Cyrus (Pokemon)

Cyrus as seen in Diamond and Pearl
Cyrus
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Galactic
Hair color	Blue
Eye color	Gray
Age	27
Base	Veilstone City
Relatives	Grandfather Cyllene (ancestor)
Voiced by	Armen Taylor (2020)
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions

Cyrus is the leader of Team Galactic who acts as the main antagonist of Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. 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 led him to find refuge in tinkering with machines. He disregarded emotions as needless, because he believed that they were only illusions that were produced by weak hearts, which slowly faded until they disappeared completely with one's 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. He claimed that he viewed Pokémon not as friends or tools, but as power that he added to his own. Cyrus eventually formed Team Galactic in order to obtain his goal of remaking the world with himself as its god, although he lied to his followers 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. One of those two 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 he 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 was seen in Diamond/Pearl).

In Diamond/Pearl, Cyrus 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 he 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. In Platinum, he had an additional artificial one created 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 Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, he could reappear as an opponent at the Battle Tower for a double battle with Mars as his partner.

Platinum: Distortion World

In Platinum, he used both Red Chains to summon Dialga and Palkia at the same time, and because both of them were present, the lake Pokémon's attempt to intervene failed. This also caused Giratina appear and pull Cyrus into the Distortion World. He began to hunt Giratina throughout this bizarre world, as he came to believe that Giratina was the embodiment 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 should live alone if he hated the world so much. He rejected Cynthia's offer, because he was determined not to lose in his quest to eliminate the "vague and incomplete" thing called the spirit. With that, Lucas/Dawn battled him one last time.

After being defeated, Cyrus encouraged Lucas/Dawn to continue ahead in challenging Giratina, as he believed 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. When he wondered aloud why the trainers 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).

Alternate Universe (Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon)

In the post-game Episode RR scenario of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, another version of Cyrus appeared. This Cyrus hailed from a world in which he was successful in using one of the legendary Pokémon from Sinnoh to create his perfect world. However, at the moment of his plan's completion, he was pulled away from that world and into another one, where Giovanni had him fight for Team Rainbow Rocket. He and Lysandre made up the second pair of bosses that Elio/Selene had to fight.

Cyrus was confused about whether or not this was the perfect world that he created. He soon realized the truth when he met Elio/Selene and looked at their Rotom Pokédex. Seeing that even the Pokédex had a spirit, he realized that he had work to do in extinguishing the human spirit from this world and proceeded to battle Elio/Selene. After being defeated, Cyrus expressed his confusion at the trainer building such strong bonds with their Pokémon and turning those bonds into strength. He decided not to do anything to this world and to return to his own perfect world instead. Cyrus gave the trainer a Galactic Key that allowed the trainer to progress further into the castle. He was left wondering if things would have been different for him if he had met Elio/Selene earlier. Ultimately, he was returned to his original world by Colress.

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.

In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, his roster includes the final forms of his full team from Platinum, with the only exception being that Gyarados is replaced by one of the legendary Sinnoh Pokémon: Dialga in Ultra Sun or Palkia in Ultra Moon.

At the Battle Tower in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, his Pokémon could include Gyarados, Weavile, Salamence, Heat Rotom and Entei.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Cyrus and Palkia appeared as a playable sync pair who could be unlocked through a limited Legendary Event, "New World Dilemma", which first ran in August 2020. A variant of Cyrus with a Sygna Suit and paired with Darkrai was later made available through the game's Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods starting in February 2022. Due to references to the Distortion World and Cyrus having summoned both Legendary Pokémon, this followed the Platinum version of events.

In the "New World Dilemma" Event, it was shown that Cyrus had been pulled to Pasio from the moment after he had summoned Dialga and Palkia, although Cynthia still remembered confronting him afterwards in the Distortion World. Cyrus and Palkia were able to easily defeat Scottie/Bettie and Cheryl, and he retreated to gain more information. Cyrus then met Sophocles and talked with him to learn more about Pasio. It was implied that Sophocles reminded Cyrus of himself as a child, so he formed a bond of sorts with him. Ultimately, Cyrus went in search of Lear so that he could find a way to bring Dialga to the island as well and continue his plan. Scottie/Bettie, Cheryl and Sophocles made an attempt to stop him which failed and resulted in Cyrus denying his bond with Sophocles. Cynthia arrived wearing a sygna suit and used Kommo-o to defeat Cyrus, at which point he retreated. The other characters were left hopeful that Cyrus could see the error of his ways, but Cyrus remained determined to find a way to remake the world.

Cyrus was next featured in the Sinnoh chapter of the Villain Arc. In it, he had managed to reacquire Dialga and also managed to obtain Darkrai. Darkrai had tried to put Cyrus in a nightmare, but Darkrai's nightmare world actually resembled Cyrus's ideal world, as it was empty and devoid of spirit. He mobilized Team Galactic on Pasio, only to be opposed by Scottie/Bettie, Dawn, Lucas, Cynthia and others. Dialga hesitated to follow Cyrus's orders when he tried to make it attack the others, so he rejected it, and it ended up forming a bond with Lucas instead. Cynthia was also able to expose the truth of Cyrus's plans to Mars, Saturn and Jupiter, which caused them to grow disillusioned with their boss. Regardless, Cyrus was able to set his plan into motion by using Darkrai to trap the majority of Pasio in its nightmares. Ultimately, Dawn confronted him with Cresselia and a group that now also included Sophocles. They were able to pull Cyrus out of Darkrai's nightmare and they got him to concede the fact that his plan was flawed. Cyrus decided to change course so that he would no longer attempt to remake the world, but instead he would seek a way to "complete" the human spirit, which he still saw as inherently flawed. Mars, Saturn and Jupiter all agreed to rejoin him, accepting his terms of only seeing them as tools, and they retreated together. Cyrus made a few more short appearances in the Villain Arc. In "Paulo Interlude: The Last Evil", he mused about how Paulo had changed and wondered if it had to do with improving the human heart. During the Final Chapter, he showed up with Mars, Saturn and Jupiter to fight off Team Rocket grunts, and he ended up teaming up with N in the process.

He has also made some appearances in other story events. In the Story Event "Shine a Gentle Light", he was walking with Mars, Saturn and Jupiter when they noticed how brightly lit the town was (for Jasmine and Whitney's party). Cyrus was reminded of a lighthouse and mused about it for a moment before deciding that Team Galactic had no use for something like that, as they would find and make their own path for themselves. He later made an appearance in "Strangers from a Distant Past", in which his help was called upon to undo a time-space distortion. He was initially unwilling to cooperate with the others, but after Dialga and Palkia had a psychic conversation, he relented. So Cyrus brought Palkia to help stop the distortion and noted that Cynthia must have helped with Giratina as well. Along the way, he met Adaman and Irida, who talked about the values of Galaxy Team. Cyrus claimed to be unaware of the group and simply retorted by stating Team Galactic's mission of creating a perfect world.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• He has appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl episodes, where he initially posed as a benevolent businessman to hide and finance his activities with Team Galactic. He dropped the charade later in the arc, after he hired Pokémon Hunter J to capture the three lake spirits for him. He used the spirits to summon and take control of Dialga and Palkia. Cyrus had them create a portal for them and entered it, but his fate was left unknown after the portal closed behind him. Years later, there was a series of specials for the Pokémon Journeys specials in which Team Galactic reassembled in an attempt to find Cyrus, but they were ultimately unsuccessful.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, he was initially featured in the Diamond/Pearl arc, where he set into motion a plan similar to the one he had in the games. He saw knowledge, emotion and willpower as being constantly out of balance, which was part of his reason for wanting to remake the world. Eventually, he was defeated by Platinum, Diamond and Pearl at the Spear Pillar after summoning Dialga and Palkia, and he started to see the error of his ways when he saw that they made a perfect balance of knowledge, emotion and willpower. He was then trapped in the Distortion World, where he teamed up with the heroes in the Platinum arc, and his repentant nature was able to appeal to Shaymin. They ultimately escaped the Distortion World, at which point Cyrus disbanded Team Galactic.
• Cyrus was featured in an episode of the Pokémon Generations anime, which portrayed his attempt to summon the legendary Pokémon in Platinum and his subsequently being trapped in the Distortion World by Giratina. In this version, he came to see the Distortion World as the type of world that he dreamed of and asked Saturn not to come looking for him.
• In Pokémon Evolutions, he briefly appeared in the fifth episode, which depicted the events of the fourth generation from Barry's perspective. He was seen commanding Mars and Jupiter at the Spear Pillar.

Trivia

• As Team Galactic's members have names relating to planets, the name Cyrus is derived from the Persian "Kuros", which means the Sun. His Japanese name is Akagi, which refers to a type of bishop wood and the color 'red'.
• 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, possibly as a subtle act of sympathy towards his hometown on Cyrus's part.
• In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a character named Cyllene bears a strong physical appearance to Cyrus and has a similar serious demeanor, although she lacks Cyrus's ideals. The similarities imply that she might be an ancestor to Cyrus, and she is also leader of the Survey Corps for the Galaxy Team, which could have been an inspiration for Team Galactic.
  • In Pokémon Masters EX, Adaman and Irida note that Adaman's 'blunt personality' is familiar to them, seemingly in reference to Cyllene. They do not take notice of any physical resemblance, however, nor do they actually mention her to Cyrus.