave instructions to Alain and Steven. After Mega Rayquaza defeated both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, he had the megalith, which had reappeared during the battle of the Legendary Pokémon, taken away with his submarine for further studies.

Lysandre appeared again in Mega Evolution Special IV, where he observed Alain's battles against ten Mega Evolution Trainers while his scientists researched the megalith. After Chespie, Mairin's Chespin, who had interfered with the experiments performed on a Zygarde Core, was hospitalized, Lysandre told the victorious Alain that he had to continue gather data on Mega Evolution if Chespie was to recover. He was also shown to be close to Malva, who served as Alain's final opponent. Lysandre also has a major antagonistic role in the XY&Z arc, making appearances in From A to Z! and Meeting at Terminus Cave! studying Squishy alongside Xerosic.

He reappeared in A Meeting of Two Journeys!, where he was contacted by Alain via Holo Caster, who wanted to know if Mairin's Chespie's condition had improved or not. Later, he reappeared in the next episode, overseeing the operation to capture Z2 alongside Xerosic. At the end of the episode, he received Z2.

He appeared again in Championing a Research Battle! and then again in A Full-Strength Battle Surprise!, receiving mission reports from Xerosic.

He reappeared in Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, where he was talking to a man inside a building at the Lumiose Conference. He soon got a call on a Holo Caster that an Admin was holding, from Xerosic, who was in the front seat of a truck that was just outside the Lumiose Gym. Later on at night, he met Ash for the first time and discussed the capability of Ash's Greninja to take on its different form in battle. After his conversation with him, he was shown with an annoyed expression, before turning towards the Lumiose Gym and smirked. Lysandre later talked to Mairin after she ran up to him and he put on a happy expression. The next day, Lysandre was seated in a private viewing box inside the Lumiose Conference's stadium with a glass window, along with Mairin and the same Admin, and they all watched as Ash and Alain each walked towards their respective sides of the battlefield in the Lumiose Conference's stadium, for the final round of the Conference.

He appeared again in XY130 and XY131, where he watched Ash and Alain's battle in the finals of the Lumiose Conference. Towards the end of XY131, his true egotistical, narcissistic nature is revealed as he uses the power of Z2 to bring the whole of Kalos into his control, taking over Lumiose City and subsequently the Lumiose Conference, which had just been concluded.

He reappeared in XY132, where he revealed himself as the leader of Team Flare to a captured Ash. He also televised a message to the citizens of Kalos about his plan for creating a new, beautiful world for Team Flare.

He reappeared in XY133, where he explained his motivations. Much like in the games, he once had a generous nature and would help those in need. However, after those he supported grew accustomed to his aid and turned greedy, he became disillusioned with the human race. Because of this, he intended to "restart" the world, and he attempted to control Ash and Greninja the same way he did Zygarde so that Ash could be the guide of the new world. Ash, however, defied Lysandre and used the Bond Phenomenon to break free. Following this turn of events, Lysandre equipped his machine and started a fight with Ash and the defecting Alain using his Pyroar and his Shiny Mega Gyarados. Pyroar was defeated through a joint attack by Noivern, Hawlucha, and Pikachu.

He reappeared in XY134, where he defeated the majority of Ash's team. He was surprised when Malva appeared to help Alain and Ash, but nonetheless remained confident even after Clemont and Bonnie freed the two Zygarde under his control.

He appeared again in XY135, where he was finally beaten by Ash and Alain. Refusing to surrender, Lysandre seemingly killed himself by jumping off the tower. It was afterwards revealed that Lysandre had planned for the Megalith to transform into a copy of Zygarde, which would engulf the Anistar City Sundial and release enough energy to wipe out all life on the planet. He made one final appearance in XY136, where he revived the Megalith Zygarde after it had been temporarily stopped by Ash, Alain, Steven, Malva, Diantha, and all of the Kalos Gym Leaders. He was ultimately defeated by Squishy and Z2 after they transformed into Zygarde Complete Forme and destroyed the Megalith Zygarde. Lysandre was last seen when he seemingly died upon being engulfed by Zygarde's Core Enforcer.

Pokémon Adventures manga
Lysandre makes his first appearance in Lumiose City, where he is visiting his friend Professor Sycamore's lab. The professor shows him a video of the battle between Xerneas and Yveltal that happened in Vaniville Town. Lysandre notes from the footage that Xerneas can give life while Yveltal takes it. He asks Sycamore to give him a copy of the footage for further study.

After arriving in Lumiose City and meeting Professor Sycamore, Trevor and his friends are sent to Lysandre to get Trevor's Holo Caster fixed. After noticing Lysandre's shadow in one of Viola's photographs of the incident in Vaniville Town, Trevor immediately suspects Lysandre to be the villain behind it and gets scared. When Lysandre takes notice of the picture, he demands that Trevor show it to him and threatens the group with his Pokémon. The kids are saved by Diantha, who gets Lysandre to back off with her Mega Gardevoir. The two converse on what they think beauty represents, which ends when Lysandre gets a call from Xerosic asking whether or not he should move Xerneas's tree form. After fixing the Holo Caster, Lysandre leaves to do other business. As he flies off to somewhere else, Lysandre tells his Gyarados that it will too be able to Mega Evolve one day.

Later, Lysandre returns to Team Flare Secret HQ after Xerneas's tree form has been successfully transported. Xerosic presents Lysandre with the Lysandre Machine, which he forced a captive Clemont to build for them. Lysandre also receives a Mega Ring fitted with a Key Stone that Celosia stole from Korrina. He then activates the Lysandre Machine and prepares to use it to absorb Xerneas's energy and power the ultimate weapon. Later, Lysandre is interrupted by X, who had broken into the headquarters in order to put a stop to Team Flare's plan. Lysandre battles with X and uses his Key Stone to Mega Evolve his Gyarados.

Despite X having three Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving, he does not use it against Lysandre. Lysandre is surprised when his Mega Gyarados is attacked by X's Li'l Kanga, which Mega Evolved in secret by hiding in its mother's pouch. While he watches the two fight, Xerosic notices that the energy used to power the machine is being drained. X reveals that his Élec used its Lightning Rod to pull the electricity into its tail. Immediately afterward, Xerneas awakens from its slumber. Despite the appearance of the Legendary Pokémon, Lysandre is not fazed, as he noticed that Xerneas is in its blue Neutral Mode, which he states is nothing to get worried about.

X's friends and allies arrive at Geosenge Town, where they find the ultimate weapon in the process of being unearthed. The Gym Leaders and Y attempt to stop the ultimate weapon from being activated while Trevor, Tierno, and Shauna head inside the Team Flare Secret HQ to help X. As they make their way to the ultimate weapon's control room, Trevor and his friends meet AZ, the immortal former king of Kalos that Lysandre stole the ultimate weapon's activation key from. They befriend AZ and free him from his jail cell. When Trevor's group arrives at the control room, they find that X has already been defeated.

Upon seeing Lysandre's face, Trevor goes into a rage and fear-filled frenzy and goes the platform where Lysandre is currently standing. Trevor yells at Lysandre to remove the key, only for Lysandre to suggest that Trevor do it himself. In response, Trevor has his Flabébé blast Lysandre off of the platform and immediately begins attempting to remove the key. Tierno and Shauna go up to assist Trevor, but the weapon is fired despite their success in removing the key. Despite this, the combined efforts of Trevor, his friends, and the Gym Leaders weakened the ultimate weapon to the point where no innocent lives are taken. As he has Xerneas take X and his friends back to the surface, AZ gloats over the heroes efforts to stop Lysandre's ambition just after being captured by Xerosic's Malamar.

Although Team Flare blamed the ultimate weapon's blast on X's friends and the Gym Leaders, their efforts did not fool every person in the region. To lay low from the public view, Team Flare relocated to the Pokémon Village. While there, Lysandre begins training with his Pokémon while taking shelter inside of a cave. After Xerosic discovers the stones lining Route 10 are also another form of the Absorber, Team Flare begins capturing the Pokémon inside the village and has them put on the stones in order to drain their life energy.

These actions gain Team Flare the anger of Mewtwo, the protector of the Pokémon Village. When X and Blue arrive at the village to stop Team Flare, they find Lysandre in battle with Mewtwo. Lysandre manipulates Mewtwo into battling X and Blue so that it may be weakened enough to be captured. Despite having battled together, Blue's attempt to get Mewtwo to recognize him ends in failure. During the battle, Mewtwo attacks X and Blue, but redirects the attack towards Lysandre to hit him instead. Mewtwo then proceeds to Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo Y. As Mewtwo battles Lysandre's Pokémon, Blue notices another person in the distance who was responsible for Mega Evolving Mewtwo.

Lysandre retaliates by activating a remote control device to summon Essentia and Zygarde from underground. Lysandre reveals that he had the limiters on Essentia's suit removed, allowing him to fully control her as if she were a puppet. By using a speaker system, Lysandre can speak into the device and have Essentia repeat his words so that he can command Zygarde to attack. The person who Mega Evolved Mewtwo, Blaine, reveals himself and proceeds to assist X and Blue. Lysandre retaliates by having Zygarde attack everyone with Land's Wrath, causing heavy damage. The damage dealt to Blaine forces Mewtwo to revert back to its normal state, but Blaine counters by using his connection with Mewtwo to have it Mega Evolve to Mega Mewtwo X.

Trivia

 * Lysandre has similarilties to the Diamond and Pearl antagonist and Team Galactic boss, Cyrus, with his goal of creating a new world. They also have two similar Pokémon: Honchkrow and Gyarados. Both are the main antagonists of a specific season besides Giovanni, and are killed in a climactic conclusion to their arc.
 * His role of being Team Flare's leader can be considered obvious as he goes on long tangents about beauty and global destruction, has fiery red hair, dresses like someone associated with Team Flare, and owns a cafe that Team Flare members frequent.
 * He is the inventor of the Holocaster.
 * He is the descendant of the brother of King AZ (the King of Kalos). King AZ was similar to Lysandre, as they both used the Ultimate Weapon in an attempt to "beautify" the world, or purify it from what they deemed as "corruption."
 * Lysandre is one of three people in the main storyline to use a Mega Pokémon during battle, the others being the Gym Leader Korrina and the Kalos Champion Diantha. After defeating the Elite Four and Diantha, your primary rival (Serena or Calem) gains the ability to use Mega Evolution as well.
 * Lysandre's cybernetic suit, the Lysandre Machine, was meant to be used to drain Xerneas/Yveltal's power into the ultimate weapon.
 * Elite Four member Malva was a member of Team Flare and therefore knew Lysandre.
 * His Mienshao is the only Pokemon on his team that isn't a dual-type.
 * Curiously, unlike most villains, Lysandre expresses friendly feelings towards the player and sends frequent messages to him/her on the Holocaster to dispense advice or sayings that espouse Team Flare ideology. When he reveals himself to be the leader of Team Flare, he invites the player to join Team Flare, citing his/her "great potential" to make the world a better place.
 * Lysandre's Gyarados knows Iron Head and Outrage, which it cannot learn unless if taught from a Move Tutor. This can be done either by trading with Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, or importing it from Generation V through Pokemon Bank after learning it from Generation IV or V's Move Tutors.
 * Lysandre's hairstyle was stylized to somewhat resemble a male Pyroar's mane, one of his Pokémon.
 * In appearance he is similar to Ganondorf: the main antagonist of the Legend of Zelda franchise. Also they both have red hair.
 * Personality-wise and Goal-oriented, he is similar to Richmond Valentine, the main antagonist of Kingsman: The Secret Service:
 * ​Both own prestigious companies that involves in technology.
 * Both of their goals are to save the environment from human destruction.
 * Both of their goals however involves getting rid of the human race, save for their own groups.
 * Both at some offered the heroes to join their groups.
 * Both have showed remorse for some of their actions, but still perform them as long as they benefit their goals.
 * Both tried to get rid of the protagonists despite them already stopping their plans.
 * Both after finally being defeated accepted that fact that they are going to die.
 * Despite being villains, both manage to be genuinely polite.
 * As such, both genuinely care for their Right-Hands. (Alain and Gazelle respectively).