In the video, the blazing magma from the volcanic eruption surged downward like a colossal dragon breaking free of its chains. Carrying debris and scorching heat waves, it roared along the steep mountainside, and wherever it passed, vegetation was instantly reduced to charred black remains.
Amid this apocalyptic scene, two unusual Pokémon figures suddenly burst into the frame.
One of them vaguely resembled a small mouse.
On top of its head stood two large ears, their shape forming what looked like a distinct "V."
At the center of this "V," a red light glowed brightly, waves of strange and unsettling radiance rippling outward, as though it contained energy powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth themselves.
What was even more astonishing was that on its rear, it actually had a pair of small, delicate wings. These wings supported its body, allowing it to fly freely above the searing streams of magma.
At times, it would dive low, skimming close to the surface of the molten lava as if playfully bathing in it. The terrifying heat, hot enough to melt steel—seemed utterly insignificant to it.
Beside this mouse-like Pokémon was another Pokémon that looked like an insect.
It continuously spat out vivid, flame-red threads, deftly weaving them in midair, quickly forming a crimson cocoon.
The mouse-like Pokémon was clearly assisting the insect-like one.
It gathered the surging light between the "V" on its head into a brilliant stream of energy, like a river finally finding its destination, and poured it endlessly into the red cocoon.
Even more shocking sights followed one after another.
The violent energy of the volcanic eruption seemed to have its throat seized by an invisible hand.
The magma and heat waves that should have ravaged the mountains were quietly absorbed and guided by the mouse-like Pokémon, ultimately all converging into that single red cocoon.
The cocoon pulsed violently, like a living heart, beating fiercely as energy continued to pour into it.
The sound of "thump, thump" could be faintly sensed even through the noisy environment and the blurry footage, as if proclaiming that a great transformation was about to descend upon the world.
Later on, the red cocoon suddenly began to tremble violently. Then, breaking free from its silken restraints, it shot straight up into the sky.
At the instant it reached a certain height, the cocoon burst apart with a thunderous crack.
In that moment, it was as if a second sun had risen between heaven and earth. The dazzling blaze of fire nearly swallowed the entire screen.
Emerging from the cocoon was a butterfly-like Pokémon that looked as though it had been formed from pure flame itself. With each flap of its wings, sparks scattered through the air, and every beat carried waves of searing heat.
After that, the mouse-like Pokémon circled above the volcano, the aura radiating from its body seeming to possess the power to soothe the land itself.
The once-rampaging volcanic eruption gradually calmed under its influence. The surging magma slowly receded, and the roaring mountain steadily returned to silence.
When the smoke and dust finally dispersed, the two Pokémon vanished into the sky as if they had never existed at all, leaving behind only a battered yet stabilized volcano—and that single video, enough to spark endless speculation.
At the time, this video caused an enormous sensation.
Some people speculated that they were guardian Pokémon that accompanied the god of the land, Groudon, similar to the relationship between Suicune, Entei, Raikou, and Ho-Oh in the Johto region.
Others believed that they were miraculous Pokémon birthed by the volcano itself.
Yet no matter the theory, none could be conclusively proven. From that point on, no one within the Hoenn region ever saw those two Pokémon again.
It was not until three years ago, when Chairman Charles Goodshow gradually pushed forward the integration of the Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh leagues, that the mystery—one that had plagued people for over a decade—began to unravel.
As Pokémon Professors from various regions started engaging in unprecedented levels of academic exchange, the truth slowly surfaced.
During a video academic conference, Professor Rowan of the Sinnoh region mentioned the names of those two Pokémon.
The Mythical Pokémon Victini, and the one known as the Embodiment of the Sun—Volcarona.
All of this traced back to Professor Rowan's former assistant, now the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia.
Before she became Champion, Cynthia had been Professor Rowan's most trusted and capable assistant.
During an expedition to explore the Celestic Ruins, Cynthia once encountered a female Pokémon Professor from a distant land who was deeply passionate about archaeological exploration. Her name was Juniper.
The two young women, both obsessed with Pokémon, hit it off immediately and soon became close friends who spoke freely from the heart.
Professor Juniper possessed profound knowledge of ruins around the world. What she loved most was uncovering the origins of Pokémon through the study of fossil Pokémon and the exploration of ancient sites.
Through her conversations with Cynthia, she shared many ancient legends and records of rare Pokémon unique to her home region.
Through Cynthia's introduction, Professor Rowan and Professor Juniper began cross-regional academic cooperation, systematically organizing and comparing data on rare Pokémon from their respective regions.
It was precisely because of this that Professor Rowan was able to recognize, from that blurry video, the identities of those two legendary Pokémon originating from Professor Juniper's homeland—the Unova region.
As it turned out, Victini had used the immense energy of the impending volcanic eruption to help Larvesta complete a crucial evolutionary transformation. During the process, however, there had been a slight miscalculation in controlling the energy, which inadvertently triggered that small-scale volcanic activity.
This cross-regional Pokémon connection also became one of the key opportunities Chairman Goodshow used through the relationship between Cynthia and Professor Juniper to initiate official exchanges with the Unova region.
At present, Chairman Goodshow's primary focus was to promote Alola's inclusion into the existing league system and to establish cooperative exchanges with the Unova Pokémon League.
Naturally, ever since the incident involving Victini and Volcarona, countless Trainers had flocked to Mt. Chimney upon hearing the rumors.
Among them were powerful figures such as the former Elite Four member and former Fire-type Gym Leader, Mr. Moore.
Even when Mr. Moore dispatched Pokémon well-suited to extreme heat environments deep into the volcano, he was unable to uncover anything unusual.
In the end, Mr. Moore concluded that those two miraculous Pokémon had merely sensed the abnormal volcanic activity in advance and had chosen this location by chance to borrow the volcano's energy to help Volcarona complete its evolution.
Even so, the fact that Victini and Volcarona had once appeared here—
Added yet another layer of mystery to Mt. Chimney, the legendary former dwelling place of the god of the land, Groudon.
This was also one of the reasons why Mt. Chimney had exploded in popularity in recent years, prompting the League to even establish paid zipline routes that allowed visitors to reach the summit quickly.
Theo chose to explore Mt. Chimney step by step, carefully and methodically, because deep in his heart, he held a clear intention.
He wanted to thoroughly explore every inch of this volcano.
After all, traces of Volcarona had once been left here, and volcanoes were the most beloved habitats of both Volcarona and Larvesta—
Of course, Theo was also well aware that over the years, countless Trainers and explorers had scoured every corner of Mt. Chimney, yet none had ever managed to rediscover Victini or Volcarona.
He was simply doing his best, and during this journey of exploration, hoping to also catch sight of Magmar or Vulpix along the way.
After all, the appearance of Pokémon was inherently unpredictable, filled with unfathomable chance. Whether one could meet a desired partner ultimately depended on that mysterious twist of fate.
Theo took a deep breath, suppressed the turbulent emotions in his heart, and continued steadily toward the summit.
When night had fully fallen, Theo found a relatively flat open area halfway up the mountain.
Behind it stood a massive black rock that blocked the biting night winds. Although the ground still carried the residual warmth of geothermal heat, there were no obvious magma pits nearby. It was, by all accounts, a rare and suitable spot to set up camp.
(End of Chapter)
TN: I changed Chairman Damascu to Chairman Charles Goodshow. I always thought the chairman were just OC of the authors of then noticed every novel use the same name and it turns out to be Charles Goodshow.
TN2: Hopes its Magmar or Magby, wanna see a Magmortar in a novel.