Cyrus (Pokemon)

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Cyrus as seen in Diamond and Pearl
Cyrus
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Galactic
Hair color	Blue
Base	Veilstone City
Relatives	Grandfather
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions

Cyrus is the leader of Team Galactic who acts as the main antagonist of Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions. Thinking on a grander scale than preceding Pokémon villains, Cyrus plans to use the power of Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon to destroy the entire universe and make a new one in his own image.

Background

Cyrus was born and raised in Sunyshore City. He was brilliant as a child, but he was also antisocial and preferred the company of machines over humans. According to his grandfather, Cyrus had been "worn down" by his parents' expectations, which lead him to find refuge in tinkering with machines. There is more implied tragedy in his past, such as his disregarding emotions as needless, claiming that they were illusions produced by weak hearts which slowly fade until disappearing completely with death. Cyrus grew into an intellectual and cynical being who saw the world as incomplete and full of strife, due to the spirits of humans and Pokémon being weak and incomplete. Uniquely, he claimed that he viewed Pokémon not as friends and not as tools, but as power that he adds to his own. He eventually formed Team Galactic in order to obtain his goal of remaking the world with himself as its god, although he lied to them about the organization's true purpose.

Based in Veilstone City, Team Galactic began examining the myths of Sinnoh in order to discover more about legendary Pokémon whose power could be manipulated to remake the universe. They also began stealing Pokémon from trainers and seeking power sources. They came to look into the legendary Mirage Pokémon of the three lakes - Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf - because they could be used to form a Red Chain that Cyrus hoped to use to control Dialga or Palkia, which could potentially be used to recreate the universe. In Platinum, he was first seen at Lake Verity, where mused about how he would control both time and space, and declared a threat towards the Mesprit that rested there. He was then seen musing more about Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon and the problems with the world at Eterna City and Mt. Coronet (the latter being the first time he is seen in Diamond/Pearl).

In Diamond/Pearl, he briefly showed up at Celestic Town to observe the meaningless of Lucas/Dawn's conflict with the Galactic Grunt and introduced himself. In Platinum he instead entered the Celestic Ruins while the elder was explaining the legends of how the three lake Pokémon kept balance to Lucas/Dawn. He introduced himself, declaring his plans to create the ideal world and professing that the world was currently out of balance, although the elder disagreed with this. And so did Lucas/Dawn, who proceeded to battle and defeat him. Cyrus found the trainer's performance to be remarkable, but left because he had learned what he wanted to know: that when Dialga and Palkia were brought together, they were unstoppable. After using a Galactic Bomb to drain Lake Valor, which awakened Mesprit, Uxie and Azelf, Team Galactic was able to capture them all and use their crystals to form a Red Chain that he could use to bind one of the legendary Pokémon (and in Platinum, he created an additional artificial one as well).

Lucas/Dawn confronted Cyrus again at Team Galactic's Veilstone headquarters. He saw they had come to rescue the three lake Pokémon, which Cyrus was indifferent to because he no longer had any use for them. However, he was disappointed to see that the trainer was doing this deed out of simple compassion and pity, so he then battled Lucas/Dawn to teach them the weakness of the human heart. Cyrus was still defeated, at which point he acknowledged the trainer's strength by giving them a Master Ball, which he did not think he needed. After pointing the trainer towards the Pokémon's holding place, he left for the Spear Pillar atop Mt. Coronet to set the final stages of his plan into motion.

The events atop the Spear Pillar were different in each version. In Diamond and Pearl, he used the Red Chain to summon and control either Dialga or Palkia, but the three lake Pokémon returned to break Cyrus's Red Chain and with it his control over the legendary Pokémon. Cyrus was prepared to recapture them and prepare a new chain, but he first battled Lucas/Dawn again in anger. After being defeated, he asked Lucas/Dawn about their personal views on perfection and left vowing that he would not give up his quest for godhood.

In Platinum, he uses both Red Chains to summon Dialga and Palkia at the same time, and because both of them are present the lake Pokémon's attempt to intervene fails. However, this also caused Giratina appear and suck Cyrus into the Distortion World. He began to hunt Giratina throughout this bizarre world, as he came to believe that Giratina was the embodiemt of the Distortion World, and that by capturing or defeating it he could upset the balance between worlds and accomplish his goal of destroying the galaxy. However, he was confronted by Lucas/Dawn and Cynthia, the latter suggesting that Cyrus live alone if he hated the world so much while the former battled him once more after he rejected Cynthia's offer, saying that he would not lose in his quest to eliminate the "vague and incomplete" thing called the spirit.

After being defeated, Cyrus encouraged Lucas/Dawn to continue ahead in challenging Giratina, believing that it would play right into his hands and cause the destruction of both worlds, going as far as saying that the trainer would inherit his legacy. But the Distortion World remained after Lucas/Dawn succeeded against Giratina, and Cyrus realized that the presence of this irrational world made it impossible for him to create his own world even if he tried forging red chains again. Wondering why they would bother to protect both worlds, Cynthia told him about the importance of unity, Pokémon and spirit. Cyrus was simply enraged by her answer, saying that it was all human delusion and assuring them that he would one day discover the world's secrets and use that knowledge to create his perfect world, a world without spirit.

Following his disappearance, leadership of Team Galactic was passed on to Saturn (although Charon briefly took control in Platinum).

Pokémon Roster

His Pokémon roster is different depending on the version. The following is his full team:

• Murkrow/Honchkrow - As Murkrow, it is used in the Diamond/Pearl Veilstone battle and Platinum Celestic Town battle. It becomes a Honchkrow for all battles after those battles in each respective version.
• Golbat/Crobat - As Golbat, it is used in the Diamond/Pearl Veilstone battle and Platinum Celestic Town battle. It becomes a Crobat for all battles after those battles in each respective version.
• Sneasel/Weavile - As Sneasel, it is used in the Diamond/Pearl Veilstone battle and Platinum Celestic Town battle. It becomes a Weavile for all battles after those battles in each respective version.
• Gyarados - Gyarados is added to his team for the Spear Pillar battle in Diamond/Pearl, and the Distortion World battle in Platinum.
• Houndoom - Houndoom only appears in his roster for the Distortion World battle in Platinum.

Other Appearances

• He has appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl episodes, where he poses as a benevolent businessman to hide and finance his activities with Team Galactic.

Trivia

• As Team Galactic's members have names relating to planets, the name Cyrus is derived from the Persian "Kuros", which means Sun.
• His grandfather appears exclusively in Platinum and is found in a house on Route 228.
• It is pointed out by one citizen of Sunyshore City that Team Galactic was never active in Sunyshore, likely a subtle act of sympathy towards his hometown on Cyrus's part.