#(setting aside Mirror!Lysandre differences ofc) bc he'd never be motivated by a need to protect

[sage-nebula]

You know the mirrorverse in kalos? What do you think alain's mirror version would be like?

Yes, I’m familiar with the Mirrorverse, and ooooh, I love this question, thank you so much for sending it!

So, just to make sure we’re on the same page: The mirror universe (accessed through Reflection Cave) is home to versions of the characters that are the complete opposite of who the characters actually are, hence their “reflections.” So to that end, Mirror!Alan would take Alan’s most prominent traits and turn them on their head. So . . .

1.) Serious & Determined becomes Lackadaisical

Whereas Canon!Alan has a serious personality and determination to see any task through no matter the risk or danger, Mirror!Alan is carefree to the point of being careless and doesn’t really care to commit to any one thing, instead abandoning a task as soon as he loses interest, the cost seems to outweigh the benefit and therefore doesn’t feel worth the effort, et cetera. He’s the king of picking up a hobby or goal only to abandon it less than a month later because he just doesn’t feel like doing it anymore.

2.) Selfless becomes Selfish

Canon!Alan is selfless to the point where it’s startlingly abnormal behavior for him to do anything for himself, ever, and he will go out of his way to help complete strangers if he sees they need it. Mirror!Alan, on the other hand, takes a “that seems like a you problem” approach to problems, even if they’re ones that would end up concerning him, such as world-ending apocalypses. Unless there’s some direct benefit to him (e.g. someone will pay him for it, he thinks it’ll be fun or interesting somehow) he has absolutely no interest in getting involved in other people’s affairs or helping out, and usually just flat out won’t.

3.) Loyal becomes Indifferent

As you can guess, Mirror!Alan doesn’t have any precious people he’d protect at all costs. He may have been raised by Mirror!Sycamore, but who knows how Mirror!Sycamore differs from actual Sycamore and what impact that might’ve had on him. (Heck, if Mirror!Sycamore differs enough, maybe Mirror!Alan was never adopted at all and just grew up in Isolé until he was old enough to leave on his own.) Either way, regardless of who raised him, Mirror!Alan feels no real attachment to any people in his life and, even if he doesn’t dislike them—heck, even if he likes them well enough—he still considers their problems to be their problems and therefore not his problem. 

4.) Strength to Protect becomes Power for Accolades

a.k.a. self-assured becomes cocky. Whereas Canon!Alan trains and battles so he can gain the strength to protect others, Mirror!Alan trains and battles so he can prove he’s the very best and win trophies. So he still likes battling, but his reason for battling is completely different. (Which isn’t to say that Canon!Alan doesn’t like battling, because he absolutely loves it, but it is to say that Canon!Alan doesn’t actually give a fuck about trophies in the end whereas they’re all that would really motivate Mirror!Alan.)

5.) Guilt Complex becomes Shirking Blame

Canon!Alan has issues with hyper-responsibility, wherein he takes the blame for everything even if it is in no way his fault, and thus does his best to fix all the world’s problems / shoulder every burden. And that’s an issue, but Mirror!Alan takes things way too far in the opposite direction, in that along with claiming that other people’s problems are their problems and thus not his to deal with, he will also shirk the blame even for things that are his fault and that he should have accepted responsibility for. Everything is always someone else’s problem and therefore someone else’s fault and it’s wrong of others to try to put things on him, even when it really, really isn’t.

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There are probably other traits that we could flip (e.g. Canon!Alan loves to study and learn, Mirror!Alan isn’t interested unless it can help him win battles / tournaments somehow), but I think those are the biggest ones. As you can see, whereas Canon!Alan is a protagonist that is easy to love and root for, and has flaws you want to see him overcome so that he can grow and succeed, Mirror!Alan is . . . well . . . decidedly very much not that. And if they ever met each other, well . . .

Canon!Alan: “. . . I’m going to kill you.”

Mirror!Alan: “What’s that? You want to battle? Ha! Big mista—”

Canon!Alan: “No. I’m going to beat you to death with my bare hands.”

They would not be friends.