AZ

AZ (Japanese: ) is a mysterious man who appears in Pokémon X and Y. He is the former king of the Kalos region and the creator of the ultimate weapon. In modern Kalos, he has the appearance of a disheveled homeless man. He is said to be over 9 feet (3 meters) tall.

In the games
AZ is first seen on. When the undefined encounters him, he mutters about "the flower Pokémon," then leaves.

He appears once again much later, being held prisoner by Lysandre in the lowest levels of Lysandre Labs. When he is found, he explains the story of Kalos's history from three thousand years prior: there once was a man who had a Pokémon he loved very much. A war broke out in Kalos, and that Pokémon went to fight in the war, where it was killed. The man received the body of his beloved Pokémon some time later, and out of unspeakable grief, he built a giant device to restore it to life. He succeeded, but he was unable to overcome his despair and turned the machine into a weapon, with which he destroyed both sides of the war to bring it to an end. His Pokémon, disgusted with the fact that the machine was powered by the life energy of other Pokémon, left him. Lysandre reveals that AZ's name is the same as the king from three thousand years ago, and that he had the key to the weapon around his neck; Lysandre has taken him prisoner and claimed the key in order to use the weapon to destroy all of humanity except for Team Flare.

After the player defeats Lysandre once and for all in the Team Flare Secret HQ beneath Geosenge Town, AZ—now freed from his prison—approaches and thanks them for stopping the weapon from being used again.

AZ makes a final appearance in Lumiose City after the player has defeated Diantha and become. During the parade arranged by Professor Sycamore to celebrate the player's success, AZ approaches the stage and challenges the player to a battle, wishing to learn about what a truly is. After the battle, AZ smiles, thanking the player for freeing him from his long torment, thus fully revealing that he is indeed the man from his story. Then, he sees a sparkle in the sky. Having sensed the liberation of AZ's heart, his beloved —who was granted eternal life alongside him three thousand years ago—finally returns to him. AZ collapses to his knees, overjoyed that his Pokémon has finally returned. He is not seen again after this.

Documents kept in Lysandre Labs reveal more of AZ's story: he had a younger brother who wished to claim Kalos out of his own greed. After AZ ended the war by launching his weapon, his brother realized the error of his ways and sought to make amends for his actions by burying the weapon in an attempt to prevent it from ever being used again.

Although not by name, AZ is mentioned several times during the Delta Episode of. He and his actions 3,000 years ago are first mentioned by Mr. Stone, who tells that his grandfather got the idea to use the same energy used by the ultimate weapon to improve the lives of people and Pokémon alike, thus leading to the creation of Infinity Energy, which the Devon Corporation used to grow into one of the top industries in Hoenn. Later, the player overhears Wallace talking with his master, learning that the tree planted in front of the entrance to the Cave of Origin was given to the people of by a "huge man who visited from the Kalos region." Underneath the tree grows a flower of the same kind as the one carried by AZ's Floette. AZ is mentioned once more by Zinnia at the Sky Pillar, telling that, a thousand years ago, "a tall visitor from a distant land" witnessed how stopped a fight between Primal  and Primal, having said, "It is the Δ (Delta), born of the great disturbances in this world. By the bonds born of mankind's wish and the power of the stones, it will calm the troubles that plague the world."

Quotes

 * "The Pokémon… The flower Pokémon… The Pokémon that was given eternal life…"

Lysandre Labs
 * "Listen, one who will face Lysandre…"
 * "A terribly long time ago…"
 * "There was a man and a Pokémon. He loved that Pokémon very much."
 * "A war began."
 * "The man's beloved Pokémon took part in the war."
 * "Several years passed."
 * "He was given a tiny box."
 * "The man wanted to bring the Pokémon back. No matter what it took."
 * "The man built a machine to give it life."
 * "He brought his beloved Pokémon back."
 * "The man had suffered too much. His rage had not subsided."
 * "He could not forgive the world that had hurt the Pokémon he loved."
 * "He turned the machine into the ultimate weapon."
 * "The man became a bringer of destruction that ended the war."
 * "The Pokémon that was given life must have known…"
 * "That the lives of many Pokémon were taken to restore its life."
 * "The resurrected Pokémon left the man."
 * "Get the key back. It should not be used. Everything will vanish again. Do you want to know unending pain…like I have?"

Geosenge Town
 * "A long time ago. A very long time ago."
 * "The man made an ultimate weapon. Using it required the life force of many Pokémon… The Pokémon granted eternal life learned this."
 * "The resurrected eternal Pokémon left the man's side. The man was surprised and sad. He had revived it so they could be together…"
 * "Day after day passed, but they were never to meet. Eventually, he became a mere shell of a man. A man condemned to wander forever by the light of the weapon…"
 * "And a Pokémon that also wanders eternally…"
 * "Where is it now? What do I have to do to meet it?"

Lumiose City
 * Before battle
 * "Battle with me."
 * "I want to know what a “Trainer” is."


 * After the battle
 * "Thank you very much for battling with me. Now I finally feel free…"
 * "Free from the part of me mired in sorrow--the part of me that built the ultimate weapon…"
 * "It's been 3,000 years…"
 * "It's been 3,000 years…"

In Pokémon Generations
AZ appeared in The Redemption. His backstory from the games was shown, describing how he built a machine to revive his and later turned it into the ultimate weapon to end the Kalos war. Seeing how AZ had taken the lives of many Pokémon for her sake, Floette left him. Afterwards, AZ continued to wander eternally, searching for Floette.

During the parade held to celebrate the new Kalos League, he approached and challenged him to a. He eventually lost, but thanked Calem for freeing him from his sorrow. Afterwards, he was finally reunited with his Floette.

Pokémon
This listing is of AZ's known in Pokémon Generations:

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
AZ debuts in the. He is first seen in the underground section of the Team Flare Secret HQ, where Emma wanders into after breaking into the place with her friend,. AZ notices Emma's presence and reveals himself to be locked inside of a jail cell.

When, , and break into the Team Flare Secret HQ, they pass by AZ's jail cell. Although initially intimidated by AZ's large appearance, Emma appears to reveal that AZ is a kind man and that she has befriended him. AZ tells the children about his backstory and warns them that they must hurry to stop Lysandre from activating the ultimate weapon. After freeing AZ, the group heads to the ultimate weapon's control room, where they find out that X was defeated by Lysandre, but the battle caused the Legendary Pokémon to be revived. Although Xerneas is no longer being used to power the ultimate weapon, Lysandre activates the machine anyway.

Trevor and his friends desperately attempt to remove the ultimate weapon's key from its keyhole, but are unable to prevent the weapon from firing. Despite this, the efforts of the heroes attempt to stop the ultimate weapon from being fired managed to weaken it enough so that no lives were taken in the ensuing chaos. The struggle knocks Trevor and his friends unconscious, so AZ has Xerneas take them back to the surface while he is tied up by Xerosic's. AZ later manages to free himself from Malamar's grasp and make his escape. Just as he leaves, AZ cryptically warned Lysandre that Team Flare's actions have put them under the surveillance of, the Watcher of Kalos.

After Team Flare is defeated, and his friends return to Lumiose City, but start feeling dejected after getting no praise from the public despite their hard work to save the region. They are soon approached by AZ, who asks how they plan on living in Kalos despite what had happened. AZ reveals to the group that he was the one who made the ultimate weapon and shows them that he retrieved the key from the Team Flare Secret HQ during the final battle. AZ suggests that maybe Team Flare's ambitions weren't wrong and leaves to go reactivate the ultimate weapon.

X and his friends attempt to stop AZ, but AZ retaliates by attacking them and the public with his. attempts to reason with AZ, but is distracted long enough for Golurk to ready its cannon to fire at her. X has Marisso attack Golurk in order to save Y, but AZ jumps in front of Marisso and is hit instead. AZ survives the attack, but the ultimate weapon's key is destroyed in the process. Y realizes the whole ordeal was an act to teach the kids that what they were feeling was the same feeling that lead to Lysandre's ambitions in the first place. With the key destroyed, AZ thanks the Vaniville children for putting his mind at ease, but is shocked to find flower petals falling from the sky. AZ looks up and finds his Floette, having returned to him after 3,000 years. Afterward, AZ and Floette said their goodbyes to X and his friends.

In the TCG
AZ was introduced as a TCG Supporter card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English XY Series (the Japanese XY Era). It was first released in the Japanese TCG Phantom Gate expansion before debuting in English in the TCG Phantom Forces expansion, with both prints featuring an illustration based on the Ken Sugimori artwork of the character. It was also released as a TCG Full Art card in both expansions, with an illustration by Naoki Saito. AZ allows the player to return a Pokémon to their hand, with all cards attached to it being discarded.

Trivia

 * AZ is the tallest person in the core series.
 * Despite being classified as a Pokémon Trainer, AZ is the only character in the core series without an official Pokémon League title to use the Gym Leader battle theme.
 * The player can win or lose to AZ when he is battled; the player will not black out and the story will progress either way.
 * AZ may be based on the medieval Christian legend of the . AZ may also be based on the Mesopotamian king ; in the , the titular king traveled long and far in his quest for immortality for himself after the death of his closest companion, Enkidu.
 * AZ may be depicted in paintings within Parfum Palace. When one of the paintings is examined after defeating AZ at the end of the story, the player notes that it reminds them of him. A younger AZ is also depicted in a mural displayed in Lumiose Museum.
 * AZ is the oldest known human in the history of Pokémon, games or otherwise.
 * All of the Pokémon that AZ uses in battle are Pokémon associated with ancient civilization or longevity; is based on a tortoise, which can live for multiple centuries, and both  and  are Pokémon thought to be from ancient times. Also, all know, indicating a high friendship level with AZ.
 * An interview with Junichi Masuda in Game Informer magazine reveals that AZ's Floette was given to him by his late mother and was taken by force by the soldiers fighting in the war.
 * The interview also reveals that AZ's great height is due to the influence of the ultimate weapon's power on his body, and that he continued to age despite being immortal.
 * AZ shares several similarities with N from the Generation V games.
 * Both use names made up of just capital letters.
 * They both befriend the player at the end of the game.
 * Both of their identities are unknown until late in the game.
 * Both are related to the leaders of villainous teams.
 * Unused data for AZ's Floette as an alternate form exists in the internal data of the Generation VI and VII games.