Oryx
CoquettishCat
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- 13
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- Age 31
- Seen Jan 30, 2015
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?
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.
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.
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