Without comparison, there is no harm done.
For a moment, Lysandre felt that the villains he had encountered before, compared to Roy who was always ready to destroy the entire world, didn't seem so bad after all.
"Isn't it you, Mr. Lysandre, who said that the world is already so filthy that we should destroy it all?"
He saw Roy looking at him with an expectant gaze.
Lysandre was somewhat confused about the situation.
Is that what he meant?
Recalling the scene of Roy bombarding the remaining Team Aqua members one by one on the sea, Lysandre could even imagine that Roy would have the exact same expression when he destroyed the world.
Lysandre silently tucked the Team Flare badge back into his suit sleeve; this absolutely could not fall into Roy's hands.
Fortunately, there weren't many people around at this time, and the place where he and Roy were was relatively deserted. Otherwise, with Roy constantly talking about destroying the world, he might have attracted Officer Jenny's attention at any moment.
Lysandre pressed Roy into a seat and began to explain to Roy what had happened when he was doing charity work.
He was originally a philanthropist who helped many people when Kalos was in trouble, and at first they were very grateful.
But as time went on, those people took his help for granted, which was what he resented most.
Of course, a small number of people were genuinely grateful to him and would bring him the best Present they felt they could afford every day—sometimes a small flower, sometimes a Berry they had picked.
Although they weren't anything particularly valuable, he was willing to call them Present; they were the best things they could offer, what he called beauty.
This is why he wanted to preserve the beauty of the world and didn't want to see the filth, because the contrast between the two was like night and day.
As Lysandre recounted the beautiful events he had encountered to Roy, he himself was unaware that a smile was playing on his lips.
Roy, however, saw Lysandre's smile and could only say that it would have been better if he hadn't smiled at all; Lysandre's smile actually made him look more like a villain.
"Therefore, there are still many beautiful things in this world; don't think in such extremes."
After hearing Lysandre's story, Roy pretended to be deep in thought, then asked:
"Mr. Lysandre, do you find Ghost type Pokémon disgusting?"
Still feeling nauseous...?
Recalling the match that morning, Lysandre really wanted to nod and then give Roy a good scolding.
The Chandelure, who specializes in using the Flash Fire, battles his Pyroar.
How could you be so selfish? Ugh!
But Lysandre was more worried that Roy would completely turn to the dark side, so Knob against his conscience and praised Roy's Chandelure as beautiful, including in battle.
This was the first time he had ever felt so uncomfortable while praising someone.
Hearing Lysandre's praise, Roy calmed down considerably.
"As expected of Mr. Lysandre, there are still good people in the world. So... should I try to accept this world too?"
Seeing that Roy had temporarily abandoned his idea of destroying the world after his persuasion, Lysandre breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, I recalled the beauty I had just described, a beauty that I had never magnified before.
Moreover, after persuading Roy, Lysandre suddenly felt a sense of redemption, wondering if he could redeem this devilish boy before him.
Besides activating the Ultimate Weapon, he had another mission: to redeem the demon he had unleashed.
Beep~
A melodious ship's horn sounded on the sea.
A passenger ship named Bright High arrived at the port of Lilycove City.
This was the very ship that Lysandre was to board.
"Alright, the ship I've been waiting for has arrived."
Lysandre was to return to the Kalos Region by boat today, and the two parted ways at the port.
Before leaving, Lysandre gripped Roy's hand tightly and said:
"Roy, you have to believe that beauty still exists in the world. When you're feeling down, try to observe the beautiful scenery around you, watch the sunrise and sunset, and observe the silver waves on the Golden sand."
As they prepared to board the ship, Lysandre gave Roy the black goggles he had used during the battle.
"This is the latest invention from my research institute. I only wore it once this morning, and I'm giving it to you now."
The location of the GPS system I installed on the pirate ship is also shown above. You can activate it by quickly pressing the red button next to the glasses twice.
However, given your current strength, it's best not to try and force your way in alone.
And Roy, you must stay strong!
Lysandre patted Roy on the shoulder with great sympathy.
From Roy's words about destroying the entire world, Lysandre assumed that Roy had suffered some injustice.
Roy, preoccupied with fiddling with the glasses Lysandre had given him, didn't listen to a word Lysandre said.
Looking at the Pokémon information displayed on the back of the glasses, I felt nothing but amazement.
However, he has a system that can scan all the information about the other party's Pokémon, so he doesn't need this thing at all.
I casually put the goggles into my Spatial Bracelet to gather dust.
"Thank you, Mr. Lysandre. I will make good use of your institute's latest invention."
By the way, Mr. Lysandre, regarding the organization you mentioned earlier that you personally founded, I think it's perfect for me, so I'd like to join it. What do you think...?
Roy's problem troubled Lysandre; he should have found out more about Roy before trying to recruit Roy.
With Roy's current behavior, he's completely unfit to join Team Flare, lest he corrupt their Team Flare.
"Um... Roy, you're very good... I'll observe you a little longer... I'll stop here for now, Roy, I'm going to get on the ship first. We'll contact each other via Communicator if anything comes up."
Lysandre fled onto the ship, not wanting to stay a second longer, worried that Roy would ask him when he would pass the test.
Seeing Lysandre's hasty retreat, Roy's lips curled into a smile.
You think you can just join me, Mr. Roy, and work for free?
Impossible!
But as Lysandre climbed onto the deck of the ship, Roy still waved goodbye to Lysandre.
"Mr. Lysandre, please come visit Hoenn again sometime!!"
Malva passed by Roy, seeing his leader running ahead at breakneck speed, unaware of what had happened.
Could it be that Roy agreed to join Team Flare?
But why does it seem like the leader has been scared away?
Malva came to the deck with questions in mind, and as soon as she got there, she saw Lysandre waving goodbye.
After saying goodbye, Lysandre took out a bottle of salted soda, a specialty of the Kalos Region, from his Spatial Bracelet and drank it.
"Chief, has Roy joined us now? Is he one of our men?"
Pfft~
Lysandre had just taken a sip of soda to ease his tension, Spit Up after hearing Malva's words.
"No... no, and he won't be joining us in the future."
"Why? Didn't the chief say that this young man was good, so we left after them?"
Could it be that he didn't accept your invitation, Chief?
Malva still couldn't believe that Lysandre hadn't been able to persuade the boy.
Given her understanding of Lysandre and his persuasive abilities, dealing with a greenhorn like Roy would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?
Seeing Malva's suspicious look, Lysandre really wanted to tell Malva the reason.
Of course, they didn't want their organization to perish along with Roy's ideals.