HEADCANONS. pokémon za spoilers.
more than a politician, prior to the events of xy lysandre was a philanthropist, a philosopher, a scientist, and generally speaking, a benefactor. in constant pursuit of the betterment of kalos, he funded studies, research, sponsored orphanages, endlessly gave to charities, and eventually built team flare.
in its early beginnings, team flare was nothing more than a charity group helping him in the betterment of the region.
prior to the events of xy, lysandre discovers the ultimate weapon. he studies it intensely from weeks, hoping to use its untapped energy to fuel the region, and upon learning its purpose, lysandre spirals: 3000 years ago, the world was facing the same problems it had now. 3000 years ago there were already too many people, too many mouths to feed. there were wars, and famine, and illness, and his own ancestor decided to build a machine to kill. he disellusioned himself into thinking that all of his efforts were wasted: too many people, too many mouths to feed, too much to give, and no matter how much money and power he had, he was still one man, one terrifyingly fleeting man, and all of his work will die before him. but if the population was not composed of billions, but a seizable handful ... he goes into a psychotic break.
lysandre goes into the deep end, his medical issue still untreated. he barely survives the cave-in in geosenge town, but is saved by zygarde. the shock makes him lose his memories, along with his name. most of his pokémon died in the destruction that he caused. he wanders the kalos region for five years, lost, only able to follow zygarde. waiting.