The Kalos Region: Lumiose, Mega Evolution and a 3,000-Year-Old War

A region shaped like a five-pointed star, modeled on the northern half of France, whose name comes from the Greek kalos — "beautiful". Kalos is the most elegant of the Pokémon regions, and the bloodiest: beneath its châteaux and cafés lies the memory of a war three thousand years old, and of a weapon that ended it by killing thousands of Pokémon.

Contents

• Three Subregions in the Colors of a Flag
• Lumiose City, the Most Accessible City in the Series
• The Eight Gyms of Kalos
• The Kalos League and Diantha
• Team Flare and the Return of the Ultimate Weapon
• AZ, Floette and the Three Thousand Years
• 3D, the Fairy Type and Mega Evolution
• Kalos in the Anime
• Where to Explore Kalos Today
• The Kalos Region at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Three Subregions in the Colors of a Flag

Kalos is officially divided into three: Coastal Kalos in the west, Central Kalos, and Mountain Kalos in the east. This division isn't merely administrative: the regional Pokédex itself is split into three lists, shown in blue, white and red.

The region is shaped like a five-pointed star, and its central district mirrors the outline of Prism Tower, which looms over Lumiose City. It's the first time the series has given a map such deliberate geometry.

The terrain ranges from beaches to snow-capped peaks: Azure Bay and Coumarine City in the west, vineyards and châteaux in the center, then the icy passes of Snowbelle City. The League sits in the northeast, set high in the mountains.

There's plenty underground, too. Connecting Cave, Glittering Cave, Reflection Cave, Sea Spirit's Den, Frost Cavern, Chamber of Emptiness: Kalos boasts eight notable caves, including Terminus Cave, abandoned after rumor had it that it was haunted — the silhouette mistaken for a ghost was actually Zygarde.

Lumiose City, the Most Accessible City in the Series

Lumiose City is the largest city in Kalos and the hub of the whole region. It has five land entrances, a working train station and three landing points for the move Fly — no other city in the series is this accessible. You get around by taxi, and now and then you can even battle the driver.

Vaniville Town is the starting point, and the laboratory of Professor Sycamore is located in Lumiose City itself — an exception, since most professors set up far from big cities. The other towns without a Gym are Aquacorde Town, Camphrier Town, Ambrette Town, Geosenge Town, Dendemille Town, Couriway Town and Kiloude City.

Every town bears a trace of the region's past. Geosenge Town holds the remains of the machine built by King AZ; Anistar City has a sundial formed from a fragment of the Ultimate Weapon; Laverre City was founded fifteen hundred years ago around a young tree that is now enormous.

Kalos is the first region to make getting around a pleasure in itself. It introduces Pokémon riding: the Gogoat Shuttle on Lumiose City's main boulevards, a retired racing Rhyhorn for smashing rocks, Skiddo at the ranch, a Mamoswine for crossing the snow. Add to that the TMV between Lumiose City and Kiloude City and the Coumarine City monorail.

The Eight Gyms of Kalos

Viola opens the circuit in Santalune City with the Bug type and the Bug Badge, followed by Grant in Cyllage City (Rock, Cliff Badge) and Korrina in Shalour City (Fighting, Rumble Badge). How each circuit works is detailed in our guide to the Gym Leaders and Elite Four.

Ramos holds Coumarine City with the Grass type and the Plant Badge. Next comes the region's most unusual Gym: Lumiose City's, at the top of Prism Tower, run by Clemont — an Electric-type specialist and inventor, whose Voltage Badge you earn after a climb by elevator.

🏅 The Bug Badge from Viola, the Voltage Badge at the top of Prism Tower: crossing Kalos means collecting eight small objects one by one. Our Pokémon pins pile up the same way, except they end up on your jacket collar.

Valerie defends Laverre City with the brand-new Fairy type and the Fairy Badge: it is the first Gym in the series devoted to a type created in its own generation. Olympia holds Anistar City with Psychic and the Psychic Badge.

Wulfric closes out the circuit in Snowbelle City with the Ice type and the Iceberg Badge. Once all eight are collected, the Gym Leaders can be battled again at the Battle Chateau, provided you've earned the title of Marquis.

The Kalos League and Diantha

The Kalos Elite Four brings together Wikstrom, Drasna, Malva and Siebold — specialists in the Steel, Dragon, Fire and Water types. Each one occupies a room with an entirely distinct décor, connected to a central hall: the Kalos League is the most theatrical in the series.

At the top stands Diantha, as much a movie star as a League Champion. She is the first Champion in the series whose fame doesn't come from training alone, and one of the few the player runs into several times outside of any battle.

Malva has a quirk the game makes no secret of: a member of the Elite Four, she also belongs to Team Flare. After Giovanni, Gym Leader and boss of Team Rocket, the series takes the same trick one rung higher up the official ladder.

Team Flare and the Return of the Ultimate Weapon

Team Flare is an organization for the wealthy. Red suits, designer glasses, a headquarters beneath a cutting-edge lab: its members pay to join, and its leader Lysandre is a respected public figure, a descendant of King AZ.

👔 Red suit, designer glasses, a fee to get in: Lysandre's Team Flare is recognizable first and foremost by its outfit. Our Pokémon ties complete yours without making you join anything.

Its plan is a purge. Lysandre considers the world overcrowded and ugly, and intends to restore its beauty by eliminating everything that clutters it — in other words, almost everyone. The chosen few would be those who could afford to join the organization.

The instrument of this purge is nothing new: it's the Ultimate Weapon. The machine built three thousand years earlier in Geosenge Town, brought back into service beneath Lumiose City, and powered by the life energy of Xerneas or Yveltal. Team Flare doesn't awaken a monster: it rekindles a weapon.

AZ, Floette and the Three Thousand Years

The Kalos myth isn't a creation story but a war story. Three thousand years ago, two rival kingdoms went to war and sent all their Pokémon to the front. Among the dead was the Floette belonging to King AZ, who was driven mad with grief.

AZ then built a machine in Geosenge Town that brought his companion back to life — and granted eternal life to AZ himself as well. Then he turned the machine against those who had killed his Pokémon: the Ultimate Weapon ended the war, at the cost of thousands of Pokémon lives. Floette, sickened, left its master.

What follows is three millennia of wandering. AZ has roamed the world ever since, searching for his Floette, which waits for him in the hope that he will come to his senses. He is the only character in the series whose story arc spans millennia, and the game has the player battle him, once, without warning.

Kalos has only six Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, one of the lowest totals in the series. Xerneas embodies life, Yveltal destruction, Zygarde balance; they are joined by Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion. The full classification is explained in our guide to Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

3D, the Fairy Type and Mega Evolution

Kalos is the region with the smallest batch of new species — 72 — and the biggest technical overhaul in the series. This is where 3D replaces sprites, and where the National Pokédex grows to 721.

The three starters are Chespin, Fennekin and Froakie, the last of which was destined for a very special kind of fame. The details of each regional trio are in our feature on the starters.

Two new features changed the series for good. The Fairy type, the first type added since the second generation, completely rebalances the type chart; and Mega Evolution, whose secret lies in the Tower of Mastery, gives certain species an overpowered form for the duration of a battle.

Kalos in the Anime

Kalos takes up the entire XY saga: seasons 17, 18 and 19. Ash travels there with Serena, Clemont and Bonnie — and Clemont is also the Lumiose City Gym Leader, the only case of a traveling companion who runs a Gym on the circuit.

It is the saga most often cited as the high point of the series. It builds steadily to a League final fought down to the last Pokémon, which Alain wins against Ash, and moves straight on to Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City.

📺 A League final fought down to the last Pokémon, won by Alain against Ash: the XY saga builds all the way up to its very last battle. Our Pokémon throw blankets are made for the couch you'll be glued to until then.

Three feature films are tied to it, including Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction as well as Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel. Every season is covered in our guide to all the seasons.

Where to Explore Kalos Today

Pokémon X and Y is still the only game that takes you across all of Kalos, on Nintendo 3DS. The region has had neither a third version nor a remake, making it one of the least revisited in the series.

Yet it came back through the smallest door possible. Pokémon Legends: Z-A takes place entirely in Lumiose City — a single city, completely reshaped by a major urban redevelopment project, instead of a full region. No main game had ever been confined to a single urban setting.

The comparison of the two Pokémon Legends games details what this formula changes, and the complete order of the saga is laid out in our guide to all the games.

The Kalos Region at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Kalos based on?
  The northern half of mainland France, whose geography, châteaux, vineyards and cafés it borrows. Its name comes from the Greek kalos, "beautiful" — a theme that runs through the entire plot of Pokémon X and Y.
• Why is Kalos divided into three?
  Because the region is officially split into Coastal Kalos in the west, Central Kalos, and Mountain Kalos in the east. This division carries over into the regional Pokédex, which is split into three lists shown in blue, white and red.
• Who is AZ?
  The king who, three thousand years ago, built a machine to bring back his Floette, killed in the war, then turned it into a weapon for revenge. The Ultimate Weapon ended the conflict at the cost of thousands of Pokémon. Made immortal by his own machine, AZ has wandered ever since in search of his companion.
• What does Team Flare want?
  To restore the world's beauty by ridding it of what clutters it, meaning most of its population. To do so, its leader Lysandre, a descendant of AZ, brings the Ultimate Weapon back into service beneath Lumiose City, powered by the life energy of Xerneas or Yveltal.
• Where was Mega Evolution introduced?
  In Kalos, with Pokémon X and Y. The Tower of Mastery holds its secret, and the mechanic gives certain species an overpowered form for the duration of a battle. The generation also introduced the Fairy type and the series' full switch to 3D.
• How many legendaries does Kalos have?
  Only six, one of the lowest totals in the series: Xerneas, Yveltal and Zygarde on the Legendary side, Diancie, Hoopa and Volcanion on the Mythical side. Only Kanto, with five, has fewer.
• What happens in Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
  The game doesn't take you across Kalos but through just one of its cities: Lumiose City, completely reshaped by a major urban redevelopment project. No main game in the series had ever before been confined to a single urban setting.

In short

Kalos is the region that best hid what it's really about. Beneath the châteaux, the vineyards and Lumiose's tower, the plot is about grief, revenge and a weapon of mass destruction — and its antagonist doesn't want to conquer the world, but to cull it.

It is also the region that changed the series the most without anyone noticing: 3D, the Fairy type and Mega Evolution all originated here. To see where it stands among the others, our overview of the regions of the Pokémon world; to explore it, our guide to all the games.