One thing that lands a Pokemon in the interesting Specimen category sometimes is its type combination. There are some dual-type Pokemon out there with type combinations that are so contradictory that they’re just bizarre. For this week’s post I’ll be covering two such Pokemon, Larvesta and its evolved form, Volcarona.
So both Larvesta and Volcarona are of the Fire and Bug-type, two types that I never thought would be put together. I mean Fire Pokemon are the most powerful weapon one can use against a Bug-type, and yet here we have a combination of the two. It just seems like a contradiction to me (like Starbursts). Of course this odd type combo isn’t the only reason why Larvesta and Volcarona are in the Interesting Specimen category. Those who don’t know any batter would think that Volcarona is a Legendary Pokemon, but when you look at the myths behind this fiery moth, it’s easy to make that mistake.
Volcarona is said to be the embodiment of the sun. In fact, Larvesta is said to be born from the sun itself. Also, for anyone who’s interested, I read a Pokedex entry that said Larvesta like to make their homes in the base of a volcano. Anyway, the old legend about Volcarona says that when the sky was darkened by volcanic ash it used its fire to replace the sun. This had led a few ancient civilizations to worship Volcarona as a god. So really, it’s not much of a stretch to think that Volcarona would be a Legendary Pokemon.
In the Games: In Pokemon Black and White, the only way to get Larvesta is from an egg handed out by a Pokemon Ranger on Route 18. It takes a long time to get Larvesta to evolve however, but I’ll get to that more in a minute. But for those who don’t have either the time or patience to train a Larvesta to get it to evolve, there is another way to get Volcarona. After beating the Elite Four, the player can find a Volcarona in a previously inaccessible chamber of the Relic Castle. This Volcarona is at level seventy, and I should note that the chamber Volcarona is found in has an ancient painting of the fire moth on the rear wall. So again, it’s not that hard to confuse Volcarona for a Legendary Pokemon. In Black 2 and White 2, the only way to get Larvesta is to breed Volcarona. As for Volcarona, you can still find one in the Relic Castle, but you can capture it before facing the Elite Four at level thirty-five. Of course if you accidentally defeat this Volcarona, you can try catching it again after the Elite Four, but this time it’ll be at level sixty-five.
Evolution: I mentioned before that some might not have the patience to try evolving Larvesta. That’s because Larvesta doesn’t evolve until level fifty-nine. No you didn’t misread that last part, I said level fifty-nine. That is a ridiculously long time for a larva Pokemon to evolve, and there isn’t any pupa stage like there is with most larval Pokemon. Although the Pokedex entries said that when Larvesta evolves it forms a cocoon of fire around itself, which I imagine would be really cool to watch.
After emerging from this cocoon of flames, this insect becomes about five feet tall. Though Larvesta was already fairly big to begin with, at least for a larva. Anyway, after evolution Volcarona gains three pairs of fiery wings and also becomes a little bulkier. Perhaps not the prettiest bug out there, but then that depends on what you consider pretty. At the very least, Volcarona is pretty cool looking.
Signature Move: I thought the best way to close this post would be to talk about Volcarona’s signature attack. The fact that it even has a signature move is yet another reason one might mistake Volcarona for a Legendary Pokemon. Anyway, Volcarona’s signature move is in the form of a move called Fiery Dance, which it learns at level one hundred. How it works is that Volcarona covers itself in flames and dances around, as the name of the attack suggests. In addition to causing damage, Fiery Dance also has a chance of raising Volcarona’s Special Attack stat. Plus I’m sure it’s cool to watch.
So that wraps it up for this week’s post. I think for next week I’ll be covering another Pokemon with a contradictory type combination. So until next week, stay tuned.
