What exactly is the Pokémon world like?
Actually, to the people from Damian's original world, the Pokémon world is truly like a semi-utopian dreamland.
Dreams, light, and beauty. Through Ash Ketchum and his perspective, we saw a very, very beautiful Pokémon world.
But in reality, the Pokémon world also has too much darkness.
Let's not even talk about the various people with big ambitions, the collectors, and the Pokémon hunters. These are the different kinds of villains Ash met on his journey.
Some acted for a greedy desire to collect things. Some did it for wealth. Some did it for power. Some even did it for eternal life, and so on.
The movies and the anime have already shown too much of this.
In the Pokémon games, there were already original villain teams. The one that left the strongest impression on Damian was not actually Team Rocket, but Team Flare.
Team Rocket's goal was actually very simple: use Pokémon to make money.
Team Magma and Team Aqua wanted to expand the land and the ocean.
Team Galactic was purely made of people who were born crazy. Ghetsis from Team Plasma was a pure person of ambition.
But Team Flare was different. What was Lysandre's ideal?
He wanted to destroy the vast majority of "dirty and ugly" life. This included not just humans, but also Pokémon. If he destroyed most life, then the world would become beautiful and flawless.
Why would it be like this?
It was because Lysandre once had the best intentions. It would not be an exaggeration to say he was originally a true charity worker.
However, because of that, he saw the ugly and disgusting side of human nature.
Because of this, he felt the world needed to be changed and purified. As long as these lazy and ugly people existed, the world could never truly become beautiful.
So, the Team Flare he ruled gradually turned into an extreme team.
This idea was actually the same as the idea held by Lance, the Kanto Elite Four member in the Pokémon Adventures manga.
In the manga, Lance was an extreme villain boss at the start. He also wanted to destroy most of the humans in the world to create a perfect dreamland.
Well, after he was defeated, Lance woke up and came to his senses.
But Lysandre did not get such a chance. In the games, because he was stopped by the main character, Lysandre fell into despair. His final result was obvious.
Damian remembered carefully. Among the bosses of the villain teams from all the generations, it seemed only Lysandre ended up dead.
Giovanni disbanded Team Rocket and disappeared to train and improve himself, waiting for the day he could return.
Maxie and Archie returned the orbs to the old couple and sincerely admitted their mistakes.
Cyrus was pulled into the Distortion World by Giratina. He spent time thinking about life in that broken world.
N and Colress became good guys. Ghetsis was defeated twice by children and finally went crazy.
As for the villains after the seventh generation, there is no need to even mention them. The one with the worst result was Rose, and he calmly went to prison.
But Lysandre died. This was undoubtedly a point that left a strong impression on people.
Truly, Lysandre was a crazy person with extremely dangerous thoughts. However, in Damian's view, Lysandre, who was driven to madness by reality, was actually much better than Cyrus, who thought of himself as a superior being.
At least Lysandre was not the type of person who was beyond saving.
In the seventh generation, after Rainbow Rocket Lysandre was defeated by Selene, he had also hesitated. He wondered if a trainer like Selene existed in his world, would he have taken a different path?
Even though in the next moment, Rainbow Rocket Lysandre still stood by his own ideas.
'If there is a possibility to make the world better, even if I can only save a tiny drop in the ocean, I will move forward on that path without stopping.'
This one sentence actually summarized Lysandre's entire life.
Witnessing the ugliness and arguments of human nature made him stubbornly believe that by destroying these ugly people, the world would become beautiful.
How should one describe this idea?
One can only say it was sick, yet it also made people feel pity.
"Is Team Flare a villain team?"
Platinum felt it was a bit of a pity. After all, she heard Gladion's introduction that Team Flare used to be a very kind and helpful institution.
In the end, it turned into this.
"Yes. But for now, Lysandre is still hiding it very well. His company has developed many devices and equipment that benefit the people."
Damian nodded. Although Team Flare's reputation in the Kalos region right now wasn't great, it certainly wasn't bad either.
After all, the predecessor of Team Flare was a research institute. Most of the Team Flare admins also came from a background as scientists.
For example, the Holo Caster was developed and made popular by Team Flare. It was used very widely in the Kalos region.
"Boss, what do we do then? Do we go and attack Team Flare directly to take them over?"
Gladion was silent for a moment, and then he asked Damian.
"There is no need. Team Flare has quite a lot of talent, but it won't be easy to make them truly loyal."
"Let's wait for them to expose themselves."
Damian rested his chin on his hand. Taking down Team Flare was not difficult for him at all.
After all, Team Flare's own strength was only so-so. If he wanted to crush them, he could just have the temporary members come over, or have Caitlin lead some people there. Either way, they could take down Team Flare.
But what Damian wanted was not to destroy Team Flare, but to take them over.
"At the moment they think they are about to succeed, we will give them a heavy blow. Then we will throw them a lifeline, and they will grab onto it."
Damian grinned. Would Lysandre's plan succeed?
To be honest, even if Damian didn't step in, it was almost impossible for Lysandre to succeed.
After all, Lysandre was too extreme. He wanted to destroy most humans and Pokémon. Let's not even talk about the humans.
He wouldn't even let the Pokémon go. Just on this point alone, if Lance found out, he would probably fly straight from Kanto to pin Lysandre to the ground and finish him.
Even though the manga version of Lance was also sick and extreme, he only targeted humans. After all, the original intention of manga Lance was to create a perfect world for Pokémon and nature.
"Anyway, let's focus on developing our territory and business first. Gladion, it will be hard work for you."
Damian stretched and smiled at Gladion.
"Working for Team Rocket is only natural."
Gladion's cold face did not change at all. His rank in Team Rocket was still High Executive.
But as Damian's trusted person, and a person with real power, his status in Team Rocket was actually equal to the top High Executives.
Lillie! I will definitely become your support!
This was Gladion's belief as a brother!
As long as your brother is here, even Miss Caitlin won't dare to bully you in the future!
Look at that! Just look!
Damian patted Gladion on the shoulder. To be honest, among so many subordinates, he felt Gladion was truly a model employee.
Gladion followed him to fight in different places. His importance was obvious. Except for the Alola region, Gladion held a very important position in almost every other region.
He not only had to develop Team Rocket's business, but he also had to manage various Team Rocket affairs. He was truly Damian's right-hand man.
A brother-in-law is just too useful!!
No, in the future, I must get another excellent Pokémon for my brother-in-law.
After talking a bit about Team Rocket's next steps in the Kalos region, Damian took Caitlin and Platinum and left the company building.
Since it was their first time in Lumiose City, they naturally had to walk around and explore.
Lumiose City was very large. However, they were going to stay in the Kalos region for a while, so the three of them were in no rush. They just enjoyed themselves slowly.
...
After walking for about two hours, the three of them decided to take a break.
Café Soleil. This was a cafe located on the South Boulevard where many people who were busy gathered to take a break.
However, it was now afternoon, and there weren't many customers. As soon as he entered the cafe, Damian looked toward the back of the room.
Wearing a black, slim-fitting leather jacket, with wild orange hair like a lion's mane, and a mature, determined face, it was Lysandre.
Sitting across from Lysandre was a woman with fair skin, a lovely face, and fancy white clothes.
She was the famous actress in the Kalos region, Diantha. At the same time, she was the Champion of the Kalos League!
This scene...
Damian couldn't help but scoff lightly. He thought for a moment and then led Caitlin and Platinum to sit at the table right next to Lysandre and Diantha.
Diantha was gently stirring the coffee in her cup with a delicate small spoon. When she saw Damian's group walking over, she subconsciously looked up at them.
After seeing the three of them clearly, Diantha felt a bit of admiration in her heart. After all, whether it was their clothes, their aura, or their looks, Damian's group was very outstanding. It was hard not to be impressed.
After the three of them sat down, Diantha also noticed that the boy seemed to notice her gaze. He smiled and nodded at her.
Diantha returned a kind smile.
He was a very polite boy. But why did he feel strangely familiar?
A handsome boy with black hair and black clothes.
Diantha fell into thought. She felt she had seen him somewhere, but she couldn't remember for a moment.
It shouldn't be in real life. Otherwise, Diantha felt she would definitely remember him. After all, this boy was very easy to recognize and would leave a strong impression.
Then it must be from a newspaper, a video, or somewhere else. Diantha tried to remember.
But just then...
"Miss Diantha."
A magnetic and mature voice interrupted Diantha's thoughts. It was Lysandre.
Diantha's eyebrows narrowed slightly. She felt she was just about to remember. However, she was not alone right now, and it was indeed her fault for daydreaming.
Diantha looked at Lysandre across from her. She knew Lysandre. After all, as the president of the Team Flare research institute, Lysandre was very famous in the Kalos region.
"Miss Diantha, you once perfectly played the role of a young girl on the big screen. Have you ever thought about keeping your youth and beauty forever and always playing that type of role?"
Lysandre's eyes stared at Diantha as he asked in a low voice.
"That is a very strange question..."
Hearing this, Diantha thought for a bit.
"Why would I want to always be the same type of character? Youth might be beautiful, but it does not represent a person's whole life."
"Everything changes. I want to live and experience improvement. So, I hope I can play older roles in the future too."
Diantha replied with a faint smile.
"But you were chosen to be a movie star, were you not? Isn't it your duty to stay beautiful?"
Lysandre picked up the teapot with his right hand and added some hot water to his cup. His eyes were unreadable.
"All beautiful things should stay in their beautiful state forever. I hope this world stays beautiful forever."
Lysandre's voice became lower and lower.
"I cannot allow this world to stop being beautiful!"
Hearing this sentence, Diantha looked at Lysandre with some shock. This man was the president of the Lysandre Labs.
These words... something was not right.
Diantha's brow wrinkled slightly.
But Lysandre seemed not to notice. He didn't care if Diantha would discover something because of what he just said. He had people inside the Kalos League, so he didn't need to be particularly careful.
He truly admired Diantha. Not for her status as a Champion, but for her role as an actress.
In Lysandre's view, Diantha used her excellent acting to influence others. You could say she gave her life to make other people happy.
If everyone in the world could be like Diantha, how beautiful would this world become?!
"Oh~ Serena."
Right then, Lysandre noticed a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
Damian also looked over immediately. It was a very stylish young girl.
She wore a black, tight-fitting sleeveless top that showed off her figure. She had a red-striped high-waisted skirt, and her thin waist was very small.
Black stockings reached up to her thighs, leaving a absolute territory space below her red skirt. Her honey-blonde hair was let down, and she wore a pink hat with sunglasses sitting on the brim.
This was a very fashionable and stylish girl.
A smile appeared on Damian's lips. This was the female protagonist of the sixth generation, Serena!
"Mr. Lysandre, Miss Diantha."
Serena walked to the table where Lysandre and Diantha were and greeted them.
"It seems you know Miss Diantha, so I don't need to introduce you. Well, my company has affairs that I need to handle. Please allow me to leave first."
Lysandre smiled and politely said goodbye.
"Mr. Lysandre seems very busy."
Serena watched Lysandre's back as he left. It wasn't surprising, though. After all, Mr. Lysandre was the manager of a research institute.
Serena was about to sit down. But as she turned around, her bag accidentally brushed against Damian's arm.
Serena felt it immediately.
"Ah! I'm sorry! Did I hurt you, sir?"
Serena quickly bowed and apologized to Damian.
"It's okay. You didn't do it on purpose," Damian said with a smile, showing he didn't mind.
"I am so sorry. Let me pay for your coffee, sir."
The serious Serena still felt very bad about it.
"Please do not refuse. This is my way of saying sorry."
"Since you put it that way, then thank you, cute lady. Let's get to know each other. I am Damian, and I come from the Kanto region."
Damian let out a light laugh. He stood up and held out his hand to introduce himself to Serena.
But Diantha, who was watching Serena with a kind smile, suddenly froze. She looked at the black-haired boy in shock.
Damian? The Damian from Kanto?
Isn't this the damn Damian from Team Rocket?!!
No wonder she felt the boy was strangely familiar. She had heard Officer Jenny mention Team Rocket inside the League building.
Especially a few months ago, the Hoenn region had even asked their Kalos region for help!
Diantha started breaking out in a cold sweat.
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