The video was straightforward: a young man tearfully explained that despite being admitted to a prestigious university, his impoverished family couldn't afford his education.
That's when Lysandre stepped in, offering generous financial support that enabled him to attend university.
Then one day, without explanation, the tycoon withdrew his support. The student found himself in a dire situation — he was close to graduating but couldn't afford the high tuition fees to complete his degree.
In the video, rather than criticizing Lysandre, the student expressed gratitude, repeatedly mentioning how Lysandre had helped him through the years.
Yet his pitiful crying struck a chord with viewers, who began harshly criticizing the tycoon.
They argued that Lysandre should either have never offered support or seen it through to completion. The public condemned him for breaking his promise, calling him hypocritical — accusing him of seeking publicity without following through.
Critics also pointed out the apparent stinginess of someone with Lysandre's immense wealth.
As public outrage grew, the video spread beyond Kalos, drawing more viewers and comments. The wave of criticism intensified, with some even calling for a boycott of Lysandre's companies — a movement that gained considerable traction.
After watching the video and its comments, Cole frowned.
Something felt off — public opinion couldn't have escalated so rapidly without manipulation.
Besides, the crying student's performance seemed calculated — what ordinary person would dare to publicly smear Lysandre online?
If he were Lysandre, that person would have been silenced long ago. Yet he hadn't said a word, and his company's PR department remained silent.
After thinking for a moment, Cole called him.
[Hello, Cole!]
Lysandre's voice came through quickly, though tinged with weariness.
Cole asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
A few seconds of silence passed before Lysandre spoke again.
[So you know about it too...]
"Yes, I just saw it and was worried about you." Cole said.
[Heh...]
A sigh came from Lysandre's end, followed by his question:
[Tell me, is human nature really like this?]
Caught off guard by the question, Cole carefully replied, "Human nature is complex. Everyone has both good and evil within them. When someone's good side prevails, we call them a good person; when their evil side takes over, they become a bad person. You and I are no different.
None of us can guarantee we'll never have dark thoughts, nor can we say that even the worst person has never done good. That's why discussing human nature like this isn't very helpful — it's too complex for simple answers."
Hearing this response, Lysandre fell silent, lost in thought.
Cole's heart raced, worried he'd said something wrong that might push Lysandre toward extreme thinking. He desperately wanted to keep his friend from reaching a point of no return.
When the silence stretched on, Cole had a sudden impulse and said, "Lysandre, why don't you come visit me for a few days? You've been so busy with work and haven't visited before — this could be the perfect opportunity."
[O-okay!]
Though surprised by the sudden invitation, Lysandre agreed.
✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲✲
Lysandre arrived in Coumarine two days later on his private aircraft, where Cole and Daisy welcomed him at the airport.
As they walked through the city streets, Lysandre remarked nostalgically, "No matter how many times I come to Coumarine, the climate here is always so pleasant."
Cole smiled and said, "If you like it, you can come often!"
Lysandre shook his head with a bitter smile.
As they walked together, he revealed the truth about the online incident.
He had withdrawn support from the student after discovering that not only had the financial aid been spent on activities unrelated to education, but the student had also frequented inappropriate establishments.
Worse still, the student had been using Lysandre's name to run an illegal loan shark operation to accumulate wealth.
The online incident wasn't a solo effort — after Lysandre withdrew his support, his company's competitors had paid the student to smear both him and his company.
No ordinary person would dare to manipulate public opinion so boldly otherwise.
Lysandre hadn't come forward to clarify because he felt mentally drained — this wasn't the first such incident.
He recalled another time when he'd planned to invest in building a factory in an impoverished area. Seeing the local poverty, he'd arranged to distribute supplies to families there. But when the supplies arrived, people had mobbed the delivery, looting everything and injuring his employees.
In another instance, when a region was struck by an infectious disease, Lysandre personally led a team to deliver medicine.
After receiving the supplies, the locals had detained him and his employees, threatening to kill them unless more medicine and supplies were sent.
Such examples were countless.
Over the years, Lysandre had dedicated himself to charity work, using his power to make the world better. Yet at every turn, he encountered humanity's darker side.
The more good he tried to do, the more wickedness he witnessed.
This latest incident pushed his accumulated emotions to the breaking point. Exhausted, he questioned the purpose of his philanthropy — the world seemed just as filled with evil as ever.
Cole hadn't pressed Lysandre about the online incident, trusting him completely. But seeing his friend needed to confide in someone, he listened as Lysandre shared everything.
Unable to offer wisdom about such complex matters of human nature, Cole chose a simpler solution — he took Lysandre to the market.
When feeling down, a feast is always the answer — food has a way of helping one forget troubles.
Cole was a familiar face at the East District market, having shopped there often with Meili. Many vendors knew him well.
"Oh, little Cole, it's been a while!" Called the seafood vendor uncle.
"Haha, yes, quite some time! Since I don't cook at home anymore, I don't visit as often!" Cole chatted warmly with the uncle.
Understanding his changed living situation, the uncle smiled and said, "That's true. Today's seafood is very fresh — want to try some?"
Cole scanned the display and quickly replied, "Let's have some crab claws!"
He meant the claws of Krabby and Kingler.
Special breeding farms raise these Pokémon, harvesting their naturally shed claws. The delicacy is highly sought after in the seafood market, with Kingler claws fetching particularly high prices.
The uncle sourced all his Pokémon seafood from suppliers, as he lacked breeding qualifications himself.
"Alright!" The uncle said cheerfully, "Take a look and choose the ones you want — I'll weigh them for you."
Cole selected four pristine Kingler claws, "These will do."
The uncle beamed and gave him a thumbs up, "You've got a good eye, kid! You picked all the best ones!"
The uncle quickly weighed and packed the four crab claws.
"That'll be P$28,000 total."
Cole rarely splurged on such expensive ingredients, but with Lysandre visiting, this was a special occasion — how could they not have something nice?
"Want anything else? Today's Slowpoke tails are excellent, and we just got in some fresh jellyfish tentacles from Tentacool and Frillish."
Cole thought for a moment, "Let's get some of everything then."
"Sure thing!" The uncle's grin widened at hearing this.
For seafood alone, Cole spent P$50,000.
The uncle also gave him some dried frills that had fallen off land jellies — not fresh seafood but rather dried goods.
Since Kalos doesn't produce land jellies, the uncle's stock was all "imported", and few people in this region bought it, finding it unfamiliar.
Seeing that Cole had bought so much seafood, the uncle decided to give him a small bag of it rather than let it go unsold.
Having never tried it before, Cole accepted out of curiosity.
Next, Cole went to buy seasonings.
Following the seller's recommendations, he bought chili powder ground from Capsakid teeth, salt produced by Nacli, and oil pressed from Dolliv olives.
Though these premium items carried steep prices, Cole decided to treat himself anyway.
Money is meant to be spent, and now he could certainly be considered wealthy — probably.
Lysandre maintained an expressionless face, his formal suit looking completely out of place in the market. His presence drew curious glances from passersby.
The onlookers were merely curious, though, with no ill intent — none approached Cole to ask about his companion.
Lysandre silently followed Cole, watching him chat and haggle with the market vendors. Finding these interactions novel and interesting — experiences he'd never had before — an almost imperceptible smile crossed his face.
Born into wealth, everything had been handed to him since childhood, including the most elite education. Later, he'd used his outstanding abilities and keen insight to expand the family business, building its influence beyond Kalos into a worldwide enterprise.
Though Lysandre had always considered himself successful by any measure, today he suddenly realized that perhaps he didn't truly understand how to live life.
Cole took him around the market for a long time, even insisting that Lysandre buy vegetables from the vendors and try haggling with them.
When Lysandre tried to refuse, Cole wouldn't let him, pushing him right into it.
His CEO aura clashed completely with grocery shopping — while appearing composed on the surface, he was thoroughly flustered inside.
The vegetable vendors were equally unsettled — they'd never seen someone with such an intimidating presence buying vegetables before, stumbling over their usual sales pitches.
After several attempts, Lysandre's polished appearance had become quite disheveled, while Cole laughed mercilessly from the sidelines.
Finally, something struck Lysandre as funny, and he joined Cole in hearty laughter, his troubles momentarily forgotten.
They eventually returned home laden with shopping bags, as Daisy had refused to help them with her Psychic powers.
At noon, Cole pulled out all the stops with Hatterene's help to prepare a feast, even video calling Siebold for cooking advice.
While he cooked, he had Chikorita and Larvitar take Lysandre on a tour.
The two little ones were quite mischievous — though Cole had asked them to show the newcomer around Mt. Ascendant, they got caught up playing and roughhousing with each other, eventually forgetting their task entirely.
Nevertheless, Lysandre explored Mt. Ascendant's scenery on his own. With its thriving orchards and hardworking Pokémon, the place felt like a paradise sheltered from the world.
He realized then that despite having more money than Cole, his own life seemed less rich in experience.
At lunch, Cole eagerly introduced his "hometown" cuisine to Lysandre, who found this unfamiliar style of food fascinating.
Though Lysandre had sampled countless fine dishes in his life, none of the so-called high-end ingredients he'd tried before offered the same authentic quality as the meal before him now.
"How's the taste? Do you like it?" Cole asked.
"It's delicious!" Lysandre replied.
Looking at Cole's anxious expression, Lysandre suddenly understood that everything they'd done today had been meant to comfort him, and the realization touched him deeply.
Since losing his parents, this was the first time someone had shown him such genuine care.
Though Lysandre was a successful businessman, he had almost no family left — only distant relatives bound to him by financial interests rather than affection.
After the online incident, these relatives had even called to lecture him like elders, criticizing his judgment.
As for close friends, he'd had none before Cole and Diantha. Yet being a woman, there were many things he couldn't comfortably discuss with Diantha.
Perhaps he'd been bottling things up for too long — that must be why he'd accepted Cole's invitation so readily.
"If you like it, have more — I made it all myself!" Cole cheerfully added another serving to Lysandre's bowl.
While most people in Kalos preferred using knives and forks, Cole used chopsticks for seafood dishes like these, saving western utensils for other occasions.
Lysandre fumbled with the chopsticks quite clumsily, his dignified CEO presence completely undermined, sending Cole into fits of laughter.
✲✲✲
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