It was a majestic, mysterious creature, its deep blue eyes gleaming like twin stars, its plump body surrounded by a soft, radiant collar of white fur.
From its back sprouted three pairs of vast, flaming wings, each one burning with the brilliance of a living sun.
Its sheer size was staggering, nearly three meters tall, and every movement radiated a sacred, commanding presence.
Lucien froze, breath catching in awe.
It was the Pokémon spoken of in Unovan legend, the sun god of flame and rebirth… Volcarona.
The moment it appeared, the air itself began to shimmer.
The temperature in the cavern soared, the stone walls reflecting its golden light until the entire underground chamber blazed like daylight.
With one powerful beat of its wings, a wave of searing wind swept outward, scattering sparks like a fiery storm.
"Your Highness, stand back!" Geralt barked, stepping protectively in front of Lucien. His sword flashed as he raised it, ready to strike.
Lucien's mind raced. 'Volcarona, the fire moth of the ancients… the sun god those tribes worshiped.'
He hadn't expected, couldn't have imagined, that such a creature still lived beneath these ruins.
And judging by its colossal size and the oppressive heat radiating from its body, this was no ordinary Volcarona.
'Could it really have survived since that age? Has it been guarding this place all along?'
Lucien's thoughts were cut short as the Volcarona's gaze shifted.
Its blue eyes swept over the Darmanitan pack first, their roars now more like frightened cries, as if pleading with it.
Then, slowly, those glowing eyes turned toward Lucien and his companions.
"Wait! We don't mean any harm!" Lucien called, voice echoing through the cavern.
But the Volcarona did not understand, or perhaps, it simply didn't care.
A blast of scorching wind tore across the chamber, nearly knocking Lucien off his feet. Then, in a blinding flare of light, the moth's body erupted into golden fire.
Its six wings beat once, and a firestorm burst forth, consuming the cavern in blinding flame.
"Dratini, Twister! Snivy, Vine Whip, defend!"
The air itself trembled.
Dratini's whirlwind collided with the inferno but was immediately overwhelmed, hurling the little dragon backward.
Snivy's vines lashed out to intercept the oncoming flames, but as a Grass-type, it never stood a chance. The attack struck, and Snivy was thrown to the ground, struggling to rise.
Geralt stepped forward, his sword raised to block the heat, but even his tempered blade began to glow red-hot, warping under the molten air.
The Haxorus roared, trying to shield its master, but even it faltered under the overwhelming power.
And then;
A thunderous crash.
The Volcarona suddenly faltered mid-flight, its blazing wings flickering, and then it fell, slamming into the stone floor.
The golden light dimmed. The roaring heat vanished.
In an instant, the cavern grew dark and cold again.
"Your Highness… move!" Geralt's voice rasped weakly before he collapsed to one knee, driving his sword into the ground to stay upright, then falling still.
Haxorus let out a low growl before its strength gave out as well.
Lucien stood frozen, the last one standing.
Across the chamber, the fallen Volcarona lay motionless, its flames extinguished, but the Darmanitan weren't done.
Seeing their guardian fall, they erupted into rage, howling as they charged straight toward Lucien.
His pulse quickened. Dratini was down. Haxorus couldn't move. Even Geralt was unconscious.
Only Snivy stirred.
"Vine…"
The little Pokémon trembled on the ground, eyes half-closed, but as it saw Lucien cornered, something inside it ignited.
It refused to let him die.
It had to protect him, no matter what.
Even as its vision blurred, even as its strength waned, it gritted its teeth.
I need power…
More power to protect him.
But from where?
The answer had already appeared in Snivy's mind.
At that moment, it no longer resisted the surge of power building within it.
This time, it wasn't evolving to become stronger, it was evolving to protect the human it loved.
"Vine…"
Snivy struggled to its feet, trembling, then leapt forward and planted itself in front of Lucien.
Its vines lashed out defiantly as its small body erupted in a blinding white light.
"Vine...vine!"
The charging Darmanitan slammed headlong into the radiance, their roars drowned out by the roaring energy that filled the cavern.
Lucien's eyes widened. The brilliance reflected in his gaze like twin stars.
"Evolution…?" he whispered. "Snivy chose this on its own?"
Within the light, its form shifted rapidly, its body lengthened, its features grew sharper, its aura more regal.
Moments later, standing tall before him, was a new Pokémon: elegant, fierce, and wreathed in emerald energy.
The evolution of Snivy, Servine, the Grass Serpent Pokémon, was born!
A surge of verdant energy exploded from its body, swirling like a living storm.
Magic Leaf!
Hundreds of glowing, blade-like leaves whirled through the air, slicing across the battlefield in a violent, beautiful arc.
The Darmanitan screeched in fear, the storm driving them backward, until they retreated, stumbling back to the slumbering Volcarona's side.
As the air calmed, Lucien rushed to Geralt and Dratini, checking them quickly. Relief washed over him, they had only fainted, not burned.
So even in its fury, the Volcarona had held back.
Still… the sheer scale of its power was terrifying.
If it had truly survived since the tribal era, then its strength was likely equal to that of a Legendary Pokémon.
Lucien turned toward the fallen moth, his system window shimmering faintly as basic information surfaced:
[Pokémon: Volcarona (End of Life)]
[Type: Fire / Bug]
[Ability: ???]
[Moves: ???]
[ Record: ???]
"'End of Life'…?" Lucien murmured, stunned.
This Volcarona… was dying.
He looked to the Darmanitan gathered around it. Their expressions were no longer hostile, only protective, desperate.
And then it struck him.
They weren't defending the ruins. They were defending Volcarona.
"Wait, Darmanitan, we're not your enemies!" Lucien called, stepping forward carefully.
He glanced at the faintly breathing moth and continued softly, "My name is Lucien. I'm the lord of this land. I have medicine, perhaps it can help your guardian."
He slowly reached into his satchel and withdrew a few glass vials, filled with a pale green potion brewed by Lila.
Setting them gently on the ground, Lucien stepped back. "Take it to her."
The Darmanitan hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances, then one stepped forward, picked up a vial in its massive hands, and carried it to the fallen Volcarona.
A faint golden shimmer pulsed as the potion was poured near its mandibles.
Moments later, the moth's breathing steadied. Its body glowed faintly once more.
Then, with a soft rustle of flame and wind, Volcarona spread its six wings again, each feather burning like the sun.
Slowly, gracefully, it descended before Lucien.