In the video, the scorching lava erupting from the volcano roared down the steep slope like a dragon breaking free of its chains, carrying debris and heat waves, instantly turning vegetation into charcoal in its wake.
Amidst this apocalyptic scene, two peculiar Pokémon suddenly appeared in the frame.
One of the Pokémon vaguely resembled a small mouse.
It had two large ears standing upright on its head, shaped like a "V".
A red light shone in the center of the "V" on its head, surging with strange, heart-stopping circles of light, as if containing energy powerful enough to shake the heavens and earth.
Strangely enough, it also had a pair of small, exquisite wings on its rear end, supporting it as it flew freely above the molten lava.
Sometimes it would swoop down to the surface of the magma, playing as if taking a bath. The intense heat, enough to melt steel, seemed insignificant to it. Beside this little mouse-like sprite was another little insect-like sprite, constantly spitting out bright red, flame-like threads, skillfully weaving them in mid-air, quickly forming a crimson cocoon.
The little mouse-like sprite was clearly assisting the insect-like sprite.
The little mouse-like sprite gathered the light surging between the "V" shapes on its head into a dazzling stream of energy, like a river finding its home, continuously pouring it into the red cocoon. An even more astonishing sight followed.
The violent energy of the volcanic eruption seemed to be choked by an invisible hand.
The magma and heat waves that should have ravaged the forest were all quietly absorbed and guided by the little mouse-like sprite, ultimately flowing into the red cocoon.
The red cocoon, like a living heart, throbbed violently with the continuous infusion of energy.
Even through the noisy environment and blurry video, the "thump, thump" sounds could be faintly heard, as if announcing the imminent arrival of some great transformation.
Then, the red cocoon suddenly trembled violently, broke free of its silken threads, and soared straight into the sky.
Just as it reached a certain height, the cocoon shattered with a deafening roar.
In an instant, it was as if a second sun had risen out of nowhere, its dazzling flames almost engulfing the entire frame.
Emerging from the cocoon was a butterfly spirit, seemingly formed from pure flame, its wings scattering sparks with each flap, each flap carrying a scorching heat.
Then, the little mouse spirit hovered above the volcano, its aura possessing a calming power over the earth.
The previously violent volcanic eruption gradually subsided under its influence, the surging lava slowly receded, and the roaring mountain gradually returned to calm.
As the smoke cleared, the two Pokémon vanished into the sky as if they had never existed, leaving behind only a ravaged yet now stable volcano and the video that sparked endless speculation.
This video caused a huge uproar at the time.
Some speculated that they were guardian Pokémon of Groudon, the Earth God, similar to the relationship between Suicune, Entei, Raikou, and Ho-Oh in the Kanto region.
Others believed they were magical Pokémon born from the volcano itself.
However, none of these speculations were confirmed, and since then, no one in Hoenn had seen these two Pokémon again.
Until three years ago, as Chairman Charles Goodshow increasingly promoted the alliance integration of the Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh regions,
Pokémon professors from each region began unprecedented in-depth exchanges, and this mystery that had perplexed people for over a decade gradually began to unravel.
Professor Rowan from the Sinnoh region mentioned the names of these two Pokémon at a video academic conference: the mythical Pokémon Victini and Volcarona, known as the embodiment of the sun.
All of this stemmed from Professor Rowan's former assistant, now the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia.
Before Cynthia became a champion, she was Professor Rowan's most capable assistant.
During a journey to explore the ruins of the capital, Cynthia encountered a female Pokémon professor from a faraway land, named Juniper, who also loved exploring ruins.
The two girls, both passionate about Pokémon, hit it off immediately and quickly became close friends.
Professor Juniper had extensive knowledge of ruins around the world, and her favorite pastime was studying fossil Pokémon and exploring ruins to gain a deeper understanding of the origins of Pokémon.
In her conversations with Cynthia, she shared many ancient legends and records of rare Pokémon unique to her region.
It was through Cynthia's introduction that Professor Rowan and Professor Juniper began a cross-regional academic collaboration, systematically compiling information on rare Pokémon from each other's regions.
It was also because of this that Professor Rowan recognized the two legendary Pokémon from Unova, Professor Juniper's homeland, in that blurry video.
It turns out that Victini used the immense energy from the impending volcanic eruption to help Volcarona complete its crucial evolutionary transformation. However, a slight miscalculation in energy control during this process unexpectedly triggered the small-scale volcanic activity.
This cross-regional Pokémon connection became one of the key opportunities for Chairman Goodshow to leverage his relationship with Cynthia and Professor Juniper to initiate official exchanges with the Unova region.
Currently, Chairman Goodshow's focus is on promoting Alola's inclusion in the existing Pokémon League and fostering cooperation and exchange with the Unova Pokémon League.
Of course, since the Victini-Volcano incident, many trainers have flocked to Mt. Chimney.
Among them are powerful figures like former Elite Four member and former Fire-type Gym Leader, Moore.
Even though Moore sent his Pokémon, skilled in high-temperature environments, deep into the volcano, they failed to discover anything unusual.
Moore ultimately concluded that these two amazing Pokémon had simply sensed the volcano's unusual activity and happened to choose this location to utilize its energy to help Volcarona complete its transformation.
Even so, the presence of Victini and Volcarona here adds another layer of mystery to Mt. Chimney, the legendary former home of Groudon, the earth god.
This is one of the reasons for the recent eruptions of Mt. Chimney, and the League has even built a paid zipline for a quick ascent to the summit.
Lionel chose to explore Mt. Chimney meticulously, with a clear thought in his mind: he wanted to explore this volcano thoroughly.
After all, Volcarona had left its mark here, and the volcano was Volcarona and Flareon's favorite habitat—
of course, Lionel also knew that over the years, countless trainers and explorers had traversed every corner of Mt. Chimney, yet still failed to find Volcarona or Victini.
Lionel was simply doing his best, hoping to find Magmar and Vulpix along the way.
Moreover, the appearance of elves is inherently fraught with unpredictable chance; whether one encounters a desired companion ultimately depends on that mysterious fate.
Lionel took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions, and continued steadily towards the summit.
When it was completely dark, Lionel found a relatively flat clearing halfway up the mountain.
Backed by a huge black rock, it offered shelter from the biting night winds. Although the ground still retained the residual heat of the volcano, there were no obvious lava pits, making it a rare and desirable campsite.