History Characters / PokemonTheSeriesXYMegaEvolutionSpecials

[[center:[[WMG:''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon anime]]'' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeries characters index]]\\
[-'''Series-wide:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesAshKetchum Ash Ketchum]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesPikachu Pikachu]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketTrio Team Rocket Trio]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketTriosPokemon Team Rocket Trio's Pokemon]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketOrganization Team Rocket Organization]]\\
'''Major Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesMisty Misty]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBrock Brock]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesMay May]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDawn Dawn]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesPaul Paul]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesIris Iris]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSerena Serena]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesLillie Lillie]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesGoh Goh]] \\
'''Original Series:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto)]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesOneShotCharacters One-shot Characters]]\\
'''Advanced Generation:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireGymLeadersAndFrontierBrains Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireVillains Villains]]\\
'''Diamond and Pearl:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Sinnoh)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlVillains Villains]]\\
'''Black and White:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Unova)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteRivals Rivals]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteVillains Villains]]\\
'''XY:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Kalos)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYRivals Rivals]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | '''Mega Evolution Special''' | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYVillains Villains]]\\
'''Sun and Moon:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Alola)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonKahunasAndGuardianDeities Kahunas and Guardian Deities]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonVillains Villains]]\\
'''Journeys:''' [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Journeys)]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesGalar Galar]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesOneShotCharacters One-shot Characters]]\\
'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokémon]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesAntagonists Antagonists]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]\\
'''Movies:''' [[Characters/PokemonMovies Movies 1 to 19]] | [[Characters/PokemonIChooseYou I Choose You!]] | [[Characters/PokemonThePowerOfUs The Power of Us]] | [[Characters/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle Secrets of the Jungle]]-]]]]]

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Alain]]
!! '''Alain'''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alain_jn_2.png]]
->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Creator/KenshoOno
->'''Voiced in English by:''' Jonathan Silver
->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Israel Nuncio

The protagonist of the Mega Evolution specials. He seeks out Mega Stones and trainers with Mega Evolved Pokémon to defeat them under the guidance of a mysterious voice on his Holo Caster.
----
* ActionHero: '''Supremely so.''' His adventures in Hoenn and as an UnwittingPawn of Team Flare pit him against some powerful opponents, and he finds himself in some dangerous spots, proving himself quite the badass in the process. Unlike the adventures of Ash and Co., the Mega-Evolution specials make no attempt to hide Alain is occasionally putting his life at risk, during his battles against Primal Groudon and Zygarde.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:
** PlayedWith and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Alain never lost a battle against Ash despite battling him multiple times. However, he is easily driven by guilt and his attempts to remedy the situation only make things worse thanks to [[EvilMentor Lysandre's teachings and orders]]. Alain doesn't find happiness until he meets Ash, whose battle prowess not only gives him a WorthyOpponent that Alain hasn't faced for a long time, but snaps Alain out of his HeroicBSOD during the Team Flare climax. By the aftermath of Flare crisis, Alain begins to take notes from Ash's method of starting over again and privately sees him as the one trainer that he could not best. Ash ultimately defeats Leon the World Champion in battle, while Alain was easily thrashed by him, proving that Ash is indeed the stronger trainer, even though he never beat Alain himself.
** However, his Charizard can be safely said to fulfill this role towards Ash-Greninja. While it put up a good effort each time, Greninja ultimately never managed to defeat Charizard in battle -- even during the Kalos League, where Charizard had taken prior damage from Pikachu, Greninja couldn't quite finish the job.
** [[spoiler:The trope is applied to him in ''Journeys'' when he confronts Leon and finds himself in a crushing loss against the World Coronation Monarch's Charizard, only getting to defeat Leon's Rillaboom and not taking down any other member of Leon's team. To make matters worse for him, he winds up being the ''first'' member of the Eight to be defeated.]]
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: He was notable for being the first special-focused character since [[Anime/TheLegendOfThunder Jimmy]] ([[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Ethan's]] counterpart) who didn't have anything to do with Ash. However, unlike Jimmy, he later became a recurring character in the main series, ultimately becoming one of Ash's major rivals.
* AudienceSurrogate: For teenage ''Pokémon''' fans. Unlike [[Anime/PokemonOrigins Origins version of Giovanni]], Alain's characterization doesn't focus on ''Pokémon'' nostalgia, but he's older and more serious than the main episodes' child protagonists, and his partner Pokémon is Charizard, a fan-favorite of fans who grew up with Gens 1-2. His mentor-student relationship with Mairin can be seen as an analogue to teenage and young adult ''Pokémon'' fans introducing their younger siblings to the franchise and teaching them how to play the games.
* BadassAndChildDuo: He's the Badass while Mairin is the child.
* BadassCrew: Alain has an impressive line-up of Pokémon, most of which are fully evolved and intimidating in appearance (aside from the {{Com Mon|s}} Unfezant). They were strong enough to take on and ultimately beat Ash's Kalos team despite their limited screentime. [[spoiler: Averted when he fights Leon- he uses a Malamar and a Chesnaught instead, and both wind up doing very poorly against him.]]
* BigBrotherMentor: Reluctantly takes this role towards Mairin, but he ends up rejecting her out of fear she would get hurt following him. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero This backfires horribly.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: He saves Ash's Pikachu from Team Rocket, which is how he and Ash meet.
* BloodKnight: Alain challenges every Trainer who has a Mega Evolving Pokémon whenever possible. Or other tough trainers like Ash. It is shown that both Alain and his Charizard enjoy battling hard opponents.
* BrainyBrunette: Was formerly an assistant for Professor Sycamore studying Mega Evolution.
* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim:
** Tells Mairin to leave him be and travel on her own, in rather harsh words, because he fears that she will get hurt travelling with him. [[DeconstructedTrope This bites him in the ass]] as it sends [[TagalongKid Mairin]] in a depression, which gets worse when Chespie falls into a coma. Alain ends up promising himself to do anything to get Mairin to smile again.
** And he does the same thing with Prof. Sycamore. As Lysandre told him to keep things a secret in order not to sully the professor's name, Alain had been avoiding any confrontation with the professor. In the league, the two met, but Alain merely acknowledged Sycamore before leaving, not wanting to shake hands and leaving the sad professor.
* BreakoutCharacter: It says a lot when he is the only [[spoiler: final Masters Eight]] participant to neither be a champion or have a shown game counterpart, as well as receive a mention in the games.
* BrokenAce: Alain is by far one of the strongest trainers in the Kalos region, able to consecutively win a [[RunTheGauntlet gauntlet run of 10 Mega Evolution battles]] with Mega Charizard X and make up to the finals of the Kalos League with relative ease. But thanks to Lysandre's influence, Alain essentially cuts off contact with his friends in a misguided attempt to protect them, rarely feels any kind of happiness until Ash came along, and his goal to become the strongest is manipulated to help Team Flare's evil agenda.
* BrokenPedestal: Alain has a HeroicBSOD when Team Flare, and Lysandre especially, finally shows its true colors.
* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:He is part of the final Masters Eight lineup, as revealed in ''Journeys''. He makes his physical reappearance in [=JN115=], which is the episode where he fights and loses against Leon.]]
* ButtMonkey: In Mairin's Illustrated Mega Evolution Journal, Mega Charizard X gets its ass handed to basically every Mega Evolved Pokémon it battles. While we don't see the result of the battles, as it could easily have made a comeback, it is heavily implied that it has actually lost to a Mega Slowbro. It was also put asleep by a Mega Audino. The canonicity of these shorts, however, is unconfirmed.
* ByronicHero: He's always emotionally distant, has a pessimistic personality, pretty good looking for his age, is extremely passionate, is very good at what he does, and has numerous flaws that tend to drive the people he's closest to away from him while also making him very easy for villains to manipulate.
* CanonImmigrant:
** In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'', if the player has Steven's event shiny Beldum in their party during a certain scene of the ''Delta Episode'', Steven makes a nod to Alain and ''Act II'', mentioning how a long time ago he fought against Rayquaza alongside a young trainer who used a black Charizard.
** Surprisingly, this reference is brought up again in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''. During the second anniversary event "Hearts United", Steven recalls his and Alain's battle with Rayquaza and expresses his hopes of battling Alain in Pasio one day.
* CastingAShadow: Half of Alain's team are part Dark-Type: Tyranitar, Weavile and Bisharp. He gets a new addition to his lineup of Dark-Types in ''Journeys'' where he's revealed to have caught a Malamar offscreen.
* CharacterDevelopment: Alain was cold to anyone around him, minus Sycamore, and would distance himself from making friends as he believed they hold him him back from becoming stronger. However, befriending people like Mairin and Ash ultimately allowed him to mellow his cold attitude and stop pushing his loved ones away.
* CleansedCharacterCopy: As noted, he's based off Anakin Skywalker. However, whereas Anakin tragically fell to darkness and corruption and became the villainous Darth Vader, only finding redemption in his death. By contrast, Alain realizes that Lysandre has been using him, and justifiably defects before he can fully become a villain, becoming a key player in the fight against them.
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Alain is an enormous contrast to Ash's previous final Pokémon League opponent, Cameron. While Cameron is comedic, lighthearted, and extraordinarily scatterbrained, Alain is incredibly serious, brooding, and focused to a fault. While they both own powerful Pokémon, including a BreakoutCharacter as their SignatureMon, Cameron is one of Ash's least competent rivals in terms of skill. Alain, on the other hand, is one of his most.
* CurbStompBattle:
** His battle with Astrid and Mega Absol was one-sided in his favor.
** He gets handily beaten by Siebold and his Mega Blastoise, though Charizard does enough to impress Siebold making it more of a CurbStompCushion.
** Heavily implied about all his Gym battles to enter the league in the span of ''7 episodes'' with the only onscreen one being partially depicted as Korrina's Lucario getting beaten by his Charizard easily and even then it's only the aftermath with the implication Charizard swept through her team.
** His first battle with Ash and Greninja is another CurbStompCushion, with him on the giving end.
** His battle with Trevor in the Kalos League is also a curb-stomp in his favor. He only used Charizard to defeat all three of Trevor's Pokémon.
** He basically pulls a Tobias in his battle against Remo in the semi-finals, defeating the his whole team with just Metagross and Charizard.
** [[spoiler:And in ''Journeys'' he's on the receiving end of this from Leon, his Chesnaught puts up a good fight against Rillaboom and even survives against its Gigantamaxed form long enough for it to run out but is quickly beaten once it goes back to fighting, then after his Charizard finishes off Rillaboom the rest of his team is demolished by Leon's own Charizard; special mention goes to his Ace Mega Charizard X who despite all its previous showings of power is beaten in one Dragon Pulse and a slight Ancient Power attack without dealing any meaningful damage at all.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: Four of his Pokémon (Bisharp, Weavile, Tyranitar and Malamar) are partial-Dark types, and Charizard takes on a black coloring when Mega evolved but Alain himself ultimately proves to be a good guy.
* DeadpanSnarker: He snarks at Mairin's wording when she asks about Mega Evolution.
-->'''Alain:''' "Pokémon Mega Evolve, not people."
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Alain's entire storyline essentially takes apart the goal of ToBeAMaster piece by piece. His total focus on becoming the strongest causes him to neglect the people important in his life and be an UnwittingPawn for Team Flare. He believes that beating every strong trainer would make him stronger yet [[HeroicBSOD finds himself helpless]] when actual danger arrives. [[VictoryIsBoring He stops enjoying his wins]] and [[AndThenWhat never considers what to do after he became the strongest]], his reasons behind it constantly changing to justify his path. And despite always winning battles, Alain finds himself feeling inferior to Ash Ketchum, who encompasses the happiness and wisdom that he never got under Lysandre's guidance.
* DefrostingIceKing: Even with his SugarAndIcePersonality in the ''Mega Evolution Specials'', Alain was cold and stoic for most of the time. After he finally met Ash in the main series, Alain's personality has become friendlier and now he smiles much more often than before. That being said, he is still ice cold to people who aren't Ash and his friends, Mairin or Sycamore.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Alain is arguably the closest the Kalos series has to one, being the focus of the Mega Evolution Specials and the primary rival of Ash in XYZ.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: During Act IV of the Mega Evolution Specials, Alain and his Charizard ran a gauntlet of facing 10 Trainers that wielded Mega Evolution and his final opponent is Malva of the Kalos Elite Four, where after a tough battle he won, being the ''first and only'' person outside of a Regional Pokémon League to beat a member of the Elite Four, when usually members of the Elite Four are [[CurbStompBattle whooping ass left and right like it's their day job]].
* DishingOutDirt: Alain has a Tyranitar, which is primary a Rock-Type Pokémon, and it has the Sand Stream ability, which summons automatically a Sandstorm (and it's the first Tyranitar to display this ability in the anime). However, the Sandstorm vanishes when Pikachu splashes a lot of water. Aside from that, Tyranitar knows Stone Edge, and Metagross knows Rock Slide; the former is used defensively (and it backfires), while the latter is used offensively.
* DoubleKnockOut: His Unfezant ties with Talonflame when they collide into each other with Sky Attack and Brave Bird.
* DramaticIrony:
** He keeps Professor Sycamore out of the loop because Lysandre tells him if the research on Mega Evolution is published then evil people will use it and ruin the professor's reputation. Knowing Lysandre's role in the games, he is one of those of people.
** Even more ironic is how his constant pushing of people is what leads them straight intro trouble and further fueling his goal to become stronger to protect them anyway, forever locking him in an endless loop. FailureIsTheOnlyOption in his many cases.
* EasilyForgiven: Despite helping, albeit unwittingly, Team Flare capture Z2 and collecting the Mega Evolution energy that was needed to kickstart the Flare crisis, Alain is largely forgiven by Mairin, Sycamore, and Ash's group once he turns against Lysandre and saves Chespie from the Megalith Zygarde. Alain himself, however, views his contributions to be nearly unforgivable despite not knowing the full extent.
* {{Expy}}: Tetsuo Yajima has stated Alain was modeled after prequel-era Anakin Skywalker, being someone who turns to TheDarkSide to protect those he loves and is deceived by an evil figure with good publicity into doing his dirty work and ultimately turning back to full good when he sees the errors of his ways.
* ExtraOreDinary: His Charizard knows Steel Wing, but seems to have forgotten it in favor of Thunder Punch. He is later on shown to own a Metang, a Steel-type that resembles a floating metallic robot, which later evolves into Metagross, a SpiderTank. He also has a Bisharp, and his Unfezant also knows Steel Wing.
* FindTheCure: His motivation at the end of the Mega Evolution specials to cure Chespie from his Zygarde-induced coma, leading to his appearance in the main anime.
* FinalBoss: He's Ash's final opponent in the Kalos League, with the battle ultimately ending in a win for Alain.
* FinishingMove: His Charizard ends most battles with Blast Burn.
* {{Flanderization}}: Alain's brooding, {{angst}}y attitude is amplified [[spoiler:in ''Journeys'' despite his CharacterDevelopment from ''XY'', not even acknowledging [[TheRedeemer Ash]] with much more than a cold stare. Averted with the "After the Story" artwork with them fistbumping and having a conversation]].
* {{Foil}}: He and Ash contrast each other on many things.
** Ash is a {{Keet}}, while Alain is TheStoic. Also, Alain isn't keen on making friends but will give good, logical advice. Ash is a people person and gives more abstract life lessons.
** In the league, Ash uses primarily Kalos-origin Pokémon barring Pikachu, his ace. Alain uses Pokémon from all generations, one of each (except for Unova which has two)[[labelnote:*]]Charizard, Tyranitar, Metagross, Weavile, Bisharp, Unfezant[[/labelnote]]. His ace, Charizard, has a SuperMode that originated from Generation VI.
** His team focuses on raw power in comparison to Ash who prefers speedy Pokemon. Even his tactics are feats of strength compared to Ash who prefers misdirection and indirect tactics.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ash telling him about the strong Pokémon Trainers in the Kalos League hinted that Alain would enter it as well, due to his BloodKnight nature. And he does eventually get eight badges ''seven episodes'' later before entering the competition as part of his goals to gather energy and become stronger.
* FriendlessBackground: Alain didn't have any other friends that weren't Professor Sycamore as his loner attitude distanced himself from making them. However, after meeting Mairin and Ash, Alain not only found his first real friends from them but also discovers the true meaning of it.
* FriendlyRivalry: He and Ash have a friendly relationship with each other from the beginning, which makes him different from the previous main rivals (Gary, Paul, Trip) who were very antagonistic towards him. Since Alain has met Ash, he has become a DefrostingIceKing and the two never share an ounce of animosity.
* GentleGiant: Outside of battles, his Charizard is rather friendly and a bit cheerful. And it isn't particularly aggressive.
* GreenThumb: ''Journeys'' reveals he obtained a Chesnaught sometime after ''XY''.
* GroundPunch: His Charizard does this to perform Blast Burn showcasing how powerful the move is.
* GuiltComplex: His FatalFlaw. Alain tends to shoulder the responsibility upon himself whenever those close to him are in danger or at the risk of being in danger. This makes it easy for Lysandre to manipulate him into helping Team Flare's agenda, such as collecting Mega Evolution energy in order to "save" Mairin's Chespie and not telling Prof. Sycamore about their operation to "protect" the professor's reputation. It also makes Alain very susceptible to suffer HeroicBSOD whenever a large crisis breaks out such as Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City. Alain has [[InvincibleHero a nearly unbeatable Mega Charizard X]], is the only one who could fight Lysandre ([[BadassInDistress with Ash and his Pokémon incapacitated by Flare cuffs]]), and now [[HeelRealization sees Lysandre's true intentions]]. But instead of fighting his former boss, he completely breaks down in despair due to the guilt of unwittingly endangering everyone. He remains in this state until Ash breaks free of his bonds and [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan tells him to not dwell on past mistakes]].
* HeelRealization: He had absolutely no idea what Lysandre was actually planning and completely broke when he found out (though he recovered long enough to help Ash and the others fight back).
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Of the six trainers who wound up eliminating Ash from a League, he stands out as the only one who was introduced well before the League began. The Mega Evolution specials were specifically made to flesh out his character before meeting Ash.
* HeroicBSOD: He doesn't take the revelation of Flare's true purposes very well. Also, Alain thought his actions caused his friendship with Mairin and Ash, due to pushing her away and being force to let Team Flare take him along with his Pokémon captivate. However, Alain snaps out of this when Ash not only talk [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre some sense]] into him but also assure them that they're still friends despite everything he did, which got him to realize the true meaning of friendship.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: In the Kalos League, Alain suggests more than once that he's ''intentionally'' dragging out his battle with Ash, simply to feel the thrill of battling him for as long as possible. However, when push comes to shove, he reaffirms his vow to never lose again, and in the end his Charizard's Blast Burn overpowers Greninja's strongest Water Shuriken ever.
* IcyBlueEyes: Representing his cool, collected personality. Also to match his black and blue Mega Charizard X motif.
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: "Key Stone, respond/listen to my heart. Beyond evolution -- Mega Evolve!" The word order slightly changed in the 2nd special.
* InvincibleHero: Alain's appearances progressively make him more and more overpowered until he becomes practically unbeatable. He is the only major rival whom Ash faced multiple times and never defeated.
* {{Irony}}: In search of and defeating various Mega Evolutions, Alain sees the greatest challenge that he and Charizard are looking for is in a Pokémon that doesn't ''have'' a Mega Evolution (although it is still a SuperMode all the same).
* ItsAllMyFault: Blames himself ''heavily'' for Chespie's comatose state. In fact, Alain's tendency to blame himself for everything that has happened is his FatalFlaw as it prevents him from taking action against Lysandre despite becoming the "strongest" in the League. It only took Ash giving an inspirational speech and freeing himself to snap him out of his depression state then fight Team Flare.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Genuinely means well for the most part. He mainly assists Lysandre because he believes Lysandre will use the Mega Evolution energy for peaceful purposes.
* TheJuggernaut: He's hands down one of the strongest trainers in the series, Champion or otherwise. And it shows in many regards. First off, he's the first non-titled trainer to ever defeat one of the Elite Four (and just prior to that, he had to defeat 9 other Mega Evolution trainers to even reach said Elite Four member). His victory over the Kalos League basically amounted to him just effortlessly steamrolling every single one of his opponents with relative ease, using only two Pokemon until his final match with Ash. Even Ash's other rivals don't measure up to this guy. While Ash himself eventually defeated every last one of them, he's never once beaten Alain in any of their matches (though he came close in the finals).
%%* Karma Houdini has been deemed not to apply to him per https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13543987200A54420100&page=253#6318
* LargeHam: Not him, his Charizard. Much like Ash's Charizard it'll let out a mighty roar when entering a battle, in fact the roar is mightier depending on the opponent. When Mega Evolution it'll let out an even ''louder'' roar that gets deeper as it mega evolves.
* LightningBruiser:
** Charizard is quite fast, is pretty tough and is ''very'' strong.
** Metagross hits hard, can take a lot before it goes down and it moves really fast with Agility. Although, it is not as tough as Charizard.
* MadeOfIron: Charizard has become extremely tough, to the point that taking Pikachu's and Greninja's super effective moves ''and'' Ash-Greninja's giant, orange Water Shuriken are not enough to take it down.
* MightyGlacier: Tyranitar usually hits hard, but is too slow to actually land a proper hit.
* MirrorCharacter: Alain and Ash were quite similar in the beginning about making friends as they wanted to travel alone with just their Pokémon. However, after meeting their best friends and traveling companions, Alain and Ash realized how wrong they were about making friends as they had their opinions changed.
* MotifMerger: His team is comprised of Pokémon from Generation I to Generation V, and one could argue Mega Charizard X represents Generation VI.
* MotiveDecay: His original goal, as Sycamore's assistant, was to find a Mega Stone and study its properties to better understand Mega Evolution. But soon, he encounters Lysandre, [[ManipulativeBastard who twists the goal]] into a standard ToBeAMaster scenario where becoming the strongest would somehow make his dreams come true. Alain buys it and seeks to become the strongest Mega Evolution trainer, but then has trouble figuring out why he wants to become the strongest. It notably fluxes between understanding Mega Evolution to being able to protect his loved ones to finally simply seeking the thrills of battles.
* MustMakeAmends: Alain thought by helping Lysandre would make amends with Mairin for pushing and being [[WasTooHardOnHer harsh with her]]. After being forced to let Team Flare take Ash prisoner and realizing that they took advantage of pushing Mairin away, Alain felt that he made things worse and believed that can't fix his actions. However, through some words of encouragement, Alain realized that it isn't too late to fix his mistakes as he truly did make amends by recusing Ash and Mairin's Pokémon.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** In ''Pokémon: Mega Evolution Special IV'': Alain became guilt-ridden when he discovered Mairin's Chespin fell into a coma as he kicked himself for pushing his best friend away.
** In ''A Towering Takeover!'': Alain had this reaction when he was forced to let Team Flare take Ash and his Pokémon captivate. He was also suitably horrified and ashamed when he discovers Lysandre's real intentions.
* MyGreatestFailure: For unwittingly helping Team Flare devastate Lumiose City and bring the greatest crisis upon the Kalos region. Even after turning against Lysandre and saving Chespie from the Megalith Zygarde, Alain never forgives himself for his contribution to the whole mess. He gives up the Mega Ring and Mega Stone provided by Lysandre in order to start his life over with Mairin and Sycamore again.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Alain helping out Team Flare throughout the saga proves to be disastrous when Lysandre decides to launch his attack on Lumiose City after the League. And he couldn't have done it without Alain collecting the Mega Evolution energy for him as well as securing the capture of Z2.
* NotSoInvincibleAfterAll:
** Despite Alain having become all but invincible by the Kalos League, Lysandre's Gyarados proves itself to somehow be even ''stronger'', with his Charizard requiring the assistance of Ash's ''entire team at once'' to hold its ground.
** [[spoiler:He definitively loses his status as TheJuggernaut in ''Journeys'' courtesy of World Monarch Leon, who sweeps his 2/3rds of Alain's team with his base Charizard once Alain takes down Rillaboom. Even Alain's own Mega Charizard X isn't much of a challenge for the Monarch and is beaten with one Dragon Pulse while not dealing any significant damage in turn.]]
* NoManShouldHaveThisPower: After the Team Flare climax, Alain is no longer wearing the Mega Ring and Charizard no longer has the Charizardite X. In the last episode of XYZ, he reveals that he turned them in to the police as they were properties of Team Flare and he wishes to no longer be associated with them. He plans to start from scratch and find his own Keystone and Mega Stone. ''Journeys'' later shows [[spoiler:he managed to find his own Charizardite X and used it to climb all the way to Rank 6 in the Pokemon World Championships.]]
* OneHitKill: His Bisharp knows the OHKO move Guillotine. It knocks out both Hawlucha and Goodra with it.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Mega Charizard X's secondary type. He mocks his opponent Remo, a Dragon specialist, for not knowing that Mega Charizard X's typing is Fire/Dragon. Due to this, Charizard loses its Water-Type weakness, making him more resistant to said moves.
* OutOfFocus: Alain is the only [[spoiler:Masters Eight member not to get any serious focus during the Masters Tournament arc, as his CurbStompBattle against Leon is squeezed into half an episode and he only shares a single line of dialogue with Ash before leaving.]]
* PaperTiger: His two pseudo-Legendary Pokémon, Tyranitar and Metagross, don't get a single win against any of Ash's Pokémon and both of them are knocked out by Pikachu. Tyranitar even gets it worse than Metagross, since the latter at least has an on-screen victory as a Metang and it got plenty of off-screen victories in the league. Tyranitar barely gets a hit on Pikachu, while Metagross does some major damage at least and it takes a lot to go down. Tyranitar is defeated in a faster fashion.
* PlayingWithFire: Alain has his Charizard since it was a Charmander. During his journey, when he met Lysandre, his Charmander had since evolved into a Charmeleon.
* PyrrhicVictory: Alain finds both his quest to prove his Charizard is the strongest Mega Evolution and his later victory over Ash at the Kalos League to fall into this when Team Flare stages their attack on Kalos. By end of the arc, after everything has wrapped up, Alain considers Ash to be the stronger trainer despite Alain having previously beaten him.
* TheRival: He becomes one to Ash. After Ash tells him that there are a lot of other powerful trainers and Pokémon in the Kalos League, Alain quickly gathers eight badges, enters it, and ''wins'' it as well, while doing everything mostly to fight Ash in the league again. He quickly becomes Ash's strongest Kalos rival.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: The savvy guy to Mairin's energetic girl.
* ScissorsCutsRock: Charizard is not only relatively resistant to moves that are super effective against it, it has defeated several Pokémon, which are normally resistant to Fire-Type moves, with its Fire-Type moves.
* ShockAndAwe: His Charizard knows Thunderpunch to counter Water-Type Pokémon, and his Bisharp knows Thunder Wave to slow down the opponent.
* SignatureMon: His Charizard, more specifically as Mega Charizard X. It's his starter, was his only known Pokémon prior to late ''XY&Z'', and delivers the final blow for every single one of his battles. Even Alain's outfit is made to resemble it.
* SignatureMove: Charizard's Dragon Claw is used more often than any of its other moves, even Flamethrower. On this note; most of his moves are physically oriented, as he tends to mega evolve his Charizard to the more offensive Charizard X; the abilities are logical.
* TheStoic: He's very serious and mature, and rarely smiles.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Discussed by Mairin who points out that he's intimidating but really cares about Pokémon and is supportive of her.
* SuperMode: His Charizard can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X. He also seeks out other trainers with Mega Evolutions to beat them.
* SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: Seems to be unaware that Lysandre is observing the power of his Charizard when they Mega Evolve and battle. In ''Act II'', it's revealed that Lysandre is the one who provided Alain with the Mega Ring and Mega Stone, in return for Alain's aid to gather data for his research.
* TookALevelInCheerfulness: Alain finally smiles and becomes more open after he meets Ash and his friends. He treats Ash with strong respect without being rude to him a single time, calling him a great opponent to battle. After Ash consoles him that his involvement with Team Flare wasn't his fault, he decides to follow Ash's example and return to Professor Sycamore, resolving to find a new Key Stone and Mega Stone for himself.
* ToBeAMaster: Sort of, he never calls his goal such but he does seek to beat every Mega Evolved Pokémon out there.
* TrainingFromHell: After returning from their adventures in the Hoenn Region, Alain and Charizard spend all their time training at Lysandre Labs, and eventually the results show as they are capable of defeating 10 Mega Evolution trainers back-to-back, the final one being an Elite Four member.
* TransformationTrinket: A Mega Ring for him and an armored collar for his Charizard to hold its Charizardite X.
* UncattyResemblance: His outfit resembles Mega Charizard X in color scheme and his scarf resembles the wisps of flame coming from Mega Charizard X's mouth.
* UniformityException: He is the only member of the final Masters Eight lineup in ''Journeys'' to not be a Champion. Prior to this, Flint, a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four, had made it into the Masters Eight, but lost his position soon afterwards.
* UnwittingPawn: Worked with Lysandre not knowing his true intentions.
* VictoryIsBoring: Despite his sudden interest in participating in the Kalos League, it becomes apparent that [[WorthyOpponent Ash is the only person]] Alain is actually interested in facing. Alain treats all his other opponents like they are a distraction.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: Alain seems to have finally achieved his goal of becoming the strongest Mega Evolution trainer by defeating Ash and Ash-Greninja (his toughest opponent yet) at the Kalos League finals and making Mairin smile. Shortly after winning however, his boss Lysandre launches an attack on Lumiose City with Zygarde, putting everyone in danger, Mairin included. Later, Lysandre reveals to Alain that the whole point of becoming the strongest was to simply collect Mega Evolution energy to bring Zygarde under their control and be worthy of living in his post-genocide world. He [[ArmorPiercingQuestion rhetorically asks Alain if he had ever thought of what exactly he was going to protect with the strength he had gained]]. This breaks Alain completely.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets a disapproving grunt from his own Charizard in response to driving away Mairin.
* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:Alain loses 3-1 to Leon in the first match of the Masters Tournament, only managing to defeat his Rillaboom after it had already beaten his Chesnaught, with his Malamar doing nothing before getting knocked out and his Mega Charizard X being quickly and easily overwhelmed and beaten by Leon's base Charizard.]] Ash never even managed to win against Alain, and this match's result shows how strong Leon really is.
* WorthyOpponent:
** His rematch with Ash and Greninja fills him with an excitement he hasn't felt in many matches. After Greninja gets a few good hits in, he even calls Greninja ''worthy'' to face Charizard's Mega Evolution. He ended up enjoying the battle so much that he decided to quickly gather 8 badges so that he could have an opportunity to face off with and defeat Ash again in the Kalos League.
** He sees [[spoiler:Leon]] as one, having [[spoiler:entered the World Coronation Series and made it to the Masters Eight with the dream of battling and surpassing his Charizard. He loses, but enjoyed the battle, and says he'd like to face Leon again one day]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mairin]]
!! '''Mairin (Manon)'''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e74c2aa5f2358575f41222cbfd9aded9.jpg]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Creator/MikakoKomatsu
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Zoe Martin
-->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' María García

A beginner trainer who recently started her journey. She becomes intrigued by Mega Evolution and travels with Alain.
----
* AudienceSurrogate: For the younger players who have just started out.
* BadassAndChildDuo: She's the child while Alain is the Badass.
* BigBrotherWorship: Comes to think this way of Alain, which makes it all the more painful when he rejects her (to keep her safe).
* BigSisterWorship: Develop this towards Serena after watching her attempt to fight Team Flare at Lysandre's labs on her own and watching her help Ash, Alain, Professor Sycamore, and Steven during their initial assault on Team Flare's Megalith. In the XY(Z) Finale she personally thanks Serena for her help in rescuing Chespie and tells her she'll be cheering on from afar with a double high five.
* ButtMonkey: She falls on her face a lot, even when there's nothing to trip on.
* BreakTheCutie: When she finds out her Chespin is suddenly ill with no sign of recovery, she falls in to despair, crying her heart out.
* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:Makes a return during [=JN115=] alongside Sycamore to watch Alain's match against Leon. She is left in tears after Alain loses and Sycamore has to comfort her.]]
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Her Chespin's relationship with her, picking her up when she falls.
* CuteClumsyGirl: She tends to trip and fall a lot, even when there isn't anything visible she could trip on.
* DamselInDistress: Rescuing Chespie from Team Flare is on the list of the heroes' priorities, with Professor Sycamore, Serena and Mairin taking on the mission (with assistance from Team Rocket and Steven).
* DespairEventHorizon: Having Alain blow up at her and her Chespin fall ill in such a short time certainly isn't sitting well with her.
* FanGirl: Shows signs of it towards Siebold, gushing all over him by just only hearing his name.
* FieryRedHead: She has red hair fitting to her energetic and cheerful personality, and in contrast to Alain's black hair.
* GenkiGirl: She is very energetic, making her conversations with TheStoic Alain a bit odd.
* GreenThumb: Her Chespin is a Grass type.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Has one of these moments in the second special when Lysandre accuses her and Alain of being a couple.
* TheNicknamer: Her Pokémon are nicknamed "Chespie" for Chespin and "Bébé" for Flabébé (Hari-san and Fla-chan in Japan respectively).
* OurFairiesAreDifferent: Her Flabébé is a Fairy-type.
* PluckyGirl: A brave and optimistic girl who accompanies the brooding Alain on his journey, even through the most dangerous situations. It's her optimism and determination that reminds Alain that there is more worth fighting for than simply being the strongest.
* PoisonousPerson: Her Chespin knows Toxic, which Mairin uses to catch a Flabébé. Alain has to remind her to treat the poisoning.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: Chespie, still comatose, becomes the power source that keeps the Megalith alive. When the heroes finally free Chespie from the Megalith's clutches, it actually shuts down, until Lysandre returns and powers it back up.
* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: The energetic girl to Alain's savvy guy.
* SignatureMon: Her Chespin, named Chespie, is her main Pokémon partner to the point that her outfit is modeled after Chespin.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Mairin's Chespin. For two reasons.
** It's the one who discovers the Zygarde Core being experimented on and frees it. The freed Core would eventually come across Ash and co., which draws them right into a conflict with Team Flare.
** Chespie would later fall ill after the rescue, causing Mairin to fall into despair. Following this Alain would be driven to gather more data to complete the Mega Evolution energy system, as Lysandre claimed it could cure Chespie.
* SpannerInTheWorks: As noted above, Lysandre was ''not amused'' that Chespie freed the Zygarde Core.
* TagalongKid: Much to Alain's chagrin as the specials progress.
* TryingNotToCry:
** When she finally meets the gang at the Kalos League, she is fighting back tears when Clemont's Chespin reminds her of Chespie.
** [[spoiler:Witnessing Alain's crushing defeat at the hands of Leon also drives her to almost crying.]]
* UncattyResemblance: The shape of her hat combined with her spiky hair make her resemble Chespin.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Her Flabébé has never been seen since her capture.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Everyone thought rescuing Chespie is all that was needed to be done at Lysandre Labs. But then the Megalith awakens, and absorbs Chespie...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Astrid]]
!!'''Astrid (Ayaka)'''
[[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/astrid_8.png]]
->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Miyuu Sawai
->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/KateBristol
->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Susana Moreno

A trainer introduced in ''Mega Evolution Special I''. She was the first of the many opponents who Alain battles thoughout the four specials, which led to Mairin meeting Alain and learning from Mega Evolution. Astrid uses a Mega Absol.
----
* AscendedExtra: Subverted. After a minor role in the first Mega Evolution special, and a cameo battling Ash in the first movie, Astrid finally rematches Ash in the Kalos League... and the entire battle is skipped save for the last attack.
* TheCameo: At the beginning of ''Anime/PokemonDiancieAndTheCocoonOfDestruction'', she battles Ash in a 3-on-3 battle and Astrid wins with Meowstic and Mega Absol.
* CastingAShadow: Her ace is the pure Dark-Type Absol.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Her battle with Alain establishes the concept of the epic clash between Mega Evolved Pokémon.
* {{Expy}}: Astrid is designed after the female Ace Trainers from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''.
* PantheraAwesome: She seems to have a preference over feline-like Pokémon, like Absol, a male Pyroar or a female Meowstic.
* SignatureMon: Her main Pokémon is Absol, which can become Mega Absol with her Absolite.
* SuperMode: Her Absol is capable of Mega Evolving. Its Mega Evolution is the very first to be shown in the first special.
* TransformationTrinket: She wears her Key Stone as an earring while her Absol wears a necklace containing an Absolite.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Remo]]
!!'''Remo (Louie)'''
[[quoteright:206:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/remo_xy.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Creator/KoichiYamadera
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/MarcThompson
-->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Creator/GabrielRamos

A Dragon-Type specialist introduced in ''Mega Evolution Special I''. He was ordered by somebody to look for the Mega Stone that was found by Alain and they battled over it, with Remo on the receiving end. He uses a Mega Garchomp.
----
* BoisterousBruiser: A loud trainer boasting about his powerful Dragon-Type Pokémon and he likes doing poses.
* CurbStompBattle: Come the Kalos League Semi-Finals, Alain defeats his whole team using ''just'' his Metagross and Charizard, and Charizard didn't even have to Mega Evolve until its battle with Garchoo.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Between his appearance in ''Mega Evolution Special I'' and the main series, his hair has grown quite a bit.
* FacialMarkings: He has red markings resembling those of Kabuki dancers, with a matching gardrobe. Between his appearance in ''Mega Evolution Special I'' and the main series, he has got more markings on his face and body.
* InSeriesNickname: His Garchomp is known as "Garchoo" ("Gabunoji" in Japanese). And his Rhyperior is known as "Dodosuke" in Japanese.
* TheNicknamer: He seems to nickname all of his Pokémon.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: He specializes in Dragon-Type Pokémon. At least, that's what he claims.
* SmugSnake: He is very confident about his Dragon-Type Pokémon and claims to know everything about Dragon-Types, yet he is unaware of Mega Charizard X's type change.
* SignatureMon: His main partner is a Mega Garchomp whom he nickenamed "Garchoo". Remo specifically trains with Garchoo is the hopes that they would be able to one day defeat Alain and his Mega Charizard X.
* SuperMode: Garchoo Mega Evolves into Mega Garchomp.
* TimePassageBeard: Between his appearance in ''Mega Evolution Special I'' and the main series, his beard has grown quite a bit.
* TransformationTrinket: He carries a parasol with a Key Stone on its tip while Garchoo wears prayer beads with a Garchompnite.
* UnknownRival: Reveals that he and Garchoo trained like hell in the hopes of one day defeating Alain after their first battle. Alain naturally couldn't care less.
* {{Wutai}}: Like Laverre City and the hidden ninja village, Remo's gardrobe is distinctively "Japanese", despite Kalos being based on France. His Japanese name isn't Japanese at all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Steven Stone]]
!!'''Steven Stone (Daigo Tsuwabuki)'''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steven_stone_jn_2.png]]
->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Rintaro Nishi (''Advance Generation''), Creator/KenichiSuzumura (''XY'' onwards)
->'''Voiced in English by:''' Andrew Paul
->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Alfredo Gabriel Basurto (''Advance Generation'' and ''XY'' episode 75), Miguel De León (''XY'' episodes 134-136)

The Hoenn League Champion, whom Alain and Mairin meet during a trip to Hoenn. Aside from being a powerful trainer, he is also an expert when it comes to the various types of stones in the Pokémon world.

He originally used to be a OneShotCharacter in ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire Advanced Generation]]'', but we got to see more of his character in ''XY''.
----
* TheAce: Being the current Champion of the Hoenn Region and the son of the Devon Company's president, he automatically qualifies as this. [[spoiler:It is also no surprise to see him in the final Masters Eight lineup when Ash finally becomes a member, and is in the Top 3 - only below Leon and Cynthia.]]
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul:
** In the Hoenn-based games, he is the protagonist Brendan/May's mentor. However, such relationship is absent between their anime counterparts, due to Steven [[DemotedToExtra only appearing in one episode]] in the ''Advanced Generation'' series where May is the female lead, thus Steven and May end up barely interact, while Brendan only has small cameos in films and never interacts with Steven or May.
** He and Wallace are close friends in the games. However, their anime counterparts never interact on-screen, and the only indication that they know each other is Wallace mentioning him in ''Journeys''.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Other than Siebold and his Blastoise, Steven is the only shown Mega Pokémon owner who does not lose to Alain while battling him. His Metagross endures all of Charizard's attacks, even the super-effective Blast Burn, without any visible damage and lays down some serious hurt on him. If not for Lysandre's Pyroar interrupting the battle, it's safe to assume he would have won. [[spoiler:This is all but confirmed in ''Journeys'', where Steven is ranked higher than Alain in the Masters Eight.]]
* AscendedExtra: He was first mentioned in passing in the ''Advanced Generation'' series, and when he finally showed up, he was ultimately just as a OneShotCharacter with little fanfare. When he eventually returns for the ''XY'' series, he's acknowledged as the Hoenn Champion, becomes an important character in the Mega Evolution Specials, has a part in Sawyer's backstory, and eventually returns for the climax and conclusion of the Team Flare arc.
* BackToBackBadasses: With fellow Champion Diantha when buying more time for Ash and Alain to defeat Megalith Zygarde.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: During his original appearance, Steven got ''really'' angry when Team Rocket harmed a herd of Aron, sending his Aggron to blast them off really hard.
* BigBrotherMentor: He had shades of this in his original appearance with his little interactions with Max, it's played much straighter with his relationship with Sawyer. Steven gave Sawyer the items he needs to Mega Evolve his Sceptile and Steven has recruited Sawyer for his expeditions where the latter can learn from the experience.
* BigDamnHeroes: Shows up to save the heroes during their raid on Lysandre Labs.
* BrickJoke: Jessie was instantly smitten with Steven merely from seeing a photo of him in Sawyer's notebook. An infatuation that suddenly resurfaces out of nowhere when Team Rocket and the twerps run into the real deal much later when they attempt to raid Lysandre Labs.
* TheBusCameBack:
** He shows up in the Mega Evolution Specials when Alain and Mairin take a trip to Hoenn, with more than ''[[LongBusTrip three series]]'' in between this and his original debut.
** Steven also returns to assist in the [[StormingTheCastle raid on Lysandre Labs]], handily tipping the odds in the heroes' favor.
** ''Journeys'' reveals that [[spoiler:he is part of the final Masters Eight lineup in the World Coronation Series when Ash finally becomes a member himself, being ranked 3rd overall and only below Leon and Cynthia.]]
* ChromeChampion: Steven's Metagross is a shiny variant, the silver (body) and gold (its "cross") color better alluding to its metallic structure.
* GeniusBruiser: Applies to Steven and his Metagross. Steven is ranked 3rd in the entire world by the time of the Masters Tournament, and is incredibly knowledgeable about ruins, stones, excavation and many topics. His Metagross is extremely strong and can take hits from Legendary Pokemon, and during its battle with Ash's Pikachu, Steven and Diantha noted that particularly after Mega Evolution, Metagross not only had extreme speed, but also such high computational power it could predict every breath or move Pikachu could make and perfectly evade any attack. This is seen first-hand when it becomes the first Pokemon to ever dodge 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt, immediately getting behind Pikachu. Despite some of the beams redirecting automatically to Metagross (which is something neither it nor Steven could have known), it still managed to only take hits from three of them. This also resulted in Metagross being the only Pokemon to take the attack and still be able to battle, as it had to be taken down by an Iron Tail afterwards.
* MadeOfIron: Both figuratively and literally in his Metagross's case. In its Mega form, it was able to shrug off a Blast Burn from Alain's Mega Charizard X despite being weak to Fire-type moves, and later in ''Journeys'', [[spoiler:it becomes the first Pokémon to not be knocked out by Pikachu's 10,000,000 Volt Thundebolt, albeit this is because it partially dodged the attack.]]
* MythologyGag: Steven gave Sawyer a Key Stone and a Sceptilite. In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'', Steven gives the player character the Mega Evolution items, including a Mega Stone for the player's starter Pokémon as well.
* OneShotCharacter: In his debut in the ''Advanced Generation'' series, where he only appears in one episode.
* OneManArmy: His Metagross tears through Lysandre Labs effortlessly, despite being heavily outnumbered.
* PrettyBoy: He was always good-looking, but it's his reappearance in the ''XY'' Saga where his handsome looks are acknowledged in-universe.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Along with Lance, Cynthia, Diantha and Leon, he is one of the Champions we see on-screen that take proactive measures against wide-scale threats.
* SignatureMon: He has many powerful Steel-type Pokémon, but his signature Pokémon is a Shiny Metagross that Mega Evolve into Mega Metagross.
* SuperMode: His Metagross can Mega Evolve into Mega Metagross.
* TookALevelInBadass: Sometime in between the Wallace Cup arc of the ''Diamond and Pearl'' series and the ''XY'' series, Steven became the Champion of the Hoenn region. Since the ''XY'' series version of Steven is based off of his appearance in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', it's possible that he was already Champion at some point, but passed off the title to Wallace like he does at the end of that game so he could focus on stone-collecting before taking back the title later. [[spoiler:His actual skill level is put into perspective when he's revealed to be ranked 3rd in the World Coronation Series Masters Eight, with one of the only two trainers above him - Leon, having never lost to anyone.]]
[[/folder]]

'''Movies:''' [[Characters/PokemonMovies Movies 1 to 19]] | [[Characters/PokemonIChooseYou I Choose You!]] ([[Characters/PokemonIChooseYouAshKetchum Ash Ketchum]]) | [[Characters/PokemonThePowerOfUs The Power of Us]] | [[Characters/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle Secrets of the Jungle]]-]]]]]

** PlayedWith and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]]. Alain has never lost a battle against Ash despite battling him multiple times. However, he is easily driven by guilt and his attempts to remedy the situation only make things worse thanks to [[EvilMentor Lysandre's teachings and orders]]. Alain doesn't find happiness until he meets Ash, whose battle prowess not only gives him a WorthyOpponent that Alain hasn't faced for a long time, but snaps Alain out of his HeroicBSOD during the Team Flare climax. By the aftermath of Flare crisis, Alain begins to take notes from Ash's method of starting over again and privately sees him as the one trainer that he could not best. Ash ultimately defeats Leon the World Champion in battle, while Alain was easily thrashed by him, proving that Ash is indeed the stronger trainer, even though he never beat Alain himself.

* BadassCrew: Alain has an impressive line-up of Pokémon, most of which are fully evolved and intimidating in appearance (aside from the {{Com Mon|s}} Unfezant). They were strong enough to take on and ultimately beat Ash's Kalos team despite their limited screentime.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: Of the trainers who wound up eliminating Ash from a League, he stands out as the only one who was introduced well before the League began. The Mega Evolution specials were specifically made to flesh out his character before meeting Ash.

* InvincibleHero: Alain's appearances progressively make him more and more overpowered until he becomes practically unbeatable. He is currently the only major rival whom Ash faced multiple times and never defeated.