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5th Gen You're Not Legendary, You're Just the Sun

Oryx

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Volcarona, The...Totally Normal Pokémon


Yes, Volcarona is...a totally normal Pokémon. Not a legendary, not a pseudo-legendary, just another Pokémon that happens to have an origin myth, a ruin dedicated entirely to reaching it, a spot at the end of the Pokédex, etc. Nope, nothing special to see here, right?

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The Legendary Theory
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This is something I was thinking of earlier, when I noticed that Volcarona didn't learn Attract. I've been thinking this for a while, but that just tipped it over the edge and thought I would make a nice, pretty list of all the reasons that I think this is supposed to be a legendary, and was dropped down to a normal Pokémon at the very last minute.

1) Spot at the end of the Pokédex.
This one is self-explanatory. Dragonite, a pseudo-legendary, was in the middle of the legendaries in Kanto. Tyranitar was right before Ho-Oh and Lugia in Johto. Metagross was just before the legendaries in Hoenn. You know what's separating Hydreigon, a pseudo-legendary, from the real legendaries? Larvesta and Volcarona. If they had been legendaries in the planning stages, then that would be explained easily.

2) Myths.
Volcarona was revered, worshipped as a god. He was literally the sun when a volcano erupted, probably earning him his name. This was mentioned very obviously in the game, which gave me the impression to begin with that he was another legendary. I mean, legendaries have legends, right? Volcarona had a very strong legend, given in a way that made him seem like a legendary. I mean, even a sage was looking for it at the end, not the other legendaries in the game, but Volcarona.

3) Relic Castle and the Encounter.
How do you encounter Volcarona, in its fully evolved form? You fight your way through a long, winding puzzle. You go into a room specifically made for this Pokémon, you find it standing there, waiting for you. Like a legendary, no? Forgive me if I'm just not remembering something, but what other non-legendary Pokémon actually stand there and wait like that? And even Virizion and Terrakion didn't have their own areas; they just picked an area already in the game, just a tad off to the side. The underside of the ruins was made specifically for Volcarona.

4) Attract.
This one is the one that I don't think many people would think of. Most legendaries are genderless, and therefore can't learn Attract. There are 3 non-genderless Pokémon that can't learn Attract. One of them is Nincada, with the idea that it could pass on Attract to a genderless Shedinja. The other two? Larvesta and Volcarona. There's no reasoning behind it, they are just needlessly without the ability to learn this TM. It's not that Volcarona isn't attractive or something; Muk can learn it. My theory: Volcarona was originally supposed to be a genderless legendary, and therefore couldn't learn Attract. When they switched it, they didn't remember to switch that, so now it just can't learn it.

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The Arguments Against
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Of course, not everything points to Volcarona being a legendary. To be fair, here are some of the counterpoints that I've thought of, with my replies to them.

1) Legendaries don't evolve!
There is the matter of Larvesta; No legendary in the past has been known to evolve in any way whatsoever. This is by far the most glaring hole in my argument in my opinion, but when considered isn't too big a deal at all. We all know Arcanine was supposed to be legendary and then ended up not being legendary, right? Volcarona could easily be the same way. Arcanine has a pre-evolution, that doesn't take away its part as a legendary in the planning stages.

2) Volcarona can breed.
Yes, Volcarona can breed. But then again, so can Arcanine. It would be simple to add in genders for Volcarona and then by default it would be able to breed.

3) Other normal Pokémon have a spot at the end of the 'Dex.
In every generation except Sinnoh, the end of the 'Dex, before the legendaries, has been a pseudo-legendary. Once again, I reiterate that Hydreigon comes just before Larvesta and Volcarona in the Unova Pokédex. If Volcarona was a legendary (and Larvesta didn't exist), then Hydreigon would take its rightful place as the pseudo at the end of the Pokédex.

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Final Notes
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So I posted this thread both to share my findings with other people who know the Pokémon of Gen V as well as I do, and to hear your thoughts. Am I wrong? Was it actually supposed to be a pseudo-legendary? Are there more gaping holes in my wild speculation? Let me know! :3
 

Ho-Oh

used Sacred Fire!
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I still think it's a legendary tbh even though I know it isn't. Or at least I know when it was first revealed I thought it'd be one of the legendaries since there seemed to be so many. But yeah I agree entirely with this in regards to the theories supporting why it would be a legendary.

Actually, maybe it isn't a legendary because Genesect is already the bug legendary and is event-only so people concentrate on it idk. I know it sounds unlikely as why but people have wanted a bug legendary for a while haven't they? and to my knowledge there isn't one before Unova's. :x

There's also the fact you get Larvesta as an egg, isn't that kind of weird that you get it as an egg while you can already get a Volcarona at Relic Castle? Maybe you weren't meant to get Volcarona in-game but they needed something to extend the castle at the end so they just put it there making it seem more normal but idk.
 

Opposite Day

too old for name changes
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1) Manaphy, a legendary blob, can breed as well, so that reinforces your theory in that regard.

2) Where's Chimecho placed in the Hoenn dex? Never encountered the little bugger, but I remember people mentioned AR codes for it back when Emerald was released. It also has a pre-evo as well..

It should also be said that being attracted to anything with the ability Flame Body sounds incredibly painful, they might just not learn it due to sympathy from the developers.. :P
 

Chiar

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2) Where's Chimecho placed in the Hoenn dex? Never encountered the little bugger, but I remember people mentioned AR codes for it back when Emerald was released. It also has a pre-evo as well..
Chimecho is positioned near Tropius and Absol in the Pokedex. However, it is the last in the index number list because it was added late in the game.
 

Opposite Day

too old for name changes
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With the above in mind, does that also mean that Volcorona was simply implemented late because they needed something for the Relic Castle as Nica suggests?

As if the EQ tm wasn't enough of a reward already lol. Sort of makes you wonder if Volcorona maybe had a twin in the Abyssal Ruins, since it is sort of similar to the Relic Castle..
 
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I don't know if you haven't realized, but Garchomp, a pseudo legendary, is far behind the legendaries in the Pokedex. Heck, even Lumineon comes after it in the Pokedex.

but what other non-legendary Pokémon actually stand there and wait like that?

Sorry, but forgot about Rotom? Red Gyarados? Lapras? Drifloon? Zen Mode Darmanitan? Kecleon? Sudowoodo? Electrode (sort of)? Hypno? And that's not all, too.

As for the myths thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Golurk said to be a Pokemon created for the own purpose of defending humans and Pokemon in the legends? It isn't worshiped like Ho-Oh, but it protects Pokemon and humans from disasters like Rayquaza and Cresselia.


The Attract argument has a point, but Cryogonal, a genderless Pokemon, is capable of learning Attract. Mew can too! I know it's dumb, but it kind of doesn't make any sense.
 

~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~

Buffalo State College
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4) Attract.
This one is the one that I don't think many people would think of. Most legendaries are genderless, and therefore can't learn Attract. There are 3 non-genderless Pokémon that can't learn Attract. One of them is Nincada, with the idea that it could pass on Attract to a genderless Shedinja. The other two? Larvesta and Volcarona. There's no reasoning behind it, they are just needlessly without the ability to learn this TM. It's not that Volcarona isn't attractive or something; Muk can learn it. My theory: Volcarona was originally supposed to be a genderless legendary, and therefore couldn't learn Attract. When they switched it, they didn't remember to switch that, so now it just can't learn it

The fact that Volcarona can not learn Attract is pretty retarded. But in my honest opinion, I believe that they did not want Volcarona to learn Attract nor did they want Larvesta to learn it because they probably wanted to confuse people on whether it is a legendary, puesdo legendary or even a normal Pokemon and it is actually getting people confused.


:t354:TG
 

Cresselia*

Ace trainer
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I don't know about this.. I think they've should make it a pseudo-legendary, but the reason why you can get Larvesta as egg is plain weard. =/
 

Kevin

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Manaphy can breed and it's a legendary!

These thoughts make me think it's supposed to be a legendary. A failed project, I guess. But Team Plasma wanted it, which meant it was somehow special.
 

Bluerang1

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I think it was Larvester that was added to make the Legendary count less, making Volcarona a "normal" Pokemon. I've surprised it isn't a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. About attract, I guess they just forgot. I dunno, it has a mythical story but it doesn't need to be a legendary Pokemon.
 

2Cool4Mewtwo

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I think Volcarona was supposed to be a legendary but there are too many legendaries already so GF scrapped that idea or something.
 

dreyko

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hmm interesting theory. i honestly don't know what to think. i keep wavering between both sides. volcarona does seem important and has its own area dedicated to it, so atm i am leaning more to the side that it was supposed to be a legendary.
 

Oryx

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It should also be said that being attracted to anything with the ability Flame Body sounds incredibly painful, they might just not learn it due to sympathy from the developers.. :P

LOL. Rough Skin would hurt too xD

Actually, maybe it isn't a legendary because Genesect is already the bug legendary and is event-only so people concentrate on it idk. I know it sounds unlikely as why but people have wanted a bug legendary for a while haven't they? and to my knowledge there isn't one before Unova's. :x

There's also the fact you get Larvesta as an egg, isn't that kind of weird that you get it as an egg while you can already get a Volcarona at Relic Castle? Maybe you weren't meant to get Volcarona in-game but they needed something to extend the castle at the end so they just put it there making it seem more normal but idk.

Interesting theory. Like maybe Relic Castle was there as a maze to get to the Sage there, and Volcarona was added as an afterthought? I honestly didn't think of that possibility. The egg itself is just a...weird way to get a Pokemon, maybe because they wanted it available before you defeated the Elite Four. Which would probably strengthen my theory in that they added Larvesta and made it normal, then realized you still couldn't get it before the E4 so they made him give you an egg so they didn't have to have them in the wild.

I don't know if you haven't realized, but Garchomp, a pseudo legendary, is far behind the legendaries in the Pokedex. Heck, even Lumineon comes after it in the Pokedex.

Garchomp is the only one like that. It's the exception, not the rule. Every other one is right before the legendaries except Hydreigon, who is separated by the Volcarona line.

Spinosaurus said:
Sorry, but forgot about Rotom? Red Gyarados? Lapras? Drifloon? Zen Mode Darmanitan? Kecleon? Sudowoodo? Electrode (sort of)? Hypno? And that's not all, too.

Many of those have explanations, and are special in their own way, while Volcarona has no reason to be there. For example, Red Gyarados was obviously shiny and special to the plot. From looking up the Drifloon, it seems like it's more like the DW Munna than anything, not like a legendary that just stays there indefinitely. Darmanitan is also special because it's DW. In FR/LG, you can catch Lapras in the wild as well as encounter it as a gift, so it's not solely available in this way. Not sure where you run into Hypno as a standing Pokemon, but it can be caught in the wild fairly easily.

Point being, those standing Pokemon in general are not treated like legendaries, like Volcarona is at that point. They're there for a plot-based reason, and/or nearly always catchable in the wild (going to stick to non-absolutes so you don't pull one out that I don't know about, lol). That makes their appearance less special and important, while Volcarona can only be caught by encountering him like you would a legendary.

Spinosaurus said:
As for the myths thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Golurk said to be a Pokemon created for the own purpose of defending humans and Pokemon in the legends? It isn't worshiped like Ho-Oh, but it protects Pokemon and humans from disasters like Rayquaza and Cresselia.

Maybe you're right on that one, I'm not sure of myths related to Golurk honestly, not my favorite Pokemon. xD;

Spinosaurus said:
The Attract argument has a point, but Cryogonal, a genderless Pokemon, is capable of learning Attract. Mew can too! I know it's dumb, but it kind of doesn't make any sense.

Yeah I'm not sure why Cryogonal can learn Attract, honestly. I don't even have any theories about it. xD; Mew can because Mew can learn everything, that's what I assumed as far as reasoning. The Attract thing is kind of shaky just because in my theory, they decided not to make him a legendary and then Larvesta was created, or they decided not to make him a legendary because they wanted Larvesta. Either way, they had enough time to create the art and sprite for Larvesta, decide where to put him, put it into the game, it seems like they'd have enough time to fix Attract...my theory is that it just slipped their minds, lol.

What you have to understand is that any one of the points of evidence alone doesn't mean anything, obviously. There are other Pokemon that have myths. There are other Pokemon that stand. There are other Pokemon that have weird Attract rules. But if you take them all together, it's hard to say that a Pokemon that stands on its own, has myths associated with it, cannot be caught anywhere else, and adds another except to the rule of pseudo-legendaries, was not originally a legendary.



The fact that Volcarona can not learn Attract is pretty retarded. But in my honest opinion, I believe that they did not want Volcarona to learn Attract nor did they want Larvesta to learn it because they probably wanted to confuse people on whether it is a legendary, puesdo legendary or even a normal Pokemon and it is actually getting people confused.


:t354:TG

That's a very interesting theory, that they want confusion over its legendary status, and so they made it have traits of a legendary. I wonder how many Pokemon seem like legendaries but aren't?
 

Gymnotide

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Labeling Pokemon as "pseudo-legendary" is kind of dumb anyway. There's nothing that really sets the Pokemon apart from others. I'd go as far to say that Volcarona is also a pseudo-legendary, if it weren't for its BST of 550 and its 2-stage evolutionary line. It was probably placed after Hydreigon because they're both based off of Godzilla lol.

Though, while I'm still here, I want to ask where there was actual confirmation that Arcanine was intended to be a legendary. I know it appeared on the slab with the three birds, and its Pokemon species, but I don't think those are valid points unless there's an actual interview somewhere. Also: did you know Arcanine can learn Teleport in Gen I?

* * * * *

Heatran is a gendered legendary that learns Attract. It's doesn't even have that hot of a back-story, either.

Plus, Zorua and Zoroark act like legendaries in-game too.
 
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VinceLevi

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I kind of agree with Gymnotide; why are we labeling Pseudo-Legends now? Are we going to go into Quarter and Eighthlet Legends? Does being Pseudo-Legendary make the haters hate? Does it change the teir Volcarona belongs in? (The last one is an honest question)

I don't see that it really matters, if you wanna take it as a legend, take it as a legend. You shall gain no perks, nor lose any, my curious friend.
 

Oryx

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I kind of agree with Gymnotide; why are we labeling Pseudo-Legends now? Are we going to go into Quarter and Eighthlet Legends? Does being Pseudo-Legendary make the haters hate? Does it change the teir Volcarona belongs in? (The last one is an honest question)

I don't see that it really matters, if you wanna take it as a legend, take it as a legend. You shall gain no perks, nor lose any, my curious friend.

Pseudo doesn't mean 'half', it means 'fake'. :P And tiers have nothing to do with pseudo-legendaries, although I do think that they tend to be in a high tier just because their BST is high.
 

VinceLevi

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Pseudo doesn't mean 'half', it means 'fake'. :P And tiers have nothing to do with pseudo-legendaries, although I do think that they tend to be in a high tier just because their BST is high.


Haha, true, but I didn't think fake legendary was appropriate, unless your Volcarona has implicitly asked you to call it a legendary.

And you know, there's a Bulbapedia page on Pseudo Legends, so I guess the term has some sense behind it. I just don't care too much about legendaries.
 

Corvus of the Black Night

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You know, Genderless Pokemon can breed with Ditto. This is because they actually do have programmed breeding groups. So even if Volcarona was genderless to begin with its unlikely that it was more than a pseudo-legendary because of that fact (Pokemon that cannot breed are programmed to specifically not breed, this is why Cresselia or Latios can't breed).

In terms of Attract if Volcarona was initially intended to be genderless it could have easily been forgotten to give it and its preevolution Attract.

In addition, myths associated with Pokemon is commonplace with more normal Pokemon, like Xatu seeing the end of the world and things like that.

I don't think Volcarona should be considered a legendary Pokemon, but its certainly a very, very strong one.
 
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