AZ

**AZ** 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.

AZ is first seen on Route 13. When the player 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 Champion. 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 Trainer 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 Floette—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 Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. 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 Sootopolis 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 tall visitor from a distant land" once witnessed how Mega Rayquaza stopped a fight between Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, 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."