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A weekly Pokédex Podcast from Bald Man in Japan Luke Summerhayes. A different Pokémon family every week.
I’m Luke Summerhayes, and I love Volcarona.
I’ve always had a soft spot for moths. While colourful butterflies are almost universally beloved, their pale, fluffy cousins are often not given the same attention. I think they have a cuteness, from their big eyes and soft coats, to their dopey behavior of flying into human light fixtures. My love of moths is of course enhanced by their association with the queen of the monsters.
First appearing in a Toho movie in 1961, Mothra is second only to Godzilla among that company’s famous kaiju. While Godzilla is a vengeful spirit of vengeance against mankind for nuclear war or climate damage, Mothra is a more nurturing avatar of Mother Earth. Often worshipped as a goddess in her movies, she is beautiful and ethereal whether working with the radioactive lizard or against him.
Larvesta is a bug and fire-type, white and red moth larva, with spikes protruding from its head to resemble sunbeams. The color scheme is reminiscent of the tower of the sun, a monument in Osaka, Japan which Pokémon artist Ken Sugimori cites as one of this monster’s inspirations. The shape of the sunbeams on Larvesta are more like another tower of the sun, by the same artist, Taro Okamaoto, in Aichi Japan.
Black 2
Said to have been born from the sun, it spews fire from its horns and encases itself in a cocoon of fire when it evolves.
White 2
Mothra’s larval form is often depicted in the monster movies, usually performing the very Pokémon-like attack of wrapping an opponent up in webs.
White
The base of volcanoes is where they make their homes. They shoot fire from their five horns to repel attacking enemies.
Living in a volcano, however, is very unlike Mothra. Other monsters, like Rodan, have been shown living in Volcanoes, but Mothra has even been seen being killed by a volcano at least once.
Violet
In ancient times, Larvesta was worshiped as the emissary of the sun. However, it was also viewed as a burden since it often caused forest fires.
Mothra is, however, often seen being worshipped by ancient peoples – often accompanied by a pair of psychic twins, and an iconic song.
The name Larvesta of course refers to this Pokémon being a larval form, but also brings images of molten rock to mind – a perfect Pokémon pun. The Vesta part is less obvious, though a roman goddess by that name was represented by an eternal flame. The Japanese name is Merlarva, the latter part obvious and the former coming from the Japanese onomatopoeia meramera, for flaring.
Most players in the fifth generation probably didn’t encounter Larvesta first. If they did, though, they would be amazed at level 59 to see it evolve into Volcarona.
Volcarona is a majestic moth with six firey red wings and a fluffy coated body. Moths are attracted to light because in natural nighttime conditions, the brightest light source would be in the sky, helping them to orient themselves correctly. When humans are around though, moths can be bamboozled by artificial lights. A common phrase in English for a person easily lead around is “like a moth to a flame”. Japanese has a similar idiom, though it refers to bugs generally rather than moths specifically. Volcarona gives us flame from a moth.
White
A sea of fire engulfs the surroundings of their battles, since they use their six wings to scatter their ember scales.
Black 2
Thought to be an embodiment of the sun, it appeared during a bitterly cold winter and saved Pokémon from freezing.
Volcarona is first encountered in Pokémon Black and White waiting in the Relic Castle as an overworld sprite, making many players mistake it for a legendary Pokémon. In New Pokémon Snap, Volcarona are seen and worshipped in Ancient ruins. Like Mothra, there are legends of Volcarona as a kind of saviour or goddess.
Black
When volcanic ash darkened the atmosphere, it is said that Volcarona's fire provided a replacement for the sun.
Shield
This Pokémon emerges from a cocoon formed of raging flames. Ancient murals depict Volcarona as a deity of fire.
Scarlet
Its burning body causes it to be unpopular in hot parts of the world, but in cold ones, Volcarona is revered as an embodiment of the sun.
And like all the best kaiju, whether this creature is benevolent or not is open to interpretation.
Scarlet
Its burning body causes it to be unpopular in hot parts of the world, but in cold ones, Volcarona is revered as an embodiment of the sun.
JAY.
Competitively, Volcarona has been a mainstay of dominant teams thanks to exceptional special attack combined with usueful damaging typing. It lacks defensively, but the burning ability flame body makes opponents think twice about attacking it, while mechanics like Z moves, Dynamax and especially Terastelisation can help it ignore the few downsides it ever had.
The name Volcarona combines the heat of a volcano with the corona of the sun, capturing this Pokémon’s majesty. The Japanese name, Ulgamoth, combines a Japanese pronunciation of the Roman God Vulcanus with the Japanese word for moth, Ga, and also the English word moth.
Mothra isn’t a fun, smashy dinosaur like Godzilla, but a more thoughtful kind of Kaiju, and she is represented beautifully by a more majestic kind of powerful Pokémon.
Original music for Luke Loves Pokémon is by Jonathan Cromie. Artwork is by Katie Groves. Funding is provided by listeners at Patreon.com/PodcastioPodcastius. For just a dollar a month, supporters can listen to episodes a week early and also help cover hosting and fees, making it possible for me to keep making episodes every week.
I love hearing from listeners! Get in touch about upcoming Pokémon on twitter or facebook at LukeLovesPKMN. Drop a comment if you’re watching the video, or a review on apple podcasts or spotify. Coming up are Cobalion and Terakion, so please get in touch about those or any other monsters.
Even if you don’t feel like doing any of that, thank you so much just for listening.
I love Volcarona. And remember, I love you too.