Team Flare: Gen VI Antagonists

The premise

Just how there can be no light without darkness, or life without death, each Pokémon generation cannot have a new set of protagonists without an opposing team of hostile criminals. And Pokémon XY is no different. However, this formula has been recycled for some time now, and is in constant need of new perspectives and directions so that the next game feels like a different experience. With Team Flare being the new organization to spread terror this generation, it's up to us to examine how they measure up against previous installments, and decide whether or not this crew of villainous trainers is the best one we've seen yet.

Disclaimer: This article is riddled with spoilers, so those who want to remain unaware of XY's plot should refrain from reading it. Get it? Got it? Good.

Grand Scheme

So far, every criminal organization that's been in the Pokémon universe has aspired to either control or change the world order. Given their affiliation, it seems to be a sensible approach, and the methods of accomplishing such a masterplan have varied with each generation. Team Rocket rose to power through organized crime and corrupted authorities, while the remaining team leaders sought the power of legendary Pokémon to realize their desires, be it to create a new paradigm or to even alter nature itself. Team Flare continues the trend of utilizing legendaries for their nefarious plan. Their objective? To harness its power in their attempt to create a better and more beautiful world. Their method to achieve said objective, however, is much more straightforward: obliterate all life forms apart from themselves.

One would assume that destroying humanity and Pokémon alike would be counter-productive to any heinous organization, but Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare, is confident that such a step is necessary for the salvation of humankind. The increasing population creates a larger demand for material possessions, and when it cannot be met, people will fight over them. As Pokémon will be used by humans to fuel these conflicts, they too are better off annihilated. To put it simply, conflicts will cease once there's nothing left to fight over, and with this foolproof argument to ward off any objections, Lysandre will stop at nothing to subject the planet to his radical treatment. Armed with an ancient doomsday device powered by the souls of Pokémon and the game-exclusive legendary, the stakes are as high as they come, and beating down upon the entire Team Flare organization can be a challenging task for anyone whose team's average level is below 45.

With the plot of BW taken into account, it appears that Game Freak have begun incorporating real world issues into the storylines to give them additional depth, rather than simply letting the protagonist defeat a team of evil-doers. In the previous Gen, the ethical treatment of Pokémon stood in the spotlight, and in XY, the concerns about global consumption and rise of criminality was highlighted instead. While Team Flare's solution was extreme in many ways, it nonetheless had an honorable cause justifying the means, and served as a cold reminder to the player that the world outside of the game is not as fair as it could be. Sadly, most of the deep meaning was lost as the Team of this generation once again consisted of self-righteous culprits fulfilling their own schemes, so creating an organization that's actually committed to their vision of a new world order is thus the burden of the next Gen to prove.

Leader

All teams need a leader. This is a common fact. The grunts need a shining example, a cunning strategist, a frontman prone to monologuing, or just simply a person with the best Pokémon. Lysandre was the man in charge this time around, and initially, he seemed to be an ideal choice. He's an intelligent man, being the owner of Lysandre Labs and proficient with complex technology and the history of Kalos, and is also well acquainted with key individuals across the country. His adamant nature, only matched by his vigorous beard, is what enabled him to not only create a successful company, but also attract and command a sizable army while making the decisions others would be afraid to call. So with all these beneficial traits, then wouldn't this man surely be the best antagonist to date?

While Lysandre's resolve was impeccable, his state of mind ultimately made him fall short of succeeding. It only takes two encounters with him (one if you're observant) to notice that he's obsessed about the concept of beauty. How it is defined, and how it is to be encouraged, praised, and even preserved, means so much to Lysandre that anyone who argues with him either results in a flustered rant or him storming off mumbling under his breath. And while being a charitable man, the fact that crime and injustice still occur despite his beneficial actions only make him question the worth of his actions altogether. Much like a neckbearded male who cannot fathom why girls aren't drawn to his abundant intellect, Lysandre also becomes corrupted when his actions and opinions go seemingly unanswered, forcing him to go down a dark path of his own (somewhat fittingly, he also has a neckbeard).

Thus, this generous philanthropist becomes an egocentric misanthropist, working tirelessly to carry out his own view of justice and beauty, while punishing the rest of the world who don't comply with his transcendent line of thinking. He didn't have to do everything on his own either. The immortal king of Kalos had not only built an Armageddon device several millenniums earlier, but was also foolhardy enough to recycle its activation key as a necklace, giving Lysandre many of the components he required to condemn the world he had forsaken. Even though the player overcomes both him and his underlings on multiple occasions, he refuses to acknowledge another standpoint and takes every opportunity to continue with his plan despite empty promises of forfeiting upon defeat. And when beaten in the final confrontation, he'll throw a tantrum like a child who was viciously robbed of their favorite toy, proving beyond doubt that's he's naught but a hollow shell of the man he once was. With his headquarters now destroyed by the very blast he issued himself, it's not certain if this is the last we'll see of the crimson commander of beauty. If anything, it's all in the hands of the sequel to XY, if we'll ever see one.

Supportive cast

With each passing generation, the villainous teams have gotten more and more room for additional characters, where the opponents are no longer just one leader with an army of grunts, but instead a smaller organization of various individuals. Granted, most of them will still follow the leader without even a hint of doubt, and are only there to execute various parts of the plans while barricading themselves between the player and their boss.

Speaking of mindless drones, Team Flare also has a slew of different characters to support Lysandre's cause, although only the scientists are blessed with an unique appearance of their own while the admins are all part of the same mold. While they can all be found during important storyline events where they display their technological prowess and lack of battling skills, very few of them make any truly personal statements, and are usually nothing more than loyal servants to their boss. Xerosic is one notable exception, as he can still be found at a later time hatching a plan of his own, one that involves human experiments, a young girl, and spandex suits. Unexpectedly, he's later arrested by the police and then never seen again, making the entirety of Team Flare's organization fall into obscurity.

Costumes

Ever since Gen IV, the clothing style of both the grunts and admins alike have often created a strong response from the fanbase, be it the sterile sci-fi suits from Team Galactic or the old-fashioned garb from Team Plasma. As its predecessors had already covered clothes from both the past and future, Team Flare was left with sporting a more modern fashion, as all the common grunts can be seen wearing formal attire and suitable eye protection. Due to an oversight of the correct spelling of "flair," their design was also struck with the gruesome fate of being drenched in red (eye shades included), severely affecting their intimidating looks.

Their obnoxious color theme put aside, their dress code is slick and fashionable, and is successfully giving off vibes that they are part of a significant underground network who don't tolerate being obstructed. Contrary to the underlings, their scientists have the liberty of choosing their own hair color and leg wear, as well as their own distinct brand of safety goggles. While the admins are significantly lighter on the eyes with their white clothing articles, they're by no means softer in touch, as their appearance tell that they'll not only defeat you in battle but also wreck you in court afterwards. So together with their snarky remarks and superiority complex, these armed goons mean business, and it shows.

Pokémon

Since Team Flare is a team with Flare in its name and whose default uniform is a bright red suit, it's only natural for trainers to assume that their opponent carries Fire-type Pokémon and will prepare accordingly. The Kalos region has a respectable variety of Fire-types in its region, being home to species such as Talonflame, Pyroar, Magcargo, and Chandelure, among others. One may even argue that Simisear would be a common sight within Team Flare's battle arsenal, as it already shares plenty of visual traits to the common grunts. But apart from the occasional Houndour and Houndoom barking at you behind enemy lines, Team Flare's team variety is sure to disappoint. Just like most Pokémon criminals, their Pokémon selections are filled to the brim with Poison- and Dark-types, as they are cheap, low maintenance and can function fairly well in battle with little to no directions from its trainer. So despite their burning resolve and blazing blazers, you'll do just fine against any grunt encounter as long as you have something to counter Zubat and Mightyena.

With that said, people from their higher level of management can provide some worthy resistance, as they may carry species that's not commonly found among their inferiors, such as Bisharp, Druddigon, Drapion, and Malamar. And at the very peak of it all resides Lysandre, who is equipped with not only an actual Fire-type, but also the abominable Gyarados, as well as Honchkrow and Mienshao later down the road. However, anyone with half a brain should till be able to navigate their team roster skillfully in order to always have a response on hand for what the opponent brings out next, so if anything, it would take an exceedingly powerful threat to put your victory in jeopardy. Incidentally, Lysandre's Mega Gyarados that's unleashed in his final assault is one such threat, sporting a magnificent base 155 Attack and 4 moves to utilize it with, thus being the arguably hardest battle of any team leader to date as its raw attacks can easily leave your team passed out. And if you're also unaware of its Water / Dark retyping, the battle will become dangerously difficult at best, as it can easily shrug off an Electric-type attack and immediately proceed to rock your world with a Mold Breaker Earthquake.

Conclusion

All things considered, Team Flare is both a rejuvenating gust of air blown into the Pokémon franchise, and a repetition of earlier generations with their fair share of disappointments and flaws. They don't have the dark integrity of Team Rocket, a particular theme to their Pokémon like Team Aqua or Magma, or a leader as resourceful and composed as that of Team Galactic, or even the moral complexity like that of Team Plasma's. What they do have, however, is style, and the resolve to decimate anything and anyone who doesn't abide by their philosophy. If that's enough of a reason for them to receive a permanent position in the world of Pokémon syndicates is uncertain, but with XY fresh in our memories, Team Flare has without doubt made an impression on us, whether we're aware of it or not. And as this article is coming to a close, let's take one final moment to reflect upon Lysandre's sage wisdom:

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