Alain

Alain (Japanese: アラン Alan) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer seeking to defeat all Mega-Evolved using his Mega Charizard X. He initially appears as the main character of the Mega Evolution Specials side-series beginning with Mega Evolution Special I, working under the instruction of Lysandre to collect Mega Evolution energy. He later appears in the XY&Z arc of the as a rival to.

In the Mega Evolution Specials
In the past, Alain was Professor Sycamore's assistant, and it was Sycamore who initially inspired him to begin seeking Mega Stones in order to solve the mysteries of Mega Evolution. At this time, Alain already owned a. Some time after leaving Professor Sycamore's laboratory, Charmander evolved. After reporting to Professor Sycamore, he came to a nearby ruin in search of Ampharosite, but discovered that the raw Mega Stone had been taken by Lysandre. Alain battled Lysandre for ownership of the stone, but his was soundly defeated by Lysandre's Pyroar.

Alain was then invited to Lysandre Labs, where Lysandre revealed his intention to harness the energy Pokémon produce when they Mega Evolve, for peaceful purposes. He also claimed that if Professor Sycamore were to publish the secrets of Mega Evolution, mankind would find a way to use those secrets to nefarious ends, and said that he would not allow the Professor's name to be tarnished. Asking if Alain would assist him, Lysandre revealed a metal attaché case with a Mega Ring and Charizardite X. Believing he could protect the Professor this way, Alain accepted Lysandre's proposal.

Some time prior to Mega Evolution Special I, Charmeleon evolved into a. Alain was first seen in Mega Evolution Special I battling a Trainer named Astrid, and defeated her Mega. The battle was secretly watched by Mairin, a beginning Trainer who was sent out on a journey by Professor Sycamore. Mairin was so impressed with his strength that she began following him. From Mairin, Alain learned of a Trainer who lept off of Prism Tower to save a Pokémon. Next, Alain received a call on his Holo Caster from a mysterious person, who directed him to a location with ruins to retrieve a Mega Stone. After getting the Mega Stone, Alain was confronted by a Trainer named Remo who was also looking for the Mega Stone. Remo challenged him with a Mega, but Alain won the battle and kept the Mega Stone.

Afterwards, he helped Mairin capture a. He then traveled with her to a restaurant where Kalos Elite Four member Siebold was working as a chef and challenged him to a battle. Charizard put up a good fight against Siebold's, but when Blastoise Mega Evolved, it overwhelmed Charizard using a -boosted. Accepting his defeat, Alain continued his journey to battle more Mega Evolved Pokémon and complete more assignments from Lysandre, now with Mairin as a traveling partner.

In Mega Evolution Special II, he traveled to Hoenn with Mairin, where he met. Noticing each other's Key Stones, the two Trainers recognized each other as Trainers with Mega Pokémon. Accepting Alain's challenge, Steven and his Mega Metagross fought a fierce battle with Charizard before the battle was interrupted by Lysandre.

Deciding to cooperate with the Hoenn, Alain and company traveled to their destination, a small temple with two pillars in the center. When Alain and Steven held their Key Stones to the monument, a staircase of light appeared to lead them further within the ancient ruin. There, they discovered a similar mechanism that summoned a glowing Giant Rock from underneath the ruin. After Lysandre and his research team began analyzing the giant stone, a appeared from the sky, Mega Evolved into Mega Rayquaza, and started wreaking havoc on the surrounding area. Alain, Steven, and their Mega Pokémon partners tried to fend off the Legendary Pokémon, but were overwhelmed. After an attack from Rayquaza's, the Giant Rock was revealed to have disappeared, causing Rayquaza to leave. Alain, Mairin and Steven then proceeded to Rustboro City on Lysandre's orders as energy waves, believed to be the Giant Rock's, were detected near the city's coast.

In Mega Evolution Special III, after landing at Devon Corporation via helicopter with Mairin, Alain received confirmation from Steven and Lysandre that Primal  and Primal  were set to battle each other near Rustboro City to claim the Giant Rock's energy, putting the entire world at risk. Alain and Steven volunteered to fly to the point where the super-ancient Pokémon would meet to analyze the situation. Despite Mairin's attempts to make Alain stay, he refused, saying he had to keep his promise to Lysandre to become the strongest. As Mairin continued to press him, Alain began to lash out at her, saying she knew nothing about his goals. After calming down, Alain walked away from Mairin, telling her to go back to Kalos.

On Steven's aircraft, Alain and the Champion approached a large energy reading that Devon Corp. staff and Lysandre confirm to be the Giant Rock. The two then witnessed Primal Kyogre surface, who began engaging Primal Groudon. After the Primal Pokémon exchanged blows, Alain received private orders from Lysandre to protect the Giant Rock at all costs until it fully materialized. Alain then opened the aircraft's door and sent out Charizard, and triggered its Mega Evolution. Following Alain's lead, Steven and Metagross followed suit, volunteering to attack Kyogre. While Charizard was initially able to stop Groudon from reaching the Giant Rock, it was eventually struck by, causing it to fall from the sky to a glacier created by Kyogre's.

Alain immediately rappelled from the aircraft onto the glacier, and rushed to Charizard's side, digging it out from chunks of ice. Noticing its tail flame dying, Alain recalled Charizard to rest. Alain was then blown back from an explosion caused by Groudon and Kyogre's battle. Thanks to Steven's order to descend the aircraft, Mairin and Chespie, who had stowed away, were able to exit the aircraft's rear and help Alain. As Groudon's caused debris to fly towards the three, Steven's Metagross dove in front to guard the three with. While Metagross continued to fend off Groudon and Kyogre, Mairin brought an unconscious Alain to shelter. Alain then woke up to witness Mega Rayquaza return and single-handedly defeat Groudon and Kyogre. A submarine sent by Lysandre then surfaced and proceeded to take in the Giant Rock by blinding Rayquaza with flash missiles. Lysandre deemed the mission a success, and Rayquaza retreated. With the skies cleared, Alain approached Mairin and thanked her.

However, back at the Devon Corporation headquarters, Mairin was told by Steven that Alain returned to Kalos without her, as staying with him would put her in danger. Alain was shown then to be back at Lysandre Labs, where Lysandre thanked him for his help. While Lysandre told Alain he had earned a rest, Alain insisted on continuing his training with Charizard, recalling how they were defeated by the super-ancient Pokémon of Hoenn. He was last seen with Charizard, battling a nameless Trainer and his Mega under Lysandre's supervision.

In Mega Evolution Special IV, Alain fought ten Trainers with Mega Evolved Pokémon in a row under the condition that he had to return his Mega Stone and Mega Ring to Lysandre had he lost to one of the Trainers. Despite not being able to rest between battles, Alain was able to defeat the first nine Trainers. During the middle of the challenge, he was reunited with Mairin again, but he still refused to let her travel with him. As she continued to press him, Alain lashed out at Mairin, telling her he couldn't get stronger with her around, greatly upsetting her. After an upset Mairin had walked away and told Chespie she wanted to be alone, Chespie walked in on an experiment which subsequently overloaded, exposing Chespie to near-fatal levels of the energy produced as part of the experiment and causing it to fall into a coma.

Later, Alain fought Malva of the Elite Four as the final Trainer. Alain pitted his Charizard against Malva's Mega and after a hard-fought battle, he was able to defeat her. After the battle, he went to see Mairin from behind a corner. Upon finding out about Chespie and hearing a broken, sobbing Mairin begging Lysandre to assure her that Chespie would wake up, he started to blame himself. Believing that the Mega Evolution system would restore Chespie's health, Alain set out to complete it in order to bring back the cheerful Mairin he knew. After leaving, a Trainer with a Mega stopped him and they had a battle.

In the main series
Alain made his first appearance in the main series during a flashback in Garchomp's Mega Bond!, in which he was shown to have found a. This Gible would eventually become Professor Sycamore's partner Pokémon, Garchomp.

He made a cameo in From A to Z!, walking past Ash and. Alain reappeared in A Meeting of Two Journeys!, where he was passing by Ash's battle with Sawyer. He took notice of Ash's Greninja's unique transformation and was intrigued by it. The next day, he saved Ash's Pikachu from and introduced himself to Ash and his friends. He then requested to battle Ash's Greninja, to which Ash agreed. Alain held the upper hand against Ash and Greninja with his Charizard, which he eventually Mega Evolved as he wanted to draw out Greninja's full power. Once Greninja did transform, Alain was surprised to discover it wasn't a Mega Evolution, as his Mega Ring didn't respond. Ash-Greninja managed to battle Charizard on more even grounds, but was still defeated. Afterwards, Alain and Ash introduced themselves, just before he thanked Ash for the battle and left.

In An Explosive Operation!, he was sent by Lysandre to help Aliana and Mable in their mission to capture Z2 when they were having a hard time. Alain and Charizard were an even match for the Zygarde and distracted it long enough for Team Flare to use their specialized weapons. After they captured Z2, Aliana and Mable recognized him as working for Lysandre.

Alain appeared again in The Synchronicity Test!, where he noticed Ash and battling, during his visit to the Pokémon Center. After reuniting with the group, he had a rematch against Ash. First, he battled his, using his newly revealed. After a close battle, Alain's Metang won after a decisive clash between its and Noivern's. Afterwards, Alain agreed for him and Charizard to have a rematch against Ash's Greninja. At first, the battle played out very similar to their previous one, but after Charizard Mega Evolved, Greninja showed its improvement by started getting a few hits in. When Charizard retaliated, Greninja transformed into Ash-Greninja and proved itself Charizard's equal, making Alain feel excited to face such a strong opponent. In the closing stages of the battle, Greninja managed to land a power attack which smashed Charizard onto the ground, to Alain's surprise. Before the battle could be finished, however, Ash collapsed from exhaustion, much to Alain's concern. Alain remained with the group until Ash recovered, after which he once more thanked Ash for a good battle. He was then asked by Ash if he was planning on entering the Kalos League, and when he said that he was not, Ash questioned as to why, since there would be plenty of strong opponents to battle against. To this, Alain commented that it would certainly be interesting, and then departed. Later on, Alain had a brief video chat with a and was glad to see that Mairin was doing fine. He would afterwards reminisce on his time working with Sycamore alongside Charizard before reiterating his desire to get stronger and protect those that he cares most for.

The conversation with Ash had apparently inspired Alain to enter the Kalos League and collect Badges. He was seen battling for his final Kalos Badge in the introduction to Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, where he was shown battling Korrina's with his Mega Charizard X. The result of that battle was shown at the end of A Diamond in the Rough!, where he defeated her and earned himself the, fulfilling his requirement for entry into the Kalos League. When asked by Korrina if he was going to enter the League, he confirmed, saying that he was planning on entering in order to battle Ash, whom he did not mention by name to her.

Alain reappeared since A League of His Own!, where he entered the Lumiose Conference. During the opening ceremony, Alain reunited with Sycamore, who was hosting the tournament together with Diantha, but Alain refused to talk with his former mentor. He also met up with Ash, and explained that he entered the tournament to battle him again and told him to keep advancing. The next day, he battled, with both Trainers using their Mega Charizard. Alain, however, easily won, defeating all three of Trevor's Pokémon without being seriously pressured in battle, and advanced to the second round.

In the next episode, it was revealed that Alain had won his second round, third round, and quarterfinal matches, qualifying him for the semi-finals. Following the conclusion of the fourth quarterfinal battle between Sawyer and, it was revealed he would once again face Remo for a spot in the finals. His rematch with Remo was seen in the following episode. Using only his Charizard and his, he was able to easily defeat Remo and qualify for the finals. According to Clemont, Alain had up until this point only used these two Pokémon in the entire tournament. Alain had a cold, serious demeanor throughout the battle, which worried Professor Sycamore. Afterwards, Alain observed the battle between Ash and Sawyer and continued to do so in the following episode, even showing a smile after Ash was named as the victor of the battle.

In Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, he was seen training for his upcoming battle against Ash with his Charizard, which Malva interrupted. She expressed her congratulations at Alain being able to make it to the finals so easily, adding that winning in the finals should be easy for someone like him. Alain replied by telling her to go away so that he could focus on training for his match. Malva shrugged off his comment, saying that since Alain's goal was to become the strongest, entering and winning the Kalos League was common sense. Alain replied by telling her that being the strongest didn't matter to him for his battle, saying that he just wanted to battle Ash. Malva commented that she thought Ash must be happy that Alain was being so mindful about him, with Alain asking what she was insinuating, adding that he was suspicious about her "true colors". Malva merely commented on how Alain was nearly finished gathering the remaining amount of Mega Evolution energy, asking him what he would do after Chespie had recovered, to which Alain replied that it was none of her business. Later that night, he was seen training with Charizard, expressing on how eager he was to battle Ash and how close they were to meeting the quota for the needed Mega Evolution energy. He was then approached by Professor Sycamore, who despite the awkwardness of their meeting, expressed that there were many things that he had wished to talk about with Alain, but that it was hard for him to remain collected while doing so. Alain questioned if Sycamore was mad at him for not coming back to the lab, which Sycamore denied, saying that he had heard about Alain's work with Lysandre. Alain admitted that he didn't want to expose his former mentor to any possible danger, telling the Professor about his goal to gather the power produced by Mega Evolution, but that there were also many people who would seek to twist that power for evil purposes, with Sycamore asking Alain if he backed away from him for his own safety, to which Alain confirmed. Alain told his former mentor that he couldn't turn back, not while there were even more things that he had lost compared to when he first started his journey, and until he could get those lost things back, he said that he could only continue to become even more powerful. Sycamore, smiling in understanding, told his former assistant to do as he wished. The next day, Alain was seen entering the battlefield for his final battle with Ash.

In Finals Not for the Faint-Hearted! and Down to the Fiery Finish!, Alain faced Ash in the final round of the Lumiose Conference for a Full Battle. Alain and Ash started a back and forth battle that eventually came down to Alain's Charizard against Ash's Greninja. Charizard Mega Evolved and Greninja transformed into Ash-Greninja, but in the end, Charizard emerged victorious, making Alain the winner of the Lumiose Conference. During the closing ceremony, after Diantha had handed Alain the championship trophy, the Kalos League stadium was attacked by massive roots unleashed by Z2, which Team Flare had placed under their control.

In the following episode, he and Ash made their way through the root-infested Kalos League stadium in order to find Mairin. After meeting with, Clemont, and outside, and seeing Z2 on top of Prism Tower, he and Ash went to find Mairin. After finding her, the two were ambushed by Celosia and some Team Flare Grunts, who informed Alain that Lysandre had ordered Ash to be captured and brought to him. Despite Ash trying to pull him away, Alain resisted, and allowed Team Flare to capture an unconscious Ash, along with all of his Pokémon. Alain was then transported via helicopter to Prism Tower, where he angrily questioned Xerosic as to why Team Flare needed Ash. He then went to the top of the tower, where he asked Lysandre what he was doing, and why he was destroying Kalos if he wanted to protect it. Lysandre revealed his true goal of returning Kalos to a beautiful state, and his belief that in order to do so, Kalos needed to be destroyed and rebuilt from scratch. Alain was then seen visibly frustrated and shocked when he witnessed Ash and all of his Pokémon bound in midair. When Ash and Pikachu regained consciousness he made no movement when Ash asked him what was going on.

Upon hearing about Lysandre's true motivation for gathering Mega Evolution energy in the next episode, Alain collapsed in anger and frustration towards himself for being used by Lysandre for his scheme, no longer knowing what he had been fighting for all that time. He then watched in horror as Lysandre attempted to control Ash and Greninja with Mega Evolution Energy so he could be in control of their Bond Phenomenon power. Luckily, the two were able to trigger the transformation on their own and break free of their confinement. Alain then grabbed Ash when he was about to collapse from using his energy, as well as thanking him for the words he said that brought him into his senses. He then turned against Lysandre and freed Ash's other Pokémon. The two then began a battle against Lysandre's Pyroar and Mega, and thanks to the efforts of Ash's Hawlucha, Noivern, and Pikachu, they were able to knock out Pyroar.

Continuing their battle, Lysandre's Mega Gyarados proved unexpectedly powerful as it was able to defeat all of Ash's Pokémon except for his Pikachu and Greninja. Alain and Ash were eventually assisted by Malva. Alongside Malva, Alain was impressed by the dedication and wisdom Ash displayed when he lectured Lysandre on why the current world is worth fighting for. The three were finally able to defeat Lysandre in the next episode, but left in shock when Lysandre appeared to commit suicide by stepping off Prism Tower. After learning the Giant Rock had absorbed Chespie and was heading to Anistar City's, Alain and company met up with Clemont, Bonnie, and Blaziken Mask and headed towards the Giant Rock by helicopter. Upon reaching the creature, Alain, along with everyone else, began fighting the creature and were eventually aided by Diantha and the Gym Leaders of Kalos as well. In the following episode, Alain and Ash were able to reach the Giant Rock's core, where Alain helped rescue Chespie, taking out the creature. After Lysandre returned and controlled the Giant Rock, Alain used his Charizard to continue fighting and was able to destroy Lysandre's control device, allowing Squishy and Z2 to destroy the Giant Rock and stop Lysandre's wicked plan. Relieved to see that Chespie finally awoke from its coma, Alain apologized to Mairin for all he did and asked for her forgiveness, but Mairin told him that as long as he was safe, then everything was alright.

He reappeared in Battling With a Clean Slate!, where Mairin threw a party for his return at Professor Sycamore's lab. He listened as Ash revealed his intent to return home to Pallet Town, later admitting to Ash that he was not sure of what he wanted to do now that everything he wanted to do had been accomplished. Feeling depressed and unsure, Alain said that despite not knowing Lysandre's plot, he still felt that he needed to atone for his mistakes. Ash suggested that they have another battle someday, as battling always helped him to find the answers to questions that he had. Although Alain was hesitant since Ash had already done so much for him, he agreed noting to himself that in every way that was important Ash was his superior. However, their conversation was interrupted when Team Rocket started attacking the lab in order to steal Pikachu. Using Charizard and Greninja, Ash and Alain successfully rescued Pikachu, and then sent Team Rocket blasting off with Serena and Clemont's assistance. Later on, he and the others received medals from Sycamore for their efforts against Team Flare, before posing for a group photograph and watching the reopening of Prism Tower that night. Professor Sycamore also asked Alain if he would like to return to his post as research assistant and Alain happily agreed. Alain reappeared in the next episode, where he and Mairin came to watch Serena's performance. He was hesitant when Mairin and Chespie dragged him to dance with her, but with Professor Sycamore's encouragement, he eventually agreed, although still feeling awkward.

Alain made one more appearance in Till We Compete Again!, where he, Mairin, and Professor Sycamore visited Ash and his friends before they would leave. During their conversation, Alain revealed that he and Mairin were now going to journey throughout Kalos to hunt down Key Stones and Mega Stones, due to the Anistar Sundial now providing locations to Mega Stones throughout the region. He also informed Ash that he had discarded his Mega Stone and Key Stone because he received them from Lysandre, and that he wanted to find them on his own and start from zero just like Ash. Alain and Ash then said goodbye to each other and promised to battle again one day. Alain was later seen talking with Sycamore via a video call alongside Mairin in Frost Cavern, giving him an update on their journey.

Character
Alain is shown to usually be focused on his goals, yet often exhibits aloof behavior and can wander off in thought. He at first seems to push others away from him, but he helped Mairin capture Flabébé with hints on strategy. He does, however, have a close bond with his Charizard, and has become accustomed to Mairin's companionship as shown in Mega Evolution Special II. Alain doggedly pursues his goal of becoming the strongest, often ignoring the concern of others and inadvertently causing distress and further concern among those that care most for him.

Alain has a tendency to push away the people he wants to protect. During his time working at Professor Sycamore's lab, Alain was much more cheerful than he is in the present. While he has distanced himself from Professor Sycamore, it is clear he is still concerned about his safety, something that he fully admitted to his former mentor while at the Kalos League.

His character took a darker turn at the end of Mega Evolution Special IV. Blaming himself for Chespie's falling into a comatose state because of his pushing Mairin away, he became disgusted with himself and began obsessively pursuing the completion of Lysandre's Mega Evolution energy system. His goal thus became to gain strength and complete the system in order to heal Chespie and help Mairin smile again. To meet this end, he worked with Mable and Aliana in their mission to capture Z2, succeeding in distracting Z2 long enough for the Team Flare Scientists to weaken it.

Alain is a good sport, and is shown to take his losses well. When he wins battles, he likewise congratulates his opponents on putting up a good fight, which is how he befriends Ash. When he loses, he doesn't let it bother him, instead devoting himself to train even harder. He greatly enjoys a challenge, becoming visibly excited when he and Charizard were pushed into a corner in their second battle with Ash-Greninja. This excitement and desire to once again battle against Ash in a competitive fashion similar to their previous battles would drive him to quickly attain enough badges to compete in the Lumiose Conference, something that he admitted to Korrina following his victory over her at the Shalour Gym.

By the time of the Kalos League, however, Alain's attitude had become more serious and cold, as the only thing he really cared about was proving that he was the strongest Trainer. Although showing brief glimpses of amusement in his battle with Trevor, after thoroughly defeating him, he would resume with his cold and serious demeanor. Likewise, when Remo failed to give him a real challenge, Alain just expressed indifference to the battle and, as in his battle with Trevor, left the arena without congratulating or praising his opponents as he would have in the past, further enforcing how obsessed he had become with gaining strength and battling fiercely competitive battles. However, despite this darker persona, Alain still showed signs of his old self when talking with Charizard about how he was genuinely looking forward to his battle with Ash in the finals. He would afterwards open up to Professor Sycamore and explain his motivations, reaffirming his desire to become stronger in order to protect his friends or anyone he is closest to in the process.

During his battle with Ash, Alain admitted to himself that Ash's excited attitude and eagerness to enjoy battles are what made him such a great opponent, and that battling Ash made him truly enjoy the battles themselves, causing him to lose track of time.

When Team Flare attacked Lumiose City and revealed their true motives, Alain felt betrayed by them and began to feel a great sense of guilt in him. After Lysandre proclaimed the dawn of his new world to him, Alain collapsed in frustration and anger. These feelings along with Ash helping him see the truth that would lead him to turn against Team Flare and join Ash. After Team Flare was defeated, Alain began to feel despondent, since not only did he feel that he was indirectly responsible for what Lysandre was able to do to Kalos, but he did not know what he wanted to do now that everyone was safe. Thanks to Ash, Alain began to cheer up, and accepted Professor Sycamore's offer to resume their research on Mega Evolution.

When Alain first met Mairin, he didn't like the fact that she kept following him, but he eventually gave in and reluctantly let her travel with him. Although he wasn't excited to have Mairin around at first, he grew to like having her around, and she became his best friend. Alain would do anything to protect her, even when he purposely tried to leave her behind to keep her from his dangerous mission of engaging Primal Groudon and Kyogre, as shown in Mega Evolution Special III. After failing the mission, he returned to Kalos alone, leaving Mairin behind as he didn't want to endanger her any further through his missions.

Alain views Ash not only as a rival, but as a close friend, and he values his friendship with him just like he does for Mairin. However, their relationship nearly took a turn for the worst when he was forced to let Team Flare take Ash and his Pokémon captive. Because of his betrayal, Alain was too ashamed to even talk to him. However, he eventually realized the error of his ways after hearing Ash explain that he doesn't care about what he has done in the past or the present. Also, it seems that he takes some inspiration from Ash, since he competed in the Kalos League because of him. Also, Ash helped him understand what was wrong with his ways, and helped him start over from zero by going on a new journey with Mairin to find his own Key Stone and Mega Stone to call his own.

Pokémon
This listing is of Alain's known in the :

Badges obtained
This listing is of the Badges Alain has obtained:
 * Seven unknown Badges (prior to A Diamond in the Rough!)
 * (A Diamond in the Rough!)

Pokémon League ranking
Alain has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
 * Lumiose Conference - Winner (Down to the Fiery Finish!)

Trivia

 * If the player has Steven's Shiny Beldum, Steven Stone makes a nod to Alain and the events of Mega Evolution Special II during the Delta Episode in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire; specifically, he mentions an occasion a long time ago in which he had the chance to meet and battle alongside a young Trainer who used a black Charizard.
 * Alain is the first non- Trainer to defeat an Elite Four member in the anime, defeating Malva during a one-on-one match.
 * He is also the first rival in the anime to be associated with a villainous organization.
 * He is also the first primary rival to win a League.
 * Alain's outfit seems to be based on his signature Pokémon, Mega Charizard X.
 * In addition, as Professor Sycamore's assistant, he wore an orange hoodie over a yellow shirt, which had the semblance of a Charmander's stomach.

Related articles

 * Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
 * Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

Alain Alain Alain Alan (Kalos) アラン 艾嵐